Classic American West Coast Boxing

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That's Mighty White Of You

My father always said if anyone asks you what you are tell them,"I'm Italian."My mother didn't like that and she'd tell me,"Tell them you're American." My father and mother both had full Italian blood in them.They were both born in the United States.I never said to anyone that I'm an Italian/American.I've never heard a Chicano say he's a Mexican/American.I've never heard a Jew say he's a Jewish/American. I've never even heard a black guy say he's an African /American.(I think they don't like that "American" part)Concluding my comparisons I've never heard a white guy say he's a White/American.White guys say they're White.Black guys say they're Black.Jews say they're Jews. Italians say they're Italian.And Chicanos say they're Mexican. They may have all been born in the USA but they leave off that "/ American" part.

Teddy Roosevelt was against foreigners who became citizens putting their race in front of / American..I guess my mother had read what Roosevelt had to say on the matter.If you want to know what I say, I tell people I'm Italian unless it's some red neck who's got a beef with anyone who ain't lily white. Then I say I'm American.

When it was posted the other day about Gene Fulmer being the last great "White" American fighter I couldn't have cared less if he was or he wasn't.It was that "White" part that interested me. What did he mean by "White "fighter?His race? The color of his skin?

Some of the posters threw in some Italian fighters like LaMotta,Mancini,and Giardello. No contradictions about those guys(except on merit).But when Oscar De La Hoya was tossed in the mix there was a response that he didn't count because he was a Chicano.

There's no doubt in anyone's mind that a White guy is White. If his family tree sprouted its Germanic roots in Northern Europe and across the English channel he gets a pass. I'm sure Gene Fullmer qualifies. But all those Italian fellas?I know when I was hanging out on the corner of Polk And Oakley in Chicago those Italians didn't call themselves "White".But then again they didn't want to be lumped in with Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. But when they first arrived on the boat the Irish would call them "White n----rs".(I even had a black guy call me a White n----r" but he was smiling when he said it.)Those Italians from Southern Italy who had that swarthy look landing at Ellis Island really caught it.

Italy has a class stratum like no other,If you're from the north you're more of an aristocrat. Fairer skin,lighter hair,blue eyes,taller height,lots of industry,the birth of the Renaissance-a real cultured son of a bitch. The further south you go the darker you become ,the greasier the hair,brown eyes,the shorter you get,you're probably a farmer,and DaVinci wouldn't have set foot in your front yard-a real primitive bastard. Oh.If you're from Sicily,well,your ancestors were swinging on the vines on the trees in Africa..But I never came up with this idea.It's an Italian class concept.

So getting back to the question about the last great White American fighter.Should an Italian be mentioned?Depends who you're asking.If you're asking an Italian he'll tell you somebody like Carmen Basilio.Then he'll turn away and walk back into the pool room with his goombas and say,"You'll never guess what some dumb Paddy just asked me."


Sir Jake LaMotta

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Sir Giuseppe Curreri aka Johnny Dundee ready to have tea with the Queen.

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The Greatest Who Didn't Know How

When Julio Cesar Chavez was in Tijuana preparing to fight Danilo Cabrera the town was going wild. The fight was too big for the Auditorio Municipal and even the bullring so they put it in the racetrack.This was in 1987. Chavez was clearing a swathe through the lower divisions.It would be his last fight at super featherweight before stepping up to take on the 135 pounders.

When Chavez arrived to taper down during the last week before the fight he did the traditional thing.-he showed up at Tijuana's legendary CREA Gym to get in his final workouts.HIs workouts were open free to the public and the crowds that showed up were enormous.Since I'm so anal I made sure I got there early.

I"ve never been that impressed watching one of the great fighters(or just the average)wind down his training during the final week.They don't want to burn themselves out so it's mostly working on little things in sparring and doing exercises.Starting,Chavez shadowboxed to break a sweat and then did his floor exercises..Like I said he sparred lightly mostly to keep his edge.He then went to hitting the heavy bag. That was probably his most impressive work. His shots were hooks aimed low to focus on the body.He finished skipping the rope.He was no Ray Robinson but that would have been out of character.He then talked to the fans.He was the typical Mexican fighter.He wasn't boastful but you could tell he was very confident.

I saw the fight at the racetrack.There was only one ticket window and me and a buddy didn't get tickets in advance.The line was a mile long and moved at a snail's pace. So I told my friend that there is always a way in Mexico to get what you want in Mexico.I took him around back to were they kenneled the greyhounds.There were a couple of city cops guarding the gate.I bribed them like it was nothing and to top it off got off cheap.They told me to put the money in the bushes.I scratched my head.
"You see,"said one of the cops."If the federal police see me taking a bribe they'll come over and want half the money.So please put the money in the bushes."
I wasn't one to argue.I followed directions.

We sat up in the rafters but I told my friend that just before the bell sounds for the first round they'll kill the lights in the audience. That's when we make our break to ringside and get seats there. Well,everybody else had the same idea.When they killed the lights everybody bum rushed down to ringside.The cops? Hell,they didn't want to get trampled.A piece of cake.

Well, Chavez won in a breeze.Looked like Cabrera wanted no part of him. I don't know what made me think about it later but I couldn't remember Chavez hitting the speed bag at the CREA.I couldn't put it together. I eventually forgot about it but many years later after he was done with fighting I heard him talk on some show that he didn't know how to hit the speed bag.No biggie.



Julio Cesar Chavez talking about the speed bag and other things

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Sugar Ray Robinson training highlights.That's one guy I'd have paid money just to see him workout.

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The Worst Of The Best

When I was a kid(here I go again on this jag again )once in awhile the boxing banter would focus on who was the worst heavyweight champion. It usually boiled down to two names-Jess Willard and Primo Carnera.Sometimes Marvin Hart's name would be suggested but then again there were many who didn't consider him a champ.That was Jim Jeffries idea to put Hart together with Jack Root ,after the Boilermaker retired, to determine who the next champ would be.Hart won and then he lost the belt to Tommy Burns.But there were people back then that said TOmmy wasn't a real champ either because Jeff never lost his title in the ring and Jack Johnson was becoming the most recognized heavyweight on the planet.

So the two pugs who wound up at the bottom of the pile were Willard and Carnera. The Italians stuck to Da Preem crediting him being a pretty good fighter.But the rap on him was that most of his fights prior to getting in the ring with Jack Sharkey were fixed.But Primo didn't know what was going on behind his back.Neithger did his manager from the Continent,Leon See.Well,they made a movie about it kinda with Humphrey Bogart playing a reporter writing all this good stuff about this big lug,Toro Moreno,who was mowing down the opposition just like Carnera was doing back during the Depression.In the end Toro gets his shot and the fight is on the level and he takes a beating and goes back to his native Argentina with 60 bucks in his pocket.Carnera faired a little better.He beat jack Sharkey to win the crown with a punch there still trying to determine.Well, Maxie Baer bounced Primo off the canvas like a week old meatball and that didn't help Primo's rep as a heavyweight champion that you could mention in the same breath as Joe Louis.Of course when Joe got a hold of him you could hear Primo screaming at the top of his lungs every time Joe belted him.

Willard,the other heavyweight champion they liked to kick to the curb,could say if was still breathing that at least he made it into the IBHOF.(Carnera will never get in because of all those dubious wins.)Big Jess beat Jack Johnson but then Lil' Arthur was fat and had been drinking enough champagne to drown a horse and gorging his stomach with breaded veal cutlets in Gay Paree. You couldn't keep him down on the farm anymore.Johnson said he threw the fight with Willard.At least that's what he sold. He sold his story to Nat Fleischer to put in his Ring Magazine. No one believes a word of it.Jack said during the fight he waited to get the wink from his people that the money was in the bag. Just before the 26th round he toid his wife to go home so she wouldn't see him get counted out.And then the picture of Jack on his back with his arm shielding his eyes from the sun.Real flimsy evidence.

So those were the two I remember catching it for being the worst of the best.But today especially with all these make believe titles and paper champs it would be a snap to come up with names that you could put beside Wilard's and Carnera's.Michael Bentt,John Ruiz,Pinklon Thomas to name a few.Might as well put them in the Hall too.


Jess Willard

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The Ultimate Road Warrior

When they want to talk about the fighter who'd pack his gear and go into another burg and clear out the opposition there was no better than the Old Mongoose,Archie Moore.For example Moore fought in Toledo,Baltimore,Washington,and St. Louis a total of 38 times and only lost one fight,a decision to Holman Williams.Then there were the times he left the country. He went down Argentine way and handled the local products,including their darling Alberto Lovell, winning 10 and drawing with Karel Sys.Moore came off the deck to KO Yvon Durelle in Montreal , the fight that turned more people onto boxing on the TV at that time than any fight previously ,and then dumped the Canadian in 3 frames in the rematch again in Durelle's backyard.Australia was home to Moore in 1940 when he handled the local down under boys with ease scoring 6 victories ,5 within the distance.2 of those in the win column were over Ron Richards.When Moore finally got his shot at Joey Maxim to win the LH title he went to London and KO'd Yolande Pompey who was from Trinidad/Tobago, that was a part of the UK, in a defense.Moore,still hanging on to his belt,saw Germany and conquered Hans Kalbfell and another lesser known in non title goes.In Brasil he Moore fought twice wining both times,again not putting what was left of his title on the line..

Towards the end of his career Moore cherry picked his opposition. He was wading in the over 200 fight ocean. Who knows how old he was.In his prime during the 40's only Ezzard Charles and Charley Burley had his number.He went into the tank a few times and because of his color he was frozen out of a title shot until Doc Kearns was in his corner.

Archie Moore made San Diego his home but never had a big fight here.He fought a lot at the San Diego Coliseum but that arena was a bandbox holding maybe a couple of thousand.Moore had some bigger fights at the ballpark,Lane Field, located at the foot of Broadway that was across from the harbor. Maybe you could sell 4 thousand tickets if the fire marshal looked the other way.

Oh,that was so long ago.




Old Lane Field.You tell people that there was a baseball park once there and they think you had too much to drink



So long ago

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A Warm Sunny Day

It used to be that in the NCAA rules that freshmen football players in a four year school college couldn't play on the varsity.They had to play on the frosh team.Those teams never played a full schedule like the vacrsity squad and their competition was preetty weak.So instead of those freshmen playing for the four year school they usually admitted to a junior college to get i some good playing experience.Today,in the state of California those schools were renamed community colleges.Often a player would play not only his freshman year but an additional sophomore year. A lot of the good players would commit going to a four year school with the understanding that after playing two years of JC ball they would then go on to the four year university.O.J Simpson is an example. He was a sensation in high school and USC gave him a ride but their coach ,John McKay, wanted him to get some good playing time under his belt before going to USC so Simpson played two years at San Francisco City College.He didn't go to USC until his junior year where he made All America.

Junior college ball was big stuff back then. Most of those players had their sights on a ride to a four year school.I was one of them. I played on San Diego City College's team . We made it to the state championship game but lost by six points.Sometime in the 70's the NCAA changed the rule to allow freshmen to play on the varsity squad.Junior college football suffered as a result.Most of the players on those teams weren't very good.They coudn't get a ride to anywhere.I really believe there were a lot of high school teams that could beat some of those schools.

Mesa Community College isn't located far from my house.They had a football team. Between the high school teams,the local college teams,and the pro Chargers, community college football never got any hype from the media. No one was interested.The kids on campus didn't care.I think it was maybe a buck to watch the game.

One Saturday afternoon I had nothing to do so I drove to the field to watch Mesa play. I sat on Mesa's side of the field in the cement bleachers. If there were maybe 50 people,probably mostly parents.On the other side where the visitors bleachers were there were maybe half that number.I can't remember who Mesa played that day.

It was a warm sunny day so I leaned back against the the bleacher and took my shirt off.Out of the corner of my eye I saw a familiar face.It was Archie Moore sitting by himself. He was there to watch his son play.I had heard he was on the team. I sidled over to where he was sitting. He turned around and gave me a big smile.
"What are you doing here ?"
"Just like you.Watching the game."
Moore was sprouting a silver goatee and was wearing a stocking cap with all those African colors..
"You don't have a son on the team do you?"he asked.
"NO.just watching the game.Something to do."
"I'm hoping my son gets a little more playing time in this time.Last week the coach didn't put him in until the last minute when the gave was over."
"I hope he gets more paying time,"I said trying to lift his hopes.

We were both pretty quiet during the game. I could see Moore's son slide farther and farther down towards the end of the bench as the game progressed.The game was very slow and there weren't any points scored until the second half.Mesa fumbled the ball back near their own end zone.The other team then punched one in for the score but missed the extra point.The game ended that way,5 to nothing.Moore's son didn't get into the game.All the while Moore sat there impassively.I could see his son throw his helmet when the gun sounded to end the game.I didn't know what to say.
"I guess Billy will have to wait for next week,"said Moore.
"Yes,maybe the coach will use him then,"I said.

I didn't follow up on what Mesa College did the following week but I heard later that Moore's son had quit the team.I guess sometimes it's not easy being a son to someone like Archie Moore.


Archie Moore

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The Elbo Rest

It was Johnny Rodriguez's place,The Elbo Rest was a beer /wine joint on Highland Avenue in National City.Johnny owned the buliding.It was an old wood framed two story structure that was in need of a coat of paint and a lot of patchwork..Johnny lived upstairs and his bar was down below.The Elbo Rest was located next to the big Foodland Market were all the Mexicans in the area went to buy their Mexican stuff.My wife liked going there,especially to buy the hot homemade tortillas.They had a machine that made them fresh everyday. But she always took her time shopping so I'd wait for her inside Johnny's place.

Out in the back of the Elbo Rest Johnny had a nice shady area with some grass and on Sunday's he'd cook carne asada and all the locals would be there drinking beer and eating tacos. Everybody knew each other and got along.Johnny would put speakers out back and play Mexican music,mostly the old ranchero songs that you seldom here today except with the older folks.

When I first got to talking with Johnny the diabetes had gotten a hold of him.He wasn't drinking anymore.Oh,I'd see him with a bottle of beer once in a while but that was his limit and it brought back some memories.Johnny once told me he was friends with Archie Moore.This is how it began according to him.In the early 50's Johnny was just a kid and had come down with TB.HIs parents picked lettuce in the Imperial Valley and that's were he caught it.So his family moved away from that migrant picking and settled in town in San Diego.Johnny was in a ward for the kids that had TB at the general hospital that was located near the old Coliseum. It's a homeless shelter now.He told me that Archie Moore would drop by and visit the kids in the ward from time to time.Archie told the kids one day that he had signed to fight Rocky Marciano for the heavyweight championship.Johnny said that the Old Mongoose was pretty confident that he take Rocky,and when he did he'd be back at the hospital and have plenty of cake and ice cram and have party to celebrate.

Well, the night of the fight all the kids in the ward were listening on the radio and when Archie scored a knockdown early they all could taste that cake and ice cream already.But as the fight went on and Archie began to take a beating all the kids began crying and feeling miserable.When Archie couldn't get up again all the kids wanted to die.

But who do you think showed up the next day with his arms loaded with cake and ice cream? It wax Archie with a big smile coming through his split lips and a sparkle from his swollen eyes..Johnny said all the kids couldn't have been happier.

Johnny ain't with us no more. The building were the Elbo Rest was has been vacant for years.Maybe vacant on from the outside but if you put your ear to the door you can still hear Johnny playing his Mexican music.


Archie Moore


I'll have another taco please Johnny

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A Change Of Perspective

Yesterday I had some pretty nice things to say about Gene Fullmer, but I can remember back when he was fighting when I wished he lost every fight. I was always pullin' for the other guy he was fighting.Before he won the title from Ray Robinson I never thought he was a very good fighter.It was his style. He looked clumsy and awkward,didn't really have a great punch in either hand.It was his durability that kept him going. You couldn't hurt the guy.He wasn't hard to hit(you just had to look at his face to see that)And besides he was a Mormon.THat was a knock I had against him.

Oh I know the great Sugar Ray tagged him with that legendary left hook to win back the crown but let's face it,it was a lucky punch. Not so much that it connected but where it did.Another millimeter right of left of that nerve, and Fullmer wouldn't have blinked an eye.Prior to the KO Fullmer was well in command like before.

After splitting a pair with Carmen Basilio, Robinson lost his title to Paul Pender and was unsuccessful in the rematch.This is when i saw that Robby was finally going downhill.There was confusion after that. Paul Pender beat Robinson, beat Terry Downes,and then lost to him,and in the rubber match beat him.Pender retired after that.In the meantine the NBA put on their version of the middleweight championship calling the title vacant with ,in my opinion the two best out there-Carmen Basilio and Gene Fullmer. Basilio was the favorite but he was a "small middleweight."Early on it was evident that Fullmer was too strong for him.The rematch was an echo of the first fight.

WIth Pender later retiring along with Basilio, and Robinson wearing himself out ,Fullmer was considered top dog at 160.But he didn't have a very big following. Marv Jensen ,his manager and trainer,was smart.He kept Fullmer fighting west of the Mississippi.He put Utah,,Fullmer's home state, on the map.Arenas in towns like Bozeman,Montana,and Daly City,CA,were venue for championship fights.Las Vegas was another site. So was Los Angeles.Today,you might think that California is the center for liberals and pinko commies and you wouldn't be far off the mark.But back in the 50's California had a neck as red as a dog's dick. I wouldn't call it the Deep South but it was understood to get on the LAPD you had to a member of the John Birch Sociery.Same thing with all that Rocky mountain area - any James Brown concerts to go to.So when Florentino Fernandez tried Fullmer in Ogden ,Utah those white judges took off their hoods and Floro lost a tough split decision.Same with that Philly dago Joey Giardello.He catches Fullmer in Bozeman and he would have had to have knocked out Fullmer to win the title.Didn't happen .He had to eat a draw.Robinson met Fulmer for the third time in LA and he did remarkably well except that officials Lee Grossman and George Latka who must have been reading the papers while the fight was going on.

Yeah,Gene Fullmer was catching some lucky breaks.But it was the Mormon thing that got to a lit of people. Their religion got started by a fella' named Joseph Smith who one day,accoeding to him, was out in the forest in 1833 and said he stumbled upon some plates that he said were the Ten Commandments.He gathers a following and he starts putting together his Latter Day Saints religion.They stay to themselves and form their own communities and towns.One of their beliefs is that a man can have more than one wife.They don't drink or smoke or get buzzed on coffee or drugs but they ain't shy about marrying 13 year old girls by the bushelful.Well, the good citizens in these near communities by ran Joseph Smith and his flock out of every burg they called home,killiing Joseph Smith.Eventually, it was Brigham Young who saved the Mormons from getting burnt at the stake and herded them off to the faraway Utah territory.

But it was in Utah that the Mormons began having t troubles again.Pioneers in covered wagons started traveling across Mormon land to get to where they were going and the Mormons took umbrage. So they dressed up liker Indians one day and massacred around 150 settlers.They called it The Mountain Meadow Massacre.President Buchanan almost sent in the army to get those varmints but the Civil War was brewing so it wasn't until after the war that the guilty were made to pay.

So what does this have to do with Gene Fullmer?It boiled down to that he was a Mormon. Where he fought in those Rocky Mountains and deserts he was OK but in the big cities back East they were no welcome mats.Blacks especially didn't like Mormons..Something in their scriptures about blacks being begetted from the seed of Cain.

I don't think Gene Fullmer gave a crap about all that.He was born,raised,lived and died in West Jordan,Utah. He gave tithes to the church like a good Mormon. He bankrolled the community rec center in town.I didn't like him when he was fighting.I like him now.I wish he was around so I could tell him that.


Gene Fullmer

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A Pocketful Of Miracles(With A Big Hole In It)

Looking back on the Holmes/Ali Fight.(Yes it was Holmes/Ali-not Ali/Holmes as many refer to it.Ali lost so his name gets second billing)After a two year layoff which was supposed to be his last curtain call,Ali missed the limelight.It wasn't the money so much as the he needed his ego stroked. He retired as the undefeated champ. He thought of himself as still The Greatest and he wanted to hear those words again emanating from the fans.

But there were people now, who were once in his corner, beginning to abandon ship.Ferdie Pacheco ,his ring doctor, told Ali that he would be playing with fire if he fought again.After all those tough battles with Frazier,Foreman,and Norton his body wasn't what it once was,and neither was his brain.But Ali believed there was still another miracle he could pull out of his pocket.

The Mayo Clinic gave him the once over and said he could fight again but they were gritting their teeth when they said that.Ali's brain trust wanted Ali to get down to his in prime fighting weight of 214 pounds.They thought that would bring back the floating and the stinging.Some quack doctor was brought in and said Ali's problem was an underactive thyroid.So he gave Ali thyroid pills,in other words "speed."Well, Ali gobbled them up like M&M's. Angelo Dundee said he didn't know what the pills were and he never asked.Brother.

Ali was losing the weight.He was also taxing his adrenal glands. They were shriveling up like sun dried prunes.Gene Kilroy,his business manager told Ali that he wanted to bet 50 grand on him to win.
"Wait.Don't do it.Something's not right ,"Ali told Kilroy.
Imagine that?Ali knowing he ain't right yet he's going to go through with the fight.Ali felt fatigued.He had difficulty just climbing into the ring.He had no energy.

Ali looked at film of Holmes,his former sparring partner.
"He don't move his head,"quipped Ali.
But when Homes was working with Ali in Manila prior to the Frazier fight he was beating Ali with the jab.And now it was five years later.

There's no use describing the fight.I saw it on closed circuit at the movie theater.Everyone was there to see another miracle. Ali never won a round.Afterwards,they asked Wali Muhammad,one of Ali's cornermen who had been with him forever,about the fight.
"We knew after two rounds that Ali had lost it."
I presume the "We" also included Angelo Dundee.But the ring doctor,the referee Richard Green,and the chief second Angelo Dundee weren't going to throw in the towel.

Ali had too much pride just to sit on on his stool ala Sonny Liston in Miami not coming out answering the bell. Neither was Ali going to flop to the canvas ala Liston in Maine.Even Larry Homes was turning to Richard Green with open arms wanting him to stop the fight.It wasn't until Herbert Muhammad ,who was the head of the Nation Of Islam, sitting at ringside who finally told Dundee that he'd seen enough.But even then Richard Green made sure that it was Dundec,who stepped in ,and not him who called the halt.No one wanted to explain to the Black Muslims why they didn't let their posterchild continue to get his brains bashed in.

Angelo Dundee was also asked afterwards if he didn't see that Ali was not ready to fight Holmes.
"well,when you have a fighter you look at him differently.You see him through rose colored glasses.You don't see the flaws(sic)

I don't think there was ever a figure in boxing who came out smelling like a rose like Angelo Dundee.


Muhammad Ali

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The Ball Breaker

I remember seeing it on that program This Is You Life.it was the life of Muhammad Ali.The show was produced in London in 1978.I always liked This Is You Life because it caught the guest with his guard down so he didn't have time to put up a defense.Ali made that comment as he was being surprised one after another.

They did a good job bringing on stage people from his past and present.There was his mom and dad,his wife Veronica,his kids,and his brother Rudy.The guests also included the Pole he beat to win the Gold Medal in Tokyo,Henry Cooper,JImmy Ellis,Angelo Dundee,and what really blindsided him,Joe Frazier.But what stuck in my mind was when they brought out Joe Martin,the Louisville policemen who had a gym in town,and where the young Cassius Clay went because some kids had stolen his bicycle.Martin went center stage,head held high, and told the old story about how he admonished the young Cassius that if he wanted to get even he better learn how to fight first.Beside Martin was a black fella'.He was introduced as Fred Stoner who was an "assistant trainer" with Martin.He stood a little behind Martin and remained expressionless..Martin showed that famous picture of young Clay posing in his boxing stance when he was 12 years old and repeated the story,with an air, of how he gave the kid his start.

I always thought Ali's boxing life was born in Martin's gym.To hear Ali's mother tell the story it seemed corroborated.Meanwhile this fella' standing behind Joe Martin didn't say anything.it was like he was a dead footnote,didn't have anything to add.

Then Ali piped in.He was just waiting for Joe Martin to get too full of himself.Ali then pointed to Martin.(I'll paraphrase the gist of it the best I can)
"I want you to know something you don't know.You handled the public relations end of it with me when I started winning tournaments but when you weren't around I'd go over to Fred Stoner's gym to learn how to box.He was a better trainer than you.He taught me the jabs and the hooks and the fundamentals."
Martin began looking like the chickens were squatting on his face.
"You see back then the gyms were segregated and the colored fighters were better than what you had in your gym.I got better work in the colored gym.Now you think you surprised me by coming on here so now I got a surprise for you."
Ali wasn't being sarcastic(maybe just a little) but he knew Joe Martin wasn't going to give Fred Stoner any credit.So now they let Fred Stoner say something.He moved to the front and humbly said his peace.
"When Cassius came in to workout I saw that he had very fast movements.I taught him the value of evading punches and using his footwork to protect himself."
By this time you could have fried an omelet on Martin's mug.

Part of Ali's genius was that he often left himself open to the other guy to make him think he had a leg up on him.Then when he got too cocky Ali would cut him off at the knees.Ali could see everything.



The first black fighter to call himself "pretty". He could pull it off.

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A Different Breed Of Cat

When Muhammad Ali lost for the first time in the ring it was against Joe Frazier in Madison Square Garden in that Fight Of The Century. An obscure footnote is that Muhammad's brother, Rahman Ali,also lost,on the undercard, for the first time.

I saw Rahman Ali's last fight.He fought Jack O'Halloran at the old San Diego Coliseum and was KO'd in the 8th round. At the time O'Halloran was kind of an adopted local hero.The fans filled the arena rooting for him.In fact Rahman Ali was sort of the villain that night -othing neutral about him.The crowd didn't exactly boo him when he was introduced but he sure didn't get a standing ovation.

Rahman Ali(the former Rudy Clay)was joined at the hip with his brother.They started out fighting at the same time together in Louisville,Kentucky.But Rahman was certainly no Muhammad Ali in the ring. He was kind of a boring fighter to watch. I couldn't really tell you what his strong suit was in the ring. His actions were pedestrian.He didn't pack a punch. He was never on his toes.He probably sparred more rounds with his brother than anyone but nothing had rubbed off.


Rahman was with his brother everywhere he went. Many years later Jack O'Halloran said that before his fight with Rahman Ali that Muhammad Ali called on the phone and said that he hoped that he would give his brother such a beating that he would never fight again.It would be for his own good said O'Halloran.

There was never any rivalry between the brothers.Rahman was never in his brother's league. In fact the best fighter he ever fought was O'Halloran, and he'll never get to Canastota unless he started hitchhiking.I have no evidence to disprove what O'Halloran said but I'm saying he made that story up.Muhammad Ali would never want to see any harm come to his brother.


The old San Diego Coliseum.Certainly no Madison Square Garden

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The Hypocrite

That Spike Lee movie,Malcolm X,made sort of a hero of the guy when previously he was viewed at least by the white public with trepidation. When Cassius Clay ,after beating Sonny Liston again, announced to the world that he was a Black Muslim joining The Nation Of Islam sect lead by their leader Elijah Muhammad,and had changed his name to Muhammad Ali,white folk felt the apprehension immediately. Muhammad Ali was educated in the tenets of the Nation Of Islam by Elijah Muhammad but took to the style of delivering the message from his new pal Malcom X.

That movie ,Malcolm X, gave us a pretty good picture of how Malcolm Little transformed himself into Malcolm X but left out a vital part-his relationship with the young Cassius Clay.There's a good documentary on Netflix now that fills in that gap.Interviews with Malcolm X's oldest daughter,Muhammad Ali's daughter,Miriam,his brother Rahman,and various spokespeople of the Black community and biographers of Muhammad Ali, embellish what we did or didn't know.THe botom line is in the beginning the two were inseparable.

Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X took to each other right away. Malcolm X had the intellect and the charisma. Muhammad Ali had the charisma but lacked the intellect.Once he understood he was like another "prophet" alongside the other mouthpiece for the cult,Malcolm X. But while Elijah Muhammad was elated that Muhammad Ali was in step,his young protege, Malcolm X ,he felt, was getting to big for his britches.Between the leader Elijah Muhammad(who lacked the magic when he spoke),his sons,and other ambitious followers,Malcolm X was starting to bury himself in an early grave.When Malcolm X said "The chickens have come to roost" after JFK was shot that was the defining moment for his exile from The Nation of Islam.

Meanwhile Muhammad Ali was knocking out fighters.Malcolm X on the other hand was being pushed out by The Nation Of Islam. They went after Malcom X with a vengeance. Finally,Malcolm X broke his ties with The Nation Of Islam and formed his own sect.He named it The Muslim Mosque.

But now Muhammad Ali was told by The Nation Of Islam that he would have to denounce his pal Malcolm X(or else).He acquiesced but it was very hard.Every time he spoke about it the pain showed on his face.And of course Malcolm X felt he was betrsyed by his friend not to mention that his feelings were hurt.But The Nation Of Islam was not a group to mess around with.Malcolm X kept up his attacks against the Nation Of Islam,Elijah Muhammad in particular.Malcolm X's major focus was on Elijah Muhammad's fathering 8 children from 6 of his secretaries.

Well, they got Malcolm X at The Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.if you want to get the goods behind all that killing there is the excellent documentary ,also on Netflix, titled "Who Shot Malcolm X?"It pretty much puts it to rest.

But here's the point I want to make.If Malcolm X was so upset at Elijah Muhammad for cheating on his wife what was he doing hanging out with Muhammad Ali?He was the biggest womanizer on the face of the earth.

Malcolm X

[dagosd2000]

Cassius Clay and Malcolm X before the breakup.

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He Stepped On Our Lines

When Cassius Clay "Shook the World" by making big bad Sonny Liston quit on his stool there were some prominent so called black civil rights spokesmen who wished Sonny had shut Clay's trap for good. Overnight, Clay shot to the top of the black community's star list.Clay even pushed aside Martin Luther King when it came to getting attention.All of a sudden Cassius Clay was the baddest man on the planet.Martin Luther King advocated turning the other cheek. Yeah,Sonny was black too and maybe if he had wupped Clay his star would have illuminated the heavens but Sonny quit,not wanting to fight anymore,and got upstaged by the upstart.After doing his flop in the rematch Sonny went to Sweden to fight.

There were other black athletes who suddenly got second billing to Cassius Clay-Jim Brown and Bill Russell for takers.They were the two headliners in the black sports world when it came for being representatives of the black voice. ,But now their news was under the fold. They were kind of opposites to each other.Brown was a surly early rendition of the young George Foreman. When he spoke it was like you couldn't help see the chip on his shoulder.Behind his gruff manner he wanted to make you feel he could kick your ass and take your woman.

Bill Russell was different. He was the intellectual type.He was above it all.He wouldn't sign an autograph because it was against his principles.He thought that signing a kid's scrapbook was demeaning.Ask him for the time and he'd tell you how they built the watch.A real longwinded fellow.

Clay on the other hand was boyish and though he spoke about being a Muslim that was way out of the other black athletes' league. It was a very bold move.It also made Harlem embrace him unlike the other two aforementioned and old timers like the antiquated Joe Louis.The white community could make room for Brown and Russell.But now they distanced themselves from Clay.Then when he changed his name to Muhammad Ali and said he had joined The Nation Of Islam the old guard wanted Liston to get off his ass and beat him in the rematch.Even some of the Uncle Toms were pulling for Sonny. But then it couldn't have turned out worse for all those wanting to see Muhammad Ali go away.

Today,Muhammad Ali walks on water. He was the most recognized face on the planet.Maybe he still is.

You can look back and say he should have lost this fight and got lucky in that fight but the bottom line is that he left his mark like no other,including the non athletes.Everybody knows who Hitler was.And everybody knows who Muhammad Ali was too.But everybody wishes Hitler would had never been born.


Muhammad Ali

JIm Brown and Bill Russell taking a cue from Muhammad Ali

[dagosd2000]

Both Sides Of The Fence

He talked about white people as devils yet his trainer was an Italian,his business manager was Irish ,and his sportscaster foil was a Jew. Thomas Hauser,his main biographer,was of German descent.He called Elvis Presley "The Greatest." He was a regular on The Johnny Carson Show and The Dean Martin Roasts.Yet Muhsammad Ali joined The Nation Of Islam and bashed "whitey." It was "whitey" who mainly bought all the tickets to his fights,watched him train,and listened to him orate at college campuses.He wore conservative suits.When he trained he wore a gray sweat suit and ran his miles in hob nailed work boots.In the ring it was always white trunks with black stripes.(Except when he fought Joe Frazier the first time.Ali said he was al wrong putting on those duds)He never grew an afro,nor a beard.Not even sideburns.When he split is lip in training for Holmes he hid it with a mustache.Then when the cut healed he shaved it off.

When Ali finally left The Nation Of Islam it was like their borders shrunk.There's not much in the news about them anymore.They always wanted to be left alone and now they've got their wish.But when they got a hold of Cassius Clay they had their posterchild.

I wonder what would have happened if Sonny Liston would have made the bookies happy and disposed of Clay in Miami like the 7 to 1 odds showed? Clay would have been relegated to another Patterson and Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan would have fought their war in the local section of the newspaper.

Ali left The Nation Of Islam long before he passed away.Spike Lee,who's not a Muslim, made his movie about Malcolm X turning him into an iconic figure.They even put him on a stamp.But while Malcolm X never was invited on the Johnny Carson show and was riddled with bullets at The Audubon Ballroom in Harlem,Muhammad Ali became the largest and most famous figure figure ever in the world of sports.

Ali could have thrown out the first pitch of the World Series at Yankee Stadium and had everyone on their feet cheering but I don't know if he knew how to throw a baseball.


Muhammad Ali

[dagosd2000]

The Sun Has Set

San Diego has never played it to Hoyle so to speak when it comes to sports. In California,San Diego has been called a dead end town.San Francisco has the culture,LA has the sparkle,and San Diego is at the end of the line.

As far as sports goes at the end of the line there's never been a pro team that has won a championship. The baseball Padres have been around since 1969 and never won a World Series.The pigskin Chargers came down from Los Angeles in 1960 and never won a Super Bowl.A few years ago the voters turned down a bill to build a new stadium so the owner pulled the team out of town.The Chargers are back where they started,LA.San Diego tried two NBA franchises,first the Rockets,then the Clippers. The fans were lukewarm, and both teams packed their bags and hauled ass. No one jumped out of any windows.No NHL team ever rolled the dice in San Diego.Even being close to the border San Diego doesn't have a MSL franchise.

San Diego was sandwiched between LA and Tijuana when it came to boxing and there was only baloney inside..It was like a minor league city. The feature fights were comprised of rising stars and dying Novas. Archie Moore had established roots in San Diego when he won the light heavyweight title but only fought twice in San Diego,a non tittle fight against a fella' named Frank Buford who had lost half his fights and another non title go against the old warhorse Howard King.Both bouts were at the San Diego Coliseum that when all the seats were filled you could count 1500 noses.

When Muhammad Ali blew into town to fight Ken Norton,the local guy,it was assumed that afterwards Ali's next fight would be against George Foreman.After Ali laid the biggest egg since Roc squatted on Mt. Ararat I put the blame on the city as much as Ken Norton.Ali was jinxed coming here.It figured.The only other big fight of recent memory was Matthew Saad Muhammad knocking out Lottie Mwale in front of a crowd that wouldn't have filled the local high school gymnasium.

You can still find large footprints and hear loud echoes of the Sweet Science in LA, and if you cross the border there are plenty of ex champs living in Tijuana. Julio Cesar Chavez,Erik Morales,Jibaro Perez,and Antonio Margarito are familiar faces. San Diego?Well,you can go to the Helping Hand Of God Church in Southeast San Diego and listen to one of James "the Heat" Kinchen's sermons. David Love Trains fighters the last I heard.There are a few others but none have title belts displayed above the fireplace.

I don't think too many people in San Diego miss boxing.Give them a bike ride along the boardwalk and a micro brew sitting on the beach watching the sunset and they're happy. Come to think of it they're probably right.


Ken Norton

[Chuck1052]

Roger- Rodolfo Martinez has passed away.

- Chuck Johnston

[dagosd2000]

Roger- Rodolfo Martinez has passed away.

- Chuck Johnston

Chuck,didn't know that.Thanks for sharing.A great bantamweight who fought in an era of great bantams.RIP.

[dagosd2000]

Shoot You In Or Shoot You Out

I read where Earnie Shavers died. He sure gave you your money's worth. He'd either shoot you in or shoot you out.In other words he'd either knock the other guy out or he'd wind up with the ref counting ten over him.He had the most perfect right hand I'd ever seen:fast, straight,and powerful.Ali and Holmes said that Shavers hit them the hardest.It was with that right hand of his.He wiped out Ken Norton with it in less than a round.When Jerry Quarry stepped in the ring with Shavers his corner told the Irishman not to lose his head and get careless.But Jerry was never a man of caution.He waded into Shavers and everyone thought his guts would get in the way of Earnie's right hand, but it was Shavers who cracked under pressure.

Earnie should have called it quits after his second loss to Larry Homes,but like most fighters ,after a lengthy career, he was broke,and besides, he still had that right hand of his as an insurance policy.Long after he hung 'em up he said he could still throw that right hand like back in the old days.

I had a buddy down here in San Diego who I used to work out with.He was an undefeated heavyweight as far the amateurs were concrned.i saw my pal take a terrible beating from Earnie Shavers in a tournament up in LA at the Sports Arena.My friend never fought again after that.
"I don't need to take that kind of punishment and expect to last very long,"quipped my friend.
Shavers went on to win the trophy in the heavyweight category.

I guess if Earnie Shavers could get to your chin first he'd make up your mind for you.He'd either shoot you in or shoot you out.


Earnie Shavers

[dagosd2000]

Curtis The Shoeshine King

Before there were malls and they even came up with that name if you went shopping you went downtown. Everything was there:bars,restaurants,and hotels,all the department stores and office buildings,the big movie theaters,the big banks.Then things changed. People started moving farther away from the city and into the suburbs. With them they started building the malls and what was left in the city turned to hell.But now the gentrification process has given the inner cities a shot in the arm but there's a price to pay.It hits your pocketbook and thre's no charm- it's all wind and smoke

But enough of that. i want to tell you about Curtis The Shoeshine King.He had a little stand downtown right next to the parking lot on 6th and C streets across from the bus stop.He was a colored guy who did quite a bit of business.I never caught Curtis' last name. Maybe he told me once but I forgot. The sign on his stand read "Curtis The Shoeshine King." Just about everyone who worked or lived in the area got their shoes shined at Curtis' stand. Women who worked in the office buildings would leave their shoes with him and then pick them up after work. The night before my high school football games I'd drop by Curtis' stand to get my football shoes polished.

Me and Curtis hit it off right almost from the beginning. He was in the Navy during World War 2 on the Enterprise as a mess cook. The Enterprise won more battle ribbons than any other ship in the Navy.Curtis could go on and on describing all those battles.Curtis also liked music and we shared a common bond when it came to trying to outdo each by namedropping who were are favorite singers and musicians.And to to top it all off Curtis said he had boxed in the Navy and won a few service championships.

Curtis was a big man.He had that Navy paunch that hung over his belt.His face was broad and clear.When he talked his eyes came alive.His hair had grayed and was receding at the temples,Mutton chop sideburns ran down his craggy cheeks.I'd sit in his chair and watch him daub polish from one of his tin cans with those strong fingers with the dexterity of slight of hand..He'd shuffle his feet as he buffed my shoes and get to talking about fighters back in the day or what tenor sax man could cut out all the others on the bandstand.He had an old yellowed picture of Lester Young on the side of the wall.

Once when Curtis was giving my shoes a going over I asked him why he didn't pursue a fighting career. He told me that all those Black Murderers Row fellas were a little too strong for him.He knew Archie Moore but said that Charley Burley was the best of them all.
"I thought about fighting when I got ot of the navy,"he said."But then I just got married and my wife said she didn't want to put up marrying no fighter..They were never home and chased around women .Besides their managers were always robbing them blind and they never had enough money especially the colored fighters. So I went to work driving a truck for a moving company."
"When did you open your stand?"I asked him.
"I've been here 12 years. My wife died awhile back and my two sons went off and joined the Navy like I did.They iive in Detroit now,That's where I'm from.They come out to see me once a year."
"No regrets then?"
"Well, we all have a few.But I'm pretty happy. I do a good business but then again I don't ask for much. I've got a flat down on Market Street. Once in awhile I'll go to one of those sailor bars and fool around with the girls. When a jazz group comes into town I'll go. When I feel like watching a fight the Coliseum usually has a good card. Besides,I've got a lot of friends and I've still got my health."
"Sounds like you've got it made,"I remarked.
"it could always be worse,"he said."By the way,you didn't say what color you wanted me to put around your soles-gray or black?"

Lester Young



AND...

[dagosd2000]

KIndred Spirits To A Point

"I had a kinship with Jimmy and felt he and I were of the same cloth.He was a great athlete and a caring man.Great competitors who happen to be great friends are rare.Jimmy Ellis was that to me and I will miss him."

Muhammad Ali's homage to Ellis' on his passing on May,6th,2014

They were both born in Louisville,Kentucky;went to the same high school(Clay graduating,Ellis dropping out);and both suffered with dementia in later years.They trained together and were handled by Angelo Dundee. I don't know how much Dundee taught them about fighting.They both, early on, trained in Chris Dundee's 5th Street Gym in Miami. I know Clay was influenced by the style of some of those Cuban fighters,especially Luis Rodriguez and Jose Legra.Clay had the ability to move like those fellas ,Jimmy didn't. When they got together to fight for the vacant and meanigless NABF title in 1971, Clay who was Ali now, was past his prime but still hado too much for Ellis. Jimmy had gotten the tag of being Ali's sparring partner by then.He learned to live with it. Angelo Dundee had to decide whose carner to work in.He chose Ellis'. I remember Dundee saying he thought Jimmy had earned his right to have him there.I think Dundee was taking a little pity on him.It was nothing personal.And I think Ali was glad that Dundee chose to be on the other side of the ring.

I always thought Jimmy Ellis and Cassius Clay kind of looked alike.They both wore white trunks and white shoes in the ring.But Ali was the star and wanted everyone to know it.He talked a lot and craved the limelight.Jimmy was a quiet man and though he fought hard in the ring,outside of it he was a pious man and stayed home with his family. He married his childhood sweetheart,Mary.They were together until his death. They had 6 children.I don't have to describe Ali's social antics.It's public record.

But though not many newcomers to boxing have ever heard of Jimmy Ellis,Muhammad Ali is like Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth died the year I was born but every kid my age "remembered" Babe Ruth.Maybe it's time people remember Jimmy Ellis.


Jimmy Ellis

[dagosd2000]

Never Mentioned It

When Angelo Dundee opted to be in Jimmy Ellis' corner the night he fought Muhammad Ali instead of the other way around it was really because Angelo, being in addition to Ellis' trainer, was also his manager.Bottom line was that there was more money in store for Dundee.

But I remember Angelo saying that he wanted to be in Jimmy's corner because he wanted to help the former middleweight more than he did Muhammad. If it hadn't had been for Ali it is doubtful that Dundee would have had any part training Jimmy Ellis. Ellis approached Dundee to see if he'd be his trainer. Dundee took a look at Jimmy in the gym and was doubtful.But Ellis was a childhood pal of Ali, and with Ali's prodding and assuring Dundee that he wanted Ellis as his sparing partner, Dundee sealed the deal.

I remember seeing Ellis lose a hard fought decision to Henry Hank.Both boys were middleweights at the time.Hank would grunt every time he threw a punch. I think that's what might have impressed the judges. But nonetheless when Ellis moved up two weight categories to heavyweight I thought he would become cannon fodder. But he looked good beating Leotis Martin,Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry.and Floyd Patterson all in a row. The fights were close but Ellis was a good boxer and his skills pulled him through. But I remember something about him having asthma.I couldn't find anything about that on the internet but I think they said because of is asthma he would wear down in the later rounds.He often did.

When Joe Frazier crushed him after the Patterson fight Ellis should have thought about retiring.But Ali gave him a payday later.He fought mostly ham and eggers after that.But Ron Lyle,Earnie shavers,and Joe Frazier stepped in and should have reminded Jimmy that he'd never be a contender again. Finally,an eye injury in training finally put an end to his career.

Yesterday I said that Jimmy Ellis was a pious man. when I mentioned him in the same breath as Ali. Yeah,I know Ali finally beat the draft dodging rap because the Supreme Court considered him a minister. Well, if Muhammad Ali was a minister he sure didn't act like one. if he was a minister then I was the Pope.


Muhammad Ali

[dagosd2000]

Time To Get Serious

When Andy Ruiz came off the deck to beat Anthony Joshua to a pulp I was so glad. Here was a guy who came out of nowhere,an underdog,and won just about all the subtitles of the world heavyweight championship. Ruiz was born in Imperial,California that's a stone's throw across the border from Mexico. If his mother would have had him in Mexico while she was visiting her abuelita, Ruiz could have been president of the republic. Overnight he would have been the greatest of all Mexico's sports heroes.But Andy was born in Gringolandia..He's a Chicano just like ODLH.So near but so far away.

But with all that said the president of Mexico invited Andy and his clan to their Casa Blanca in Mexico City anyway.

Joshua exercised the rematch clause and I began thinking if Ruiz was going to take a siesta.I drove down to Tijuana to watch the fight for free. To tell you the truth there wasn't much interest down there regarding the fight.The bars and restaurants were pretty much empty. Where I was at, the bartender had the fight on the TV but the few people inside weren't even watching it.All I can say is that it was one of the most boring fights I've ever seen. Ruiz looked like he didn't train.It's hard to tell with this guy because he's so fat.He was fat against Joshua the first time but he lit a fire under his ass.In the second fight he looked like he took it in the ass.

This Anthony Joshua,for me is a dud.There used to be a guy on this forum(Kalan?)that thought Joshua was the second coming of a young Mike Tyson.He stopped Vlad The Inhaler Klitschko to win the title in a good fight but then he ran into Ruiz and has never showed much after that.He did beat Ruiz fair and square in the rematch but he just pecked away with his jab while Ruiz was thinking about his next meal. Terrible fight.

So I figured both these guys were a couple of flash in the pans.Joshua went on to lose two in a row to Usyk who I've got to give credit to-he's tough. Not much in the skill department, but Joshua,who has a body like a black Arnold,might think of changing careers and buy himself a pair of marblebaggers,grease himself up,and strike a pose.He reminds me a lot of this black heavyweight some yesrs ago,Michael Grant-great body but no heart.

But Andy took stock of himself and came back strong against another unmotivated Chicano fighter,Chris Arreola,and last night showed plenty of fight against a game 42 year old Luis Ortiz.There were only highlights available on YouTube today but the exchanges were exciting ;not exhibiting great technique but good gave and take. Ruiz floored Ortiz thrice but I think Ortiz having 42 years under his belt showed how the nerves in the brain don't function like they do when you're 24.

If they want to inject some life into the heavyweight division match Ruiz with Usyk of Fury by the end of the year.Forget Joshua and Wilder.Ruiz is the top contender. He looks like he wants to get serious.

[dagosd2000]

Give The Man A Cigar

"Look.There's Bobby Chacon,"said the guy wearing the yellow polyester shirt.
"Where?",said the guy standing next to him.They could have passed as brothers. The polyester shirt he was wearing was green.
"Over there sitting by himself on that couch."
It was the time for the annual World Boxing Hall Of Fame ceremony up in Inglewood at the Marriott Hotel by the airport.Many of the well known and not so were there including the hangers ons and the leeches whose sole purpose was to get as many free autographs so they could then go on Ebay and hawk them. Bobby Chacon was an easy mark. He was eaten up by the dementia by now and was living in a care facility.He would usually be with his caretaker Rosie who really didn't seem to keep that close an eye on him. I don't know where she had run off to when those two caught up with Bobby.He seemed to be off in a dream sitting alone in the lobby when those two zoomed in on him.

"Hey champ,"shouted the guy in the yellow shirt as he plopped next to Bobby on the couch."How would you like a cigar?"
Bobby had this stupid grin on his face.You never knew with him by now. He could go off suddenly for no reason, but at that moment he seemed OK.The other guy in the green shirt squirmed next to Bobby holding a manila folder full of pictures.Bobby put the cigar in his shirt pocket.He hadn't said anything;just looking at the pair with this dumb expression.
"How would you like to sign some autographs Bobby?"said the yellow shirt smiling ear to ear."Here's a pen."
Bobby took the pen and before he could click it open green shirt was depositing pictures of Bobby in various boxing poses on the table in front of him.Bobby began signing still wearing that goofy looking smile.

It went on like that for about a half hour. Bobby must have signed 50 or so pictures. Once in awhile he'd chuckle but he never said anything.When it was over green shirt put the signed pictures back in the folder.
"Here Bobby have another cigar,"said yellow shirt.
Bobby snatched the cigar and crushed it in his hand. The stupid grin was gone from his face. Then he lunged at the guy grabbing his neck.
"Get this maniac off me,"screamed yellow shirt.

Just then Rosie came back and saw what was happening.A security guard and Greg Haugen ,who had just passed by, pulled Bobby off yellow shirt.I thought he was going to have a heart attack.
"What happened here?"asked the security guard in a shaky tone of voice.
"Bobby was just having some fun,"smiled Haugen as he still had a hold of Bobby.He was still mad as hell.
The security guard looked over his shoulder and told the two guys that they better leave.
"I don't want anymore trouble in here,"he said.
I noticed that the cigar Bobby had put in his pocket had fallen on the carpet.I picked it up. Greg Haugen had cooled Bobby off and was walking him towards the back.Yellow shirt and green shirt skedaddled out of the lobby as fast as they could run.I walked over to the security guard.He was still looking over his shoulder.
"Here,"I said to him."Why don't you have a cigar.I think everything's all right now."


Me and Bobby and the painting I did of him.I can honestly say he never grabbed me by the neck.