Classic American West Coast Boxing

[kikibalt]

No need to do that Frank. It is You, Rick, dagos and others who are responsible for making this the greatest boxrec thread ever.

I am just an enthusiast who lived in South America back then and could only read about these things all of you were blessed to experience first hand. I would get Ring magazines sometimes with a 6-8 month delay. So keeping in mind Ring carried news from 2 months prior I had almost a year lag in my news.

I moved to the U.S. in 87 and since then have been collecting films of all these wonderful men I read about on Ring Magazine as a young boy in Peru.

Thanks again and keep the stories coming!

All due credit to pugs, who started the original thred.

Thanks pugs.

[kikibalt]

[kikibalt]

Oakland Bill Smith (R) vs Ezzard Charles

[Expug]

No need to do that Frank. It is You, Rick, dagos and others who are responsible for making this the greatest boxrec thread ever.

I am just an enthusiast who lived in South America back then and could only read about these things all of you were blessed to experience first hand. I would get Ring magazines sometimes with a 6-8 month delay. So keeping in mind Ring carried news from 2 months prior I had almost a year lag in my news.

I moved to the U.S. in 87 and since then have been collecting films of all these wonderful men I read about on Ring Magazine as a young boy in Peru.

Thanks again and keep the stories coming!

All due credit to pugs, who started the original thred.

Thanks pugs.

Cheers my friend.
You and the rest of the crew have made the thread.
Im really enjoying it .
These stories and pictures are really taking me back in time.
The pictures of the Golden Glovers , your young sons etc.are priceless.
Your son Tony is exactly one week younger than I am.

[kikibalt]

pugs,

Tony was born on Feb. 5, 1961.

[Expug]

pugs,

Tony was born on Feb. 5, 1961.

Me , Jan 25 1961 so I guess its close.
I think Boxrecs got Tony born on Feb 2 1961.

[Expug]

Nope Im wrong.
Boxrec has the right date for Tony.

[kikibalt]

Oscar Muinz & Juilo Rodriguez

[kikibalt]

Battling Torres Jr.

[kikibalt]

Rick,

You know this guy.

[dagosd2000]

There used to be a local kid in San Diego named Aristeo Castro. He was a welterweight. Good looking kid. Very popular. He had about a dozen fights and was undefeated. He was fighting main eventers at the Coliseum and they were grooming him to fight on an undercard at The Forum next time there was a big title fight.

In the meantime his people wanted to keep him sharp,so he was booked for a main event at the Coliseum. I forget who he was going to fight,but at the last moment Davies had to pull one of his razzle dazzle acts because they find out Castro's opponent was in jail.

They break the news to the crowd about this little mishap just after the last pre lim.The announcer says that the fight's going on because they've gotten a last minute substitute,Kid Rayo. Now everyone is booing and yelling for their money back. Well unless they're short a specific number of rounds,that ain't gonna' happen. So the main event is on.

Castro starts down the aisle first. He looks pretty spry and does a little scissors jump through the ring ropes. They pull his hood down and he's dancing from corner to corner smilin' and wavin' to the crowd. He looks like money in the bank.

Then walks down Kid Rayo. He's got a towel over his head so you can't recognize him and an old robe that says"Kid Rayo" on the back. He gets in the ring and starts scuffing his shoes in the rosin box. The referee brings the boys to center to give them their instructions. Rayo's corner men yank the towel away and pull off his robe. You can see he's a real old guy. His body looks soft and his skin is pastey. I'm thinking I can get home early to watch the Johnny Carson Show.

The warning buzzer sounds and I turn to an old timer sitting next to me and say,"I wonder where they dug this guy up from?"
""Don't sell him short", answers the old man. "He knows a few tricks."

Well I figure unless this Kid Rayo is hiding a gun on him,he's got no chance. The bell rings and Castro comes out fast and jumps a left in his face. The first round goes like that. Castro is jabbing him whenever he wants and occasionally follows with a right hand to punctuate matters.

At the start of the second I hear some drunk in the rafters shouting,"Who's Kid Rayo?" This guy don't let up. But fight wears on this for the next 6 rounds. Castro is on the balls of his feet jabbing,double jabbing,a few rights,some uppercuts. He reminds me of a painter in front of his easle painting away having a good 'ol time. At the end of the 6th, Castro goes back to his corner and gives a big salute to the crowd. I'm thinking if I leave now,I can also catch the News.

I decide to stay one more round. For the first minute ,it's a copy of the previous rounds. Rayo is too slow for this guy. He'll never find him. They start to fall into a clinch. The referee is behind Castro. Then I see Rayo's glove go behind Castro's shoulder and he gives him two little taps. Castro steps back and drops his hands. Bang! Rayo digs a left hook into Castro's relaxed belly. The boy's mouthpiece shoots out of his mouth across the ring and he sinks to the canvas on all fours. Castro just fell for the oldest trick in the book! The referee counts ten and Castro's corner comes running out and lift him back to his corner . I feel a bump on my shoulder and I turn and see the old timer next to me looking straight ahead wearing a grin on his face. Well what did I know?

The crowd starts shuffling out and they're all talking about what just happened. Anyway I figure I'll still get home early enough to catch the News. One thing though I want to tell all ya's. Don't sell these old timers short. They know more than you might think.

[kikibalt]

Mr. D, there's your Kid Rayo (R)

[Rick Farris]

Rick,

You know this guy.

Yes, and he was a good guy. When I started boxing, Joey was a referee, but just before I turned pro, in '70, he headed up the Calif. Athletic Commission.

Naturally, I got to know Joey, and after I quit boxing, my brother-in-law Bob Seagren, was considering promoting boxing out in the Pomona area. We contacted Olmos, who met with us and explained to Bob what was needed to promote boxing in Southern Cal.

The idea basically died there, however, it was a nice visit we had with Joey Olmos.

-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

Mr D,

I known Kid Rayo for years, he has to be the best gym fighter I ever saw,
I seen him sparring and he always looked like the greatest fighter ever to lace up the gloves, but, put him in a real fight with a good fighter and he would fall apart, don't know why, but thats just the way he was.

[Rick Farris]

Dagos . . .

I remember Kid Rayo from the Main St. Gym during the 60's. This guy fought everybody, anywhere.

Last time I saw Kid Rayo was in the late 90's, when he was working as a coach/staff member of the LAYAC, which was the Johnny Flores Gym on the top floor of the old Lincoln Heights City Jail.

I spoke with Rayo, and he remembered me from the gym. He told me some very interesting things about Babe McCoy,and what happened to him when he didn't follow instructions. It was a matter of being black balled world wide, even in his home country of Nicaragua.

"Babe McCoy warned me that he had long arms, and I wouldn't be able to fight anywhere, under any name. He was right".

Interesting conversation we had. This was a couple years after Johnnie Flores had died, after an accident in the elevator shaft of the jail house.

By the way, Dagos, I am totally into your great stories. Lots of great info, and entertaining.


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

Dagos . . .

I remember Kid Rayo from the Main St. Gym during the 60's. This guy fought everybody, anywhere.

Last time I saw Kid Rayo was in the late 90's, when he was working as a coach/staff member of the LAYAC, which was the Johnny Flores Gym on the top floor of the old Lincoln Heights City Jail.

I spoke with Rayo, and he remembered me from the gym. He told me some very interesting things about Babe McCoy,and what happened to him when he didn't follow instructions. It was a matter of being black balled world wide, even in his home country of Nicaragua.

"Babe McCoy warned me that he had long arms, and I wouldn't be able to fight anywhere, under any name. He was right".

Interesting conversation we had. This was a couple years after Johnnie Flores had died, after an accident in the elevator shaft of the jail house.

By the way, Dagos, I am totally into your great stories. Lots of great info, and entertaining.


-Rick Farris

Rick,

I've heard that story that Rayo used to put out about Babe McCoy, but fact of the matter is that in 1956, the California State Athletic Commission banned Babe McCoy for life for arranging fixed matches along the West Coast in the late 1940s on through the mid-1950s.

So if Rayo started fighting in 1957, according to BOXREC he had his first fight in 1957, if that is right, well Babe McCoy did not had any juice in 1957, I don't think McCoy could put the arm on Rayo in 1957, with a record of 17- W-(8 ko) 39-L-(5 ko)-5-D, you don't need to put the arm on a fighter like that.

[dagosd2000]

Dagos . . .

I remember Kid Rayo from the Main St. Gym during the 60's. This guy fought everybody, anywhere.

Last time I saw Kid Rayo was in the late 90's, when he was working as a coach/staff member of the LAYAC, which was the Johnny Flores Gym on the top floor of the old Lincoln Heights City Jail.

I spoke with Rayo, and he remembered me from the gym. He told me some very interesting things about Babe McCoy,and what happened to him when he didn't follow instructions. It was a matter of being black balled world wide, even in his home country of Nicaragua.

"Babe McCoy warned me that he had long arms, and I wouldn't be able to fight anywhere, under any name. He was right".

Interesting conversation we had. This was a couple years after Johnnie Flores had died, after an accident in the elevator shaft of the jail house.

By the way, Dagos, I am totally into your great stories. Lots of great info, and entertaining.


-Rick Farris

Rick and Frank,Thanks for giving me some info on Kid Rayo. Honest to God when he stepped into the ring that night against Castro,I thought they made this guy up. Later I looked up his career. Talk about a journeyman. Taking a fight on short notice. I bet ExPug could imagine him in Fat City. To tell you the truth,it's guys like Rayo that draw me to the sport. Somewhere,sometime,I don't know for sure,fighters like Rayo should get their just rewards.

[dagosd2000]

A question I've always wanted to ask: why did boxing become so marginalized in LA in the 1980s? I grew up reading about LA boxing and the massive names and the massive crowds.
Then, it was virtually gone.

Bennie,

I don't have an answer to that, I go back to the late 1940's and I can remember that, then, you could go and see live fight, Monday to Friday, an some times on Saturday too, but in the late 1980's everything went to hell, the Forum and Olympic close, now, we get a live card onces every six monts or so.

We have nothing going on down here in San Diego. Even Tijuana has dried up. That's why when this thread came along and I got to know you and Rick,I finally got my pulse back. I figure we got the 1st Amendment on our side,so we can keep this going forever. By the way"Donde esta El Gato?"

[Rick Farris]

So if Rayo started fighting in 1957, according to BOXREC he had his first fight in 1957, if that is right, well Babe McCoy did not had any juice in 1957, I don't think McCoy could put the arm on Rayo in 1957, with a record of 17- W-(8 ko) 39-L-(5 ko)-5-D, you don't need to put the arm on a fighter like that.[/quote]


LOL! Frank, thanks for that info! Kid Rayo really had his rap down regarding Babe McCoy. Thanks for facts, figures and truth, regarding Kid Rayo's claims. This is why I love this thread, it's a place where we can learn the true history, not some dramatic fairy tale.

Many of these posts are worth saving.


-Rick

[kikibalt]

Dagos . . .

I remember Kid Rayo from the Main St. Gym during the 60's. This guy fought everybody, anywhere.

Last time I saw Kid Rayo was in the late 90's, when he was working as a coach/staff member of the LAYAC, which was the Johnny Flores Gym on the top floor of the old Lincoln Heights City Jail.

I spoke with Rayo, and he remembered me from the gym. He told me some very interesting things about Babe McCoy,and what happened to him when he didn't follow instructions. It was a matter of being black balled world wide, even in his home country of Nicaragua.

"Babe McCoy warned me that he had long arms, and I wouldn't be able to fight anywhere, under any name. He was right".

Interesting conversation we had. This was a couple years after Johnnie Flores had died, after an accident in the elevator shaft of the jail house.

By the way, Dagos, I am totally into your great stories. Lots of great info, and entertaining.


-Rick Farris

Rick and Frank,Thanks for giving me some info on Kid Rayo. Honest to God when he stepped into the ring that night against Castro,I thought they made this guy up. Later I looked up his career. Talk about a journeyman. Taking a fight on short notice. I bet ExPug could imagine him in Fat City. To tell you the truth,it's guys like Rayo that draw me to the sport. Somewhere,sometime,I don't know for sure,fighters like Rayo should get their just rewards.

Mr. D,

I heard the Kid is not doing too good, to bad, with out fighter like Rayo lots of show would go down the toilet, I'm sure that he saved lots of show because he was ready to go at a moment's notice, I wish him all the luck in the world.

[Rick Farris]

Rodolfo "El Gato" Gonzalez . . .

I'll call "El Gato" tonight, and see if he will drop in and say "hello" tomorrow night. I know he is looking forward to joining us. He has read the posts, and was happy to read what Dagos posted about him.

-Rick

[dagosd2000]

Dagos . . .

I remember Kid Rayo from the Main St. Gym during the 60's. This guy fought everybody, anywhere.

Last time I saw Kid Rayo was in the late 90's, when he was working as a coach/staff member of the LAYAC, which was the Johnny Flores Gym on the top floor of the old Lincoln Heights City Jail.

I spoke with Rayo, and he remembered me from the gym. He told me some very interesting things about Babe McCoy,and what happened to him when he didn't follow instructions. It was a matter of being black balled world wide, even in his home country of Nicaragua.

"Babe McCoy warned me that he had long arms, and I wouldn't be able to fight anywhere, under any name. He was right".

Interesting conversation we had. This was a couple years after Johnnie Flores had died, after an accident in the elevator shaft of the jail house.

By the way, Dagos, I am totally into your great stories. Lots of great info, and entertaining.


-Rick Farris

Rick and Frank,Thanks for giving me some info on Kid Rayo. Honest to God when he stepped into the ring that night against Castro,I thought they made this guy up. Later I looked up his career. Talk about a journeyman. Taking a fight on short notice. I bet ExPug could imagine him in Fat City. To tell you the truth,it's guys like Rayo that draw me to the sport. Somewhere,sometime,I don't know for sure,fighters like Rayo should get their just rewards.

Mr. D,

I heard the Kid is not doing to good, to bad, with out fighter like Rayo lots of show would go down the toilet, I'm sure that he saved lots of show because he was ready to go at a moment's notice, I wish all the luck in the world.

Young Fella,I got it figured like this. If somehow I reach the Pearly Gates,I'm probably gonna' have to get the OK from a guy like The Kid to get through. Capice?

[dagosd2000]

Rodolfo "El Gato" Gonzalez . . .

I'll call "El Gato" tonight, and see if he will drop in and say "hello" tomorrow night. I know he is looking forward to joining us. He has read the posts, and was happy to read what Dagos posted about him.

-Rick

Thanks Pal

[kikibalt]

Canto Robledo

[kikibalt]

Art Soto