Boxers With Interesting Life Stories.

[chrisjs1985]

I wrote a book on Eder Jofre, ( He had an interesting life. The book has a 97% 5 star rating and won the "book of the year" award at the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame.

I just ordered about ten boxing books but once I'm done with those I'll order your book too.

I couldn't wait, just bought the book...

Thank you! I appreciate that! I hope you enjoy it!!

[bollocks]

[margaret thatcher]

not sure how true that is, but still

[bollocks]

not sure how true that is, but still

Yep you have to question it..$50 for a speeding fine almost 100 years ago would have been a years wages

[goose 5]

I'll add the name Babilah McCarthy-who I've been researching; I hadn't thought of him in years. The hard core guys here will know the name I'm sure.

[p4p1]

not sure how true that is, but still

Yep you have to question it..$50 for a speeding fine almost 100 years ago would have been a years wages

I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual event happened but the amount changed over time to both as an exaggeration, which Jack was very prone to do and when the story is told now the amount goes up so it still sounds cool.

[Nile4000]

I'll add the name Babilah McCarthy-who I've been researching; I hadn't thought of him in years. The hard core guys here will know the name I'm sure.

Have a real good article on him from Boxing Illustrated years ago. Fought both Marlon Starling and Bobby Joe Young back then. How he went out, real sad.

[Frankies Gal]

I always find it fascinating that before his death in 1930, Frankie Campbell was a baseball player with the SF Independent League, then boxed and played baseball during his first few fights, then just boxing, then just baseball with the PCL, then boxing largely in LA, until death at 26.

[wrighty]

Anyone read the new Tommy Morrison biography?

[Ambling Alp II]

No, I haven't. Anything interesting?

[Sweet Dick Willie]

Anyone read the new Tommy Morrison biography?

Just bought it but hadn't had time to open it yet. Looking forward to it though since it's by the same author as Sporting Blood (C. Acevedo) and that one is already one of the best books on boxing I've ever read.

Also:

I just ordered about ten boxing books but once I'm done with those I'll order your book too.

I couldn't wait, just bought the book...

Thank you! I appreciate that! I hope you enjoy it!!

I'm sure I will! I finally received the book, it took a while to have it all the way here in Finland... I have a few books waiting before this one but eventually I'll let you know what I think.

[wrighty]

I'll buy it at some point. Just wanted to see if anyone could recommend it

[Turpinr]

Owen Moran 'the fearless' was a very interesting fighter.
Bad tempered, nasty but at 5ft 3ins tall he would fight with anybody and did.
Fought 2 draws with Abe Attell and met the very best in the States including Battling Nelson the Durable Dane and stopped him.

[Caractacus]

what boxers published their autobiographies that you would recommend ?

Not a boxer, but Angelo Dundee's I only Talk Winning is superb.

how is it different from Angelo Dundee's 2007 autobiography( with Bert Sugar)
A View From the Corner ?

Hey, I recently got a copy of Angelo Dundee's first autobiography
I ONLY TALK WINNING ( published in 1985)
and it is really good.
( got a hard copy edition for only 4.95 with free shipping and handling at Abe books,
Btw it came from Philadelphia ,, Angelo Dundees home town )
How it differs from his second autobiography is that the second one he writes more about his expierences with Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, and it also has a lot of Bert Sugar behind it too.
The first one he goes in depth about a lot of other Boxers he had worked with.
I would definatley recommend it.

[franciscojavier]

Not sure how many of you remember Carlos Maussa, the onetime titleholder at 140 who was tall and had power but made Mayorga look like Sweet Pea. A while back I’m reading an old ESPN article that profiled him after he upset Vivian Harris to win the WBA title, and it has this bit:

[Today, life is a bed of roses for Maussa. After his win in the United States he was welcomed in Monteria as a hero, and especially in the neighborhood of Santa Fe, where he was born and still lives.

"I'm the champ of the poor people. And I'm very happy and excited about it. My hometown people made me feel so good as they gave me a wonderful welcome I wasn't expecting," he said emotionally.

However, life has not always been kind to Maussa.

"I had a great career as an amateur, with 130 bouts and just nine defeats. I was national champion four times and also Central American champion. But my life was messed up. I used to drink and party too much," he says.

"I used to participate in satanic rituals, I was sick. This cost me a lot. I got separated from the mother of my three kids and really felt my life was going backwards. But I felt like I had to do all that in order to meet God. That's why I don't blame anyone. Since then, I became a professional and never again parted with the Lord," he explains.]

Like wait uh, satanic rituals? Man you can’t just mention that offhandedly and then go on with the rest of your story.

[Sweet Dick Willie]

Not sure how many of you remember Carlos Maussa

I don't, but thanks for sharing! Interesting indeed. Satanic rituals...

By the way, you guys know if there's a book in English on Nino Benvenuti? Or a documentary or something. Of him I'd like to know more

[Caractacus]

I remember reading somewhere that Nino Valdes the HW contender from Cuba during the 1950's,
use to do Santeria rituals before and after his fights.
I had read where some other fighters back then from Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Caribean also had done it too.

[Syntax Error]

Tough call. Probably Matthew Saad Muhammad.

Definitely Matthew Saad Muhammad.

Honourable mention to Sonny Liston.

His whole existence seems intriguing, from how old he actually was, to whether he threw some of his biggest fights and culminating in questions about his demise; was he bumped off, or did he naturally OD?

[Caractacus]

I came across this whilst reading the book A View From the Corner by Angelo Dundee.(2009)
( page 155)
"Sugar Ramos had a trainer named Kd Rapidez,
an expert in Santeria (Cuban Witchcraft),
who would perform rituals before every fight with Ramos".

[AngryGoon38]

I was just recently watching a new video from "Rich the Fight Historian".
The Boxer. "Carlos Zarate". One of the Greatest Bantamweight(118) boxers of all time.
He was 52-0 with 51 ko's when he took on "Wilfredo Gomez" for the Super Bantam(122) title in 1978.
Apparently, according to close sources, Zarate wanted to pull out of the bout a few days before it took place, due to catching The Flu, right after Jogging on a Rainy Day.

He couldn't though, because his paycheck would've been Greatly Reduced, for the re-scedualing inconveniences. Basically cut to one-third of the original Contract agreement. So therefore, Zarate wound up in the ring with a high-fever, and Obviously feeling Much Weaker. He was also suffering with chronic Dehydration just before getting into the ring that day versus Gomez. I also noticed while watching the highlights, that Gomez didn't go to the neutral corner after one of the knockdowns.

2 years earlier in 1976, Zarate was planning to move up to 126 to take on Newly Crowned Featherweight champ Danny Lopez.
Zarate stood 5'8. The same height as Danny Lopez. And he was confident and Certain that he could beat Lopez at that time.
The fight never transpired unfortunately. I think that it would've been a tremendous boxing battle. I think that the styles correlation would've made it basically an even 50-50 type of bout. It's very unfortunate that Zarate caught a nasty flu just before the 1978 Gomez bout. Not saying that he would've won but I think that it would've Certainly went into the late rounds, if not the full distance, despite Gomez having all ko's amongst his wins and Zarate having a 98% ko percentage himself.
Zarate returned to the BW(118) division and won 2 rebound tune up bouts after the 5th round tko loss to Gomez, then he took on the top ranked challenger Lupe Pintor, and lost a 15 round split decision. Then Zarate retired for 7 years.

In his 1986-1988 comeback span, he initially won a nice stack of bouts, before losing to Danial Zarazoga, and then to Jeff Fenech. This loss made Zarate hang up the gloves for good/ keeps. Zarate's initial pro boxing career spanned from 1970-1979. And then the 1986-88 comeback carear campaign. 19-28 years old. Then the comeback at 35, followed by the 2nd retirement at 37. 66-4 career record, with 62 ko's. Hypothetical dream bouts for Zarate imo would be versus the likes of Junior Jones, Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero, Orlando Canizales, and modern day Superstar "Inoue".

[Caractacus]

Didn't some mention in another thread that Carlos Zarate had written his autobiography,
and that it was little known that he did ?

[Expug]

Bobby Halpern. A movie should be made…

[Caractacus]

LW Champion Esteban DeJesus.
he was known to some newspaper reporters as the "Sorcerer of Puerto Rico"
he reportedly practiced Santeria too
he use to bring Brujos (Witches)with him for his fights to influence it

[Sweet Dick Willie]

Bobby Halpern. A movie should be made…

Never heard of him. Share some stories bruv

[Expug]

Heavyweight with a long rap sheet. Does long stretch in the joint. Comes out and launches comeback in his mid forties. Sports illustrated did a big feature on him in 77. He was hit with a shotgun blast in a “ incident “ in a store in the Bronx. He lived but that wrapped up his comeback. He was beaten just prior by Guy Casale.