BoxRec

Congratulations, Rick.

By Geno McGahee

Wladimir Klitschko Targets Chris Arreola

As much as I have criticized the current IBO/IBF/WBO Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir Klitschko, I do admire how often he fights. Coming off of his easy win over former 2-Time Heavyweight Champion, Hasim Rahman, Wlad is seeking a keep busy fight and it looks like HBO’s Chris Arreola is going to be the guy that gets the crack. Many people are high on Arreola because he comes to fight. He will charge his opponent and try to get the knockout and has accomplished that nearly every time. Unfortunately, his appetite to eat has been the focus by his critics rather than his appetite to win and rightfully so. His weight has fluctuated dramatically in between fights…not a good recipe for success. Riddick Bowe comes to mind as a heavyweight letting the buffet lines ruin his career.

What Wlad sees in Arreola is easy prey more or less. At best, Arreola has a puncher’s chance and that is if he is trained well and highly motivated. What others see are “the next David Tua” and the similarity is drawn because of the big punch and the big waistline, but Tua was a much better fighter and had a much better chin. Wladimir has also learned that Arreola doesn’t deal with straight punches well at all. Travis Walker had him down and hit him early and often right down the middle with straight hard punches. How is he going to avoid the great jab and right hand down the line that Wlad throws? It’s obvious that he is not going to.

What makes the bout appealing is one thing and one thing only: Arreola’s aggression. He has shown the ambition to fight and attack, which most of Wlad’s recent opponents have not. Most of the recent opposition have elected to stay on the outside and allowed the big champion to take them apart. Some argue that it is Wlad that is controlling them to the point that they are unable to get an offense going, but I question that. Partly, it is true, but where is that charge…that caution to the wind that Mike Tyson would have brought to the dance? Sultan Ibragimov is a guy that has great skills and power but never tried to force the fight. For somebody to beat Wlad, they have to force the fight and Arreola will probably attempt that and that is where the attraction lies. This bout won’t last long and you can bet that Wlad will probably win within two rounds, but it will be fun while it lasts.

What I am waiting for and many others as well is the grooming and eventual title shot for former Cruiserweight Champion, David Haye. After the dismal performance by WBA Heavyweight Champion, Nikolay Valuev against Evander Holyfield, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Haye to go after his title. Should that Valuev show up against Haye, it is possible that we may see the big man on his back and what a statement to the boxing world that would be! I think that Haye rattles Wladimir, judging from the face to face conversation they had prior to the Tony Thompson fight. Remember that fighters like Sonny Liston and Mike Tyson won fights before they stepped into the ring because they terrified their opponents and if Haye really rattles Wlad, he could shock the world with an early TKO of the jittery giant. I don’t think that “Dr. Steelhammer” wants any part of him yet, but the WBA Title around his waist might be enough incentive.

Most likely, we will see Vitali, older brother and WBC Champion take on Haye, leaving another opportunity for the Brit. If he were to stop Vitali, the public would demand that Wlad take him on. There is excitement brewing and this is the heavyweight division where anything can happen. Wlad vs. Arreola is a good fight because it will expose an HBO hype job and maybe we can start to sort out this division without the constant discussion of Arreola’s great potential. Wlad might not have lasted in the 1980s or the 1970s for sure, but for now, he is doing well and is head and shoulders above most of the other big men with gloves on their fists. He takes the sport seriously and fights often, which is one of the best things about him and one of the reasons why he has remained on top. An active fighter is a comfortable one and he will win comfortably against the challenger, Arreola.

kikibalt wrote:By Geno McGahee

Wladimir Klitschko Targets Chris Arreola

As much as I have criticized the current IBO/IBF/WBO Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir Klitschko, I do admire how often he fights. Coming off of his easy win over former 2-Time Heavyweight Champion, Hasim Rahman, Wlad is seeking a keep busy fight and it looks like HBO’s Chris Arreola is going to be the guy that gets the crack. Many people are high on Arreola because he comes to fight. He will charge his opponent and try to get the knockout and has accomplished that nearly every time. Unfortunately, his appetite to eat has been the focus by his critics rather than his appetite to win and rightfully so. His weight has fluctuated dramatically in between fights…not a good recipe for success. Riddick Bowe comes to mind as a heavyweight letting the buffet lines ruin his career.

What Wlad sees in Arreola is easy prey more or less. At best, Arreola has a puncher’s chance and that is if he is trained well and highly motivated. What others see are “the next David Tua” and the similarity is drawn because of the big punch and the big waistline, but Tua was a much better fighter and had a much better chin. Wladimir has also learned that Arreola doesn’t deal with straight punches well at all. Travis Walker had him down and hit him early and often right down the middle with straight hard punches. How is he going to avoid the great jab and right hand down the line that Wlad throws? It’s obvious that he is not going to.

What makes the bout appealing is one thing and one thing only: Arreola’s aggression. He has shown the ambition to fight and attack, which most of Wlad’s recent opponents have not. Most of the recent opposition have elected to stay on the outside and allowed the big champion to take them apart. Some argue that it is Wlad that is controlling them to the point that they are unable to get an offense going, but I question that. Partly, it is true, but where is that charge…that caution to the wind that Mike Tyson would have brought to the dance? Sultan Ibragimov is a guy that has great skills and power but never tried to force the fight. For somebody to beat Wlad, they have to force the fight and Arreola will probably attempt that and that is where the attraction lies. This bout won’t last long and you can bet that Wlad will probably win within two rounds, but it will be fun while it lasts.

What I am waiting for and many others as well is the grooming and eventual title shot for former Cruiserweight Champion, David Haye. After the dismal performance by WBA Heavyweight Champion, Nikolay Valuev against Evander Holyfield, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Haye to go after his title. Should that Valuev show up against Haye, it is possible that we may see the big man on his back and what a statement to the boxing world that would be! I think that Haye rattles Wladimir, judging from the face to face conversation they had prior to the Tony Thompson fight. Remember that fighters like Sonny Liston and Mike Tyson won fights before they stepped into the ring because they terrified their opponents and if Haye really rattles Wlad, he could shock the world with an early TKO of the jittery giant. I don’t think that “Dr. Steelhammer” wants any part of him yet, but the WBA Title around his waist might be enough incentive.

Most likely, we will see Vitali, older brother and WBC Champion take on Haye, leaving another opportunity for the Brit. If he were to stop Vitali, the public would demand that Wlad take him on. There is excitement brewing and this is the heavyweight division where anything can happen. Wlad vs. Arreola is a good fight because it will expose an HBO hype job and maybe we can start to sort out this division without the constant discussion of Arreola’s great potential. Wlad might not have lasted in the 1980s or the 1970s for sure, but for now, he is doing well and is head and shoulders above most of the other big men with gloves on their fists. He takes the sport seriously and fights often, which is one of the best things about him and one of the reasons why he has remained on top. An active fighter is a comfortable one and he will win comfortably against the challenger, Arreola.

The writer made some good points, unless he's very Lucky, I can't see Chris Arreola holding even the weakest version of the heavyweight title, even in this weak era. He's a bum. Of course, all the champs are bums, but this guy and his belly are the worst excuse for a Latino heavyweight yet to come along. It takes more than a punch, you have to land it, and that is always a possibility against the East Europeans, but not for Arreola. Not in this lifetime.

I'd rather see Manny Pac fight the K boys. They couldn't hit him, he'bust them up with little shots, some straying down into the thighs, which would knot up the big legs, which will fold the moment Pac takes it out of his big body. That's the key, it doesn't take a lot of weight or power to hurt a guy in the body, just accuracy. Hopefully the Giant would somehow cover his face on the ride to the canvas because once Pac was within reach he'd bust it up. Those Russians have big faces, a big target for a guy like Pac.

OK, I got carried away. But think about it?

-Rick

Rick, I see it going exactly as you say . . . until Klitschko hits him. Because, eventually, Klitschko is gonna hit him.

kikibalt wrote:

raylawpc wrote:

kikibalt wrote:Am I the only one that when I'm seeing Rodolfo fight, I'm also seeing Jose "Manteqilla" Napolas fight, or vice-versa?

Alot of similarities.

Tom, I think you're the only one that agrees with me....

All I can say is . . . great minds think alike!

raylawpc wrote:
Alot of similarities.

Tom, I think you're the only one that agrees with me....

All I can say is . . . great minds think alike!

raylawpc wrote:Rick, I see it going exactly as you say . . . until Klitschko hits him. Because, eventually, Klitschko is gonna hit him.

Maybe, Tom. However, I don't think he's fast enough to hit him. If he did land solid then the show would be over. Manny's power would not take out a giant, he'd have to cut them down piece-by-piece. I guess we'll never know.

-Rick

Holiday from hygiene:

Following is a California Athletic Commission decree issued on April 3, 1939:

"In the future when a boxer's mouthpiece falls to the floor, the referee shall pick it up and hold it until the round is completed and then return it to the chief second of the boxer who lost it."

Some contestants had been complaining for months that mouthpieces they dropped during a fight had been lost. The reason: the refs had been kicking them out into the audience!

The Commissioners thought that was a lousy practice---not so much because the protector could become lost, but because booting it into the laps of the paying customers seemed a wee bit offensive.

hap navarro

El Gato, Mantequilla & Manos de Piedra . . .

Last time I saw these three champions together was at the 2006 WBHOF autograph signing session, at the Airport Marriott Hotel the morning of the annual banquet. I was with Dan Hanley and we were doing some "on-the-spot" video interviews with a few of the Hall of Famers.

Dan and I hoped to corner Duran, who would be inducted into the HOF later that evening. However, Roberto was surrounded by reporters, admiring fans and just about everybody else aware of his presence. Dan and I opted to wait for a better opportunity, and turned our attention towards Matthew saad Muhammed and Yaqui Lopez.

As we moved around the room with our camerman Greg Patterson, we'd grab a boxer and I'd set up the shot, Dan would tap into his brilliant memory of the boxer's career and the interview would begin. We were just having fun and seeing what we might come up with. As we scanned the room for potential interviews, we saw three of our all time favorites, standing side-by-side posing for pictures. All were three were holding their legendary fists out toward the camera, and the flash bulbs popped, providing a light show as the champions smiled.

Gonzalez, Napoles and Duran. I couldn't help but imagine what might have happened had any of these three fought one another. Napoles-Duran, a pick 'em match? Gonzalez-Duran? Gonzalez-Napoles? The undisputed winners of such match-ups would be the fans. These guys came to fight, and nobody did it better.

The following year, we ended up getting "El Gato" in our studio for an emotional interview. Duran was a "no show" in 2007. Maybe we'll get Napoles this year, and if Duran is there, we will not allow the opportunity to escape us as it did in 2006.

By the way, I'm in the process of finally editing the studio interviews that Dan Hanley and I did in 2007. When they are ready for a "rough draft" viewing, I'll see if I can some how link them to this thread.

-Rick Farris

Dongee wrote:Holiday from hygiene:

Following is a California Athletic Commission decree issued on April 3, 1939:

"In the future when a boxer's mouthpiece falls to the floor, the referee shall pick it up and hold it until the round is completed and then return it to the chief second of the boxer who lost it."

Some contestants had been complaining for months that mouthpieces they dropped during a fight had been lost. The reason: the refs had been kicking them out into the audience!

The Commissioners thought that was a lousy practice---not so much because the protector could become lost, but because booting it into the laps of the paying customers seemed a wee bit offensive.

hap navarro

Hap . . . this is one rule that should never be altered. Too many guys "escape" a KO by spitting out their mouth pieces. Diego Coraales comes to mind in his first match with Jose Luis Castillo. In my third pro fight, I was robbed of a KO by the ref who continued to stop the action to replace my opponent's mouthpiece, which required the protector be rinsed off each time. If they can't keep it in their mouths, why should the opponent be panalized?

-Rick

I seen this, and the first thing that came to my mind was, RICK....


Rocker Dexter Holland's spicy offspring: Gringo Bandito hot sauce
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times
MULTI-TASKING: Dexter Holland is a musician and hot sauce developer.
By Geoff Boucher
LATimes

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, fittingly, are singing about the City of Angels on the jukebox when Dexter Holland walks into a Long Beach bar at lunchtime, pulls off his sunglasses and reaches for a menu.

Like the members of the Chili Peppers, Holland is a signature star on the Southern California rock scene -- his Orange County punk-pop band, the Offspring, has sold 17 million albums in the U.S. alone -- but on this day he is more focused on his other gig as an up-and-comer in the quirky world of boutique hot sauces.

His indelicately named Mexican-style sauce, Gringo Bandito, made its debut in late 2006 after two years of exhaustive experimentation by Holland to get just the right taste, texture and all-important zing. Bandito is now being bottled at the brisk pace of 300 gallons a month and is even being sold through Albertsons supermarkets in Southern California and Las Vegas, a triumph for a venture that faced a dizzying array of competitors and started as a spicy lark.

"Growing up here I was always into Mexican food and culture, Day of the Dead, all of it, and one day I looked at a hot sauce bottle and wondered if I could do better," the 43-year-old Holland says as he munches on tacos at Lona's Wardlow Station, a Long Beach landmark when it comes to cantina cuisine and cervezas.

"Making a good hot sauce turned out to be far harder than I thought," Holland says with a weary smile. "Going to Google and typing in 'salsa' and finding a recipe is one thing, but trying to figure out how people make a quality hot sauce is a lot tougher. It's guarded, somewhat, and it's more difficult, because there's cooking involved."

Holland had the advantage of a background with beakers -- he has a master's degree in molecular biology from USC, which may surprise many of his young concert fans who pogo while he belts out such Offspring hits as "Hammerhead" and "Come Out and Play." He's also designed and patented software for BlackBerrys, owns a record label and happens to be an experienced pilot who owns three planes.

None of that, though, matters in the burn-or-get-burned business of hot sauce.

"People take it so seriously, especially here in Southern California, where Mexican food is part of the way of life," says Holland, who noted that youth culture in the beach towns is especially drenched in the binding sauce. "It brings all kinds of people together. The hard-core hot sauce guys carry their own bottle around with them in the glove compartment or their work box."

What you think of when you hear "hot sauce" depends on what table you're sitting at. There are the dips and pastes of Asia, the Scotch bonnet sauces and mustards of the Caribbean and, by far the most popular in the U.S., the family of Louisiana-style vinegar-based hot sauces, which Tabasco dominates like Coca-Cola and Pepsi put together.

Mexican-style hot sauce historically has put more emphasis on flavor than heat and tones down the vinegar, compared to the bayou counterparts. Holland says that with his Gringo Bandito, he stayed away from the contemporary how-hot-can-you-go competition that has led certain restaurants to ask customers to sign waivers before taking that first bite.

Holland is reluctant to critique competitors (he does admire an import called Amazon Hot Sauce, a green, mild, mango-flavored sauce) or to describe his own recipe too precisely -- and who can blame him after so many months of struggle? But Bandito's "official" ingredients as listed on its website: vinegar, water, habanero peppers, jalapeño peppers, red Japanese chile peppers, more peppers, salt, mojo, spices and xanthan gum.

"It's a witch's brew. There are a dozen types of peppers in all, and some secret stuff," said Matt McCollum, who is part of Holland's Bandito team, along with Florencia Arriaga, who oversees production. Twice a month, Arriaga shops for peppers and, over six hours, cooks up 150 gallons of the sauce in a caldron at Da'kine Foods, a Newport Beach professional kitchen for boutique sauces and other bottled goodies.

The right sauce can make a meal light up, and sometimes, the more expensive concoctions can't hold a culinary candle to the tried-and-true, often cheaper, stalwarts. Lona Lee, owner of Wardlow Station, says her customers reach most often for Tapatío, the Guadalajara-style salsa picante that launched in 1971 and is bottled in Vernon, or Cholula, with its trademark wooden cap and pequin peppers. Also popular are Pico Pica, a Mexican sauce with no vinegar at all, and El Yucateco, the best-selling brand south of the border.

Holland has skipped the advertising route, instead taking a grass-roots approach to his peppery venture.

"We took it to fire stations and electrical unions and gave it away," he says. "I leave it at beach bars in Huntington and Redondo. The best way is to get one person to taste it and then tell their friends. Ads don't sell hot sauce. Friends do."

Holland's Bandito, Lee says, is catching on, but she adds that it's hard for newcomers in the sector to gain traction, because many of her diners never stray from tradition or, on the opposite end of the scale, never want to try the same thing twice.

That safari mentality explains shops such as Hot Licks, the hot sauce specialty store in Long Beach's Shoreline Village that has hundreds of brands promising the best flavor or the worst oral crisis.

"There's something really fun about hot sauce. It makes a great gift and it's fun to talk about," Holland says as he trails some Bandito across a chicken taco. "When I started, I didn't know how hard it would be. But hey, when we started the band, we didn't know how to play guitars either."

On California boxing:

The first real effort to standardize a referee's method of scoring boxing matches occurred at the insistance of Commissioner Charles Traung, of San Francisco. In June, 1930, he spoke out against the haphazard way referees were scoring the bouts, motivated in part, by a particularly outrageous verdict handed down in a recent mtch betwen Johnny Benedetti and Pete Meyers, at San Jose. The referee involved, "One Round" Hogan, had to be escorted from the ring under police protection. Traung's call for a unified system met
with the approval of fans, promoters and referees alike.

Up to the time, a third man working a fight would use the "coln, toothpick or pebble" system---mentally labeling one of his pants pockets (Joe Blow) for one contestant and the other (Willie Drop) for the opponent. At the end of each round the ref would drop one of the items mentioned into the corresponding pocket. When the fight was over, the referee simply counted the number of items "credited" to each battler and awarded the decision to the "pocket" that contained the most.

Elementary, it's true. But that's the way it really was until Californians reached out across the world to import the Austalian system of scoring.

hap navarro

On California boxing:

The first real effort to standardize a referee's method of scoring boxing matches occurred at the insistance of Commissioner Charles Traung, of San Francisco. In June, 1930, he spoke out against the haphazard way referees were scoring the bouts, motivated in part, by a particularly outrageous verdict handed down in a recent mtch betwen Johnny Benedetti and Pete Meyers, at San Jose. The referee involved, "One Round" Hogan, had to be escorted from the ring under police protection. Traung's call for a unified system met
with the approval of fans, promoters and referees alike.

Up to the time, a third man working a fight would use the "coln, toothpick or pebble" system---mentally labeling one of his pants pockets (Joe Blow) for one contestant and the other (Willie Drop) for the opponent. At the end of each round the ref would drop one of the items mentioned into the corresponding pocket. When the fight was over, the referee simply counted the number of items "credited" to each battler and awarded the decision to the "pocket" that contained the most.

Elementary, it's true. But that's the way it really was until Californians reached out across the world to import the Austalian system of scoring.

hap navarro

Dongee wrote:On California boxing:

The first real effort to standardize a referee's method of scoring boxing matches occurred at the insistance of Commissioner Charles Traung, of San Francisco. In June, 1930, he spoke out against the haphazard way referees were scoring the bouts, motivated in part, by a particularly outrageous verdict handed down in a recent mtch betwen Johnny Benedetti and Pete Meyers, at San Jose. The referee involved, "One Round" Hogan, had to be escorted from the ring under police protection. Traung's call for a unified system met
with the approval of fans, promoters and referees alike.

Up to the time, a third man working a fight would use the "coln, toothpick or pebble" system---mentally labeling one of his pants pockets (Joe Blow) for one contestant and the other (Willie Drop) for the opponent. At the end of each round the ref would drop one of the items mentioned into the corresponding pocket. When the fight was over, the referee simply counted the number of items "credited" to each battler and awarded the decision to the "pocket" that contained the most.

Elementary, it's true. But that's the way it really was until Californians reached out across the world to import the Austalian system of scoring.

hap navarro

Hap . . . Thanks for sharing the info on the "coin, toothpick or pebble" system and the era it was from. At the time the Australian scoring method was introduced, did that system focus on scoring on "rounds won" or points scored? I have another personal curiosity related to the "point system".

Today, in the 10 pt. system, both boxers begin a round with ten points. At the end of the round, the losing boxer will have points deducted, usually between one and three. The problem here is too many numbers. Officials never give more than three points per round. It's believed a man who lost a round by four points would be comatose. If they refuse to use the full ten points to fine tune their scoring, then why use it?

In California, when I turned pro, California had the BEST system in the world. It was the "five-point must" system, where both boxers start a round with zero points. The winner of the round will be awarded between 1 and 5 points. Less numbers to deal with, unlike the "subtractive" system. It's easier to count for those with math challenges, easier to understand. If a boxer wins all ten rounds, he'll score 10-0 (or more w/ knockdowns). That is the best way to reveal a shutout, not 100-90, as in the ten point system today. That suggests a close fight. Why complicate things?

In New York, during the 70's, they used the "round" system which gave no credit for one's dominance level in a round.

Hap, during your days at the Legion, mid 40's-50's, what scoring system did the California State Athletic Commission use? And one more question, you mentioned "One Round" Hogan. I knew of an inside joke between Mando Ramos and Frankie Crawford involving the tag "One Round Hogan". I know that he was a fighter, and apparently a ref later, but how did he get the nickname?

--Rick Farris

kikibalt wrote:

When I was a teenager, I drove a 1964 Galaxy 500. It was the best car I ever had.

kikibalt wrote:I seen this, and the first thing that came to my mind was, RICK....


Rocker Dexter Holland's spicy offspring: Gringo Bandito hot sauce
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times
MULTI-TASKING: Dexter Holland is a musician and hot sauce developer.
By Geoff Boucher
LATimes

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, fittingly, are singing about the City of Angels on the jukebox when Dexter Holland walks into a Long Beach bar at lunchtime, pulls off his sunglasses and reaches for a menu.

Like the members of the Chili Peppers, Holland is a signature star on the Southern California rock scene -- his Orange County punk-pop band, the Offspring, has sold 17 million albums in the U.S. alone -- but on this day he is more focused on his other gig as an up-and-comer in the quirky world of boutique hot sauces.

His indelicately named Mexican-style sauce, Gringo Bandito, made its debut in late 2006 after two years of exhaustive experimentation by Holland to get just the right taste, texture and all-important zing. Bandito is now being bottled at the brisk pace of 300 gallons a month and is even being sold through Albertsons supermarkets in Southern California and Las Vegas, a triumph for a venture that faced a dizzying array of competitors and started as a spicy lark.

"Growing up here I was always into Mexican food and culture, Day of the Dead, all of it, and one day I looked at a hot sauce bottle and wondered if I could do better," the 43-year-old Holland says as he munches on tacos at Lona's Wardlow Station, a Long Beach landmark when it comes to cantina cuisine and cervezas.

"Making a good hot sauce turned out to be far harder than I thought," Holland says with a weary smile. "Going to Google and typing in 'salsa' and finding a recipe is one thing, but trying to figure out how people make a quality hot sauce is a lot tougher. It's guarded, somewhat, and it's more difficult, because there's cooking involved."

Holland had the advantage of a background with beakers -- he has a master's degree in molecular biology from USC, which may surprise many of his young concert fans who pogo while he belts out such Offspring hits as "Hammerhead" and "Come Out and Play." He's also designed and patented software for BlackBerrys, owns a record label and happens to be an experienced pilot who owns three planes.

None of that, though, matters in the burn-or-get-burned business of hot sauce.

"People take it so seriously, especially here in Southern California, where Mexican food is part of the way of life," says Holland, who noted that youth culture in the beach towns is especially drenched in the binding sauce. "It brings all kinds of people together. The hard-core hot sauce guys carry their own bottle around with them in the glove compartment or their work box."

What you think of when you hear "hot sauce" depends on what table you're sitting at. There are the dips and pastes of Asia, the Scotch bonnet sauces and mustards of the Caribbean and, by far the most popular in the U.S., the family of Louisiana-style vinegar-based hot sauces, which Tabasco dominates like Coca-Cola and Pepsi put together.

Mexican-style hot sauce historically has put more emphasis on flavor than heat and tones down the vinegar, compared to the bayou counterparts. Holland says that with his Gringo Bandito, he stayed away from the contemporary how-hot-can-you-go competition that has led certain restaurants to ask customers to sign waivers before taking that first bite.

Holland is reluctant to critique competitors (he does admire an import called Amazon Hot Sauce, a green, mild, mango-flavored sauce) or to describe his own recipe too precisely -- and who can blame him after so many months of struggle? But Bandito's "official" ingredients as listed on its website: vinegar, water, habanero peppers, jalapeño peppers, red Japanese chile peppers, more peppers, salt, mojo, spices and xanthan gum.

"It's a witch's brew. There are a dozen types of peppers in all, and some secret stuff," said Matt McCollum, who is part of Holland's Bandito team, along with Florencia Arriaga, who oversees production. Twice a month, Arriaga shops for peppers and, over six hours, cooks up 150 gallons of the sauce in a caldron at Da'kine Foods, a Newport Beach professional kitchen for boutique sauces and other bottled goodies.

The right sauce can make a meal light up, and sometimes, the more expensive concoctions can't hold a culinary candle to the tried-and-true, often cheaper, stalwarts. Lona Lee, owner of Wardlow Station, says her customers reach most often for Tapatío, the Guadalajara-style salsa picante that launched in 1971 and is bottled in Vernon, or Cholula, with its trademark wooden cap and pequin peppers. Also popular are Pico Pica, a Mexican sauce with no vinegar at all, and El Yucateco, the best-selling brand south of the border.

Holland has skipped the advertising route, instead taking a grass-roots approach to his peppery venture.

"We took it to fire stations and electrical unions and gave it away," he says. "I leave it at beach bars in Huntington and Redondo. The best way is to get one person to taste it and then tell their friends. Ads don't sell hot sauce. Friends do."

Holland's Bandito, Lee says, is catching on, but she adds that it's hard for newcomers in the sector to gain traction, because many of her diners never stray from tradition or, on the opposite end of the scale, never want to try the same thing twice.

That safari mentality explains shops such as Hot Licks, the hot sauce specialty store in Long Beach's Shoreline Village that has hundreds of brands promising the best flavor or the worst oral crisis.

"There's something really fun about hot sauce. It makes a great gift and it's fun to talk about," Holland says as he trails some Bandito across a chicken taco. "When I started, I didn't know how hard it would be. But hey, when we started the band, we didn't know how to play guitars either."

Thanks, Frank. I'll definitly get it! You know, Rudy Ramirez lives in Long Beach and gets a hot sauce he claims is the deadliest on earth, "Insane Daves". Guys will tell Rudy how they've had the hottest sauce from all over the world. Rudy will quietly hand them his "Insane Dave's" and watch as they set themselves on fire. I know Rudy would love to see me take on Insane Dave, but being the gringo that I am, I'll go with the "Gringo Bandito" instead. Great name.

-El Bandito

Rick, check your PMs.

Tom, the only Ford I ever had was like the one below, same color, white.
1975 Ford Elite, I bought it in Deccember 1974. junked it in 1982....

Rick:

The first California referee to employ the "down under" method of scoring a fight was Abe Roth, one of the top boxing figures in the west for decades. It was an 11-point system that proved to be popular with the fans.

Publicist Bill Miller, a great boxing drum beater, told us he heard about the system from Frank Churchill, who used it in his Philippine Island promotions and much later described it to Abe Roth.

For many years Pacific Coast referees used whatever system they deemed best, a practice that fell into disfavor with boxers and fans alike, and resulting in the Australian method taking hold in California.

On October 25, 1960. a 5-point system was used in a state title bout in which Sixto Rodriguez ("Fat City") defended his 175-pound belt by stopping Bobby Sand in 11 rounds at Richmond, Ca. That very night the new tabulating method was employed at the L.A. Olympic where L.C. Morgan won over Tombstone Smith in 10 rounds.

hap navarro

Sorry to say the Hogan anecdote escapes me at pressent, if I even ever knew it, Rick.

Rick Farris wrote:

kikibalt wrote:I seen this, and the first thing that came to my mind was, RICK....


Rocker Dexter Holland's spicy offspring: Gringo Bandito hot sauce
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times
MULTI-TASKING: Dexter Holland is a musician and hot sauce developer.
By Geoff Boucher
LATimes

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, fittingly, are singing about the City of Angels on the jukebox when Dexter Holland walks into a Long Beach bar at lunchtime, pulls off his sunglasses and reaches for a menu.

Like the members of the Chili Peppers, Holland is a signature star on the Southern California rock scene -- his Orange County punk-pop band, the Offspring, has sold 17 million albums in the U.S. alone -- but on this day he is more focused on his other gig as an up-and-comer in the quirky world of boutique hot sauces.

His indelicately named Mexican-style sauce, Gringo Bandito, made its debut in late 2006 after two years of exhaustive experimentation by Holland to get just the right taste, texture and all-important zing. Bandito is now being bottled at the brisk pace of 300 gallons a month and is even being sold through Albertsons supermarkets in Southern California and Las Vegas, a triumph for a venture that faced a dizzying array of competitors and started as a spicy lark.

"Growing up here I was always into Mexican food and culture, Day of the Dead, all of it, and one day I looked at a hot sauce bottle and wondered if I could do better," the 43-year-old Holland says as he munches on tacos at Lona's Wardlow Station, a Long Beach landmark when it comes to cantina cuisine and cervezas.

"Making a good hot sauce turned out to be far harder than I thought," Holland says with a weary smile. "Going to Google and typing in 'salsa' and finding a recipe is one thing, but trying to figure out how people make a quality hot sauce is a lot tougher. It's guarded, somewhat, and it's more difficult, because there's cooking involved."

Holland had the advantage of a background with beakers -- he has a master's degree in molecular biology from USC, which may surprise many of his young concert fans who pogo while he belts out such Offspring hits as "Hammerhead" and "Come Out and Play." He's also designed and patented software for BlackBerrys, owns a record label and happens to be an experienced pilot who owns three planes.

None of that, though, matters in the burn-or-get-burned business of hot sauce.

"People take it so seriously, especially here in Southern California, where Mexican food is part of the way of life," says Holland, who noted that youth culture in the beach towns is especially drenched in the binding sauce. "It brings all kinds of people together. The hard-core hot sauce guys carry their own bottle around with them in the glove compartment or their work box."

What you think of when you hear "hot sauce" depends on what table you're sitting at. There are the dips and pastes of Asia, the Scotch bonnet sauces and mustards of the Caribbean and, by far the most popular in the U.S., the family of Louisiana-style vinegar-based hot sauces, which Tabasco dominates like Coca-Cola and Pepsi put together.

Mexican-style hot sauce historically has put more emphasis on flavor than heat and tones down the vinegar, compared to the bayou counterparts. Holland says that with his Gringo Bandito, he stayed away from the contemporary how-hot-can-you-go competition that has led certain restaurants to ask customers to sign waivers before taking that first bite.

Holland is reluctant to critique competitors (he does admire an import called Amazon Hot Sauce, a green, mild, mango-flavored sauce) or to describe his own recipe too precisely -- and who can blame him after so many months of struggle? But Bandito's "official" ingredients as listed on its website: vinegar, water, habanero peppers, jalapeño peppers, red Japanese chile peppers, more peppers, salt, mojo, spices and xanthan gum.

"It's a witch's brew. There are a dozen types of peppers in all, and some secret stuff," said Matt McCollum, who is part of Holland's Bandito team, along with Florencia Arriaga, who oversees production. Twice a month, Arriaga shops for peppers and, over six hours, cooks up 150 gallons of the sauce in a caldron at Da'kine Foods, a Newport Beach professional kitchen for boutique sauces and other bottled goodies.

The right sauce can make a meal light up, and sometimes, the more expensive concoctions can't hold a culinary candle to the tried-and-true, often cheaper, stalwarts. Lona Lee, owner of Wardlow Station, says her customers reach most often for Tapatío, the Guadalajara-style salsa picante that launched in 1971 and is bottled in Vernon, or Cholula, with its trademark wooden cap and pequin peppers. Also popular are Pico Pica, a Mexican sauce with no vinegar at all, and El Yucateco, the best-selling brand south of the border.

Holland has skipped the advertising route, instead taking a grass-roots approach to his peppery venture.

"We took it to fire stations and electrical unions and gave it away," he says. "I leave it at beach bars in Huntington and Redondo. The best way is to get one person to taste it and then tell their friends. Ads don't sell hot sauce. Friends do."

Holland's Bandito, Lee says, is catching on, but she adds that it's hard for newcomers in the sector to gain traction, because many of her diners never stray from tradition or, on the opposite end of the scale, never want to try the same thing twice.

That safari mentality explains shops such as Hot Licks, the hot sauce specialty store in Long Beach's Shoreline Village that has hundreds of brands promising the best flavor or the worst oral crisis.

"There's something really fun about hot sauce. It makes a great gift and it's fun to talk about," Holland says as he trails some Bandito across a chicken taco. "When I started, I didn't know how hard it would be. But hey, when we started the band, we didn't know how to play guitars either."

Thanks, Frank. I'll definitly get it! You know, Rudy Ramirez lives in Long Beach and gets a hot sauce he claims is the deadliest on earth, "Insane Daves". Guys will tell Rudy how they've had the hottest sauce from all over the world. Rudy will quietly hand them his "Insane Dave's" and watch as they set themselves on fire. I know Rudy would love to see me take on Insane Dave, but being the gringo that I am, I'll go with the "Gringo Bandito" instead. Great name.

-El Bandito

Rick, you should make "Gringo Bandito" your new handle...

Three of the entertainers at the boxing and vaudeville show at the Main Street
Athletic Club to raise funds for the Thanksgiving Day dinner for 2,000 newsboys is:
Fidel La Barba (right), famous bantamweight, and Augie Curtis (left), Los Angeles
Athletic Club flyweight. The referee is Carlo Curtis who is in charge of the show
and the dinner.
Photo dated: December 23, 1928.

Some L.A. Headliners, mid 60's-70's . . .

Jerry Quarry
Mando Ramos
Danny "Little Red" Lopez
Rodolfo "EL Gato" Gonzalez
Ruben Olivares
Jose Napoles
Bobby Chacon
Dwight Hawkins
Raul Rojas
Ruben Navarro
Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez
Frankie Crawford
Emile Griffith
Ken Norton
Sonny Liston
Floyd Patterson
Brian London
Carlos Palomino
Armando Muniz
"Pajarito" Moreno
Hedgeman Lewis
Andy "Kid"Heilman
George "Scrap Iron" Johnson
Ray "Windmill" White
Danny Valdez
"Joltin" Johnny Smith
Joey Orbillo
Frankie Duarte
Albert Davila
Jimmy Robertson
Randy Shields
Andy Price
Alexis Arguello
Roberto DuranRubein "Hurricane" Carter
Luis Rodriguez
Frankie "Too Sweet" Jennings
Albert & Richie Sandoval
Frankie Jr. & Tony Baltazar
The "opening acts" & "crowd chasers"
The L.A. Gyms
The L.A. Jr. Golden Gloves
The L.A. Golden Gloves
Aileen Eaton
Mickey Davies
Don Chargin
George Parnassus
Howie Steindler
Don Fraser
Jake Shagrue
Suey Welch
Mel Epstein
Frank Baltazar Sr.
Louie Jareque (spelling)
Johnnie Flores
Julio Flores
Jimmy Lennon Sr.
Dr. Bernhart Schwartz
John Thomas
Dick Young
George Latka
Lee Grossman
Larry Rozadilla
Cannonball Green
Allen Malamud
Theo Ehret
Jerry Moore & Henry Blouin
Jake Horn
Sonny Ray
Ernie DeFrance
The Ramirez Mortuary in East L.A.
The previous era's in Los Angeles boxing
The Olympic
The Forum
The Sports Arena
The Coliseum
Anaheim Convention Center
The Valley Music Theatre
Devonshire Downs
Long Beach Civic Aud.
Long Beach Sports Arena
Dodger Stadium
The El Monte Legion
Teamsters Gym
Eastside Boys Club
Sacred Heart A.C. Pomona

So much to L.A. Boxing in the 60's-70's era.


-Rick Farris

Rick, here is a list of some of the top headliners that Hap worked with and that I seen fight live, in the late 1940's and 50's, I hope it'll bring Hap some memories that he can share with us.
Rick, I know that you will recognize some of the fighters on this list

Art Aragon

Billy Peacock

Johnny Ortega

Tommy Umeda

Gil Cadilli

Hank Aceves

Dave Gallardo

Rudy Garcia

Kenny Davis

Keeny Teran

Julian Velasquez

Juan Luis Campos

Frankie Campos

Baby Ortiz

Andy Escobar

Rudy Mendoza

Freddie(Babe)Herman

Al Arenas

Joey Dorando

Ramon Tiscareno

Manny Madrid

Frankie Belma

Joey Abasta

Mickey Northrup

Paul Armstead

Baby Ike

Al Cruz

Buddy Evatt

Ruben Salazar

Jose Luis Cotero

Bobby Why

Bobby Woods

Bobby Garaz

Alfredo Cota

Eddie Pace

Gil Velarde

Pete Aguirre

Baby Leroy

Manny Renteria

Jesse Fuentes

Harold(Baby Face)Jones

Ramon Fuentes

Paulino Montes

Elmer Beltz

Enriqure Bolanos

Archie Whitewater

kikibalt wrote:Rick, here is a list of some of the top headliners that Hap worked with and that I seen fight live, in the late 1940's and 50's, I hope it'll bring Hap some memories that he can share with us.
Rick, I know that you will recognize some of the fighters on this list

Art Aragon

Billy Peacock

Johnny Ortega

Tommy Umeda

Gil Cadilli

Hank Aceves

Dave Gallardo

Rudy Garcia

Kenny Davis

Keeny Teran

Julian Velasquez

Juan Luis Campos

Frankie Campos

Baby Ortiz

Andy Escobar

Rudy Mendoza

Freddie(Babe)Herman

Al Arenas

Joey Dorando

Ramon Tiscareno

Manny Madrid

Frankie Belma

Joey Abasta

Mickey Northrup

Paul Armstead

Baby Ike

Al Cruz

Buddy Evatt

Ruben Salazar

Jose Luis Cotero

Bobby Why

Bobby Woods

Bobby Garaz

Alfredo Cota

Eddie Pace

Gil Velarde

Pete Aguirre

Baby Leroy

Manny Renteria

Jesse Fuentes

Harold(Baby Face)Jones

Ramon Fuentes

Paulino Montes

Elmer Beltz

Enriqure Bolanos

Archie Whitewater



They box at the Legion Stadium when you were m-m there they also box at Ocean Park Arena,the Olympic Aud. an so.gate Arena

Frank, as you know Paul Armstead and Eddie Pace crossed over from Hap's era to the next. Frankie Belma gave it another try himself in the mid-60's, fighting out of the Jackie McCoy stable. I recall watching Belma on TV from the Olympic during those early Dick Enberg-Mickey Davies broadcasts on KTLA Ch-5. I remember during the match that Davies mentioned that Belma had fought Art Aragon years earlier. I have a clear picture in my mind of Frankie Belma, he held his left hand low and would keep it in motion, feinting, pumping the jab. In 1970, Eddie Pace would drop dead in the ring at Shagrue's Hoover St. Gym after a sparring session with welter Gil King.

Thanks for the great list. I look forward to Hap's memories.

-Rick Farris