Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

A 4 round preliminary fight between Manuel Maldonado and John Malloy,
won by Maldonado on the Art Aragon vs Teddy "Red Top" Davis card

[Rick Farris]

CHAMPIONS WASTELAND ; SHOZO SAIJO
By Jim Amato


Today with so many governing bodies and organizations around it has become very hard to take someone’s claim of ” world champion ” seriously. I mean there is the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBA and God knows how many more will pop up in the future. Split titles are not anything new to boxing but in days gone by it was a lot less complicated. As much as I hated it when either the WBA or the WBC ” stripped ” a champion of his crown for some bogus reason and then ” made ” his own champion. At least it kept the rift between just two claimants. In some cases there were much needed unification fights like Bob Foster and Vincente Rondon or Carlos Monzon against Rodrigo Valdez. There were also cases where a unification bout would have generated a lot of fan interest and cleared up the situation but they never came off. Some bouts that come to mind are Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza, John Conteh vs Victor Galindez and Carlos Palomino vs. Pipino Cuevas. There is one bout that could have taken place in 1971 pitting two champions from Japan who each claimed a portion of the featherweight title. They were WBC titleholder Kuniaki Shibata and his WBA rival, Shozo Saijo. Alas the fight never materialized. It seems that today Shibata is still remembered as the man who made great Vincente Saldivar surrender. What about poor Shozo Saijo? He has been long forgotten outside of Japan and somehow that just does not seem quite fair.

Saijo was born in 1947 and turned pro in 1964. Shozo was not an instant sensation and over his first twenty fights he compiled a less then earth shaking 14-4-2 records. In 1968 he lost a decision to the highly regarded Jose Luis Pimentel. In a rematch Saijo turned the tables and he got the verdict. That led to a fight with the rugged Raul Rojas.After the retirement of Saldivar, Rojas defeated Enrique Higgins to claim the vacant WBA featherweight title. Rojas was matched with Saijo in a non-title battle and Saijo copped the decision. On September 27th, 1968 in a rematch with the title on the line Saijo became the new WBA champion.

Saijo did not just sit on his laurels. He was a very active champion who defended his title five times and won seven of eight non-title affairs. His only loss was to WBA super featherweight champion Hiroshi Kobayashi with no title at stake. Finally on September 2nd, 1971 Shozo lost his championship when he was hallted in five rounds by Venezuala’s Antonio Gomez. Saijo never fought again. His overall record stood at 29-7-2. He scored eight stoppage victories and suffered only one knockout loss and that was to Gomez. The path of Saijo and Shibata never crossed when they both held the title at the same time.Shibata held his portion of the title from 12-11-1970 to 5-19-1972. Saijo had a longer reign from 9-27-1968 to 9-2-1971, holding his piece of the crown for nearly three years. A champion like Saijo should not be forgotten.

Great story on Saijyo. I saw him real close at Main St. Gym for quite a few years. Regarding his loss to Jose Pimentel in their first bout, Saijyo was robbed. After a few rounds with Saijyo, Raul Rojas was unrecognizable from the beating that Saijyo laid on him. Nobody was interested in a rematch. Rojas wouldn't have had a chance. Saijyo rendered him "used" equipment. From then on Raul Rojas would be an opponent, a name to pad the records of guys like Navarro, Ramos, etc.

Frankie Crawford gave Saijyo two of the most competitive title fights he'd have, both in Tokyo. Irish Frankie dumped Saijyo in one of the bouts, but Japanese officials were not going to let the American win. Saijyo was a good fighter, a good champion, he came up the hard way in L.A. He had nothing but a bit of experience when he got to L.A. and the Japanese boxer had no edge in a town that favored Mexican fighters. Hence the loss to Pimentel. However, Sho Saijyo's fists took things out of the hands of the judges.

Sho Saijyo was an exciting fighter . . . an L.A. legend, in my opinion.

-Rick Farris

[Randyman]

Outstanding idea for Rog to do the artwork for the program.
Perfect.Im already looking forward to the next banquet.Cant wait to see Rog's work also!

I agree Brian, whatever picture is chosen it will be outstanding. Rog is the real deal. Alaso, kudos to our pal Rick for sharing his success with us, with the invitations, the stories, giving Rog a crack at a WBHF program cover, etc... It's like we're all part of it. With Rick moving up, Mando possibly checking into this thread, Rog painting the cover, we're going to be walking around the next banquet like we own the place.

Randy

[Randyman]

I took these photos today at Spring Valley Lake, where my mother lives. It's a pretty nice area, golf course with a clubhouse and banquet area, marina and dock, fishing, waterskiing, etc.. The lakefront houses are really nice. We went window shopping today. Checking out some of the houses that are for sale. My Ma sends her regards to the guys at Boxrec!!

[Rick Farris]

Damn. Roger, that would make a great cover for the WBHOF Program. Beautiful.

-Rick

Rick
You guys decide,but I think the painting should be generic like the boxing gloves. I'll post another one I call the "Knockout"

In my opinion, the "Gloves" are perfect. Mando and I will address the rest of the board, I know they'll be equally impressed.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Outstanding idea for Rog to do the artwork for the program.
Perfect.Im already looking forward to the next banquet.Cant wait to see Rog's work also!

I agree Brian, whatever picture is chosen it will be outstanding. Rog is the real deal. Alaso, kudos to our pal Rick for sharing his success with us, with the invitations, the stories, giving Rog a crack at a WBHF program cover, etc... It's like we're all part of it. With Rick moving up, Mando possibly checking into this thread, Rog painting the cover, we're going to be walking around the next banquet like we own the place.

Randy

Thank you, Randy. The truth is, YOU are a part of it, all of YOU. You guys are REAL boxing people. You are the people whose voice we want to listen to. We are a non-profit organization, to truly honor the legends we need support. We don't have a big budget or benefactors. We on the board donate our time and experience. We need more BOXING experience. This thread is an invaluable source, however, we are also friends. Later this year when you walk thru the banquet, you should feel like you own the place. It is your home as well as the legends. By being there, your place in boxng is being acknowledged. And to be honest, we have the best damn group in the house. The WBHOF belongs to all of us. Share in it, it's there for us. Without question, Roger's name and work will always be a part of the WBHOF. His work will live with the legends, as it should.

-Rick



-

[dagosd2000]

Armando Muniz . . .

Hey Roger, Mando just popped into the site and checked out the story you wrote about his bouts with Napoles and he also saw both your paintings. I'll wait and let Mando tell you himself what he thought, but it was not unlike my reaction. By the way, "The Knockout" is really something. Mando was honored by your story and impressed with what we do on this thread. He has bookmarked the site and would like to answer any questions any of us might. I'll help him get started here, he's got to sign-up, etc. By the way, Mando's in the process of printing out the story, "I want to show my friends", he said proudly.

Thank you again for taking the time to paint and post your art. It's really going to enhance the cover of our program. What a kind contribution.

-Rick Farris

Just got back from watching the football games. I'm glad Mando liked my story. I made one edition to the original post,but I'm glad he liked it. Rog

[dagosd2000]

I took these photos today at Spring Valley Lake, where my mother lives. It's a pretty nice area, golf course with a clubhouse and banquet area, marina and dock, fishing, waterskiing, etc.. The lakefront houses are really nice. We went window shopping today. Checking out some of the houses that are for sale. My Ma sends her regards to the guys at Boxrec!!

Randy
How's Mom? Keep sluggin' Rog.

[dagosd2000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_7loz-HWUM

PRELUDE TO THE AFTERNOON OF A FAUN

"You all right?",I asked.
"Yeh. I'll be OK. I'll come around."
He took a terrible beating. His cuts opened up . His lips were shredded. He had a tough time talking.
"What's that your listening to?"I asked.
"Classical music. It soothes me."

The Irish in him wasn't enough to get him through tonight. He'd taken a beating. His corner had to stop it. I'm glad they did. I didn't want to see it go on.I wanted him to go down and stay there,but the Irish in him wouldn't allow it, so his corner threw in the towel.

"The music relaxes me. I get all worked up for this,but the music settles me down. You ever listen to classical music Rog?"
"Sometimes."
"It's on the FM station. They broadcast it from Mexico."
He was tired . He wasn't going anywhere. He'd had his chances. He couldn't come through. He gave it everthing he had. He had no regrets. He just wasn't good enough that's all.

"You ought to listen to the classics. You'll understand why it's survived so long. It's eternal."
"What are you listening to ?"
"Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun."
So the Irish hellion was listening to classical music. The guy who'd take you to task if he thought you were out of line. The pug who never would win a title belt,but all that wouldn't matter. Everything he had, he had left in the ring. He regretted nothing.

"I just checked to see how you're doing," I said.
"I'm Ok. Don't worry about me."
He was putting a towel to his face. The radio was still on. The music he was listening to was very beautifull.

As I walked out of the locker room,I remembered the song he was listening to. I hummed it as I walked to my car. The song made me feel good. It was soothing. The melody was captivating.

That night as I stared at the ceiling in bed ,I'd forgotten the name of the song .I'd see him tomorrow though. I'd ask him then. I hoped that he was all right.

[bennie]

Two of the nicest guys around.

I was a few feet from Hedgemon when Mike McCallum licked Bomber Graham at the Albert Hall in London in 1989, but he was working McCallum's corner and I didn't want to interfere.

[kikibalt]

Gardeners reap the pain of recession


Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
Martin Alamillo, 43, installs a new sprinkler system in Pasadena. The Sylmar gardener estimates that his business is down as much as 20%.
As the economy worsens, those who provide the extras -- housework, lawn care, pool service -- feel the pinch first.

By Anna Gorman

Every time a client calls, Martin Alamillo gets nervous. Since last summer, more than 10 of his clients have discontinued their weekly gardening service. Several are behind on their payments, including one woman who owes him nearly $1,000.

Alamillo and his two crews are still out mowing lawns, blowing leaves and picking weeds, but he estimates that business is down as much as 20%.


While the economic crash has affected businesses from real estate to retail, gardeners like Alamillo have been among the hardest hit as homeowners looking to save money dust off their lawn mowers and take care of their own yards.

Gardeners, like housekeepers and pool cleaners, are seen as extras when people's houses go upside down or when they lose their jobs, said John Husing, an economic consultant based in Redlands.

"You can cut your lawn. You can clean your house," Husing said. "These are those little extra goodies when you are feeling flush. They are also some of the first to go away when you are not."


Husing has kept his gardening crew but recently told them to come every other week rather than every week.

"All they do is blow the leaves," he said. "We decided we needed to look at our budget and decide what to cut."

Tens of thousands of immigrant gardeners work in Los Angeles County, said Alvaro Huerta, a UC Berkeley urban planning student working on his doctoral dissertation on such gardeners and their economy. On average, Huerta says, the gardeners earn between $20,000 and $30,000 annually, cutting lawns and doing regular maintenance work, though many also have weekend jobs, doing such work as installing sprinklers or planting gardens. Their assistants often earn less.

Gardeners started feeling the pinch as soon as the housing market began to collapse, Huerta said. "A person loses their home and there goes another job," he said.

The spike in gas prices was the next blow. And now, with companies closing and stock values falling, homeowners are trying to save money wherever they can. To attract new business, gardeners are increasingly going door to door, leaving business cards in mailboxes and asking clients for referrals, Huerta said.

Salvador Muñoz said he has held onto most of his longtime clients around his home in Inglewood but hasn't been able to add new business. Muñoz, who has one assistant, said he earns enough to support his family but doesn't have a financial cushion. Muñoz would like to raise his rates but knows that if he does, he risks losing clients to gardeners willing to work for less.

"There are a lot of us -- too many," said Muñoz, 66, a naturalized U.S. citizen who emigrated from Mexico in 1976. "There is a lot of competition."

Sergio Salas, 39, has owned a gardening business in Westchester for two decades and employs three of his brothers. Salas has lost about 15 clients in the last few months and expects to earn 25% less this year than he did in 2008. In response, Salas has cut his family's expenses, in part by canceling his cable service and his newspaper delivery.

Knowing that any new business will come by recommendation, Salas said he is concentrating on maintaining the relationships he has with clients and doing a good job.

His wife, June, who manages the family business, said the drop didn't come as a surprise.

"The people who are last paid are the gardeners and the housecleaners," she said. "They have to have their electricity, their gas, they have to have food, and they have to pay their mortgage. Those are the priorities in the home."

Alamillo, 43, began working as a gardener soon after arriving from Mexico in 1979. After being trained by a Japanese gardener and working as an assistant for a few years, Alamillo bought a used lawn mower at a swap meet and started his own business, adding clients one by one.

The business continued to expand, and Alamillo, also a U.S. citizen, bought a small house on an acre plot in Sylmar, two trucks and even horses to participate in Mexican rodeo competitions. Alamillo has four regular employees and a handful of occasional workers. He has more than 100 regular clients in San Marino, Alhambra, Burbank, Los Angeles and South Pasadena, some dating to the 1980s. Those are his most loyal clients, he said, even when money is tight.

Maintenance work on his route pays the bills, but Alamillo said he makes more money on landscaping jobs -- trimming trees, planting trees, building patios. And that's exactly where homeowners are cutting back, he said. Alamillo has given about five job estimates in the last few weeks, but none of the potential customers has hired him.

Alamillo estimates that he earned about $40,000 last year. Anticipating $5,000 to $10,000 less this year, Alamillo put a for sale sign on one of his two trucks. He and his wife, a teacher, who had started an expansion on their house before the economy started to tank, are also thinking twice about expenditures. If the economy continues to worsen, Alamillo said, he may have to lay off one or more of his men.

"I am going to wait until the last minute and see," he said.

Despite the pressures, Alamillo said he was thankful to have a job. One of his brothers, a gardener in Colorado, hasn't had any work in three weeks and is considering returning to California.

"I am worried, but I have faith," he said. "I believe in my work and I believe everything is going to be OK."

[email protected]

[kikibalt]

Reading the story about the the gardeners, reminding me about the last time I seen Jose Luis Pimental, whom Rick mentioned on his fights with Shozo Saijo, it was about 20 years ago, I went to the hardware store and as I was parking a pickup full of lawn mowers and other landscaping equipment, tools, etc, parked next to me and out jumps Jose Luis Pimental, whom I hadn't seen in years, we stood outside the store for about an hour an talk, he told that he was doing landscaping for a living, haven't seen him since, I was told by some one, can't remember who it was, that he had moved to Utah and doing landscaping there, hope he is not in Idaho. Mark Furman and all....

[kikibalt]

Al Martinez
January 19, 2009

I come to you today to say goodbye, farewell, adios, ciao, au revoir and auf Wiedersehen.

I don't know how to say it in any other language, and there's not a lot of time left for me to look them up, but you get the idea.

This is my final column for the L.A. by God Times.

Actually, this is my second final column. I wrote one a year or so ago when I thought I was leaving; this is, you might say, my final final column.

Not that I am going to dig a hole and bury my computer. This isn't retirement. It's just moving on to another phase of life. I don't intend to while away my days puttering in the garden or playing bingo at a senior center. Don't like bingo. Never have.

I'm going to do what I've always done for the last half a century. I'm going to write and travel, and on certain bluesy twilights I'm going to put on a Billie Holiday tape and have a martini for the good old days. She always puts me in a melancholy mood, which is the way it ought to be. Martinis are best drunk sad.

I've had a ball writing a column. There aren't too many in the newspaper biz who are given an opportunity to write 800 words on their dog and actually get them published. Not a lot of dogs are even worth 800 words.

But it isn't animals I'm thinking about this golden, windless day. It's the people I've written about who march through my memory like an army of shadows. There was nothing the same about them. Each was different.

I'm thinking of guys as diverse as the anonymous homeless man who donated a kidney out of gratitude to an ailing stranger for getting him a job and a place to live. I'm thinking about a bail bondsman named Joey Barnum, once a ranking welterweight, who just wanted to be remembered and now, near age 90, hardly remembers himself.

I'm thinking about a singer named Nick Edenetti who did a one-man show on Frank Sinatra, right down to the single spotlight, the skimpy-brim hat and the raincoat thrown over a shoulder. I met Edenetti in a Chinese restaurant in the Valley where he was playing to an audience of four that included two waiters, a cook and me. How much he wanted fame. How consistently it evaded him.

I'm seeing the gray faces of the dying at an AIDS hospice during the terrible dawn of the "gay cancer" and how they lay ignored like contagious victims of the plague, out of sight of public concern for years until it came to us that we're all children in the same village. We're all sons and daughters of the same father.

I am still haunted by the story of a woman who lay her head on her stricken brother's chest as the HIV virus was taking his life, comforting him at the end, listening to the softening beat of his heart until it faded and stopped. I hear her crying in the stillness of the hospital room, tears of regret for us all.

I see community activists from hell taking on the establishment in unique and surprising ways, one protesting at a City Council session by riding his horse into the meeting; another lowering his pants to moon the panelists; a woman engaging in a physical fight with a mayor, rolling around on the floor like muskrats at play to the stunned amusement of a large crowd.

I think of the waitress Alice at the Redwood, as skinny as a chopstick and as efficient as a U-boat commander, remembering what the regulars drank, silently slicing through the crowds to bring each his favorite. And the paunchy little racetrack tout Sideways Sidney on a phone behind the bar, placing a bet and losing with the regularity of a metronome.

And there was a rare interview with Angelyne, the ageless face on the billboards, red lips puckered to the world, celebrating herself in the timeless manner of a woman creating her own fame, oblivious to the joke she had become, never revealing who was paying the bills.

I see her in juxtaposition to the large guy in a gorilla suit who sold kazoos along Fairfax Avenue, jumping out at startled passersby and demanding they buy a kazoo; and the beach-side lawyer in Venice peddling legal advice from behind a wooden box he used as a desk; and the hot-dog salesman who campaigned for City Council from his mobile stand; and Dean Martin dying of cancer, drinking alone at La Famiglia; Ed Asner holding court at the Redwood one night; Wayne Rogers, surrounded by adoring women fans, on another.

Names, faces, words.

They all mattered to me, the clowns and the victims, those who gave and those who took; those who demanded attention and those who allowed me with reluctance into their private pain and compelling fears.

I remember them today as I write this last column, and I remember you, and how grateful I am to have had such an audience. You have touched me in more ways than you can ever imagine. I look forward to meeting you again, at a different time, in a different place. Adios, ciao, au revoir, auf Wiedersehen.

And, yes, goodbye.

[email protected]

[dagosd2000]

Martin Luther King Jr.

[scartissue]

Guys, just heard, Jose Torres passed away. Good banger, schooled under Cus D'Amato, I think he lost a bit of heart after the Dick Tiger losses the way he drifted from the game. RIP Jose.

Scartissue

[bennie]

Guys, just heard, Jose Torres passed away. Good banger, schooled under Cus D'Amato, I think he lost a bit of heart after the Dick Tiger losses the way he drifted from the game. RIP Jose.

Scartissue

Thanks for letting us know, Dan. It is frightening when fighters you don't even regard as 'old' pass away. I always had a soft spot for Torres, for some reason. Maybe it was because he was one of those fighters who looked good in photos.

[kikibalt]

Guys, just heard, Jose Torres passed away. Good banger, schooled under Cus D'Amato, I think he lost a bit of heart after the Dick Tiger losses the way he drifted from the game. RIP Jose.

Scartissue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5CyqzA7AH0
Jose Torres vs Carl Bobo Olson

[Rick Farris]

Guys, just heard, Jose Torres passed away. Good banger, schooled under Cus D'Amato, I think he lost a bit of heart after the Dick Tiger losses the way he drifted from the game. RIP Jose.

Scartissue

Thanks for letting us know, Dan. It is frightening when fighters you don't even regard as 'old' pass away. I always had a soft spot for Torres, for some reason. Maybe it was because he was one of those fighters who looked good in photos.

My thoughts exactly, Bennie. I was just starting in the Jr. Golden Gloves when Torres whipped Willie Pastrano for the title. I think back to the best light-heavy's of that era. The Harold Johnson's, Eddie Cotton's, Chic Calderwood, Roger Rouse, these were a few of the names that filled out the top ten 175 pounders. Today they aren't just retired, they're gone.

I snap out of my fog and realize, that was a long time ago. Somewhere down the line, we've all grown older, and I've fallen into the form of a typical old-school guy, I criticize today's generation in boxing. Shame on me, that's what the old guys used to do with us. We were never quite as good.

Right now I shall stand up, look the spirits of those old timers right in the eye and say . . .You were right! Cheers to generations past.

Rest in peace Jose Torres.

-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

A Jose Torres memory . . .

One of my closest friends, the late Karl Nelson told me the time Floyd Patterson came to L.A. to defend his heavyweight title at our Wrigley Field against Roy Harris of Cut & Shoot, Texas. In a prelim, Cus D'Amato introduced to Southern Cal fans his newest light-heavy prospect, Jose Torres. That night, Torres whipped Cal Brad and really was impressive.

A couple weeks before the bout, Karl and a few of his buddies played hookie from work for a few hours to catch a public sparring session between Patterson and Torres. Karl said that he saw Torres floor Patterson during the workout. The incident caused a rift in the relationship between the two boxers, nothing major, but a little resentment based on the publicity it would generate.


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

A Jose Torres memory . . .

One of my closest friends, the late Karl Nelson told me the time Floyd Patterson came to L.A. to defend his heavyweight title at our Wrigley Field against Roy Harris of Cut & Shoot, Texas. In a prelim, Cus D'Amato introduced to Southern Cal fans his newest light-heavy prospect, Jose Torres. That night, Torres whipped Cal Brad and really was impressive.

A couple weeks before the bout, Karl and a few of his buddies played hookie from work for a few hours to catch a public sparring session between Patterson and Torres. Karl said that he saw Torres floor Patterson during the workout. The incident caused a rift in the relationship between the two boxers, nothing major, but a little resentment based on the publicity it would generate.


-Rick Farris

Rick... got some nice photos of the Patterson/Harris fight that I'll post.

[kikibalt]

Floyd Patterson vs Roy "Cut & Shoot" Harris

[kikibalt]

The End For "Cut & Shoot"

[dagosd2000]

Jose Torres

[kikibalt]

Antonio Margarito

[kikibalt]

Jose Torres

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FldIGvKNRPc
Jose Torres vs Willie Pastrano