Classic American West Coast Boxing

[dagosd2000]

He Was Once Number 7

He wasn't even fighting in the main the event.The year was 1970.The main event was between Romeo Anaya and Cesar Deciga. Baby Vasquez was on the undercard.By that time he must have had over 200 fights.But was him that I wanted to see.They put the fight in the Jai Alai Palace.

Boxing in Mexico back then was a lot more intense than it is now.Today,Mexico relishes in Canelo and that's about as far as it goes. Back then ,when Baby Vasquez was fighting, he was as well known as any Mexican fighter,and there were a slew of them.

Baby Vasquez fought in every fight venue worth mentioning in Mexico. He traveled around and was mostly an "opponent" for the local heroes.He did war with Frankie Ryff in Madison Square Garden.He fought in pre Castro Cuba.He knocked off Paolo Rosi in Miami.He went into a hornet's nest and stood face to face with a hot local prospect named Carlos Hernandez.He was no stranger to Sugar Ramos,Eddie Perkins,and Jose Napoles.He never got a title shot.In 1957 Ring Magazine listed him a the 7th best lightweight in the world.

I remember seeing the replay on the Mexican channel of Baby Vasquez taking on the Cuban migrant Napoles.Mantequilla at the time was KO ing Mexico's best at 135 pounds.Then he had to deal with Vasquez. You see Baby Vasquez was one of those "slippery" types. He didn't have the thunder in his blows. He was a cutie,but not with the blazing speed of a Roy Jones or even an Ali.Closer to a Pretty Boy when presenting what he had to offer.Like he could see the punches coming beforehand so it seemed and he'd slip his head and they would swish by his head ,or he'd swat them away with his gloves taking away the oomph.Jose won the decision but he'd had enough of the Baby.

Vasquez fought to make a buck and like Joey Maxim's philosophy didn't want to trade and get on the receiving end more than necessary. Baby would fight ,win lose or draw,and then pack his bag and you could see him do an encore two weeks later in some other pueblo in the republic.

The night I saw him fight I can't even remember who the other guy was. He toyed with the guy.,I think it was set up that way.Carry the kid and get a workout in.

Baby Vasquez could have made weight in his street clothes. He was one of the most comfortable fighters I ever saw in the ring.He was in no hurry.He knew where he stood.But looking back on it I would have liked to have seen him try Joe Brown or Carlos Ortiz when they were on top pf the ladder.Let's face it.He was once ranked number 7 by Ring Magazine.


Baby Vasquez

[dagosd2000]

Law And Disorder

It wasn't enough that four years ago Julio Cesar's brother was killed by bandits in his house in Sinaloa in front of his family. It was a robbery that went sour.He ran a clinic in Sinaloa for people dealing with substance abuse.The robbers turned to killers when they demanded more money from Chavez's brother and he couldn't come up with more so they shot him three times in the head.Now Chavez,who resides in Tijuana,says that the investigation has stonewalled and now he is getting death threats including threats of kidnapping his wife and children.He reported this to the municipal police in the border city but they give him blank looks.Chavez says that Mexico has turned into a country without honest law enforcement. That description also goes for the judicial and executive branches of government.

We here in America are stressed out to the max with Covid and now the emergence of the variants.People are quitting their jobs and not filling vacant positions because they are stressed about getting the disease or they just can't cope with all the problems associated with it. In Mexico there are millions of people that would give anything to come to America and work for minimum wage but they can't cross the line because they are undocumented. The migrants who are stuck along the fence in Tijuana say that they have a "dream." They live in tents and wait for something to happen. Nothing is gong to happen unless they can come up with a few thousand dollars and risk being snuck across by some smuggler who could give rat's ass about them if they die in the desert.

Living in San Diego I can see the homeless population growing in leaps and bounds.Most of the homeless are in their 20's,30's,and 40's. They still have two arms and two legs. Most are on some kind of government dole and addicted to drugs and alcohol. The government gives them debit cards and Medicaid. I've never see an Hispanic homeless person(Oh,I know there has to be some but I've never seen one).If people here are quitting their jobs and not wanting to find work that's available there's a workforce waiting along the fence in TJ.

Don't think that Covid isn't down there south of the border..The germs don't need to have papers.No law and order.No jobs, or jobs that pay 60 dollars a week for 60 hours of labor.

Today is Christmas.Did you get your present ?Julio Cesar Chavez is still waiting for the police to find his brother's killers.I wonder if he still has a dream?


Julio Cesar Chavez

[dagosd2000]

Not As Far As I Thought

I had my eye on Rodolfo "Gato" Gonzalez,the fighter;not the "other" "Gato" Gonzalez the fighter who stole his nickname later.I'm talking about the "Gato" who demolished "Chango" Carmona to win the WBC lightweight title.

I remember first seeing "Gato" on the TV fighting a milieu of Southland lightweights at various venues,mostly the Olympic Auditorium.He had a beautiful style. His uncle was Jose Becerra,one of the best bantamweights of all time. His cousin,Efren "Alacran" Torres, likewise one of the top flyweights to lace on the gloves. Both world champs,They schooled their "pariente" in the finer points of this dangerous sport.

They taught him how to throw the traditional left hook,the "gancho"("Gato gives most of that credit to Tio Jose)but included in his attack were slick combinations wrapped in a package of nimble footwork and smart counterpunching.He reminded me an awful lot of another "smoothie,"Jose Napoles.

Out of the gate they threw "Gato" into the fire.With no amateur experience he was inside the squared circle with novices like himself.guys that had a decade on him,stiffs,and fighters that weren't that bad. He set some kind of record of consecutive KO's but that was just for openers.There were similar stories of Mexican bombers like Ricardo Moreno,,Battling Torres,and "El Puas." He 'd get his shot someday soon. Jackie McCoy handled him so he was with the right guy.

Being Mexican(national or Chicano) made you a draw in the Southland if you had the goods. It looked like "Gato" was soon to see a Laguna or a Ramos (nicknamed "Mando") for all the marbles.But "Gato" hit a snag.The road bump had a name-a ,local Southland fighter named Bobby Valdez."Gato" couldn't beat this guy in three tries

It was during this bad stretch that "Gato" said he was off his feed.He went to a doctor and they told him he had liver cancer.He was probably not going to beat it. But then (according to "Gato") he prayed to the Virgin Of Guadalupe and the cancer went away.With a second chance at life "Gato" was on his way in a comeback.

He was cruising along against that similar menu of Southland talent but was stopped on a cut by "KId Pambele" Both boys were bleeding from their orbs but the ring doc thought "Gato's" gash was more serious.But eight fights later,after an impressive win over Ruban Navarro,"Gato" was in the LA Sports Arena to fight "Chango" Carmona who had upset Mando Ramos to win the WBC lightweight championship.

It needs to be said that Ramos,the night prior to losing to Carmona,was sleeping it off in the LA County Jail drunk tank after an of orgy of doing drugs mixed with the hard stuff. Maybe Carmona will never make it into the Hall Of Fame,but he was wearing the belt.And "Gato" swatted it off him like a fly resting on a piece of raw hamburger.After that win I thought "Gato" would stay on top for quite some time.

"Gato" defended against Navarro and the Italian Puddu with little problem.The other lightweight champ was Duran and he was getting most of ink and time on the tube. But sooner or later they'd have to come together."Gato" told me that Roberto's people offered but that sum was a pittance so Jackie McCoy inked him with Ishimatsu in Japan.I figured "Gato" would win then would come Duran.

But then "Gato" hit the wall. Watching the fight he looked tired and drained.,Ishimatsu ,typical of Japanese fighters,was in very good shape. He wore "Gato" down and put him on the seat of his pants.There was a rematch but it was carbon copy.It was "Gato's" last fight.

Me and "Gato" talk a lot on the phone.Once in awhile we go to lunch. I see him at the LA fight banquets. He doesn't communicate with any other fighters from his era nor what's out there now. He bought his mother a house in Tijuana that his bvrother now lives in. "Gato" had a bar in the Coahuila but he sold it. He owned a gym in Southeast San Diego but he could never find a fighter in there worth mentioning.He lives in Oceanside which is 30 miles north of San Diego with his longtime partner Barbara.His son lives in Arizona.

I thought "Gato" was going to stay up there for awhile. I don't know if he had enough in him to beat Duran.After losing to Ishimatsu Roberto dominated him in a unification.

There's not much more I have to add.Maybe the next time we get on the phone or go to lunch I'll think of something to ask him.



"Gato" at my place enjoying my wife's carne asada(please no onions!)

[goose 5]

Hi Roger: I'd like to know Gato's thoughts on same day weigh-ins versus day before weigh-ins.

[dagosd2000]

Hi Roger: I'd like to know Gato's thoughts on same day weigh-ins versus day before weigh-ins.

Next time we talk I'll ask him.

[dagosd2000]

Mental Health

So much is made of mental health today in America it's gotten to the point that if someone goes off his rocker(has a breakdown or a meltdown)the episode is dealt with with kid gloves. You can't say anything rash or insensitive. Gymnast Simone Biles cops out of further Olympic competition because she said the stress overwhelmed her.However,she returned to perform a final event and finished 3rd.But it was the weight of her emotional stress that caused her short hiatus from the competition.If anyone had criticized her of just not being to handle the pressure would have been crucified.

You can blame this shift in attitude on what the world's going through with Covid.It was all supposed to be over a long time ago but it looks like it's going to lurk over your heads like the Angel Of Death for who knows how long.Happy New Year didn't seem so happy last Saturday. it was brace yourself for another bout with Covid and its variants.But if you want to do a meltdown you've got an ace up your sleeve.You can blame your problems on your mental health caused by this virus that is out of control,or is it?

This Antonio Brown who quit the team in the middle of the game Sunday is catching it from all sides,but the underlying factor is that he's got mental health issues. Ok.He walked off the field.He didn't kill anybody. I would think a serial killer has more mental health problems than Antonio Brown. But there are people out there that have pity on a serial killer.He WAS the victim.

For the working stiff today who's got bills up the ass and is trying to put food on the table for his family I don't think he gives a rat's ass about guys making millions of dollars walking off a football field. Ask him what they think about a serial killer.

Now I want to get to talking about boxing icon Mike Tyson.Mike is probably more popular now than ever even in the beginning when he was keeping his mouth shut knocking out guys like it was nothin'.As he grew older(after being exposed by Buster Douglas) he was as loose a cannon as you could fire. But ironically his rep got bigger like his fan base. Mike Tyson sounded off like a maniac and became a poster child for the sport of boxing. But boxing is dying an agonizing death. Maybe it has something to do with fighters like Tyson who shoot their mouths off. But Mike is an aberration.Most pugs aren't like Mike.They're just not as good as the boys in the past that's all..

Antonio Brown? He does the bizarre and you can't stop talking about his mental problems. Blame it on Covid? How about Mike? He was vulgar before Covid.But now you can be mean and nasty and you've got mental problems. Stress is the National Pastime. Covid did it.

With Mike Tyson and Antonio Brown ,if you were to ask them,they'd tell you that YOU have mental problems. Not them.I don't give a damn about Mike Tyson,Antonio Brown,or Simone Biles. Maybe Darwin had it right.Only the string survive. I guess Tyson,Brown,and Biles are surviving better than ever. As for serial killers?F--k them.


Mike Tyson showing us that he has mental problems

[geoffreysadao]

Hi Roger,
I work in the field of mental health. There are those individuals who truly struggle with real mental health issues and have real diagnoses (Schizophrenia, Bipolar DSO, Schizoaffective DSO, Major Depression with Psychotic Features, PTSD, etc.).
However, many people just lack sound coping skills. As you know, lots of individuals aren't raised with stable, responsible adults around them, and environmental factors prove to be detrimental as well. A person can be raised by adults who are financially poor but stable and solid in other ways. I think of my mother who, like all Japanese residing on the West Coast, was incarcerated in Tule Lake Segregation Center from ages 8-12. My grandparents were poor but very solid. My Mom is now 87 years old and strong as can be.
On a totally different subject, what are your thoughts on Rudy Robles. For a time, he was a real good, worldclass pro. I've read that the decision that he lost against Rodrigo Valdez in Cartegena was close. Is Robles still alive today? If so, how is he doing?
Thank You,
Geoffrey

[dagosd2000]

Hi Roger,
I work in the field of mental health. There are those individuals who truly struggle with real mental health issues and have real diagnoses (Schizophrenia, Bipolar DSO, Schizoaffective DSO, Major Depression with Psychotic Features, PTSD, etc.).
However, many people just lack sound coping skills. As you know, lots of individuals aren't raised with stable, responsible adults around them, and environmental factors prove to be detrimental as well. A person can be raised by adults who are financially poor but stable and solid in other ways. I think of my mother who, like all Japanese residing on the West Coast, was incarcerated in Tule Lake Segregation Center from ages 8-12. My grandparents were poor but very solid. My Mom is now 87 years old and strong as can be.
On a totally different subject, what are your thoughts on Rudy Robles. For a time, he was a real good, worldclass pro. I've read that the decision that he lost against Rodrigo Valdez in Cartegena was close. Is Robles still alive today? If so, how is he doing?
Thank You,
Geoffrey

Geoff,Rudy Robles was,like you say,"a real good" fighter,but not a "world class" pro.I saw him fight local San Diego favorite Ronnie Wilson the second time around up at the Olympic Auditorium winning a decision.Ronnie was beginning to slip by then and Rudy remained undefeated. I've also heard that Robles got shafted in Cartagena.It was a hell of a risk going down there to fight Valdes.Robles' only chance was to have KO'd Valdes but he wasn't a great puncher.After that loss his career took a slow descent into oblivion becoming a stepping stone. I heard that he was battling substance abuse while in this final stage.I don't know if he is still living.

What you had to say about mental health is interesting.What you had to say about people lacking "coping skills" is also food for thought.I've known people who have been raised in houses with unstable adults but for some reason have come through with flying colors.I coached future all pro football Hall Of Famer Tyrell Davis in an all star game in San Diego. His mother was out of the picture and his father was in and out of jail.He was in a gang.When his father was at home Tyrell told me that he was all messed up on drugs and alcohol and would get out his gun and start shooting at Tyrell and his brothers.Tyrell told me this without any animosity in his voice. He kind of laughed about it.Tyrell was one of the most grounded persons I ever encountered.He went on to make the all All County Team ,earn a scholarship to the University of Georgia,and then on to the Denver Broncos leading them ,with John Elway, to two Super Bowl Championships.Tyrell's brothers didn't follow his lead and were constantly in trouble with the law.

My neighbors when I was kid were Japanese Nisseis. Their four boys I would pal around with on a daily basis..Their parents were also interned in a camp. That's where they met,later married,and then raised a family. The father owned a small tuna boat,but later he opened a bar in downtown San Diego.He wasn't a saint by any means but his wife was a good mother and very caring, and I might add, very tolerant of her husband's errors.

I was a teacher for 25 years in the Sweetwater Union School District.Many of the teachers I knew had kids that were constantly screwing up.The most well balanced kids I knew were the children of the custodians(all Mexicans). I'd have to say I wasn't a good role model for my kids but they turned out to be good adults,marrying,and raising good kids. My wife was not educated having to work when she was younger to help support her family in Mexico.She was the stable one.I was still growing up.

BTW.I used to work at the various jails in San Diego in charge of structural pest control.I never once saw a inmate there who was Japanese.In the end everyone is responsible for their own mental health.That's a hell of a note. Who said "He who conquers himself has won life's greatest victory?"

[geoffreysadao]

Hi Roger,
Without doubt, certain individuals are exceptional, and as you cited, grounded despite unfavorable circumstances. I believe that mentoring and role modeling are crucial components to positive development, and in certain instances, can mitigate negative factors.
What happened to my family and other folks of Japanese descent was a blatant violation of constitutional and civil rights stemming from wartime hysteria. Racism/prejudice against Asians on the West Coast started against the Chinese during the Gold Rush and never abated. Also, the Japanese fascist, military government caused unprecedented suffering for their Asian neighbors and their own kin in the USA.
BTW, do you remember a fighter named Rudy Barro? Tough, tough guy who was better than his record indicated. Beat Jimmy Heair, Andy Price, Adolfo Viruet among others. He and Victor Abraham split a couple of fights. I'm always fascinated by these forgotten fighters.
I appreciate our correspondence.
Thanks Again,
Geoffrey

[dagosd2000]

Hi Roger,
Without doubt, certain individuals are exceptional, and as you cited, grounded despite unfavorable circumstances. I believe that mentoring and role modeling are crucial components to positive development, and in certain instances, can mitigate negative factors.
What happened to my family and other folks of Japanese descent was a blatant violation of constitutional and civil rights stemming from wartime hysteria. Racism/prejudice against Asians on the West Coast started against the Chinese during the Gold Rush and never abated. Also, the Japanese fascist, military government caused unprecedented suffering for their Asian neighbors and their own kin in the USA.
BTW, do you remember a fighter named Rudy Barro? Tough, tough guy who was better than his record indicated. Beat Jimmy Heair, Andy Price, Adolfo Viruet among others. He and Victor Abraham split a couple of fights. I'm always fascinated by these forgotten fighters.
I appreciate our correspondence.
Thanks Again,
Geoffrey

Geoff
You're right about Barro being "tough." That was his main attribute.I saw him on TV a couple of times fighting at the Olympic.Not blessed with any particular strength except that he had plenty of guts.I didn't see the fight when he KO'd the previously undefeated Andy Price, That was quite an upset.

You know I would sometimes talk with my Nissei neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Takasugi. They were both interned but they never sounded bitter about it nor complained they were owed something.They thought the Japanese mainlanders in WW II were crazy and that they would have done even worse to Americans(and they certainly did) if they were captured.How about the Bataan Death March? The Americans that died in POW camps in Germany were a 5% rate.In Japan that rate for Americans was over 30%.The Takasugis just wanted to get on with their lives raising a family and taking it one day at a time living happily. They were very patriotic and loved the USA. They thought of themselves as Americans first. All their four boys graduated from college and two of them made a career in the military. I played Little League with all four of them.

I worked with another Nissei when I was with the County Of San Diego named Satoshi Kida.He was also interned during the war.That's were he also met his future wife.He owned a strawberry field in the San Diego's back country.After giving up farming he went to work for the County Agricultutre Department. That's where I got to know him. He told me he understood at the time why the government made that move to round up the Nisseis and intern them.He hated the nation of Japan for starting the war with a sneak attack like that and knew there would be fallout on him and other Nisseis.Conservative in his politics,he considered himself ,like the Takasugis, an American first.

He told me a funny story.When the government was rounding up the Nisseis to put in the camps there was a Mexican fieldworker who was working on his farm. The Mexican was a younger guy and said he had nowhere to go so he asked the soldiers if he could go along to the internment camp with the others.They said OK.

[geoffreysadao]

Good Morning Roger,
I only got to see Barro beat Abraham on TV on a very close decision in the late 70's. Yaqui Lopez commented upon Barro's toughness and tenacity. They used to show the fights from the Olympic Auditorium on the UHF channel. That's how I first became familiar with fighters like Barro, Juan "Kid" Meza, Alberto Sandoval, Eddie Logan, Fidel Fraijo, etc. Fraijo actually came from Cloverdale in Sonoma Co.
I find it fascinating how Stockton, CA used to be like the Filipino capital of the West Coast, and how battlers like Barro, Fel Clemente, Johnny Sato and Franco Terragoza made it their homebase. On a given day, these fighters were good enough to upset highly ranked contenders and even champions.
I feel very strongly that one can be a proud American and still recognize that the Government has committed wrongs. Yes, the Japanese fascist military Government was a menace both to their immediate neighbors and beyond, and their attack started U.S.'s entry into WWII. My wife's grandfather, who was Mexican and Navajo, survived the Bataan Death March. However, incarcerating an entire ethnic group of people without due process resulting in loss of livelihood and property is a scar on our national record. Many Japanese American activists fought long and hard for reparations not just for our community, but to help ensure that such a wrong isn't repeated. There's a real range in political perspectives in the Japanese-American community. Most of the Nisei people who I knew were staunch Democrats who strongly supported Civil Rights. Some of their children (Sanseis) were heavily involved in the San Francisco State University Student Strike of the late 1960's.
Back to the boxing theme, you have written several times about your interactions with Denny Moyer in San Diego towards the end of his long career. Talk about toughness and skill! I assume that this was at Sid Flaherty's training headquarters. Did Moyer demonstrate any signs of cognitive decline (speech, temperment, judgment, etc.) at that time? Around 2000, I read in Ring Magazine how he was building his dream home near Portland. Just several years later, he is in a nursing home and unable to care for himself. Apparently, in some cases, the effects of repeated TBI don't become incapacitating until years later.
Thank you again, Roger, for your responses.
Geoffrey

[dagosd2000]

Good Morning Roger,
I only got to see Barro beat Abraham on TV on a very close decision in the late 70's. Yaqui Lopez commented upon Barro's toughness and tenacity. They used to show the fights from the Olympic Auditorium on the UHF channel. That's how I first became familiar with fighters like Barro, Juan "Kid" Meza, Alberto Sandoval, Eddie Logan, Fidel Fraijo, etc. Fraijo actually came from Cloverdale in Sonoma Co.
I find it fascinating how Stockton, CA used to be like the Filipino capital of the West Coast, and how battlers like Barro, Fel Clemente, Johnny Sato and Franco Terragoza made it their homebase. On a given day, these fighters were good enough to upset highly ranked contenders and even champions.
I feel very strongly that one can be a proud American and still recognize that the Government has committed wrongs. Yes, the Japanese fascist military Government was a menace both to their immediate neighbors and beyond, and their attack started U.S.'s entry into WWII. My wife's grandfather, who was Mexican and Navajo, survived the Bataan Death March. However, incarcerating an entire ethnic group of people without due process resulting in loss of livelihood and property is a scar on our national record. Many Japanese American activists fought long and hard for reparations not just for our community, but to help ensure that such a wrong isn't repeated. There's a real range in political perspectives in the Japanese-American community. Most of the Nisei people who I knew were staunch Democrats who strongly supported Civil Rights. Some of their children (Sanseis) were heavily involved in the San Francisco State University Student Strike of the late 1960's.
Back to the boxing theme, you have written several times about your interactions with Denny Moyer in San Diego towards the end of his long career. Talk about toughness and skill! I assume that this was at Sid Flaherty's training headquarters. Did Moyer demonstrate any signs of cognitive decline (speech, temperment, judgment, etc.) at that time? Around 2000, I read in Ring Magazine how he was building his dream home near Portland. Just several years later, he is in a nursing home and unable to care for himself. Apparently, in some cases, the effects of repeated TBI don't become incapacitating until years later.
Thank you again, Roger, for your responses.
Geoffrey

Geoff
I often think back about Moyer and his stablemate Ronnie Wilson. I knew both at the end of their careers.Flaherty had a training facility with his partner Danny Rodriguez located in the foothills of San Diego but Moyer spent most of his time training at the Coliseum in downtown. I never picked up on anything that showed me that he was in any initial stages of dementia.From the fighters I know that had it(and have it),it hit them at first slowly,then accelerated.I know Moyer went back tp Portland and opened a bar (which is typical of a lot of ex pugs)There's an excellent documentary on You Tube produced by the Moyer family on dementia,particulary focusing on the Denny and his brother Phil.

Look Geoff,after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor there was evidence that there were people in the Japanese community on Oahu that spied on the U.S. military installations. After Pearl Harbor there was a panic that the Japanese were going to soon invade the West Coast.To take steps the government (supervised by Earl Warren) interned Nisei Japanese on the West CoastEven FDR's very liberal wife Eleanor approved of the move(though later she softened and wanted to bring a Nisei family into the White House.).I take it that most of your contact with the Japanese community was in Northern California.Students striking at San Francisco State for Civil Rights?That's a gimme. Yes, it was wrong,but that's looking at it retrospectively. The NIsei's fought for reparations and got them deservedly.Congressman and Congressional Medal Of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye who served in the 442nd Army Regiment in Europe exemplified the dignity of the Japanese/American community.He got it right. But unfortunately there aren't enough people in our country like him to keep things on the up and up. Churchill once said,"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have tried."

Take care, Roger

[geoffreysadao]

I saw the documentary titled "After the Last Round" which showed Denny and Phil Moyer. It was good, but sobering, to say the very least. Even Jerry Quarry was sounding good as a commentator in the late 70's. He was articulate and charismatic. Around '81, they gave him cognitive tests, and he failed. Then, there was the comeback in '83 and the shredding he took against James Williams in Bakersfield. Also, there was the debacle in Colorado in '92.
Of course, Senator Inouye is gone as are most of his contemporaries. In many ways, they were the bedrock of the J.A. community. I was raised in the East Bay, and as kids, we were enrolled in the Asian studies curriculum (early 1970s). Very different perspective from some of the more conservative Japanese-Americans who resided in Southern Cal. There were some hardcore activists who influenced the curriculum.
You might find it interesting that there was one activist (Richard Aoki) who became close with Huey Newton and Panthers. Later, it was found out that he was informant for the FBI.
Yuri Kochiyama was a S. Cal born Nisei who became a lifelong leftist residing in Harlem. She was present when Malcolm X was gunned down.
Growing up in the East Bay (Berkeley and Oakland) at that time was really something. Lots of creativity, but drugs and mental illness ruined many of my peers. I feel truly fortunate to have survived and be able to work as a licensed social worker. While I have my strong ideals, I'm probably more pragmatic with my positions on many matters .
I like reading up on some of the early Asian American boxers. Here in Sacramento, there was a bantam/feather named George Washington Lee. His father was Chinese and mother was Mexican. As they say, he "fought them all" (Pete Herman, Young Corbett III, Pancho Villa, Frankie Klick, etc). Amazingly, he lived to be like 92 years old.
Take care, Sir.
Geoffrey

[dagosd2000]

The Way Of The World

When Sid Flaherty summoned Denny Moyer to come down to San Diego from Portland ,Oregon to keep an eye on Ronnie Wilson and then to continue his career to its bitter end, I got excited.Here was a guy who fought everybody in an era of welterweights and middleweights that was unequaled in the history of boxing. At one time he could handle himself with the best of the best and had the respect of his peers. There's a film clip of Moyer in the ring getting his hand raised after decisioning Sugar Ray Robinson ,and the Sugar Man walking to Denny's corner to shake his hand. Moyer was all smiles.He could always say that he beat Ray Robinson.

When Moyer arrived in San Diego he kept mostly to himself, palling around with Ronnie Wilson mostly.But Sid Flaherty's purpose of having Moyer setting a good example for Wilson backfired.Ronnie was growing more fond of alcohol and it was obvious that Denny could show him a few new tricks. Like I've related before I went out a few times with these two to explore the local watering holes around the old Coliseum.They both had part time jobs at the Goodyear tire shop that was a stone's throw away from the arena and after work we'd be rarin' to go. Back then my ulterior motive was to tell everyone afterwards that I went out drinking with Denny Moyer.Big deal.

Sometimes I'd think that in the scheme of things that Moyer was as good an athlete as let's say Steve Garvey who occupied 1st base for the Dodgers up in LA.But Moyer never got an iota of the ink from the scribes like the All American boy, Steve.I'd watch Moyer work out in the gym very business like. He didn't need Sid Flaherty nor his soulmate Danny Rodriguez to tell him anything about how to box.Moyer was in the gym like clockwork just about everyday.He had his methods-routines he could say in his sleep.After working out he'd walk back to the smelly old locker room with the leaky shower heads and the mold growing on the walls. He'd be back the next day, but between workouts he'd make sure that he'd find some place to bend his elbow-usually accompanied by his stablemate ,Ronnie.

Denny never talked too much except after he had a few drinks in him.Then you had to watch yourself because,like many figfhters who were quiet and humble on the outside,he would morph into a guy with a chip on his shouider.That's when I left him to himself.Wilson too.

When Moyer would open up he didn't talk boxing much. He'd been fighting for 15 years and had climbed through the ropes over a hundred times.It was like asking John Gotti to watch The Godfather movie.Been there.Done that.As long as Flaherty could get him fights and he was the legal age to drink he was satisfied. Happy? I don't know. I'll leave it as "satisfied."

I never saw Denny's wife nor head him talk about her.I never saw his brother Phil. He was still up in Portland.HIs father would watch him fight.He was the old school guy who came from a "fighting family" and introduced(more like forced) Denny to take up the"Sweet Science."

I didn't see Moyer anymore after he hung up his gloves. I know he went back to his hometown. When I read in the papers that he was living in a nursing home and then passed away from dementia it came as a shock. It shouldn't have, but it did. Whoever called boxing a "Sweet Science" must have been kidding.


Denny Moyer

[geoffreysadao]

Roger,
Even as a young boxing enthusiast (roughly age 16), I knew that Moyer had a long and punishing boxing career. I read Fraser Scott's book titled "Weigh In," and he gave a short description of Moyer's demeanor and a period of his life circa '69-'70. Looking at a side glance view of his mug from a photo in Ring Magazine of him fighting Monzon for the title in '72, I was somewhat aghast at the amount of scar tissue that he he had on his brow. When I further researched his career ('57-'75), I was astounded by the fighters that he fought and beat. HIs comeback in Nevada in the early 70's was pretty damn remarkable culminating with winning the NABF Middle Title and defending it a couple of times. Thinking about Moyer around 1983, I had this feeling that he might be incapacitated some time soon. Hell, I even figured that he might be bedridden in his early 40's. I was really relieved to read in Ring around 2000 that he was building his dream house in Oregon. I thought, "He dodged a bullet." Later, I read about him living in a nursing home and watched "After the Last Round," and the hard truth was revealed.
First, I thought accusingly of his manager, Sid Flaherty. However, I later read how Flaherty actually tried to help fighters in his stable prepare financially for their lives after their boxing careers ended. Full-time jobs and a contributing to a retirement trust fund were some of Flaherty's requirements. However, he didn't put into consideration tax liabilities, and the fact that you can't control a grown man like a kid or like a Sergeant over his platoon. In Oakland, I was briefly acquainted with Maurice Harper who was a top 5 welterweight contender in the mid 1950's and part of Flaherty's stable in San Francisco. Harper ended up committing numerous crimes, did time in State prison, and as rumor had it at the gym were he hung out, an addition to heroin. At that time in the late 1980's, it appeared that Harper was being assisted and supported somewhat by Frank Pittman who was a boxing manager and the gym owner.
There's no avoiding the hard fact that boxing is a punishing and brutal sport, and that most competitors are at-risk of paying a terrible price at some time in their lives.
Again, I so much appreciate you sharing your perspectives and rich experiences.
Have an awesome day.
Geoffrey

[dagosd2000]

Roger,
Even as a young boxing enthusiast (roughly age 16), I knew that Moyer had a long and punishing boxing career. I read Fraser Scott's book titled "Weigh In," and he gave a short description of Moyer's demeanor and a period of his life circa '69-'70. Looking at a side glance view of his mug from a photo in Ring Magazine of him fighting Monzon for the title in '72, I was somewhat aghast at the amount of scar tissue that he he had on his brow. When I further researched his career ('57-'75), I was astounded by the fighters that he fought and beat. HIs comeback in Nevada in the early 70's was pretty damn remarkable culminating with winning the NABF Middle Title and defending it a couple of times. Thinking about Moyer around 1983, I had this feeling that he might be incapacitated some time soon. Hell, I even figured that he might be bedridden in his early 40's. I was really relieved to read in Ring around 2000 that he was building his dream house in Oregon. I thought, "He dodged a bullet." Later, I read about him living in a nursing home and watched "After the Last Round," and the hard truth was revealed.
First, I thought accusingly of his manager, Sid Flaherty. However, I later read how Flaherty actually tried to help fighters in his stable prepare financially for their lives after their boxing careers ended. Full-time jobs and a contributing to a retirement trust fund were some of Flaherty's requirements. However, he didn't put into consideration tax liabilities, and the fact that you can't control a grown man like a kid or like a Sergeant over his platoon. In Oakland, I was briefly acquainted with Maurice Harper who was a top 5 welterweight contender in the mid 1950's and part of Flaherty's stable in San Francisco. Harper ended up committing numerous crimes, did time in State prison, and as rumor had it at the gym were he hung out, an addition to heroin. At that time in the late 1980's, it appeared that Harper was being assisted and supported somewhat by Frank Pittman who was a boxing manager and the gym owner.
There's no avoiding the hard fact that boxing is a punishing and brutal sport, and that most competitors are at-risk of paying a terrible price at some time in their lives.
Again, I so much appreciate you sharing your perspectives and rich experiences.
Have an awesome day.
Geoffrey

Geoff
I was around Flaherty for a awhile here in San Diego.Don't kid yourself. He burned out Moyer and Ronnie Wilson. He had them fighting too often.They both had problems with cuts and he had them fighting again when those cuts weren't healed properly. If Flaherty had their interests at heart he would have let both of them go before they couldn't see the punches coming any longer..Promoters,managers to a great extent have ruined a lot of fighters. Once they can't get a license to fight anymore or there is no profit in handling them they are cast aside. Boxing,in this day of looking out for an athlete's safety and future well being,is a sport that's a tragic anachronism. It belongs to a thing in the past.There's nothing gallant about it. When they asked the fathers of the Quarries and the Moyers if they'd do it all over again pushing their sons into boxing,through watery eyes they didn't have to say anything. They say no punching below the belt.Boxing is a constant low blow.

Eder Jofre,the great bantamweight champion of the world at the West Coast Boxing Hall Of Fame banquet.He had no idea where he was and if you had told him he wouldn't have understood a thing



Jerry Quarry.Win ,lose,or draw boxing took its toll.

[geoffreysadao]

I saw footage of Eder Jofre's appearance in L.A. I believe that this was at Rick Farris' Boxing Hall of Fame. It did appear that he was "out of it." There was one clip of him doing some play sparring with Sugar Ray Leonard with Michael Nunn present. Leonard and Nunn seemed to get a kick out of Jofre's tenacity. To me, he was like on automatic pilot, going on muscle memory alone. I really wonder if he was fully aware of the significance of the event or his surroundings.
Wilfred Benitez was considered one of the most gifted defensive fighters of all time. He is now bedridden and incapacitated. If I remember correctly, he turned pro at 15 and was sparring all of NY City's best fighters at that age. What a tremendous toll to pay!
On the other hand, I saw recent footage of Fighting Harada. He appeared to be clear thinking with his "marbles intact." Also, Tony DeMarco, who died very recently, was pretty articulate until the end. I fully understand that these are exceptions to the rule in boxing.
I've seen ex-pros in the gyms who are very bad off. They were broken and severely impaired.

[dagosd2000]

I saw footage of Eder Jofre's appearance in L.A. I believe that this was at Rick Farris' Boxing Hall of Fame. It did appear that he was "out of it." There was one clip of him doing some play sparring with Sugar Ray Leonard with Michael Nunn present. Leonard and Nunn seemed to get a kick out of Jofre's tenacity. To me, he was like on automatic pilot, going on muscle memory alone. I really wonder if he was fully aware of the significance of the event or his surroundings.
Wilfred Benitez was considered one of the most gifted defensive fighters of all time. He is now bedridden and incapacitated. If I remember correctly, he turned pro at 15 and was sparring all of NY City's best fighters at that age. What a tremendous toll to pay!
On the other hand, I saw recent footage of Fighting Harada. He appeared to be clear thinking with his "marbles intact." Also, Tony DeMarco, who died very recently, was pretty articulate until the end. I fully understand that these are exceptions to the rule in boxing.
I've seen ex-pros in the gyms who are very bad off. They were broken and severely impaired.

I was sitting next to Jofre the day before the event at a "Meet And Greet" lunch in the Art District in downtown LA. Jofre was escorted to the the States by his son and daughter.There, he was also met by a a gal who spoke Portugese. But this was mostly for the benefit of the son and daughter . I think he might have understood what she was saying but he could not speak,at least coherently.Chris Smith,who wrote an excellent bio of Jofre and put together his trip to Rick's event, was also present.Jofre has been fighting dementia for many years and with the aid of recent medicines it seems to have slowed the process but he's in very bad shape mentally..Take my word for it.He wasn't aware of too much not to mention that he was being honored.Sugar Ray Leonard was not at the event.Michael Nunn,however,was. Chris was on stage with Eder "sparring around" with him.Chris said that always got a response from him. Jofre's limbs are very stiff and he needs constant rubbing to get the circulation going.His hands are very bad so he has to be spoon fed. Of course everyone wanted his autograph but his hand had to be held by his son to guide his signature. I don't think he was aware of significance of what he was doing.

I talked to Chris about if he was going to do a follow up bio on Fighting Harada.He was considering it. He told me he doubted it now because Harada is now in the rabbit hole of dementia.He's afraid to leave his native Japan.



Chris Smith holding the plaque awarded to him for "The Boxing Book Of The Year." West Coast Boxing Hall Of Fame 2021.

[geoffreysadao]

One of the reasons that I feel inclined to inquire about the status of ex-boxers is that I fear for the worse for them. If possible and if appropriate, I favor providing them with recognition for their efforts in this most grueling, punishing sport. I ask about guys like Rudy Barro, Victor Abraham, Fidel Fraijo, Rudy Robles, etc. for these reasons. It can mean a lot to an ex-fighter when you tell them that you remember them and admired their skills and efforts. I ran into Sergio Medina at an amateur boxing event in 2013. I told him that I remembered that he beat Alfredo Escalera by decision and that he fought Carl Daniels. He was elated, and he asked me how he could contact Alvaro "Yaqui" Lopez, and I told him about Yaqui's Fat City Gym in Stockton. It was a great interaction. My wife, who is a distant cousin of Bobby Chacon, caught the boxing bug from me. Her mother was born in East LA and migrated with extended family to Sacramento in the 1930's. We watch a lot of old movies (30's and 40's vintage) and old fights. One night, it might be Jesse Burnett versus Leon Spinks, and the next night it might be watching Paul Muni and Bette Davis in "Bordertown." It's fun.

[dagosd2000]

One of the reasons that I feel inclined to inquire about the status of ex-boxers is that I fear for the worse for them. If possible and if appropriate, I favor providing them with recognition for their efforts in this most grueling, punishing sport. I ask about guys like Rudy Barro, Victor Abraham, Fidel Fraijo, Rudy Robles, etc. for these reasons. It can mean a lot to an ex-fighter when you tell them that you remember them and admired their skills and efforts. I ran into Sergio Medina at an amateur boxing event in 2013. I told him that I remembered that he beat Alfredo Escalera by decision and that he fought Carl Daniels. He was elated, and he asked me how he could contact Alvaro "Yaqui" Lopez, and I told him about Yaqui's Fat City Gym in Stockton. It was a great interaction. My wife, who is a distant cousin of Bobby Chacon, caught the boxing bug from me. Her mother was born in East LA and migrated with extended family to Sacramento in the 1930's. We watch a lot of old movies (30's and 40's vintage) and old fights. One night, it might be Jesse Burnett versus Leon Spinks, and the next night it might be watching Paul Muni and Bette Davis in "Bordertown." It's fun.

It does mean an awful lot for a fighter to get recognized by these boxing Hall Of Fames.However,I must mention that too many times merit alone does not qualify a recipient. For example Don Fraser's (I believe now defunct California Hall Of Fame since Fraser passed away a few years ago)criteria for induction was also based on if the prospective inductee could come up selling at least two table's worth of tickets at 150 dollars a pop in order to get him in with no questions asked. I even know of one recipient who was so bent on getting in that he approached Fraser and said he could guarantee selling out at least three tables worth of tickets.in other words, "buy" his way in.This former fighter had a piss poor resume as a fighter to say the least.I could name at least a hundred ex pugs of the Southland who deserved to get in more than him .But because they were off the radar and had no money they never got inducted into Fraser's Hall..There was no vote involved.Just Fraser's OK,but you had to come up with the dough first.

BTW.I sat with Yaqui Lopez at one of Rick Farris' West Coast Boxing Hall Of Fame banquets(RIck puts on the best annual show in the Southland!).When Yaqui found out I painted portraits of fighters he made me feel like Rembrandt. Hell of a guy.



Yaqui Lopez pointing at "Rembrandt"

[geoffreysadao]

Yaqui is a great guy. His demeanor and mannerisms remind me so much of those older Niseis. That being said, I know that he has reason be proud of his own roots. I'm glad that his fat City Gym has worked out so well for him.

[dagosd2000]

A Real Mother

Mother Teresa set up one of her missions at the city dump in Tijuana. It was located on the south end of the city across from the Boulevard above Colonia La Mesa. To get there It has a winding road . Once you arrive you can see,hear,and smell the abject poverty.But the dump is also a town of sorts. A place for the lost and ,lonely. people who suffice on the things that others have thrown away and don't want anymore.Families and individuals who make the unwanted their home. The garbage is a food source.The trash is something that has a material worth.The people who have no other place to go are not rejected by a place for things no one wants anything to do with but to discard their unwanted.It's a place for these unwanted.

Just about everyone there who calls the dump their home are sick.HIV,Aids,TB,gangrene,malaria,smallpox-the diseases that make them take refuge on a heap of waste is apropos,a metaphor for the souls who live day by day there with thousand yard stares and trod along from what life has dealt them. That's where Mother Teresa wanted to be. She lived with them and told them that as long as they believed they'd be with God at the end and the suffering would be gone.If they could die knowing that then that was all that mattered.

One time I was watching the local 6 o'clock news and Yoko Ono,John Lennon's widow, was being interviewed promoting a concert she was going to give outside in the baseball stadium in San Diego.Her son Sean was with her. After the interview there was a story about the Tijuana dump and how Mother Teresa was running the show. Yoko Ono was so moved by the story that right there in the studio she said that she was going to have a school house built at the dump on her dime.

Across the Boulevard on the north side in Colonia 20 De Noviembre is located the La Mesa Penitentiary.It's basically a one square block of residences that is surrounded by a brick wall with watchtowers with armed guards in them keeping an eye on things below.

I had a buddy ,who was a taxista,who got busted for selling drugs, serving a stretch in there.Everything was on a how much you could pay basis.if you had enough dough you could live in a house.if you were broke you lived outside in the dirt. The free enterprise system existed.There were convicts who had stores like little markets,taco stands,,barber shops with razors that you cut slash someone's throat with,and even hardware stores with tools that you could use to dig your way out or bash someone over the head you didn't like.When a prisoner got released he could sell his business to another prisoner,of course with the Captain getting his cut.

The mordida system was the way everything worked.You could have anything like drugs and alocohol in the prison as long as the Captain got his bonus. The big time narcos lived there with their wives and kids.A school bus would come in the morning to take the kids to school.On Saturday nights the whores would come in and peddle their hips.The prison even had their own sports teams-soccer,baseball,and boxing.

One Sunday afternoon I went to visit my locked up friend Bonifacio.I entered through the Captain's office.Bonifacio had made the arrangements to allow me to bring him some marijuana and a bottle of brandy.There was the Captain with an Uzi taped to his hand and with the other hand took the money.

Bonifacio told me that the boxing team from the prison in Mexicali was going to come over and square off with the team from La Mesa.We figured on a peaceful afternoon of smoking pot and getting a little dunk watching the competition.The fights were going along with everything tied up going into the final fight.it was a heavyweight bout.The guy from Mexicali was having his way from the guy from La Mesa.It looked like the outsiders were going to have the final best of the competition.Then all of a sudden the ref stopped the fight and DQ'd the Mexicali guy saying that he fouled the La Mesa guy.I didn't see nothin'.Then the riot ensued.The fighters on both sides decided to turn it into a free for all. But what they didn't figure was that the prisoners standing around just watching now wanted to join in the action.

I looked up at the watchtowers and could see the screws locking and loading.This was gonna' be real bad. But then something out of blue saved the afternoon from becoming a blood bath. In walked Mother Teresa on her weekly Sunday visit to see the most destitute of the confined.She walked right by the brewing melee like it wasn't important paying it no mind straight to those down and out jailbirds.When everyone saw her the potential riot turned into a reverence. The prisoners began shouting "Mother!.Mother!."The scene went pastoral in a matter of minutes.

I turned to Bonifacio shaking my head and making a sign of the cross.
"It was lucky she came when she did,"said Bonifacio.
"No one else could have done that,"I said still sweating.
All I could think of was that that ol' gal was real a Mother when it counted the most.


Mother Teresa

[geoffreysadao]

Great recollection and story on your part. Beautiful paintings of fighters, musicians and other historical figures.

Your thoughts on LA 70's/80's heavyweight Marty Monroe?
When he turned pro, the cruiserweight division didn't exist. By the time it was created in '79, he was aiming for the heavyweight title. Against, Scott Ledoux, he looked capable but not outstanding. He took out big puncher Lynn Ball who didn't take the best punch, and he looked outstanding against Eddie "The Animal" Lopez. Against Greg Page, he was just outsized and outclassed. To me, Page seemed to have the whole package but lacked discipline.

[dagosd2000]

Great recollection and story on your part. Beautiful paintings of fighters, musicians and other historical figures.

Your thoughts on LA 70's/80's heavyweight Marty Monroe?
When he turned pro, the cruiserweight division didn't exist. By the time it was created in '79, he was aiming for the heavyweight title. Against, Scott Ledoux, he looked capable but not outstanding. He took out big puncher Lynn Ball who didn't take the best punch, and he looked outstanding against Eddie "The Animal" Lopez. Against Greg Page, he was just outsized and outclassed. To me, Page seemed to have the whole package but lacked discipline.

Geoff
Monroe was like a lot of heavyweights back then -good ,but nothing special. He was too deliberate.Fighters like him:Jeff Merritt,Eddie Lopez,Tim Witherspoon,Manual Ramos,Tony Doyle,James Broad,Renaldo Snipes,James Tillis,Martry Monroe,Stan Ward,Larry Alexander,Jose Luis Garcia,Etal;. to name just a few had the bodies but not what it takes between the ears which translates, like you say,to discipline to get any further than they did.But they all left their marks.They weren't stiffs until the end,but then like any fighter that doesn't know when the time to call it quits, ends up a stiff.I don't care how great he was in the past.Do I have to mention names?I don't think so.


Southland heavyweight Joey Orbillo.Showed some promise but couldn't get by Jerry Quarry.

[geoffreysadao]

You're right about Monroe's style. I would describe it as textbook but deliberate. When he beat Eddie Lopez, one writer described him having a style similar to Joe Louis', but he also made it clear that Monroe was "no Joe Louis." His had speed wasn't much better than Ledoux's, and I'm not putting down Ledoux in any way as he was one tough hombre.
Monroe struggled with a fighter named Jim "Beam" Ingram whom Jesse Reid trained and managed. Majority decision win. Ingram drew with Tony Licata (who was past his prime), beat Franco Thomas and Lynn Ball, and was competitive against Marvin Camel and others.
So many good fighters who aren't "good enough."