Classic American West Coast Boxing

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I never thought Cervantes tanked. Rather, I speculated that Cervantes had turned into another version of the 1975 Jose Napoles, a once-great champion so badly decayed that he's ripe to be KO'd by any contender.

I also speculated that Cervantes and his team realized he was hopelessly shot, and were staying in the game just to make one more good payday while getting KO'd.

But then again, maybe not...
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When Cervantes fought Pryor he was still a pretty good fighter. However,he didn't fight any of the top men after that. Napoles was ready to be had after the two Muniz fights. He was drinking and not training. His cuts were a constant problem. He really let go of the rope.

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Jesusita En Chihuahua

Ask almost anyone in the world to come up with a quick Mexican name and you'd more than likely get "Pancho Villa" for a response. Was he the president of Mexico? No. Was he a bandit? Often.Was he a revolutionary? He thought of himself as one. Did he kill a lot of people? Muchos.. Was he a "Robin Hood?" Sometimes. Did the people love him? Yes and no.100 years ago today on July 20th,1923 Pancho Villa was assassinated in Parral ,Mexico.

The revolution had been over for 3 years. By the time the last bullet had been fired along with all the "gritos" Pancho Villa was on the run in his home territory in the state of Chihuanha with only a handful of loyal followers left,his Dorados,.He was like a feral tiger living by threat and compassion, whatever the mood called for. He was once a brigadier general,the most famous and powerful man in a shattered republic. He was The Centaur of The North they called him. Now he was a rabid animal.

He had frittered his power away in the dens of sin in Mexico City waiting for his luck to hold so he could name a proxy, ,most likely his educarted general Felipe Angeles,to assume the throne. But his rivals were still around and they didn't want a Villa Mexico.They organized and studied tactical warfare and got their armies ready while Villa and his men basked in the in the sun of a revolution that was temporarily on hold. This was at the end of the year, 1914.By the time it had crossed into 1915 Pancho Villa knew all too well the tastes of defeat.A bad taste for a hombre muy bravo but caught napping. 1915 was a very bad year for Pancho Villa.

!915 was also a not gong well for Jack Johnson ,the exiled heavyweight champ.After the government convicted him of transporting a woman across a state line for immoral purposes,The Mann Act,( If there was no white Hope that could cast him aside we'd throw him in jail)Lil' Arthur high tailed it to Paris where wine women in song was trying to drown out the noise of the First World War.

But Jack wanted to get back to America. He wanted to see his sick mother. He was wiling to defend his title if it meant he could cross the border.

The current vanilla face hope was big o' farm boy Jess Wiilard. But how to get the two in a boxing ring. Well, Pancho Villa of all people tossed his hat into the ring so to speak. He'd put up 100 thousand dollars in gold to stage the fight in his backyard of Chihuahua,more specifically in Ciudad Juarez.

But Pancho had lost his clout.The U.S didn't give a damn about him. The current leader of Mexico ,Carranza,couldn't wait to hag him. But that didn't deter Villa. He loved a good fight whether it was his cavalry charging into battle,his fighting roosters bloodied in the paleque,or the toro getting gored in the bullring. A world heavyweight fight was right up his calle.

But Johnson wasn't even in Mexico. Neither was Willard. Carranza wasn't going to let that happen If Johnson stepped foot into a patria chica he'd have him arrested and handcuffed to the U.S.As for Big Jess he might be kidnapped and held for ransom. You never knew What mood Pancho was in or what his finances were.If Pancho Villa wanted to pull this off he needed a lot of help. Besides, there were a lot of guys with deep pockets who could fill the order.

It would have been interesting to see an asterisk below Pancho Villa's story noting that he was also a famous fight promoter. could you imagine asking someone to come up with a quick Mexican name and get,"Pancho Villa the fight promoter" as the kicker?


Pancho Villa's favorite song.


Viva Villa!!!

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Jess Willard

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GIANT

Everybody called him Jack The Giant. He had one of those Polish last names that had too many syllables that you couldn't pronounce unless you practiced it to memory or were from Poland. The guy was big.I mean really big. He had to be 6 foot seven if he was an inch. He had that blanched skin with no chest hair and arms that hung down to his knees it seemed, Square jawed he had a head of full sandy hair and bushy brows and a fighters nose. His eyes were a gray blue and didn't tip him off.

Jack The Giant used to hang around the gyms and I'd see him most of the time at The Coliseum working with what Burke Emery had to offer. I sparred with him once. He was so big that you couldn't hurt him (At least I couldn't) but then he was so slow and clumsy ,and for such a big guy didn't have much of a punch,that he couldn't hurt you either.

Well,I ran into him a few weeks ago at all places one of those animal emergency hospitals.You see I got these two poodle dogs and they're starting to get up there in years and my wife keeps taking them out with her when she goes recycling and she keeps them out there too long.

Well, one day she comes back with the dogs after one of her recycling quests and I could see the littlest of the dogs wasn't feeling well-listless, kind of dopey. It was a Sunday and I knew the vet would be closed so I took the pooch to the emergency hospital.I get nervy about the dogs.I've gotten attached to them pretty good. If anything would happen ...

Well, I get to the hospital and the placed is packed with people and their pets. A vet comes over,a young fellow,and asks me what's going on.I tell him that my dog isn't feeling up to snuff and if they could check her out.He gives her a quick scan and says she looks responsive enough and says she might have eaten some marijuana off the ground.That don't satisfy me so he says for 16 hundred dollars they can give her the once over. I said go ahead.God forbid if I would have said no and something bad would have happened.So the kid scoops up my dog and says it will be a few hours.

Well, I 'm sitting there in the waiting room doing my crossword puzzles trying to get my mind off it when in walks this big tall guy.I didn't notice at first but he had this tiny dog wrapped in his massive hand. He takes a seat next o mine. I give him a look and it ain't long before I make a connection.
"Ain't you Jack the guy they called jack The Giant that used to hang around the Coliseum with the fighters?"
He gave me a quick study holding the little dog in the palm of his hand.
"Yeah," he said not really into it.
I was ready to drop it when he started up again.
"I'm here with my dog. He's about done ,"he said said softly.
"How old is he?"
"19.I don't know what the other dogs will do without him,"he continued now his voice beginning to crack.
He had one of those miniature chihuahuas. The dog was snorting and wriggling like he didn't like being held like that.
"What's his name?" I asked him.
"Big Jack.I named him after myself,"Jack The Giant said.I could see his eyes getting watery. He was struggling to hold himself together.The dog kept snorting and fighting to get out out of his hand.In the meantime a woman vet came out to tell me that there was nothing wrong with my dog and that the tests showed nothing and I should rest her and not have my wife take her out recycling anymre.Then the young vet who came over to me knelt beside Jack The Giant and said that if he was ready it was time to walk with him to the back room.He got up slowly ,the little dog still snorting and straining to get free.
"I hope everything turns out all right," I said.
I don't know if he heard me because he was trying to quiet his dog by holding him close to his heart.


My two dogs.

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I read where Tony Bennet passed away. Miss you "T'



We'll be thinking of you

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Anything You Say Champ

Rick Farris has an interesting Jose Napoles story. It goes back to the time Jose was training to get ready the first fight with Hedgemon Lewis the year 1971. Rick,who you should know by now was a fighter himself,was at the Main Street Gym getting in a workout when the welterweight champ walked in in his boxing apparel ready to do some sweating also.

Rick told me that everyone was in awe of Mantequilla making his unexpected entrance. After getting over being star struck the other fighters returned to their chores. Rick was hitting one of the heavy bags.As he was pounding away he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Napoles.He told Rick in no uncertain terms that the bag he was hitting now belonged to him. Rick ,being the stand up guy figured," OK you're the champ go at it."Rick relinquished the canvas and moved over to another bag.

After renewing his efforts Rick felt that hand again on his shoulder. Jose now implored him that he was intruding again.Again Rick took no offense and let Jose have his way. Rick then noticed the smell of whiskey emitting from Nopoles' mouth. He was in DUI land.

I guess now it was time for Jose to start sparring with one of locals,Baby Cassius. After a couple of rounds of toying with the Baby ,Napoles was ready to be the tipsy imp again. Napoles went over to the drinking fountain and ingested a big gulp of water.Instead of swallowing though he walked up to one of the gym rats who thought of himself as a trainer of sorts by the name of Phil Slivers(not Sgt. Bilko), and unloaded the mouthful of water onto Silver's face.Everyone stared flabbergasted.

I guess Napoles had had enough fun for the day and left swaggering out the door. With that things got back to normal except for Silvers drying off his face and trying to look like he had a purpose being there.


Jose Napoles

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A young Rick Farris with his boyhood idol Dwight Hawkins

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The First To Do It

How about the greats that got out of the starting gate fast and ran up the big win streaks until they finally hit they hit the wall?Off the top of my head some of the more famous upsets.

After Sugar Ray Robinson put together 40 straight ,Jake LaMotta was the first to put Ray into the loss column.

Wiliie Pep showed 62 victories without a blemish when Sammy Angott mugged him in Madison Square Garden to tag his paisan with his first loss.

Of course there was Schmeling catching Louis with his guard down.

More recent times we have Frankie Randall erasing Julio Cesar Chavez' from the undefeated ranks,yet unofficially Pernell Whitaker had done it earlier except in the judges' minds.

And who can forget what Buster Douglas did to Mike Tyson?

But one win streak that came to a halt that few(at least on the forum)don't rehash is Chucho Castillo's TKO over Ruben Olivares to win the bantamweight title and hand Ruben his first ring failure.

Castillo didn't seem to pose any great threat to El Puas the second time they would face each other. The first fight,a title affair, was an honest decision in Ruben's favor. But Chucho hung in there with the bigger banger.Castilo always put everything out there when the bell rang.When I saw him at The LA Forum in an effort to win the bantamweight title from Lionel Rose he let it al hang out as customary. Rose got in the sharper punches and after the final bell the Aussie got his hand raised. An immediate riot ensued, but to be honest it was sort of a festive riot.I really think the aficianados knew that their companero lost but the gang wanted to honor his effort by trying to burn down the building. They didn't want to kill anybody -I think just wanting to celebrate Chucho's guts in the fight.

When Castillo won the title from Olivares, again Castillo didn't back down. The fight was close but then Castillo opened a deep cut over Olivares's eye. and the ring doc took a look and said that was it.

There was a third fight and this time Olivares had regained the crown .However,he had to get up from the canvas to prevail.

Chucho Castillo isn't in the IBHOF.Maybe Rick Farris should think about him getting to the podium for The West Coast Boxing Hall Of Fame bash. The plucky little guy deserves the honor.


Chucho Castillo

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Did I Ever Tell You About The Time...?

You've probably got similar stories. When you saw someone who wasn't famous at the time and then later went on to be a big celebrity.Like someone seeing Elvis rockin' n' rollln' at some state fair down south somewhere when he just beginning to break all the girls' hearts. I've had a few experiences like that.

Did I ever tell ya' about time I saw the Beach Boys singing during the intermission at the surfer movies they were showing at the ol' Roxy Theater in Pacific Beach? It was 60 cents admission and we all liked the way the Beach Boys sang those surfer songs but that was when only the beach crowd liked them and knew about them and that was back in the early 60's when they were just starting out.

Or did I ever tell you about how Carlos Santana had a rock n' roll band that used to play rock 'n roll music down in Tijuana where he was from in some of those clubs like The Convoy Club and in the strip joints where the girls would walk out onto the stage and dance to three songs and take everything off and you could have sexual acts with them during the third song?That was back in the early 60's too when he was just starting out.There was no cover charge in any of those places but you had to buy a long neck bottle of Mexicali beer for 75 cents.

I've rambled on about how I saw Kenny Norton begin his boxing career at the old San Diego Coliseum with the wooden bleacher seats all around the inside of the arena where you could get just as good a view if you had paid to sit ringside.The place was a cracker box it was so small. Only held around 1500 when sold out.

Yank Durham hired Eddie Futch to work with Norton. He'd have him work with Joe Frazier in LA but Futch knew he had a project going' with Norton and brought him along slow. At first the San Diego crowd was all behind Norton but then it got to be stiff after stiff and Kenny was having his problems with these guys even though he hadn't lost yet.He didn't burst onto the scene like Frazier who was an Olympic champ and was fighting in the Garden against guys like Mathis and Bonavena. After a while the fans started cooling off towards him. Then there was his fight up in LA against Jose Luis Garcia. I could see this comin'. Garcia knocked him out cold and now Norton was not even close to cracking into the big time.

But Norton got himself right.A local shrink he was seeing claimed he worked his magic on Norton using hypnotism. Norton claimed it was a lot of those self help books. I say it was Eddie Futch sticking with him. Anyway, when Muhammad Ali came to town thinking he had a soft touch Norton broke his jaw and now was running with the big boys.

But I can say I saw Ken Norton when he was busting his nut fighting guys with names like The Bamboo Forest.And then there were those surf movies when Brian Wilson and Mike Love weren't jealous of each other. And of course how could I forget Carlos Santana grinding away on the guitar in TJ while I was leaning over the rail waiting for some girl to unzip my fly.


The Roxy Theater in Pacific Beach...


the Convoy Club in Tijuana...



and the old San Diego Coliseum. There all gone.Just memories.


Ken Norton

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Dennis Wilson was the only Beach Boy who surfed

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We'll Never Know

Salvador Sanchez,while on his way up the featherweight ladder,was not a familiar nor popular face in the Southland where noteworthy Mexican fighters were attracted to the arenas of Los Angeles under the watchful eyes of either Aileen Eaton or George Panassus.Prior to Sanchez beating "Little Red" Lopez to capture the WBC championship Sanchez had made only two appearances in Los Angeles rings-one against a no name fighter, Juan Escobar, that ended in a draw, and the other with another vague name,Richard Rozelle that was a KO win for Sanchez.

Just about all the boxing pundits thought that Sanchez would be fodder for Danny Lopez who was at the top of his game The fight was a stunner. Lopez hit Sanchez with all his artillery but it seemed his ammo was nothing but short rounds.He couldn't make a dent in the guy.On the other hand Sanchez would answer every one of Lopez's shots with what seemed like armor piercing shells.By the time the hard luck frame came round Danny Boy looked more like the song than a champion.

After the big win Sanchez defended against Ruben Castillo but Sanchez did just enough to win a decision. Maybe he got lucky with ' Little Red."? But the rematch in Caesars Palace was a carbon copy of the first fight. Sanchez was becoming the new talk of the boxing world.

When he signed to fight the undefeated Wilfredo Gomez there were a lot of those boxing pundits that thought Gomez, even adding 7 pounds, would chalk up another KO victory to add to his win streak.. After Gomez destroying Carlos Zarate, another undefeated KO artist and Mexico's bantamweight successor to Ruben Olivares,it was the match made in heaven. The flamboyant Puerto Rican and the stoic Mexican.

But bango! Sanchez went right after him and had Wifredo sagging on the ropes.Sanchez showed who was boss.

Seemed to me that Salvador Sanchez did just enough to win. It depended on how hard his opponent fought. If the pressure was on Sanchez would up it a notch.

After besting Gomez, Sanchez was around for three more defenses,all close wins. HIs last defense was against Azumah Nelson in Madison Square Garden.Not many Mexican fighters got asked to show their talents in that venue.

But Sanchez was burning the candle at both ends by now. I started to think that his number would come up sooner or later. But before that happened he died instantly in a terrible car crash when he slammed his fancy new Porsche into a truck on a winding mountain road in the state Queretaro after polishing off a bottle of red eye with his compadres at the local cantina.

Of course we'll never know if Sanchez would have gone on to greater heights. Maybe that car wreck was a tip off.


Salvador Sanchez

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Mexican Standoff

I watched the first part of the Oscar De La Hoya documentary,"Golden Boy " last night and I don't know what to make of it.Often when I watch these life stories I'm left feeling that they left something out that would give further insight to the subject.

Oscar says that he was physically abused by his mother.but that he loved his mother and she loved him and when he got into the ring with an opponent he would picture his mother''s face on the opposition and take out his aggression yet he dedicated his victories in her memory. I'm left scratching my head.

I'll just throw that part out there about his relationship with his mother. I didn't spend all that time making a documentary about Oscar De La Hoya. All I can say is when someone puts one of these things together he slants it in favor or not.This one is tipped in Oscar's favor even though it covers the divorce,cross dressing,and alcohol and drug abuse. I guess we're all human.Oscar is forgiven. Got no problem with that.

Still though he's an enigma with me. I remember when he won the Olympic gold medal in 1992. I was in Mexico at the time. A reporter covering the games gave a rundown of the day's events. At the very end of is spiel he said(I'll translate),"Oscar De La Hoya the American won the gold medal in boxing in the flyweight class."The American. It was then that I knew that Mexico wasn't gong to embrace this guy. unless he proved his affinity for "El Tri.".

When De La Hoya turned pro he got off to a great start.He was undefeated fighting in The Garden and Las Vegas.He was on is way to winning all these alphabet titles.He beat Camacho and Whitaker,and committed the sacrilege of stopping Julio Cesar Chavez.That left a real bad taste in the mouths of the aficianados.And to top it all off Oscar was not only The Golden Boy, he was a pretty boy too.He wasn't ugly, a trait that's not really a drawback for a man ,especially a macho man in Mexico. Pancho Villa was "feo.". Julio Cesar Chavez would always degrade the guy with the twinkle in his eye. "El Puas" had a fighter's face and they adored him. There's a saying in Mexico,"Un hombe como un oso es mas hermoso."(A man who is like a bear is more beautiful)

Oscar never fought in Mexico..He married a Puerto Rican gal of all people.And Oscar never lost to a Mexican fighter,national or Chicano.When it came down to the showdown with Feiix Trinidad Mexico gave Oscar a pass and a hard look. For some unknown reason Oscar gave the fight to Trinidad in the last two round because Oscar hopped on his bicycle.He never won a big fight after that.He even said that things went south for him after the Trinidad fight.

Oscar awhile back became a Mexican citizen because he felt that he was "Mexican " inside. Brother.

He's popular now in Mexico because he's a media celebrity.He's rich. He fashions himself as a fight promoter yet Canelo broke away from him.,(Canelo is kinda' ugly)He's given to charities in the LA community building hospitals and schools.My wife,when we were at a West Coast Boxing Hall Of Fame event,busted her ass to get to De La Hoya's table(he was there to give applause to Erik Gomez one of his matchmakers who was being inducted)My wife told him to turn around and smile so that she could take his picture.(The picture came out all blurry).He dropped what he was doing and turned around and gave her a warm smile from ear to ear. I don't think he saw his mother's face.


Oscar De La Hoya

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Episode 2

Was going to post this tomorrow but after watching the second episode of "Golden Boy" I want to get this off my chest. I said earlier today in reference to Oscar's divorce,cross dressing,and alcohol and drug abuse issues,"I guess we're all human.Oscar is forgiven. Got no problem with that."

That second part reveals that Oscar wasn't there for his kids growing up. Oscar validates that.HIs kids are hurting. Oscar is struggling with reconciliation now so he says.

So what I said about forgiving him and me having no problem with that is meaningless.It's his kids that need to find that moment for forgiveness That won't be easy. It'll take time.It will De La Hoya's toughest fight. I hope he wins for his kids' sake.

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When The Underdog Becomes The Favorite

If you look at the replay of the fight, knowing nothing of the combatants, you'd have probably awarded the decision to the taller fellow with mustache.I'm talking about the title defense when Carlos Zarate put his WBC crown on the line, after his devastating loss to Wilfredo Gomez,against this little known from down south ,Lupe Pintor, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

You never know when two Mexican fighters get into the ring about who is going to carried on the fans' shoulders and the other carried from the ring on a stretcher so to speak. Forget the odds. The favorite is especially up against it.If he doesn't prove his worth and comes up short his loss is not only noted in the record book but his machismo has taken a macho wallop to boot.

Prior to his fight with Pintor, Zarate had faced the undefeated Wilfredo Gomez,the holder of the WBC super bantamweight championship in Fredo's backyard of San Juan ,Puerto Rico.Both fighters hadn't lost. Both fighter's had knocked out all their rivals It was Mexico against Puerto Rico in a made to order battle.

But it was the way Zarate went down to defeat. He was overwhelmed.Yeah,he said he was sick.Yeah,he said he couldn't make weight.It didn't hold water.The aficianados in Mexico,if Carlos was to not win, wanted see their guy falling on his sword giving his life's blood to the final drop in a pugilistic death throe.Instead Carlos got bounced around like a canoe in a hurricane named Wilfredo. It was a defeat that wasn't talked about much in Mexico.

Zarate needed to right the storm.He fought a couple of shadows(one guy was making his first start as a pro)) and then he inked the contract to fight Pintor.But Lupe's name wasn't one that was kicked around in discussion inside the beer joints in the LA Southland.He had chalked up two easy wins in Los Angeles before his big fight with Zarate but he still didn't hadn't won any hearts.. The bookies were reluctant to take any action on the fight. Zarate would get well again.

But then as the fight moved along Zarate wasn't showing his old stuff. He dropped Lupe in the 4th and maybe the sense that the end was in sight, but Lupe straightened his back. He was standing in there.Zarate was disappointing again. You could feel the mostly Mexican crowd was beginning to lean toward Pintor. Sure,the fight was close but eveyone thought Carlos would close the show early.but it was Lupe that showed he had the more mettle to get the applause at the end of 15.THat was enough to get his hand raised.There were no riots.Instead they admired the pluck of the klittle guy.

Like I said at the top,when two Mexican fighters get into the ring you can toss out the records books.There was Eloy Sanchez doing away with Joe Becerra.Ruben Olivares hitting a bump in the road with German Bastides. Mexico likes the underdog , and of course if he's one of their own..


Lupe Pintor

[Joson]

Here's a Tijuana-US border scene question for you.

In the decades that you've been an observer of that region's boxing scene, did you ever see links between boxing and bullfighting? I'd expect that in Mexico, the two industries might somehow be related.

I remember John H. Stracy saying the Mexico City arena where he fought Napoles wreaked of carrion. Apparently the arena staged lots of bullfights.

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Here's a Tijuana-US border scene question for you.

In the decades that you've been an observer of that region's boxing scene, did you ever see links between boxing and bullfighting? I'd expect that in Mexico, the two industries might somehow be related.

I remember John H. Stracy saying the Mexico City arena where he fought Napoles wreaked of carrion. Apparently the arena staged lots of bullfights.

The bullfight season is during the summer.As far as Tijuana was concerned boxing and bullfighting weren't associated with each other.The fight promoters and the bullfighting impresarios were separate.



The old downtown bullring in Tijuana.No longer there.Had some great fights and I guess some great bullfights.Wasn't into bullfighting.Always wanted the bull to win.

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Mexico's most famous comedian,Cantinflas, fighting the bull.He was a good bullfighter.And that's no bull

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His Lady

I think back on Archie Moore and here was a guy that called boxing "My Lady" and didn't behave in a manner that would have disrespected that "woman." He fought in four decades,over 250 fights,hold the KO record,a world champion;you had to have it together to accompilsh that. Whatever might have impeded his progress he didn't let it happen.

I watched that documentary on De La Hoya,Golden Boy,and he let the demons in. He could have been more than what he was but if boxing was HIS "Lady" he pimped her out. I'll get to the point.Any fighter that gets hooked on drugs is going to fight that fight everyday of his life.There will be no opponent that will pose more of a threat than the stuff dreams are made of. Fighting,family,and friends are all put on the back burner. Cocaine is the "lady", but a Jezebel.

When I was lending a hand with Moore at his Any Boys Can club it wasn't about boxing first. It was building a moral foundation so that if you wanted to become a fighter or a plumber or a mailman,a father to your kids, you wouldn't jeopardize any your life by being a fraud.

I don't know of anything that can derail a fighter from reaching his potential like a drug problem. Think of what even the great fighters like Duran,Chavez,and Tyson could have achieved if they hadn't acquired a taste for the nose candy?

Archie Moore's boys club was an oasis for the neighborhood kids so they would stay off the streets and find that trouble that revolved around gangs who wanted controlled of their turf which translated into who controlled the drugs.

Maybe it was because Archie Moore came from an era where drugs were not of epidemic proportions. But I think it was because Archie Moore courted his "Lady" and wanted to treat her ,like one.

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Archie Moore in his element at his ABC club

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Part Of The Culture

I think sometimes of the fighter from somewhere else who drifts into a Latino town to take on the local hero. It can be another Latin American fighter (or someone farther away) who crosses the border and gives it a try, but just because he may be composed of similar DNA doesn't mean that the crowd is going to give him a break . It's a pretty big risk.

I talked about Salvador Sanchez flying to Puerto Rico to challenge Alfredo Gomez. I remember when Jose Napoles went down below to Caracas to take on Carlos Hernandez.Or Carlos Ortiz to defend his title against Sugar Ramos in Mexico City's Plaza De Toros.Then there was Ismael Laguna trying his luck against Vicente Saldivar in TJ's bullring.Those are just a few examples but it's worth mentioning. Talk about a hostile crowd.

I used those travelers because just because they spoke the same lingo the aficiandos didn't treat them like long lost cousins. With the exception of Laguna those other fellas wound up on the winning end. Sure it was a risk but then that's comes with the territory.

I've talked about Kuniaka Shibata when he tagged Vicente Saldivar with that big loss.The buzz was that before the fight Saldivar was thinking he had an easy touch.You never have it easy with a Japanese fighter.They're always in shape and give it their all. Saldivar lacked both those qualities the night he lost his title.

Remember Bobby Valentine the former Major League baseball player who later became a manager and failed at the helm with Boston Red Sox?He was invited to Japan to manage one of their teams.The GM asked him what he wanted from his players.
"Be on time and give 100 percent,"answered Valentine.
"That's understood here in Japan.You won't have to worry about that." said his new boss.

A part of the culture.


Wilfredo Gomez

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Stormy Weather

If it hadn't have been for that movie "Hurricane" starring Denzel Washington(who was nominated for an Academy Award for best leading actor) as Ruben "Hurricane " Carter, and Bob Dylan's ballad of the same name( Dylan being the only songwriter to ever win a Nobel Prize for literature) the general public would be in the dark about the middleweight fighter who had his 15 minutes of fame in the world of pugilism. Did he or didn't he ,and another man, murder those three people that night inside that bar in New Jersey? The first trial ended in a a conviction.The retrial overturned the verdict. But I'm not here to give you my take on that.I'll just keep it with Ruben Carter the fighter and the evidence.

When I saw Carter destroy Florentino Fernandez in lees than a round on national television I said to myself "Those middlewights better watch their asses." Then when Carter duplicated the feat against Emile Griffith,again on national TV,I said to myself,"This guy is going to go down as one of the greatest."

Carter for that time during the early 60's was as menacing looking as any fighter around-shaved head,Fu Man Chu mustache,muscles on his muscles,and black. His upper body said "heavyweight yet his legs were spindly like a welterweight's.

But by the time Carter got his shot against Joey Giardello for all the marbles I had only Carter's fights that I had seen against Fernandez and Griffith logged into my memory bank.After Carter got in that beef on that murder rap that ended his fighting career I looked at his fights in the Ring Record Book.I had seen his unsuccessful bid against Dick Tiger in his second try for the title but I was unaware of some of those other defeats-a decision loss to pitter patter Joey Archer and two ten rounders to the crafty Luis Rodriguez,

That fight with Giardello in Philly- the way they portrayed it in that movie was a REALLY a crime. They could have put that flick alongside "The Wizard Of Oz" for all time best fantasy movies. The fight was close, but even with it in Giardello's stomping grounds of Philadelphia, the decision was fair. It wasn't much of a fight. Giardello wasn't gong to slug it out with Carter so he pulled an "Ali" and pussyfooted around.. You could see that Carter was a big puncher but that was all. HIs feet were awkward.He loaded up on everything.No head movement. No feinting. HIs balance and distance were amateurish.

But against Tiger it was different.Tiger stood there, like he did against Fullmer, and let Carter come at him and exchange.But Tiger had more polish and was just as strong. He countered Carter's shots and had him backing up when the flurries had ended.

After Carter's second loss in his title quest his career swooned. He lost half of his remaining fights. But then there was that trouble. It spawned a movie and a song that people remember. It validated his name "Hurricane",otherwise his time in the ring wouldn't have amounted more than just some stormy weather.


Ruben "Hurricane" Carter

[dagosd2000]

Lots of great versions of Stormy Weather. This is my favorite

[dagosd2000]

Bring 'Em On

I read where Terence Crawford made 10 million dollars minimum for his workout with Errol Spence last night. In the last four years Crawford has fought four times,one fight a year.

To make it short about last night's fight (Gee,I'll play it safe and call it a "fight").Spence was sure out of his league.He knerw it right away. Crawford saw everything comin'. He if wanted to lead he'd work the jab and throw combinations. If he wanted to counter he'd go downstairs stairs and then up the ladder or vice versa.. Spence kept dropping his left and Crawford had no trouble nailing him with his right. There was talk before the fight that there'd be a rematch in order. Weil,you can forget about that. No one wants to see that again.

So what's in store now for Crawford? Him and Inoue are the best P4P's around but they'll never fight each other because of the weight difference.Canelo is at the end of his road. If he loses to Bivol again I think he'll call it a career. and live the good life.(He's already dabbling in it) The heavyweight scene is becoming a circus with a cage fighting aura with this October thing with Fury and this UFC Francis guy putting on their acts in Saudi Arabia.

Crawford is the guy we want to see more of.So is he content fighting once a year for 10 million ? I don't think so. The problem is getting him into the ring. Boxing needs to have an overlord like Dana White who puts together these cage fights answering to what the public demands.But takjing it a step further,who is left that has the credentials to threaten Crawford? No one. So if he wants to show his stuff and make more than he's making now go ahead and do a "Bum Of The Month" circuit.

But that's easy for me to say.I'm not getting punched in the head.But if boxing is going to catch wind in its sails Crawford is the best guy to kick up a storm

.
Terence Crawford

[dagosd2000]

Get A Grip!

OK.OK. Get A grip on yourselves. No one hardly gave any time to this fight with Crawford and spence, and now that it's over the,with Crawford domininating,they talk about it as a fight for the ages,superlatives flowing out of the mouths like a faucet comparing the Nebraskan with the all time greats.Move over Mayweather and Pacquiao, you have contemporary who brings his throne to sit beside you.And you legends -Robinson,Armstrong,Gavilan-go on, name anyone else you want,yiou have to include now Terence Crawford. Inouye had a good week too but he's a little Japanese guy who fights mostly on an island,and though he's good he's not the best P4P out there. That's what I've been reading.

Where was all this praise last week? I had to keep checking to see if he fight was still on.Oh,I had plenty of nice things to say yesterday about Terence Crawford,but to immortalize him right now would be so typical of our instant gratification society. OK.He beat Spence like a drum. Was Crawford that good, or Spence a paper tiger? A little of both I guess.

Crawford finds himself in a dilemma if he's going to go down in history with those other fellas he's being compared with. Right now the compatition is lacking. There have been a lot of so called greats, that when going to the well, came up pretty dry in the opposition quality department. My favorite guy Jose Napoles didn't have a cream of the crop list to do battle with like Emile Griffith or his companero Luis Rodriguez.On the other hand Manny, and Floyd,not to mention Robinson and Armstrong and The Keed, fought them all,and those guys were special like them.Ali, when it was over, could thank Allah that he do go to war with Frazier,Foreman,and Liston. They gave him the opportunity to be a star because there were Hall Of Famers.

So get a grip on yourselves. Sure we'd like to see Crawford fight more. Right now he'll have to pull a Joe Louis and script a Bum Of The Month.But Joe Louis was a great one.It just took him some time. I think Crawford will get there too.


Joe Frazier

[dagosd2000]

Distant Neighbor

"Tony Margarito used to be our neighbor,"said Ivan the husband of my granddaughter Erika.
We were sitting in the kitchen of my daughter's house in Canon Jhonson drinking coffee talking about this and that.
"I've never liked Canon Jhonson much, Living up the hill in La Villa we don't have much to do with Canon Jhonson.,said Ivan.
"So what's Margarito doing now?"I asked.
"I don't know. The house is still there but no one lives in it.He used to come over and visit my parents. When he won the championship he opened a gym in La Villa but that's closed."
"Well he got into the big time and made a lot of money.People change."
"I don't think he's with his wife anymore.She was his novia when they were growing up."
"Like I said people change especially when they get famous and make all that money. Then there was the thing with getting caught loading up his gloves.He lost a lot of his prestige.Then he said he didn't know anything about it.
"It probably wasn't the firs time."
"It's a pretty common practice."
My daughter came over and refilled our coffee cups.
"That's how he got caught.By the time he fought Mosley it was out in the open."
"A lot of fighters load up their gloves here in Tijuana."
"I know an ex fighter James Kinchin who said when he fought in Tijuana while he was warming up in the dressing room all the fighters were loading up their gloves like it was the normal thing to do."
Ivan then switched gears.He leaned over the table drawing himself nearer.
"I'm thinking of becoming a fighter"
I about fel out of my chair.
"What the hell are you thinking? You're over 30 years old.You've never boxed in your life.You're fat and out of shape.Besides,you'tre married to my granddaughter and have three young kids. Are you crazy?"
My daughter then came over smoothing her apron and wanted to know if we wanted more coffee.
"No thanks,"said Ivan. "I've got to be going to work and the line at the border is pretty long."
He got up and left taking his lunch box.
Are you still going to take my mother to the store?"asked my daughter.
"I think I'll go up the hill to the Soriana in Colonia Villa. Who knows I may see Antonio Margarito."
I"m sure my daughter didn't understand a word I was talking about.


Antonio Margarito