Classic American West Coast Boxing

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When Three Jews And The Black Ulan Stuck It To The Fuhrer

When Max Schmeling began establishing himself as a legitimate contender he knew that he had to relocate,at least when it came time to step into the ring,and establish roots in the good ol' USA.His manager in Germany,Arthur Buelow,wasn't what you'd say connected in the land of milk and honey. .

In 1930 Scmeling won the heavyweight title from Jack Sharkey on a DQ when one of Jack's punches landed low.They carried Max to his corner while Sharkey was screaming that the German was shamming.There was a rematch two years later and this time Sharkey kept his punches true and won a controversial decision to regain the crown.Joe Jacobs coined the phrase "We wuz robbed " after Jack got his hand raised.

In 1933 Adolph Hitler had hoodwinked the German public into making him the Fuhrer for life and everyone had read Mein Kamph by that time. Well, Mike Jacobs controlled what went into Madison Square Garden and he wasn't about to toast a glass of his Manischewitz with Herr Max even though Joe Jacobs,Schmeling's new manager, was controlling his fighting fate..Max being no dummy and wanting to get as far as he could winning a championship needed to dump Buelow yet find himself a manager that knew how to get things done. Schmeling picked Joe Jacobs who didn't circulate in boxing's circles but had a PHD in the art of the deal and was Jewish.

Max got his foot in the biggest boxing door in the world in 1936 when he knocked out the undefeated Brown Bomber. That put him in the top spot,at least logically,to challenge for Jimmy Braddock's heavyweight title. Braddock had scored the biggest upset at that time winning the championship from the happy go lucky Max Baer who wasn't smiling when he left the Madison Square Garden Bowl that night.Now Schmeling was chomping at the bit.

Getting back to the spin doctor Uncle Mike Jacobs. He got Braddock ,who was managed buy another Manischewitz taster,Joe Gould ,to sign Jimmy up with Herr Max. But then Uncle Mike got to thinking..If Schmeling wins the heavyweight championship Hitler might put Herr Max's crown on ice if there's a war ,and more critically, NEVER let Joe Louis challenge for the title.Something needed to be done fast.

Well,Joe Gould said that his boy Jimmy had hurt his pinky in trainig and had to postpone the fight. Now Uncle Mike pulled the rug out from Herr Max and pressed Joe Jacobs to back out of the contract. Time to sign the black guy Joe Louis. But Joe Gould wanted in on the shenanigans.He knew Jimmy wasn't going to beat Louis.He probably wouldn't have beaten Herr Max. Braddock hadn't fought in two years since upsetting Baer.So now was the time for the art the deal between Uncle Mike and Joe Gould. Gould would let Jimmy get into the ring with Louis with a contract drawn up stating Uncle Mike would get 10 percent of Louis' purses for the next 10 years. The money being divided between Uncle Mike and Gould.Of course Jimmy would get his kick.The estimated take in the end was 150 grand.

It should be said that Max Schmeling was no big fan of Adolph Hitler.He wasn't a signed up Nazi. When Ad wanted a sit down with Herr Max about dumping Jacobs, Schmeling started making small talk with his wife.Scmeling was close to Jacobs and wasn't going to betray him. When Schmeling later lost to Louis in less than a round.Hitler made Schmeling put on a uniform and jump out of a airplane onto a battlefield in Greece.Schmeling broke his leg when he landed.No wonder Adolph put a bullet in his head.

Jimmy Braddock

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Schmeling with his wife Anny Ondra and Hitler. Hitler wanted Schmeling to get rid of his Jewish manager Joe Jacobs and spend more time in Germany.But Max shined him on.Jacobs died in 1939. He was banned from being in Schmeling's corner the night Louis KO'd him in the 1st round.Jacobs,who was a publicity seeker,pulled a stunt where before the fight he had Max pose in the ring with a keg of beer. That was enough for the commission to put him outside Madison Square Garden during the big fight.Schmeling said Jacob's banishment affected him.

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The Unlamented

I remember Panama Lewis doing an interview explaining why the Panamanian fighter is the best fighter in the world.This was before the tragic bout involving the physical destruction of Billy Collins which led to his emotional collapse and probable suicide. If you followed boxing back then you now of the scandal involving Lewis tampering with the gloves of his fighter Luis Resto by removing some of the padding. Both Lewis and Resto were charged with assault with a deadly weapon,convicted,and served time in prison.

Till his dying day Lewis denied vehemently that he had anything to do with "unloading" Resto's gloves.Lewis was also suspected of concocting a mixture that he was administrating to his fighter Aaron Pryor while he was slugging it out with Alexis Arguello.Lewis was heard on the air before the start of the 14th round telling a cornerman who was holding a water bottle,"Not that bottle.The one I mixed."It was during the next round that Arguello couldn't hold up any longer to Pryor's relentless attacking.

When Lewis passed away in 2020 there wasn't an outpouring of mourning nor sympathy.On the forum there were a few snide remarks. I think most everyone else just stayed noncommittal. I didn't post anything then. Now I'll say something and keep it short.

Panama Lewis knew boxing and could teach skills with the best of them. His problem was that he had no moral compass. To mess with a fighter's gloves or spike a water bottle to get an edge, when all comes out in the wash, the stain is still there.That's what will always be talked about when the name of Panama Lewis brought up.


Aaron Pryor

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Being Smart Is Not Getting Caught

When Antonio Margarito got his plaster of Paris wrapped hands caught in the cookie jar before his fight with Sugar Shane Mosley ,Tony had to fight,in the vernacular,with one hand(in his case both)tied behind his back. Mosley gave him a drubbing. Previously,Margarito, who seemed indestructible inside the ring,now had lost his Kryptonite and found himself groping on all fours in round 9 of the fight.But to Tony's credit he had a smile on his face that even Mosley's punches couldn't wipe off. It was like a big joke.
"Hey,I got caught.So what?"

Now the public was taking stock on some of Margarito's other crushing victories.People remembered stains on Tony's wraps prior to his first contest with Miguel Cotto; similar to the marks on Tony's wraps before he was going to enter the ring to fight Mosley.And before that was how Tony blew away Kermit Cintron.But like Sherlock Holmes would always say,"You need proof."

Of course Margarito didn't show any remorse. In fact he said he didn't know how the arts and craft materials got into his gloves. He must have been taking a nap when his hands got taped.

The California commission revoked his license. However,the boxing authorities in Mexico sluffed the whole thing off. Hell,the fight was in Gringolandia not Mexico.If Tony wanted to fight in Mexico for pesos there no writ to stare him in the face before he would climb through the ring ropes.

Margariro tried to wash his hands of the scandal afterwards but he just wasn't the same guy in the ring like before.PacMan won just about every round against Tony who obviously didn't want to expose his hand (take any risks).Cotto gave Tony a good spanking for being naughty the first time.Margarito finished up his career fighting in small venues in Mexico making small amounts of dinero.

If you were to go across the border and try to lay a guilt trip on an aficianado about Tony's loaded gloves in e ring you'd probably get a response that the only thing he was guilty of was getting caught white handed.I mean how stupid can you be to let your opponent's corner inspect your gloves inside your dressing room?


Shane Mosley

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Winning Is Only Fun After You Win

I'm about to watch the championship game of the March Madness NCAA Final Four between North Carolina and Kansas.As usual they interviewed the coaches and ask them what their teams need to do to win. They ramble on about what they have to do but always finish with the usual "I just told my guys to have fun."What bulls--t." They always say for their guys to have "fun" but that's just a ploy to try to get their players to shake the butterflies.How in the hell can you have fun after the tip off?You have to bear down like you've never had before.The pressure is unimaginable.

But coaches and players say that having "fun" thing all the time regardless of the sport.Whether it's a team sport or an individual effort ,remember,have "fun.".But you know what ? I've never heard a fighter say before the opening bell "I'm just going out there to have fun." If both boys are evenly matched the pressure is foremost.

I don't care if it's a championship tiddlywinks game,the pre contest jitters are there and thinking about having "fun" is ridiculous let alone impossible and the farthest thing from your mind.

Back to boxing.Can you imagine Muhammad Ali saying that he was going to have fun when he stepped into the ring with George Foreman. Ali didn't look ,like he was having "fun." Neither did Big George.

After the contest is over the winners then have the luxury of having "fun." The losers? Well, you can bet they aren't having "fun."

Here's a good one. They ask General Robert E. Lee about the battle of Gettysburg.Let Bobby tell it.
"Well,I just told General Pickett that while his division is charging Cemetery Ridge just remember to have 'fun.'"
After that was over neither side had anything to smile about.


Abe LIncoln. The Civil War wasn't "fun" for him.

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Artist At Work

I've seen some pretty good fighters work out in the gym.Across the border I saw Jose Napoles and Julio Cesar Chavez. But it didn't seem like something routine and normal. Chavez did some gym work at The CREA:shadowboxing,hitting the speed and heavy bags. ,floor exercises but no sparring. The place was packed with onlooking ,anxious fans. It was just too extraordinary.The people were there to see something special but it was like hitting a pin with a sledgehammer. Same when I saw Jose Napoles. He made an appearance of sorts at the gym that was upstairs next to the fire station on Constitution Street. The gym was small and it was overcrowded with Napoles fanatics. Jose did basically the same things as Chavez.He was going to fight in a few days in the bullring and he was mostly loosening up doing a lot of shadowboxing,exercises and bag work. But no sparring.

I used to watch Ken Norton often .When Muhammad Ali was in town to fight Norton he'd arrive after Ali was done putting on his show at the makeshift gym at the Town and Country Hotel.Eddie Futch was putting Kenny through the paces.His sparring work with Eddie Jones was crisp and fast.He definitely trained harder and was taking it more seriously than Ali.There weren't many on hand to watch him even though he was the local boy.They wanted to see Muhammad but Norton gave them a better bang for their buck.

Ali would train before Norton.(I've run it by you a thousand times in different forms) Ali did more talking than fighting. He'd have a microphone in his hand walkkng around the ring(can you believe a fighter during a workout with a microphone in his hand?)and recite his poems and joke with the audience. He sparred but what people wanted to see-him floating like a butterfly-instead saw Ali put himself on the ropes like a stuffed turkey and have the likes of Tony Doyle and Alonzo Johnson slam away at his body with Ali covering up.. Pretty boring stuff.

Then there was steady diet of Denny Moyer.He'd work out mostly at the Coliseum or up at Sid Flaherty's camp in the mountains.. He was slowing down at a steady rate by then. But he was in the gym everyday because he was still pretty active fighting every few weeks.. He'd be sweating out the previous night's hooch,and then after taking a shower readmit himself in one of the local watering holes usually accompanied by his pal Ronnie Wilson. I made a few of those nightly excursions with those two. I don't know how they could go back and forth from from the gym and the saloon everyday like they did.

I saw Terry Norris spar with Gilbert Baptist a couple of times at Spud Murphy's gym downtown. Terry was getting to give Ray Leonard a reminder that he was past his prime. There was no doubt in my mind that Norris would win that one.

If you had to pin me down on who caught my eye the most in training it would have to be El Feo,Luis Rodriguez.He was training down at the Stardust Hotel in Mission Valley prepping for a title elimination bout with the Mexican middleweight champ Rafael Gutierrez.This was going to be Louie's last big shot. He still had the goods and if he could get past the younger Mexican he'd get a try at Nino Benvenuti for the championship.

I made it a point to watch Rodriguez train for the two weeks prior to the fight.Angelo Dundee had arrived but it was obvious to everyone that Louie was the man in charge.He controlled every aspect down to the gnat's ass. He had a steady crew of good sparring partners and he went through them one after another. But to pinpoint it, what amazed me was Rodriguez's skills.His craftmanship was no guesswork.His every move seemed second nature. He was fluid and fast with hand and foot. There was no goofing around with him. When one of his sparring partners wanted him to take it easy o him there was no room for negotiations. When Rodriguez got the guy in the ring he was extra hard on him.

Yeah,I could have watched Luis Rodriguez work out everyday.Well, I'll take that back. I wouldn't have wanted to see him when he was getting long in the tooth.And when Benvenuti caught him with that big left hook in their fight Louie was ahead at the time.I thought he had it locked up. All he had to do is just keep out boxing the Italian.It was Louie's last hurrah.

But i can say I got to watch him in person when he still had the wind of the wisp in him.But like all winds a fighter's fury slows down eventually to a calm.



Luis Rodriguez

[goose 5]

Roger: Were Moyer and Wilson ladies' men or were their nights out all about boozing ?

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Roger: Were Moyer and Wilson ladies' men or were their nights out all about boozing ?

When I was with them it was mostly bending elbows,and I mean they'd get crawling snockered. Ronnie was a good looking guy,very shy when sober, but I don't know if he was a skirt chaser. His wife thought so but I don't know what to believe.She questioned me about it once and then told Ronnie who thought I was sticking my nose in where it didn't belong. Moyer was beginning to lose his baby face by that time but I don't know if he was a womanizer.Fighters never seem to have a problem attracting the opposite sex.





Denny Moyer

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Everyman Around Town

Although Archie Moore fought just about everybody,was a world champion,starred in the movies and television,received appointmants by presidents to lend his wisdom and expertise in humanitarian projects,and not to mention he traveled all over the world;he was just a neighborhood face. He lived in that brick house that he had built in the black part of town in Southeast San Diego after winning the title ,finally, from Joey Maxim.If Doc Kearns hadn't had made the deal to give up Joey if Archie could beat his charge Moore would have languished with the other black fighters who were referred to as the Black Murderers Row. Moore like all of Kearns fighters(even the disgruntled Jack Dempsey)admitted that Doc put money in their bank accounts.

But getting back to Moore.After settling into San Diego after winning the light heavyweight crown he became a familiar face in the crowd.You'd see him frequenting the neighborhood stores and restaurants.Riding a horse and waving his cowboy hat Archie would be near the front of the annual Martin Luther King Day parade at Lincoln High School.He'd be in the bleachers watching his son play football at Mesa Community College. At the San Diego Sports Hall Of Champions in Balboa Park he'd be in attendance for any local jock who got inducted and receive his plaque. Archie would then be asked to say a few words afterwards hold court having everyone in the room wrapped in attention.

Yeah.Archie was perceived as a local guy even though he could tell you all about the Pampas in Argentina or the great Outback of Australia.HIs ABC Boys club that he operated ,with funding from the city of San Diego, wasn't a purpose to churn out fighters as much as it was to give the unguided and poorer kids of the neighborhood moral direction. Of course their guru was Archie Moore.

The local sports scribe for the Sa Diego Union ,Jack Murphy,and Moore were very close. Over the years Murphy knew he had an approachable voice with The Mongoose. Moore was like boxing's Gracie Allen to her husband George only had to as Gracie about the weather and she'd turn into a Farmer's Almanac. Same with Moore.All Murphy would do is ask him a simple question like"What's new?",and Moore would counter with a philosophical take on the world that would make Socrates take notes.

When Archie saw me he knew I was like him-a jazz buff. So we'd get to talkin' about who was the latest hipster.Jazz for the moment precluded everything else including boxing.

Too bad there aren't enough people left in town that miss Archie Moore yet alone even remember him.When I write stuff about him from time to time I hope I spark a few interests.


Two San Diego immortals-Archie Moore and Ted Williams at the San Diego Hall Of Champions.

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Archie Moore posing with owner Ray Huffman inside Ray's popular barbeque joint on Imperial Boulevard next to Lincoln High School

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A Make Believer Can Write More Convincingly Than One Who Was There.

You think of Joe louis today and you wish he was still around,; at least athletes,fighters who conduct themselves in public like Joe.There wasn't all the media and the hype back then like you have today. You could catch a 15 second newsreel of maybe one of Louis's fights at your local movie theater. The news guys on the radio like Walter Winchell didn't dwell on sports much. Most of what was gleaned about Joe louis you read in the papers.

But Louis always seemed to do the "right" thing. He joined the army when the war broke out. He donated his two purses, defending his title during the war to charities. If he jumped the fence to take a roll in the hay with a white dame no one knew about it. Louis' men made sure Jack Johnson couldn't get through the gate. Joe didn't talk much and when he did his choice of words were kindergarten.And he never said anything derogatory about anyone.When Max Schmeling handed him his first loss Louis didn't spew sour grapes. When Tony Galento insulted him before their (which was very unsportsmanlike for the times)Louis just hit him that much harder.

But to get back to Schmeling. Louis never considered himself the complete champ until he could get back in the ring with Max.Today,it would be a no brainer about who the crowd would be standing behind.But back in 1938 the people didn't know much about what Adolph Hitler had in mind for the future.He pulled Germany out of the throes of a depression. If people had read Mein Kampf there were no graphic descriptions from Hitler about staring a world war to achieve his aims.He just need more living space.He certainly didn't like the Jews and blamed them with everything that as wrong in the world but the Jews had been getting run out of Dodge all over the world since Christ's crucifixion. So what else is new?

But analyzing by Monday morning quarterbacks, the 2nd Louis/Schmeling fight with 20/20 21st century hindsight you have to be careful. To say that Hitler was the greatest monster of the 20th century doesn't take a lot of guesswork. The proof is in every history book and consumes most of what's on the History Channel. There aren't many Holocaust survivors left but there is ample film interviews with the ones that survived those death camps that can be seen on YouTube. Click on to Netflix and the documentaries are plentiful.But who could foresee what was to transpire ahead in 1938?

In 1938 Hitler had taken over Austria where he was born without the people cheering him as he rode down the streets in his open air Mercedes.The Sudetenland and the rest of Czechoslovakia, and then Poland was a year away.So what was the feeling in the crowd when Louis faced Schmeling again in Yankee Stadium?

The feeling was mixed,anxious,but divided on who the fans were rooting for.Max Baer and Jack Dempsey picked Schmeling to win. Tunney predicted a victory by Louis.Schmeling was no Nazi.He never made any speeches championing the Fuhrer as a stand up guy.Max was forced to give the Nazi salute in Berlin when he fought the American Steve Hamas but that was about the extent of Schmeling's publicity for Hitler.Schmeling's manager ,Joe Jacobs, was Jewish. Hitler had a sit down with Schmeling trying to persuade Max to dump Jacobs but Schmeling shined him off. Sure, there were scribes that tried to make a big political issue about the fight but Louis and Schmeling didn't bite.So when the bell sounded for round 1 what was the mood? Excitement for sure.Electricity in the air to use the cliche.But "hatred in the air from the blood thirsty masses?"First time I've run across that take.

But then one's perception is often skewed by what he wants to believe .And believe me some of these guys should be writing for The Enquirer.

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The Fighting Candidate

They got this election for president in the Philippines coming up in May and if you're a fan of boxing you know that Manny Pacquiao has traded his gloves for his hat to be thrown in the ring. I don't live in the Philippines so all I know about this is what I read in the papers.i was reading something today about Manny down near the bottom when it comes to the results of the current opinion polls.They say he has only 6% of the vote so far.The guy in front is Ferdinand Marcos Jr. I'm sure his name rings a bell. His old man and squeeze were accused of stealing 10 billion dollars from the country's coffers during their 20 years at the helm. Of course the money went for what they believed was in their best interests-Picasso paintings,diamond rings,solid gold toilets,hundreds of pairs of ladies dress shoes,yachts and airplanes,and real estate investments in the ol' U S of A,

Manny counters that by saying he was born into poverty and knows what it's like to struggle and can identify with the mostly poor people of his country. All this woe was caused by corruption and the Marcos family was steeped in wary wheelin' and dealin'.Manny says he would KO corruption.

But then there wouldn't be anyone to stick their hands in the cookie jar because Manny would be guarding it.So wouldn't it make sense to put aside another Marcos and vote for the former 8 time champ?It ain't gonna happen.Politics is all about jumping in and grabbing all you can while the grabbing is good.Manny either sounds like he's dreaming or he's just a wet blanket or punchy.


Manny says he'll continue fighting if he wins,but this time he'll use his political clout instead of his fists. And if he has to load up his gloves to win he'll do it..He says the current president Duterte ,who has no qualms about wasting drug dealers,hasn't gone far enough. Manny says that big bad China has stolen the fishing territory from the local Philippine fishermen and he'll put a stop to that even if he has to send his country's navy in to fire their guns to counter the 2nd largest military power in the world from throwing their weight around. But doesn't The PacMan resalize that China wouldn't be that a soft touch like let's say an Oscar De La Hoya? That would be pretty bold and bloody taking on China in a war.

Let's face it. The Marcos regime was corrupt and pay off or eliminate anyone who stood in their way(remember Benjamin Acquino?).It is like part of the culture. But to start your firing guns at China? No wonder Manny only has 6 % of the vote.


Maybe if Manny wins he'll make Freddie Roach vice president

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The Four Flusher

I think the old guy's real name was Porter but everybody called him "Old Port."Maybe that or the old guy had a fondness for Port wine. I never was really curious to find out.But back then you'd see guys like him hanging around the boxing gyms.They were like part of the paint on the walls.If you didn't know any better you'd think they were all Freddie Browns.I never knew what Old Port's purpose was or what was his role;if he got paid. I never saw him working in a corner during a fight.I mean he was in the gym every time I walked in. Maybe he was like one of those Sportin' Life guys who did nothing and liked hanging around gyms ,or maybe he was getting a pension from somewhere. I never was curious to find out.

Old Port's hangout was the grizzled 32nd street Navy Gym in National City.Mostly swabbies would workout there ,but then it was also open to the public.That was before Vietnam put the kibosh on all that and you could only get on the base if you were a swabbie.There were quite an array of local amateur and pro fighters who frequented the place. Ken Norton,Jimmy Rosette,Ronnie Wilson,Amado Vasquez to name few. I used to go there with my friend Gary Young who was a local amateur heavyweight who liked the premises. I never was curious why but the gym had the right setup to keep a fighter focused on what he needed to do.

Gary would bring me along to have someone his size to spar with. Old Port knew that Dick Wood was handling Gary but also knew that I was unattached.That's why he always made a big fuss about me when I walked in the door.
"You know you could beat 70 percent of the heavyweights out there right now,"he'd always say to me with that grin from ear to ear on his doughy face and his radish nose glowing.
He wore that same frayed white T shirt and those baggy khaki pants with the high top white Converse tennis shoes like it was a full dress uniform. His voice would squeak after not taking the time to shorten his sentences. It was like he wanted to say everything in one breath.

I was going on 23 years old at the time and although I was big and strong I knew practically nothing about boxing,at least when I got inside the ring.I was raw as they come. I couldn't see the punches comin' and couldn't see the openings. My hands and feet were two separate entities and couldn't get them to work together properly.Boxing may look easy watching it on TV but any rank fighter can make a novice look inept like taking candy from a baby. That's what my pal Gary Young would make me look like when we sparred-a baby getting spanked by his daddy.

But Old Port thought I had the goods but I knew it was all wind and smoke. Besides, it wasn't too long after that when I was pressed into sparring with Ken Norton. After that debacle I decided football was about as far as I'd go when it came to opting for a contact sport.

Back then guys like Old Port were a dime dozen hoping to land that hot prospect that would put them on Easy Street. But there are only a few big name trainers who get all those hot prospects..

Today if you can find a gym that caters to just boxing maybe there are a few "Old Ports" still around.As for as I'm concerned I'm not curious to find out.


The sign outside the 32nd Street Gym today.Get the "e" at the end of "Old". It's a coed pickup place/spa for the younger set .Working out is like trying to get laid. No more boxing.Only Perrier water and camel toes

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Menudo and Old Fighters

Ofelia's restaurant was located a few blocks away from the old Coliseum on the corner 16th and Island Streets. It used to open right around when the bars started to close and you'd see all the drunks come stumbling in having just enough money left in their pockets to get something to eat.Friday and Saturday nights is when Ofelia's got a workout. The specialty of the house was the menudo that was supposed to help get you sobered up without leaving a hangover.I think part of that is in one's imagination.I'd go in Ofelia's and eat the menudo. A lot of people,especially the gringos, won't eat it because it's tripe,pigs' stomach,and is kind of rubbery when you chew it. .But i grew up in n Italian house and Italians are fond of tripe. They make it similar to the way the Mexicans make it with tomato sauce but you can also get it "white" without the tomato sauce.Ofelia's was a Mexican joint but to be honest the rest of their menu was a little to greasy for me. I mean I like Mexican food cooked in manteca but they overdid it with the lard.

One night I was in there around midnight on a Friday and the place had just opened up so there wasn't many people inside.I sat at the counter and Ofelia,who owned the place with her husband who did a lot of the cooking in the back,came up from behind the counter and gave me her wide smile with that ruby red lipstick of hers.She'd been around the block you could tell but she liked to show that off. The mini skirts wouldn't cover up the cottage cheese that was beginning to show but the way she held herself was kind of sexy anyway. She was thick with the eyeshadow and she dyed her hair jet black because by that time she was turning gray. Ofelia would always ask me to dump the vay of used lard in the back in the alley and she wouldn't charge me for when I came in and asked for a bowl of menudo.

When the menudo came I began spooning some oregano and onions into it and then squeezed some lemon.I was letting it cool a little when someone plopped onto the stool next to me.I looked over and to my surprise it was an old fighter who use to fight quite often in Tijuana and the Coliseum by the name of Eddie Torres.He used to fight as a featherweight but he was real stocky and looked heavier.He was a lot heavier now.I knew him from hanging around the gyms.He fought a few main events but was mostly an undercard guy.
"Don't mind if I give you some company?"he said.
"Sure Eddie go ahead."
Ofelia came up to the counter.
"How's the menudo tonight Ofelia?"asked Eddie.
"it's only Friday.It's fresh."
If Ofelia knew you enough as a friend and you ordered the menudo on Monday she'd tell you it was too old and no good anymore.
"So what are you up to tonight Eddie?"
"I went out by myself tonight and spent the night at the Lucky Lady."
The Lucky Lady Bar was across the street from Ofelia's.Polo Coronado's band played there on the weekends and would fill up the house. There were all kinds of women in there,not exactly beauty queens,but they knew what the men wanted and they were there to service the neighborhood.The dance floor was big, the room dark , the music was loud and the liquor flowed. That's all that was necessary.
"So you got out of the house without your wife knowing."
"She has a pretty good idea."
"She don't mind that?"
"It's understood."
I began sipping my menudo.
"My wife isn't interested in sex anymore,"he continued.
I let him keep talking.
"You know she has always been with me through the thick and the thin.We're inseparable."
Ofelia came over with Eddie's bowl of menudo.Eddie began adding the condiments into his bowl.
"Was the Lucky Lady crowded tonight?"I asked.
"It's pretty busy,"said Eddie."You ought to go over there."
"How's your menudo?"
"Good.You know Ofelia will tell you not to order it on Monday.It goes bad by then."
"That's what I've heard."

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You Make Sense Of It

Donald Trump with one swoop of the pen pardoned Jack Johnson for that Mann Act beef.Yeah,that's what the black community was holding its breath for for over 100 years.Donny wasn't aware of Johnson's conviction(and probably never heard of Jack Johnson)until Sylvester Stallone brought it to Trump's attention.Trump knowing that the black community wasn't in his corner figured that by exonerating Johnson he'd be in good standing down in the hood.

But Trump's act of good will towards The Galveston Giant was sort of a comedy. Cruise the ghetto and ask the brothers who Jack Johnson was and they'll probably sneer that he's some Oreo who contours his singing for the ofays.And if you tell them that Trump handed Jack Johnson a pardon you'd be lucky if they only smashed your car windshield instead of your face.

No.The black community doesn't know who Jack Johnson was unless they enrolled in an Afro/American studies class at New York University.Too bad the Supreme Court overturned Muhammad Ali's draft conviction. Now there would have been the plum for ol' Donny boy. But you can bet Obama would have beaten him to it. Barak said "f--k" Jack Johnson.If he had given Johnson a pass white people might have thought of him as a closet radical who hated white guys, But Muhammad Aii?How could you not want to do the right thing for The Greatest?


Jack Johnson the boxer


Trump,Sylvester Stallone,Deontay Wilder, and the WBC belt. Is this the White House or are they doing a Saturday Night Live skit? :lol:I bet Wilder never heard of Jack Johnson either.

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Feared No Man Except One

"They called me 'Jack The Giant Killer'.They say I feared no man.The hell if I feared no man!There was one man-he was even smaller than me then-I wouldn't fight because I knew he would flatten me.I was afraid of Sam Langford."

That was one of several quotes by Jack Dempsey in his bio penned by the sports scribe Bob Considine in 1960 in reference to the great Sam Langford,When Dempsey was struggling up through the ranks of the heavyweight division he was brought to New York City in 1916 by his new manager Jack "The Barber" Reisler to try to etch his name as a legit contender in the big man division. Prior to Dempsey's move to The Apple he was challenging an array of sodbusters west of the Mississippi with moderate success.While showing no flash in New York's lesser venues "The Barber" had a proposition for his charge.
"Got you a good fight,"he said."Langford up in Boston.A thousand in it for us easy."
"He's to good for me now."

It wasn't until Doc Kearns hooked up with Jack Dempsey a couple of years later that the old guru would formulate a plan for his boy to transform himself from a run of the mill Kid Blackie into the full grown Manassa Mauler. FIrst Kearns brought Dempsey back to his neck of the woods in the great Northwest.Then he needed to put some added poundage on Dempsey's frame.The roster of opponents consisted of similar qualities but Doc wanted his fighter to have an edge going into the ring.That's when he went to the hardware store and loaded up on plaster of Paris so he could load up Dempsey's gloves.Suddenly an array of 1 round knockouts were turning heads with the sports writers and promoters back east. The only guy who had Dempsey's number was Fat Willie Meehan.But Willie wouldn't figure in the big scheme of things,Eventually,Dempsey and Kearns got the champ Jess Willard into the ring in Toledo for all the marbles.Jess kissed the canvas 7 times in the first frame(he'd never been off his feet before)and Dempsey leapt out of the ring .Doc had bet 10 g's at 10 to 1 on his Dempsey to win inside 3 minutes, and it looked like it was done deal.But Willard wanted to go on. Dempsey was summoned back to continue the fight,however he had to put on his boxing gloves again.This time without the aid of the stucco job. Willard stayed on his feet for another round(down 7 times in the 1st..0 times in round 2) but was so badly beaten up his corner threw in the towel..

After Jack Dempsey was King Of The Mountain It was said Langford came knocking on Dempsey's door,hat in hand,wanting a crack at the title.Jack gave the one eyed old fighter a smile and told him he was looking for something"easier."Considine's book never never mentions that episode.It may have happened. Dempsey would have beaten Sam by then. But Tex Rickard,Doc Kearns,and Jack knew there was no interest in something like that nor money.The public wanted white on white.They still had the taste of Jack Johnson in their mouths.

Dempsey had always been accused of drawing the colorline.The only black fighter he was ever in the ring with was a fella' named The Boston Bearcat.Dempsey went the distance and won a decision in 4 rounds.it was The Bearcat's first fight. No one had ever heard of him before including Sam Langford.Later there would be the Harry Wills affair. Jack said he wanted to fight Wills and wasn't afraid of him. A contract was signed but then Dempsey said he was gonna' get short changed in the bargain so he backed out.New York then yanked his license.

Dempsey may or may not have been afraid of Harry Wills. One guy who wasn't was Sam Langford.He fought Wills 23 times!


Sam Langford


Dempsey's bio by Bob Considine signed by Dempsey and Considine.Picked it up in a used bookstore for 5 bucks.

[dagosd2000]

The Ventriloquist

Let me get back to the "Dempsey" book.Written in the 1st person it makes it sound like Jack Dempsey is telling his own story.But you can hear the asides from behind the curtain with this one. The swagger,toughness,the square jaw are not part of Dempsey's vocabulary. He didn't pick the words. The book was put together by Bob Considine. I guess he tried to emulate the way Jack Dempsey would tell it but it's a contrived imitation.To me it comes off badly. I wish either that Dempsey could have put it into his own words, and if he came off as a brown suit so be it. Or Jack could have prefaced the book and said Considine was the main event.All Jack did was hold the tape recorder's microphone and take his cue.The book's title is odd-"Dempsey By The Man Himself As Told To Bob Considine."

Gene Tunney wrote about his take on boxing.Now he was a real smart guy and wrote it all down in his own hand real literate and all that good stuff.Try reading it someday when you get the insomnia.It works better than taking a Nembutal.

The title of the Dempsey book is interesting-"Dempsey By The Man Himself As Told To Bob Considine." I thik that what they call an oxymoron.If Gene Tunney was alive I'd ask him.



Jack Dempsey

[dagosd2000]

Another List

The other day I opened up my home page on my computer-Yahoo. I try not to read too much of what they've got to say about the world.Like most of the news today it's either a pack of lies or some guy's opinion.But there it was staring me in the face. "The Rest Of The Greatest Boxers Of All Time." I don't remember the fella' that lit this Burning Bush ,or if I even looked to see,but he took for granted that Muhammad Ali was the best of all time. Then he proceeded to enlighten us with his picks.

I won't labor you with all the names because I don't remember them and sure wasn't going to print this thing out.So off the top of my head I'll try to include the Latino fighters he thought were deserving.

There was Roberto Duran,Carlos Monzon,Julio Cesar Chavez,Ricardo Lopez,Ruben Olivares,and maybe several more but I was keeping my fingers crossed that he'd exclude Eder Jofre. Not that I didn't think Jofre shouldn't have been included. No, Just the opposite. It wasn't the first time Jofre has been jobbed nor will it be the last time when someone puts together his list and puts Jofre on the pay no mind list..It took 3 years for the IBHOF finally to induct Jofre and they're supposed to be the authority on these kind of matters.

I sometimes think that Jofre was too squeaky clean.He needed to sully up his life a bit-gone through a string of bimbos,,got his ass thrown in jail for clearing out a bar.overdosing in the back of an alley,getting stabbed in whorehouse,or stabbing someone in a whorehouse-you know the standard vices associated with the anti- heroes of the post World War II era.

No.Eder was a one wife man(and didn't have that "segunda" holed up in some motel on the side).Didn't drink or smoke or shoot heroin. His father was his trainer and manager.You could say he was kind of boring except when he stepped into the ring.Maybe it had something to do with his name.Maybe people couldn't or didn't know how to pronounce it.Maybe it was because he fought most of the time in Brazil.Whatever the reasons he doesn't get the credit he deserves.

A couple of years ago my pal Chris James wrote an Eder bio.Oh there wasn't all the big shoving and pushing like I mentioned coming from the pen of Bob Considine in his take on The Manassa Mauler in my yesterday's post.Maybe that's it. Eder needed a macho nickname. "Eder". That's a weak name for a fighter.How about Eder "El Matador" Jofre?That connotes something of the killer. But then I don't think they have bullfighting in Brazil.

Hey.Before I put this to rest,how does someone put together a list of the 100 greatest fighters? For example,how do you determine the difference between number 76 and number 77 ?That must take some fine hairsplitting.Either that or the guy has a computer in his head.More likely he's blowing a lot of wind and smoke and doesn't know what he's talking about.

I don't take much interest reading these lists anyway.If I don't see Eder Jofre's name in the top 10 I know I can get a few laughs by turning the page to the comic section.


Eder Jofre

[dagosd2000]

Style

I should be the last one to bum rap Bob Considine for the manner he put into words Jack Dempsey's story. I guess a boxing story has run parallel with the rabbit punches and spit buckets. Can't make it sound like "Little Women."I've just typed two sentences and I can give Considine a run for his money.

But when it comes to writing a biography(and let's keep it with a fighter)the man's life compilation is more than back alley brawls and four letter words. If the writer keeps it short-his daily byline in the papers,a short story perhaps,or putting in his two cents on a boxing forum-then have at it. But from a fighter's birth to the graveyard there are hills and valleys.Hysteria and calm. Brutality and affection. Considine's book is all rough around the edges.

The Dempsey book came out in 1960. Everyone inside those pages are dead by now. But a book is a work of art ,so to speak, and art is for the ages.Like I said.I come off as a hack Hemingway.Papa liked boxing and wrote stories about fighters alluding to fact.He liked Ketchel and Jack Britton,and Wolgast.You can find those guys within his volumes.With Hemongway there was a common ground with boxing and what it meant to be a man.You know "dignity" and all that "grace under pressure" stuff. Ernest always thought his efforts when scripting pugilism wasn't appreciated by the critics.HIs followers liked to say he once spared with Tom Heeney.(He did)The ones who had a "man crush" on him thought he got the best of Tunney's last challenger.But Tom said he pulled his punches.Hemingway didn't respond.I guess he figured if my guys want to believe the myth so be it.

Just about everyday I'll begin my "flurry" of several paragraphs on the forum.I figure it might be enough to steal a round or two.


Ernest Hemingway

[dagosd2000]

We'll Leave The Light On For You

I wish they'd call Good Friday something else. In Mexico it's called "Viernes Santos."It's called "Holy Friday",The Holy and Great Friday",and "The Sorrowful Friday" in other parts of the world. What's so "good" about Jesus getting nailed to the cross anyway? They say that Jesus' suffered and died for the sins of man. "They" being Christians. If that was his purpose what good has it done?Still a lot of bad things happening out there.

I've got a book published in 1940 named "Beautiful Bible Stories." It was written by a Reverend Charles Roney.He says "The book has been written with acquainting its readers with the history lying back of all religious truth.We have undertaken to do this by giving a simple and understandable accounts of principal events contained in the Bible."Sounds good so far.Then he trips me up. Let Chuck say it."The Bible is not interested in teaching us history.It is interested in teaching us the truths about God and his dealing with man." Did he just say that the Bible isn't history?Or just doesn't want to teach us history?Sounds like the same thing.

Then there's the old 64 thousand dollar question "If God knows everything then he knows what's going to happen in the future."But then the priest says,"God gave you the freedom of choice."Yeah,but if he knows everything he knows how you're going to make those choices.

You might say ,"What does this have to do with boxing?"Well, it has a lot. I'm thinking of making a bet that this Dillan Whyte is going to upset Tyson Fury. If God knows everything then he knows who's going to win. I'd hate to lose my money on this if God knows that Fury is going to win.But then he's giving me the freedom of choice. A choice where the outcome is already set in stone.

It's enough to have made me an atheist.All I can say is when I put money down on Whyte I pray to God I'm right.


Jesus and the children.He needs to make a comeback

[dagosd2000]

Next Time I'll Draw You A Map

I was in the Rite Aid drugstore this morning and bought a birthday card for a friend when I saw Jeff the bartender over at Champs standing in the checkout line.
"Hey.What's up?"he asked.
"Nothing much. Friend of mine is having a birthday today. Came in to buy him a card.What are you up to?"
"Need to get some batteries for the bar. Can only buy them at the counter now. If they keep them out on the floor the shoplifters walk off with them."
"It used to be they had an undercover guy in here who looked for shoplifters but now they just let them steal the stuff and walk outside with it.Too many lawsuits.I guess thieves have rights too."
We both kind of smirked.
" I mean what can you do?It ain't worth getting fired and having the store getting sued because you put your hands on a shoplifter," I finished up saying.
"I didn't know you were an atheist,"said Jeff changing the subject.
I figured he'd read my post yesterday but I played it dumb.
"What do you mean?"
"At the end of what you wrote yesterday you said that you had too many unanswered questions about God so you became an atheist."
"That was a joke.Didn't you catch it?"
"Catch what?"
"After I said I was an atheist I said I was going to bet on the Fury fight and go with White. Then I said 'I pray to God that I hope I win.' Get it now?"
"No."
"It's the irony.A joke has irony.I said I was an atheist but I am going to pray I win."
"Is that irony?"
"Yeah.It's a paradox. Atheist and praying.Opposites."
"And that's suppose to make you laugh?"
"Well, I gave it a shot," I said.
"I thought the funny part is when you said you were going to pick White to win."
"Well,if I lose it won't be so funny."


Tyson Fury

[dagosd2000]

All American Once Upon A Time

In 1925 Americans were the champions in every weight division in boxing.Back then in the U.S. The Sporting News was the definitive rag when it came to publishing articles about sports. The big 3 were baseball,boxing,and horse racing;sports synonymous with America. The heavyweight championship was considered a national treasure in the U.S. It 'belonged" to us because we knew we were the most powerful nation in the world so the heavyweight championship was associated with that belief.The heavyweight champ was the toughest guy on earth and America was the the country with the biggest muscles.Oh I know you Brits would say in 1925 it was the Union Jack that was flying the highest but WW 1 had taken the wind out of their fabric. Great Britain was in no mood to for a repeat performance ,and even though the United States was "Over There" in 1918 it was only for a year and the Germans had about had enough-and al the other allies too.

But we had Jack Dempsey and the rest of the world had heavyweights I can't remember. The U.S. could stick out its chest, and though it wouldn't be until after the second big war that the United States would say to England "We saved your bacon."

Our history books made it sound like we also bailed Russia out but they really did most of the fighting in Europe and we really couldn't have wupped the Gerries alone even with England. Anyway, getting back to that symbol-the heavyweight championship-that' represents who's the boss of the mal species,The United States is now standing in the wings waiting for a heavyweight Godot.. We haven't had a legit heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson. See him now? He's got gray hair.

I guess the beat we had to offer lately was Deontay Wilder and he'll never beat Tyson Fury.So what's that got to say about anything?Well,it's big news in jolly ol' England. Here in the States there's not much interest.But to tell you the truth from where I'm standing now I really don't care who's the heavyweight champion of the world- unless he's paying my rent.


Deontay Wilder

[dagosd2000]

He's A Long Way From Tipperary

Now I see that Tyson Fury is the 4th best pound per pound fighter in the world according to Boxrec. He's been moving around a lot lately. I remember when he was ranked number 1.Now he's number 4.He still hasn't lost a fight. C'mon John Sheppard put your boy back up to number 1 again. Hell,he's the heavyweight champ of the world. He'll fight anyone(Joshua in the works now with a little help from the Mob), and most important of all;in this age of uninterested champions he comes to fight.He puts on a show.

I remember there was always a knock on British heavyweights that they were stand up straight guys who worked the jab and when they thought about it came across with a right hand once in awhile.Even Lennox Lewis,possessed with as much talent as any big man,often fought like he was coming on to a bottle of Nyquil. I used to not like Fury. I mean how could he be the best heavyweight out there with all those flaws?;pushng his jab,sticking his chin out,and slapping his right hand. All those love handles bouncing around and telling the world that he can't jerk off fast enough to raise his testosterone levels(I bet he does it to put a smile on his face ).He definitely stands out among a bunch of heavyweights today that have as much appeal as Jane Fonda's varicose veins.

I got a bet down on Whyte to beat him but if that doesn't happen it ain't gonna bother me that much.Fury can fill up Wembley when you couldn't get anyone to walk across the street to watch Deontay Wilder dress up like Darth Vader and give it a shot with a pug like Luis Ortiz. You can stick Fury in there with a kangaroo and it would be packed to the doors in any arena in England.

England has the best heavyweight in the world,and maybe the best Brit ever. No more Bugners,Bodells,or Brunos.Put to bed the Ol 'Enerys,Clumsy Cockells,and Lantern Jawed Londons.He'd give Lewis plenty of problems because Lennox would know from the start he 'd be in for a fight.



The Germans knew they in trouble

[skanksta]

Great read Dog

[dagosd2000]

Great read Dog

Thank you.Glad you enjoyed it.