Classic American West Coast Boxing

[bennie]

Frankie, as a trainer, what do you make of this Plaster of Paris allegation? Marg was the big favourite and surely didn't need such an edge. Then again, Mosley had the allegations relating to steroids hanging over his own head...

I don't know what to make of it, Bennie, its possible they tried using something like Plaster of Paris, but the question is, why?, why take a risk of ruining Marg's career if they got caught pulling something like that, he can get ban for life, but if Marg. is allowed to keep fighting, he need to get rid of the guys around him NOW, no ifs or buts, kick'em in the ass and throw'em out the door....

Hear, hear.

[dagosd2000]

I'm going let the cat out of the bag here, our own Rick Farris is going to be guest
speaker at the "Golden State Boxer's Association" luncheon today at the Dumes Motel
in Hollywood, starting time 11:00 AM. see you there, Rick,..it better be good....

WAY TO GO RICK

[bennie]

Any chance of a few photos of this, Frankie?

[kikibalt]

Any chance of a few photos of this, Frankie?

Of course, me with out a camera? you know me better then that, Bennie....

[bennie]

Any chance of a few photos of this, Frankie?

Of course, me with out a camera? you know me better then that, Bennie....

Don't worry about Rick, snap a few of the fighters. Only kidding Rick.

[kikibalt]

Any chance of a few photos of this, Frankie?

Of course, me with out a camera? you know me better then that, Bennie....

Don't worry about Rick, snap a few of the fighters. Only kidding Rick.

Not many of the current fighters, if any, show up for these luncheons, mostly us old foggies, but I fine them fun, very informal, no rules, Don Fraser tries to be captain of the ship, but no body pays much mind to him....

[kikibalt]

[kikibalt]

[kikibalt]

Antonio Margarito had Eye Surgery

By Ryan Burton : According to Antonio Margarito’s manager Sergio Diaz, Margarito had eye surgery a few weeks before his show down against Shane Mosley. When asked why it couldn’t wait, Diaz said, “he had a problem with his eye and he had to have the surgery to fight. His retina could have become detached

[kikibalt]

I'm going let the cat out of the bag here, our own Rick Farris is going to be guest
speaker at the "Golden State Boxer's Association" luncheon today at the Dumes Motel
in Hollywood, starting time 11:00 AM. see you there, Rick,..it better be good....

The next few photos are from the GSBA luncheon, I don't know the names of everybody, I'll name the ones I know, the ones I don't know will be posted name-less.


Bill (Pops) & Rick Farris


Don Fraser, Pops & Rick

[kikibalt]

Vince Delgado

[kikibalt]

Howard Smith

[kikibalt]

Pop Farris & Gwen Adair

[kikibalt]

Elsa Montalvo & Dorothy Smith

[kikibalt]

Don't know the name of the guy on the left, in the middle is
GSBA president Larry Montalvo, don't know the name of the babe

[kikibalt]

more to come

[Rick Farris]

Willie Vaughn . . .

Does anybody know if he's still alive? I believe he is. I know that he fought for Hap Navarro at the Hollywood Legion Stadium quite a few times.

-Rick Farris

Vaughn worked at the Forum for a number of years, he was the tunnel
gatekeeper, you know, where all the freebies come in.....

Getting In Free . . .

Frank . . . Very likely that Willie Vaughn was the guy who'd open the gate for Mel Epstein and I, when we'd catch the early 70's Forum cards that Don Fraser promoted. Remember the ramp that went down to the floor of the Forum from the parking lot? That was the gate where our names were on the list. I don't remember who was at the gate?

Do you remember doing that at the Olympic? Thru the back door on the west side of the building, right by the dressing room tunnel. We'd sit up in back by the beer stand, at the end of the aisle the fighters would go down to the ring. Of course, we'd eventually slip down to the unoccupied ringside seats.

I was accustomed to one or two pro cards a week in L.A. when I was fighting. You fight on the cards, you get in free when you attend the fights. We never pay to see a fight, any fight. A few years later, you want to see a fight and you know you have to pay, and you do, but you think back to when you were a part of the picture, not just an observer. You can feel the distance, if you haven't remained active.

I remember attending a fight at the Olympic in the mid-90's, about twenty five years after I made my pro dbut there. It was the same old house, but different people lived there. They'd even changed the furniture around. What the Hell? The dressing room was in a different place, not as many seats . . . I didn't recognize the place. I'm sitting ringside with my father, and he taps me on the shoulder, "Look over there." I turn to where he's pointing and see four familiar faces . . . Jackie McCoy, Don Chargin, Benny Georgino and Archie Moore, all sitting together right under the balcony, where the TV cameras were once mounted. We knew the first three personally, and everybody knew who Archie Moore was.

We walked over and said "hello" to everybody, and Benny introduced Moore, who was wearing a multi-colored knit cap. These guys literally ran boxing in L.A. at one time. They'd all grown older, Jackie looked unusually weak, didn't seem to have his old "spark". I knew he'd lost his wife, Shirley, not long before, and I know that can break a man's heart. Little did I know that he had cancer, and would soon pass. Don Chargin was just the same as always and, of course, so was Benny. Just a little older, as were we all. The great Archie Moore, he still looked fit and sharp, but he would not be around much longer. I've shook the hands of a lot of great fighters over the years, but none of those hands scored as many knockouts as the "'Ol Mongoose".

When we returned to our seats, I looked up into the rafters of 70-year-old arena, I remember how the microphone was attached to a cord and lowered down to announcer Jimmy Lennon, whenever he was in the ring. When he finished, it would be reeled back up into rafters. I could see the old reel attached to one of the beams, but it was no longer in use. The ring announcer of the 90's had a remote wireless mike, no cord, slipped into his pocket when not in use. And the old electronic time clock, that showed the time of each round- Gone. In the 90's, the "Grand" Olympic had "Budweiser Girls" to carry cards that told you what round was coming up.

When we left, I saw the sign had been changed, it was no longer the Olympic Auditorium, but the "Grand" Olympic Auditorium. I suddenly understood why the name had been changed. There was a time when you didn't have to tell anybody that the Olympic was Grand, everybody just knew. In the 90's, a reminder was necessary. Different people lived there.

-Rick Farris

[Expug]

Rick, I really enjoy your memories of fighting and attending fights at The Olympic.
I know how you felt when you were at that point in your young life.
I had the exact same interest in boxing.I couldnt get enough. Magazines, every televised fight. Training , fighting , all of it was intoxicating. I loved it. Still do.
Hey, I remember taking a few buddies to the Leroy Murphy-Young Joe Louis Cruiserweight Title fight back in the eighties , I believe Davinci Manor although it may have been the Bismarck Hotel I cant remember.
Anyway, I was bragging to my friends how I would get us in free and get good seats . I had a couple pro fights at that point, so I thought I was a hot shot.
I got us seats all right.The promoters publicist put us in the balcony back row.
For a couple years my buddies called me "Irish" Bob Uecker.

[kikibalt]

Willie Vaughn . . .

Does anybody know if he's still alive? I believe he is. I know that he fought for Hap Navarro at the Hollywood Legion Stadium quite a few times.

-Rick Farris

Vaughn worked at the Forum for a number of years, he was the tunnel
gatekeeper, you know, where all the freebies come in.....

Getting In Free . . .

Frank . . . Very likely that Willie Vaughn was the guy who'd open the gate for Mel Epstein and I, when we'd catch the early 70's Forum cards that Don Fraser promoted. Remember the ramp that went down to the floor of the Forum from the parking lot? That was the gate where our names were on the list. I don't remember who was at the gate?

Do you remember doing that at the Olympic? Thru the back door on the west side of the building, right by the dressing room tunnel. We'd sit up in back by the beer stand, at the end of the aisle the fighters would go down to the ring. Of course, we'd eventually slip down to the unoccupied ringside seats.

I was accustomed to one or two pro cards a week in L.A. when I was fighting. You fight on the cards, you get in free when you attend the fights. We never pay to see a fight, any fight. A few years later, you want to see a fight and you know you have to pay, and you do, but you think back to when you were a part of the picture, not just an observer. You can feel the distance, if you haven't remained active.

I remember attending a fight at the Olympic in the mid-90's, about twenty five years after I made my pro dbut there. It was the same old house, but different people lived there. They'd even changed the furniture around. What the Hell? The dressing room was in a different place, not as many seats . . . I didn't recognize the place. I'm sitting ringside with my father, and he taps me on the shoulder, "Look over there." I turn to where he's pointing and see four familiar faces . . . Jackie McCoy, Don Chargin, Benny Georgino and Archie Moore, all sitting together right under the balcony, where the TV cameras were once mounted. We knew the first three personally, and everybody knew who Archie Moore was.

We walked over and said "hello" to everybody, and Benny introduced Moore, who was wearing a multi-colored knit cap. These guys literally ran boxing in L.A. at one time. They'd all grown older, Jackie looked unusually weak, didn't seem to have his old "spark". I knew he'd lost his wife, Shirley, not long before, and I know that can break a man's heart. Little did I know that he had cancer, and would soon pass. Don Chargin was just the same as always and, of course, so was Benny. Just a little older, as were we all. The great Archie Moore, he still looked fit and sharp, but he would not be around much longer. I've shook the hands of a lot of great fighters over the years, but none of those hands scored as many knockouts as the "'Ol Mongoose".

When we returned to our seats, I looked up into the rafters of 70-year-old arena, I remember how the microphone was attached to a cord and lowered down to announcer Jimmy Lennon, whenever he was in the ring. When he finished, it would be reeled back up into rafters. I could see the old reel attached to one of the beams, but it was no longer in use. The ring announcer of the 90's had a remote wireless mike, no cord, slipped into his pocket when not in use. And the old electronic time clock, that showed the time of each round- Gone. In the 90's, the "Grand" Olympic had "Budweiser Girls" to carry cards that told you what round was coming up.

When we left, I saw the sign had been changed, it was no longer the Olympic Auditorium, but the "Grand" Olympic Auditorium. I suddenly understood why the name had been changed. There was a time when you didn't have to tell anybody that the Olympic was Grand, everybody just knew. In the 90's, a reminder was necessary. Different people lived there.

-Rick Farris

Rick... that was Willie Vaughn that let you and Mel into the Forum alright, The "Grand" Olympic was not the same as "The Olympic" there was a phoniness to the "Grand Olympic", you could see and feel it, the phoniness I mean!....

Back in the 1960's-70's and 80's I would go into the Olympic through the back door even if my name was not on the list... , remember Norm the cop? worked the back door and the door to the dressing rooms, nice guy, he would let me bring anybody I wanted into the fights.....

[kikibalt]

Rick...It was nice meeting your dad, tell him for me that I apologize for not saying by when I left...

[Rick Farris]

Rick... that was Willie Vaughn that let you and Mel into the Forum alright, The "Grand" Olympic was not the same as "The Olympic" there was a phoniness to the "Grand Olympic", you could see and feel it, the phoniness I mean!....

Back in the 1960's-70's and 80's I would go into the Olympic through the back door even if my name was not on the list... , remember Norm the cop? worked the back door and the door to the dressing rooms, nice guy, he would let me bring anybody I wanted into the fights..... [/quote]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Norm the Cop . . .

Frank, I remember Norm from the time I was a kid that used to hang out by the dressing room before every fight. I wanted to be up close to the boxers when they came out of the dressing room and turned to go up that little flight of stairs before heading down to the ring. Norm would see me, we even exchanged words. Later, he'd see me older, and actually fighting, and he'd say, "I remember when you were a little kid and used to wait right there for the boxers". Turn-the-clock-ahead to the mid 80's, and Norm the Cop is doing quite well as a private body guard. Well connected clientele, especially in the entertainment business. I'm on the lighting crew of a Michael Jackson video, "Thriller" and we are shooting down off of Santa Fe St. near the L.A. River. It's a night sequence and it's the first day of shooting. Michael JAckson is distant, constantly guarded by two off-duty LAPD officers, brought in by one of his security advisors- Norm the Cop! "Ol Norm was working security for Michael Jackson and he was more than a guard. Norm was well connected! Good guy.

-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

Rick...It was nice meeting your dad, tell him for me that I apologies for not saying by when I left...

Frank . . . I want to thank you for how kind you were to my dad, the pictures, everything. I was happy to see you there. I have a lot to say about the people I saw today, but I do it best in writing. And that's what I will do, right here.

-Rick

[kikibalt]

Rick... that was Willie Vaughn that let you and Mel into the Forum alright, The "Grand" Olympic was not the same as "The Olympic" there was a phoniness to the "Grand Olympic", you could see and feel it, the phoniness I mean!....

Back in the 1960's-70's and 80's I would go into the Olympic through the back door even if my name was not on the list... , remember Norm the cop? worked the back door and the door to the dressing rooms, nice guy, he would let me bring anybody I wanted into the fights.....


Norm the Cop . . .

Frank, I remember Norm from the time I was a kid that used to hang out by the dressing room before every fight. I wanted to be up close to the boxers when they came out of the dressing room and turned to go up that little flight of stairs before heading down to the ring. Norm would see me, we even exchanged words. Later, he'd see me older, and actually fighting, and he'd say, "I remember when you were a little kid and used to wait right there for the boxers". Turn-the-clock-ahead to the mid 80's, and Norm the Cop is doing quite well as a private body guard. Well connected clientele, especially in the entertainment business. I'm on the lighting crew of a Michael Jackson video, "Thriller" and we are shooting down off of Santa Fe St. near the L.A. River. It's a night sequence and it's the first day of shooting. Michael JAckson is distant, constantly guarded by two off-duty LAPD officers, brought in by one of his security advisors- Norm the Cop! "Ol Norm was working security for Michael Jackson and he was more than a guard. Norm was well connected! Good guy.

-Rick Farris

Rick...The last time I seen Norm "The Cop" was when he was working with the California State Athletic Commission, can't remember what year that was though....

[kikibalt]

Unkown


The guy with the hat is a beer drinker, I think he drank a 12 pack in the morning

[kikibalt]

Tomorrow (1-28-09) is Don Fraser's birthday, here he is with all the babes as we all sang Happy Birthday at the GSBA luncheon