BoxRec

Frank, Rick or anyone. do you know if Manuel is a boxing fan? or former amateur or pro? Or maybe it is a burrito maker stance??
also look at the painting right behind him.

Panzerfaust wrote:Frank, Rick or anyone. do you know if Manuel is a boxing fan? or former amateur or pro? Or maybe it is a burrito maker stance??
also look at the painting right behind him.

I think Randy might know?
I don't know if Manuel can fight, but I watched his heavyweight burrito kick some ass recently!

Louie Burke, Longtime Las Cruces trainer, boxer earns his way into California Hall of Fame

By Bill Knight

He was introduced to that sweetest of sciences as a small boy, simply tagging along with dad and big brother....the heavy bag his hobby horse, a pair of gloves his teddy bear.

Life in and around the boxing ring has moments of exhilaration, but it is hardly for the timid, the meek, the weak of heart or spirit. But it is Louie Burke's life.

On Saturday, Burke, now 50, will be inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in ceremonies in Los Angeles. The journey has been joyful, but it has been a boxing journey so it has been filled with plenty of hard knocks and even a near-death experience. Still, it is Burke's passion....his life's journey....his life.

"My brother Rocky and I were raised in the gym," said Burke, who is a Las Cruces firefighter and one of the top boxing trainers in the country. "My dad (Sammy) was a boxing coach in Las Cruces. He fought before he went into the service and used to tell stories about hitchhiking to El Paso to box. My brother Rocky and I would tag along to the gym at the local Boys Club. It's just what I can remember since being out of diapers." Burke said he still remembers his first time in the ring.

"We had a little gymnasium in the Boys Club that used to be a church," he said. "I hadn't done any formal training, just hitting the bags. My dad came up and said he had me a fight. I just said, 'well, OK.' I was seven. I did all right and I won. My second fight was when I was in the third grade. They were having a Battle of Champions. Danny 'Little Red' Lopez was coming in and some more fighters. As an added attraction, they were bringing in former world champion Gene Fullmer. As an exhibition, I fought his son. They ruled it a draw.

"This makes next Saturday even more special," Burke added. "Gene Fullmer is being inducted into the California Hall of Fame Saturday, too." Burke had a strong amateur career, but his real skills - strength, stamina, a rock-solid chin and a huge heart - were better suited to the professional ranks.

"I lost in the Western Olympic Trials," he said. "It was 1980 and we boycotted that year anyway. But I waited a few months, started college at New Mexico State. It was right before my 19th birthday and I decided to go ahead and turn pro. I wanted something to help me pay for school. It's funny ... my professional career just kind of took off, way better than my amateur career. My endurance helped me outlast guys, overcome them in the later rounds. My ability to take a punch helped me walk through a lot of guys."

Burke trained under his father and Larry Renio in his early career. At one point, though, dad told son he needed to move on, that he had taught him all he could. Burke worked under Beto Martinez in Tucson and then moved to Los Angeles to train under Jimmy Montoya.

"There were six of us living in a one-bedroom apartment," Burke said with a chuckle. "We slept on the floor, shared towels. It was just a bit of the rough part of boxing that a lot of fighters go through. I'd never been on a bus before in my life and I remember getting lost a couple of times, trying to come home tired and dehydrated and not knowing where I was going."

Burke was going to the top.

He trained under famous trainers like Jesse Reid and legendary trainers like Angelo Dundee. He got to 18-0 before it all went wrong.

He lost a controversial decision to Charlie "White Lightning" Brown. Television commentators Tim Ryan, Gil Clancy and Sugar Ray Leonard all had Burke winning that fight. He got stopped in a mini-war by Hector Camacho, one in which he had Camacho in trouble. And then came the near-death experience.

"It was my fault," Burke said. "Angelo (Dundee) had no idea what I was doing. I was trying to make 130 pounds because they told me I could get a shot at a world championship with Julio Cesar Chavez at 130. I should have been fighting at 140. I would get up early, run six miles, come back and drink a diet drink, something like a Slim-Fast. I would have a Lean Cuisine for lunch. I'd go train - I was training in Miami at that time - and go a hard 20 rounds. Then in the evening I'd run another four miles and just have a Slim-Fast. I dropped from 160 to 130 pounds in one month."

Burke came home to Las Cruces to fight Rosendo Alonso and had nothing, absolutely nothing to take into that ring. He was stopped in the sixth round, rushed to the hospital completely dehydrated. His potassium level was at zero, his kidneys were shutting down and his heartbeat was down to 12 beats a minute. He was given last rites of the Catholic Church.

Burke never fought again, finishing his career at 19-3.

"Sure, I have a few regrets," Burke said with a shrug. "My career was cut too short. I should have gone up in weight. I would have liked to have had a world title shot. But it was pretty good. I lost to Camacho and he was just better than I was ... but he was better than a lot of guys at that time. I lost my last fight and it was my fault."

Burke paused, then said, "But Saturday will be an extremely special time for me. I'm humbled and truly honored by this."

Rocky Burke, Louie's older brother, had an outstanding amateur career of his own, going 63-8 and is now a highly respected referee. Boxing is simply in the Burke blood.

"Louie was always just a tough kid," Rocky said. "He was always just tough. Then he developed his skills. He was quick. He had a lot of knockouts just because he hit guys so many times. In California, he would go into these guys' hometown, no promoter, just facing the undefeated hometown favorite and he would beat them. He had two great fights against Freddie Roach (now a legendary trainer) and Louie won them both by unanimous decision. Louie was world rated and I'm just really proud of him."

Burke is now best-known as a trainer, working with undefeated world champion Austin Trout (23-0) and up-and-coming undefeated Abie Han (13-0). They appreciate his boxing journey perhaps more than anyone else can.

"I can confidently say Louie is one of the best trainers in America," Trout said. "I've had Olympic coaches and Louie is just really good. He's the best at taking a fighter's style and making it better. He was a fighter and he knows fighters. He knows the emotions you go through - grumpy, happy, losing weight, dealing with promoters. All that experience is priceless."

Han said, "I wouldn't be 13-0 without Louie. Every coach knows a jab, a cross, how to slip a punch. But how will you motivate your fighter? Louie has made me a believer. I just feel that as long as I follow his formula, his game plan, I'm going to win. I believe it. A lot of trainers take guys who have already been raised. Louie got Austin and I at zero-zero (records). Austin made it to the top. I might not get there like Austin did, but I know Louie will give me my best chance."

And so the boxing journey of Louie Burke continues - moving from center ring to corner. On Saturday he will join an elite group in the California Boxing Hall of Fame ... just another step in a beautiful journey in that sweetest of sciences.

Courtesy: El Paso Times

Randyman wrote:Louie Burke, Longtime Las Cruces trainer, boxer earns his way into California Hall of Fame

By Bill Knight

He was introduced to that sweetest of sciences as a small boy, simply tagging along with dad and big brother....the heavy bag his hobby horse, a pair of gloves his teddy bear.

Life in and around the boxing ring has moments of exhilaration, but it is hardly for the timid, the meek, the weak of heart or spirit. But it is Louie Burke's life.

On Saturday, Burke, now 50, will be inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in ceremonies in Los Angeles. The journey has been joyful, but it has been a boxing journey so it has been filled with plenty of hard knocks and even a near-death experience. Still, it is Burke's passion....his life's journey....his life.

"My brother Rocky and I were raised in the gym," said Burke, who is a Las Cruces firefighter and one of the top boxing trainers in the country. "My dad (Sammy) was a boxing coach in Las Cruces. He fought before he went into the service and used to tell stories about hitchhiking to El Paso to box. My brother Rocky and I would tag along to the gym at the local Boys Club. It's just what I can remember since being out of diapers." Burke said he still remembers his first time in the ring.

"We had a little gymnasium in the Boys Club that used to be a church," he said. "I hadn't done any formal training, just hitting the bags. My dad came up and said he had me a fight. I just said, 'well, OK.' I was seven. I did all right and I won. My second fight was when I was in the third grade. They were having a Battle of Champions. Danny 'Little Red' Lopez was coming in and some more fighters. As an added attraction, they were bringing in former world champion Gene Fullmer. As an exhibition, I fought his son. They ruled it a draw.

"This makes next Saturday even more special," Burke added. "Gene Fullmer is being inducted into the California Hall of Fame Saturday, too." Burke had a strong amateur career, but his real skills - strength, stamina, a rock-solid chin and a huge heart - were better suited to the professional ranks.

"I lost in the Western Olympic Trials," he said. "It was 1980 and we boycotted that year anyway. But I waited a few months, started college at New Mexico State. It was right before my 19th birthday and I decided to go ahead and turn pro. I wanted something to help me pay for school. It's funny ... my professional career just kind of took off, way better than my amateur career. My endurance helped me outlast guys, overcome them in the later rounds. My ability to take a punch helped me walk through a lot of guys."

Burke trained under his father and Larry Renio in his early career. At one point, though, dad told son he needed to move on, that he had taught him all he could. Burke worked under Beto Martinez in Tucson and then moved to Los Angeles to train under Jimmy Montoya.

"There were six of us living in a one-bedroom apartment," Burke said with a chuckle. "We slept on the floor, shared towels. It was just a bit of the rough part of boxing that a lot of fighters go through. I'd never been on a bus before in my life and I remember getting lost a couple of times, trying to come home tired and dehydrated and not knowing where I was going."

Burke was going to the top.

He trained under famous trainers like Jesse Reid and legendary trainers like Angelo Dundee. He got to 18-0 before it all went wrong.

He lost a controversial decision to Charlie "White Lightning" Brown. Television commentators Tim Ryan, Gil Clancy and Sugar Ray Leonard all had Burke winning that fight. He got stopped in a mini-war by Hector Camacho, one in which he had Camacho in trouble. And then came the near-death experience.

"It was my fault," Burke said. "Angelo (Dundee) had no idea what I was doing. I was trying to make 130 pounds because they told me I could get a shot at a world championship with Julio Cesar Chavez at 130. I should have been fighting at 140. I would get up early, run six miles, come back and drink a diet drink, something like a Slim-Fast. I would have a Lean Cuisine for lunch. I'd go train - I was training in Miami at that time - and go a hard 20 rounds. Then in the evening I'd run another four miles and just have a Slim-Fast. I dropped from 160 to 130 pounds in one month."

Burke came home to Las Cruces to fight Rosendo Alonso and had nothing, absolutely nothing to take into that ring. He was stopped in the sixth round, rushed to the hospital completely dehydrated. His potassium level was at zero, his kidneys were shutting down and his heartbeat was down to 12 beats a minute. He was given last rites of the Catholic Church.

Burke never fought again, finishing his career at 19-3.

"Sure, I have a few regrets," Burke said with a shrug. "My career was cut too short. I should have gone up in weight. I would have liked to have had a world title shot. But it was pretty good. I lost to Camacho and he was just better than I was ... but he was better than a lot of guys at that time. I lost my last fight and it was my fault."

Burke paused, then said, "But Saturday will be an extremely special time for me. I'm humbled and truly honored by this."

Rocky Burke, Louie's older brother, had an outstanding amateur career of his own, going 63-8 and is now a highly respected referee. Boxing is simply in the Burke blood.

"Louie was always just a tough kid," Rocky said. "He was always just tough. Then he developed his skills. He was quick. He had a lot of knockouts just because he hit guys so many times. In California, he would go into these guys' hometown, no promoter, just facing the undefeated hometown favorite and he would beat them. He had two great fights against Freddie Roach (now a legendary trainer) and Louie won them both by unanimous decision. Louie was world rated and I'm just really proud of him."

Burke is now best-known as a trainer, working with undefeated world champion Austin Trout (23-0) and up-and-coming undefeated Abie Han (13-0). They appreciate his boxing journey perhaps more than anyone else can.

"I can confidently say Louie is one of the best trainers in America," Trout said. "I've had Olympic coaches and Louie is just really good. He's the best at taking a fighter's style and making it better. He was a fighter and he knows fighters. He knows the emotions you go through - grumpy, happy, losing weight, dealing with promoters. All that experience is priceless."

Han said, "I wouldn't be 13-0 without Louie. Every coach knows a jab, a cross, how to slip a punch. But how will you motivate your fighter? Louie has made me a believer. I just feel that as long as I follow his formula, his game plan, I'm going to win. I believe it. A lot of trainers take guys who have already been raised. Louie got Austin and I at zero-zero (records). Austin made it to the top. I might not get there like Austin did, but I know Louie will give me my best chance."

And so the boxing journey of Louie Burke continues - moving from center ring to corner. On Saturday he will join an elite group in the California Boxing Hall of Fame ... just another step in a beautiful journey in that sweetest of sciences.

Courtesy: El Paso Times

Rick Farris wrote:

Panzerfaust wrote:Frank, Rick or anyone. do you know if Manuel is a boxing fan? or former amateur or pro? Or maybe it is a burrito maker stance??
also look at the painting right behind him.

I think Randy might know?
I don't know if Manuel can fight, but I watched his biggest burrito kick some ass recently!

No. I don't know . I meant to ask him the last time I was there. I've seen that picture too. I have a feeling he fought at some time, perhaps as an amateur.

Nice article on Louie Burke. Congratulations to Louie on his induction into the CBHOF and for his hard work on being part of a championship team now.

John Molina stops Robert Frankel after 5 Rds. Molina battered Frankel throughout the fight and any punches that Frankel connected with were not effective on the well rounded Molina.
Molina opened up a cut over Frankel's rt eye in the lat 3rd rd and blood flowed freely in the 5th rd. The ref and doctor stopped it after the 5th Rd-TKO.
Friday Night Fights w/Teddy Atlas rated Austin Trout 10th on top 10 list.

CNorkusJr wrote:John Molina stops Robert Frankel after 5 Rds. Molina battered Frankel throughout the fight and any punches that Frankel connected with were not effective on the well rounded Molina.
Molina opened up a cut over Frankel's rt eye in the lat 3rd rd and blood flowed freely in the 5th rd. The ref and doctor stopped it after the 5th Rd-TKO.
Friday Night Fights w/Teddy Atlas rated Austin Trout 10th on top 10 list.

Charlie, I met John Molina at Joe Goossen's gym last year, when I went to inform Joe that he was going to be inducted into the WBHOF .
A nice young fighter. He has since left Goossen. Glad to hear he won.

Hall of Fame Day in L.A.


When I was active with the World Boxing Hall of Fame, the day of our annual Banquet of Champions was a special day.
The same is true with the California Boxing Hall of Fame event, only there is more of a "family feeling" to the celebration, a warmth that comes from spending a day with people I literally grew up with. Some of these people were present when I first stepped into a boxing gym, just as I was when Bobby Chacon walked into the Johnny Flores Gym for the first time in 1967. I also remember the very first day that Danny "Little Red" Lopez appeared at the Main Street Gym in 1969. Danny had been fighting amateur in Utah and Nevada, and had moved to L.A. where he stayed with his brother Ernie's family in Arcadia. Danny and I were both seventeen on that summer day 42 years ago.

There are several people who help make this special day happen each year, but the man behind it all is the man who helped make some of those honored today world class professional boxers, Don Fraser. Others may have schooled the boxers, but it was Don Fraser that stratigically matched the boxers and built many into champions. For a boxer like myself, who would never be a champion, it was Don Fraser who made us feel like champions by the way he treated us. Don was fair, and could look boxing people right in the eyes when he shook their hands. The best way to describe a deal that Don Fraser negotiated would be "an agreement in which all parties benefit". That's as good as it gets in life, and a rarity in the world of pro boxing.

Today our Boxrec family will be well represented once again. I expect to see our pal, boxing historian & author Chuck Johnston, as I do each year about this time.
For me, this is the highlight of the year in boxing events, a gathering of some of my most respected friends. It's kinda like a family reunion.

It all starts in about three hours. I think I'll step out for a litttle roadwork, touch bases with a few of my guests, and then it's off to the Sportsman's Lodge.
See you there!

After getting only about five hours of sleep last night, I didn't feel up to driving down to the California Boxing Hall of Fame ceremony today. Sorry about that.....

- Chuck Johnston

CNorkusJr wrote:Nice article on Louie Burke. Congratulations to Louie on his induction into the CBHOF and for his hard work on being part of a championship team now.

What a great family Randy has!
It was great to meet Louie & Rocky Burke. Two examples of the best of boxing, pure class!
Just like the rest of the De La O's.

"The Hawk" . . .

Seeing my old friend Dwight Hawkins really stirred a lot of emotion inside.
Although confined to a wheechair, and unable to speak, his smile was bright and it warmed my heart.
His lovely wife Virginia was present, and myself, Rodolfo Gonzalez and Allen Syers could not help but remian close to the former bantam & featherweight contender.

I told Syers how Hawkins taught me first hand the effect of a left hook to the liver.
"He saw me exposing my liver when we boxed, and he warned me there could be consequences. I exposed it a second time and he pointed out the mistake, again.
The third time I exposed my liver, he taught me a lesson I'd never forget, and I don't think I ever exposed my liver again."

Syers said, "Hah, at least he gave you a warning. I didn't realize there was a problem until I found myself rolling on the canvas in agony, gasping for air!"

I'm grateful to Don Fraser and Frank Baltazar for putting this great feathweight where he belongs, in the California Boxing Hall of Fame .

The CbHoF was a great event And i got to say hello to and talk to alot of great people
It was a pleasure meeting Frank and Randy for the first but not last time if I have a say in it
Rick's dad was a great guy aswell, one who keeps in marvelous shape for his age Rick himself took on the role of a very gracious host who took the time to present me to alot of people wich i really apreciated

Also i had a great talk with Rodolfo Gonzales who was more than willing to share a few tips and stories from his fighting days
All in all I had a great time

Does anyone know of any doctors over in the U.S that are experts on Hand injuries, preferably one with experience with boxing related injuries? I got a msg from a friend of mine back home who injured his hand a while back and had surgery on it, but after its supposed recovery it looks like this and the doctors have no idea whats wrong:

Panzerfaust wrote:The CbHoF was a great event And i got to say hello to and talk to alot of great people
It was a pleasure meeting Frank and Randy for the first but not last time if I have a say in it
Rick's dad was a great guy aswell, one who keeps in marvelous shape for his age Rick himself took on the role of a very gracious host who took the time to present me to alot of people wich i really apreciated

Also i had a great talk with Rodolfo Gonzales who was more than willing to share a few tips and stories from his fighting days
All in all I had a great time

kikibalt wrote:

Panzerfaust wrote:The CbHoF was a great event And i got to say hello to and talk to alot of great people
It was a pleasure meeting Frank and Randy for the first but not last time if I have a say in it
Rick's dad was a great guy aswell, one who keeps in marvelous shape for his age Rick himself took on the role of a very gracious host who took the time to present me to alot of people wich i really apreciated

Also i had a great talk with Rodolfo Gonzales who was more than willing to share a few tips and stories from his fighting days
All in all I had a great time

I just spoke with El Gato on the phone. I shared your post, and he promised that if you return for next year's event, he will show you how to throw a great "gancho", his left hook to the liver. IMO, it's truly one of the best. Have you ever seen him in action?

Rick Farris wrote:

kikibalt wrote:

Panzerfaust wrote:The CbHoF was a great event And i got to say hello to and talk to alot of great people
It was a pleasure meeting Frank and Randy for the first but not last time if I have a say in it
Rick's dad was a great guy aswell, one who keeps in marvelous shape for his age Rick himself took on the role of a very gracious host who took the time to present me to alot of people wich i really apreciated

Also i had a great talk with Rodolfo Gonzales who was more than willing to share a few tips and stories from his fighting days
All in all I had a great time

I just spoke with El Gato on the phone. I shared your post, and he promised that if you return for next year's event, he will show you how to throw a great "gancho", his left hook to the liver. IMO, it's truly one of the best. Have you ever seen him in action?

Not much unfortunatly :(

wow, now im even more phsyced about next years event

Besides Fidel LaBarba (seated center, and to his right), Clever Sencio and Tod Morgan, who are the others in this photo?

When you believe that you belong . . .

I can't tell you guys how much it meant to me to see Dwight Hawkins today.
I doubt he remembered who I was, but it did my heart good.
I will never forget what he meant to me, and how much difference he made in my life.
Dwight was a "giver", he gave everything of himself to what he believed in.
The positive impact he had on people's lives, those who were close to him, and many more who were not, is beyond measure.
Dwight Hawkins was much bigger than the world of boxing, but what he did in boxing was unforgettable to those who watched him in the ring.
He made a difference in my life by example. I could never be the man Dwight Hawkins was, in or outside the ring, but it gave me something to work toward.
I tried to hide the fact that I was surprisingly overcome with emotion when I first saw Dwight, sitting quietly in his wheel chair along with is wife, Virginia.
My mind was flooded with thoughts of my grandfather, Johnny Flores, fighting in Watts at the Imperial Courts Housing Project, where the Hawk once lived as a teenager.
Being the only white kid participating in the exhibitions held that day. That never bothered me, because I was never treated as being different.
I was with "The Hawk", I wasn't just some kid in a program, in my child's mind I was his "stablemate". And I was. I was a Johnny Flores boxer, not some YMCA product.
Being around Johnny Flores, and Jerry Quarry, and Dwight Hawkins more than anybody else, I was exactly where I wanted to be in life.
I never became the fighter these guys were, but I felt that "I belonged". That's how Dwight Hawkins made me feel, like I belonged.
What he gave me was the most important thing that a young person can have, the feeling that they belong somewhere.


-Rick Farris

Ric wrote:Besides Fidel LaBarba (seated center, and to his right), Clever Sencio and Tod Morgan, who are the others in this photo?

I remember an old Filippino trainer named Tony Moreno.
In the mid-60's, Tony worked at the Main Street Gym custom making cups & headgear for boxers.
Tony had once worked with Johnny Forbes, helping train Johnny's great amateur stable.
Tony spoke of some of his contemporaries and one was Clever Sencio, and there was Young Tommy, Speedy Dado, etc.
Fidel LaBarba was an amazing boxer, one of the best to ever to come from the West Coast.
I can't identify anybody else in the photo. Maybe Hap would know?

Fidel Labarba
A championship boxer who gave up his title to attend Stanford University, Fidel LaBarba was one of the first fighters to parlay an Olympic gold medal into a professional career. A converted lefty, LaBarba was a great defensive fighter whose weaving style often kept him from getting hit. He was never knocked out. He later worked in public relations, and was a screenwriter and technical advisor for boxing movies, LaBarba died in 1981 in Los Angeles..

LaBarba's Start in Boxing

LaBarba began boxing around age 12 or 13 in little amateur cards held weekly at places such as the Elks Club, which were promoted by Carlo Curtiss, who had been one of World Heavyweight Champion Jess Willard's managers. "Sometimes we would have nude women at these events," he said. The first known mention of "Young Fidel" is September 18, 1920, by the Los Angeles Times, announcing a boxing/wrestling show at the Italian picnic the next day at Selig Zoo. Eventually, Central Junior High School boxing instructor Bob Howard saw his potential. According to an interview published January 28, 1927 in some United States newspapers, LaBarba mentioned that he defeated a boy named Dave Mariney (a.k.a. Marini) for the high school championship. Based upon this win, his friends suggested he join the amateurs, which he did. By this, he likely meant he joined the A.A.U. LaBarba found it ironic that his first "official" amateur opponent was none other than Dave Mariney. This was at a semi-monthly boxing show sponsored by the Los Angeles Athletic Club (L.A.A.C). "It looked like a crime to match the two," reported the Los Angeles Times November 4, 1920. LaBarba was about four feet tall, and his opponent a foot and a half taller. "But Barba [sic] soon showed he knew how to take care of himself."

George Blake reportedly was the referee at that fight. He and Charles Keppen ran these L.A.A.C. shows. Blake had come to Los Angeles from Chicago in 1904. He had been a United States Army boxing instructor during World War I. By the early 1920s Blake was a well-known referee for boxing venues such as Jack Doyle's Vernon Arena, and would become the regular referee at the soon-to-be-built Hollywood Legion Stadium. He was much-respected, and known as a man of impeccable character. Blake took an interest in the young and talented Fidel LaBarba, and asked Bob Howard to have him come down to the club. " I was asked four or five times, but was embarrassed to go," LaBarba explained. He owned only one pair of torn tennis shoes. He finally mustered the fortitude to go see Blake; thus started a very long relationship. LaBarba continued to have many amateur bouts. "We would receive a gift worth $35.00," he noted. "Later, they would give us a gift certificate to buy clothes at places like the Broadway, or Sears."

Meanwhile, LaBarba attended Central Jr. High School, and then Lincoln High School--both in Los Angeles. He enjoyed playing basketball, baseball, and especially football. He was the quarterback for the "lightweight" (midget) football team. While in high school, he sometimes worked nights until midnight, racking pins at a bowling alley, then sleeping on a cot in back of the building. In the morning he would grab a bite to eat at the local restaurant, then head off to school about a mile away.

By 1924 LaBarba had lost only one bout after some 30-plus recorded contests. George Blake took eight of his L.A.A.C. boxers to Boston June 1924 for the Olympic trials, and LaBarba qualified. The young flyweight boxer won the Olympic Gold Medal in Paris that July. After the Games, Blake arranged an amateur card at Doyle's Vernon Arena with all the American Olympic fighters, at which LaBarba finished out his amateur career.

Professional Boxing Highlights

Fidel LaBarba turned pro later in 1924 while still attending high school. In only his third pro bout, LaBarba dropped a close decision to future hall of famer Jimmy McLarnin, whom he would face twice more, earning a draw and dropping a 10 round decision. Later, in 1925, LaBarba won the American Flyweight Title with a dominating decision over Frankie Genaro. Two years later, LaBarba claimed the World Flyweight Title, which had been vacant with the death of Pancho Villa in 1925, by a decision over Elky Clark.

The following year LaBarba retired as champion, never having defended his title, to attend Stanford University. Returning a year later as a bantamweight, LaBarba was back in great form. He would split two decisions with Kid Chocolate before moving up to featherweight to challenge champion Battling Battalino. In a close, tough bout, Battalino took a hard fought decision over 15 rounds.

While in training to meet Chocolate for the New York State Featherweight Title, LaBarba seriously injured his eye but fought Chocolate anyway, losing a close decision, despite his obscured vision. La Barba retired from boxing in 1927 to enter Stanford University. By that time, he said he had made $400,000. He saw most of it slip through his fingers in the stock market crash and subsequent years of the Depresssion. He returned to the ring in 1928 and fought through 1933.

Post-Boxing Career

LaBarba pursued a career as a professional writer. He had begun to write articles for various magazines, such as Colliers magazine, even before he quit boxing. By the late 1930s, he was working for the 20th Century Fox motion picture company, directly under studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck, whom he had met while playing polo near the studios. While at 20th Century Fox Studios, LaBarba co-wrote the 1939 movie Susannah of the Mounties, starring Shirley Temple, and 1942's Footlight Serenade, with Victor Mature and Betty Grable. (The story loosely paralleled his life.) LaBarba took a break from this work to serve as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He met Luisa in Naples, Italy, in 1944. She became his third wife in 1945. (He first married in March 1928, to Marian De Beck--the ex-wife of noted cartoonist William De Beck, who is credited with coining the American slang terms "heebie-jeebies" and "hotsy-totsy." She later married actor Charles Ruggles. The LaBarbas divorced after two years. According to the Nov. 23, 1937 Tacoma News Tribune, a Ms. Betty Lou LaBarba had filed for divorce; they had married in 1935.) A daughter, Vicki Marie, was born in late 1945 to Fidel and Luisa. Their son, F. John, was born 1953 in Santa Monica, California. LaBarba returned to work for 20th Century Fox until around 1949. From 1949 to 1960 he was a sports writer for the Santa Monica Outlook.

LaBarba worked various jobs after 1960, including a position with the California State Athletic Commission as an inspector--weighing in amateur boxers and wrestlers at the Olympic Auditorium, for example. He retired from the Athletic Commission after suffering a heart attack in 1966.

LaBarba died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles October 2 (not the 3rd, as is often recorded), 1981, and is buried in Plot 4 0 1607 of the National Veterans Cemetery in Riverside, California, where his wife Luisa, who passed on Dec. 29, 1998, also rests. La Barba was survived by his son Fidel Jr.; daughter Victoria and a sister.

Fidel La Barba . . .

I posted the Boxrec bio of his life because I find it so interesting.
In 1983, I went to work as the lighting gaffer of an Aaron Spelling Production, "Hotel".
Academy Award winning actress, Anne Baxter, replaced an ailing Bette Davis as the matriarc of a San Franciso hotel.
I became friendly with the actress who heard I had been a boxer.
She told me that she and La Barba had been close friends many years earlier, and shared some personal memories of the boxer.
I learned the La Barba had attended Lincoln High School, which is where my father went to school many years later.

Rick Farris wrote:Fidel La Barba . . .

I posted the Boxrec bio of his life because I find it so interesting.
In 1983, I went to work as the lighting gaffer of an Aaron Spelling Production, "Hotel".
Academy Award winning actress, Anne Baxter, replaced an ailing Bette Davis as the matriarc of a San Franciso hotel.
I became friendly with the actress who heard I had been a boxer.
She told me that she and La Barba had been close friends many years earlier, and shared some personal memories of the boxer.
I learned the La Barba had attended Lincoln High School, which is where my father went to school many years later.

Rick, Great piece on LaBarba, thanks buddy..

The great Bobby Chacon and me....California Boxing Hall Of Fame Luncheon....2011