Classic American West Coast Boxing

[dagosd2000]

The Part Time Job

They're talking about former fighters being referees.If anyone's qualified to be a ref it would be an ex pug. Fighters never get the sport out of their blood.Refereeing keeps their foot in the water.But being a referee isn't exactly a high end job. I've never known of a professional ref who makes that job his sole profession.

In my burg,San Diego,the main referee at all the major fights(and the so so ones)was a fella by the name of Frank Rustich.He was a "goomba" so my father got to know him.I was also on speaking terms with him.He was retired and took up reffing the fights as a way to earn some pocket change.He also was an official for the prep sports in town. I remember he reffed our high school football game against Crawford High. It was a scoreless contest going into the 4th quarter. We had the ball on offense.Our quarterback faked a handoff into the line and then kept the ball on a bootleg around the end.He practically walked into the end zone.But good ol' Frank went for the fake and blew the play dead on the fake.We lost the touchdown,and later the game-6 to 0.

Rustich also reffed the Ali/Norton fight in San Diego. I thought he might have had stopped it during the last 30 seconds of the 12th round when Ali wasn't answering back any.I asked Rustich later why he didn't halt it.
"Too much money was riding on it,"was his reply whatever he meant by that.

I talked to Trudy Latka ,the wife of the former lightweight fighter George Latka who was a frequent sight in the Southland and later a referee at the venues in LA. She told me that after retiring from being a teacher in the LA school district(Because he was an ex pug they assigned him teaching history at Manual Arts High School in Watts.No easy task)He got back into the ring but this time wearing a bow tie.

I said at the top that being an ex fighter qualifies for the job.You'd think so. But I'll never forget the time Jersey Joe Walcott was the third man in the ring in that high school gym in Maine when the renamed Muhammad Ali defended his title against Sonny Liston. Jersey Joe's got on the referee shirt with the stripes and looks very officious. The first round begins and Sonny is lumbering around trying to keep up with Ali. Then after a minute he decides he can't keep up so the first time Ali hits him with anything(the anchor punch )Sonny decides to flop to the mat. Ali is standing over him instead of going to a neutral corner and Walcott becomes befuddled.Finally, Ali goes and Sonny is still rolling around like a fish out of water. He eventually beats Walcott's count and Joe is trying to coax him back into the fight. Then out of nowhere little Nat Fleischer,the editor of Ring Magazine,shouts at Walcott that Sonny was prone on the canvas for 24 seconds(the guy is actually counting) .Walcott then waves off the fight.He was so dumb that he didn't know that the referee's count is what mattered.Not how long Liston was down on the floor.(Ask Tunney about that when he met Dempsey in Chicago)Anyway ,even if the fight continued Sonny had made up his mind that he wanted no part of it and would have done the ol' flopperoo again.

I worked at a school where the head custodian,and ex amateur fighter, is a fight referee.His name is Jose Cobian. You could see him in the squared circles in the Southland and TJ. I asked him about working in Tijuana.
"I was lucky to pull in 20 dollars after the night was over."
Hell,that ain't even decent money for a part time job.


Jose Cobian on the right at a fight at the 4 Points Sheraton in San Diego and on the left the vice principal of my school my friend, the late Joe Broz

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Who's Your Daddy?

I sure got an earful of Irish Bob Murphy stories sitting at the bar in The Arizona Cafe in Ocean Beach.You see George Radovich ,who owned the place in that little seaside town in San Diego, handled Murphy when the Irishman tested the amateurs after he got his discharge from the Navy.He made San Diego his home for the time being as Radovich managed his career on the Coast. But George was involved coaching a semi pro football team in town called the San Diego Bombers and couldn't devote adequate enough time with Murphy if he decided to turn pro. Besides,George had the Arizona to keep an eye on and he owned a lot of rental properties down at the beach to keep maintained.That's when Travis Hatfield,a local sporting goods store owner,stepped in to take over Murphy's wade into the professional waters.

Murphy ,so the yarns were spun,was a hard and fast liver,and so was his physical one. He'd always say it was no use for a mugger to try to roll him in an alley because he had probably already spent all his dough on booze and broads and blown the rest.They always made sure he had a stool at the bar at the Arizona.He'd get his snootful and then the probability of Murphy showing how he could let his hands fly were were better then 50/50.

I've related the info about how Irish Bob hated guys whose ancestry could be traced back to the the land in the Mediterranean shaped like a boot.I worked with this good ol' boy named Earl Anderson,who was a pal of Murph's and his sparring partner, when I was driving the county trucks eradicating the weeds along the rural roads. Earl said that there wasn't a dago alive or dead that Murphy didn't have it in for

But that feeling went back far in this country.The Irish came across first in the 1840's to escape the potato famine in the Emerald Isle and settled in the slums, and then around the turn of century the Italians were checking in at Ellis Island..and could only afford to pay rent next to the Paddy's.Of course they resented their olive skinned new neighbors even if they were Castholic.Besides,those greasers posed a threat to their womenfolk and often used the aid of of a shiv when it came to a street fight.Murphy's take on the those guineas had something to do with what I just described.

When Murphy was on his way cleaning out the opposition way out west with that sledge hammer of a left that was packed the most wallop in the light heavyweight division,Jake LaMotta,after losing his middleweight crown to Ray Robinson,decided to not fight the battle of the bulge anymore and move up a weight class..Jake found himself in the ring with the dago hater.

There's no film of that fight but George Radovich was there at Yankee Stadium that night and he told me that Murphy fought like a wild animal slamming that big left hook into Jake's side making him unable to answer the bell for the 8th round. Jake had cracked ribs and had enough of Murphy.If you read LaMotta's Raging Bull he really glosses over that episode in his career..But if LaMotta was going to continue trying his luck at 174 pounds he had to get by Murphy.

The rematch was set in Detroit at the Olympia Stadium,Jake's good luck arena and the Mob's venue for staging funny fights.LaMotta's side was probably not in on it but before the bell rang Murphy got a call from Mr. Gray that he wasn't supposed to win that night..Just like what happened in New York before he fought Joey Maxim for the championship.I told you how Murphy's pal Earl Anderson went into the dressing room before the fightand there was Bob smashing all the furniture into kindle.Well, I think the tables and chairs in Murphy's dressing room were probably in the same condition as the decor inside Jake's dressing quarters in New York before the Maxim fight..

There's film of the second fight.What struck me was that LaMotta brought his daddy with him to work in his corner.LaMotta didn't know that Murphy had caved in to the gangsters and was afraid that Bob had it in for him again.Papa was there to hold his hand.Well,that fight was scheduled for 10 and going into the 9th frame it was even Steven. Then Murphy quit fighting.Jake got in some good shots and got the decision.

But Jake never did much after that.He was burned out.And Murphy? Well,he slithered away with wine,women ,and song having to take orders from the Italians he hated.


Jake LaMotts

[goose 5]

There is film of the first Murphy-LaMotta fight on you tube. Do you think Lloyd Marshall laid down against Murphy ?

[dagosd2000]

There is film of the first Murphy-LaMotta fight on you tube. Do you think Lloyd Marshall laid down against Murphy ?

THanks Goose.I'll get on that today. Can't wait.As far as Marshall I don't know.Back then there were a lot of fixed fights especially with the Black Murderer Row guys.Even Archie Moore is suspect with his one round KO at the hands of Leonard Morrow. Got the infamous phone call the day before the fight.

[dagosd2000]

The Lost Division

After Goose pointed out to me that the first fight between Jake LaMotta and Bob Murphy was on YouTube I surfed over to the video to see something I thought never existed-the film of the fight. Yesterday I told you George Radovich's take on the fight.He traveled to New York to see his ex amateur charge Murphy do battle with Jake at the light heavyweight poundage..George's take was pretty close to what I saw on YouTube.In boxing talk there's not much mention of Bob Murphy though.

Of course LaMotta is a household word.But he earned his rep fighting middleweight.Scorsese's Raging Bull made Jake an icon overnight.There's no story in the flick of Jake fighting Murphy.They went at it twice.After watching the first go around this morning on my computer I could see that Jake took a tremendous pounding to the body. Jake was a arm puncher. He sort of threw his leather like the controversial Gene Fullmer who everybody jumped on in the forum last month.In 106 fights Jake could only muster up 19 stoppages.That's around 30%.You'd think a "Bull" would pack more leather. But that's because he was an arm puncher.He never got much of his shoulder and back into it and never learned to pivot his weight.Fullmer had similar stats.-24 KO's in 64 outings. For two roughnecks that's not many knockouts.

But Bob Murphy,a big puncher, is not talked about much at the bar unless the name of that watering hole is The Arizona Cafe,George Radovich's establishment.Light heavyweights don't get much respect.They';re in a division just under the elite one-the heavyweights.At least that's the way it lined up back then.Today, there's a cruiserweight sandwiched in there with the typical "juniors" and "supers" interlocked..You think of the great heavyweight champions and then try to come up with the name of who was the light heavyweight champion.There are three.Archie Moore,Bob Foster,and Michael Spinks who could hold their own..Mike was the first light heavy champ to win the heavyweight championship.

I remember when boxing was red hot in the Southland during thr 60's through the 80's. But the light heavyweights were nothing to right home about.compared to the great Mexican bantamweights,the 4 Kings,and the names of the of the big guys who eventually found their way into the IBHOF.

Pugs like Mike Quarry,Yaqui Lopez,Ray White,Jesse Burnett,LOnnie Bennet,Andy Kendall,Ronnie Wilson;and Amado Vasquez;guys who gave it everything they had but could never get their names on the front page of the sports section.

If you think about it maybe the greatest light heavyweights never wore the crown-Gene Tunney and Ezzard Charles. But they sure were good enough to win the Grand Prize in boxing.

I think of Evander Holyfield cleaning out the light heavyweights but still wanting more.So he goes to Mr. Universe, Lee Haney, to get the goods on how to pack on muscle to fight the big boys.I"ve heard it said,"Better sports through better science."


Archie Moore

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Just Let Them fight

I never heard Denny Moyer or Ronnie Wilson say they wanted to be champions.Both fighters were managed by Sid Flaherty. Sid moved down to San Diego from Portland,Oregon and set up a training camp in the foothills of San Diego county.When Ronnie began to falter because he didn't follow all the p's and q's in his training regimen,Flaherty brought Moyer down from Portland to keep an eye on the kid.But they both liked to drink and that plan didn't work out.In fact it was throwing gasoline on the fire.

I used to go to the San Diego Coliseum or once in awhile to Flaherty's camp to watch them work out..They were pretty consistent about going to the gym but then after a shower they'd dress and hit the local watering holes..It was like taking one step forward and two back.

Ronnie started out fast here in town but then began having problems with eye cuts.Then there was some marriage strife and that started the drinking.That's when Moyer was summoned from Oregon.When the two got together on a binge it was good to stay clear from them.Sober,they were two of the politest guys on earth.But when they began bending their elbows they both grew chips on their shoulders.

Moyer was once the junior middleweight champion.That aroused as much interest as watching the grass grow in your front yard. I remember there was a junior lightweight champion(Flash Elorde),a junior welterweight champion(Eddie Perkins),and Denny with his junior middleweight crown.There was no money in that let alone no interest.Moyer ,very late in his career, got a shot at Monzon over in Rome, But Denny wasn't supposed to win.There was no rigorous training on Denny's part.He trained like it was just another main event at the old Coliseum.The local papers didn't even devote much ink to it. But it was an interesting fight while it lasted.I thought Moyer was out boxing Carlos until he staggered Moyer in the 5th round.The referee couldn't wait to step in to halt it.

Wilson on the other hand, couldn't beat Mike Quarry in three tries and that moved him to the back burner when it came time to fight Bob Foster.It wouldn't have mattered.Foster was head and shoulders above what there was in the light heavyweight ranks.

Both stablemates eventually couldn't win anymore. It was hard to watch.Between the drinking followed by the dementia it was a common story amongst old fighters.They both fought over a hundred times.Today,in San Diego they are practically forgotten. But I sure remember them.They symbolized boxing's Everyman.Sometimes that's a thought that's hard to swallow.


THe San Diego Coliseum.Became a furniture warehouse afterwards.Today,it went through new owners who remodeled the place into a bistro.

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That Lazy Ol' Sun Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day

Archie Moore said that old fighters get lazy.Well,old jocks in general get lazy. They believe the can draw on their experience to still get the results. Tom Brady won't play any preseason games.LeBron will give it a good rest before the first real game.Clayton Kershaw might throw a few innings in Florida before headed back to Chavez Ravine.

But boxing is different. Regardless of a fighter's age he has to be in good physical condition if he still wants to beat the best.He can't let his weight balloon up between fights. Drinking and drugs will kill him off more than the punch he doesn't see.With those other sports an old timer can get away with a lot more.

But sometimes that "lazy" fighter Moore was talking about has to do with Father Time not letting the old pug do what he could do back in his youth.Muhammad Ali used to crack me up.After the layoff ,and it was obvious that he'd lost more than a step,he'd sometimes during a fight do his "Ali Shuffle>"It was an exercise that he labored through.He did it to impress the crowd and the judges but he reminded me of Fred Astaire in the 50's trying to dominate his partner swinging her around like he used to do to Ginger Rogers in Top Hat. He didn't have it anymore.

My favorite fighter,Jose Napoles,later in his career would maybe look at film of his opponent sipping a whiskey and then go off to the racetrack.Ali was another film watcher at the end.He'd look at Larry Holmes on tape and say he doesn't move his head and then run out of breath getting in and out of the ring for a sparring session. He was trying to lose weight taking thyroid pills instead of working it off.

I guess you could say,at least on the part for the old fighter,find someting else to do with you life.


Muhammad Ali

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Looking Back On Eddie's Pair

I was watching the video on the other thread of Frazier and Norton sparring together. That was up in Los Angeles and I'm guessing it was late 1970 ,early 1971.Eddie Futch trained both fighters and they had different styles. Frazier was ahead of Norton at that time and Futch would gauge Joe's progress on how he worked in the ring with Kenny.Looking at the film was the first time I'd ever seen them together in the ring.I'd heard of their sessions in Los Angeles but never witnessed any of it.

Norton was coming off a devastating loss to Jose Luis Garcia.it was his first taste of defeat and it was a bad one.Norton at that time was having trouble keeping his wind.He'd get gassed for some reason starting in the middle rounds and would have to hang on to win.But the night Garcia KO'd him Norton was totally spent and as the bell rang to end the 8th round Garcia let go a right hand and nailed Kenny flush on the jaw.He was out cold.

Norton read some self help books and was seeing a hypnotist named Dr. Dean here in San Diego and things seemed to be working themselves straight.There was really no good work for Norton in San Diego as far as decent sparring partners.That's why Frazier was kept up in LA.So followed Norton per Futch's instructions.

Even though Norton seemed to reset himself now his problem would arise from the big punchers in the heavyweight division. Looking at his record he lost 7 times. Ok.In my book he never lost against Ali.Scratch 2 of those losses. He went toe to toe with Larry Holmes and lost a split decision. Shavers,Lyle,and Cooney were big hitters and Nortoin folded.He needed to go back to the hypnotist again.

In finishing I'd say Norton had one of the best jabs in the business.He had the best trainer going at the time in Futch.He trained Kenny and Joe and they beat Ali convincingly.The only genuine loss was when Frazier's face fell apart (thanks to Muhammad's punches)in Manila.And then Carlos Padilla was no help to Joe by letting Ali grab around the back of his head a hundred times.



Joe Frazier

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The Lists Of The Worst(List Makers)

I'm not into making lists nor am a follower of list makers. The United States is obsessed with making lists and of course the manufacturers of these rolls expect you to believe them. But then there are those who don't and they become vehement arguing the validity of these random rolls.People have become engrossed in digging into what is the all time worst of any particular subject. They want to show the world how bad these things or especially people are like it's so god damned important to know.Only the morbid would spend time investigating to find out the "worst" and then compile a list. Making a list of the "worst" world champions is about as stupid as making a list of the "ugliest" Miss Americas.

Now on the flagging boxing history forum it's "The Worst World Champions List."The Walter Mitty's of the world who couldn't hold the jockstraps of one of these fighters they've put on their lists' can't wait to stick out their chests and tell the world how worthless were these fighters' accomplishments. How pathetic.

I worked at a high school once whose football team had the longest losing streak in the state.I'd have these bozos in class who would make fun of the team on a daily basis.It used to get on my nerves.

"Yeah,I see you guys standing atop the bleachers laughing at the team and hoping they lose but at least those guys are out there trying.,"I'd say.

Can you imagine asking Roberto Duran or Sugar Ray Leonard "Make a list of the worst world champions?"They wouldn't even give you the time of day.


Sugar Ray Leonard

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Talking With Jeff At The Bar Inside Champs

"Does Archie Moore's son ever come in here anymore?"I asked Jeff the bartender.
He had just opened up Champs and was restocking the shelves.I liked going in there then.I was nursing a club soda.I knew the place would be empty.At night all the drunks would bother me.It didn't used to be like that but I felt that way now.
"You mean Billy?He used to come in here when Burke was still running the place.That was before i started working here."
"He used to be on the football team at Mesa college and I'd see him at his dad's club for boys in Southeast . I went once to watch a game Mesa and Archie was in the stands watching his son.He didn't get into the game.He seemed sore on the sidelines."
"Did Moore say anything?"
"No.He seemed to take it in stride."
"What were you doing there?"asked Jeff.
"I had a kid I coached in high school on the team.I went to watch him.He never got in the game either."
"Did you sit with Moore?"
"Yeah.There were only a handful of people there. Junior college football never drew a big crowd."
"What did he have to say."
"Nothing much.To tell the truth I don't think anybody recognized him."
Jeff topped off my glass with the gun.
"How come you're drinking club soda?You usually order a beer."
"I know but I'd never finish it.I can't drink like I used to.My system can't handle alcohol anymore."
"Been to any fights lately?"asked Jeff.
"Everything has dried up .Bobby D has nothing going on here.He was working with a promoter in TJ but that's gone because of the Covid."
"ESPN has some fights on Saturday but they aren't vey good.Now these ex fighters are coming back fighting exhibitions."
"I'm not into that."
Do you still go to those conventions in LA?"
"There's one in October.I plan to be there."
"Do they get a good crowd?"asked Jeff.
"Pretty good. There's not much going on as far as those get togethers anymore."
"You see a lot of those old fighters?"
"Yeah.But they're starting to get more punchy each time I go.Nowadays when you bring up an ex fighter's name you paraphrase it with something like 'I saw so and so the other day.He's punchy' ".
"There doesn't seem much that can be done about that,"said Jeff.
"I know some fighters that don't fight anymore that are starting to worry about it."
"Well they know what they're getting themselves into."
"But they think it won't happen to them until it's all over."
"Nothing much will change."
"They can ban the sport for all I care.I don't see what's so glamorous about it anymore.""
"Well, it's a free country,"said Jeff.topping off my glass again.
"Yeah.It's a free country alright."

Archie Moore

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Dumbbells For Dumbbells

I remember seeing a little weight bench with an exercise bar and a few light plates in the corner of Spud Murphy's Gym on Broadway. But I never saw anyone use it. That was the only weights I ever saw in a boxing gym. If anybody equates big muscles with punching power they're crazy.,not to mention how it binds a guy up and makes it that much more difficult to just hold up his arms.Sometimes I look at one of these Mr. Universes and think about how awkward they must throw a punch.Because they can't coordinate the punch with the rest of their body, when it lands they don't have anything behind it.

Guys like Arnold and Ferrigno would be in all these movies where they're kicking the s--t out of everybody but I would have loved to see them in a real fight.They'd wear these marble baggers when they'd pose on stage and because they took so many roids you could see their balls were the size of BB's.All those big muscles and tiny balls and they weren't good for anything.

Weights have become a part of just about all training regimens in all the sports now-even boxing.Deontay Wilder is boasting that he can bench press 300 pounds(he can't) and this "power" will enable him to put Tyson Fury in la la land if they can ever get back in the ring and settle things. When I was a kid weights were only mandatory for weightlifters and bodybuilders. High School and college gyms didn't have a weight room as part of the facility.But today,boxing is just a segment of all the other contact sports that involve one man against another.Judo,karate,wrestling,kung fu,hari kari-you name it-all these martial arts ,along with boxing, are taught by people that don't know much about any of them especially boxing.

Trainers and coaches stayed away from it when I was a kid.. If a fighter wanted to learn how to properly throw a jab he jabbed in front of a mirror or against a bag or with a sparring partner until his arm wanted to fall off.Weights won't help him.If yiou want to be a good weightlifter you lift weights.If you want to be a good fighter you practice boxing techniques.

A lot of people thought that Ken Norton,because of his cut up physique,lifted weights.He never touched a weight.That's the last thing Eddie Futch would have him do.Angelo Dundee swore Mike Tyson lifted weights.He did,but it was very little.I read where he could bench press 200 pounds.Hell, your average middle schooler can do that much.

Of course the old school fighters and trainers would talk about weightlifting like it was as bad as shooting dope. Kiss off a fighter's speed and makes him arm weary.A long time ago there was a guy named Paul Anderson.He was considered the world's strongest man based on what he could lift in the weight room.Well,he turned pro fighter.In his first fight he fought some Italian tomato can and had the guy down three times in the 1st round but roly poly Paul didn't have enough wind to last three rounds and couldn't finish the bout.He fought on a few more times but never raised a pimple..

Just because some dude can pull a 747 down the runway with his teeth doesn't mean he can fight worth a damn in a boxing ring.


Paul Anderson on the left trying to raise a pimple

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A Remakaeble Fighter

That's what Emiie Griffith was -a remarkable fighter.As time passes his name isn't mentioned much when they toss around the question of who were the greatest welterweights.When it comes to saying his name with the topic of greatest middleweights I've never heard his name spoken.

I think some of that has to do with his low percentage of KO's.-only 23 in 112 bouts.But I really doubt that. But he was so damn unbeatable in his prime (which stretched into the 70's)that sometimes I feel it was taken for granted that he was so good a fighter.

I remember when he came out West and beat the two LA local hotshots Armando Muniz and Ernie Lopez.Griffith had too experience for those guys. Whiie they were trying to figure out how to beat him he solved their puzzles without blinking an eye.Some say that he took it easy on Armando in the later rounds. I don't think it made any difference to Griffith he he had recorded the knockout.

Looking back on his career he(like most fighters great and not so)he fought too long.But Emile had a family and an extended one that necessitated being fed on a regular basis.He knew if he could win another middleweight championship against Carlos Monzon he'd be on top again.But Carlos was in his prime then.Emile was slipping.

I asked Griffith at the World Boxing Hall Of Fame ceremony who was the best fighter he faced.He answered Jose Napoles.He didn't elaborate but if you watch the replay Jose turned the tables and gave Emile a boxing lesson.I know Napoles had Benny Paret in mind when he fought Griffith but there wasn't any vendetta behind his punches.When the fight was over Jose put his arm around Griffith and walked back to his corner with him.

At the end Emile had to have his caretaker with him at all times.He was paranoid of every thing.He was very fragile and meant no malice towards anyone. But he was disconnected.I saw some idiot shove a picture in front of him showing him standing over Paret in that fatal round 13 in Madison Square Garden.The moron wanted Griffith to sign it.He did like it was nothing.I often wondered if he even knew what he was signing.The dementia got him like many of the others.He was as great an athlete as anyone in his day.Bring up his name to anyone in the Tyson Fury Fan Club or try catching it on ESPN and you'll wait till hell freezes over before it's said.

Here I am standing between Emile Griffith and Gaspar Ortega. Gaspar lost by KO to Emile in his quest for the welterweight title.

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Emile Griffith Afterthought

When Emile Griffith was paired up with Dick Tiger I thought I was going to see one the great fights between two of the greats.But instead of the fight being something great it turned out to raise a great stink.It was a matchmaker's nightmare. Both fighters were ,looking to counter. They were trying to bait one another into a lead but the fish weren't biting.For ten rounds it looked like they were feeling each other out.If I was a shrink and some patient walked into my office complaining that he's got the insomnia I'd tell him to watch the fight on YouTube. Better than a sleeping pill and not habit forming.

Oh,the rematch.Makes you wonder why they wanted to do this again.

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It's A Wonderful Crummy Life

James "The Heat" Kinchen told me he made over 400 grand fighting.At the end he was parked in his van that was sitting on four ball tires with his wife and kids in the parking lot of an Easy 8 motel in National City with 40 dollars to his name. In 2014 I found Jose Napoles sitting outside his rented house in the back of an alley in a shabby neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez smoking a Cuban stogie waving to the passerby who never even turned turned heads.Before I left I gave him a twenty to buy some more cigars. He called me "Champ" and thanked me.James "Buster" Douglas said on the Howard Stern Show he netted 600 dollars pulling off the upset of the century when he had Mike Tyson on all fours groping for his mouthpiece.So why are these typical stories coming from guys who have the balls to get into a boxing ring to make a living?

First,they trust the shady characters that approach them with the pie in the sky words of praise and that if they hook up with them they'll have the world at their feet and the girls in the sack.not to mention the money they'll have to buy that pink Cadillac.With promises like that the trust that follows is a no brainer.

Don King,when he saw a fighter that made him salivate,would wave the cold hard cash in front of his face to get him to sign on the dotted line.What the pug didn't know ,because the fine print was like some foreign language, was that he had given permission to King to handcuff him as an indentured servant. The fighter's manager?Well,this lightweight just got cut off at the knees by Paul Bunyan.

Remember Ed "Too Tall" Jones the All Pro football player who wanted to try fighting?He gave it a shot.He didn't exactly become the poster child of boxing but he said it was an eye opener.

."I never met so many crummy people in my life,"Ed was quoted. Gee."crummy people."That's like a compliment.

There's nothing more awkward than to watch an ex great get inducted into a fistic hall of fame and he has to be led by the arm to the dais by his son or nephew because if they didn't he'd get lost.Oh,everybody is on their feet and the tears are running down the cheeks but you can be sure no one wants to be like them. How crummy can it get?


Mando Ramos holding his championship belt at a Father/Son banquet at Steven's Steakhouse in LA in 2007.He was gone less than 6 months later.

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The Root Of The Problem

To me this seems pretty obvious.Boxing's biggest problem (aside of the health issues of the fighters afterwards)are its promoters.They're a bad ilk.The team sports like baseball,football,basketball,and hockey have single governing commissions that have their rules, leagues.and championship playoffs.Games are scheduled for the season. They've implemented "challenges" so the plays can be reviewed so they can get it right.The players are even open to negotiations and have unions.Though the players have reps they don't control the sportHowever,.the owners cave into their demands and most of these guys are not worth the money. But even with salary caps it's gotten out of hand.But then there's boxing.

Always a sordid venture any angle you look at it it's gotten worse because all these different boxing commissions are controlled by the promoters who have their personal set of motives. If a manager wants to get his charge into the big fights and its money pot he has to sell his soul to these governing bodies(the big time promoters) or the well runs dry real quick.This policy has gone back since they put boxing gloves on John L.Sullivan..There were the small time local promoters who just couldn't wait to sell off their fighters like a it was a slave auction to the big mucky mucks.Half the time these fighters wouldn't find out who was pulling the strings until this stranger walks into the locker room before fight time and says,"Guess who I am?

But today the small time wheeler dealers are becoming something you read about in books.But also part of the demise are the lack of quality trainers which translates into having a sea of fighters who are asea with boxing. Now the latest scam is to take some ex champ who's in his 50's and hasn't fought in 20 years and put him in their with similar and build it up as the fight of the year.

But alt this wind and smoke can be blamed on the promoters.The guys who talk about boxing like it's a tip toe through the tulips.They recount about the fighter they had on their card who got "30 Dollars And A Cut Eye"like that was something funny.These fighters can't even imagine what's done behind their backs(But Charley I could have been a contender)and then Charley comments,"Well you got some extra money out of it." Like it was nothing.

And then when these pugs hit the wall and there's no one out there to protect them maybe they still have a wife or a son or daughter that will put a blanket on them at night when it gets cold.Meanwhile the promoter is telling the next hopeful that the world awaits him at his feet. Then says,

"By the way I pay 50 dollars for a four round prelim.Take it or leave it."

Too bad most of them just don't walk away.


Don King

[dagosd2000]

Viva Mexico?

Mexico ,unlike most of the world,has two Independence Days.Today,the 16th of September, is the date of Mexico's quest to free themselves from Spanish rule when Padre Hidalgo sounded the" Grito De Dolores" ringing the church bell calling on his countrymen to begin their War Of Independence against those bald headed Spanish who came over from Europe and did a number on the Aztec Indians and any other indigenous tribes that dared to protest the intrusion.

The other day of celebrating new rule is November 20th when Francisco Madero and his crew in 1910 crossed the border from Texas and swept aside the dictator Porfirio Diaz,But September 16th is generally considered the big one.

Mexico will find something to celebrate . They party about anything from eating tacos(The Day Of The Taco)to the battle they LOST against the French at the garrison in Puebla in 1862 that many Americans think is Mexico's Independence Day referred to as Cinco De Mayo..That was when the frogs sent over the Austrian, Maximillian, and made him Emperor to take hold of the country. France claimed Mexico owed them money.They owe everybody money.

Mexico doesn't push back holidays to the weekend like the U.S. does. Friday night,Saturday,and Sunday are already days that give cause to raise a glass of beer and shout "Viva Mexico" .So to put another day on top of another to celebrate twice may sound economical but that would be robbing time away for additional time to live The Vida Loca.If the holiday falls on the middle of the week it stands.

When I worked at that school in Tijuana ,Cetys,every Monday they'd recognize The Day Of The Student.Tuesday was reserved for The Day Of The Teacher.Wednesday it was time to cheer The Day Of the Secretary.And of course Thursday it was time for everybody to join glasses and toast the school.Then came Friday night,Sarturday,and Sunday and the beat kept rollin'.Then everyone has a birthday AND their Saint's Day to take more time off.If you're lucky and get invited to a party you're not out of line to invite your friends and have them mooch for free.

But somehow I've got to work this into boxing.But hold onto your sombreros.Today,when it comes to big name Mexican fighters you would think that somewhere in the republic they'd have a really big card on September 16th.No.Money is the bottom line and to risk a gate in Mexico with the peso weaker than a glass of Near Beer the famous Mexican fighters fight on Independence Day in such blasphemous cities like New York and Las Vegas(at least the name is Spanish).Remember, in 1846 the United States invaded Mexico and in two years had gobbled up half their country.California,New Mexico,Ariziona,and parts of Nevada,Colorado and Texas became territories of Gringolandia.Don't think they've ever forgotten. They have a funny way of teaching it in their schools-they don't.You're just supposed to pick that up on your own.In their mythology some believe that the Aztec gods will come back and get revenge and get Las Vegas back.(Can I sell you the Brooklyn Bridge?)

Aside from Canelo Alvarez's fight against J.C. Chavez Jr.(and that travesty was fought in Las Vegas on Cinco De Mayo)the keystone fights were his two against Triple G.They were both held in our city of sin.Las Vegas,AND on September 16th.

So when it all comes out in the wash instead of shouting of "Viva Mexico" you could grab a line from Elvis and yell,"Viva Las Vegas."Sounds kinda' dumb.

Canelo Alvarez

[dagosd2000]

Who's Left In The Corner

After it's all said and done for most fighters they're lucky if they still have a wife that has stuck with them through the thick and the thin.I'll never forget Marvin Johnson's acceptance speech after being inducted into The World Boxing Hall Of Fame.Practically his entire discourse was devoted to his wife. Without her he said he would have nothing left in life. The highs and the lows that are part of the deal that goes with fighters can be an ordeal the average woman can't deal with.And many don't.Fighting isn't exactly a career that matches up with something you might catch on TV as a role model for the perfect marriage. Ozzie Nelson wasn't a fighter.( BTW:what the hell did that guy do for a living?)

Often the boxing Mrs. has to cope with her husband,the kids,and herself from going over the edge. She tries to not only keep things together but make the home a sane and peaceful sanctuary.The way Marvin was going at it it sounded like if it hadn't had been for his wife he probably wouldn't have been alive to stand at the podium to accept his plaque.

Fighters ,when they are going strong and making gobs of money accented by a championship belt or two, are probably the most easily distracted individuals walking around in street clothes. Everybody wants to hang around them-the moochers,the dope dealers,the girls.He stuffs his coat's pockets with cold hard cash and then after a few nights on the town he comes home hungover and expects the wife to pick up after him.He better have enough in those pockets to pay the rent and put food on the table

This scenario is not across the board with all fighters, but any guy who wants to get into the ring to make a living is one of those "Type A" personalities and has a testosterone level that matches Man O' War's. If he wasn't fighting in the ring he'd be fighting tooth and nail in an alley or find himself in jail battling a case of the clap.

Marvin Johnson's wife must have been quite a prize. Today, he can look back at how his wife stood with him and value that relationship more than any championship belt.To hear him talk about her he's one lucky fellow.


Marvin Johnson at The World Boxing Hall Of Fame ceremony 2008.

[dagosd2000]

R.I.P, Boxing

I wonder what Oscar De La Hoya was thinking when he saw his "replacement"Evander Holyfield get his ass handed to him by Vitor Belfort last night?Maybe getting Covid was mild to what Oscar might have suffered at the hands of Belfort in a boxing match that was contoured to satisfy the fighter not the MIxed Martial Artist. Holyfield who was one one of the greatest of all heavyweights was knocked around on unsteady pins by a guy who only had boxed professionally once.But of course the Holyfield advocates will say their man hadn't fought in 10 years and was 58 years old..But then why was this fiasco made in the first place? It was no exhibition.

So this time the great Hall Of Famer was reduced to a broken down chassis who looked like he didn't belong in the same ring with Belifort. At least when Joe Louis wrestled the fix was in.Mayweather picked his spot and made up the rules.Tyson and Roy Jones did the Rocky movie "Apache Dance." Lots of movement but nothing landed with mean attentions.What you saw last night was a reality show that will put another nail in boxing's coffin.

Boxing is dying a slow death.The backers of MMA will use last night's comedy as an example that fighting has matured into the cage and out of the arena.But boxing's demise will not have a death agony. It will evaporate into thin air. Boxing will have nothing to showcase unless you want to see these old geezer fighters come out of mothballs and fight a guy like Belifort.

Without weekly fight cards there will be no more fighters.Trainers will sink with the ship.The Promoters won't see making any money staging a competitive fight because there will be no competitors worth putting a contract in front of.You can talk about the great fight burgs like New York,Chicago,Philly,Pittsburg,and LA but if you're new to the sport you have to gather your information from some old timer who can still tell a good story without his false teeth falling out.

With the way most fighters wind up broke and punchy if the Hand Of God came down and banned the sport I wouldn't lose any sleep.But it will never happen .All the different commisions,the handful of promoters that are left,the dreamers that think that boxing is not on life support, will pathetically try to inject some adrenalin into the comatose giant.

You could say the next "big" event will be this October 9th when boxing's exemplary division will feature Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder to decide who is the best man.Fury will keep the integrity in line and boast about how many times he's masturbating to keep his testosterone at peak levels.Wilder will sit at the bench press and say he lifted 300 pounds while his spotters do most of the lifting.

But farces like last night and the X Generation's captivation with the UFC will be enough to kick boxing into the abyss.For me the only salvage is to live in the past.The current scene is dead.The glory days of boxing can be read about at your library(really the internet)or you can find some old guy who used to hold a spit bucket at the old arena and he can give you an earful.

October 17th is Rick Farris' West Coast Boxing Hall Of Fame show in LA.I'll make sure to get all the wax out of my ears for that one.


Rick Farris,Armando Muniz,and Bobby Chacon giving each other an earful

[bollocks]

Who's Left In The Corner

After it's all said and done for most fighters they're lucky if they still have a wife that has stuck with them through the thick and the thin.I'll never forget Marvin Johnson's acceptance speech after being inducted into The World Boxing Hall Of Fame.Practically his entire discourse was devoted to his wife. Without her he said he would have nothing left in life. The highs and the lows that are part of the deal that goes with fighters can be an ordeal the average woman can't deal with.And many don't.Fighting isn't exactly a career that matches up with something you might catch on TV as a role model for the perfect marriage. Ozzie Nelson wasn't a fighter.( BTW:what the hell did that guy do for a living?)

Often the boxing Mrs. has to cope with her husband,the kids,and herself from going over the edge. She tries to not only keep things together but make the home a sane and peaceful sanctuary.The way Marvin was going at it it sounded like if it hadn't had been for his wife he probably wouldn't have been alive to stand at the podium to accept his plaque.

Fighters ,when they are going strong and making gobs of money accented by a championship belt or two, are probably the most easily distracted individuals walking around in street clothes. Everybody wants to hang around them-the moochers,the dope dealers,the girls.He stuffs his coat's pockets with cold hard cash and then after a few nights on the town he comes home hungover and expects the wife to pick up after him.He better have enough in those pockets to pay the rent and put food on the table

This scenario is not across the board with all fighters, but any guy who wants to get into the ring to make a living is one of those "Type A" personalities and has a testosterone level that matches Man O' War's. If he wasn't fighting in the ring he'd be fighting tooth and nail in an alley or find himself in jail battling a case of the clap.

Marvin Johnson's wife must have been quite a prize. Today, he can look back at how his wife stood with him and value that relationship more than any championship belt.To hear him talk about her he's one lucky fellow.


Marvin Johnson at The World Boxing Hall Of Fame ceremony 2008.

Marvin looks younger here than he did in 1978

[dagosd2000]

Who's Left In The Corner

After it's all said and done for most fighters they're lucky if they still have a wife that has stuck with them through the thick and the thin.I'll never forget Marvin Johnson's acceptance speech after being inducted into The World Boxing Hall Of Fame.Practically his entire discourse was devoted to his wife. Without her he said he would have nothing left in life. The highs and the lows that are part of the deal that goes with fighters can be an ordeal the average woman can't deal with.And many don't.Fighting isn't exactly a career that matches up with something you might catch on TV as a role model for the perfect marriage. Ozzie Nelson wasn't a fighter.( BTW:what the hell did that guy do for a living?)

Often the boxing Mrs. has to cope with her husband,the kids,and herself from going over the edge. She tries to not only keep things together but make the home a sane and peaceful sanctuary.The way Marvin was going at it it sounded like if it hadn't had been for his wife he probably wouldn't have been alive to stand at the podium to accept his plaque.

Fighters ,when they are going strong and making gobs of money accented by a championship belt or two, are probably the most easily distracted individuals walking around in street clothes. Everybody wants to hang around them-the moochers,the dope dealers,the girls.He stuffs his coat's pockets with cold hard cash and then after a few nights on the town he comes home hungover and expects the wife to pick up after him.He better have enough in those pockets to pay the rent and put food on the table

This scenario is not across the board with all fighters, but any guy who wants to get into the ring to make a living is one of those "Type A" personalities and has a testosterone level that matches Man O' War's. If he wasn't fighting in the ring he'd be fighting tooth and nail in an alley or find himself in jail battling a case of the clap.

Marvin Johnson's wife must have been quite a prize. Today, he can look back at how his wife stood with him and value that relationship more than any championship belt.To hear him talk about her he's one lucky fellow.


Marvin Johnson at The World Boxing Hall Of Fame ceremony 2008.

Marvin looks younger here than he did in 1978

Interesting obsevation.I concur.When he fought he was losing his hair and had that big solar plate on his head and the lamb chop sideburns.Sometimes I thought that appearance made him look old and might have influenced the judges not in his favor..

[dagosd2000]

Hard Sell

Iy's always been a tough go for any fighter under a 135 pounds to make a big hit in the venues back East.At lesat after the big war.When LA arenas like The Olympic and The Forum were showing delayed broadcasts to the rest of the country you'd think that would have whetted the appetites for those Yankees east of the Mississippi to want to have those little fellas strap on the gloves in their neck of the woods. I remember Bobby Chacon got a shot in Philly once,but he never caught on. When fighters like the Sandoval brothers,Frankie Duarte,Danny Lopez,and Alberto Davila were having the crowds on their feet in California the promoters back east balked at bringing them across the divide for a major fight.

When Philly's Jeff Chandler was KO ing what they had to serve up in Atlantic City you'd think if the spin doctors would have made a point of having those brown skinned pugs in sunny California matched up with black Joltin' Jeff. But as logical as it might seem today back then a black guy against a Mexican on the East Coast wasn't much of a draw.

When Philly was packed with the best middleweights in the world they were all black and though they eventually all fought one another,and they put on terrific fights,there was seldom a sell out at the gate.

But Chandler,the 118 pounder from Philadelphia, did win a title.He was on national TV and had a great career.

Today, there's nothing going on anywhere.Canelo will fight in Las Vegas or San Antonio.Fury will land in Vegas or England.For the rest it's a crap shoot. If Bud Crawford and Errol Spence,the two best welterweights in the world who still haven't fought each other, should walk into a room together no one would be asking them for an autograph because their faces haven't been exposed o the public like Conor McGregor's.

Like I said yesterday ,boxing is fading away.No one is gonna' squawk because no one cares.I suggest that any of you out there that weigh 118 pounds and want to be a fighter that log on to one of those on line schools and learn about computers.They even have them east of the Mississippi.

Alberto Davila

[dagosd2000]

Not His Cup Of Tea

One of Dick Enberg's early gigs as a sports announcer was calling the Thursday night fights from the Olympic Auditorium in LA on KCOP channel 13.His color man was matchmaker Mickey Davies.Enberg hadn't any backround with boxing and Davies was anxious for him to acquire a taste for the sport.Enberg,an impeccable dresser and very career driven, always felt to me that he was a fish out of water at the Olympic Auditorium in the heart of old LA amongst the aficianados ,most of them Mexican rooting on their favorites like Mando Ramos and Joey Orbillo..

After a year of sitting next to Davies ,Enberg got an offer to call college basketball with the then top team in the nation,the UCLA Bruins.It was his chance to get out of the dingy confines of the Olympic onto the national stage.During Enberg's last broadcast at the Olympic he was asked by Davies which fighter had left the most positive impression on him.His answer was a four round club fighter,Manny Lugo.

Lugo was the Hispanic answer to Ray "Windmill" White who made a name for himself clowning around in the ring throwing a variety of weird punches from his double jolnted torso.Lugo was a smaller version of White and would draw laughs from the audience delivering two handed jabs and footwork reminiscent of a bunny hopping rabbit.You should have see the look on Davie' face when Enberg said that Lugo was his favorite fighter.

Enberg finished his broadcasting career with doing the play by play for the San Diego Padres in 2017 after a storied career with the LA Angels,NFL Football,Wimbledon tennis,and the major PGA golf tournaments.I remember they did a documentary on him at the end and he took the cameraman on a tour of all the plaques and trophies displayed in his den. He especially was fond of his picture taken with four U.S. presidents-all Republicans:Nixon,Reagan,and the two Bushes. None of those photographs were at the Olympic Auditorium. They were all on the golf course signed of course.In fact Enberg never mentioned his stint at the old arena.

Rick Farris inducted Enberg into the West Coast Boxing Hall OF Fame in 2017. Enberg got up to the dais,made an eloquent speech,then left the building early.Maybe all those ex pugs weren't presidential enough for him.


The former Olympic Auditorium now a Korean church

[dagosd2000]

A Sleazy Side Job

Unless you're Bob Arum with Top Rank or Oscar De La Hoya with Golden Boy a boxing promoter has to have a day job. Bobby DiFilippis here in San Diego put on a lot of the cards but he had interests in investing peoples' money and his restaurant business -a string of steak houses called The Butcher Shop. Doil and his son Danny Millsap had a flower shop downtown.Bob Johnston and his brother Carley managed fighters and had their hand in promoting(it's usually a flip flop endeavor)but their bread and butter was the burlesque house and the bar next door.Across the border Nacho Huizar was also in the restaurant business and at night showcased boxing at the local venues..Boxing is a sideline with these guys.They like the feel and the smell of it.It's a hustler's art,an emotional high.

You can write about boxing and not get hurt but then if you're thinking of making a big score you're dreaming.You can talk about it on TV as a broadcaster but lately what is to talk about?

It all seems Damon Runyon on the surface but it's grimy gig and a lot of people get hurt along the way.Mostly the fighters.They're lucky if they can make some money and then hang on to it but that's usually not the scenario.When they screw up there's not anyone out there that can make a buck with them anymore so they they're taking a mandatory eight with life waiting for the the grim reaper to waive it off.Even if they have a little something at the end the dementia takes it away.

The promoters and managers can walk away and chalk up their losses unless they're one of the ones that have a corner on the market and come out smelling like a rose.But the fighters wind up mortally wounded most of the time.It's their health if nothing else. You look at football and all they talk about is concussions and these guys wear all this protective gear and they've made all these rules that you can't hit a player in the head..(THere you go make rule in boxing that you can't punch a guy in the head)There's no gear for a fighter that's going to prevent a concussion unless it's a football helmet.The standard boxing headgear will protect a guy from cuts but not concussions.

But there's gonna be way a out of this tragedy. Like I said before-boxing is on its way out.No more boxing,no more punchy fighters.

But then you have this MMA stuff.Let's give it a few more years.Then you'll see these guys walking around talking to themselves.The beat(down) goes on.


Bobby DiFilippis local San Diego promoter

[dagosd2000]

Lost Aspirations

"Boxing is the sport to which all the others aspire"-George Foreman

When George Foreman said that when he was fighting I said to myself he was right on the money.You see very few big nnme fighters attending other sports' contests. However, at a championship fight when the camera pans the crowd it's not uncommon to see athletes from the other sports sitting ringside.

Muhammad Ali, when asked, didn't know how many baseball players took the field in a game and didn't seem embarrassed by coming up dry with the answer. In fact he rolled his eyes and laughed when he didn't even hazard a guess.No big deal.He was heavyweight champ of the world,the baddest ass dude on the planet. If they had a contest about how many girls would want to have a make believe roll in the sack with an athlete, the heavyweight champ(In this case Ali)would have had the corner on the Vaseline market. Females may be raised to be sweet and innocent but their libidos fantasize about what it would like to touch pee pees with the toughest stud amongst the male ilk.The heavyweight champion cums to mind

When Ali came on the scene like a tornado shocking the world making the Big Bad Bear Liston quit on his stool like the bully who got what was coming to him, the split tails couldn't get enough of trying to get close to Cassius Clay.But there were some other pretentious jocks who got jealous of the attention. They didn't take to this brash newcomer upstaging them. Jim Brown the best football player in the game and a guy who liked to intimidate the Walter Mitty's of the world wanted to see someone(or maybe himself)shut the new champ's mouth and perhaps dislodge a few of his teeth. When Brown would engage in the back and forth rhetoric with Ali you got the sense he was at least trying sneak in a few verbal punches to let him know that he was on an even level,maybe even a click above,the heavyweight champion of the world. Of course Ali knew what Brown was trying to do because he was about as subtle as a fart in a space suit. There was the time when Ali called him out and said for him to take as many swings at him as he liked.,and to give him a break,he wouldn't strike back.Well,Mr. Touchdown flagged himself out flailing at air like a sissy (to borrow a phrase from Ali)for a minute or two and looked like totally inept and ridiculous. I thought Ali was going to spit in his face when it was over.

It was a time when a fighter was a champ ,or in the mix ,he had earned his respect.I'm afraid that today George Foreman's take on boxing doesn't count for much anymore.If you were to go out on the street and approach a generation millennial and say that boxing is what all the other sports want have equal esteem,you'd get some funny looks and probably get countered with,"How about Mixed Martial Arts?"

Group the so called top heavyeights today-Tyson Fury,Deontay Wilder,Anthony Joshua,OLeksandr Usyk, ,and Andy Ruiz-and you don't get a sense that the athletic world wants to aspire to rub elbows with those guys.But there are probably some women who would like to go a round or two in bed with one of them if they knew who they are.

Muhammad Ali

[dagosd2000]

The Straw

In retrospect I wish Oscar De La Hoya would have been in there with Vitor Belfort. De La Hoya set up the rules for the boxing match (Eight two minute rounds) and he thought he could beat Belfort within those guidelines.But the reason I say I wish that Oscar would have met the man is that if he did get his ass kicked(Who knows?Maybe De La Hoya could have handled the guy)I would have rather seen him go down in flames than Evander Holyfield who subbed for the Covid laced Angelino.

I have the highest respect for the former Marine , Holyfield.I always will,at least when it comes to him performing in the ring.He was the best light heavy and cruiser weight for a time when he decided to get a lift from his weightlifter friend Lee Haney and packed on muscle with the aide of what they were concocting in the lab at the time and eventually won the world heavyweight championship.He didn't fall for Mike Tyson's bluff in the first fight and mopped the floor with him.In the second fight Tyson was the one who was psyched out(He knew he couldn't win) and thought he could again bluff,not Holyfield,but the fans by pretending he was really an animal trying to bite off Holyfield's ear.Nice try you phony.

I don't know why Holyfield continued to fight for so long.Maybe it was all those kids he spawned with his harem.The judges frown on such immorality. Then when he couldn't be "The Real Deal", at least in the boxing ring anymore,at the age of 48, he called it quits.He was never a trash talker He never disparaged an opponent.Even when Tyson went carnivore on him Holyfield said that he asked God how he could turn this fiasco into a positive.He is a man's man in a sport that has turned into a Barnum And Bailey world of mega hype.And then the other day to see him in the ring with this Belifort. I couldn't even recognize him in his corner.You could see that something was on his mind.Whether he had made the right decision taking on this fight at the last minute at 58 years of age. Your brain is not wired up to take shots to the head anymore when you're 58.

When the bell rang I don't think either fighter knew what to expect.Holyfield pawed a jab. Belifort threw a counter that landed somewhere without any oomph and down went Evander .He looked surprised when ne got to his feet.I don't even think he felt the blow.But that's what happens when you're 58 years old. You can't train your brain to be tough and function properly in a boxing match.

The referee gave Holyfield the look like, "What's up?" Holyfield didn't have the eye of the tiger. When the ref signaled it over,Evander gave a little nod of approval. He knew that he had made a mistake.It was one of the saddest moments I'd ever seen in boxing.This great fighter reduced to a shell.

If one of these millennial MMA cheerleaders would have seen this they probably had never heard of Evander Holyfield.It would have validated that the cage fighter is better than the ring battler. For me it was the straw that broke the camel's back. If this is what boxing is offering the fan,then the sport has had it.Old ex champs blubbering around the canvas. This dog and pony show is overtaking the legit fights as far as popularity goes.

But in a couple of weeks you'll have Fury and Wilder back at it.That will be like throwing a life preserver to some guy caught in the eye of a hurricane.

Evander Holyfield