Thanks Scarscartissue wrote:Dago, the world boxing hall of fame weekend in L.A. October of 2006.dagosd2000 wrote:What a shot. Frank,Where and when was this taken?kikibalt wrote:
Rodolfo "Gato" Gonzalez & Jose Napoles
Scartissue
D,dagosd2000 wrote:Frankkikibalt wrote:
Front row, Keeny Teran and Gil Cadilli
Looks like something out one of those movies with the"Dead End" kids.
Pat O'Brian and Jimmy Cagney would have liked this picture. "What do ya' hear? What do ya' say?"
Now I know where they came up with that title:Angels With Dirty Faces
Bogey would also have smile for this shot.
Expug wrote:Any of you guys remember a fighter named Rudy Robles?
I think he fought out of L.A.
He got a shot at Rodrigo Valdes and dropped a dec.
Then he became kind of a gatekeeper.
Seems like he fought all the prospects of the early/ mid eighties.
Thanks Rick.Rick Farris wrote:Expug wrote:Any of you guys remember a fighter named Rudy Robles?
I think he fought out of L.A.
He got a shot at Rodrigo Valdes and dropped a dec.
Then he became kind of a gatekeeper.
Seems like he fought all the prospects of the early/ mid eighties.
Pug . . .
Funny you should mention the name Rudy Robles. Just last week, I was speaking with my partner, Dan Hanley, and we were talking about Robles. Rudy was a pretty good fighter, but couldn't get any action in Los Angeles, which always surprised me. He could fight pretty good, and we both fought on the undercard of the Ken Buchanan-Ruben Navarro lightweight title bout in '71. Proper management would have taken Rudy farther in a tough era in the middleweight division, but who knows.
kikibalt wrote:dagosd2000 wrote:Rick or Frank or anybody,
This guy has always been a mystery for me,L.C. Morgan.
Fought almost his entire career in Mexico,yet was black and born in
Mississippi. He's the guy that cut Napoles's eye in Reynosa.After that Napoles's eyes turned to mantequilla. Fill me in.
D,
not much I can tell you about L.C. Morgan (personal), in the mid-late 1960's I used to see L.C. about every weekend at the jr.amateur shows, he had 2 or 3 of his sons boxings, one of them, Kevin, went pro, L.C. was lots of fun to be around, he was aways laughing, aways in a good mood.
I know he died some years back.
Thanks for the feedback Rick. I'm wondering if Morgan had a Mexican wife? All those fights in Mexico are unique.Rick Farris wrote:kikibalt wrote:dagosd2000 wrote:Rick or Frank or anybody,
This guy has always been a mystery for me,L.C. Morgan.
Fought almost his entire career in Mexico,yet was black and born in
Mississippi. He's the guy that cut Napoles's eye in Reynosa.After that Napoles's eyes turned to mantequilla. Fill me in.
D,
not much I can tell you about L.C. Morgan (personal), in the mid-late 1960's I used to see L.C. about every weekend at the jr.amateur shows, he had 2 or 3 of his sons boxings, one of them, Kevin, went pro, L.C. was lots of fun to be around, he was aways laughing, aways in a good mood.
I know he died some years back.
Last time I saw L.C. Morgan was at the Teamsters Gym. Like Frank said, he had a couple of sons who fought in the Jr. GG tourney's, and it was at one of these events that frank was in charge of, that I saw L.C. Morgan was one of a great group of 140 pounders, such as Adolf Pruitt, Naploles, Paulie Armstead, Eddie Perkins, Carlos Hernandez, and on & on. Like Napoles, I know he fought up and down between lightweight and welter during his career. I think Kevin runs the old Jake Shagrue Gym, or "Hoover Street Gym", as they call it. Not sure?
Hey Young Fella,kikibalt wrote:D,
There was a fighter out of T.J that was real good, his name is Juan Escobar, he fought in the 1970's-80's and maybe into the 90's.
He fought a draw with the great Salvador Sanchez at the Olympic, a fight I seen live, btw I though Escobar won, Escobar was good, but he was never able to rise to the level that was expected of him, in 1983 my son Frankie fought him at the Olympic, he gave Frankie a spanking, a spanking? no an ass whipping! for four rounds, then he ran out of gas, Frankie came from behind and won scoring a knock down in the tenth round.
Did you ever seen Escobar fight?
Don't know if he had a Mexican wife, he might had, but I do know, the one I met was not Mexican.,dagosd2000 wrote:Thanks for the feedback Rick. I'm wondering if Morgan had a Mexican wife? All those fights in Mexico are unique.
Frank,kikibalt wrote:OLYMPICS
L.A.-area boxing twins are separated in berths
USA Boxing
Twin brothers Oscar Molina, left, and Javier Molina, right, pose in front of a boxing ring in Trinidad.
Javier and Oscar Molina of Commerce, as close as can be, are expected to be fighting in the same Olympics, for different countries.
By Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
From the time they entered the world two minutes apart, Javier and Oscar Molina shared everything: bunk beds and a bathroom, honors classes and sports teams.
For much of their 18 years, the Commerce twins have also shared a passion for boxing, and a dream of competing in the Olympics.
Now they are one step away from sharing a trip to Beijing -- with a historic twist. If they perform as expected in this week's qualifying tournament in Trinidad, they would become what are believed to be the first twins to compete for different nations at the same Olympics.
"Since we were small we always thought about going to the Olympics," Javier said. "But never like this. It's a little weird."
Javier became the United States champion at 141 pounds at the Olympic trials last August. But because the brothers and their family have vowed that the twins would never have to fight each other, the slightly heavier Oscar stepped up to box 152-pounders at the U.S. championships in June. Encountering a weight disadvantage, he lost by a point in his first bout and never reached the trials.
The fraternal twins are American citizens by birth whose parents emigrated from Mexico. But because Olympic rules allow athletes to compete for the homeland of their parents, Oscar faced a choice: Try again in 2012, or try to make the Mexican team right away.
"Four years," his father, Miguel, said. "A lot can happen in four years."
So Oscar decided to push ahead. By the time of the Mexican trials in December, he had grown into his higher weight, rolling through all five of his opponents to win his spot on their Olympic team.
"This wasn't handed out to us," said Oscar, who has been training in Mexico. "We fought for this like anyone else. We earned this. But it's a little weird. Seeing him on another team and I'm here in Mexico."
In the melting pot that is present-day Southern California, where many families keep their home in one country and their heart in another, the twins' rare accomplishment has drawn little notice.
"Until people started bringing it up, in all honesty we never thought about it," said Roberto Luna, the twins' coach at the Commerce Boxing Club. "Someone might not like the idea that they're both from the United States and one of them is representing Mexico. We never looked at it like that. We always looked at it as a boxing opportunity.
"For us, it was just about the Olympic experience."
Wayne Wilson, a researcher with the LA84 Foundation in Los Angeles, said he could find no other twins who have competed for different countries in the same Olympics -- although siblings have done it, most notably in 1996 when middleweight wrestler Elmadi Jabrailov, of Kazakhstan, beat his brother Lukman, competing for Moldova. "You can't prove a negative," Wilson said. "But I haven't been able to find any others."
Oscar's trip south came decades after his parents made their way north. Hailing from the northern state of Chihuahua, his father, Miguel, arrived in California in 1971 and -- overstaying his legal visitor's document -- eventually found work in a curtain factory.
There he met Gloria Casillas, a small-town girl from the west-central state of Jalisco who had entered the U.S. illegally on her 22nd birthday, hidden under the hood of a truck alongside two other family members.
"I don't want to remember that," said Gloria, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen five years ago.
Her son is far from the first athlete to traverse national boundaries in search of Olympic glory.
Five of the 11 boxers on Mexico's 2008 Olympic team -- including 19-year-old Javier Torres, who is also coached by Luna -- live permanently in the U.S. And it was another Mexican Olympian who trained at Commerce, Francisco "Panchito" Bojado, who first inspired the Molinas' Olympic dreams.
"Ever since we saw him our goal has been to go to the Olympics," Oscar said of Bojado, who fought in Sydney in 2000 before turning pro.
The Commerce Boxing Club's small but tidy gym is tucked in the corner of the Bristow Park branch library in a gritty working-class neighborhood next to the Santa Ana Freeway.
Homemade signs, drawn by the preschool class of a former Commerce boxer, are taped to the walls in tribute to the twins' accomplishments. Yellowed newspaper and magazine clippings tacked to several bulletin boards celebrate the success of other national champions who have trained there.
Luna, who trained at Commerce before he took over the gym, knew the Molina brothers were a rare pair when they first walked in a decade ago.
"They were just energetic little kids," he remembered. "They were tough, humble, nice kids. [But] when I started working with them you could tell right away they had something special. They were talented from the very beginning."
Their pedigree was certainly good. Their father had dabbled in boxing in Mexico. The twins also have an uncle and two cousins who boxed. One, Jorge Gomez Jr., competed internationally for the United States. And older brother Carlos, 22, recently turned professional, winning his only two bouts.
"It just runs in the family," Javier said from Colorado Springs, where he is training with the U.S. team. "Since we were little kids we would always just watch my older brother train. [We] would go in the ring and start messing around, sparring. When we were about 8 years old, we started getting really serious."
Javier won his first fight at 9, his first age-group nationals at 11, then went on to win three national Silver Gloves titles, two Golden Gloves crowns and a Junior Olympics championship before a surprise victory over former national champion Karl Dargan helped vault him onto the Olympic team.
Oscar took a similar route, winning his first fight at 8, then capturing two Silver Gloves, three Golden Gloves and one PAL national title.
In youth football, baseball and soccer the twins had always stuck together. Also in the classroom, where both have been honor students at John Glenn High in Norwalk. They shared a bedroom in their family's tiny three-bedroom home.
"Until now," their father said, "they've never been separated."
Except in the ring, where the boys frequently spar but will never be allowed to fight.
"They're both my sons and I don't want that one should win and the other lose. I want them both to win," Gloria said.
"That'll never happen," Carlos added. "We're all brothers. That comes before anything."
Although to reach Beijing the brothers first must place high in this week's Olympic qualifying tournament in Trinidad, or in the final Olympic qualifier next month in Guatemala City, Luna is already planning ahead.
"God willing, we go to the Olympics, I'll be having the United States flag in one hand and the Mexican flag in the other," he said. "Javier is going to be cheering for Oscar. And Oscar is going to be cheering for Javier.
"It's not about anything but just getting to the highest place in boxing."
Or maybe it is. Miguel Molina, 59, a Mexican citizen and permanent U.S. resident who has spent most of his life in Los Angeles, said the last few months have led him to a new definition of what it means to be Mexican-American.
"We're Mexican, but we're here and this country has helped us a lot," he said in Spanish. "We like how it is: One from here, one from there. They're fighting for the two countries. It's a tie and it makes us proud.
"For me, there aren't two teams," he added. "There are two sons."
kevin.baxter@latimes
Jesus, two tough guys!kikibalt wrote:
Irish Bob Murphy vs Danny Nardico
Truly moving story, dagos.dagosd2000 wrote:After Bud got out of the Navy in WW II he stayed in San Diego with his pals Earl Anderson and "Irish" Bob Murphy. Murphy was boxing amateur at the time and he talked Earl and Bud to indulge in the sweet science with him. Earl could handle himself pretty good and took to the sport with enthusiasm. Problem was Earl cut easy and it got to the point that in one fight the retina came detatched and he called it quits. Besides Earl could handle himself better with the ladies, so he didn't have time to mourn the loss of his boxing career.
Well Murphy's story is pretty infamous. This guy was born to fight. The doctors said the the first thing he did when he was born was to foul his mother. Murphy wasn't satisfied fighting in the ring so he usually found opponents in bars,pool rooms,alleys,police stations,and whore houses. Can't help but like a guy like that.
Now we get to Bud. Bud discovered soon that getting punched in the head wasn't for him. Bud liked to joke around,play cards,and like he said"have a shot of booze". He had a lot of friends. He was always in a crowd. Fighting,Bud figured ,was for people who didn't like each other . Well Bud liked everybody and visa versa so boxing on a personal level wasn't on his agenda.
Bud married a nice gal and they had a son and a daughter. Bud built laundramats in San Diego. In fact he built the first laundramat in San Diego. Bud was sort of a pioneer of laundramats in San Diego. Bud could build anything he wanted. And he could fix anything he wanted. Bud didn't need anyone else to help him. That was his trademark. His identity.
Then Bud had the stroke. All the things he was able to build and fix,he couldn't do anymore. Bud wasn't happy anymore. His wife and kids wanted to help him,but he'd have none of it. He thought he was still able,but he was paralyzed on one side and his vision became impaired. The State took away his driver's license and he couldn't work building laundramats or anything for that matter. Bud grew into an angry person. When he attempted something and fail,he would explode at the nearest person around. His family was the nearest target. He drove them away. Bus had lost his identity. His worth. His family couldn't take it anymore .After a while, Bud was by himself.
I went back to coach football at the old high school. Bud was there as the equipment guy. He was sour at the world and with everybody. The school hired him on ,I guess,because they felt sorry for him and it made him think that he was doing something vital. Thing was ,most of the girls that helped him out did most of the work. Dragging out cones,lining the field,filling up the water bottles,making sure there were enough towels. But Bud thought he was in charge and no one gave him an argument or a contradiction. If that happened,Bud would go crazy and to see him do that wasn't worth it. I learned how to avoid confrontations. I'd let him win. He was always right. We got along. I'd drive him home and he always wanted to buy me dinner. Sometimes I'd accept because I think Bud knew he could open up with me,and besides,I gave him no arguments. Once in a while he'd invite me and my wife over to his place by the beach and he'd make"ciappinno". He prided himself with that dish,and to tell you the truth,it was pretty good. Me and my wife would make a big fuss over his"ciappinno" and Bud relished every compliment.
I think that I was Bud's only human friend. I say human because Bud's other friend was his dog,Shadow. Shadow was an old black lab that was one of them seeing eye dogs. Well the owner,this blind guy,died and somehow Bud wound up taking in the dog. The dog was ten when Bud got him,but he treated the old dog like it was a pup. Bud had no patience with anybody,but Shadow could do no wrong. If the dog had an accident in the house,Bud blamed himself for forgetting to walk him. When Bud walked through the door it was hard to figure who was happier to see each other. Shadow's tail would be wagging and Bud would be talking baby talk to him and give him a cookie that Bud had in a jar marked"Shadow". About the only time I saw Bud smile was when he was with Shadow. I think it was the only time Bud was happy anymore.
During the summer the team had "passing league games" so in the morning I'd pick up Bud and go to the field. Bud would make sure Shadow had plenty of water and give him a cookie before leaving. Bud would give him a big hug and say"See ya' when I get back old fella'"
It was our last "passing league game" before school re opened. I went to pick up Bud to give him a ride ,but I noticed the door was ajar. I poked my head inside and there was Bud sitting at the kitchen table. He was sobbing uncontrollably. There was a picture in a frame of Shadow on the table. Shadow's cookie jar was next to the picture.
"When I got home he was dead." Bud could hardly get the words out.
I stood there trying to think of the right words.
"I'm sorry,Bud."
"He was all I had left." Bud held up the picture.
"He loved me."
I couldn't think of nothing.
"Rog,I can't bring myself together," He was choking. "Go without me."
I got in the car. I wanted a bottled water,so before turning to go up the street I stopped at"Pat's Liquor". I was thinking of Bud and Shadow. That dog was the only living thing that put up with all that Bud had turned into. The good that was left in Bud showed when he was with Shadow. Now that Shadow was gone there was no one there to find any good that was still inside him. I figured it would all go away now. I walked up to the counter with the water.
"How's it goin'?",asked Pat."Hey your eyes are red. The allergies actin' up again?"
I put a dollar on the counter.
No,it's nothin'. I think I'm just catchin' a cold."
The Olympic developed a 'reputation'. We heard some terrible stories relating to Johnny Owen as he was being stretchered out of the ring on that fateful night in 1980.kikibalt wrote:
Brawl at the Olympic.
Oh man, ya got me on that one. I never would have thought it. I've only seen Harry as the rotund (280 lbs.) bald dude with what little hair he had left was white and always in those big Hawaiian shirts. Didn't they used to call him Hula Harry as well because of his attire?kikibalt wrote:
