Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

Orale!!!......

Isn't that . . .??? Never mind, he's "in custody" this month.

-Ricardo

Rick, you must have been reading my mind....

[Expug]

Man, this three quotes thing is a pain! I think that the more someone wins, the harder it is for the someone to accept defeat. Chavez looked a gimmee for 100 not out prior to Randall and, as with Larry Holmes at 48-0, the surprise loss close to such a huge landmark simply soured him.
Some fighters shrug off defeat pretty quickly (like Duran); some don't.

Good observation Bennie. I was thinking the same thing.
All those wins, defeat , when it happens can be real hard to deal with.

[kikibalt]

Who was Jimmy Reeves?



Frank . . . Just for the record, thought I'd share a little info about Jimmy Reeves that I just learned. This isn't major news, just interesting to some.

Jimmy Reeves fought out of Cleveland and was doing pretty well when he came to L.A. and whipped a guy named Johnny Dias at the Hollywood Legion Stadium. Four months later he handed an unbeaten Jake LaMotta his first loss, winning by a split decision The fight was close and the fans demanded a rematch. A month later, Reeves totally out boxed LaMotta winning the first 8 rounds easily. In the last two rounds, he went toe-to-toe with LaMotta and held his own with the Raging Bull, winning a one-sided unanimous decision. Three years later there was a third match, this time Reeves went toe-to-toe with LaMotta at the opening bell. By the fifth round Reeves was tiring and began to fade. LaMotta caught him with a perfect punch and dropped him flat on his face where he was counted out.

This is another fighter who's record does not reflect his true talent. The Hollywood Legion fight kinda relates him to "Classic West Coast Boxing". I try to keep things I post related to the West Coast, but let's face it, all boxing ties into itself somewhere, and at times it's good to stray a bit. Just my opinion.

Thanks for all you do for us on this thread. You are foundation of our group and it's the best thread I've ever been associated with. I need nothing more on-line.

-Rick

[kikibalt]

George Foreman


"Georgie"

By Diego

[Rick Farris]

A DIFFERENT PLACE

Look at a boxing ring. Go to an empty gym and look at the ring. Simple structure. Strands of rope attached to ring posts and a canvas mat. A work place and theater for the sport of boxing. Inside the ring is the most unforgiving place in the world. Once you are inside the ring you are expected to accept what comes at you. It is not friendly. Sympathy is a vacuum. If you can't take what's going on in there,there's no law saying you have to go back in. But if you make the decision to get inside the ring,you are on your own. You have to find something inside yourself to survive in there. Don't look at your corner to help you. You have to punch. Protect yourself. You are on your own. When the work inside the ring is over,you leave with a satisfaction that you were tested when you had no one with you .Alone, you withstood the test. If you can do it alone,you know you can do anything.

Roger Esty I:21 AM. Pacific Standard time in front of a computer. San Diego,California.

Well said Rog! That piece should be printed, put on a plaque and hung over the door in every boxing gym in the country. Might start turning out real fighters again!

Roger, your words are those of an artist. Randy is right, they belong on a plague, framed to share with the world as you do your paintings. A few years ago, while working on a commercial in N.Y., I met an artist in Manahatten, who loved boxing. He invited me to his loft in Soho, where we talked boxing for hours. A few days later, he brought me a gift, a sculpture he'd made from metal with a blow torch. It was a boxing ring, configured from a brass plate and welding rod, with two boxers and a referee made out of roofing nails. I'd have to say it was the most dramatic piece of art I'd ever seen, with the referee pulling one boxer off the other, who had fallen helpless into the ropes. I was so touched by this piece of work. However, as much as I loved my gift, I believe that art is to be shared. Earlier this year, I gave it to my friend, Gwen Adair, who was dealing with the loss of her mother. I told Gwen the referee reminded me of her, which it did. That simple work of art bonded an already strong friendship. Your words compliment that metal boxing ring, two works of art, by two artists that share my passion for boxing. I must share what you wrote with Gwen, and put them on a plaque, as Randy suggested. Thank you for sharing your art with us, mi amigo. We value you.

-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

George Foreman


"Georgie"

By Diego

That's him!

-Rick

[dagosd2000]

George Foreman


"Georgie"

By Diego

Being a big guy can work for you, or be a curse against you. "Everyone loves a fat man." Well when George Foreman was the Champ,the first time,I don't think many people loved him.Maybe he wanted it that way. George wanted people to be afraid of him. And it worked most of the time. Recently ,he said that at one time he wanted to kill a man in the ring.

Then Zaire.Everything that was his identity,the baddest dude on the planet,fell to second place. Guys with issues like Foreman,second place is at the bottom of the barrel.
He went into a tailspin. Suicidal thoughts. A self destruction.He became a Reverand. He was trying to find a better place. But first he had to take stock. Clean himself out. Start all over and rebuild.

George Foreman did one the hardest and most beautifull things a human being can do. He reinvented himself. Look at the old George,and look at the new. Totally different people. George is approachable,friendly,happy. You want him to be your neighbor. He thinks Ali was the Greatest along with all the other Champs. He loves to eat. Be around people. A great open personality. He doesn't impose himself on anyone.

Poor Sonny Liston,who George tried to model himself after,never did what George did. Sonny died a pathetic tragic figure. Maybe George Foreman thought about Liston after his loss to Ali. Ali,the man that beat the bullies. One used the defeat as a catalyst to change into a good person. The other stayed on the same road. But it was an illusion. There's nobody that tough.

When I decided to paint Big George....Well you can guess. Which Foreman did I pick out? The old or the new?

[dagosd2000]

A DIFFERENT PLACE

Look at a boxing ring. Go to an empty gym and look at the ring. Simple structure. Strands of rope attached to ring posts and a canvas mat. A work place and theater for the sport of boxing. Inside the ring is the most unforgiving place in the world. Once you are inside the ring you are expected to accept what comes at you. It is not friendly. Sympathy is a vacuum. If you can't take what's going on in there,there's no law saying you have to go back in. But if you make the decision to get inside the ring,you are on your own. You have to find something inside yourself to survive in there. Don't look at your corner to help you. You have to punch. Protect yourself. You are on your own. When the work inside the ring is over,you leave with a satisfaction that you were tested when you had no one with you .Alone, you withstood the test. If you can do it alone,you know you can do anything.

Roger Esty I:21 AM. Pacific Standard time in front of a computer. San Diego,California.

Well said Rog! That piece should be printed, put on a plaque and hung over the door in every boxing gym in the country. Might start turning out real fighters again!

Roger, your words are those of an artist. Randy is right, they belong on a plague, framed to share with the world as you do your paintings. A few years ago, while working on a commercial in N.Y., I met an artist in Manahatten, who loved boxing. He invited me to his loft in Soho, where we talked boxing for hours. A few days later, he brought me a gift, a sculpture he'd made from metal with a blow torch. It was a boxing ring, configured from a brass plate and welding rod, with two boxers and a referee made out of roofing nails. I'd have to say it was the most dramatic piece of art I'd ever seen, with the referee pulling one boxer off the other, who had fallen helpless into the ropes. I was so touched by this piece of work. However, as much as I loved my gift, I believe that art is to be shared. Earlier this year, I gave it to my friend, Gwen Adair, who was dealing with the loss of her mother. I told Gwen the referee reminded me of her, which it did. That simple work of art bonded an already strong friendship. Your words compliment that metal boxing ring, two works of art, by two artists that share my passion for boxing. I must share what you wrote with Gwen, and put them on a plaque, as Randy suggested. Thank you for sharing your art with us, mi amigo. We value you.

-Rick Farris

Thanks Rick
The thread. The fellas on this thread ,have become my inspiration.

[dagosd2000]

You know I was thinking just now. Big George talks a lot about Archie Moore today.

[Rick Farris]

Man, this three quotes thing is a pain! I think that the more someone wins, the harder it is for the someone to accept defeat. Chavez looked a gimmee for 100 not out prior to Randall and, as with Larry Holmes at 48-0, the surprise loss close to such a huge landmark simply soured him.
Some fighters shrug off defeat pretty quickly (like Duran); some don't.

Good observation Bennie. I was thinking the same thing.
All those wins, defeat , when it happens can be real hard to deal with.

I agree, Bennie. What truly defines an all-time great is how he responds to defeat, especially when he is flattened. An aging Duran just brushed off going face down against Hearns, to win both the jr. middleweight and middleweight titles, the latter shortly before his 38th birthday. Marco Antonio Berrera was iced by Junior Jones, yet he returned to lose again to Jones, then win multiple titles in brilliant fashion. Dempsey was flattened early in his career, but shrugged it off like a bad hangover and went on to make history. Show me what a guy does when he climbs off the canvas, that will determine whether or not he is a "great" boxer. To those who boasted that Roy Jones was the best fighter to ever lace on a glove, well, what did he do after he'd tasted the canvas? He certainly didn't get up, did he? And he would be flattened again, by another second rate opponent, and then make his exit from the sport for good. After five years of retirement, Jones will become eligable for induction into the WBHOF, for which I am one of five on the selection commitee. I assure you he will not be inducted before others more deserving. Great post, Bennie. Some people just don't get it.

-Rick

[kikibalt]

I just sent my son James with a pan to buy some Menudo with pata, like Randy says "Breakfast of Champions"

[Expug]

Thats one thing I love about the old time fighters.
Boxing was there craft, their trade.
If they had a bad day at work, they got right back in there and fought again without making excuses.
Hell, Fritzie Zivic would beat all time greats. He fought constantly and if he lost a fight he would say, "I ran second".
That is not the same as not giving a shit.
That is a demontration of mental toughness. The ability not to let a loss detour you.

[Expug]

Who was Jimmy Reeves?



Frank . . . Just for the record, thought I'd share a little info about Jimmy Reeves that I just learned. This isn't major news, just interesting to some.

Jimmy Reeves fought out of Cleveland and was doing pretty well when he came to L.A. and whipped a guy named Johnny Dias at the Hollywood Legion Stadium. Four months later he handed an unbeaten Jake LaMotta his first loss, winning by a split decision The fight was close and the fans demanded a rematch. A month later, Reeves totally out boxed LaMotta winning the first 8 rounds easily. In the last two rounds, he went toe-to-toe with LaMotta and held his own with the Raging Bull, winning a one-sided unanimous decision. Three years later there was a third match, this time Reeves went toe-to-toe with LaMotta at the opening bell. By the fifth round Reeves was tiring and began to fade. LaMotta caught him with a perfect punch and dropped him flat on his face where he was counted out.

This is another fighter who's record does not reflect his true talent. The Hollywood Legion fight kinda relates him to "Classic West Coast Boxing". I try to keep things I post related to the West Coast, but let's face it, all boxing ties into itself somewhere, and at times it's good to stray a bit. Just my opinion.

Thanks for all you do for us on this thread. You are foundation of our group and it's the best thread I've ever been associated with. I need nothing more on-line.

-Rick

I feel the same way.

Jimmy Reeves was the fighter Deniro/Lamotta was taking on in the opening scene of "Raging Bull".
Gene Lebell was the ring announcer.

[dagosd2000]

I just sent my son James with a pan to buy some Menudo with pata, like Randy says "Breakfast of Champions"

FINALLY!!!. Don't hesitate next time. Diego

[dagosd2000]

Who was Jimmy Reeves?



Frank . . . Just for the record, thought I'd share a little info about Jimmy Reeves that I just learned. This isn't major news, just interesting to some.

Jimmy Reeves fought out of Cleveland and was doing pretty well when he came to L.A. and whipped a guy named Johnny Dias at the Hollywood Legion Stadium. Four months later he handed an unbeaten Jake LaMotta his first loss, winning by a split decision The fight was close and the fans demanded a rematch. A month later, Reeves totally out boxed LaMotta winning the first 8 rounds easily. In the last two rounds, he went toe-to-toe with LaMotta and held his own with the Raging Bull, winning a one-sided unanimous decision. Three years later there was a third match, this time Reeves went toe-to-toe with LaMotta at the opening bell. By the fifth round Reeves was tiring and began to fade. LaMotta caught him with a perfect punch and dropped him flat on his face where he was counted out.

This is another fighter who's record does not reflect his true talent. The Hollywood Legion fight kinda relates him to "Classic West Coast Boxing". I try to keep things I post related to the West Coast, but let's face it, all boxing ties into itself somewhere, and at times it's good to stray a bit. Just my opinion.

Thanks for all you do for us on this thread. You are foundation of our group and it's the best thread I've ever been associated with. I need nothing more on-line.

-Rick

I feel the same way.

Jimmy Reeves was the fighter Deniro/Lamotta was taking on in the opening scene of "Raging Bull".
Gene Lebell was the ring announcer.

Classic opening to a great film. LeBell figeting after the result. Good acting.

[kikibalt]

Muhammad Ali


"Ali"

By Diego

[kikibalt]

[dagosd2000]

HAND PAINTED SIGNS

I paint faces. I really don't get much from painting anything else. A tree? A pasture with flowers? A bowl of fruit? No. Doesn't do it for me. Maybe that's why I never went in for art lessons. If the instructor wanted me to paint a mountain,I'd have walked out the class. It juat that I like to paint faces. Whether I'm any good is pure subjective.

One of the rerasons I like going to Mexico is that there is a plethora of hand painted signs. On stores,taxi cabs,schools,restaurants.You see guys with their little box of paints and brushes. Deliberately painting signs on the street and inside buildings. It's a common trade down there. My son in law does that for a living when he isn't drinking. He'll show me what he has painted when we go to Centro. The front of a window. The sign on the barbershop. Usually in that Old English script. I guess he would be classified as an artist also. I know I wouldn't be able to do it. I like to paint faces. DaVinci painted the Mona Lisa. Van Gogh,A Starry Night. My son in law,the sign in front of the Taco Stand on lower 5th Street in TJ.,Memo's Tacos Ricos. There are a lot of artists out there. Let me tell ya'.

[kikibalt]

Little League Baseball World Series.

Mexico vs Hawaii

12:30 PST.

[dagosd2000]

Aragon,Mantle,Andrade,the Solons. Anyone under 60 remember those names?

[Randyman]

A DIFFERENT PLACE

Look at a boxing ring. Go to an empty gym and look at the ring. Simple structure. Strands of rope attached to ring posts and a canvas mat. A work place and theater for the sport of boxing. Inside the ring is the most unforgiving place in the world. Once you are inside the ring you are expected to accept what comes at you. It is not friendly. Sympathy is a vacuum. If you can't take what's going on in there,there's no law saying you have to go back in. But if you make the decision to get inside the ring,you are on your own. You have to find something inside yourself to survive in there. Don't look at your corner to help you. You have to punch. Protect yourself. You are on your own. When the work inside the ring is over,you leave with a satisfaction that you were tested when you had no one with you .Alone, you withstood the test. If you can do it alone,you know you can do anything.

Roger Esty I:21 AM. Pacific Standard time in front of a computer. San Diego,California.

Well said Rog! That piece should be printed, put on a plaque and hung over the door in every boxing gym in the country. Might start turning out real fighters again!

Roger, your words are those of an artist. Randy is right, they belong on a plague, framed to share with the world as you do your paintings. A few years ago, while working on a commercial in N.Y., I met an artist in Manahatten, who loved boxing. He invited me to his loft in Soho, where we talked boxing for hours. A few days later, he brought me a gift, a sculpture he'd made from metal with a blow torch. It was a boxing ring, configured from a brass plate and welding rod, with two boxers and a referee made out of roofing nails. I'd have to say it was the most dramatic piece of art I'd ever seen, with the referee pulling one boxer off the other, who had fallen helpless into the ropes. I was so touched by this piece of work. However, as much as I loved my gift, I believe that art is to be shared. Earlier this year, I gave it to my friend, Gwen Adair, who was dealing with the loss of her mother. I told Gwen the referee reminded me of her, which it did. That simple work of art bonded an already strong friendship. Your words compliment that metal boxing ring, two works of art, by two artists that share my passion for boxing. I must share what you wrote with Gwen, and put them on a plaque, as Randy suggested. Thank you for sharing your art with us, mi amigo. We value you.

-Rick Farris

Rog, I hope you don't mind. I posted these words on my website. Incredible words. Poetic words! I agree with Rick, great art and great words should be shared.

Randy

[Rick Farris]

Rick, thanks ahead of time for inquiring about Johnny Pretzie when you talk to Freddie Roach.
Theres another guy maybe you could ask Freddie about who was a real good amateur and had a few pro fights.
His name was John Shea.
He was another guy who was with Bulger , and wrote a book called "Rat Bastards".
He did ten years in the joint .

I'll write these names down, Brian. I tend to be forgetful lately. I like Freddie a lot, not because he is one of the "hot" trainers today, but because he is basicly a simple guy, who knows and loves boxing. We kind of hit it off, after Frankie Duarte told him I had sparred with his favorite fighter, Ruben Olivares. The walls of Freddie's gym are covered with boxing photos, posters, etc. Some are from when he and his brother Pep were kids, their late father, who was a boxer. Freddie said he grew up in the projects outside Southie. "Others kids had a swing set in their backyard, we had a boxing ring". Once in awhile Freddie's mother will stop by, usually on weekends when Roach occasionally puts on unofficial boxing matches, or smokers, in his ring. The other guys who are gym regulars are OK too. It's funny, just as the Main St. Gym had guys like Duke Holloway, Rip Roseboro, the Soto brothers, etc. Freddie's gym has it's own cast of charactors. These guys are a throw back to the era I loved so much, they like me and the feeling is mutual. From Freddie, I have learned quite a bit of the stuff I'd pick up when I was a part of boxing in L.A. I learn things you won't read about anywhere, the myths about what is really going on with certain people, not necessarily what he must avoid revealing to the public. Things about the late Eddie Futch, etc.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Aragon,Mantle,Andrade,the Solons. Anyone under 60 remember those names?

Yep! I'm 56, Frank. So that qualifies in the "under 60" catagory.

Rick

[kikibalt]

Aragon,Mantle,Andrade,the Solons. Anyone under 60 remember those names?

Yep! I'm 56, Frank. So that qualifies in the "under 60" catagory.

Rick

I not only remember Aragon/Andrade, I got to know them fairly good, and btw I was at their fight, I too thought the ref stopped the fight to soon.

[kikibalt]

Dick Goldstein