BoxRec

kikibalt wrote:Its rainin' and its cold outside, so I'm staying inside by the fireplace, will put some tunes on the stereo, have a glass of wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), maybe romance the wife, if I do, she'll get her valantine tonite....

Frank
I think I'll plan that myself. A little music,a glass of wine,some romance. Then tomorrow will be Valentine's Day and I better come up with something

Rog, Monica wasn't my first wife, hell, she wasn't even the second or third. I don't renew vows, I just get a new wife. If you have to start over, best to start clean.

Needless to say, I'll never be a rich man.[/quote]

Rick 'ol pal,
I've only met Monica once,but I have to say, if this one doesn't work out you only have yourself to blame Rog

kikibalt wrote:Its rainin' and its cold outside, so I'm staying inside by the fireplace, will put some tunes on the stereo, have a glass of wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), maybe romance the wife, if I do, she'll get her valantine tonite....

In my next life, I too shall be a kept man.
You're still my idol, Frank

-Rick

dagosd2000 wrote:Rog, Monica wasn't my first wife, hell, she wasn't even the second or third. I don't renew vows, I just get a new wife. If you have to start over, best to start clean.

Needless to say, I'll never be a rich man.

Rick 'ol pal,
I've only met Monica once,but I have to say, if this one doesn't work out you only have yourself to blame Rog[/quote]
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rog, I'm always to blame. However, she is the best, and the last.
Monica is special.

-Rick

Rick Farris wrote:

kikibalt wrote:Its rainin' and its cold outside, so I'm staying inside by the fireplace, will put some tunes on the stereo, have a glass of wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), maybe romance the wife, if I do, she'll get her valantine tonite....

In my next life, I too shall be a kept man.
You're still my idol, Frank

-Rick

Rick... its not hard to be a kept man, all you have to be is a bull-shit artist....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oWbzT_oAJ0

I Love You For Sentimental Reasons

Nat "King" Cole

kikibalt wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:

kikibalt wrote:Its rainin' and its cold outside, so I'm staying inside by the fireplace, will put some tunes on the stereo, have a glass of wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), maybe romance the wife, if I do, she'll get her valantine tonite....

In my next life, I too shall be a kept man.
You're still my idol, Frank

-Rick

Rick... its not hard to be a kept man, all you have to be is a bull-shit artist....

Yeh Rick
Frank is right. Women don't want to hear the truth anyway. Like my dad said. If your wife catches you in bed with another woman,say that I don't know who this person is. She must have crawled through the window while I was asleep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa0fjNoPE0g

Pretend You Don't See Her

Jerry Vale

dagosd2000 wrote:
In my next life, I too shall be a kept man.
You're still my idol, Frank

-Rick
Rick... its not hard to be a kept man, all you have to be is a bull-shit artist....

Yeh Rick
Frank is right. Women don't want to hear the truth anyway. Like my dad said. If your wife catches you in bed with another woman,say that I don't know who this person is. She must have crawled through the window while I was asleep.

Better yet, ask her, "Who're you going to believe, me, or you lying eyes"

kikibalt wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:
In my next life, I too shall be a kept man.
You're still my idol, Frank

-Rick
Rick... its not hard to be a kept man, all you have to be is a bull-shit artist....

Yeh Rick
Frank is right. Women don't want to hear the truth anyway. Like my dad said. If your wife catches you in bed with another woman,say that I don't know who this person is. She must have crawled through the window while I was asleep.

Better yet, ask her, "Who're you going to believe, me, or you lying eyes"

Frank
I ain't shitin' ya'. About 20 years ago I'm out with this gal I kept up across the border. Well I get home real late. I've got this picture of me and this gal in this little case that's heart shaped. Like a dummy I bring it in the house. I see my wife's sleeping so I carefully put it in the dresser under my under shirts. In the morning I go look for it and it ain't there. Well here comes my wife into the bedroom with the picture of me and this gal cheek to cheek.
"You look for this?"
I figure I'm toast.
"Oh,that. She's a friend that's all."
"You want to marry this woman?",my wife asks.
She gives me an out.
"F--k No."
Then my wife turned and walked back to the living room. Later that night it was whoopy time. Go figure.

Rick... its not hard to be a kept man, all you have to be is a bull-shit artist.... [/quote
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yeh Rick
Frank is right. Women don't want to hear the truth anyway. Like my dad said. If your wife catches you in bed with another woman,say that I don't know who this person is. She must have crawled through the window while I was asleep. [/quote]
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Believe me guys, this ain't my first BBQ.


-Rick

Frank---

I liked reading your post about Rogelio Castaneda.

I have a story to tell you about Rogelio Castaneda and myself. It was in the early 70's and I was still active fighting. I had a scheduled fight in Tokyo coming up. I was in Tijuana to visit my mother and happened to go to the gym in the Auditorium there. I saw Rogelio Castaneda train for the first time and I liked his style of fighting. His manager was there and we all started talking after he finished training. Before I left the gym, I had bought his contract for $1000. I brought Rogelio into the United States and started training him. When I had to go to Japan to fight I was not going to be able to take care of him. Johnny Flores took over and made him part of his stable of fighters. Soon after this I retired from boxing and moved to New Mexico. I never heard from Rogelio anymore.

However, a few years ago I received a phone call and to my surprise it was Rogelio who was calling. What he said to me brought tears to my eyes. He said, "Rodolfo, because of you I' m here in the United States and because of you I have this beautiful family, my wife and my kids. We live here in Sacramento and are doing very well." He then said to me," Rodolfo I'm going to promote a boxing show here in Sacramento and I want you here because my show is going to be in honor of you in appreciation for bringing me into the United States. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Since that first call we have called each other from time to time. We still haven't arranged for a time for me to go to Sacramento.

El Gato

"Indian Red" . . .

During the summer of 1966, I'd lose in my first attempt to win a Jr. Golden Gloves championship at the Olympic Auditorium. I'd win two open-class championships in following years, but after winning three bouts to reach my first Jr. Gloves title fight, I'd drop a decision to a kid from San Diego.

The next day, my grandfather drove me to the Main Street Gym. I was 14, and needed to work on something after being outpointed the night before. My trainer, Manny Diaz, met me in the gym at 10 am. and I got some basic instructions on how to deal with a southpaw. I didn't box with anybody, just shadow boxed, skipped some rope, stretched out, and got some schooling from a good teacher. I hadn't slept all night after the loss, my first after six straight wins. I worked out my questions in the gym, I got a lot out of that day.

After I finished my workout, I grabbed a towel and walked over to one of the rings where Johnnie Flores was fastening Jerry Quarry's head gear. The future heavyweight contender stepped up to the ring for a sparring session. I saw light-heavy Joe "Shotgun" Shelton over to the side, slipping into his cup and pulling it up to his waist. I knew Jerry and Shelton worked together.

As Jerry climbed thru the ropes, I was surprised to see "Indian Red" Lopez move over to the ring and step inside the ropes with him. A moment later the bell rings and both Quarry and Lopez move to the center of the ring, extend their left arms and tap each other's gloves and then begin to move. Jerry is boxing and Ernie is pressing, As Jerry slides to his side, Ernie slides the same direction, cutting off the heavyweights movement, then landing with a good shot to Jerry's body. The punch lands with a thud, but Quarry is uneffected. They end up exchanging some good blows with each other, and at one point I could tell that Jerry must have got stung, because he started to drop bombs. Ernie made several blows miss, but took a couple, as well. They never got crazy, or lost control, but Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez gave Jerry a great workout, one for speed.

Later, on the way home from the gym, my grandfather and I stop for lunch at Felipe's, the legendary French dip place across from Union Station. My Grandmother worked there as a cashier. While we're sitting at one of the long tables, we see Ernie Lopez sit down across the room with his lunch, a French dip sandwich with a glass of lemonade. My Grandfather liked Ernie Lopez, they would talk at the gym. They had both lived on Indian Reservation land growing up, my grandad had boxed.

I remember that afternoon my Grandfather pointed across the room to Ernie, and told me that he thought Ernie Lopez was the toughest fighter in town, tougher than Quarry, Rojas, any of them. That was his opinion.

I'd have to say that my Grandfather was pretty close to right.


-Rick Farris

Rick Farris wrote:"Indian Red" . . .

During the summer of 1966, I'd lose in my first attempt to win a Jr. Golden Gloves championship at the Olympic Auditorium. I'd win two open-class championships in following years, but after winning three bouts to reach my first Jr. Gloves title fight, I'd drop a decision to a kid from San Diego.

The next day, my grandfather drove me to the Main Street Gym. I was 14, and needed to work on something after being outpointed the night before. My trainer, Manny Diaz, met me in the gym at 10 am. and I got some basic instructions on how to deal with a southpaw. I didn't box with anybody, just shadow boxed, skipped some rope, stretched out, and got some schooling from a good teacher. I hadn't slept all night after the loss, my first after six straight wins. I worked out my questions in the gym, I got a lot out of that day.

After I finished my workout, I grabbed a towel and walked over to one of the rings where Johnnie Flores was fastening Jerry Quarry's head gear. The future heavyweight contender stepped up to the ring for a sparring session. I saw light-heavy Joe "Shotgun" Shelton over to the side, slipping into his cup and pulling it up to his waist. I knew Jerry and Shelton worked together.

As Jerry climbed thru the ropes, I was surprised to see "Indian Red" Lopez move over to the ring and step inside the ropes with him. A moment later the bell rings and both Quarry and Lopez move to the center of the ring, extend their left arms and tap each other's gloves and then begin to move. Jerry is boxing and Ernie is pressing, As Jerry slides to his side, Ernie slides the same direction, cutting off the heavyweights movement, then landing with a good shot to Jerry's body. The punch lands with a thud, but Quarry is uneffected. They end up exchanging some good blows with each other, and at one point I could tell that Jerry must have got stung, because he started to drop bombs. Ernie made several blows miss, but took a couple, as well. They never got crazy, or lost control, but Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez gave Jerry a great workout, one for speed.

Later, on the way home from the gym, my grandfather and I stop for lunch at Felipe's, the legendary French dip place across from Union Station. My Grandmother worked there as a cashier. While we're sitting at one of the long tables, we see Ernie Lopez sit down across the room with his lunch, a French dip sandwich with a glass of lemonade. My Grandfather liked Ernie Lopez, they would talk at the gym. They had both lived on Indian Reservation land growing up, my grandad had boxed.

I remember that afternoon my Grandfather pointed across the room to Ernie, and told me that he thought Ernie Lopez was the toughest fighter in town, tougher than Quarry, Rojas, any of them. That was his opinion.

I'd have to say that my Grandfather was pretty close to right.


-Rick Farris

Rick
That was a great Indian Red/Quarry story. The last time I talked to David Love,he said the toughest guy he was ever in the ring with was Indian Red. Love said they would spar quite often.Said that he punched very hard and had a nasty disposition.Remember Love was in there with Bennie Briscoe and Willie Monroe. Love said the greatest fighter he saw was Napoles.

dagosd2000 wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:"Indian Red" . . .

During the summer of 1966, I'd lose in my first attempt to win a Jr. Golden Gloves championship at the Olympic Auditorium. I'd win two open-class championships in following years, but after winning three bouts to reach my first Jr. Gloves title fight, I'd drop a decision to a kid from San Diego.

The next day, my grandfather drove me to the Main Street Gym. I was 14, and needed to work on something after being outpointed the night before. My trainer, Manny Diaz, met me in the gym at 10 am. and I got some basic instructions on how to deal with a southpaw. I didn't box with anybody, just shadow boxed, skipped some rope, stretched out, and got some schooling from a good teacher. I hadn't slept all night after the loss, my first after six straight wins. I worked out my questions in the gym, I got a lot out of that day.

After I finished my workout, I grabbed a towel and walked over to one of the rings where Johnnie Flores was fastening Jerry Quarry's head gear. The future heavyweight contender stepped up to the ring for a sparring session. I saw light-heavy Joe "Shotgun" Shelton over to the side, slipping into his cup and pulling it up to his waist. I knew Jerry and Shelton worked together.

As Jerry climbed thru the ropes, I was surprised to see "Indian Red" Lopez move over to the ring and step inside the ropes with him. A moment later the bell rings and both Quarry and Lopez move to the center of the ring, extend their left arms and tap each other's gloves and then begin to move. Jerry is boxing and Ernie is pressing, As Jerry slides to his side, Ernie slides the same direction, cutting off the heavyweights movement, then landing with a good shot to Jerry's body. The punch lands with a thud, but Quarry is uneffected. They end up exchanging some good blows with each other, and at one point I could tell that Jerry must have got stung, because he started to drop bombs. Ernie made several blows miss, but took a couple, as well. They never got crazy, or lost control, but Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez gave Jerry a great workout, one for speed.

Later, on the way home from the gym, my grandfather and I stop for lunch at Felipe's, the legendary French dip place across from Union Station. My Grandmother worked there as a cashier. While we're sitting at one of the long tables, we see Ernie Lopez sit down across the room with his lunch, a French dip sandwich with a glass of lemonade. My Grandfather liked Ernie Lopez, they would talk at the gym. They had both lived on Indian Reservation land growing up, my grandad had boxed.

I remember that afternoon my Grandfather pointed across the room to Ernie, and told me that he thought Ernie Lopez was the toughest fighter in town, tougher than Quarry, Rojas, any of them. That was his opinion.

I'd have to say that my Grandfather was pretty close to right.


-Rick Farris

Rick
That was a great Indian Red/Quarry story. The last time I talked to David Love,he said the toughest guy he was ever in the ring with was Indian Red. Love said they would spar quite often.Said that he punched very hard and had a nasty disposition.Remember Love was in there with Bennie Briscoe and Willie Monroe. Love said the greatest fighter he saw was Napoles.

Great stuff about Indian Red guys.
Ive always had alot of repect for a fighter who was hell to deal with both in the gym sparring and in real fights.
Its easier said than done.Some guys are shit in the gym but come fight time they rise to the occasion.Some guys are great sparring but when it comes time to fight, they for whatever reason, cant get over the hump.
Ali wasnt always great in the gym , but in a real fight,his record speaks for itself.
Roberto Duran was the same way.Ive seen him train, I watched Juan Nazario box his ears off .
I guess what I'm saying is , ya gotta like a guy who every time he puts the gloves on whatever the situation ,whether its a 4 rounder, 10 rounder , title fight or working a few rounds in the gym, is gonna kick ass.

dagosd2000 wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:"Indian Red" . . .

During the summer of 1966, I'd lose in my first attempt to win a Jr. Golden Gloves championship at the Olympic Auditorium. I'd win two open-class championships in following years, but after winning three bouts to reach my first Jr. Gloves title fight, I'd drop a decision to a kid from San Diego.

The next day, my grandfather drove me to the Main Street Gym. I was 14, and needed to work on something after being outpointed the night before. My trainer, Manny Diaz, met me in the gym at 10 am. and I got some basic instructions on how to deal with a southpaw. I didn't box with anybody, just shadow boxed, skipped some rope, stretched out, and got some schooling from a good teacher. I hadn't slept all night after the loss, my first after six straight wins. I worked out my questions in the gym, I got a lot out of that day.

After I finished my workout, I grabbed a towel and walked over to one of the rings where Johnnie Flores was fastening Jerry Quarry's head gear. The future heavyweight contender stepped up to the ring for a sparring session. I saw light-heavy Joe "Shotgun" Shelton over to the side, slipping into his cup and pulling it up to his waist. I knew Jerry and Shelton worked together.

As Jerry climbed thru the ropes, I was surprised to see "Indian Red" Lopez move over to the ring and step inside the ropes with him. A moment later the bell rings and both Quarry and Lopez move to the center of the ring, extend their left arms and tap each other's gloves and then begin to move. Jerry is boxing and Ernie is pressing, As Jerry slides to his side, Ernie slides the same direction, cutting off the heavyweights movement, then landing with a good shot to Jerry's body. The punch lands with a thud, but Quarry is uneffected. They end up exchanging some good blows with each other, and at one point I could tell that Jerry must have got stung, because he started to drop bombs. Ernie made several blows miss, but took a couple, as well. They never got crazy, or lost control, but Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez gave Jerry a great workout, one for speed.

Later, on the way home from the gym, my grandfather and I stop for lunch at Felipe's, the legendary French dip place across from Union Station. My Grandmother worked there as a cashier. While we're sitting at one of the long tables, we see Ernie Lopez sit down across the room with his lunch, a French dip sandwich with a glass of lemonade. My Grandfather liked Ernie Lopez, they would talk at the gym. They had both lived on Indian Reservation land growing up, my grandad had boxed.

I remember that afternoon my Grandfather pointed across the room to Ernie, and told me that he thought Ernie Lopez was the toughest fighter in town, tougher than Quarry, Rojas, any of them. That was his opinion.

I'd have to say that my Grandfather was pretty close to right.


-Rick Farris

Rick
That was a great Indian Red/Quarry story. The last time I talked to David Love,he said the toughest guy he was ever in the ring with was Indian Red. Love said they would spar quite often.Said that he punched very hard and had a nasty disposition.Remember Love was in there with Bennie Briscoe and Willie Monroe. Love said the greatest fighter he saw was Napoles.

A Rare Smile . . .

Roger . . . I know that you were in the house for at least one of the three Indian Red-Hedge Lewis fights. I remember all the press that went on before their first match. Local papers touted the event as "Hollywood vs. The Main St. Gym".

Hedgeman Lewis was unbeaten, and had Eddie Futch training him for his celebrity management team of Ryan O'Neal, Bill Cosby, Robert Goulet, Chris Connelly and attorney Arthur Barens. Ernie was managed by Howie Steindler, who ran the Main Street Gym and made no secret of his disdain for Lewis' movie star manager's. "Ryan O'Neal may be the best thing in movies, but he ain't the best thing for boxing," Howie told reporters.

At the time, Ryan O'Neal was starring in the TV hit, "Peyton Place", along with his wife, actress Leigh Taylor-Young. Whenever Hedgeman Lewis fought at the Olympic, the audience resembled that of the old Hollywood Legion, the movie crowd turned out in full support of O'Neal's hot shot welter.

Nobody needs me to tell them what happened in that first fight. Howie was right, and the Main Street Gym won over Hollywood that night, by KO. Next time out, Hollywood would get even by decision. In the rubber match, Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez left no doubt who the best man was, once again stopping Hedgeman Lewis.

After their final fight, I remember Lopez leaving the ring and heading back up the aisle to the dressing room. Ernie showed little emotion as he passed by my seat on the aisle. However, a rare smile on Howie's face spoke volumes. I knew Howie Steindler for more than a dozen years, only on rare occasions did I see him smile. I wish I had a picture of that.


-Rick Farris

Rick, I was gonna ask you about the Ryan Oneal -Hedgemon Lewis relationship.
Didnt O'Neal play a fighter in some movie with Barbara Streisand also?

Expug wrote:Rick, I was gonna ask you about the Ryan Oneal -Hedgemon Lewis relationship.
Didnt O'Neal play a fighter in some movie with Barbara Streisand also?

"The Main Event" . . .

I hate to sound like I've worked on every picture made in Hollywood, but I have done over sixty major films, and one of them is, "The Main Event", starring Ryan O'Neal, Barbra Streisand and Don Johnson's ex-wife, Patti DeArbenville. We shot the movie in three months in late 1978-79.

Ryan O'Neal remembered me from boxing and so did Hedgeman Lewis, who had a small background part in the film. It was a fun shoot, except for Streisand, whom O'Neal had dated a couple years previous. Barbra Steisand is one of those "pain-in-the-ass" pro's who are so good and bankable they get away with anything. When we shoot Barbra, she wants the stage cleared of everybody but key crew members. I will credit her for being the only actress I've ever known who truly "knows" her light. You have to light her face very carefully, and very flat (straight on). If you light her too much from the side, that big nose throws a shadow over the other side of her face. We light her soft and flat, plenty of back light rimming her hair, and a special light my uncle called a "snoot" that pumps ambience below that huge nose to erase any shadow.

We shot the movie locally at the Culver Studios, the Main St. Gym, the Olympic Auditorium, a Long Beach exterior location, and a Malibu Beach house.

Ryan, he gets along with the crew, and likes to have fun. He has a younger brother named, Kevin, who told me he was a better fighter than his older brother, and should have fought as a pro bantamweight. I asked him why he didn't? His answer was the he was signed to play in a '1964 Warner Bros. TV series titled, "No Time For Sargents", and he had to stop boxing.

I knew he was full of crap. He may have boxed with his brother at the Teamster's Gym, but he was no pro prospect that I ever heard of.

The last time I talked to Ryan O'Neal was at the 2007 California Boxing HOF banquet, when Frank Baltazar Sr. was inducted. Ryan was sitting at Don Fraser's table along with Gwen Adair, Hedgeman Lewis, and his son Redmond (from Farrah Fawcett).

Hey Frank, ever hear of Ryan O'Neal's brother, Kevin?


-Rick Farris

Rick Farris wrote:

Expug wrote:Rick, I was gonna ask you about the Ryan Oneal -Hedgemon Lewis relationship.
Didnt O'Neal play a fighter in some movie with Barbara Streisand also?

"The Main Event" . . .

I hate to sound like I've worked on every picture made in Hollywood, but I have done over sixty major films, and one of them is, "The Main Event", starring Ryan O'Neal, Barbra Streisand and Don Johnson's ex-wife, Patti DeArbenville. We shot the movie in three months in late 1978-79.

Ryan O'Neal remembered me from boxing and so did Hedgeman Lewis, who had a small background part in the film. It was a fun shoot, except for Streisand, whom O'Neal had dated a couple years previous. Barbra Steisand is one of those "pain-in-the-ass" pro's who are so good and bankable they get away with anything. When we shoot Barbra, she wants the stage cleared of everybody but key crew members. I will credit her for being the only actress I've ever known who truly "knows" her light. You have to light her face very carefully, and very flat (straight on). If you light her too much from the side, that big nose throws a shadow over the other side of her face. We light her soft and flat, plenty of back light rimming her hair, and a special light my uncle called a "snoot" that pumps ambience below that huge nose to erase any shadow.

We shot the movie locally at the Culver Studios, the Main St. Gym, the Olympic Auditorium, a Long Beach exterior location, and a Malibu Beach house.

Ryan, he gets along with the crew, and likes to have fun. He has a younger brother named, Kevin, who told me he was a better fighter than his older brother, and should have fought as a pro bantamweight. I asked him why he didn't? His answer was the he was signed to play in a '1964 Warner Bros. TV series titled, "No Time For Sargents", and he had to stop boxing.

I knew he was full of crap. He may have boxed with his brother at the Teamster's Gym, but he was no pro prospect that I ever heard of.

The last time I talked to Ryan O'Neal was at the 2007 California Boxing HOF banquet, when Frank Baltazar Sr. was inducted. Ryan was sitting at Don Fraser's table along with Gwen Adair, Hedgeman Lewis, and his son Redmond (from Farrah Fawcett).

Hey Frank, ever hear of Ryan O'Neal's brother, Kevin?


-Rick Farris

BTW, it was exactly 30 years this month, that we completed principal photography of "The Main Event". I turned twenty-seven a week before we wrapped production. Where does the time go?

Nice stories, Rick. I think "What's up, Doc?" with Ryan O'Neal and Barbara Streisand is an exercise in throwing an oversized rotten egg at a crowd, and I also had the misfortune to catch "The Hot Rock" round the same time. Both movies put me off the cinema.
I do like Ryan in "The Driver" (mainly because of Bruce Dern's supporting perfomance), and Streisand's voice, of course.

Another Ryan O'Neal - Hedgeman Lewis fact . . .

Ryan and Hedge have remained friends ever since they hooked-up in the mid 60's. Back in the 70's, Hedge's wife served as governess of Ryan's children, Tatum & Griffin. As a child, Tatum won an Oscar for "Paper Moon", with the boxer's wife serving as her on-set "guardian". Tatum played opposite of her father in the role. Hedgeman Lewis' wife worked for the family for years, until the kids were out of the house.

Hedge would usually have a small background roles in O'Neal's feature films when the actor was at the top of his game. I would also cross paths with Lewis on other productions he'd work as a background actor. I hadn't seen him for years when I talked with him at the '07 CBHOF banquet. Prior to that I saw him back in the mid 80's when we both worked on an episode of "The A-Team".

-Rick Farris

Rick Farris wrote:Another Ryan O'Neal - Hedgeman Lewis fact . . .

Ryan and Hedge have remained friends ever since they hooked-up in the mid 60's. Back in the 70's, Hedge's wife served as governess of Ryan's children, Tatum & Griffin. As a child, Tatum won an Oscar for "Paper Moon", with the boxer's wife serving as her on-set "guardian". Tatum played opposite of her father in the role. Hedgeman Lewis' wife worked for the family for years, until the kids were out of the house.

Hedge would usually have a small background roles in O'Neal's feature films when the actor was at the top of his game. I would also cross paths with Lewis on other productions he'd work as a background actor. I hadn't seen him for years when I talked with him at the '07 CBHOF banquet. Prior to that I saw him back in the mid 80's when we both worked on an episode of "The A-Team".

-Rick Farris

What was it like working on The A-Team, Rick.? I was never a huge fan (I'm more of a Six Million Dollar Man man) but the concept was effective and I always liked George Peppard.

scartissue wrote:

kikibalt wrote:Courtesy of Dan

Rick, earlier you mentioned Jose Luis Castillo. These ratings are from about Oct. of '69 and check out who is at #10 in the lightweights just below El Gato. This guy's record is so incomplete it doesn't do him justice. He didn't fall from the ratings until losing to Al Ford. He also gave Jimmy Robertson a tussle. Amazing how two guys could meet so early in their careers only for both to go on to be world rated.

Frank, thanks for posting the ratings. I know it's difficult to resize, so thanks again.

Scartissue

You know, virtually EVERY name adorning those rankings is one you can recognise. How things have changed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp5JKVk_ALs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-6VMnET-oo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGD-9REoA84


Tony Baltazar vs Pedro Laza

Remembering “Irish Billy”

By Ted Sares - Sometimes getting to the sunshine can be a lifelong trek; some make it, others don’t. - The Author

I recently wrote a piece entitled, “Never Fall in Love with a Fighter.” Many posters responded by indicating their own examples of having fallen prey to this syndrome-- and then having their hearts broken. I am no exception, for it happened to me when Joe Louis was KO’d by Rocky Marciano and it happened again and again after that. Still, in boxing, it’s difficult not to really engage one or two boxers in a way that sets you up for a big fall.. I did it with Antonio Margarito and once again my heart was broken, but this time, the fall was not only due to his brutal defeat at the able hands of Sugar Shane Mosley, but also by the manner in which the hand wrap controversy surrounding the fight played out.

It is not my style to “pile on” a person when he is down. In this case, Margarito is about as far down as one can get. And if he makes the mistake of fighting in Mexico or some other county, he will badly impact his chances of getting his license approved. Indeed, he may well be done for good, as there is no assurance his revocation will be overturned in a year--if ever. And if he is given a life-time ban in the United States, the issue of whether he fights on in another country will provide the grist for many an interesting article.

Yes, he has broken my heart. I always viewed him as a great pressure fighter and one who “stalks, stuns and closes” in a uniquely entertaining way, but the shine is gone now. I have moved him aside --likely for good. Yes, there can be an appeal to the Commission’s findings and yes there could be a possible action in the courts of law, but in my view that would only prolong the misery. At the end of the day, rightly or wrongly, the fighter is in charge of his corner (though I question the wisdom of that principle and its inconsistent application). Therefore, he must accept responsibility whether willful intent was present or not. He owns it plain and simple and what Antonio owns here is an infraction that in my view is the very worse one in boxing.

Collins-Resto (1983)

Again, however, it’s easy to kick a man when he is down and to do so with mob mentality. That’s not my thing, though I make no excuses and have no pity for what Antonio or his manager did. In the final analysis, we the fans are the ones who really were hurt by this; we were betrayed. Now he and his trainer will pay the piper. If that means a ban for life in the United States, so be it; I can live with it. The punishment should be commensurate with the severity of the offense and the offense in this instance conjured up a night when I attended the Davey Moore-Roberto Duran fight at Madison Square Garden back in 1983. It conjured up a co-feature when a good looking kid from Tennessee came to New York City and got mugged. He was a kid from a small town see who had gone to the big city and met the dark side of boxing. His name was Irish Billy Collins, Jr.