Portland Oregon boxing greats.

[sf1986]

Monge and Holiman were not great. After posting, I remembered that this thread is for the best to come from Portland and I knew then that their names did not belong on this thread. I knew that somebody would point that out. I just remember them, so I posted their names. I agree that they are not the best, at the best average for their time, but none the less, I think they should not be forgotten.

[Zelley]

He was really good. He was also a very likable person. If I remember right, he had some kind of a hearing deficit, but it did not affect his boxing at all.

Zelley, are there many boxing gyms in your area in Canada? How is amateur boxing doing in Canada? Are you still involved in boxing at any level?

Hopefully, some of the question will be answered in the
Pacific Northwest Amateur Boxing - Past & Present in the
Amateur Boxing section :> :?? where names such as Lampkin,
and many others will be remembered and discussed including the many
boxing clubs from Nanaimo to Portland, Seattle and Greater Vancouver
such as George Nepper's "Newcastle Boxing Club" (Nanaimo) (1963 to 1968) or
the North West Eagles and Astoria clubs in Greater Vancouver:idea:

[Rick Farris]

A couple other names:

Billy Mascott
Joe Gorman
Chuck Hellman
Thad Spencer
Joe Kahut (actually from Woodburn, but had 50+ main events in Portland)
Richard Sue

As mentioned by others, Moyer is far and away the greatest fighter out of Portland.

Richie "Sweet" Sue was a good one. He was a stablemate of mine briefly, early in 1971. Pete Gonzalez was another vet who moved in and out of top ten ranking, facing and often defeating big names of the era. 60's heavyweight Amos "Big Train" Lincoln also hailed from Portland, defeated Spencer.

-Rick Farris

[babyhuey]

Greatest boxer to die in Portland: Jack Dempsey (the original)

well then, im going to add my 2 cents also,
another great that passed away and who lived his last days in tigard, oregon was middleweight boxer dick wagner,
orginally from toppenish, wash
as floyd patterson wrote in his book -victory over myself
floyd- "dick wagner put a beating on my body like no one ever had, i had to eat soup for a month"
dick was a great guy, and is missed.







Richard Wagner, boxer who faced some greats, dies at 79
Fierce fighter - The Union Pacific Railroad switchman also played small roles in movies

Monday, September 11, 2006

HARRY ESTEVE
The Oregonian

Light-heavyweight boxer Richard "Dick" Wagner, who could take just about any punch and stay standing, died Friday in Tigard of age-related causes. He was 79.

Wagner traded blows with such greats as Jake LaMotta and Floyd Patterson and was a feared fighter in his day, say those who knew him or watched him in the ring. He won the large majority of his 50 professional bouts, more than half those wins by knockouts.



"He just kept boring in, wouldn't back down, throw after throw after throw," recalled Jim Gooding, of Estacada, a fellow member of the Veteran Boxers Association of Oregon. "A punch couldn't stop him."

But boxing was just part of an active and varied life. A Union Pacific Railroad switchman for 32 years, Wagner hunted, fished, wrote a detailed autobiography and had small roles in a couple of Hollywood blockbusters.

"Dad was a gentle, but a really strong, powerful person," said his daughter Betty Wagner of Portland. She remembered her father stepping in to stop fights, suggesting bullies take him on instead. "It was like living with a superhero."

Other survivors include his wife, Elizabeth Wagner of Portland; daughters Claudia Wagner of Hillsboro and Joanie Juba of Portland; son, Rick Wagner of Seattle; and sister, Lorraine Grigg of Waldport. Arrangements are pending*.

Born Oct. 20, 1926, in Toppenish, Wash., Wagner developed a strong affinity for the Yakama tribal members he hung out with. He later established strong ties to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

A childhood interest in boxing led to some early bouts on the Yakama reservation. After moving to Oregon City in 1943, he continued to look for matches. A friend told him he would have to go to New York if he wanted to pursue a career in the sport.

"He didn't have any money, so he joined the Merchant Marine," said Wagner's wife, Liz. The first ship went to Korea, but the next, in 1947, was bound for New York, she said.

There, his flair for making friends and his fierce boxing style led to connections, a manager and a training gym.

In 1950, he married Elizabeth DiLello, a Bronx daughter of Italian immigrants. They had four children.

His boxing career took off quickly as he won his first several matches. As he worked his way up the rankings, he began to draw tougher and tougher opponents.

One of them was LaMotta, immortalized by Robert DeNiro in the movie "Raging Bull." The fight was stopped in the ninth round, and the win awarded to LaMotta -- a decision that always troubled Wagner and his fans.

He fought Patterson twice, losing by a decision in the first match in 1953. In a rematch eight months later, Wagner suffered a cut in the fifth round and lost by a technical knockout.

He retired after that match.

Wagner moved his family back to Oregon in 1955, got a job with the railroad and took an interest in young people who could benefit from channeling their energy into boxing. Once, Betty Wagner recalled, he encountered some "roughneck" kids in Multnomah Village who were looking for trouble.

"You wanna fight?" she recalled her father saying. "I'll show you how to fight," and he set up a gym that eventually became the Multnomah Community Center Boxing Club.

As a railroad switchman, Wagner had lots of downtime between trains, said Liz Wager. He would hole up in the switchman's shack, pull out his notebook and start writing.

"That's where he wrote most of his autobiography," she said. He sent the manuscript to a publisher, who liked the story but didn't accept it because he didn't think it would sell enough copies.

Wagner stayed in touch with his boxing crowd and has been inducted into the Oregon boxing hall of fame, said Herbie Patzer, another retired fighter.

Wagner, "was really the ultimate warrior," Patzer said. "Nobody ever fought him who didn't suffer. He was one tough son of a gun."

[babyhuey]

picture of thad spencer

[MikeK]

Tommy Sullivan was from Portland. He was a great amateur
boxer, winning the national Junior Olympics in 1972 and 1973,
he had 64 fights by the time he was 16, a lot won by KO.
In 1975 he beat Michael Spinks to win the National Golden Gloves
Middleweight Championship. However, he didn't do that well as a pro.

[actjac]

DAMAGED GOODS
Documentary exposes harsh reality of life after boxing

By STEVE BUFFERY

Last Updated: 20th July 2009, 4:03am



There is a scene in the documentary "After The Last Round" when an old man named Harry Moyer wanders over to his son Phil and begins to wipe Phil's face with a tissue, precisely as he would have done years earlier when Phil was boxing and Harry was his trainer.
Phil suffers from dementia and stares past his father, unfocussed and lost.
"You're all right," whispers Harry to his aging son.
Phil, however, clearly is not all right.
In his 90s, Harry is in much better shape than Phil and his other son Denny, who also was a world-ranked fighter out of Portland, Ore., in the 1950s and '60s.
The camera then pans out to show Denny and Phil sitting in adjoining chairs, starring blankly ahead, brothers bound by the brutal sport of boxing and the wretched consequences the so-called "sweet science" exacts on those who embrace it.
Everyone who has ever watched a round of boxing generally is aware that the sport is -- particularly at the professional level -- dangerous and potentially lethal. But what we don't see is what happens to these damaged fighters after they walk away from the ring.
Denny and Phil Moyer were legends in the Portland area, world-ranked middleweights, charismatic and handsome.
Now, they are broken, suffering from dementia, living together at a nursing home, in need of constant care, their conditions deteriorating.
Laura Moyer, Phil's daughter, describes how when they first took her father to the home, the tough ex-fighter, who fought the very best of his day, including Sugar Ray Robinson, began crying.
"He said: 'Please don't leave me here,' " said Laura, breaking down in tears. "But we couldn't take care of him anymore."
The executive producer of After The Last Round is Tom Moyer, a cousin of Denny and Phil.
Now a resident of Santa Barbara, Calif., Tom grew up in Portland, where the Moyers were the first family of boxing. Tom's father also trained Phil and Denny. But what was once a source of pride for the family has turned into tragedy. And not just because of Denny and Phil's dementia. Harry also is a victim, as he spends his remaining days dealing with the fact that he put his boys in the ring and is, in a way, the architect of their demise.
Decades later, having witnessed his cousins' downward spiral, Tom Moyer encouraged his own son Patrick and Patrick's friend, the filmmaker Ryan Pettey, to take put together a documentary, not just about the Moyer family, but on what happens to fighters after the final bell has sounded.
Patrick is the film's producer and Pettey the director.
The film shows that not only are many ex-professional fighters, perhaps even the majority, damaged goods, most are destitute, or nearly there -- cast away like broken toys, treated worse than greyhound dogs.
There is no pension for ex-fighters. Most walk away with nothing, in fact, less than nothing, because they leave boxing with less than what they had going in.
After The Last Round profiles boxers who are in the advanced state of dementia, or blind, or broke, but also examines why some fighters, including many who waged tremendous wars in the ring and absorbed untold punishment -- such as Canadian heavyweight legend George Chuvalo -- have survived seemingly unscathed, at least physically.
Tom Moyer is justifiably proud of the film, but equally frustrated, as he is attempting to have the movie included in this year's Toronto International Film Festival. But as of yet, he has had no luck.
Near the end of the documentary, the camera focuses on Denny's wife, Sandy.
"He's living over there, but really he's dead," she says of her husband. "And nobody cares. Frankly, nobody ever will care. But I care."
Tom Moyer's reason for producing After the Last Round, and for pushing for its inclusion in this year's TIFF, is so more people will care.
[email protected]

[semisports]

Portland's Tom Moyer co-produced this film which, sadly, depicts scenes from his uncle's lives (Phil and Denny) and others.

http://afterthelastround.com/

A very good documentary.

[actjac]

S Productions was a concerts and sports promotions company based out of Eugene, Oregon and provided some of the most interesting boxing events staged in the Northwest during the 80's. The company promoted or co-promoted Gerry Cooney vs Philip Brown in Anchorage, Cooney vs George Chaplin in Phoenix, Alexis Arguello vs Pat Jefferson (also in Anchorage), Arguello vs Billy Costello in Reno, Leon Spinks vs Jim Ashard in Eugene and staged other events in Oregon, Seattle, Reno, Phoenix and San Antonio, Texas.
Top up-and-comers were featured some on undercards and some as feature events including Northwest based boxers: Jesse Lopez Jr., Brett Summers, Laurie Mann, Alex Delucia, James Manning, Michael Arms and Golden Guy Villegas....all were national amateur champions (except Manning) and moved into the rankings as they were given regular fights and exposure.
The man coordinating the company was young Ritch Danner who started promoting in his mid- twenties in 1982. He also worked in various capacities with other companies during that era and either promoted or made matches for Virgil Hill, Joe Hipp, Freddie Roach, Eddie Davis, Mike Ayala, Robert Shannon, Andy Nance and others in shows that were held in Washington and Oregon. A number of these events were televised on the USA Network, CBS, ESPN and independently syndicated programs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPEO0fUCSww

[bottjer]

Where can I contact Ritch Danner?

[actjac]

Where can I contact Ritch Danner?

I don't know how to contact him except through an acquaintence but I heard that he had been traveling to Dubai while working to promote a huge event sometime next year. When I knew of him a few years ago he was doing well in real estate too.

[semisports]

Another boxer that hasn't been mentioned yet is Doug Holiman. He did not have a very good professional record, but he wasn't afraid to fight some of the toughest guys of his time. He loved to train, and you could find him in the gym just about everyday. He was also very good with amateurs because he wouldn't try to kill them sparring. He was fun to watch because he was very elusive, cagey, and could deliver some offense as well.

Ray Monge was a good amateur from Portland too, as well as Don (smith?). Those two along with Bill Thornberg, made the knott street club a great place to learn boxing and stay out of trouble on the street. There were also many other good amateur and professional boxers there who I do not recall the last names of, but I will give their first names since that is all I can recall: LaMarcus, Gary, Don, Wally (promoter/trainer).

Holiman or Monge were not great. We are reaching here aren't we?
Most of the boxers that appeared on Oregon shows during those years of the 70's, 80's were ordinary. Ken and Doug Arlt, Frankie Moultrie, Brian Tinker, Donnie Fosmire, Curtis Azevado, Arnel Arrezol, Paul Barton, Tony Thomas, Shane Schaeffer, Sam Wilson, Steve Harvey, Bobby Johnson, Jim Ashard. Others from the Seattle area that appeared regularly on Fred McNally's shows at the Portland Marriott were Noe Ramirez, Tony Gallo, Francisco Roche, Roosevelt Green, Larry Frazier, Willie Davis, Herb Johnson, Charles Carter, Victor DeLoney among others. McNally ran a series of shows for years but many of the NW best rarely fought there--Greg Haugen, Bret Summers, Pat Jefferson, Laurie Mann, Joe Belinc, Michael Arms, Rocky Lockridge, Johnny Bumphus, Leo Randolph. I believe that Gordie Racette may have fought as did Dale Grant maybe once each.
The most popular were "Sweet Baby" James Manning and "Golden" Guy Villegas. Add Charles Carter and they were the closest to any boxers that could break out on the national stage. Alex DeLucia and Andy Minsker could have been stars but Minsker neither really developed as pros.

An excellent and informative post

[actjac]

picture of thad spencer

One of the top heavyweights ever in the Northwest ... http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_ ... &cat=boxer

It is sad what drugs will do to a talented life... http://www.stumptownblogger.com/2009/08 ... oxing.html

[semisports]

S Productions a promotions company based out of Eugene, Oregon provided some of the most interesting boxing events staged in the Northwest during the 80's. The company promoted or co-promoted Gerry Cooney vs Philip Brown in Anchorage, Alexis Arguello vs Pat Jefferson (also in Anchorage), Arguello vs Billy Costello in Reno, Leon Spinks vs Jim Ashard in Eugene and staged other events in Oregon, Seattle, Phoenix and San Antonio, Texas.
Top up-and-comers were featured some on undercards and some as feature events including Northwest based boxers: Jesse Lopez Jr., Bret Summers, Laurie Mann, Alex Delucia, James Manning, Michael Arms and Golden Guy Villegas....all were national amateur champions (except Manning) and moved into the rankings as they were given regular fights and exposure.
The man who coordinated the company was young Ritch Danner who started promoting in his mid- twenties in 1982. He also worked in various capacities with other companies during that era and either promoted or made matches for Virgil Hill, Joe Hipp, Freddie Roach, Eddie Davis, Mike Ayala, Robert Shannon, Andy Nance and others in shows that were held in Washington and Oregon. A number of these events were televised on the USA Network, CBS, ESPN and independently syndicated programs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPEO0fUCSww

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfh4RQwRwdA ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsyorbcSS5o

[Terb]

By far the best boxers in Portland go like this:

1. Mike Fisher beat all the guys mentioned, worked with both Tommy, Johnny Sullivan and Andy Minsker. Fisher was Ed (Zaydogs) Milberger`s favorite as he was so balanced.
2. Tommy Sullivan many came to fight/spar with him did not work out well ask Lampkin, Moyer, michael Spinks ect. Only Biily Haynes could spare with him in the ring.
3. Johnny Sullivan beat all comers.

I am suprised Minsker or Newcomb did not speak up they know the truth about the three above.

[elmersalsa]

I admire Ray Lampkin. He was NABF Lightweight Champion and lost twice by UD with Esteban De Jesus which is not a shame losing to one of the top 20 lightweights ever in my book. And he went TOE TO TOE with the great Roberto Duran for 14 brutal rounds in an immense heat. How many fighters have ever done that with Duran and survive? See, it makes me laugh when the media says that the great Sugar Ray Leonard "went toe to toe with Duran". Really? To me, what Lampkin did versus Duran was Toe to toe warfare. What Leonard did was holding and clutching for survival. Lampkin gave the Hands of Stone in my view a better competitive fight than Leonard. He gave Duran one of his toughest fights. I would like to meet him one day and shake his hand for respect and admiration that I got for that man. Long live Ray Lampkin!

[Ambling Alp II]