BoxRec

California boxing regulators gave free fight tickets to friends, records show

By law, Athletic Commission members are required to report gifts worth $50 or more obtained from an outside firm for anyone else. Only a fraction of the tickets were disclosed before The Times asked.

By Michael Rothfeld

September 18, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento - State officials who regulate boxing have used their positions to gain admission to big-ticket events for friends -- actor Sylvester Stallone among them -- relatives and other associates who sit ringside for free, records show.

One member of the California State Athletic Commission directed state employees to obtain free passes for his wife and pastor. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appointed all but one of the commissioners, attended an event gratis, as did one of his high-ranking aides.

At some fights, guests were placed in VIP rows, in front of fans whose tickets cost hundreds of dollars apiece. Schwarzenegger and his son sat with Stallone at the Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley welterweight championship bout in January. Tickets to that fight cost up to $300.

Commissioners themselves receive free entry because of their jobs. But Timothy Lueckenhoff, president of the Assn. of Boxing Commissions, a national organization, said asking promoters to admit guests lends the appearance that officials are abusing their regulatory power for personal benefit. The commission can "hold over their head" the ability to approve promoters' fights, license athletes, collect fees and state taxes on ticket sales and pay out winnings, he said.

"It's the appearance of inappropriate activity," Lueckenhoff said. Panel members' acceptance of promoters' largess could suggest that the businesses "are buying some sort of favoritism," he said.

State law requires that commissioners report as gifts anything worth $50 or more obtained from an outside company for anyone else, including friends and relatives. They are required to report their own free admission as well if they do not perform a function related to their jobs while at the event.

But only a fraction of the free entries were disclosed until The Times asked about them. One commissioner did not request admission regularly, the state records show. None responded to requests for comment.

Dave Thornton, the commission's acting executive officer, said that board members were in the process of amending their disclosures before The Times requested the records, and that his predecessor had told them that free admission for guests was "a routine perk of their position."

The revelations are another blow for the commission's parent agency, the California Department of Consumer Affairs, and for Schwarzenegger. He has pledged to make state government more efficient and to impose strict ethical standards, such as a ban he imposed three years ago on gifts to his aides.

Schwarzenegger recently overhauled the state board that monitors registered nurses after The Times and the nonprofit news group ProPublica disclosed major enforcement delays. Before that, the consumer protection agency's director and her boss quit in scandals over taxpayer-funded trips and illegal speaking fees.

On Thursday, as The Times was preparing to publish information on the free admissions, Schwarzenegger sent a letter to the commissioners reiterating that "appointees do not accept gifts" and directing them to follow his policy or resign.

The governor "continues to take aggressive steps to oversee these boards and commissions," Schwarzenegger's spokesman, Matt David, said after the letter went out.

On Aug. 6, Schwarzenegger paid the promoter $180 toward the $600 cost of the fight he attended Jan. 24 with his son, so as not to exceed the state gift limit of $420, David said, and John Cruz, Schwarzenegger's appointments secretary, was planning a similar payment. Such payments are supposed to be made within 30 days under state law.

The 80-year-old athletic commission is responsible for licensing fighters and promoters, safeguarding athletes' health and safety and managing a pension fund for boxers. Its inspectors, referees and other workers travel across California overseeing huge championship bouts, niche shows put on by promoters like Chaos in the Cage and events for select audiences at places such as the Playboy mansion.

The commissioners -- who work part time, earn $100 a day and usually meet monthly -- are Chairman Timothy Noonan, an insurance executive from Los Angeles; Mario Rodriguez, the commission's vice chairman and a business consultant from San Clemente; Howard Rose, a Beverly Hills talent agent; Peter Lopez, an L.A. entertainment lawyer; John Frierson, a former Los Angeles County deputy sheriff; Christopher Giza, a pediatric neurologist from Culver City; and June Collison, a healthcare executive from Etiwanda and a former Olympic runner.

The athletic commission keeps no formal record of the people for whom it obtains access to events that it regulates. In response to a request by The Times in late July, the panel printed a stack of e-mails between commissioners and staff discussing arrangements for events.

Those records, though an incomplete accounting, showed that in the last year and a half the agency obtained free admission for more than 50 people who did not work for the commission. Lists of guests who received access to events contained names of people not employed by the state, with no explanation of why they received admission.

Noonan has obtained credentials for at least four events for Stallone, a friend who spent time in the ring in the "Rocky" films. Noonan once gave his own credential to someone else, the records show, and assigned Armando Garcia, then the commission's top-ranking administrator, to make sure that guest and another person got in smoothly.

"Armando is planning on seeing you & Jeff this Saturday night at the Home Depot Center," Noonan wrote in an e-mail last year to one of those guests, Don Johnson [not the "Miami Vice" star]. "There will be a credential under your name, and because of my absence, Jeff is to use my credential. . . . Enjoy!"

Frierson obtained credentials for his pastor for one fight and invited a guest from New Jersey. He regularly placed his wife, Susie, on the free-entry list along with state employees.

Rodriguez has been granted free admission for at least 20 guests, including Schwarzenegger aide Cruz, since the beginning of 2008. In January, Rodriguez and Noonan attended the Margarito-Mosley fight with guests in L.A. on the same night they obtained admission for others to another show in Anaheim, former commission officials said.

Only Collison did not regularly seek free admissions, according to the records.

Before a weekend of three matches in January, William Douglas, the assistant executive officer, sent out a mass e-mail with a chart that commissioners could use to check their desired events and the number of guests they wanted. They requested at least 18 credentials that weekend.

"You assume that because it is a state agency and it is a regulatory agency that they're not taking advantage," said David Itskowitch, chief operating officer of Golden Boy Promotions, which has sponsored several major fights in the last two years.

Most of the free admissions still have not been reported to the Fair Political Practices Commission, the state's ethics enforcement agency.

In early August, after The Times requested information about their guests, Rodriguez, Rose, Lopez and Giza amended the disclosures they had filed earlier in the year to include gifts not previously reported. The revised filings said promoters gave them free tickets to events including a $600-a-head fight on May 3, 2008, between Oscar De La Hoya and Steve Forbes, and the Margarito-Mosley event.

Rodriguez, Rose and Lopez cut checks for hundreds of dollars to Golden Boy Promotions, one of the sponsors of those events, because the value of the tickets exceeded the state's annual gift limit from a single source, which was $390 last year and rose to $420 on Jan. 1. Noonan had done the same earlier in July as the state Senate was reviewing his reappointment by the governor, which is still pending.

In some cases those payments were made more than a year after the fight, despite the 30-day requirement.

[email protected]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9qHRwQCLDE

Blue Tango

Leroy Anderson

THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Listening to this song reminds me when I was a little boy living in Chicago. Visiting my aunt in the suburbs. She lived in a house that looked like a gingerbread house. I'd play with my cousins. The town she lived in was small. It was far away from the energy in the Southwest Side of Chicago. Lots of Poles and Bohemians lived in Riverside,the town my aunt lived in. I went to the Catholic school there for a while. St. Mary's. About 10 years ago I went back to Riverside. All my relatives were gone. I visited the park and saw my aunt's old house and St. Mary's. It was in the middle of summer. It was very hot. Riverside is a small town. I saw no one walking in the street. It was like Riverside was waiting for my return and didn't want to disturb me with any people to be seen. Like a doll house without the dolls. Go and visit. Roam around. We know that you're not going to stay long,but let the memories come back.

When I went to see my aunt's house , the gingerbread house ,I pressed my face against the outside wall . The brownstone was warm from the summer heat. I remebered my youth spent in Riverside visiting my cousins. That's where I heard the song Blue Tango.

State boxing panel has a poor record

The California State Athletic Commission has a history of poor record-keeping, faulty revenue collection and a harassment claim.

By Michael Rothfeld

September 18, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento - The California State Athletic Commission, one of many consumer-protection boards, is responsible for ensuring the safety of athletes in boxing and mixed martial arts by licensing them and event promoters, among other tasks.

But records from the state and the boxing industry reveal a pattern of poor performance by a board that has had trouble following its own rules.

An internal audit in late 2003, around the time Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took office, found sloppy record-keeping, inaccurate revenue collection, outdated technology and staffing shortages. Such problems prompted state lawmakers to let the commission's authority lapse for six months in 2006 before it was launched again in 2007.

Since then the situation has not improved, follow-up state audits show.

Armando Garcia, the executive officer brought in to turn the commission around, was ousted late last year after a sexual harassment complaint by a subordinate. He has not been permanently replaced.

Garcia wrote the subordinate numerous e-mails, obtained by The Times under California's public records law, which he signed with messages such as "Loving you" in English and Spanish. In April, the panel and its parent agency, the state Department of Consumer Affairs, settled the complaint for $75,000.

The commission acknowledged a regulatory failure in March after a mixed martial arts fighter was allowed to compete even though he had hepatitis C and didn't have the required HIV test result on file.

Records from a national registry, Fight Fax, indicate that others have been permitted to compete this year while on suspension -- pending, for instance, medical tests -- or without an identification card required under federal law.

Dave Thornton, the commission's acting executive officer, said that in most cases, the agency had not updated the registry for months but the fighters were appropriately allowed to compete; in two cases, they competed while on suspension. Thornton said the agency was working to address its "occasional" regulatory errors and long-standing administrative problems. "I think we've made quite a bit of progress," he said. "It's gone on for a while, so we do need some time to make it right."

[email protected]

Rick Farris wrote:

kikibalt wrote:

Bob Foster vs Mike Quarry
June 27, 1972
Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Beginning of the End . . .

After 35 consecutive wins, Mike Quarry got a title shot with Bob Foster. We all knew he was in way over his head.
After three rounds of Quarry retreating, bouncing out of the champion's range, Bob Foster began to connect and knocked him out cold at the end of the 4th round.
There were tense moments in the ring, Quarry was unconcious a long time.
In the dressing room, his brother Jerry was warming up for the main event , in which he would face Muhammad Ali for the second time.
When Jerry recieved word that Mike was laying unconcious in the ring, he forgot all about his match with Ali.

I talked with Mike a few weeks later at the Main Street Gym. He seemed different to me, I'd known him about ten years, he was just different.
Like brother Jerry, he would continue on well past his best years, and when I saw him in 1983, a few months after his last fight, he was very "foggy".
Mike was always energetic and sharp, I could see he was walking on his heels. Jerry was with him that day, and still appeared to be mentally sound.

Bob Foster took something out of Mike Quarry that night. The KO shot that flattened Mike, proved to be the beginning of the end.
There was obvious brain damage after the Bob Foster match, however, Mike Quarry would continue boxing for another ten years, nearly fifty more fights and hundreds of blows to the head.
It wasn't a good night for the Quarry's. Brother Jerry would be stopped a second time by Ali after Mike's KO loss.

Today, in a world where people's lives are extending closer to the three digit mark, both Jerry and Mike Quarry are gone. Casualties of professional boxing.
The most important thing for a professional boxer is knowing when to hang 'em up. This is one fact of prizefighting that will never change.

Foster vs. Quarry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yKBbavHCz4


-Rick Farris

Different perspectives. Unlike you, Rick, I only met Mike Quarry one time - in 1975 after he decisioned my friend Kelly Burden (Brian Kelly) in Oklahoma City. Mike and I spent about 30 minutes together when he was getting changed following the fight. I don't remember what we talked about exactly, except it wasn't boxing and I'm pretty sure we talked about girls. (I(f memory serves, he was fighting out of Flordia at that time, and we talked about the difference between California and Florida girls - typical conversation between two twenty-something guys.) He told me to call him if I ever made it out to LA, and we would hang out. A very friendly guy. And I would have called him had I ever come out to LA. I really liked the guy. I am surprised that among his friends he was already thought to be showing signs of dementia. During our brief time together, he seemed sharp and alert.

dagosd2000 wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9qHRwQCLDE

Blue Tango

Leroy Anderson

THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Listening to this song reminds me when I was a little boy living in Chicago. Visiting my aunt in the suburbs. She lived in a house that looked like a gingerbread house. I'd play with my cousins. The town she lived in was small. It was far away from the energy in the Southwest Side of Chicago. Lots of Poles and Bohemians lived in Riverside,the town my aunt lived in. I went to the Catholic school there for a while. St. Mary's. About 10 years ago I went back to Riverside. All my relatives were gone. I visited the park and saw my aunt's old house and St. Mary's. It was in the middle of summer. It was very hot. Riverside is a small town. I saw no one walking in the street. It was like Riverside was waiting for my return and didn't want to disturb me with any people to be seen. Like a doll house without the dolls. Go and visit. Roam around. We know that you're not going to stay long,but let the memories come back.

When I went to see my aunt's house , the gingerbread house ,I pressed my face against the outside wall . The brownstone was warm from the summer heat. I remebered my youth spent in Riverside visiting my cousins. That's where I heard the song Blue Tango.

Rog, my cousin lives in Riverside.
Right off Harlem Ave. His Dad is my Uncle John.

Expug wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9qHRwQCLDE

Blue Tango

Leroy Anderson

THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Listening to this song reminds me when I was a little boy living in Chicago. Visiting my aunt in the suburbs. She lived in a house that looked like a gingerbread house. I'd play with my cousins. The town she lived in was small. It was far away from the energy in the Southwest Side of Chicago. Lots of Poles and Bohemians lived in Riverside,the town my aunt lived in. I went to the Catholic school there for a while. St. Mary's. About 10 years ago I went back to Riverside. All my relatives were gone. I visited the park and saw my aunt's old house and St. Mary's. It was in the middle of summer. It was very hot. Riverside is a small town. I saw no one walking in the street. It was like Riverside was waiting for my return and didn't want to disturb me with any people to be seen. Like a doll house without the dolls. Go and visit. Roam around. We know that you're not going to stay long,but let the memories come back.

When I went to see my aunt's house , the gingerbread house ,I pressed my face against the outside wall . The brownstone was warm from the summer heat. I remebered my youth spent in Riverside visiting my cousins. That's where I heard the song Blue Tango.

Rog, my cousin lives in Riverside.
Right off Harlem Ave. His Dad is my Uncle John.

Brian
I lived at the corner of 3150 Harlem Ave. for a while.Building is still there as far as I know.

Rog, I think my cousin lives right near there.
I cant remember the name of the street that you turn off Harlem. Its just west of Harlem though.
Still a nice area over there.

"Toy Tiger" . . .

Canadian Film Maker, Brad Little, has just released a documentary on former featherweight contender, Art Hafey.
The film will premier at the "El Portal Theatre" in North Hollywood on Oct. 3rd.


-Rick Farris

raylawpc wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:

kikibalt wrote:

Bob Foster vs Mike Quarry
June 27, 1972
Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Beginning of the End . . .

After 35 consecutive wins, Mike Quarry got a title shot with Bob Foster. We all knew he was in way over his head.
After three rounds of Quarry retreating, bouncing out of the champion's range, Bob Foster began to connect and knocked him out cold at the end of the 4th round.
There were tense moments in the ring, Quarry was unconcious a long time.
In the dressing room, his brother Jerry was warming up for the main event , in which he would face Muhammad Ali for the second time.
When Jerry recieved word that Mike was laying unconcious in the ring, he forgot all about his match with Ali.

I talked with Mike a few weeks later at the Main Street Gym. He seemed different to me, I'd known him about ten years, he was just different.
Like brother Jerry, he would continue on well past his best years, and when I saw him in 1983, a few months after his last fight, he was very "foggy".
Mike was always energetic and sharp, I could see he was walking on his heels. Jerry was with him that day, and still appeared to be mentally sound.

Bob Foster took something out of Mike Quarry that night. The KO shot that flattened Mike, proved to be the beginning of the end.
There was obvious brain damage after the Bob Foster match, however, Mike Quarry would continue boxing for another ten years, nearly fifty more fights and hundreds of blows to the head.
It wasn't a good night for the Quarry's. Brother Jerry would be stopped a second time by Ali after Mike's KO loss.

Today, in a world where people's lives are extending closer to the three digit mark, both Jerry and Mike Quarry are gone. Casualties of professional boxing.
The most important thing for a professional boxer is knowing when to hang 'em up. This is one fact of prizefighting that will never change.

Foster vs. Quarry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yKBbavHCz4


-Rick Farris

Different perspectives. Unlike you, Rick, I only met Mike Quarry one time - in 1975 after he decisioned my friend Kelly Burden (Brian Kelly) in Oklahoma City. Mike and I spent about 30 minutes together when he was getting changed following the fight. I don't remember what we talked about exactly, except it wasn't boxing and I'm pretty sure we talked about girls. (I(f memory serves, he was fighting out of Flordia at that time, and we talked about the difference between California and Florida girls - typical conversation between two twenty-something guys.) He told me to call him if I ever made it out to LA, and we would hang out. A very friendly guy. And I would have called him had I ever come out to LA. I really liked the guy. I am surprised that among his friends he was already thought to be showing signs of dementia. During our brief time together, he seemed sharp and alert.

Tom . . . I didn't notice that Mike had dementia until our last visit shortly after he retired, and his condition had advanced well beyond Jerry's.
However, in reference to Mike's condition immediatly following the Foster fight, as I said, "He seemed different."

I met Mike in 1965. Although I was with the Johnny Flores stable with his brother Jerry, Mike fought out of a different club.
Frank will remember him competing in the Jr. GG's program thru 1967, he got his amateur license in 1968, I got mine in 1969.
We were both members of the '69 Los Angeles GG's team that traveled to Kansas City for the Nationals.
Although Jerry & I were stablemates, I was closer to Mike, as we were closer in age.
Mike was a good guy and a lot of fun. He was easier going than Jerry, who would beat his younger, smaller brother up in the gym regularly.

Mike's "Stick & move" style was a result of his workouts with Jerry. He had to move to save his life when in the ring with his brother.
As you know, Dementia is a progressive condition. Mike was not walking on his heels after the Foster KO, but when I last saw him in 1983, he was.

A funny Mike Quarry story relates to his bout with Ray "Windmill" White, the "Clown Prince" of boxing at the time.
A week after Mike took a close decision over the unorthodox Windmill, I asked him if Ray White had a punch?
Quarry shook his head and said, "Hell no. The only time he hurt me was when he bit my shoulder in a clinch."


-Rick Farris

Expug wrote:Rog, I think my cousin lives right near there.
I cant remember the name of the street that you turn off Harlem. Its just west of Harlem though.
Still a nice area over there.

Brian
The apartment building was on the corner of Harlem Ave. and Addison Bl.Yeah,it was still nice when I was back there last.

“Popo” Freitas Investigated for Murder
September 18, 2009 by Felipe Leon

It seems more than likely that the four time world champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas will be investigated by the Brazilian authorities for his involvement in the murder of a man that was dating his 17-year-old niece.

The authorities confirmed that they had received some riveting information from witnesses that revealed that allegedly Freitas had ordered the murder of a man dating his underage niece, a relantionship that the former world champion did not approve of.

The local police did state that Freitas was not accussed of any crime but that they were merely interested in taking in his statement regarding the homicide. Freitas’ PR firm released a statement yesterday which declared that Freitas was in no shape or form involved in the untimely death of the man.

The hard hitting Freitas captured two super featherweight titles as well as two lightweight titles before announcing his retirement some years ago.

Rick Farris wrote:

raylawpc wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:
The Beginning of the End . . .

After 35 consecutive wins, Mike Quarry got a title shot with Bob Foster. We all knew he was in way over his head.
After three rounds of Quarry retreating, bouncing out of the champion's range, Bob Foster began to connect and knocked him out cold at the end of the 4th round.
There were tense moments in the ring, Quarry was unconcious a long time.
In the dressing room, his brother Jerry was warming up for the main event , in which he would face Muhammad Ali for the second time.
When Jerry recieved word that Mike was laying unconcious in the ring, he forgot all about his match with Ali.

I talked with Mike a few weeks later at the Main Street Gym. He seemed different to me, I'd known him about ten years, he was just different.
Like brother Jerry, he would continue on well past his best years, and when I saw him in 1983, a few months after his last fight, he was very "foggy".
Mike was always energetic and sharp, I could see he was walking on his heels. Jerry was with him that day, and still appeared to be mentally sound.

Bob Foster took something out of Mike Quarry that night. The KO shot that flattened Mike, proved to be the beginning of the end.
There was obvious brain damage after the Bob Foster match, however, Mike Quarry would continue boxing for another ten years, nearly fifty more fights and hundreds of blows to the head.
It wasn't a good night for the Quarry's. Brother Jerry would be stopped a second time by Ali after Mike's KO loss.

Today, in a world where people's lives are extending closer to the three digit mark, both Jerry and Mike Quarry are gone. Casualties of professional boxing.
The most important thing for a professional boxer is knowing when to hang 'em up. This is one fact of prizefighting that will never change.

Foster vs. Quarry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yKBbavHCz4


-Rick Farris

Different perspectives. Unlike you, Rick, I only met Mike Quarry one time - in 1975 after he decisioned my friend Kelly Burden (Brian Kelly) in Oklahoma City. Mike and I spent about 30 minutes together when he was getting changed following the fight. I don't remember what we talked about exactly, except it wasn't boxing and I'm pretty sure we talked about girls. (I(f memory serves, he was fighting out of Flordia at that time, and we talked about the difference between California and Florida girls - typical conversation between two twenty-something guys.) He told me to call him if I ever made it out to LA, and we would hang out. A very friendly guy. And I would have called him had I ever come out to LA. I really liked the guy. I am surprised that among his friends he was already thought to be showing signs of dementia. During our brief time together, he seemed sharp and alert.

Tom . . . I didn't notice that Mike had dementia until our last visit shortly after he retired, and his condition had advanced well beyond Jerry's.
However, in reference to Mike's condition immediatly following the Foster fight, as I said, "He seemed different."

I met Mike in 1965. Although I was with the Johnny Flores stable with his brother Jerry, Mike fought out of a different club.
Frank will remember him competing in the Jr. GG's program thru 1967, he got his amateur license in 1968, I got mine in 1969.
We were both members of the '69 Los Angeles GG's team that traveled to Kansas City for the Nationals.
Although Jerry & I were stablemates, I was closer to Mike, as we were closer in age.
Mike was a good guy and a lot of fun. He was easier going than Jerry, who would beat his younger, smaller brother up in the gym regularly.

Mike's "Stick & move" style was a result of his workouts with Jerry. He had to move to save his life when in the ring with his brother.
As you know, Dementia is a progressive condition. Mike was not walking on his heels after the Foster KO, but when I last saw him in 1983, he was.

A funny Mike Quarry story relates to his bout with Ray "Windmill" White, the "Clown Prince" of boxing at the time.
A week after Mike took a close decision over the unorthodox Windmill, I asked him if Ray White had a punch?
Quarry shook his head and said, "Hell no. The only time he hurt me was when he bit my shoulder in a clinch."


-Rick Farris

My point was the difference of perspective between one who met him once and somebody who knew him over a longer period of time. I wasn't arguing with you, and I hope you didn't think that I was.

My chance meeting with Mike has become an interesting memory for me because, normally, I never spent much time with my guy's opponent. Normally, my contact with Mike would have been minimal. For the life of me, I can't remember why I was in Mike's dressing room after the fight and talked to him for as long as I did. I would normally have been with Kelly.

That said, I am glad it worked out that way, and that I got to know Mike a bit. Alot of people will say, "If you are ever in . . . ., give me a call," and, of course, you normally don't. But I would have tried to call Mike Quarry had I ever made it out to LA. I liked him a lot, and I was saddened by his illness and death.

Tom . . . I didn't notice that Mike had dementia until our last visit shortly after he retired, and his condition had advanced well beyond Jerry's.
However, in reference to Mike's condition immediatly following the Foster fight, as I said, "He seemed different."

I met Mike in 1965. Although I was with the Johnny Flores stable with his brother Jerry, Mike fought out of a different club.
Frank will remember him competing in the Jr. GG's program thru 1967, he got his amateur license in 1968, I got mine in 1969.
We were both members of the '69 Los Angeles GG's team that traveled to Kansas City for the Nationals.
Although Jerry & I were stablemates, I was closer to Mike, as we were closer in age.
Mike was a good guy and a lot of fun. He was easier going than Jerry, who would beat his younger, smaller brother up in the gym regularly.

Mike's "Stick & move" style was a result of his workouts with Jerry. He had to move to save his life when in the ring with his brother.
As you know, Dementia is a progressive condition. Mike was not walking on his heels after the Foster KO, but when I last saw him in 1983, he was.

A funny Mike Quarry story relates to his bout with Ray "Windmill" White, the "Clown Prince" of boxing at the time.
A week after Mike took a close decision over the unorthodox Windmill, I asked him if Ray White had a punch?
Quarry shook his head and said, "Hell no. The only time he hurt me was when he bit my shoulder in a clinch."


-Rick Farris[/quote]

My point was the difference of perspective between one who met him once and somebody who knew him over a longer period of time. I wasn't arguing with you, and I hope you didn't think that I was.

My chance meeting with Mike has become an interesting memory for me because, normally, I never spent much time with my guy's opponent. Normally, my contact with Mike would have been minimal. For the life of me, I can't remember why I was in Mike's dressing room after the fight and talked to him for as long as I did. I would normally have been with Kelly.

That said, I am glad it worked out that way, and that I got to know Mike a bit. Alot of people will say, "If you are ever in . . . ., give me a call," and, of course, you normally don't. But I would have tried to call Mike Quarry had I ever made it out to LA. I liked him a lot, and I was saddened by his illness and death.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Tom . . . I understood what you were saying, and I wanted to point out that Mike's transformation was slow, as in most cases, but I believe it began with this fight.
Although Mike had never been knocked down in a bout prior to this one, he had hit the canvas in the gym when trading with brother Jerry on several occasions.
Jerry was moody and and mean, two good qualities in his case. I watched Jerry upend Ken Norton, and a number of sparring partners over the years.
I also saw Jerry drop to a knee himself, after taking a hook to the body from Eddie "Bossman" Jones.
Before the first Frazier fight, my best friend was Jerry's sparring partner at Grossinger's. He was only 18, but luckily survived Jerry's power to the end.
Other's weren't so lucky. Jerry was breaking ribs and KOing most of the hired help. Besides my friend, Kit Boursse', Charlie "Emperor" Harris was another lucky survivor.
Boursse' told me that Harris fought Jerry hard as Frazier would, and gave Quarry is best work in camp.
He also told me after one of the workouts, Jerry made a comment about Harris, a racial slight, and the workouts really heated up.
Charlie Harris became a "fighting partner" and Jerry really laid it on him in the final days of camp.



-Rick Farris

Rick Farris wrote:Tom . . . I understood what you were saying, and I wanted to point out that Mike's transformation was slow, as in most cases, but I believe it began with this fight.
Although Mike had never been knocked down in a bout prior to this one, he had hit the canvas in the gym when trading with brother Jerry on several occasions.
Jerry was moody and and mean, two good qualities in his case. I watched Jerry upend Ken Norton, and a number of sparring partners over the years.
I also saw Jerry drop to a knee himself, after taking a hook to the body from Eddie "Bossman" Jones.
Before the first Frazier fight, my best friend was Jerry's sparring partner at Grossinger's. He was only 18, but luckily survived Jerry's power to the end.
Other's weren't so lucky. Jerry was breaking ribs and KOing most of the hired help. Besides my friend, Kit Boursse', Charlie "Emperor" Harris was another lucky survivor.
Boursse' told me that Harris fought Jerry hard as Frazier would, and gave Quarry is best work in camp.
He also told me after one of the workouts, Jerry made a comment about Harris, a racial slight, and the workouts really heated up.
Charlie Harris became a "fighting partner" and Jerry really laid it on him in the final days of camp.

-Rick Farris

Last time I saw Mike Quarry was in the early 1980's at the Olympic gym on Hope St. behind the Olympic Aud. and he was walking on his heels, he reminded me of the last time I saw Billy Peacock at the Teamsters Gym, one step forward, two steps backward, so sad...

Rick Farris wrote:Tom . . . I didn't notice that Mike had dementia until our last visit shortly after he retired, and his condition had advanced well beyond Jerry's.
However, in reference to Mike's condition immediatly following the Foster fight, as I said, "He seemed different."

I met Mike in 1965. Although I was with the Johnny Flores stable with his brother Jerry, Mike fought out of a different club.
Frank will remember him competing in the Jr. GG's program thru 1967, he got his amateur license in 1968, I got mine in 1969.
We were both members of the '69 Los Angeles GG's team that traveled to Kansas City for the Nationals.
Although Jerry & I were stablemates, I was closer to Mike, as we were closer in age.
Mike was a good guy and a lot of fun. He was easier going than Jerry, who would beat his younger, smaller brother up in the gym regularly.

Mike's "Stick & move" style was a result of his workouts with Jerry. He had to move to save his life when in the ring with his brother.
As you know, Dementia is a progressive condition. Mike was not walking on his heels after the Foster KO, but when I last saw him in 1983, he was.

A funny Mike Quarry story relates to his bout with Ray "Windmill" White, the "Clown Prince" of boxing at the time.
A week after Mike took a close decision over the unorthodox Windmill, I asked him if Ray White had a punch?
Quarry shook his head and said, "Hell no. The only time he hurt me was when he bit my shoulder in a clinch."


-Rick Farris

My point was the difference of perspective between one who met him once and somebody who knew him over a longer period of time. I wasn't arguing with you, and I hope you didn't think that I was.

My chance meeting with Mike has become an interesting memory for me because, normally, I never spent much time with my guy's opponent. Normally, my contact with Mike would have been minimal. For the life of me, I can't remember why I was in Mike's dressing room after the fight and talked to him for as long as I did. I would normally have been with Kelly.

That said, I am glad it worked out that way, and that I got to know Mike a bit. Alot of people will say, "If you are ever in . . . ., give me a call," and, of course, you normally don't. But I would have tried to call Mike Quarry had I ever made it out to LA. I liked him a lot, and I was saddened by his illness and death.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Tom . . . I understood what you were saying, and I wanted to point out that Mike's transformation was slow, as in most cases, but I believe it began with this fight.
Although Mike had never been knocked down in a bout prior to this one, he had hit the canvas in the gym when trading with brother Jerry on several occasions.
Jerry was moody and and mean, two good qualities in his case. I watched Jerry upend Ken Norton, and a number of sparring partners over the years.
I also saw Jerry drop to a knee himself, after taking a hook to the body from Eddie "Bossman" Jones.
Before the first Frazier fight, my best friend was Jerry's sparring partner at Grossinger's. He was only 18, but luckily survived Jerry's power to the end.
Other's weren't so lucky. Jerry was breaking ribs and KOing most of the hired help. Besides my friend, Kit Boursse', Charlie "Emperor" Harris was another lucky survivor.
Boursse' told me that Harris fought Jerry hard as Frazier would, and gave Quarry is best work in camp.
He also told me after one of the workouts, Jerry made a comment about Harris, a racial slight, and the workouts really heated up.
Charlie Harris became a "fighting partner" and Jerry really laid it on him in the final days of camp.



-Rick Farris[/quote]

I've heard that about Quarry. Jack Dempsey was famously tough on sparring partners - even celebrity sparring partners. He knocked out a young sportswriter one time (I can't remember his name - but is account of his one round ko by the great Jack Dempsey is pretty hilarious. I'll see if I can find it and post it here.)

UFC 103, Mayweather-Marquez go head to head on Saturday

Mixed martial arts and boxing, both looking to draw as many fight fans as possible, have big shows on the same night.

From The Associated Press

September 18, 2009

LAS VEGAS -- For those who keep score on the business of sports, Saturday night's best fight isn't in a ring in Vegas or an octagon in Dallas.

It's in living rooms, movie theaters and even iPhones, where people across the continent must choose between the best in boxing and mixed martial arts.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez is happening on the same night as UFC 103, headlined by a bout between former champions Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort. The so-called "combat sports" rarely schedule major cards head-to-head, and this collision only occurred because of an injury to Mayweather that delayed his fight two months.

"I don't think going on the same night as boxing is a good thing," said UFC president Dana White, a longtime boxing fan who gleefully points out the sport's foibles. "When I was a kid, (Don) King and (Bob) Arum used to go head-to-head on pay-per-view all the time, and I hated it."

Yet for one night, there will be an extremely inexact way to measure the relative popularity of the two sports through pay-per-view buys.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who has relentlessly plugged Mayweather as boxing's pay-per-view king, is confident Mayweather-Marquez will outsell UFC 103, perhaps 2-to-1. White isn't so certain, and UFC's yearly pay-per-view numbers dwarf boxing's totals, largely because White believes the UFC puts on more big events with more entertaining fights.

"We don't have any problem with the UFC being on the same night, because our sport is strong," Golden Boy owner Oscar De La Hoya said. "We don't wish them any problems, but we have a great product in this main fight and in our sport in general. What happens (with pay-per-view buys) isn't going to change what we do. We do our thing, and they do theirs."

Mayweather has been quiet about this intersport matchup in recent days, but he rarely misses a chance to trash mixed martial artists as unimpressive athletes who couldn't handle the rigors and athleticism of boxing. White is only too happy to respond.

"People like to start this war between the UFC and boxing, but here's the reality: No matter what happens on Saturday night, boxing is in trouble," White said. "(MMA) continues to grow every year. We're up from where we were last year (even) in this horrible economy. This thing is getting bigger. It's not getting smaller."

And even most boxing promoters would have to agree the UFC seems to know more about how its young audience consumes media.

Some of UFC 103's preliminary bouts are available on regular cable television for the first time, hoping to entice viewers to the pay-per-view card. They also can be viewed on UFC.com, Yahoo! or an on-demand UFC cable outlet. A few particularly tech-savvy fans could even watch UFC 103 on their iPhones with a new app that will allow them to buy the card for $44.99. The 99-cent app also provides access to a small library of UFC content.

But boxing isn't sitting still, either.

While the UFC is all over the small screens, Mayweather and Golden Boy went to the big screens, putting the fight in 170 movie theaters on closed circuit around the country, with prices from $12.50 to $15. The promoters and HBO have spent $20 million promoting the bout, including an effort to raise awareness of the fight with Mayweather's fans through social networking sites.

Although both sports publicly downplay the importance of this head-to-head matchup, there are a few signs that both Golden Boy and the UFC care about the final pay-per-view score.

With the UFC showing some of its undercard fights for free on cable, Golden Boy compiled a surprisingly impressive undercard to HBO's pay-per-view broadcast, putting sometime headliners Zab Judah, Chris John and Michael Katsidis on the slate. Judah has dropped off the card, but John's WBA featherweight title bout with Rocky Juarez and the all-action Katsidis' meeting with Vicente Escobedo are two of the better fights on recent boxing pay-per-view cards.

White insists boxing's biggest flaw is evident in its biggest fight Saturday night, with Mayweather a heavy favorite against the tough but undersized Marquez. When UFC fans reacted lukewarmly to a proposed rematch between Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson for UFC 103, White swiftly replaced Henderson with Belfort.

"Nobody is asking to see this Marquez fight," White said. "They want to see the (Mayweather-Manny) Pacquiao fight. Marquez is too small. Maybe he can beat Floyd, but the reality is probably not. We're on the same night, but we'll see what happens Monday when they count up the pay-per-views."
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

Photo by Chris Cozzone



Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Maweather Jr fight this Saturday, September 19, 2009, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather is fighting for pound for pound supremacy and the money, and Marquez is looking, no doubt, to position himself for a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. Both are fighting for their legacy. I don't know what the odds are and I really don't care but Mayweather is the likely favorite.


I'll be pulling for Marquez to win. It's not like he doesn't have a good chance. He does. Considering he fought to a draw with Pacquiao in their first fight and lost by a split decision in the second fight, the difference between him and Paquiao is razor thin. Throw in the fact that many experts and sportswriters feel Marquez should have got the nod in both their fights and you have an indication just how good Marquez is.

Marquez has fought 55 times with 50 wins, with 37 KO's, 4 losses and 1 draw. He lost his professional debut against Javier Duran in Mexico City in 1993 and remained undefeated until he met Freddie Norwood in 1999 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, losing a 12 round decision. It was a big setback. His next loss came in 2006 against Chris John in Indonesia. The last loss came last year against Pacqiao.

Marquez, an excellent boxer and counter puncher with a heavy hand has shown a capacity to endure and to comeback. The fights against Pacquiao have shown us that Marquez can come back in a fight after being knocked down, when a loss almost seemed a foregone conclusion. In his fight with Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz earlier this year, Marquez again showed an ability to endure and overcome. Marquez is a fighter with heart. That and counter punching will be the key to his victory should he win.

The two close fights with Manny Pacquiao and his victory over fellow Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera have brought him out of the shadows of both Barrera and Erik Morales, proving himself to be one of Mexico's best and a great fighter by anyone's definition of the word.

Mayweather, with 39 wins and 25 KO's, on the other hand has been exceptional from the beginning. His speed and cat like agility have been nothing less than phenomenal. There is no loss on his record. He has posted victories over guys like Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus Chavez (twice), and Jose Louis Castillo, winning twice against Castillo, though the first fight was controversial the second fight removed any doubt. Mayweather continued his dominance with his victories over Arturo Gotti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, by 6th round stoppage.

Still, I think the time is ripe for a Marquez victory. I think that Marquez is one of those fighters that has come into his own and will find a way to win. In the HBO special 24/7 Marquez revealed that he drinks his own urine as part of his training process. While I wouldn't touch the stuff for a million dollars, (Okay, maybe for a million) any one that can drink his own piss, will stop at nothing to win. There is a certain mental toughness and a certain amount of craziness that Mayweather picked up on when he was watching the video. It was evident.

Most of the boxing world wants to see a Mayweather - Pacquiao fight. I don't. Well that would certainly be the money fight, I still want to see a conclusion to the Pacquiao - Marquez rivalry. If Paquiao can get past Miguel Cotto in their fight in November (no easy task), he'll have to fight Marquez. That's the fight I'm waiting for.

I won't make any prediction. I will say that I hope Marquez can pull it off. Marquez has emerged as one of the pound for pound best in recent years. He deserves the attention. A fighter with a big heart will always have my loyalty and no one fighting today has a bigger heart.

Below are the weights of all the fighters on the card courtesy of Fightnews.com and Andreas Hale & David L. Hudson

From the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for tomorrow night’s “Number One/Numero Uno” card promoted by Golden Boy Promotions & Mayweather Promotions, televised on HBO-PPV:

Floyd Mayweather 146 vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 142
Chris John 126 vs. Rocky Juarez 126
Michael Katsidis 135 vs. Vicente Escobedo 134
Orlando Cruz 126 vs. Cornelius Lock 125

Said Ouali 146 vs. Francisco Rios 148
Erislandy Lara 155 vs. Jose Varela 156
Jessie Vargas 140 vs. Raul Tovar 141
Dion Savage 167.5 vs. Loren Myers 167.5
Mike Perez 133 vs. Richard Ellis 133

Randyman wrote:Photo by Chris Cozzone



Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Maweather Jr fight this Saturday, September 19, 2009, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather is fighting for pound for pound supremacy and the money, and Marquez is looking, no doubt, to position himself for a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. Both are fighting for their legacy. I don't know what the odds are and I really don't care but Mayweather is the likely favorite.


I'll be pulling for Marquez to win. It's not like he doesn't have a good chance. He does. Considering he fought to a draw with Pacquiao in their first fight and lost by a split decision in the second fight, the difference between him and Paquiao is razor thin. Throw in the fact that many experts and sportswriters feel Marquez should have got the nod in both their fights and you have an indication just how good Marquez is.

Marquez has fought 55 times with 50 wins, with 37 KO's, 4 losses and 1 draw. He lost his professional debut against Javier Duran in Mexico City in 1993 and remained undefeated until he met Freddie Norwood in 1999 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, losing a 12 round decision. It was a big setback. His next loss came in 2006 against Chris John in Indonesia. The last loss came last year against Pacqiao.

Marquez, an excellent boxer and counter puncher with a heavy hand has shown a capacity to endure and to comeback. The fights against Pacquiao have shown us that Marquez can come back in a fight after being knocked down, when a loss almost seemed a foregone conclusion. In his fight with Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz earlier this year, Marquez again showed an ability to endure and overcome. Marquez is a fighter with heart. That and counter punching will be the key to his victory should he win.

The two close fights with Manny Pacquiao and his victory over fellow Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera have brought him out of the shadows of both Barrera and Erik Morales, proving himself to be one of Mexico's best and a great fighter by anyone's definition of the word.

Mayweather, with 39 wins and 25 KO's, on the other hand has been exceptional from the beginning. His speed and cat like agility have been nothing less than phenomenal. There is no loss on his record. He has posted victories over guys like Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus Chavez (twice), and Jose Louis Castillo, winning twice against Castillo, though the first fight was controversial the second fight removed any doubt. Mayweather continued his dominance with his victories over Arturo Gotti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, by 6th round stoppage.

Still, I think the time is ripe for a Marquez victory. I think that Marquez is one of those fighters that has come into his own and will find a way to win. In the HBO special 24/7 Marquez revealed that he drinks his own urine as part of his training process. While I wouldn't touch the stuff for a million dollars, (Okay, maybe for a million) any one that can drink his own piss, will stop at nothing to win. There is a certain mental toughness and a certain amount of craziness that Mayweather picked up on when he was watching the video. It was evident.

Most of the boxing world wants to see a Mayweather - Pacquiao fight. I don't. Well that would certainly be the money fight, I still want to see a conclusion to the Pacquiao - Marquez rivalry. If Paquiao can get past Miguel Cotto in their fight in November (no easy task), he'll have to fight Marquez. That's the fight I'm waiting for.

I won't make any prediction. I will say that I hope Marquez can pull it off. Marquez has emerged as one of the pound for pound best in recent years. He deserves the attention. A fighter with a big heart will always have my loyalty and no one fighting today has a bigger heart.

Below are the weights of all the fighters on the card courtesy of Fightnews.com and Andreas Hale & David L. Hudson

From the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for tomorrow night’s “Number One/Numero Uno” card promoted by Golden Boy Promotions & Mayweather Promotions, televised on HBO-PPV:

Floyd Mayweather 146 vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 142
Chris John 126 vs. Rocky Juarez 126
Michael Katsidis 135 vs. Vicente Escobedo 134
Orlando Cruz 126 vs. Cornelius Lock 125

Said Ouali 146 vs. Francisco Rios 148
Erislandy Lara 155 vs. Jose Varela 156
Jessie Vargas 140 vs. Raul Tovar 141
Dion Savage 167.5 vs. Loren Myers 167.5
Mike Perez 133 vs. Richard Ellis 133

Something to think about . . .

I know that Marquez is a heavy under dog and rightly so. However, Mayweather may be bigger naturally, but he will not be near the fastest or most active puncher that Marquez has faced.
Keep in mind, nobody has given Manny Pac as much trouble as Marquez.
In their two bouts, a draw and loss for Marquez, the MExican fighter actually won more rounds of their total 24 rounds boxed in those two fights.
Pac scored big in the first with three first round knockdowns. Marquez rose and dominated a close fight from that point.
Pac punches every bit as hard as Floyd, I believe, and throws more leather, and from odd angles, etc.
Mayweather has his mind on more than this fight, and it might be a big mistake. My pick is Floyd by decision. He's bigger, a legit champion, etc.
But I won't count out Marquez, he could score the upset of the year and suddenly find himself in the ring with Pac again?
This wouldn't be a bad thing. One less fight I have to watch Floyd's low class act. As special as Pac is, Marquez is his poison.

At 4-to-1 under, I might just lay a few quid on Marquez, just to make it interesting?


-Rick Farris

Rick Farris wrote:

Randyman wrote:Photo by Chris Cozzone



Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Maweather Jr fight this Saturday, September 19, 2009, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather is fighting for pound for pound supremacy and the money, and Marquez is looking, no doubt, to position himself for a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. Both are fighting for their legacy. I don't know what the odds are and I really don't care but Mayweather is the likely favorite.


I'll be pulling for Marquez to win. It's not like he doesn't have a good chance. He does. Considering he fought to a draw with Pacquiao in their first fight and lost by a split decision in the second fight, the difference between him and Paquiao is razor thin. Throw in the fact that many experts and sportswriters feel Marquez should have got the nod in both their fights and you have an indication just how good Marquez is.

Marquez has fought 55 times with 50 wins, with 37 KO's, 4 losses and 1 draw. He lost his professional debut against Javier Duran in Mexico City in 1993 and remained undefeated until he met Freddie Norwood in 1999 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, losing a 12 round decision. It was a big setback. His next loss came in 2006 against Chris John in Indonesia. The last loss came last year against Pacqiao.

Marquez, an excellent boxer and counter puncher with a heavy hand has shown a capacity to endure and to comeback. The fights against Pacquiao have shown us that Marquez can come back in a fight after being knocked down, when a loss almost seemed a foregone conclusion. In his fight with Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz earlier this year, Marquez again showed an ability to endure and overcome. Marquez is a fighter with heart. That and counter punching will be the key to his victory should he win.

The two close fights with Manny Pacquiao and his victory over fellow Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera have brought him out of the shadows of both Barrera and Erik Morales, proving himself to be one of Mexico's best and a great fighter by anyone's definition of the word.

Mayweather, with 39 wins and 25 KO's, on the other hand has been exceptional from the beginning. His speed and cat like agility have been nothing less than phenomenal. There is no loss on his record. He has posted victories over guys like Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus Chavez (twice), and Jose Louis Castillo, winning twice against Castillo, though the first fight was controversial the second fight removed any doubt. Mayweather continued his dominance with his victories over Arturo Gotti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, by 6th round stoppage.

Still, I think the time is ripe for a Marquez victory. I think that Marquez is one of those fighters that has come into his own and will find a way to win. In the HBO special 24/7 Marquez revealed that he drinks his own urine as part of his training process. While I wouldn't touch the stuff for a million dollars, (Okay, maybe for a million) any one that can drink his own piss, will stop at nothing to win. There is a certain mental toughness and a certain amount of craziness that Mayweather picked up on when he was watching the video. It was evident.

Most of the boxing world wants to see a Mayweather - Pacquiao fight. I don't. Well that would certainly be the money fight, I still want to see a conclusion to the Pacquiao - Marquez rivalry. If Paquiao can get past Miguel Cotto in their fight in November (no easy task), he'll have to fight Marquez. That's the fight I'm waiting for.

I won't make any prediction. I will say that I hope Marquez can pull it off. Marquez has emerged as one of the pound for pound best in recent years. He deserves the attention. A fighter with a big heart will always have my loyalty and no one fighting today has a bigger heart.

Below are the weights of all the fighters on the card courtesy of Fightnews.com and Andreas Hale & David L. Hudson

From the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for tomorrow night’s “Number One/Numero Uno” card promoted by Golden Boy Promotions & Mayweather Promotions, televised on HBO-PPV:

Floyd Mayweather 146 vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 142
Chris John 126 vs. Rocky Juarez 126
Michael Katsidis 135 vs. Vicente Escobedo 134
Orlando Cruz 126 vs. Cornelius Lock 125

Said Ouali 146 vs. Francisco Rios 148
Erislandy Lara 155 vs. Jose Varela 156
Jessie Vargas 140 vs. Raul Tovar 141
Dion Savage 167.5 vs. Loren Myers 167.5
Mike Perez 133 vs. Richard Ellis 133

Something to think about . . .

I know that Marquez is a heavy under dog and rightly so. However, Mayweather may be bigger naturally, but he will not be near the fastest or most active puncher that Marquez has faced.
Keep in mind, nobody has given Manny Pac as much trouble as Marquez.
In their two bouts, a draw and loss for Marquez, the MExican fighter actually won more rounds of their total 24 rounds boxed in those two fights.
Pac scored big in the first with three first round knockdowns. Marquez rose and dominated a close fight from that point.
Pac punches every bit as hard as Floyd, I believe, and throws more leather, and from odd angles, etc.
Mayweather has his mind on more than this fight, and it might be a big mistake. My pick is Floyd by decision. He's bigger, a legit champion, etc.
But I won't count out Marquez, he could score the upset of the year and suddenly find himself in the ring with Pac again?
This wouldn't be a bad thing. One less fight I have to watch Floyd's low class act. As special as Pac is, Marquez is his poison.

At 4-to-1 under, I might just lay a few quid on Marquez, just to make it interesting?


-Rick Farris

Rick, if Marquez can stop Mayweather he might just attain a Chavez like status in Mexico and everywhere else. Where's Richard Steele when you need him.

I remember a guy named Buster Douglas was a 40 to 1 underdog against some guy named Mike Tyson. Anything can happen in a fight like this. First and foremost I want a good honest fight free of controversy and secondly, I want Marquez to win.

Randy

kikibalt wrote:California boxing regulators gave free fight tickets to friends, records show

By law, Athletic Commission members are required to report gifts worth $50 or more obtained from an outside firm for anyone else. Only a fraction of the tickets were disclosed before The Times asked.

By Michael Rothfeld

September 18, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento - State officials who regulate boxing have used their positions to gain admission to big-ticket events for friends -- actor Sylvester Stallone among them -- relatives and other associates who sit ringside for free, records show.

One member of the California State Athletic Commission directed state employees to obtain free passes for his wife and pastor. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appointed all but one of the commissioners, attended an event gratis, as did one of his high-ranking aides.

At some fights, guests were placed in VIP rows, in front of fans whose tickets cost hundreds of dollars apiece. Schwarzenegger and his son sat with Stallone at the Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley welterweight championship bout in January. Tickets to that fight cost up to $300.

Commissioners themselves receive free entry because of their jobs. But Timothy Lueckenhoff, president of the Assn. of Boxing Commissions, a national organization, said asking promoters to admit guests lends the appearance that officials are abusing their regulatory power for personal benefit. The commission can "hold over their head" the ability to approve promoters' fights, license athletes, collect fees and state taxes on ticket sales and pay out winnings, he said.

"It's the appearance of inappropriate activity," Lueckenhoff said. Panel members' acceptance of promoters' largess could suggest that the businesses "are buying some sort of favoritism," he said.

State law requires that commissioners report as gifts anything worth $50 or more obtained from an outside company for anyone else, including friends and relatives. They are required to report their own free admission as well if they do not perform a function related to their jobs while at the event.

But only a fraction of the free entries were disclosed until The Times asked about them. One commissioner did not request admission regularly, the state records show. None responded to requests for comment.

Dave Thornton, the commission's acting executive officer, said that board members were in the process of amending their disclosures before The Times requested the records, and that his predecessor had told them that free admission for guests was "a routine perk of their position."

The revelations are another blow for the commission's parent agency, the California Department of Consumer Affairs, and for Schwarzenegger. He has pledged to make state government more efficient and to impose strict ethical standards, such as a ban he imposed three years ago on gifts to his aides.

Schwarzenegger recently overhauled the state board that monitors registered nurses after The Times and the nonprofit news group ProPublica disclosed major enforcement delays. Before that, the consumer protection agency's director and her boss quit in scandals over taxpayer-funded trips and illegal speaking fees.

On Thursday, as The Times was preparing to publish information on the free admissions, Schwarzenegger sent a letter to the commissioners reiterating that "appointees do not accept gifts" and directing them to follow his policy or resign.

The governor "continues to take aggressive steps to oversee these boards and commissions," Schwarzenegger's spokesman, Matt David, said after the letter went out.

On Aug. 6, Schwarzenegger paid the promoter $180 toward the $600 cost of the fight he attended Jan. 24 with his son, so as not to exceed the state gift limit of $420, David said, and John Cruz, Schwarzenegger's appointments secretary, was planning a similar payment. Such payments are supposed to be made within 30 days under state law.

The 80-year-old athletic commission is responsible for licensing fighters and promoters, safeguarding athletes' health and safety and managing a pension fund for boxers. Its inspectors, referees and other workers travel across California overseeing huge championship bouts, niche shows put on by promoters like Chaos in the Cage and events for select audiences at places such as the Playboy mansion.

The commissioners -- who work part time, earn $100 a day and usually meet monthly -- are Chairman Timothy Noonan, an insurance executive from Los Angeles; Mario Rodriguez, the commission's vice chairman and a business consultant from San Clemente; Howard Rose, a Beverly Hills talent agent; Peter Lopez, an L.A. entertainment lawyer; John Frierson, a former Los Angeles County deputy sheriff; Christopher Giza, a pediatric neurologist from Culver City; and June Collison, a healthcare executive from Etiwanda and a former Olympic runner.

The athletic commission keeps no formal record of the people for whom it obtains access to events that it regulates. In response to a request by The Times in late July, the panel printed a stack of e-mails between commissioners and staff discussing arrangements for events.

Those records, though an incomplete accounting, showed that in the last year and a half the agency obtained free admission for more than 50 people who did not work for the commission. Lists of guests who received access to events contained names of people not employed by the state, with no explanation of why they received admission.

Noonan has obtained credentials for at least four events for Stallone, a friend who spent time in the ring in the "Rocky" films. Noonan once gave his own credential to someone else, the records show, and assigned Armando Garcia, then the commission's top-ranking administrator, to make sure that guest and another person got in smoothly.

"Armando is planning on seeing you & Jeff this Saturday night at the Home Depot Center," Noonan wrote in an e-mail last year to one of those guests, Don Johnson [not the "Miami Vice" star]. "There will be a credential under your name, and because of my absence, Jeff is to use my credential. . . . Enjoy!"

Frierson obtained credentials for his pastor for one fight and invited a guest from New Jersey. He regularly placed his wife, Susie, on the free-entry list along with state employees.

Rodriguez has been granted free admission for at least 20 guests, including Schwarzenegger aide Cruz, since the beginning of 2008. In January, Rodriguez and Noonan attended the Margarito-Mosley fight with guests in L.A. on the same night they obtained admission for others to another show in Anaheim, former commission officials said.

Only Collison did not regularly seek free admissions, according to the records.

Before a weekend of three matches in January, William Douglas, the assistant executive officer, sent out a mass e-mail with a chart that commissioners could use to check their desired events and the number of guests they wanted. They requested at least 18 credentials that weekend.

"You assume that because it is a state agency and it is a regulatory agency that they're not taking advantage," said David Itskowitch, chief operating officer of Golden Boy Promotions, which has sponsored several major fights in the last two years.

Most of the free admissions still have not been reported to the Fair Political Practices Commission, the state's ethics enforcement agency.

In early August, after The Times requested information about their guests, Rodriguez, Rose, Lopez and Giza amended the disclosures they had filed earlier in the year to include gifts not previously reported. The revised filings said promoters gave them free tickets to events including a $600-a-head fight on May 3, 2008, between Oscar De La Hoya and Steve Forbes, and the Margarito-Mosley event.

Rodriguez, Rose and Lopez cut checks for hundreds of dollars to Golden Boy Promotions, one of the sponsors of those events, because the value of the tickets exceeded the state's annual gift limit from a single source, which was $390 last year and rose to $420 on Jan. 1. Noonan had done the same earlier in July as the state Senate was reviewing his reappointment by the governor, which is still pending.

In some cases those payments were made more than a year after the fight, despite the 30-day requirement.

[email protected]

Is this really news? The California Athletic Commission has been a crooked for decades, since it's inception.
Favoritism, etc. is just part of the American culture. Fair? Of course not. That's just the way it is, always has been and always will be.
This reporter must think he's just penned an expose'? No wonder the L.A. Times is folding.


-Rick Farris

Randyman wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:

Randyman wrote:Photo by Chris Cozzone



Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Maweather Jr fight this Saturday, September 19, 2009, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather is fighting for pound for pound supremacy and the money, and Marquez is looking, no doubt, to position himself for a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. Both are fighting for their legacy. I don't know what the odds are and I really don't care but Mayweather is the likely favorite.


I'll be pulling for Marquez to win. It's not like he doesn't have a good chance. He does. Considering he fought to a draw with Pacquiao in their first fight and lost by a split decision in the second fight, the difference between him and Paquiao is razor thin. Throw in the fact that many experts and sportswriters feel Marquez should have got the nod in both their fights and you have an indication just how good Marquez is.

Marquez has fought 55 times with 50 wins, with 37 KO's, 4 losses and 1 draw. He lost his professional debut against Javier Duran in Mexico City in 1993 and remained undefeated until he met Freddie Norwood in 1999 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, losing a 12 round decision. It was a big setback. His next loss came in 2006 against Chris John in Indonesia. The last loss came last year against Pacqiao.

Marquez, an excellent boxer and counter puncher with a heavy hand has shown a capacity to endure and to comeback. The fights against Pacquiao have shown us that Marquez can come back in a fight after being knocked down, when a loss almost seemed a foregone conclusion. In his fight with Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz earlier this year, Marquez again showed an ability to endure and overcome. Marquez is a fighter with heart. That and counter punching will be the key to his victory should he win.

The two close fights with Manny Pacquiao and his victory over fellow Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera have brought him out of the shadows of both Barrera and Erik Morales, proving himself to be one of Mexico's best and a great fighter by anyone's definition of the word.

Mayweather, with 39 wins and 25 KO's, on the other hand has been exceptional from the beginning. His speed and cat like agility have been nothing less than phenomenal. There is no loss on his record. He has posted victories over guys like Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus Chavez (twice), and Jose Louis Castillo, winning twice against Castillo, though the first fight was controversial the second fight removed any doubt. Mayweather continued his dominance with his victories over Arturo Gotti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, by 6th round stoppage.

Still, I think the time is ripe for a Marquez victory. I think that Marquez is one of those fighters that has come into his own and will find a way to win. In the HBO special 24/7 Marquez revealed that he drinks his own urine as part of his training process. While I wouldn't touch the stuff for a million dollars, (Okay, maybe for a million) any one that can drink his own piss, will stop at nothing to win. There is a certain mental toughness and a certain amount of craziness that Mayweather picked up on when he was watching the video. It was evident.

Most of the boxing world wants to see a Mayweather - Pacquiao fight. I don't. Well that would certainly be the money fight, I still want to see a conclusion to the Pacquiao - Marquez rivalry. If Paquiao can get past Miguel Cotto in their fight in November (no easy task), he'll have to fight Marquez. That's the fight I'm waiting for.

I won't make any prediction. I will say that I hope Marquez can pull it off. Marquez has emerged as one of the pound for pound best in recent years. He deserves the attention. A fighter with a big heart will always have my loyalty and no one fighting today has a bigger heart.

Below are the weights of all the fighters on the card courtesy of Fightnews.com and Andreas Hale & David L. Hudson

From the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for tomorrow night’s “Number One/Numero Uno” card promoted by Golden Boy Promotions & Mayweather Promotions, televised on HBO-PPV:

Floyd Mayweather 146 vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 142
Chris John 126 vs. Rocky Juarez 126
Michael Katsidis 135 vs. Vicente Escobedo 134
Orlando Cruz 126 vs. Cornelius Lock 125

Said Ouali 146 vs. Francisco Rios 148
Erislandy Lara 155 vs. Jose Varela 156
Jessie Vargas 140 vs. Raul Tovar 141
Dion Savage 167.5 vs. Loren Myers 167.5
Mike Perez 133 vs. Richard Ellis 133

Something to think about . . .

I know that Marquez is a heavy under dog and rightly so. However, Mayweather may be bigger naturally, but he will not be near the fastest or most active puncher that Marquez has faced.
Keep in mind, nobody has given Manny Pac as much trouble as Marquez.
In their two bouts, a draw and loss for Marquez, the MExican fighter actually won more rounds of their total 24 rounds boxed in those two fights.
Pac scored big in the first with three first round knockdowns. Marquez rose and dominated a close fight from that point.
Pac punches every bit as hard as Floyd, I believe, and throws more leather, and from odd angles, etc.
Mayweather has his mind on more than this fight, and it might be a big mistake. My pick is Floyd by decision. He's bigger, a legit champion, etc.
But I won't count out Marquez, he could score the upset of the year and suddenly find himself in the ring with Pac again?
This wouldn't be a bad thing. One less fight I have to watch Floyd's low class act. As special as Pac is, Marquez is his poison.

At 4-to-1 under, I might just lay a few quid on Marquez, just to make it interesting?


-Rick Farris

Rick, if Marquez can stop Mayweather he might just attain a Chavez like status in Mexico and everywhere else. Where's Richard Steele when you need him.

I remember a guy named Buster Douglas was a 40 to 1 underdog against some guy named Mike Tyson. Anything can happen in a fight like this. First and foremost I want a good honest fight free of controversy and secondly, I want Marquez to win.

Randy

Me too, Randy.

TARNISHED SHOES

The talk about knowing when to hang up the gloves. Those old fighters know that they can't recapture the light. Some say they can,but they know when they walk into the gym that the light is gone. Sometimes we believe they can recapture it,but in the end it's always a wash.We want to see their greatness again. So they say that they've got it back . We believe them. It's a fragile faith,but to see that greatness again,that genius that we lived our lives through, is what we want to believe they can recapture. So why do they continue? Some miss the spotlight. Most miss the money. Most know that fighting is all they know in order to make the money.

At the end of his career Denny Moyer knew he could always make a thousand bucks fighting in Nevada. I remember he'd fight on cards at the Silver Slipper. Train more or less in San Diego. Do his share of non training activities, and then fight at the Silver Slipper. In those days a thousand bucks was good money. In those days Denny spent it as fast a ten round fight.

We know he's hurting now. He's got his wife to protect him. He's lucky she's his faith. All those fights in Nevada when he should have been thinking about the consequences. Denny think about consequences? If it crossed his mind,he just set up the bar. Now there's no champagne to drink from the silver slipper.