BoxRec

Rick Farris wrote:

Wildhawke11 wrote:I had this one saved in my old mail Rick



Johnny Flores was the best story teller I ever knew, and he had decades worth of experiences to share.

One of these stories was about he & former heavyweight champ Joe Louis. In the 50's, Joe Louis promoted boxing in Hollywood in a night club called the "Moulan Rouge". Flores was his matchmaker.

Johnny and Joe Louis flew to Mexico, where Louis was to be honored by somebody. Now I forget, if it was in Guadalajara or Mexico City, but Flores told of a place where their hosts took them one night. It was a club called "Uncle Sam's" and Flores said it was about the roughest place he'd ever seen. The clientel was made up of local gangsters and so intimidating was this place, Louis was uncomfortable about getting out of the cab. Johnny thought this was funny, Hell, it was Joe Louis and he's afraid to go into this Mexican night club.

Flores convinces him things will be alright and Joe reluctantly goes in. When they get inside, one of the drunk patrons immediatly recognizes the Brown Bomber and challenges him to a fight. The host was upset and called the proprietor over who was a friend and whispered something in his ear. The owner nods and within seconds the patron was grabbed and led away by bouncers.

By now they are seated and Louis is sweating, totally uncomfortable. The owner returns and assures the host that the trouble maker would no longer be a problem. Louis can't understand what they are saying in Spanish and asks Johnny what's being said. Flores knew Louis was uncomfortable and thought he'd have some fun with him. Flores said not to worry about anybody starting any trouble the rest of the night, they made an example out of the man.

Louis was really confused now, "what do you mean they made an example out of him?" Flores looked at Louis in the eye and said, "they took him out back and shot him". Of course, Flores didn't know what they did with the guy, but Louis was now sick to his stomach and had to leave. Johnny looked at Louis and said, "Relax Joe, any more trouble makers and they'll take 'em out back and handle it".

Louis said, "You mean they killed that guy just because of that?" Flores said "Yeah, but that's because he bothered Joe Louis, normally they just cut off a hand if a guy hits somebody, or cut off their tounge if they get too loud. It's pretty mild right now, but just wait until midnight, things really get wild."

Louis said, "Call a cab, I'm gettin' out of here! Oh and tell them thank you very much."

Flores told the story so well we were all rolling with laughter, of course, hearing it second hand from me isn't the same. However, I'm just wondering, did you ever hear of an "Uncle Sam's" in either Guadalajara or Mexico City????

Danny I remember writing this story, but I forget when and where. I think I referred to it later in a post on this thread, but I don't keep track. Thanks for posting it.

-Rick Farris

A sign of old age creeping in? DD

They showed Duarte-Davila II over here (delayed, as ever) and it was a pure drama throughout - an absolute classic. I seem to remember that Davila looked unlucky but you couldn't begrudge Frankie.
Disappointingly, I also seem to remember (from TV) that the crowd was small. There were some great fights in LA in the late 1980s and yet nobody seemed to be there.

bennie wrote:They showed Duarte-Davila II over here (delayed, as ever) and it was a pure drama throughout - an absolute classic. I seem to remember that Davila looked unlucky but you couldn't begrudge Frankie.
Disappointingly, I also seem to remember (from TV) that the crowd was small. There were some great fights in LA in the late 1980s and yet nobody seemed to be there.

Bennie....I remember a good size crowd, I won't put up any numbers, but no it was not a small. crowd.

Randyman wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:Another Lopez-Chacon thought . . .

Early last year, when I interviewd Frank Blatazar Sr. for a story I wrote on the California Hall of Famer, he deferred to the "Little Red" Lopez-Bobby Chacon war.
Frank was describing the action of his all-time favorite six-round battle, between his buddy Keeny Teran and Gil Cadilli. That bout ended in a six-round draw as the semi-main to Enrique Bolanos-Eddie Chavez bout at the Hollywood Legion (a match made by Hap Navarro). As Frank described the fight from nearly six decades back, he compared it with the Lopez-Chacon bout of the mid 70's. That put the Teran-Cadilli fight in perfect perspective to me. It doesn't get any better than that.

-Rick Farris

A good perspective Rick, and an accurate one. I was lucky enough to know both Gil Cadilli and Keeny Teran. I knew Cadilli long after he stopped fighting and was training fighters at Main Street. He was a good man who took a personal interest in his fighters. He had a passion for boxing. Keeny as you know went a different route, and his career and his life fell apart due to drugs and time in prison. Except as an observer, I don't believe that Keeny returned to boxing but Frank can tell you more about that. I grew up with Mike Teran, Keeny's nephew, we are still very close. Keeny was also a great guy he just never really beat his demons. I met Keeny several times throughout the years. Mike and I painted a house for him once while still in high school.. He was no penny pincher. He paid us well.

It was a big deal for the Teran family last year when Keeny was inducted into the California Hall of Fame. We have Frank to thank for that. It always does my heart good when I see Keeny's name being mentioned. Through Frank I have learned even more about Keeny's career. I can always tell whenever Frank writes something about Keeny, that it's personal for him too.

Thank God for the guys that came before us. They won't let us forget.
Randy

Randy....With Keeny Teran it is personal with me, he was one of the first name fighters I got to know up front and personal, I hung out with Keeny, albeit only at the gym, spar with him, I liked the way he carried himself, even when he was the toast of the town he always had time for a kid like me. Later on when my boys were fighting at the Olympic he was always there to cheer'em on, early in Tony's career when he was doing most of his fighting at the Olympic, Keeny would come up to me and ask me "is Tony going to win by ko?", I think he wanted some inside info for his betting....

To my knowledge Keeny never got back into boxing once he called it a career as a boxer, as a trainer or other wise.

I have to say it gave me great satisfaction to be able to have a hand in inducting Keeny into the CBHOF....

For our friends from the U.K.

Cuban Great: Kid Chocolate
By Jim Amato



He was born Eligio Sardinias Montalbo on January 6, 1910 in Cerro, Havana, Cuba. He launched his professional boxing career in 1927 and would participate in over 150 bouts in a career that ended in 1938.

He was nicknamed the ” Cuban Bon Bon ” and during the 1930’s he was one of the best drawing cards in New York. His flashy personality and even flashier style in the ring made him a real crowd pleaser.

After racking up a series of victories in his native Cuba, ” The Kid ” invaded the US in 1928 knocking out Eddie Enos in three rounds in Mineola, N.Y.He would go on to fight at all the popular New York spots like Ridgewood Grove and the St. Nicolas Arena.

On November 30, 1928 at Madison Square Garden the Kid drew with rugged Joey Scalfaro. In 1929 he beat Bushy Graham and Vic Burrone. Then on May 22, 1929 the Kid outscored the great Fidel LaBarba. Kid Chocolate continued to win fights and among his victims were Gregorio Vidal, Al Singer and Dominick Petrone.

The year 1930 saw the Kid enter the ring for a match with Jackie ” Kid ” Berg. The energetic and quick Chocolate was hard pressed to last against his aggressive adversary. Berg won a split decision. Three fights later, the Kid was outhussled by Fidel LaBarbra. So what happens? Kid Chocolate is matched with Batttling Battalino for the featherweight title. On December 12, 1930 at Madison Square Garden, Battalino got the verdict in a bout that many felt could have gone to Kid Chocolate.

Finally on July 15, 1931 the Kid finally won a world title. At Baker Field in Philadelphia the Kid halted the rugged Benny Bass in seven rounds to win recognition as the worlds junior lightweight champion. In November he moved up in weight to take on the lightweight champion Tony Canzoneri. It was a great fight witnessed by over 19,000 fans at Madison Square Garden. This time the Kid came up on the short end of a split decision.

Chocolate would win nine straight after his setback to Canzoneri against some tough guys like Davey Abed, Lew Feldman and Johhny Farr. On July 18, 1932 Kid Chocolate would meet Kid Berg in a return match. Again Berg was able to pull off a close decision at the Garden.

The Kid again put together an impressive win streak including a fifteen round win over Fidel LaBarba that gained him the New York State Athletic Commission featherweight title.

On November 24, 1933 Kid Chocolate suffered a severe career setback when Tony Canzoneri blasted him out in the second round. One month later the Kid lost his junior lightweight title to Frankie Klick.

His career was on the decline but he was still winning more then he lost. There was a draw with tough Tommy Paul in 1934. Later that year he was clearly outpointed by Petey Hayes. In 1935 he lost a decision in Caracas, Venezuela to Simon Chavez.

In December of 1936 the Kid would drop a points call to Phil Baker.He would then win over twenty fights through 1938. He was held to a draw by Bernie Friedkin and Orville Drouillard but managed a degree of vengence when he was awarded a well-deserved decision over Phil Baker in Cuba in 1938.

After 1938 the ever-popular Kid Chocolate retired. He had met some of the best of his day. He was ” Mantequilla ” which means ” Smooth as butter ” long before the great Jose Napoles was given that nickname.

In comparing Kid Chocolate’s style to more contemporary boxers, I would say the smooth boxing Ismael Laguna and the extremely clever Wilfred Benitez fit the bill.

Kid Chocolate was grace personified. He was surely in a class by himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXCwUO0LvEY

Jose Napoles v Ernie Lopez I (Rds. 1, 9 & 15) Awesome!

Scartissue

scartissue wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXCwUO0LvEY

Jose Napoles v Ernie Lopez I (Rds. 1, 9 & 15) Awesome!

Scartissue

Dan
I went up there to watch that fight. I was sitting high up so I couldn't see the faces of the two boys that good. I've seen the replay of this fight many times. It's the first time I saw Indian Red demoralized. After the first knock down(Napoles always started fast)you could see Red become frustrated at his confidence drain. He could never figure Jose out.

When Ernie fought Hedgemon Lewis,he always seem to dominate him. Even when he lost the decision. I remember before Ernie's second bout with Jose. Ernie had regained his confidence saying that Jose was old and ripe for the taking. It was the same fight. Ernie just couldn't see Jose's punches coming.BTW. Very clear video. Say "Hi" to your Dad. Rog

Randyman wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:

Hey fellas',this is how I eat chicken soup. My wife is making it right now.

F---k that Campbells crap.

Rog, Caldo De Pollo (Chicken Soup) one of my favorites and a soup that Jeri makes as well. She tops it off with cabbage. It is delicious. Especially during the wintertime. Whenever I feel a cold or flu coming on, this is the only medicine I need. It's like Popeye with spinach.

Randy

And yes, F---k that Campbells crap. (tomato soup being the lone exception)

Randy
You're right. Campbells Tomato soup is good. Especially with a grilled cheese sandwich.

kikibalt wrote:

Randyman wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:

Hey fellas',this is how I eat chicken soup. My wife is making it right now.

F---k that Campbells crap.

Rog, Caldo De Pollo (Chicken Soup) one of my favorites and a soup that Jeri makes as well. She tops it off with cabbage. It is delicious. Especially during the wintertime. Whenever I feel a cold or flu coming on, this is the only medicine I need. It's like Popeye with spinach.

Randy

And yes, F---k that Campbells crap. (tomato soup being the lone exception)

Caldo de Pollo, Cocido or Albondigas...Homemade flour tortillas on a cold raining day.....

Mom ,where are you?....

Frank
Took the day off today. Got to attend to some personal business. Maria's making menudo con pata. Pics later. Rog

Hap...I seem to recall that at the time Keeny Teran's drug problems came to light some Hollywood people set him and his wife Sally and a kid or two in a camping trailer in the mountains to try to clean him up, Am I right?

dagosd2000 wrote:

kikibalt wrote:

Randyman wrote:

Hey fellas',this is how I eat chicken soup. My wife is making it right now.

F---k that Campbells crap.
Rog, Caldo De Pollo (Chicken Soup) one of my favorites and a soup that Jeri makes as well. She tops it off with cabbage. It is delicious. Especially during the wintertime. Whenever I feel a cold or flu coming on, this is the only medicine I need. It's like Popeye with spinach.

Randy

And yes, F---k that Campbells crap. (tomato soup being the lone exception)

Caldo de Pollo, Cocido or Albondigas...Homemade flour tortillas on a cold raining day.....

Mom ,where are you?....

Frank
Took the day off today. Got to attend to some personal business. Maria's making menudo con pata. Pics later. Rog

Rog...Connie and I went out for menudo con pata yesterday morning....

kikibalt wrote:Hap...I seem to recall that at the time Keeny Teran's drug problems came to light some Hollywood people set him and his wife Sally and a kid or two in a camping trailer in the mountains to try to clean him up, Am I right?

Frankie:

I seem to recall something like that happening during the time Keeny was having a problem. By coincidence when you posted the above question I was looking at a telegram I received from Fred Saddy, who was head of the NBA (I believe) back in those days. It is a confirmation from Saddy telling me that he okayed my matching of Keeny and Memo Diez for the North American Flyweight Title.

If you are interested I will try to get my Didi to scan it for you. I also have (someplace) a beautiful 8 x 10 photo of Keeny autographed to Cal Working and me in green ink. All of my stuff is warehoused someplace either here or in San Diego......I will check on it soon.

hap navarro

Dongee wrote:

kikibalt wrote:Hap...I seem to recall that at the time Keeny Teran's drug problems came to light some Hollywood people set him and his wife Sally and a kid or two in a camping trailer in the mountains to try to clean him up, Am I right?

Frankie:

I seem to recall something like that happening during the time Keeny was having a problem. By coincidence when you posted the above question I was looking at a telegram I received from Fred Saddy, who was head of the NBA (I believe) back in those days. It is a confirmation from Saddy telling me that he okayed my matching of Keeny and Memo Diez for the North American Flyweight Title.

If you are interested I will try to get my Didi to scan it for you. I also have (someplace) a beautiful 8 x 10 photo of Keeny autographed to Cal Working and me in green ink. All of my stuff is warehoused someplace either here or in San Diego......I will check on it soon.

hap navarro

Yes, Hap, send me anything on Keeny that you can... , I used to have an old newspaper article with a pic. of Keeny and Sally standing along side the camping trailer up in the mountains, lost it over 50 years ago....

Guys . . . This is the latest on the thread disc. John Bardelli is a very busy attorney, yet is taking the time to do this for us. He knows the value of what we are posting.

-Rick


March 8, 2009

Dear Rick:

Here's a progress update on the copying the Classic American West Coast Boxing postings to a disk so it can be preserved and/or utilized as a reference tool.

I've created 500 PDF Pages [there are now a total of 635 pages as of March 8, 2009] from the Classic American West Coast Boxing site running from February 13, 2008 into December 25, 2008. I should complete the full year, i.e., through February 13, 2009 so the disk can be referenced as First Anniversary Disk of Classic American West Coast Boxing Postings, hopefully, sometime during the week of March 9th.

To give you an idea of the undertaking and size of the project, 500 PDF pages runs between 5860 to 8500 printed pages and each PDF page incrementally has grown larger since the inception of the site by about an additional 4 to 8 pages. It's quite intriguing as it is time consuming but it had to be done.

Keep the faith.


Best Regards,
John Bardelli

Menudo con Pata made fresh by my wife. Who says the the way to a man's heart is through his stomach?

dagosd2000 wrote:

Menudo con Pata made fresh by my wife. Who says the the way to a man's heart is through his stomach?

Looks great, Rog, enjoy.....

THE WARMTH OF THE SUN

The second Monday of the month is when we get together for lunch. I know this kind of get together goes on all over. Friends you grew up with. But it's not like a class reunion. We all played football together. I'm the youngest of the group ,so I feel a little honored that they included me in their circle.

Today it was a Mexican Restaurant a block up from the beach.As far as Mexican food goes,it's mediocre at best. I had albondigas soup served with crackers. I asked the waiter in Spanish if i could have corn tortillas. Said my wife was from Michoacan. He understood.

But the restaurant and the food is not what's important. It's seeing those guys. They were my idols growing up. It's still hard to get that feeling out of me. I don't think they know how I feel. We're all on on even playing field now.

We're starting to break down . The parts are wearing out. It's our time. We always reminisce. Repeat a lot of the old stories. Not much is brought up about what's going on today. Only the surgeries.

After eating, the handfull remaining had a drink. Just one. We didn't need more liquor to bring out the good 'ol days. I talked as usual about my grand daughter and her Flamenco dancing.
"It's in her blood now. The time's coming when I'll let go. She'll be on her own."
The guys always want to hear of how she's progressing. They are happy for her. I know that they are my friends.
"I often tell her. The future is growing dark. You go to college to get a degree and a good job. It's not turning out that way anymore."
I told my pals of how she dances in Spain every year with some of the best dancers in the world. They are all older than her. She is 12 years old.
"I tell her. You want to be a doctor? A lawyer? A school teacher like me? Those people when they go on vacation go to Spain to watch Flamenco dancers. Entertain them and travel the world."

After our drink,I walked out the back to the parking lot with some of my friends. Right away I smelled the ocean and felt the warmth of the sun on my face. The sea breeze was invigorating.
"You know ,"I said. Surfers are like Flamenco dancers. They wouldn't want to do anything else in the world."

As I got into my car,I looked at my watch. I had some time left before going home. I thought I'd take a walk out to the pier and watch the surfers catch the afternoon waves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLOOlmI17Vk

Big wave wipeouts

Randyman wrote:

Expug wrote:Great stuff about Pac-Man Rick.
And damn, you have sparred with some all-time greats yourself.
Ive been in there with a few good guys, but nothing like Chacon, Olivares, Lil Red, etc.
Its funny though, after swapping with good pros, alot of other stuff in life seems much easier.
But, thats also the problem. Most other stuff can also be a little mundane.

Brian, I never saw you fight but I believe your writing is a clue to the kind of fighter you are, as well as the kind of man that I know you are. There is no bullshit in whatyou have to say. Your words are honest, succinct and to the point. There is no need to mask them with words that mean nothing to you.

I suspect that is how you fight. Up front and with a purpose, short snappy punches that carry a lot of weight. not much wasted movements. You can counter when you need to but usually, you create your own openings and act on them immediately. You are not out to impress the judges or anyone else, you are there to win. An honest fighter. The best kind of fighter. You could fight in any city.

I believe that is how you lead your life too. You can tell a lot about a man by what he has to say and write and by what he doesn't.

Just an observation my friend. I hope you don't mind.

Randy

Thankyou Randy,
Thats a true compliment coming from you
You are a real friend.

Hap & Guys . . . passed by the Hollywood Legion Stadium and Blue Palms today.
I'll share what I saw shortly.

-Rick

A SEAT AT THE END OF THE BAR

Keeny Teran has been discussed about his drug problem. Denny Moyer and Ronnie Wilson crossed my path. Booze was their nemesis. Sometimes training was just a way to dry out. Stay away from temptation by going up to the woods and sweat all the poison out. They can test for drugs, and if it comes up they can yank your license. Booze? There's no test for that shellac. But I've seen it eat up careers. Some of the fellas' become more acquainted with it after they retire,but they didn't shy away from it while they were fighting either.

I'll never forget the night I saw Manny Ortiz in one those sailor bars downtown in San Diego. A friend of mine's father owned the place. He had lost his liquor license for serving minors ,but owned the joint sub rosa. In another guy's name. I used to see this old guy come in and talk to the owner at the far end of the bar.He was Mexican. Every bar has its regimented seating for priority guests. In this place it was the far end by the office. The owner and his friends sat there. An unwritten rule. I'd mozy over there too. Finally one night the old guy I was talking about came in and sat with my friends father at the far end of the bar. This time something struck me. It was a face I'd seen before,but I couldn't place it. The old guy walked out so I asked the boss who the guy was. He says Manual Ortiz.

I didn't know what to make of it. To be quite honest, this watering hole was a dive. Low lifes and sailors, and of course me. I didn't want to see Manny Ortiz in an establishment like that. But who was I to give counseling? I had nothoing to say.

I was always in the joint. It was one of the low points of my life. I wanted to see Manny Ortiz again even though I thought the place was beneath his dignity. He never showed up again. I forget how long it was, but I remember picking up the sports section of the paper one day. On the back page in the bottom corner was a sports obituary. About two sentences. Something like Manual Ortiz,ex bantam weight champ(and then they gave the years he held the belt)died in a hospital of liver disease.

It was kind of after that I slowed down going into that bar. Just didn't feel comfortable in there anymore.

dagosd2000 wrote:A SEAT AT THE END OF THE BAR

Keeny Teran has been discussed about his drug problem. Denny Moyer and Ronnie Wilson crossed my path. Booze was their nemesis. Sometimes training was just a way to dry out. Stay away from temptation by going up to the woods and sweat all the poison out. They can test for drugs, and if it comes up they can yank your license. Booze? There's no test for that shellac. But I've seen it eat up careers. Some of the fellas' become more acquainted with it after they retire,but they didn't shy away from it while they were fighting either.

I'll never forget the night I saw Manny Ortiz in one those sailor bars downtown in San Diego. A friend of mine's father owned the place. He had lost his liquor license for serving minors ,but owned the joint sub rosa. In another guy's name. I used to see this old guy come in and talk to the owner at the far end of the bar.He was Mexican. Every bar has its regimented seating for priority guests. In this place it was the far end by the office. The owner and his friends sat there. An unwritten rule. I'd mozy over there too. Finally one night the old guy I was talking about came in and sat with my friends father at the far end of the bar. This time something struck me. It was a face I'd seen before,but I couldn't place it. The old guy walked out so I asked the boss who the guy was. He says Manual Ortiz.

I didn't know what to make of it. To be quite honest, this watering hole was a dive. Low lifes and sailors, and of course me. I didn't want to see Manny Ortiz in an establishment like that. But who was I to give counseling? I had nothoing to say.

I was always in the joint. It was one of the low points of my life. I wanted to see Manny Ortiz again even though I thought the place was beneath his dignity. He never showed up again. I forget how long it was, but I remember picking up the sports section of the paper one day. On the back page in the bottom corner was a sports obituary. About two sentences. Something like Manual Ortiz,ex bantam weight champ(and then they gave the years he held the belt)died in a hospital of liver disease.

It was kind of after that I slowed down going into that bar. Just didn't feel comfortable in there anymore.

Roger . . . I remember Manuel Ortiz's obituary from a major boxing magazine. A photo of Ortiz showed him in a field in El Centro, kind of kneeling on the ground, smiling. It was long after his career had ended. In the photo, I saw a relaxed smile, but a saddness in his eyes. Maybe I am wrong, I didn't know the man, just a feeling I sensed.

-Rick Farris