BoxRec

Rick,
You mentioned fighting some all service champs in the ams.
Do the armed forces do as well as they used to in amateur tournys?
They were powerhouses years ago.
I used to spar quite often with a guy who was the marine corp champ in the early eighties.
After he turned pro he would train in the same gym with me.We had some pretty good wars in the gym.I even had him down once.He was beating my ass until I caught him.
His name was William "Crystal Kid" Clayton.He knocked out a good fighter in NY named Robert "Pee Wee" Rucker.
Willie was sent over to NY as an opponent. It didnt work out that way though and he stretched Rucker.

A RIGHT TO GRIPE

We've been reflecting on the thread about how things aren't the same as they used to be. We can use a score of examples,but since the name of the Forum is BoxRec,I'll stick with boxing. Fighters have made excuses for losing. They've blamed their managers and trainers. They had an injury. A cold or the flu.It's the same excuses I hear today. Athletes are the last to see their frailities. I don't have a problem with that. Fighters aren't in a timid line of work.Sometimes if they ain't fighting,they ain't themselves.

Boxing is not a sport in the U.S. that is a road to the promised land like it once was. Now it's go to college and come out a hoop star. A gridiron hero or an inductee into Cooperstown. Boxing is too rough. It was always too rough. Times were harder once. That's why the sport was referred to as the poor man's out.

Times are getting harder again,but I don't think young men are looking to pugilism as that way out. So here's the theme that I think we've been kicking around. Even when things get bad ,like what's happening today, putting in the sacrafice of becoming a prize fighter is an afterthought dismissed.

So fighters have always made excuses. So if I hear those alibis today, or turn to the boxing annals to read about them,I'm OK with it. Not many have had the nerve to step into the squared circle and take that risk.

Rick Farris wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:Rick
Norton /Ali at the Sports Arena wasn't bad. Saad Muhammad defended his title against Mwale there too. All the fights Archie Moore and Bob Murphy had in San Diego. The old ball park Lane Field was a good place to watch the fights, and I know the Coliseum wasn't the Olympic Auditorium,but it was the only steady venue we had for fights down here and it was appreciated and remembered by the fans ,if not by the fighters. Rog

In 1969, I fought at the San Diego International Sports Arena. It was where the '69 National AAU Championships were held.
This was where Earnie Shavers first came onto the radar, after flattening favored Jim Elder in the heavyweight final.
It's where Armando Muniz won his 2nd consecutive Nat'l AAU title.
I was 17, defeated the All-Marine Flyweight champ in my first bout, was beaten by the All-Army champ in my second (he won the Nat'l title that year).
It was the first boxing event held at the brand new S.D. Sports Arena.
The LeBaron Hotel, on Hotel Circle was where all the boxers stayed that week.
It was one helluva wild place after the tourney had ended, a few hundred boxers running wild.

I have a program from the event. Lots of familiar names, future contenders. I'll post it.


-Rick

Looking forward to seeing that

dagosd2000 wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:Rick
Norton /Ali at the Sports Arena wasn't bad. Saad Muhammad defended his title against Mwale there too. All the fights Archie Moore and Bob Murphy had in San Diego. The old ball park Lane Field was a good place to watch the fights, and I know the Coliseum wasn't the Olympic Auditorium,but it was the only steady venue we had for fights down here and it was appreciated and remembered by the fans ,if not by the fighters. Rog

In 1969, I fought at the San Diego International Sports Arena. It was where the '69 National AAU Championships were held.
This was where Earnie Shavers first came onto the radar, after flattening favored Jim Elder in the heavyweight final.
It's where Armando Muniz won his 2nd consecutive Nat'l AAU title.
I was 17, defeated the All-Marine Flyweight champ in my first bout, was beaten by the All-Army champ in my second (he won the Nat'l title that year).
It was the first boxing event held at the brand new S.D. Sports Arena.
The LeBaron Hotel, on Hotel Circle was where all the boxers stayed that week.
It was one helluva wild place after the tourney had ended, a few hundred boxers running wild.

I have a program from the event. Lots of familiar names, future contenders. I'll post it.


-Rick

Looking forward to seeing that

I'll dig it out, Rog, and get it to Frank to post.

Expug wrote:Rick,
You mentioned fighting some all service champs in the ams.
Do the armed forces do as well as they used to in amateur tournys?
They were powerhouses years ago.
I used to spar quite often with a guy who was the marine corp champ in the early eighties.
After he turned pro he would train in the same gym with me.We had some pretty good wars in the gym.I even had him down once.He was beating my ass until I caught him.
His name was William "Crystal Kid" Clayton.He knocked out a good fighter in NY named Robert "Pee Wee" Rucker.
Willie was sent over to NY as an opponent. It didnt work out that way though and he stretched Rucker.

Brian . . . In 1969, when I was 17, there were a lot of hot amateurs representing the armed forces. Viet Nam was hot and heavy. At the AAU Nat'l tournament, the best from Army, Navy, Air Force & Marines were there. All of the service teams were exceptional, with the exception of the Marine team. Much of that was due to lack of funding.

The Army was by far the best team, with Armando Muniz a '68 Olympian who'd win his second consecutive welter title, as well as "Outstanding Boxer" of the tourney award. Another Army standout was 23-year-old Caleb Long, who beat me in my 2nd bout, won the Nat'l title. He had over 170 fights and was one of the best boxers I would ever step into a ring with.

The Navy had the heavyweight favorite, "Big" Jim Elder, as well as former '68 Olympian and multi-year Nat'l champ, Albert Robinson. Robinson was robbed in the gold medal match of the Mexico City Olympics against Mexico's Antonio Roldan. Robinson had clearly defeated Roldan but Mexico, the host country, had won only one gold medal, for diving. Robinson's great performance was lost to politics, and the host country stole a second gold medal. He'd win the Nat'l title for a third time and turn pro shortly afterwards. In 1974, just outside the top ten in his division, Robinson collapsed into a coma during a sparring session. He would later pass away when taken off of life support.

The Air Force had a great team too. Their lightweight, Juan Ruiz, was one of the better boxers in the tournament. The only head guards you saw were worn by boxers in the armed forces. They had to wear them, a government rule. I fought two armed forces boxers, both were wearing head protection and I was given the option, but declined.

By the way, the Navy's heavily favored heavyweight, Jim Elder, was blasted out in one by Earnie Shavers. Elder was cocky, Shavers looked scared. He ran out at the bell and nailed Elder, sending him reeling across the ring to the canvas. That was it.

I'm not sure of the Military boxers of today, or any amateurs for that matter.


-Rick Farris

One of the greatest Thai fighters ever, and certainly the most historic, Saensak Muangsurin, has passed away at the tragically young age of 58.
Southpaw Muangsurin won the WBC light-welterweight title in just his third professional fight when he stopped dangerous Spaniard Perico Fernandez in eight rounds in Bangkok in 1975. It was an achievement which will surely never be broken and defied belief in a boxing era when world titles still meant exactly that: a holder was the best fighter in the world at his weight (alongside the rival champ, given there were WBC & WBA champs).
After one defence, Muangsurin ventured to Spain and was blatantly robbed of his crown on a disqualificiation (for nothing, except for the fact he was winning). A picture of the mentally and physically 'broken' Ameican referee Jay Edson, laid out on the canvas, having been poleaxed by a bottle, is one that lingers in the memory. It summed up the win-at-all-costs attitude from the vicious Spanish crowd that night (and their crass officials, one of whom later kicked a Board official in the groin when he protested about the use of an illegal substance on the gloves of Juan Francisco Rodriguez against Johnny Owen, which affected Johnny's eyesight.
Owen was similarly robbed of a win as a result.
Muangsurin put the experience behind him and showed his mettle when he regained the title in Spain just four months later in October 1976, then went on a run of defences that made him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, a fighter whose very name signified class and power nd danger. Muangsurin, a former kickboxer, was incredibly heavy handed and slick with it. He retained seven times against the fabulous likes of Saoul Mamby, Monroe Brooks, Guts Ishimatsu (who beat Buchanan), Philadelphia's Mike Everett (brother of the ill-fated and gifted Tyrone) and French star Jo Kimpuani, before eye problems and the demanding pace caught up with him in a shock defeat in 1978 in Korea to a man he would have destroyed a couple of years earlier.
Obviously, Muangsurin was over the mountain and spent the next couple of years as 'name' opponents for Thomas Hearns and company. His eyesight inevitably worsened and his retirement in 1981 led to depression and further health problems.
Muangsurin, however, is a name that everyone knows for that world title win so early into his career. To remind you, he won it in his third fight as a pro, his seventh month as a pro.

Manny Pacquiao

bennie wrote:One of the greatest Thai fighters ever, and certainly the most historic, Saensak Muangsurin, has passed away at the tragically young age of 58.
Southpaw Muangsurin won the WBC light-welterweight title in just his third professional fight when he stopped dangerous Spaniard Perico Fernandez in eight rounds in Bangkok in 1975. It was an achievement which will surely never be broken and defied belief in a boxing era when world titles still meant exactly that: a holder was the best fighter in the world at his weight (alongside the rival champ, given there were WBC & WBA champs).
After one defence, Muangsurin ventured to Spain and was blatantly robbed of his crown on a disqualificiation (for nothing, except for the fact he was winning). A picture of the mentally and physically 'broken' Ameican referee Jay Edson, laid out on the canvas, having been poleaxed by a bottle, is one that lingers in the memory. It summed up the win-at-all-costs attitude from the vicious Spanish crowd that night (and their crass officials, one of whom later kicked a Board official in the groin when he protested about the use of an illegal substance on the gloves of Juan Francisco Rodriguez against Johnny Owen, which affected Johnny's eyesight.
Owen was similarly robbed of a win as a result.
Muangsurin put the experience behind him and showed his mettle when he regained the title in Spain just four months later in October 1976, then went on a run of defences that made him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, a fighter whose very name signified class and power nd danger. Muangsurin, a former kickboxer, was incredibly heavy handed and slick with it. He retained seven times against the fabulous likes of Saoul Mamby, Monroe Brooks, Guts Ishimatsu (who beat Buchanan), Philadelphia's Mike Everett (brother of the ill-fated and gifted Tyrone) and French star Jo Kimpuani, before eye problems and the demanding pace caught up with him in a shock defeat in 1978 in Korea to a man he would have destroyed a couple of years earlier.
Obviously, Muangsurin was over the mountain and spent the next couple of years as 'name' opponents for Thomas Hearns and company. His eyesight inevitably worsened and his retirement in 1981 led to depression and further health problems.
Muangsurin, however, is a name that everyone knows for that world title win so early into his career. To remind you, he won it in his third fight as a pro, his seventh month as a pro.

Bennie, what I always think about when I hear Muangsurin's name is how he was robbed of 'Fighter of the year' in '77. I would always piece a fighter's resume together for the year and come up with my opinion who was deserving of the laurels. I was shocked at what was pretty obvious to me, that Muangsurin for his 6 title defenses against top opposition (Brooks, Suzuki, Fernandez (rematch), Everett, Mamby and Kimpuani) lost out to Carlos Zarate (I think Ring had Muangsurin come in 3rd, don't remember who came in 2nd). Anyways, Zarate had one good win that year against Alfonso Zamora. The rest were not deserving of a title fight. Fernando Cabanela had one fight in the year previous, at 126, and lost that one to Ruben Olivares. Danilo Batista was unknown and J.F. Rodriguez was equally unknown. The Rodriguez fight was sort of comical, in that, in the 4th round I believe, Rodriguez surrendered in mid-ring in the Euro style of raising the right hand in surrender. Well, most over here have no idea what that means as well as Zarate who had no idea what he was doing and belted him anyway. But, I digress, Ring was really being more political at that stage for awards, not for deserving fighters, and they like that win over Zamora who was reigning WBA at the time. Another example was in '78, I thought it should have gone to Wilfredo Gomez but Ring gave it to Ali. Ali had 2 fights that year. A loss to Spinks and regaining the title from Spinks. IMO, he never should have lost it to a 6 fight veteran in the first place, but Ring was enamored with the fact that he was the 1st to win the heavyweight title 3 times. Lustre over substance. I believe in giving the award for what you achieved and Saensak Muangsurin will always be my 1977 Fighter of the Year. RIP.

Scartissue

Rory Calhoun

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I took Amanda to her Flamenco practice Thursday. Her company is rehearsing for a big Flamenco show in Long Beach at the end of the month. The rehearsal room was filled with dancers . I didn't want to crowd anyone out so I walked to the park that was a block away. There were people playing soccer and softball. As the sun was setting,it looked like a soothing way to relax.

Then off to the side something happened. A fight broke out between,it looked like to me,two bums. These guys were really tearing into each other.

Well after a few minutes the cops came. I guess someone dialed 911. After interrogating the two combatants,they were put in seperate squad cars.

I walked back to the dance studio thinking. You can play soccer and softball in the park,even football,but fight in the park and you go to jail. Tells you something about how dangerous is the sport of boxing.

Hey Frank
I was just watching Yahoo news. That gal that sang on that talent show sang a song a few years back for charity event. "Cry Me A River." She's fantastic. Can you put that up for us? Thanks Rog.

Rick Farris wrote:

Expug wrote:Rick,
You mentioned fighting some all service champs in the ams.
Do the armed forces do as well as they used to in amateur tournys?
They were powerhouses years ago.
I used to spar quite often with a guy who was the marine corp champ in the early eighties.
After he turned pro he would train in the same gym with me.We had some pretty good wars in the gym.I even had him down once.He was beating my ass until I caught him.
His name was William "Crystal Kid" Clayton.He knocked out a good fighter in NY named Robert "Pee Wee" Rucker.
Willie was sent over to NY as an opponent. It didnt work out that way though and he stretched Rucker.

Brian . . . In 1969, when I was 17, there were a lot of hot amateurs representing the armed forces. Viet Nam was hot and heavy. At the AAU Nat'l tournament, the best from Army, Navy, Air Force & Marines were there. All of the service teams were exceptional, with the exception of the Marine team. Much of that was due to lack of funding.

The Army was by far the best team, with Armando Muniz a '68 Olympian who'd win his second consecutive welter title, as well as "Outstanding Boxer" of the tourney award. Another Army standout was 23-year-old Caleb Long, who beat me in my 2nd bout, won the Nat'l title. He had over 170 fights and was one of the best boxers I would ever step into a ring with.

The Navy had the heavyweight favorite, "Big" Jim Elder, as well as former '68 Olympian and multi-year Nat'l champ, Albert Robinson. Robinson was robbed in the gold medal match of the Mexico City Olympics against Mexico's Antonio Roldan. Robinson had clearly defeated Roldan but Mexico, the host country, had won only one gold medal, for diving. Robinson's great performance was lost to politics, and the host country stole a second gold medal. He'd win the Nat'l title for a third time and turn pro shortly afterwards. In 1974, just outside the top ten in his division, Robinson collapsed into a coma during a sparring session. He would later pass away when taken off of life support.

The Air Force had a great team too. Their lightweight, Juan Ruiz, was one of the better boxers in the tournament. The only head guards you saw were worn by boxers in the armed forces. They had to wear them, a government rule. I fought two armed forces boxers, both were wearing head protection and I was given the option, but declined.

By the way, the Navy's heavily favored heavyweight, Jim Elder, was blasted out in one by Earnie Shavers. Elder was cocky, Shavers looked scared. He ran out at the bell and nailed Elder, sending him reeling across the ring to the canvas. That was it.

I'm not sure of the Military boxers of today, or any amateurs for that matter.


-Rick Farris

Ken Norton and Mac Foster both began their boxing careers in the Marines, and each was an All-Marine champion. I think Foster was also an All-Service champion.

If memory serves, both began boxing just up the road from Roger at Camp Pendleton.

Susan Boyle...What A Talent!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI2DxkrgpgQ
"Cry Me A River"

Tony Valle, Rory Calhoun & Tony Baltazar

Rick...This picture I shot in the early 1970s at a show at some park in the S.F. Valley, by any chance were you there?

Tony Valle boxed for the Resurrection Gym

Rick Farris wrote:

Expug wrote:Rick,
You mentioned fighting some all service champs in the ams.
Do the armed forces do as well as they used to in amateur tournys?
They were powerhouses years ago.
I used to spar quite often with a guy who was the marine corp champ in the early eighties.
After he turned pro he would train in the same gym with me.We had some pretty good wars in the gym.I even had him down once.He was beating my ass until I caught him.
His name was William "Crystal Kid" Clayton.He knocked out a good fighter in NY named Robert "Pee Wee" Rucker.
Willie was sent over to NY as an opponent. It didnt work out that way though and he stretched Rucker.

Brian . . . In 1969, when I was 17, there were a lot of hot amateurs representing the armed forces. Viet Nam was hot and heavy. At the AAU Nat'l tournament, the best from Army, Navy, Air Force & Marines were there. All of the service teams were exceptional, with the exception of the Marine team. Much of that was due to lack of funding.

The Army was by far the best team, with Armando Muniz a '68 Olympian who'd win his second consecutive welter title, as well as "Outstanding Boxer" of the tourney award. Another Army standout was 23-year-old Caleb Long, who beat me in my 2nd bout, won the Nat'l title. He had over 170 fights and was one of the best boxers I would ever step into a ring with.

The Navy had the heavyweight favorite, "Big" Jim Elder, as well as former '68 Olympian and multi-year Nat'l champ, Albert Robinson. Robinson was robbed in the gold medal match of the Mexico City Olympics against Mexico's Antonio Roldan. Robinson had clearly defeated Roldan but Mexico, the host country, had won only one gold medal, for diving. Robinson's great performance was lost to politics, and the host country stole a second gold medal. He'd win the Nat'l title for a third time and turn pro shortly afterwards. In 1974, just outside the top ten in his division, Robinson collapsed into a coma during a sparring session. He would later pass away when taken off of life support.

The Air Force had a great team too. Their lightweight, Juan Ruiz, was one of the better boxers in the tournament. The only head guards you saw were worn by boxers in the armed forces. They had to wear them, a government rule. I fought two armed forces boxers, both were wearing head protection and I was given the option, but declined.

By the way, the Navy's heavily favored heavyweight, Jim Elder, was blasted out in one by Earnie Shavers. Elder was cocky, Shavers looked scared. He ran out at the bell and nailed Elder, sending him reeling across the ring to the canvas. That was it.

I'm not sure of the Military boxers of today, or any amateurs for that matter.


-Rick Farris

What happens when they lose . . .

Armando Muniz and I have known one another for years, as amateurs and later pros who fought on eight pro cards together. Today we work together with the WBHOF. We were talking a couple weeks back about his experience boxing in the service. At the time he was drafted in 1967, the Viet Nam war was at it's worst.

Mando went into the service knowing that he was headed for Viet Nam when he entered Basic Training at Fort Ord, California. Word got to Army boxing coach, Pat Nappi, that a top amateur boxer had just started Basic training. Nappi contacted Armando and the next day he was on a plane to Venezuela to rep the Army in an International Amateur boxing tournament. Muniz scored an easy KO and would go on to become one of the Army's most successful boxers in history. Besides All-Army and Inter-Service titles, Mando was a two-time Nat'l AAU Champ and a member of the '68 U.S. Olympic team. He was the Army's outstanding boxer thruout his hitch.

As a member of the U.S. Army boxing team, Mando got plenty of sleep, the best food, focused on training for boxing and receiving a lot of respect from the officers. The Army boxing team was their pride & joy, and it was a good one. The Army wanted Armando Muniz to be all that he could be, and he was. However, Armando knew that one mistake, losing the wrong fight, etc. could land him in a jungle in Southeast Asia.

Mando and I discussed our meeting again in 1969 at the AAU nationals. Mando told me how good Caleb Long was, the Army's flyweight rep who was 23, and defeated me in the second round of eliminations. He also told me what happens to boxers like the one I defeated in the opening round. My opponent, who was represented the U.S. Marines, was stopped in the first round. It was one of only a three first round KO's I'd score thruout my boxing career, amateur or pro, and it occured seconds after the opening bell. A perfect right put the Marine out cold. Being that the tournament was held in San Diego, where the Marines had a major base, their were Marine officers ringside to watch their team. The first one featured was my opponent, who was flattened quick, leaving the uniformed officers, several in dress blues, sitting quiet in their seats.

When Mando and I discussed this last week, he told me what happened to military boxers who lost fights, expecially as dramaticly as the Marine I'd beaten. They were usually dropped from the team and shipped off to Viet Nam. "The officers had to see this as a disgrace. Especially in a town where there were plenty of Navy officers in the arena rooting for their team which was superior to that of the Marine Corps."

I don't know if the Marine I whipped was sent to Viet Nam or not. If he was, and if he regretted his loss, all I can do is repeat the words Mando Ramos would say at the end of most of our telephone conversations . . .

"Kepp your hands up, your chin down, and your ass off the canvas!"

That pretty much says it all.


-Rick Farris

kikibalt wrote:
Tony Valle, Rory Calhoun & Tony Baltazar

Rick...This picture I shot in the early 1970s at a show at some park in the S.F. Valley, by any chance were you there?

Tony Valle boxed for the Resurrection Gym

Frank . . . I had already turned pro by then and didn't attend many amateur bouts. However, occasionally I'd stop by a junior tournament, and even refereed a Jr. GG's bout at the Olympic in 1971. I didn't know the other boy in the photo, but I remember when Tony was that age. I wouldn't see any of the juniors for awhile, and when I did, I'd see they were growing up. I want to ask you about Rory Calhoun. Did he live in the area? I remember him from his Friday Night Fights on national TV when I was very young.


-Rick Farris

raylawpc wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:

Expug wrote:Rick,
You mentioned fighting some all service champs in the ams.
Do the armed forces do as well as they used to in amateur tournys?
They were powerhouses years ago.
I used to spar quite often with a guy who was the marine corp champ in the early eighties.
After he turned pro he would train in the same gym with me.We had some pretty good wars in the gym.I even had him down once.He was beating my ass until I caught him.
His name was William "Crystal Kid" Clayton.He knocked out a good fighter in NY named Robert "Pee Wee" Rucker.
Willie was sent over to NY as an opponent. It didnt work out that way though and he stretched Rucker.

Brian . . . In 1969, when I was 17, there were a lot of hot amateurs representing the armed forces. Viet Nam was hot and heavy. At the AAU Nat'l tournament, the best from Army, Navy, Air Force & Marines were there. All of the service teams were exceptional, with the exception of the Marine team. Much of that was due to lack of funding.

The Army was by far the best team, with Armando Muniz a '68 Olympian who'd win his second consecutive welter title, as well as "Outstanding Boxer" of the tourney award. Another Army standout was 23-year-old Caleb Long, who beat me in my 2nd bout, won the Nat'l title. He had over 170 fights and was one of the best boxers I would ever step into a ring with.

The Navy had the heavyweight favorite, "Big" Jim Elder, as well as former '68 Olympian and multi-year Nat'l champ, Albert Robinson. Robinson was robbed in the gold medal match of the Mexico City Olympics against Mexico's Antonio Roldan. Robinson had clearly defeated Roldan but Mexico, the host country, had won only one gold medal, for diving. Robinson's great performance was lost to politics, and the host country stole a second gold medal. He'd win the Nat'l title for a third time and turn pro shortly afterwards. In 1974, just outside the top ten in his division, Robinson collapsed into a coma during a sparring session. He would later pass away when taken off of life support.

The Air Force had a great team too. Their lightweight, Juan Ruiz, was one of the better boxers in the tournament. The only head guards you saw were worn by boxers in the armed forces. They had to wear them, a government rule. I fought two armed forces boxers, both were wearing head protection and I was given the option, but declined.

By the way, the Navy's heavily favored heavyweight, Jim Elder, was blasted out in one by Earnie Shavers. Elder was cocky, Shavers looked scared. He ran out at the bell and nailed Elder, sending him reeling across the ring to the canvas. That was it.

I'm not sure of the Military boxers of today, or any amateurs for that matter.


-Rick Farris

Ken Norton and Mac Foster both began their boxing careers in the Marines, and each was an All-Marine champion. I think Foster was also an All-Service champion.

If memory serves, both began boxing just up the road from Roger at Camp Pendleton.

Both Norton and Foster were in the Marines and I recall when Ken was their best heavyweight, but he'd already turned pro in 1969. Mac Foster became my stablemate briefly in 1971, when he joined the Johnnie Flores stable. What a great guy he was, and a big puncher, for certain. I remember he and I were both being trained for Johnnie Flores by Dwight Hawkins. Richie Sue had also joined our stable.

I remember sitting next to Foster on the table inside our dressing room at the Main Street Gym. I asked him about the bullet would scars on his legs, from Viet Nam. Foster told me that his unit had gotten caught in an ambush and he was shot several times in the leg. He was lucky to walk again after being wounded, but he healed up Ok and would go on to serve two tours. I didn't ask about his boxing in the Corps. I know the Marines didn't have as much funding for their boxing program as did other branches of the service. At the time, he had won almost all of his pro bouts by KO, having lost only to my former Flores' stablemate, Jerry Quarry.


-Rick Farris

Rick Farris wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Tony Valle, Rory Calhoun & Tony Baltazar

Rick...This picture I shot in the early 1970s at a show at some park in the S.F. Valley, by any chance were you there?

Tony Valle boxed for the Resurrection Gym

Frank . . . I had already turned pro by then and didn't attend many amateur bouts. However, occasionally I'd stop by a junior tournament, and even refereed a Jr. GG's bout at the Olympic in 1971. I didn't know the other boy in the photo, but I remember when Tony was that age. I wouldn't see any of the juniors for awhile, and when I did, I'd see they were growing up. I want to ask you about Rory Calhoun. Did he live in the area? I remember him from his Friday Night Fights on national TV when I was very young.


-Rick Farris

Rick...That was the one and only time I met Rory Calhoun, I too just knew him for his tv fights and from some movies that he worked on.

Gwen Adair & Mando Muniz

Frankie Baltazar at the Olympic

Sloan and Scattergun
Gave Igoe Big Chance
By HYPE IGOE.
NEW YORK, Dec. 25—(INS)—
Tod Sloan died and one of the milestones in
my life crumbled!
When he was clucking his way over the turf on English race
courses, making our own riding stars see red with his wizardry
he saddle, I was holding down a modest berth as an artist on the
San Francisco Examiner. The city by the "Golden Gate' I
woke up one morning to find that the great Tod Sloan had arrived
from New York, fresh from his saddle and social triumphs in England
Jack Doyle tells me that the tiny jockey had a cool $1,110,000 at that
time, well over 30 years ago. That he was "up in the chips" was quite
evident for he had chartered a private car with Its chefs, waiters,
barber, cocktail mixer, all attached to the overland filer.
No single individual ever crossed this continent In greater splendor,
'the trunks, the shoe chests, the hat boxcs, the swagger sticks Western
gay-dogs little dreamed that one man could surround himself with
such royal what-nots.

Sloan told the 20 or more interviewers that he was pleasure bent
only and that one of his reasons for comlng was to enter a live-pigeon
shoot, before the traps, at the fashoniable Ingleside gun club.
Tod had swept everything before him at trap shooting In England
and Monte Carlo and his guns, the most expensive makes in the world,
were as numerous as his walking stcks.
His "armory men," and there were two of them, did nothing but give care
to Tod's shotguns when he wasn't at the traps. •
They danced lavish attendance upon him. Always, Sloan's career had fasinatcd
me. He seemed to be riding skyrockets In my youthful Imagination.
I sat at my drawing table ink rcindering If the day would come
when I'd see him ride.

Suddenly an office boy broke in upon my dreaming. "Managing editor wants to see
you." he said with a snap. The managing editor was Andre
Lawrence. What had I done now' Was it the gate?
Andy Lawrence had a pugnacious jaw which would have carried him
far into Fistiana if ever he had taken up larruping instead of letters.
"Igoe." said Lawrence, "Tod Sloan Is going to join some of the
society bugs out at Ingleside in a
live pigeon shoot this afternoon. I want you to hop out there and do a
funny picture about it. It ought to be quite humorous."
That was all. but it seemed like doom—a sentence to the gallows
for me. I never had drawn a comic picture, a cartoon or a caricature
for publication In all my life. I fumbled around and got a sketch
pad. somehow. Without a word, I went out of thc art room, feeling In
my bones that I was leaving the beloved "den" forever.
I fancied that I was again in the old Mission strcct office, the day
that I had first gone to work. In a dream, It seemed, all came back.
I saw Davenport, Miss Partington, the genius of the pen and ink portraits; picturesque Nappcnbach, the German artist: Hayden Jones, poet of the pen; Jules Pages, who had had a painting hung In the French
salon; the gentle Joe Rafael, brother of Hynie the sportsman, and Frank
the fighter.

Again I saw handsome Wyatt Earp, then Andy Lawrence's bodyguard,
telling me stories of the bad. bad West, of his brothers and himself,
shooting It out with Bat Mastcrson and his brothers, until only
Bat and he remained. Those first days with Wee Willie
Britt on the staff, a daredevil reporter. Harrison Fisher, his superb
pen and Ink sketches. Joe Quail. the editor, ordering me
to the Baldwin hotel to "please ask
Mr. Swinnerton if he won't come
down to work!" "Swin" had married the Treadwell
girl of many millions and came to work only on invitation, wearing n
minstrelman's coat and a silk topper. This weird kaleidoscope still was
Whirling in my brain as I stepped out the car at its terminal and
walked toward the Ingleside shooting lodge.

The shotguns were booming as I rounded the clubhouse
portico. The first object which met my eyes was Tod Sloan, standing
in his place among the other crack shots, swinging a big double-barreled
shotgun Into line at fluttering pigons which seldom got far In
their frantic flights for freedom! Instantly Tod's shotgun loomed
up in tremendous contrast to the tiny man who was doing the shooting.
The barrels on that firing piece looked like the huge guns which
protrude from the turrets of a battleship. I began to laugh to myself.
"Gee, Hint's a funny picture. I'll make the barrels of the gun big and
tod Sloan a speck!" That was the thought which went
into the cartoon In the art room a few hours later. The gang laughed
at It. Could It be that good. "Take It down to Lawrence yourself
Hype," said Charley Tebs, the art director.
I went down the winding stairs and gingerly submitted my first cartoon.
Andy Lawrence laughed to split his side and I still think he
was kidding me. But that caricature
Tod Sloan was my first effort.
Years later, In Jack Doyle's billiard
parlor, Tod and I laughed over that cartoon.

Rick...Went to buy a couple of sandwichs for connie and I, and who do I run into? but Rudy "Porky" Acuna at the sandwich shop, we talk for a bit, he sends his best wishs to you.

boxer: Rudy Acuna

sex male
division welterweight
nationality United States
residence Los Angeles, California, United States

won 4 (KO 2) + lost 2 (KO 2) + drawn 1 = 7
rounds boxed 25 : KO% 28.57


1973-10-13 Javier Muniz 3-1-0
Forum, Inglewood, California, United States L KO 2

1973-09-28 Felix Jasso 2-5-0
San Diego, California, United States D PTS 6 6

1973-09-13 139 Claude Durden 134 0-0-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W KO 3

1973-08-31 Roberto Reyes 0-1-0
San Diego, California, United States W KO 2

1973-08-03 Manny Castillo 0-4-2
San Diego, California, United States W PTS 5 5

1973-05-17 142 Armando Cordova 135 1-1-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States L KO 3

1973-04-05 142 Jeff Lucas 146 2-3-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W PTS 4 4

This is my 3rd Max Schmeling. I painted over the other two. I'll stick with this one.

Golden attraction comes to an end
By Robert Morales, Boxing Columnist\
dailybreeze.com

It was 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, about three hours after Oscar De La Hoya announced his retirement from boxing. De La Hoya was playing host to an international conference call to discuss what had been an emotional decision that brought him to tears a couple of time at Nokia Theatre Plaza at L.A. Live.

De La Hoya won championships in a record six weight classes and set pay-per-view records. But that doesn't necessarily mean he was terrific in the ring, and it was inevitable that he would be asked what he would say to those who believe he was more of an attraction than a great fighter.

"I say, `Thank you. Thank you for always watching me. Thank you for making me an attraction. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for being there,"' DeLaHoya said. "I've had the opportunity to face many world champions and a lot of them I won. Some I lost.

"But my satisfaction is because at least I tried. I tried to accomplish the impossible and not too many do that. And so if people want to remember me as an attraction, then I'm glad I gave a lot of people a lot of entertainment."

The question was asked to DeLaHoya because, although he fought most of the best during his 17-year career, he had a losing record in the 11 fights against what most would consider elite competition. We're not counting De La Hoya's two victories over Julio Cesar Chavez, because Chavez was past his prime when he and De La Hoya tangled for the first time in June 1996.

In those 11 fights, he beat Rafael Ruelas, Genaro Hernandez, Pernell Whitaker, Ike Quartey and Fernando Vargas. Referring to Whitaker as an elite fighter is giving De La Hoya the benefit of the doubt because when they fought, Whitaker was 33 and a bit past his prime.

In the other six, De La Hoya lost to Felix Trinidad Jr., "Sugar" Shane Mosley twice, Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

Bob Arum, who promoted DeLaHoya for two-thirds of his career, said De La Hoya could have been much better.

"Oscar was a great attraction, the biggest attraction of his time and he was a very good fighter who fought all the competition that was around at the time," Arum said. "But he was never a great fighter. Later on in his career, when he wouldn't or couldn't push himself like a Manny Pacquiao does in training, he ended up losing fights that he should have won.

"I thought he won the Trinidad fight, but it never should have been that close. Same thing with the second Mosley fight. Should not have been that close. Once he established himself and once he was a big box-office draw, he was unable or unwilling to push himself to the next step to achieve true greatness."

But it doesn't change what DeLaHoya did for boxing after he turned pro in late 1992 after winning the gold medal in the Barcelona Games.

And with De La Hoya having hung up his gloves, it's going to be interesting to see what kind of an effect his absence will have on the business of boxing.

De La Hoya was the one fighter who, regardless of his opponent, always fared tremendously on pay-per-view. His fight with Ricardo Mayorga did nearly a million buys. The inside joke in boxing circles was that DeLa Hoya could fight his sister and get a million buys.

Well, Arum thinks Pacquiao, whom he promotes, is the fighter who can pick up the slack. He does have a huge following among his fanatical Filipino fans. But he never came close to a million pay-per-view buys until he fought De La Hoya last December, in a fight that reached 1.3 million buys.

Still, Arum said he is hopeful that Pacquiao can surpass what De La Hoya has done in this regard.

"CNN is doing an hour show on him," Arum said of Pacquiao, who May 2 will fight Ricky Hatton at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. "It shows he has really achieved a status beyond boxing and beyond sports.

"And look what he has done in the Philippines. There is a whole rebirth in boxing."

Arum, who spoke by telephone Wednesday, hopped aboard a plane the next day to the Philippines, where he is promoting a pay-per-view card tonight that will feature Filipino Nonito Donaire defending his flyweight title against Raul Martinez of San Antonio in the same Araneta Arena that played host to "The Thrilla in Manila" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975.

Arum said he is expecting a bigger crowd for Saturday's card than there was for Ali-Frazier.

"And it's all because of Manny," Arum said.

Good for Manny. But while we are looking ahead to what might be, let's not forget what was. DeLaHoya gave boxing an injection of popularity that has never been seen before. His 14.1 million pay-per-view buys that generated $696 million in revenue is proof.

His buddy, actor/comedian George Lopez, is hopeful that no one will ever try to put down what the Golden Boy meant to the world of prize-fighting.

"You can't put a punch-count on heart and Oscar has been all heart," Lopez said. "I'm proud to call him my friend and I'm prouder that a guy from East L.A., who came from nothing made a place for himself that will not be surpassed."

Gold-medalist Ward to face test in his back yard

After posting an 18-0 record with 12 knockouts against mediocre competition, Andre Ward is going to face his first real test May 16 when he takes on hard-hitting Edison Miranda in the super middleweight main event in Oakland.

Showtime will televise from Oracle Arena.

It will also mark the first time that Ward, America's only gold-medal winner in the 2004 Olympic Games, will fight in his back yard.

"I've wanted to fight in my hometown for a long time," said Ward, who fights under the Goossen Tutor Promotions banner. "After my last fight (in Lemoore), I said I wanted the next one to be in Oakland, and it is.

"It will be exciting for me finally to be able to fight in front of my friends, family and Bay Area fans. For the longest time, people would ask me why I wasn't fighting in my hometown. But now I am."

Miranda (32-3, 28 KOs), a former top middleweight contender, said Ward and his promoter, Dan Goossen, have bitten off more than they can chew.

"The fight will only go up to the 10th round and that's because that is when I am going to knock Andre Ward out," Miranda said Tuesday. "Andre Ward has never been in the ring with a fighter like me - he hasn't fought anyone talented. If there is one thing that you notice about Andre's fights, he's always running.

"Andre doesn't have the heart of a champion. He is holding onto his one achievement, the Olympic gold medal, but that is all he will ever achieve. I feel sorry for Dan Goossen to have invested so much money in such an untalented fighter."

Ward and Goossen were at a news conference in Oakland. They listened as Miranda called into the news conference and voiced his disparaging remarks through a speaker phone.

"Miranda can say anything he wants right now and I am not going to react," Ward said. "But you can bet that I will retaliate in the ring on May 16."