Cholo wrote:Babe McCoy On Art "Golden Boy" Aragon,
"We've been given trouble by fighters we lose money with, so when a fellow like Aragon comes along, we can tolerate him. But believe me, he gives us plenty of trouble. Art is a boy with alot of confidence. He thinks he's a better fighter then Carter, and a better matchmaker then me. He tells our publicity man how to write his releases and tells the ticket office how to sell tickets. For a big fight, he tells us how to scale the house and how much to advertise."
When Aragon was up at Pop Soper's Ranch near Ojai, California, training for his title fight with Carter in November 1951, he became concerned over the influx of newspapermen coming to see him train. Art, who worries more about how advance ticket sales are progressing then the promoters do, was counting on a capacity crowd for his fight with Carter, and by simple arithmetic he arrived at the conclusion that for every newspaperman to be accommodated, one less ticket could be sold. When a group of newspapermen crowded around him after one of his rare sparring sessions, he said, to no one in particular, "Remind me to call the Olympic in the morning and tell them to cut down on the press pass list."
The booing of the Golden Boy has grown into a tradition. It is his trademark as much as his eye-catching robe. The fight fans boo Aragon for the same reason baseball fans eat hot dogs. It is the customary thing to do.
Paul, thank you for all the "Golden Boy" stories, love'em.....
Frank, Glad you enjoy them buddy, "Artie was one of a kind."
Audie Aragon is enjoying them, as well. I copy these and forward them to him via e-mail.
Keep them coming, Paul. Thanks!
country United States
residence Reno, Nevada, United States
birth place Sparks, Nevada, United States
birth name Mario Macias
won 27 (KO 13) + lost 13 (KO 5) + drawn 4 = 44
rounds boxed 254 KO% 29.55
1960-10-20 120 Carmelo Diaz 120 0-2-0
Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W KO 6 10
1960-09-26 119 Vince Castro 119½ 6-1-2
National Guard Armory, Reno, Nevada, United States W TKO 10 10
time: 2:30 | referee: Jimmy Olivas
1960-08-23 115 Edmundo Esparza 114 13-0-0
Bull Ring, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico L KO 3 10
1960-05-29 Herman Marques 12-4-1
Municipal Playground, Carson City, Nevada, United States L UD 12 12
55-58 | 54-58 | 53-58
North American Bantamweight Title
1960-03-31 117½ Dommy Ursua 119 25-21-1
Rodeo Grounds, Reno, Nevada, United States W UD 10 10
referee: Don Thelan
1960-03-14 118 Billy Peacock 121½ 42-28-1
National Guard Armory, Reno, Nevada, United States W UD 10 10
referee: Jimmy Olivas 49-47 | 49-45 | 49-45
1960-01-11 119 Sandy Garcia 118 2-8-1
Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W KO 1
1959-09-14 123 Juan Estopier 123
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States W PTS 6 6
1956-05-29 118 Danny Kid 117 15-9-3
Civic Auditorium, Stockton, California, United States L KO 2 10
time: 0:40
1955-10-29 118 Ricardo Moreno 119 17-1-0
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico L RTD 4 10
Mario retired after the 4th round
1955-09-27 118 Tanny Campo 118 54-12-4
Stockton, California, United States L PTS 10 10
referee: Pete Morelli 53-57
1955-05-12 120½ Raul Macias 121½ 18-0-0
Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas, United States L TKO 5 10
time: 2:58 | referee: Leonard Zuniga
1955-02-10 118½ Frankie Campos 118 7-2-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States L TKO 3 10
Reported as first time Mario had ever been floored or stopped and as his first loss since 1953
1954-11-28 118 Alfredo Avila 114½
State Building, Reno, Nevada, United States W KO 6 10
1954-09-05 Carroll Genshaw 12-13-3
Moana Ball Park, Reno, Nevada, United States W UD 10 10
referee: Jimmy Olivas 99-93 | judge: Norm Silver 98-89 | judge: Bud Traynor 96-94
1954-05-30 118 Billy Courtour 122
Moana Ball Park, Reno, Nevada, United States W KO 2 10
time: 1:28
1953-09-04 118 Carroll Genshaw 124 11-12-3
Moana Ball Park, Reno, Nevada, United States L UD 10 10
Mario had reportedly previously won a 6-rounder over Genshaw in Eureka, CA
1953-05-26 118½ Tommy Umeda 120½ 32-28-9
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W TKO 9 10
referee: Joe Stone
1953-04-17 115 Yoshio Shirai 113¼ 38-5-3
Tokyo, Japan L UD 10 10
"The Japanese referee and two judges gave Shirai nine rounds against one for Mario." (United Press)
1953-04-08 Tanny Campo 39-7-3
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines L PTS 10 10
1953-03-25 114 Tanny Campo 38-7-3
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines L PTS 10 10
1953-03-03 119½ Billy Peacock 118½ 12-1-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States L UD 10 10
referee: Abe Roth 50-60 | judge: Dynamite Jackson 46½-63½ | judge: Reggie Gilmore 51½-58½
1952-08-29 Leroy (Casey) Jones 10-9-5
Moana Ball Park, Reno, Nevada, United States W PTS 8 8
1952-07-13 Jimmy Avega 0-3-0
Moana Ball Park, Reno, Nevada, United States W UD 8 8
Mario reportedly entered this fight with a 17-1-4 record
1952-03-13 Hugh Riley 7-2-0
Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, United States D PTS 4 4
1952-03-03 119 Don Padilla 119½ 2-5-0
Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California, United States W TKO 5 6
1952-02-16 116 Jimmy Avega 114½ 0-1-0
Auditorium, Oakland, California, United States W PTS 6 6
1951-12-20 Jimmy Avega
Reno, Nevada, United States W PTS 4 4
1951-10-08 118 Don Padilla 118 1-1-0
Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California, United States W PTS 4 4
1951-09-29 Carroll Genshaw 8-5-2
Eureka, California, United States W PTS 6 6
1951-09-18 Larry Snyder
Civic Auditorium, Stockton, California, United States W KO 3
1951-08-27 Don Padilla 1-0-0
Coliseum Bowl, San Francisco, California, United States W PTS 4 4
1950-08-23 Estarza Zamora 0-0-1
Sacramento, California, United States W PTS 6 6
1950-07-19 117 Ray Ramirez 115 0-0-1
University of Nevada Gym, Reno, Nevada, United States W KO 2 6
time: 2:45
1950-06-23 Roy Higa 117 6-3-2
University of Nevada Gym, Reno, Nevada, United States L SD 6 6
1950-05-18 Estarza Zamora
Ball Park, Herlong, California, United States D PTS 6 6
1949-07-28 Kid Sal 0-1-0
Herlong, California, United States W TKO ?
Number of rounds unknown
1949-07-04 Kid Sal
Herlong, California, United States W KO 1
1949-06-23 Jack Sanders
Medford, Oregon, United States W KO 1
1949-06-16 Ralph Ketchel
Klamath Falls, Oregon, United States W KO 3
1949-06-02 Tacho Pena 2-1-1
Klamath Falls, Oregon, United States W PTS 6 6
1949-05-28 Pete Silva 1-0-0
Reno, Nevada, United States D PTS 4 4
1949-01-13 116 Marvin Wheeler 125
Herlong, California, United States W PTS 4 4
1948-11-19 Al Silva
State Building, Reno, Nevada, United States D PTS 4 4
Pro debut for Baby Moe Mario, according to Reno Evening Gazette
THE ORIGINAL GOLDEN BOY: ART ARAGON
Los Angeles, 1949. Men wore hats, women were dames and sawbuck tossed on the bar at Ciro's made you the toast of the town. The Dodgers were in Brooklyn, the Lakers in Minneapolis and the Rams had just come out of Cleveland. Horse racing and boxing dominated the sports pages, five daily newspapers battled for copy and sports heroes were in short supply. Into that vacuum strutted boxing's original "Golden Boy," Art Aragon. "The ladies, my friend, the ladies!" laughed Aragon, remembers the time with a twinkle in his eye. "There were women everywhere you looked and I was makin' a living, so life was pretty good." The Golden Boy began his pro career on May 23, 1944 with a win over Frenchy Renee, notched 11 wins before his 17th birthday, entered the Coast Guard after turning 18 and, while stationed in Boston, managed to fight seven times in 1946, piling up six wins and a draw. "I did pretty good considering I couldn't train," he said. His only bout in '47 was a loss to Charley Early in Salem, Massachusetts, then It was back to L.A., Where in '48 he learned his trade the hard way, scoring quick knockouts over overmatched opponents like Ray Louis and Connie Smith in between hard-fought draws with nationally ranked veterans Tommy Campball and Jesse Flores. The "Wavy-haired fighter with a vicious left hook" had a knack for self-promotion to go with his heavy hands and his star rose quickly. Next on the hit list was Alfredo Pescatore, the self-styled lightweight champion of Italy. "After a minute of dancing, Pescatore walked straight towards Aragon, who was waiting with a right hand cocked. He pulled the trigger and the fight was over, with the Italian having suffered a broken nose," Less the three weeks later, well regarded "Irish" Tim Dalton stepped through the ropes to face the man the Herald's Morton Moss called "the handsome hard-hitting Golden Boy of southland fistiana." Dalton lasted seven rounds before the referee stopped the fight. Three weeks later Aragon was in Detroit, staying at the same home of his Idol, Joe Louis, who was making his first foray into promoting. "There I was Joe Louis' house, reading all his scrapbooks, and following him around. He was a real class act, but I don't think he said 10 words to me he whole time I was there, not that I cared," he said. On the card that Included exhibition bouts featuring ring legends Williie Pep and Jack Dempsey Aragon battled Luther Rawlings in the main event, dropping a close 10-round decision to a local favorite in a fight the Associated Press described as "One of the best scraps seen in a Detroit ring in years, so hard-fought it had the crowd of 10,062 tossing paper from the rafters into the ring as a way of cheering the bloody brawlers." Aragon returned home the #7-ranked lightweight in the country. He stayed busy, beating Benny Black and Wilf Desjardins before facing wily southpaw Harold "Babyface" Jones. "I hated lefties, you could never catch 'em, especially the ones who jabbed and ran," joked Aragon. The hard-earned victory kept the Aragon train rolling along. As did his marriage, the first of many. "I had plenty of wives I guess, but I loved 'em all, and they loved me, too, it's just that I had trouble staying put," he recalled with a grin. "They were all classy, too. I kept hoping it would rub off on me." In the ring Aragon continued wowing the crowd at the Legion Hall. First, ringsiders Joe Louis and Bob Hope watched Tony Chavez fall in one, then fighting with his right eye swollen shut for the final four rounds, he decisioned John L. Davis in what the Herald called "The best action fight of the year." Next up was Julio Jiminez and "Blood flowed like wine in the savage scrap, with both men cut over both eyes...Aragon had what it took when it counted and took the decision." A fith-round KO of Freddie "Babe" Herman followed, then the Golden Boy took out Alfredo Escobar in three. Aragon was crowned "Los Angeles Fighter of the Year" by boxing writers, prior to taking on Mario Trigo...To be continued..
Robert Guerrero, the two-time featherweight titleholder and junior lightweight titlist, has defeated several notable opponents.
But his next fight, an Aug. 27 date with interim junior welterweight titlist Marcos Maidana, looks as though it will be the toughest of his career.
"I think it the biggest one so far and I think it's the most dangerous one so far, too," Guerrero told ESPN.com on Monday after finding out the fight was signed, sealed and delivered.
Guerrero signed his contract last week and was waiting on Maidana to sign, which he did over the weekend, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com.
The fight, which will headline a "Boxing After Dark" card on HBO, will take place at the HP Pavilion -- better known as the Shark Tank -- in San Jose, Calif., not far from Guerrero's hometown of Gilroy, Calif.
"He's a tough guy. He has punching power. He keeps coming and he gets off the canvas when he gets knocked down," said Guerrero, who will move up to junior welterweight for the bout. "When I watch Marcos Maidana fight, I look at the fight and I think the better the opposition in front him, the more he steps up his game."
"Robert is stepping up to face the hardest puncher in the division," Schaefer said. "I really think he belongs on that pound-for-pound list because of what he has accomplished. Maybe if he wins against Maidana that will get him there."
Maidana's last two fights have been all-action slugfests in Las Vegas. In December, he dropped a tight decision to titleholder Amir Khan in the 2010 Boxing Writers Association of America fight of the year. On April 9, Argentina's Maidana (30-2, 27 KOs) narrowly outpointed Mexican great Erik Morales, a former three-division champion, in a grueling brawl.
Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 KOs) fought on the Maidana-Morales HBO PPV undercard and outpointed slugger Michael Katsidis to claim a pair of vacant interim lightweight belts. After his fight, Guerrero said he watched Maidana-Morales on a monitor in his dressing room.
"It was an exciting fight to watch, especially knowing a fight with me and the winner could be made with Golden Boy, and now here it is," Guerrero said. "They both went to war. They put on a great fight and me and Katsidis also put on a great fight. And now the winners, we're clashing in August."
Maidana, who will train in Puerto Rico, confirmed that he had agreed to the fight, tweeting, "I think everybody (will) like the fight vs. Guerrero. I'll prepare myself 100 percent since it's a tough one. But I will win!"
Said Schaefer, "This confirms what we know about Maidana, that he fights anyone, anywhere, anytime. There are very few fighters like that, but he believes in his talents and his skills and in his iron chin and iron will. He feels this will be another big test and he's ready, and it doesn't matter where he's going to take it."
Schaefer has been working on the fight for weeks and was quite pleased that he had closed a difficult deal.
"Sometimes when you make a fight you know on paper going into the fight it has fight of the year written all over it and you know its going to be an action battle. This is one of those fights," Schaefer said. "It can only be a great fight. In the 140-pound division, this is as big as it gets. There many big fights there, but this is certainly one of them.
"This is one I am going to look forward to between now and Aug. 27 until the first bell rings. You'll have people split 50-50 on who is going to win the fight."
Guerrero is anxious to try his hand at a new weight.
"I'm super-excited about the move to 140. Just being at 140, I will be stronger, faster and more well rounded. I'm excited about it," Guerrero said. "Making 140 will be very easy for me. I'm just excited about this fight.
Guerrero said he was also looking forward to fighting at home, where he has good fan support.
"It will be great for the hometown fans. I've been wanting to fight a world title fight in San Jose and it's here. Aug. 27," he said. "I know all the fans are excited about it. I'll stay focused and not get caught up in the hype with all the fans. Just focus and do what I gotta do and everybody is happy."
The winner of the fight looms as a mandatory challenger for the winner of the July 23 (HBO) unification bout between Khan and Zab Judah.
THE ORIGINAL GOLDEN BOY: ART ARAGON, Continued..
The Trigo fight was one of many controversies that marked Aragon's career. Warming up in the bowls of the Olympic Auditorium, Aragon and his handlers were overwhelmed by charcoal burner fumes so severe that chief second Billy Connyers had to be rushed to the hospital. Weakened by the fumes, Aragon fought gallantly, but lost a decision. He avenged the loss a month later, paving the way for a showdown with the top attraction in town, Enrique Bolanos. "That was the fight that made the 'Golden Boy," recalled Aragon. "He was 'the man.' So when I beat him, I became 'the man." Ten thousand fans packed the Olympic to see the bout, generating Aragon's biggest payday, with his 22 1/2 per cent of the gate worth the then-princely-sum of $6.700. Aragon battered Bolanos from the opening bell, after knocking him down in the 12th, saw his Idol rise, glassy-eyed and weak-knead. "He was really hurt and shaking, standing there with his hands at his sides, so I didn't hit him and the ref finally stopped it." While this sportsmanship wowed the writers, the fans never forgave Aragon for toppling there hero. "When they raised my hand everyone booed. I thought my next fight they'd cheer, naturally, but when I came into the ring 'Boo!'-and for the rest of my life when they mentioned my name in the ring they all booed...but they filled up the joint every time." The Hollywood crowd, on the other hand, embraced the handsome lightweight. Aragon quickly became a fixture on the nightclub scene, palling around with Bob Hope, golfing with Mickey Rooney and frequenting the Coconut Grove, Mocambo and Brown Derby, often with a well-known starlet." The Ink-stained wretches of the Times, Daily Mirror and Herald Express aslo stayed loyal to the man who provided them with juicy copy, including one even predicting his knockouts, a practice he stopped fairly quickly. "In those days everyone had action on the fight, so when I actually got lucky and knocked the guy out when I said I would, people thought things were fishy, so I stopped," said Aragon, who was spending money faster then he made it. While the predictions stopped, the attention didn't. His brashness filled the stands and his fists did the rest..
Thanks again Paul for the Aragon stories.... Thanks for taking me down memory lane once more.... Some one once said that life is nothing but memories, I agree....
kikibalt wrote:Thanks again Paul for the Aragon stories.... Thanks for taking me down memory lane once more.... Some one once said that life is nothing but memories, I agree....
kikibalt wrote:Thanks again Paul for the Aragon stories.... Thanks for taking me down memory lane once more.... Some one once said that life is nothing but memories, I agree....
Frank, Will Ramon Tiscareno be attending this years CBHOF, If he is could it be possible for you to ask him about his fight with the "Golden Boy." He dropped Art in the second round, then Art dropped him for keeps in the same round. The fight was held at the Hollywood Legion, Feb. 7, 1956..
Cholo wrote:Frank, Will Ramon Tiscareno be attending this years CBHOF, If he is could it be possible for you to ask him about his fight with the "Golden Boy." He dropped Art in the second round, then Art dropped him for keeps in the same round. The fight was held at the Hollywood Legion, Feb. 7, 1956..
Yes, he and his family will be there, I'll ask him, not sure he remembers though....
At 6:30 I'll pick-up Remy in Hollywood and then we're hitting the Hills for some road work and punching the pads.
Afterwards, breakfast at Art's Deli.
Work his ass off Rick, because he is fighting in two weeks....
I am?
He's a hard worker, Mel Epstein would have loved Remy (especially the short hair ).
This is the kind of guy that any trainer would appreciate.
And Frank, he's only 24, but already laying out a solid "kept man" foundation.
We'll workout again Friday morning, depending on the damage Manuel dishes out in ELA at lunch on Thursday?
If anybody is close to ELA thursday around lunch time, join us at El Tapiyec.
kikibalt wrote:
Work his ass off Rick, because he is fighting in two weeks....
I am?
He's a hard worker, Mel Epstein would have loved Remy (especially the short hair ).
This is the kind of guy that any trainer would appreciate.
And Frank, he's only 24, but already laying out a solid "kept man" foundation.
We'll workout again Friday morning, depending on the damage Manuel dishes out in ELA at lunch on Thursday?
If anybody is close to ELA thursday around lunch time, join us at El Tapiyec.
He's a hard worker, Mel Epstein would have loved Remy (especially the short hair ).
This is the kind of guy that any trainer would appreciate.
And Frank, he's only 24, but already laying out a solid "kept man" foundation.
We'll workout again Friday morning, depending on the damage Manuel dishes out in ELA at lunch on Thursday?
If anybody is close to ELA thursday around lunch time, join us at El Tapiyec.
kikibalt wrote:
Work his ass off Rick, because he is fighting in two weeks....
I am?
He's a hard worker, Mel Epstein would have loved Remy (especially the short hair ).
This is the kind of guy that any trainer would appreciate.
And Frank, he's only 24, but already laying out a solid "kept man" foundation.
We'll workout again Friday morning, depending on the damage Manuel dishes out in ELA at lunch on Thursday?
If anybody is close to ELA thursday around lunch time, join us at El Tapiyec.
Rick, don't let Ram eat too much at Manuel's, don't want him to be over-weigh....
"Are we close to the Olympic?", Remy asked. "Not far," I answered, "We'll be there in about 15 minutes."
Our friend, Remy Damlien, is in town for this week's CBHOF lunch, and I want to show him around town a bit before he returns home next week.
We started the day at 6:30am, where we met at his hotel which is right next door to the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.
While here, Remy has hooked up with a trainer at Wild Card, and joined me for some early morning road work & pad work in the Hollywood Hills.
We had our workout, and then we drove a few blocks to eat breakfast at Art's Deli in Studio City.
I ordered an omlette, while Remy ordered a pastrami sandwich. "We don't get much pastrami in Norway, and the sandwiches only have a few slices of meat.
Monica made sure that Remy's sandwich would not leave him hungry, and after we finished, it was off to show him what used to be The Olympic Auditorium.
We drove downtown and pulled into the Olympic's parking lot, and we would both see the Olympic, now as a Korean Church, for the first time.
We snapped a few exterior photos and then just let ourselves in the building to walk around. A few walls have been added, and a lot of seats removed, a redesign of the floor area, but it was still the same old gal, just wearing a different wardrobe.
For a moment I saw the building as an old lady, one who was smiling when she saw me enter today, as if to say, "Now don't laugh!"
I didn't laugh, and I didn't cry, I was just happy to see her still standing. I felt as if I knew the old broad's secrets. At least a few, anyway.
I tried to take a photo, but the building was pitch black. As our eyes adjusted we could see her, all dressed up for the first time in her life.
I tried to show Remy where things were, and we talked about the long gone mural of Dempsey that once decorated the north & east walls.
I pointed out where the dressing rooms were, and the aisle that took us to the ring on Thursdays nights.
I refused to get sentimental, just wanted to say hello. This was the house where Aragon was booed, and where Mando Ramos was cheered.
Remy took in the history, and we left. Maybe one day . . .
Remy eyes the 2nd half of his pastrami sandwich at Art's Deli.
This was a tune-up match for his main event later this week. He'll be taking on a "Manuel's Special" in ELA.
Who's gunna win? Randy is the only one I know who has KOed a Manuel's Special. Monica and I together couldn't do it.
The Norwegian challenger appears to be confident, but he's not taking old Manuel lightly.
This is going to be a tough one!
He's a hard worker, Mel Epstein would have loved Remy (especially the short hair 
