Classic American West Coast Boxing

[dagosd2000]

A fighter should wear proper attire into the ring .
Look like a fighter.
I always said, you gotta wear the same thing leaving the ring as you do entering it.
If a guy gets the shit kicked out of him, That beating will be compounded by the fact he wore a fu..in tootoo into the ring.

Hey Brian
Imagine Rocky Marciano,Carmen Basilio,Irish Bob Murphy,and Joe Louis wearing garb like Hatton and the English Spaghetti Eater(for the life of me ,I can't spell his name). Could you see the crowds reaction? I think if they told those boys they had to put on trunks like that,they'd retire from boxing.

[Expug]

A fighter should wear proper attire into the ring .
Look like a fighter.
I always said, you gotta wear the same thing leaving the ring as you do entering it.
If a guy gets the shit kicked out of him, That beating will be compounded by the fact he wore a fu..in tootoo into the ring.

Hey Brian
Imagine Rocky Marciano,Carmen Basilio,Irish Bob Murphy,and Joe Louis wearing garb like Hatton and the English Spaghetti Eater(for the life of me ,I can't spell his name). Could you see the crowds reaction? I think if they told those boys they had to put on trunks like that,they'd retire from boxing.

Its hard to picture those guys wearing that attire into the ring.
I cant picture Jack Dempsey wearing a Hector Camacho loincloth either.

[Rick Farris]

Hatton is on the other side of the mountain now. He is right to cash in while he can.

Agreed.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Hey, Frankie, everyone is saying Hatton looked good.

An, everyone is wrong....

He had a big one with Mayweather, and lost. Chances are very good that one last money-maker looms on the horizon for Ricky Hatton; Oscar De La Hoya. And he'll lose that one too. However, he's doing the smart thing, cash-in on a couple high profile tomato cans like Maggi, and then cash out against Oscar.

Ricky Hatton's cash register isn't empty yet, and despite engaging in tough fights, he still hasn't taken a beatin'. Floyd whipped him, but didn't break his spirit. As Bennie said, Hatton's basicly on the flip side of his career, however, in this economy I can't blame a tough guy like Ricky Hatton for hanging around thru 2009, especially considering the strong possibility that he and Oscar will end up fighting.

DLH is boxing's cash cow, everything he touches turns to gold and he's actually fair in his accounting with the boxers. One payday fighting Oscar might equal as much as the popular Hatton has earned in his career. Would he win? Never, not in this lifetime. OF course, this is just my opinion, I just dont see it happening. Ricky Hatton is a tough guy, but not in Oscar's league. Oscar would beat up a guy like Hatton, but the beatin won't kill him, and he'll walk away with enough money to assure a comfortable future for himself and his family (unless he's a financial moron like most boxers ).

Ricky Hatton is today's version of a former featherweight contender from Canada, Art Hafey. We didn't have a lot of alphabet organizations in Hafey's day, so he didn't get a piece of that championship pie. Hafey also was in a tougher division and era than Hatton. Hafey's peers were Bobby Chacon, Danny Lopez, Ruben Olivares, Alexis Arguello, to name a few. Opposition wise, Hatton hasn't faced the competition Art fought (save Mayweather). Match Ricky with a Floyd or Oscar, and he's pretty much the same as Hafey was against Danny Lopez and Arguello. Close, but no cigar.

Hang in Ricky, Oscar's still out there.

-Ricardo

[Rick Farris]

A fighter should wear proper attire into the ring .
Look like a fighter.
I always said, you gotta wear the same thing leaving the ring as you do entering it.
If a guy gets the shit kicked out of him, That beating will be compounded by the fact he wore a fu..in tootoo into the ring.

Hey Brian
Imagine Rocky Marciano,Carmen Basilio,Irish Bob Murphy,and Joe Louis wearing garb like Hatton and the English Spaghetti Eater(for the life of me ,I can't spell his name). Could you see the crowds reaction? I think if they told those boys they had to put on trunks like that,they'd retire from boxing.

[Rick Farris]

A fighter should wear proper attire into the ring .
Look like a fighter.
I always said, you gotta wear the same thing leaving the ring as you do entering it.
If a guy gets the shit kicked out of him, That beating will be compounded by the fact he wore a fu..in tootoo into the ring.

You said it all, Pug:

LOOK LIKE A FIGHTER!

[dagosd2000]

HAZE


Haze in Southern California in the fall lends itself well. The afternoons are quiet in neighborhoods that once were very active with people frequenting the small businesses. Now the "For Lease" signs are in the windows. The afternoon haze punctuates the vacancy. Row upon row of single story stucco buildings. The haze makes a little glare off the walls. Incorprated towns that have quieted down. Stand in the middle of the street and look down the center. Few cars. Less people.Park anywhere along the street.The streets are empty almost. A piece of paper blowing across in front of you bouncing erratically along. Like it knows nothing will disturb it.

Los Angeles in a haze in the afternoon. The old store fronts and parks.An old man sitting on a bench. A Mexican lady pushing a stroller. An ice cream vendor at his cart. No one is eating ice cream. The old streets.The telephone poles with arcs of lines endlessly disappearing and funneling into the horizon. The franchise stores even look tired. A Mac Donalds with no cars in the drive thru. The streets are wide. The haze filters the brightness. The piece of paper rests at the storm drain on the other side of the street . It will fade and crumple from the warmth of the haze. The paper will lie there by the curb . No one will see it.

[kikibalt]

Photo and caption by Rick


Carlos Baeza is the official WBHOF photographer, as well as Oscar De La Hoya's personal lensman. Here Baeza sets up a group photo at the WBHOF's President's Dinner. At far left, the man in the green suit, standing next to Emile Griffith is Hassan, a 51-year-old Iranian heavyweight boxer (?) and WBHOF Sargeant of Arms. "Klitschko, he no fight me . . .", Hassan claims.

I tried to explain to him that public executions are not legal in this country.

[Rick Farris]

A fighter should wear proper attire into the ring .
Look like a fighter.
I always said, you gotta wear the same thing leaving the ring as you do entering it.
If a guy gets the shit kicked out of him, That beating will be compounded by the fact he wore a fu..in tootoo into the ring.

You said it all, Pug:

LOOK LIKE A FIGHTER!

Excuse me, but this is worth repeating":

LOOK LIKE A FIGHTER!

-Ricardo

[dagosd2000]

Rick
It's funny,but if you turn the clock back and look at the guys we on this thread admire,I can't think of anyone that DIDN'T look like a fighter. I'm not saying Hatton and the British Bacala Eater looked wimpy,but they looked like something out of the realm of the WWF. The loud music entering the ring. The pyrotechnics. The goofy looking trunks. I'm even tired of "Let's get ready to rumble". Imagine,Buffer has a copywrite on that line. And the nicknames. Every fighter has to have a nickname. You're something less of a fighter if you don't have a nickname. You have to have a nickname to enhance your image before you get into the ring.

[dagosd2000]

Hey Rick
Brian,Dan,and Frank have nicknames. You,me,Randy,and Bennie need nicknames. Any ideas? I guess they call me Dago,so I might not qualify.

[Rick Farris]

Hey, Frankie, everyone is saying Hatton looked good.

An, everyone is wrong....

He had a big one with Mayweather, and lost. Chances are very good that one last money-maker looms on the horizon for Ricky Hatton; Oscar De La Hoya. And he'll lose that one too. However, he's doing the smart thing, cash-in on a couple high profile tomato cans like Maggi, and then cash out against Oscar.

Ricky Hatton's cash register isn't empty yet, and despite engaging in tough fights, he still hasn't taken a beatin'. Floyd whipped him, but didn't break his spirit. As Bennie said, Hatton's basicly on the flip side of his career, however, in this economy I can't blame a tough guy like Ricky Hatton for hanging around thru 2009, especially considering the strong possibility that he and Oscar will end up fighting.

DLH is boxing's cash cow, everything he touches turns to gold and he's actually fair in his accounting with the boxers. One payday fighting Oscar might equal as much as the popular Hatton has earned in his career. Would he win? Never, not in this lifetime. OF course, this is just my opinion, I just dont see it happening. Ricky Hatton is a tough guy, but not in Oscar's league. Oscar would beat up a guy like Hatton, but the beatin won't kill him, and he'll walk away with enough money to assure a comfortable future for himself and his family (unless he's a financial moron like most boxers ).

Ricky Hatton is today's version of a former featherweight contender from Canada, Art Hafey. We didn't have a lot of alphabet organizations in Hafey's day, so Art didn't get a piece of that championship pie. More important, Hafey fought in a tougher division and a tougher era than Hatton. Hafey's peers were Bobby Chacon, Danny Lopez, Ruben Olivares, Alexis Arguello, David Sotelo and Famoso Gomez, to name a few. Opposition wise, Hatton hasn't faced the competition Art fought (save Mayweather). I'm not forgetting the fight with Kostya Tszyu, however the Aussie-Russki was a bit long-in-the-tooth when Hatton engaged him. Match Ricky with Floyd or Oscar, and his chances are pretty much the same as Hafey's were against Danny Lopez and Arguello. Slim and none.

Hang in Ricky, Oscar's still out there, and a pot of gold awaits you!

-Ricardo

[kikibalt]

Tommy Hearns

By Diego

[Rick Farris]

Hey Rick
Brian,Dan,and Frank have nicknames. You,me,Randy,and Bennie need nicknames. Any ideas? I guess they call me Dago,so I might not qualify.

I would never get away with the nick-name Jimmy Lennon gave me in 1970, when I made my pro debut at the Olympic. I was still a senior at Burbank High School, close to graduation. Lennon introduced me to the crowd as . . . "Schoolboy" Ricky Farris. Three weeks later, when I had my second pro fight, I'd already graduated from high school and Lennon didn't continue the reference. Two years later, our amigo Bobby Chacon turns pro while attending Cal State Northridge, at age 20. Lennon revived the "Schoolboy" tag, which was huge in previous eras, and Bobby becomes the "Schoolboy" for our era. To this day, the name fits Bobby. I always think of Bobby as "Schoolboy" Bobby Chacon. Nick name for me? Dunno . . .

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

A fighter should wear proper attire into the ring .
Look like a fighter.
I always said, you gotta wear the same thing leaving the ring as you do entering it.
If a guy gets the shit kicked out of him, That beating will be compounded by the fact he wore a fu..in tootoo into the ring.

You said it all, Pug:

LOOK LIKE A FIGHTER!

Excuse me, but this is worth repeating":

LOOK LIKE A FIGHTER!


And once again . . .

LOOK LIKE A FIGHTER!

-Ricardo

[dagosd2000]

Frank
Didn't you handle a kid in the amateurs with the name,Roy"The Boy" Hollis? That's rough on a fighter,but I guess it sounds better than Roy"The Girl".

[Rick Farris]

Well said Rick.
I could tell you were annoyed a bit with that guy and his Fedecaribe title or whatever it was.
But that aside, it was a great weekend and thankyou again for everything.
It was a great time spent together by friends.

Actually it's kinda fun watching the guy go thru his act. I love the way Rog described his bulging eyes. You know Brian, it was great to meet you face-to-face. I can't wait until next year. I'm putting Mike Tyson's name up for induction next year. Despite Mike's unpredictability during the last part of his career, I know for a fact he will show up at our event. Like him or not (and I do like Tyson) his presence will make for a very interesting and popular banquet next year. I also plan on nominationg England's Maurice Hope. Gotta give Bennie some added insentive to make the trip.

-Rick

I like Tyson, too. The ear thing was his way of paying Holyfield back for the use of the head, a street thing and a dumb thing. Hey! Tyson is from the street and no rocket scientist but he sure as hell could whack (and will do when he is 70). Incidentally, our own Danny Williams was told by his American sparring partners to hit Tyson on the break in their fight in Louisville in 2004 and he did and lost a point but it seemed to have the desired effect, and Tyson was knocked out a couple of rounds later, sitting out the count (looking so old on the floor, it made you want to turn away).
Can anyone explain the philosophy behind this? It must have been no secret in the fight trade in the States that Tyson, a bit like Jerry Quarry, had a mental weakness

[Rick Farris]

Well said Rick.
I could tell you were annoyed a bit with that guy and his Fedecaribe title or whatever it was.
But that aside, it was a great weekend and thankyou again for everything.
It was a great time spent together by friends.

Actually it's kinda fun watching the guy go thru his act. I love the way Rog described his bulging eyes. You know Brian, it was great to meet you face-to-face. I can't wait until next year. I'm putting Mike Tyson's name up for induction next year. Despite Mike's unpredictability during the last part of his career, I know for a fact he will show up at our event. Like him or not (and I do like Tyson) his presence will make for a very interesting and popular banquet next year. I also plan on nominationg England's Maurice Hope. Gotta give Bennie some added insentive to make the trip.

-Rick

I like Tyson, too. The ear thing was his way of paying Holyfield back for the use of the head, a street thing and a dumb thing. Hey! Tyson is from the street and no rocket scientist but he sure as hell could whack (and will do when he is 70). Incidentally, our own Danny Williams was told by his American sparring partners to hit Tyson on the break in their fight in Louisville in 2004 and he did and lost a point but it seemed to have the desired effect, and Tyson was knocked out a couple of rounds later, sitting out the count (looking so old on the floor, it made you want to turn away).
Can anyone explain the philosophy behind this? It must have been no secret in the fight trade in the States that Tyson, a bit like Jerry Quarry, had a mental weakness.

Bennie . . . Mike didn't train a day for the fight. He needed money. Same was true when he fought Lennox. The moment I heard he insisted his training camp be in Maui (for the Lewis fight), I knew that trainer Ronnie Shields had no control. Nobody did. IF Mike Tyson had remained on the path that led him to the Michael Spinks fight, Holyfield and Lewis would have been nothing more than KO victims on Mike Tyson's record. They would have been the equivalent of Ernie Terrell and Doug Jones on the pre-draft Cassius Clay's record. Validating this philosophy: Only a very fine line seperates good from great.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

A fighter should wear proper attire into the ring .
Look like a fighter.
I always said, you gotta wear the same thing leaving the ring as you do entering it.
If a guy gets the shit kicked out of him, That beating will be compounded by the fact he wore a fu..in tootoo into the ring.

Hey Brian
Imagine Rocky Marciano,Carmen Basilio,Irish Bob Murphy,and Joe Louis wearing garb like Hatton and the English Spaghetti Eater(for the life of me ,I can't spell his name). Could you see the crowds reaction? I think if they told those boys they had to put on trunks like that,they'd retire from boxing.

Its hard to picture those guys wearing that attire into the ring.
I cant picture Jack Dempsey wearing a Hector Camacho loincloth either.

You know, Brian. Remember when Tyson entered the ring waring nothing but his trunks, shoes and a towel? No socks. Focused, like a Great White staring down a gold fish. In my personal boxing history, from the mid-60's to present. I never saw a heavyweight like Tyson, not Ali, for sure. Ali would have suffered in a fight with Mike. No hocus-pocus magic, just a faster Tyson eating up a light hitting escape artist, unable to find a place to hide. Those hooks, to the body and head would have caught Ali early and often. Hell, Ali never could escape a hook, he pulled back and away from them. This didn't even work against smaller fighters like Henry Cooper and Sonny Banks, and of course, Frazier dumped him as well. With all respect to Joe Frazier, he was a poor man's version of Mike Tyson in my opinion. I was a stablemate of Jerry Quarry, trained in the same gym at the same time as Foreman, Frazier, Liston, Patterson, Norton, Big Train Lincoln, Eddie Machen (who trained at Jake Shagrues Hoover St. Gym when in town) at various times during the 60's & 70's.

I saw Mike Tyson up close long after his best days. And I value the experience. Next year Mike Tyson will be a Hall of Famer! (Like it or not).

-Rick Farris

[Expug]

Rick, Tysons ring entrance, along with Haglers, was like impending doom for the fighter in the other corner.
Tyson, with no socks, black trunks, no robe, rolling his neck, the guy looked like a killer.
I liked Haglers entrance too. The robe with the hood on,shadowboxing down the aisle, he looked like an executioner coming into the ring.
These guys looked like fighters for sure.
You know Rick, I remember Ray Arcel saying in an interview years ago that Dempsey should have wound up as the only heavyweight anybody talked about.
Thats what he said about Jack. To him , if it wasnt for certain factors like inactivity after winning the title, marrying Estelle Taylor, etc.Jack would have been the greatest ever. Nobody would be talking about other heavies.
He said," who would be able to beat the Dempsey that demolished Willard?"Nobody.
I think the same perspective could be put towards Tyson.
In alot of ways , he should have wound up as the only Heavyweight anyone talked about.
He belongs in the Hall of Fame though . Your right about him.

[Rick Farris]

Rick, Tysons ring entrance, along with Haglers, was like impending doom for the fighter in the other corner.
Tyson, with no socks, black trunks, no robe, rolling his neck, the guy looked like a killer.
I liked Haglers entrance too. The robe with the hood on,shadowboxing down the aisle, he looked like an executioner coming into the ring.
These guys looked like fighters for sure.
You know Rick, I remember Ray Arcel saying in an interview years ago that Dempsey should have wound up as the only heavyweight anybody talked about.
Thats what he said about Jack. To him , if it wasnt for certain factors like inactivity after winning the title, marrying Estelle Taylor, etc.Jack would have been the greatest ever. Nobody would be talking about other heavies.
He said," who would be able to beat the Dempsey that demolished Willard?"Nobody.
I think the same perspective could be put towards Tyson.
In alot of ways , he should have wound up as the only Heavyweight anyone talked about.
He belongs in the Hall of Fame though . Your right about him.

Dempsey and Tyson! Damn Pug, they are my all-time favorite heavyweights. No slight on Louis or anyone else, but these two are my past and contemporary fav's.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Frank
Didn't you handle a kid in the amateurs with the name,Roy"The Boy" Hollis? That's rough on a fighter,but I guess it sounds better than Roy"The Girl".

Rog . . . I know this question is addressed to Kiki, but let me say that Roy Hollis was the ONLY 1973 Los Angeles Golden Gloves Champ to win a National Golden Gloves Championship. A MAJOR honor in amateur boxing, second only to an Olympic gold Medal. And yes, Frank Baltazar Sr. was his coach and cornerman in Boston where Roy captured the championship.

[Rick Farris]

Photo and caption by Rick


Carlos Baeza is the official WBHOF photographer, as well as Oscar De La Hoya's personal lensman. Here Baeza sets up a group photo at the WBHOF's President's Dinner. At far left, the man in the green suit, standing next to Emile Griffith is Hassan, a 51-year-old Iranian heavyweight boxer (?) and WBHOF Sargeant of Arms. "Klitschko, he no fight me . . .", Hassan claims.

I tried to explain to him that public executions are not legal in this country.

-Rick

[bennie]

Photo and caption by Rick


Carlos Baeza is the official WBHOF photographer, as well as Oscar De La Hoya's personal lensman. Here Baeza sets up a group photo at the WBHOF's President's Dinner. At far left, the man in the green suit, standing next to Emile Griffith is Hassan, a 51-year-old Iranian heavyweight boxer (?) and WBHOF Sargeant of Arms. "Klitschko, he no fight me . . .", Hassan claims.

I tried to explain to him that public executions are not legal in this country.

Why is this Hassan fellow posing with Yaqui and Emile?

[kikibalt]

Photo & caption by Rick


"I was robbed!"