Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

Article courtesy of Rick Farris

Back in the day, as if the fighters themselves didn't paint a pretty canvas
in the ring, you had guys like Jim Murray take it one step further.

"Dwight, an Los Angeles negro, had no chance.In Mexico, they don't give the bull the ears".

"Dwight doesn't mind. He'd fight a firing squad for a steak dinner".

Jim is what I call a "Soul" writer. Really gets beneath all the layers.
Thanks Rick, for sharing his stuff. You cannot ever tire from this kind of writing.

I have to be honest here, I never liked Murray's writings, his "funny" quotes fell flat to me, I just didn't see any humor there, my fav local writer's were, Mud, Johnny Allen and John Hall.....

[Expug]

Nice also to see Bruce Finch mentioned in the article about Ayala.
Bruce fought a friend of mine and well respected referee from these parts,Tim Adams.
Tim always spoke of how Finch was tough. He stopped Adams in 6 in Milwaukee.

[kikibalt]

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has high fever, won't make Saturday's fight
November 30, 2010

Chavez_200 Mexico's Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. awoke Tuesday morning with a 103-degree fever and flu-like symptoms, and he's been scratched from Saturday night's pay-per-view main event at Anaheim's Honda Center against replacement fighter Pawel Wolak, promoter Bob Arum said.

Wolak, who stepped in for injured Alfonso Gomez, will now fight Mexico's Jose Pinzon (18-1-1, 12 KOs), said Arum.

"Things happen," Arum said of Chavez's withdrawal. "These guys are human beings, not supermen."

Arum said the new main event will be former world flyweight champion Nonito Donaire (24-1, 16 KOs) vs. Volodymyr Sydorenko (22-2-2, 7 KOs) in a bantamweight bout.

The card will also include lightweight champion Humberto Soto defending his belt against Maywood's Urbano Antillon.

Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KOs) has been a strong pay-per-view draw, capitalizing on the name recognition of his legendary boxer father. He's joined the camp of respected trainer Freddie Roach, and was impressive in a victory earlier this year against then-unbeaten John Duddy.

Roach told The Times late Monday night that Chavez was feeling ill but would make the fight. The boxer went to the home of conditioning coach Alex Ariza on Monday night, said Arum, and was given liquids in an effort to treat the flu symptoms, but the high fever Tuesday led to the bout's cancellation.

-- Lance Pugmire

[kikibalt]

The above card is a PPV?. How dumb does Bob Arum thinks we are....

[kikibalt]

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best".
— Marilyn Monroe

[THEHAMMER321]

The above card is a PPV?. How dumb does Bob Arum thinks we are....

Frank in my honest opinion, there are not that many fights I think should be on PPV, maybe I am a little cynical, but all of on here saw fights years ago on free T.V, like Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon, Mathew Saad vs Yaqui, and these clowns want you to pay 50 dollars to watch guys who should be fighting 6 rounders, as Johnny Paycheck would say, ''get a haircut and a real job'' Mr Arum and Mr king.

[kikibalt]

The above card is a PPV?. How dumb does Bob Arum thinks we are....

Frank in my honest opinion, there are not that many fights I think should be on PPV, maybe I am a little cynical, but all of on here saw fights years ago on free T.V, like Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon, Mathew Saad vs Yaqui, and these clowns want you to pay 50 dollars to watch guys who should be fighting 6 rounders, as Johnny Paycheck would say, ''get a haircut and a real job'' Mr Arum and Mr king.

You're not cynical Paul, you're spot on.....

[THEHAMMER321]

They have a show T.V called ''American greed'' it profiles a different con artist every episode, the last episode it profiled Bernie Madoff, maybe we should get Arum and King a spot on there in the future.

[kikibalt]

They have a show T.V called ''American greed'' it profiles a different con artist every episode, the last episode it profiled Bernie Madoff, maybe we should get Arum and King a spot on there in the future.

Maybe Rick could set it up.....

[Rick Farris]

Article courtesy of Rick Farris

Back in the day, as if the fighters themselves didn't paint a pretty canvas
in the ring, you had guys like Jim Murray take it one step further.

"Dwight, an Los Angeles negro, had no chance.In Mexico, they don't give the bull the ears".

"Dwight doesn't mind. He'd fight a firing squad for a steak dinner".

Jim is what I call a "Soul" writer. Really gets beneath all the layers.
Thanks Rick, for sharing his stuff. You cannot ever tire from this kind of writing.

I have to be honest here, I never liked Murray's writings, his "funny" quotes fell flat to me, I just didn't see any humor there, my fav local writer's were, Mud, Johnny Allen and John Hall.....

Frank, thanks for posting the story for me. It's no secret here that Dwight Hawkins has been a very important person in my life.
Jim Murray is my favorite sports writer, but I also loved Allan Malamud. I worked at the L.A. Times as an Ad writer when I was boxing. John Hall was with the Times during that period and I had the luck of meeting him a few times. I liked Bud Furillo, as well. For the non-LA guys, these sports writers were all LA scribes who wrote for the L.A. Times or L.A. Herald-Examiner. And thanks to Scartissue, for forwarding this to me.

[Rick Farris]

"The classic defense against fear is noise."

Says a lot about some boxers of today, huh?

[Rick Farris]

Article courtesy of Rick Farris

On June 25th, Don Fraser & Frank Baltazar will induct Dwight Hawkins into the California Boxing Hall of Fame.

[CNorkusJr]

Back in the day, as if the fighters themselves didn't paint a pretty canvas
in the ring, you had guys like Jim Murray take it one step further.

"Dwight, an Los Angeles negro, had no chance.In Mexico, they don't give the bull the ears".

"Dwight doesn't mind. He'd fight a firing squad for a steak dinner".

Jim is what I call a "Soul" writer. Really gets beneath all the layers.
Thanks Rick, for sharing his stuff. You cannot ever tire from this kind of writing.

I have to be honest here, I never liked Murray's writings, his "funny" quotes fell flat to me, I just didn't see any humor there, my fav local writer's were, Mud, Johnny Allen and John Hall.....

Frank, thanks for posting the story for me. It's no secret here that Dwight Hawkins has been a very important person in my life.
Jim Murray is my favorite sports writer, but I also loved Allan Malamud. I worked at the L.A. Times as an Ad writer when I was boxing. John Hall was with the Times during that period and I had the luck of meeting him a few times. I liked Bud Furillo, as well. For the non-LA guys, these sports writers were all LA scribes who wrote for the L.A. Times or L.A. Herald-Examiner. And thanks to Scartissue, for forwarding this to me.

I don't know, Frank, that Murray was trying to be all that "humorous" in his writing style. He certainly adds his own boxing cliches and sarcaism into his stories. But I think he is just trying to over-emphasize his points.
For me, it is another way of colorizing a straight forward drab telling of a good story.

A New York contemporary to Jim was Dan Parker of the Daily Mirror. Not so much sarcaism as Jim, but the stylings are almost identical.
Jimmy Cannon and Sam Taub's " in a ringside seat" bylines were much more of that staight forward no nonsense writings and both used actual quotes from managers and fighters directly related to their stories.
At the end they would give their point of view in a sentence or two, agreeing or disagreeing to the fighters point.
Jim Murray or Dan Parker, I think like you said, "Either you like their styles or you don't" but I think it is just another alternative to the typical straight forward piece.
I might get beaten with a stick on this; but to me its like "Cosell's and Larry Merchant's thoughts compared to Dunphy's or Lampley's reportings".
I like Murray's style-it paints a broad picture.On the other hand, the best thing for HBO boxing right now is to cut a deal to Merchant, give him a Golden microphone for all his years service, put him in the HOF(Don King is in-so why not), but get him off the air ! DD

[bennie]

Nice also to see Bruce Finch mentioned in the article about Ayala.
Bruce fought a friend of mine and well respected referee from these parts,Tim Adams.
Tim always spoke of how Finch was tough. He stopped Adams in 6 in Milwaukee.

Finch was doing well against Leonard when he got caught. It is a shame he was never able to build on his performance.

[THEHAMMER321]

Good morning, the chickens woke before me today, the coffee pot is on, now I need the newspaper.

[kikibalt]

Good morning, the chickens woke before me today, the coffee pot is on, now I need the newspaper.

Had my coffee and read the paper, I'm ready for what ever the day brings me, as long as its not going to work; because kept man don't have jobs....

[bennie]

Life was never dull with Nate Campbell in a boxing ring. The Florida veteran announced his retirement yesterday after forging a legacy of thrills, spills and overachievement.
Campbell turned pro at an age when most fighters are planning a life after boxing. He was 27 but quickly made up for lost time as he rattled off 23 straight wins, 21 of them early, before dropping a tight 10-round decision to iron-jawed Cuban Joel Casamayor in a bruising super-featherweight encounter in 2003. Three fights later, Nate made the error of judgement for which he is best remembered. Dominating his fight with Robbie Peden, he dropped his hands and invited Peden to hit him, at which the Aussie unloaded a big left hook to spreadeagle the American.
It looked all over for Campbell when Peden also hammered him in a quick rematch but he moved up to lightweight and scored a shock 10-round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Kid Diamond, only to blow it again when South Africa's Isaac Hlatshwayo took a 12-round decision over him in Florida. This was Campbell's boxing life back then - win a big one, lose a big one, forget about it, push on.
By 2008 he had managed a decent winning run and, now backed by big Don King, jumped at a world title shot against the unbeaten Juan Diaz in a Mexican bullring. Despite the King connection, Campbell was a gimmee for Diaz, a stepping stone. Nobody in the crowd gave him a chance but they should have told Campbell, who busted up Diaz and pushed him back on the way to a one-sided unanimous decision. Campbell was world champion at the ripe old age of 36.
Sadly, Campbell failed to push on from his stunning triumph. King failed to secure him any big fights and weightmaking eventually cost him the title and forced him up to light-welterweight, where luck was never on his side. He dropped a split decision at the weekend to useful Colombian southpaw Walter Estrada and it convinced him to call time on quite a remarkable career.
"I'm the last of a dying breed," said Campbell. "When was the last time a guy came from nowhere, with nothing, and became a world champion? It doesn't happen any more."

[THEHAMMER321]

Life was never dull with Nate Campbell in a boxing ring. The Florida veteran announced his retirement yesterday after forging a legacy of thrills, spills and overachievement.
Campbell turned pro at an age when most fighters are planning a life after boxing. He was 27 but quickly made up for lost time as he rattled off 23 straight wins, 21 of them early, before dropping a tight 10-round decision to iron-jawed Cuban Joel Casamayor in a bruising super-featherweight encounter in 2003. Three fights later, Nate made the error of judgement for which he is best remembered. Dominating his fight with Robbie Peden, he dropped his hands and invited Peden to hit him, at which the Aussie unloaded a big left hook to spreadeagle the American.
It looked all over for Campbell when Peden also hammered him in a quick rematch but he moved up to lightweight and scored a shock 10-round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Kid Diamond, only to blow it again when South Africa's Isaac Hlatshwayo took a 12-round decision over him in Florida. This was Campbell's boxing life back then - win a big one, lose a big one, forget about it, push on.
By 2008 he had managed a decent winning run and, now backed by big Don King, jumped at a world title shot against the unbeaten Juan Diaz in a Mexican bullring. Despite the King connection, Campbell was a gimmee for Diaz, a stepping stone. Nobody in the crowd gave him a chance but they should have told Campbell, who busted up Diaz and pushed him back on the way to a one-sided unanimous decision. Campbell was world champion at the ripe old age of 36.
Sadly, Campbell failed to push on from his stunning triumph. King failed to secure him any big fights and weightmaking eventually cost him the title and forced him up to light-welterweight, where luck was never on his side. He dropped a split decision at the weekend to useful Colombian southpaw Walter Estrada and it convinced him to call time on quite a remarkable career.
"I'm the last of a dying breed," said Campbell. "When was the last time a guy came from nowhere, with nothing, and became a world champion? It doesn't happen any more."

Bennie, do write for a newspaper or magazine, I have read many of your postings and you are a fantastic writer, you are to be commended.

[kikibalt]

Life was never dull with Nate Campbell in a boxing ring. The Florida veteran announced his retirement yesterday after forging a legacy of thrills, spills and overachievement.
Campbell turned pro at an age when most fighters are planning a life after boxing. He was 27 but quickly made up for lost time as he rattled off 23 straight wins, 21 of them early, before dropping a tight 10-round decision to iron-jawed Cuban Joel Casamayor in a bruising super-featherweight encounter in 2003. Three fights later, Nate made the error of judgement for which he is best remembered. Dominating his fight with Robbie Peden, he dropped his hands and invited Peden to hit him, at which the Aussie unloaded a big left hook to spreadeagle the American.
It looked all over for Campbell when Peden also hammered him in a quick rematch but he moved up to lightweight and scored a shock 10-round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Kid Diamond, only to blow it again when South Africa's Isaac Hlatshwayo took a 12-round decision over him in Florida. This was Campbell's boxing life back then - win a big one, lose a big one, forget about it, push on.
By 2008 he had managed a decent winning run and, now backed by big Don King, jumped at a world title shot against the unbeaten Juan Diaz in a Mexican bullring. Despite the King connection, Campbell was a gimmee for Diaz, a stepping stone. Nobody in the crowd gave him a chance but they should have told Campbell, who busted up Diaz and pushed him back on the way to a one-sided unanimous decision. Campbell was world champion at the ripe old age of 36.
Sadly, Campbell failed to push on from his stunning triumph. King failed to secure him any big fights and weightmaking eventually cost him the title and forced him up to light-welterweight, where luck was never on his side. He dropped a split decision at the weekend to useful Colombian southpaw Walter Estrada and it convinced him to call time on quite a remarkable career.
"I'm the last of a dying breed," said Campbell. "When was the last time a guy came from nowhere, with nothing, and became a world champion? It doesn't happen any more."

Bennie, do write for a newspaper or magazine, I have read many of your postings and you are a fantastic writer, you are to be commended.

[kikibalt]

Watching John Wayne in "Stagecoach" (1939), on TCM, a western classic....

[Expug]

Life was never dull with Nate Campbell in a boxing ring. The Florida veteran announced his retirement yesterday after forging a legacy of thrills, spills and overachievement.
Campbell turned pro at an age when most fighters are planning a life after boxing. He was 27 but quickly made up for lost time as he rattled off 23 straight wins, 21 of them early, before dropping a tight 10-round decision to iron-jawed Cuban Joel Casamayor in a bruising super-featherweight encounter in 2003. Three fights later, Nate made the error of judgement for which he is best remembered. Dominating his fight with Robbie Peden, he dropped his hands and invited Peden to hit him, at which the Aussie unloaded a big left hook to spreadeagle the American.
It looked all over for Campbell when Peden also hammered him in a quick rematch but he moved up to lightweight and scored a shock 10-round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Kid Diamond, only to blow it again when South Africa's Isaac Hlatshwayo took a 12-round decision over him in Florida. This was Campbell's boxing life back then - win a big one, lose a big one, forget about it, push on.
By 2008 he had managed a decent winning run and, now backed by big Don King, jumped at a world title shot against the unbeaten Juan Diaz in a Mexican bullring. Despite the King connection, Campbell was a gimmee for Diaz, a stepping stone. Nobody in the crowd gave him a chance but they should have told Campbell, who busted up Diaz and pushed him back on the way to a one-sided unanimous decision. Campbell was world champion at the ripe old age of 36.
Sadly, Campbell failed to push on from his stunning triumph. King failed to secure him any big fights and weightmaking eventually cost him the title and forced him up to light-welterweight, where luck was never on his side. He dropped a split decision at the weekend to useful Colombian southpaw Walter Estrada and it convinced him to call time on quite a remarkable career.
"I'm the last of a dying breed," said Campbell. "When was the last time a guy came from nowhere, with nothing, and became a world champion? It doesn't happen any more."

Bennie, do write for a newspaper or magazine, I have read many of your postings and you are a fantastic writer, you are to be commended.

I agree 100 percent. Bennies got a gift.

[Rick Farris]

Bennie, do write for a newspaper or magazine, I have read many of your postings and you are a fantastic writer, you are to be commended.

I agree 100 percent. Bennies got a gift.

Starting the day with Bennie . . .

There is an eight hour time difference between Los Angeles and the U.K.
I usually wake up in the morning shortly after Bennie has posted.
I look forward to reading Bennie's coverage of British and European boxers.
I also like the way he shares his stories. He has a straight forward style with class.
I rarely comment, but I always read what Bennie has to say.

[Rick Farris]

Watching John Wayne in "Stagecoach" (1939), on TCM, a western classic....

The Duke

[bennie]

Thanks for the kind comments, chaps. I tend to write when I'm bored and sometimes it comes easy and sometimes not. I think any top fighter who announces his retirement deserves some sort of tribute, although they are usually back again within months.

[bennie]

Watching John Wayne in "Stagecoach" (1939), on TCM, a western classic....

The Duke

Rick, what can you tell us about John Wayne? Was he a good guy?