BoxRec

kikibalt wrote:
Sugar Ray Robinson

BLACK GENIUS

Blacks are gifted. They are inclined to perform well and beyond. Oh,it's genetics. They're predisposed. Music and athletics. Is that it?

Paris, France. Most visited place in the world . The Eiffell Tower. The most visited landmark. So what does Paris ask for? What don't they have that they want,even if it's only for a little while? How about Sugar Ray Robinson. Art Tatum. Charlie Parker. Some of our Black geniuses. Black geniuses? Talented. Gifted. Even blessed. But to go so far to say they are geniuses? Paris,the most alluring ,romantic place on Earth asked for our Black geniuses. That's what Pariseans called them. Now don't counter me with that Jerry Lewis bull shit. The Pariseans who wouldn't live anywhere else wanted our geniuses. Music you can connect with art and beauty. Fatha Hines playing on the Champ Elysses.That's art obviously. Ray Robinson went to France several times. Paris wanted to see the last flicker of his light. They could tell in the early 60's by the way he held himself that he was a genius. Maybe not a champion,but a master.

Paris today is nothing but the structures that adorn the city. The Louvre. The Arch de Triumphe. The small cafes. The narrow streets. The geniuses are gone. Edith Piaf is all but unknown. I'm in the Monmarte in a book store. No books on her life. The clerk scratches his head when I say her name.
"But we have the Stones and the Beatles."
They don't know the geniuses. Their names are in space. Across from the Pigalle where the torch singers and thugs roamed the area and the bistros and clubs nurtured and provided the dreams are gone. McDonalds is next to the Moulin Rouge. The lines of tour buses in front. Only the structures remain. The flesh and blood that made Paris the City of Light are extiguished.

Our Black geniuses are talked about by the ones who remembered them. La Creme de la Creme. Maybe not fully appreciated here,but in the the City of Light,it was their presence that set the city ablaze.

Ray Robinson's biggest critics were those who had loaned or advanced him money. Personally, I have no sympathy for boxing promoters who find themselves being taken for a ride by a boxer, considering every world class fighter I've ever known has been screwed by a promoter in some respect. Personally, I always liked Mickey Davies, who both Randy and I fought for. Mickey, to my knowledge was a straight shooter. However, Davies complained t
o George Parnassus in front of myself and Mel Epstein about Ray Robinson. Mickey offered Robinson $300 for a personal appearance (1971). Ray demanded$500 in advance, which Davies reluctantly gave him. Robinson then was a ''no show''. Parnassus said that was typical of Ray Robinson. -Rick

kikibalt wrote:
Joey Giardello & Ernie Durando 23 June 1953 Madison Square Garden New York City, Dr. Vincent Nardiello examines the fighters prior to their bout at Madison Square Garden held on
June 26, 1953. (Durando is on the left)

Funny, I was looking at Charles Humez's phenomenal record yesterday - he lost just a handful of around 100 fights. One of them was to Durando, who sparked him in six rounds in Paris.

dagosd2000 wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Sugar Ray Robinson

BLACK GENIUS

Blacks are gifted. They are inclined to perform well and beyond. Oh,it's genetics. They're predisposed. Music and athletics. Is that it?

Paris, France. Most visited place in the world . The Eiffell Tower. The most visited landmark. So what does Paris ask for? What don't they have that they want,even if it's only for a little while? How about Sugar Ray Robinson. Art Tatum. Charlie Parker. Some of our Black geniuses. Black geniuses? Talented. Gifted. Even blessed. But to go so far to say they are geniuses? Paris,the most alluring ,romantic place on Earth asked for our Black geniuses. That's what Pariseans called them. Now don't counter me with that Jerry Lewis bull shit. The Pariseans who wouldn't live anywhere else wanted our geniuses. Music you can connect with art and beauty. Fatha Hines playing on the Champ Elysses.That's art obviously. Ray Robinson went to France several times. Paris wanted to see the last flicker of his light. They could tell in the early 60's by the way he held himself that he was a genius. Maybe not a champion,but a master.

Paris today is nothing but the structures that adorn the city. The Louvre. The Arch de Triumphe. The small cafes. The narrow streets. The geniuses are gone. Edith Piaf is all but unknown. I'm in the Monmarte in a book store. No books on her life. The clerk scratches his head when I say her name.
"But we have the Stones and the Beatles."
They don't know the geniuses. Their names are in space. Across from the Pigalle where the torch singers and thugs roamed the area and the bistros and clubs nurtured and provided the dreams are gone. McDonalds is next to the Moulin Rouge. The lines of tour buses in front. Only the structures remain. The flesh and blood that made Paris the City of Light are extiguished.

Our Black geniuses are talked about by the ones who remembered them. La Creme de la Creme. Maybe not fully appreciated here,but in the the City of Light,it was their presence that set the city ablaze.

My brother proposesd to his wife at the top if the Eiffel Tower. It was around March time, and he remembers it was effin' freezing. France is a strange country and the French are strange people. They don't like the British and we don't like them. I once spent four rather unpleasant weeks in France. Never again.

bennie wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Joey Giardello & Ernie Durando 23 June 1953 Madison Square Garden New York City, Dr. Vincent Nardiello examines the fighters prior to their bout at Madison Square Garden held on
June 26, 1953. (Durando is on the left)

Funny, I was looking at Charles Humez's phenomenal record yesterday - he lost just a handful of around 100 fights. One of them was to Durando, who sparked him in six rounds in Paris.

Bennie,

I seen Durando fight a few times on t.v. in the 1950's, you could be sure of a good fight when he fought, man, he was one tough sob.

Gene Fullmer vs Benny "Kid" Paret

Gene Fullmer vs Ernie Durando

Frankie Baltazar... Labor Day,1980
Upper twin Lakes, Bridgeport, Ca. (High Sierra)

kikibalt wrote:

bennie wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Joey Giardello & Ernie Durando 23 June 1953 Madison Square Garden New York City, Dr. Vincent Nardiello examines the fighters prior to their bout at Madison Square Garden held on
June 26, 1953. (Durando is on the left)

Funny, I was looking at Charles Humez's phenomenal record yesterday - he lost just a handful of around 100 fights. One of them was to Durando, who sparked him in six rounds in Paris.

Bennie,

I seen Durando fight a few times on t.v. in the 1950's, you could be sure of a good fight when he fought, man, he was one tough sob.

He looks it, Frankie.

kikibalt wrote:
Gene Fullmer vs Benny "Kid" Paret

Paret had a brave manager.

kikibalt wrote:
Gene Fullmer vs Ernie Durando

Bad hair day for Ernie, here, although I wouldn't say it to his face.

Gene Fullmer & Ralph "Tiger" Jones

bennie wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Gene Fullmer vs Ernie Durando

Bad hair day for Ernie, here, although I wouldn't say it to his face.

I don't think you would, Bennie.....

What more do you know about Durando, Frankie? He must have been world class.

bennie wrote:What more do you know about Durando, Frankie? He must have been world class.

Not much more, Bennie, as he was on the East Coast and I on the West Coast, and yes he was world class, I'm going to bring up his record.

Ernie Durando

Alias The Rock
Birth Name Armando Ernest Durando
Country USA
Global Id 10916
Birthplace Bayonne, NJ
Division Middleweight
Born 1926-04-07
Died 1992-05-00
Height 174cm


Career Record © http://www.boxrec.com

Date Opponent Location Result
1957-02-18 Gene Fullmer Denver, USA L UD 10
1956-12-24 Angelo DeFendis New York City, USA L KO 1
1956-10-13 Fernando Spallotta Paterson, USA W TKO 7
1956-07-05 Jimmy Martinez Portland, USA W SD 10
1955-06-17 Ralph Jones New York City, USA L TKO 6
1955-02-04 Kid Gavilan New York City, USA L SD 10
1954-12-28 Peter Mueller Milwaukee, USA L KO 7
1954-12-14 Jesse Turner Kansas City, USA W SD 10
1954-10-25 Bobby Dykes Milwaukee, USA W SD 10
1954-06-09 Billy Kilgore Miami Beach, USA L TKO 10
1954-03-29 Ted Olla Milwaukee, USA W TKO 8
1954-02-19 Rocky Castellani New York City, USA L UD 10
1953-10-23 Charles Humez Paris, France W KO 6
1953-09-02 Randy Sandy Saint Louis, USA D PTS 10
1953-06-26 Joey Giardello New York City, USA L UD 10
1953-03-27 Paddy Young New York City, USA L UD 12
1952-10-27 Freddie Lott Providence, USA W TKO 7
1952-06-27 Norman Hayes New York City, USA W UD 10
1952-03-07 Paddy Young New York City, USA L UD 10
1952-01-11 Rocky Castellani New York City, USA W TKO 7
1951-11-30 Paddy Young New York City, USA D PTS 10
1951-11-02 Paddy Young New York City, USA W SD 10
1951-09-07 Jimmy Herring New York City, USA W TKO 2
1951-07-30 Bobby Dykes Miami, USA L PTS 10
1951-05-16 Joe Bonadies Elizabeth, USA W TKO 6
1951-04-30 Joey Giardello Scranton, USA L PTS 10
1951-02-02 Harold Green New York City, USA L UD 10
1950-12-04 Harold Green Cleveland, USA L PTS 10
1950-11-09 Joey DeJohn Cleveland, USA W KO 5
1950-10-23 Paul Pender Boston, USA L PTS 10
1950-09-15 Paddy Young New York City, USA L UD 10
1950-08-23 Tony Masciarelli Bayonne, USA W PTS 8
1950-06-19 Mario Moreno Brooklyn, USA W PTS 8
1950-05-26 Sal Belloise New York City, USA W TKO 5
1950-03-08 Vinnie Cidone New York City, USA W TKO 4
1950-01-27 Rocky Castellani New York City, USA L UD 10
1949-12-16 Jimmy Sanders New York City, USA W KO 2
1949-11-21 Jimmy Mills Jersey City, USA W KO 2
1949-09-23 Jimmy Flood New York City, USA L KO 6
1949-09-09 Jimmy Snedeker New York City, USA W KO 1
1949-08-29 Jimmy Milligan Newark, USA W KO 2
1949-08-01 Jimmy Taylor Newark, USA L PTS 8
1949-06-28 Billy Lee Bayonne, USA W KO 8
1949-03-09 Mike DeCosmo Jersey City, USA W KO 8
1949-02-02 Mike DeCosmo Jersey City, USA D PTS 8
1949-01-19 Johnny Crosby Jersey City, USA W KO 1
1948-12-07 Roger Muriel Jersey City, USA L PTS 8
1948-11-23 Earl Peoples Jersey City, USA W KO 1
1948-11-09 Tommy Thomas Jersey City, USA W KO 1
1947-10-14 Jules Rinaldo Jersey City, USA L PTS 8
1947-09-24 Esco Greenwood Jersey City, USA W PTS 8
1947-08-05 Billy Ellison Elizabeth, USA W KO 2
1947-07-15 Freddie Patterson Union City, USA W PTS 8
1947-07-01 Jimmy Milligan Union City, USA W KO 4
1947-04-01 Eric Oliver Jersey City, USA W KO 1
1947-03-18 Roy Wilson Jersey City, USA W PTS 6
1947-03-10 Danny Ruggerio New York City, USA W KO 1
1947-02-11 Eli DeLoach Jersey City, USA W KO 3
1947-02-04 Joe Relich Jersey City, USA W KO 2
1947-01-21 Eddie Brown Jersey City, USA W KO 2
1946-12-03 Joey LaScala Jersey City, USA W KO 2
1946-11-26 Tony Wilson Jersey City, USA W KO 1
1946-11-12 Tiger Jack Jersey City, USA W PTS 4
1946-10-15 Bobby Baldwin Jersey City, USA D PTS 4
1946-10-01 Artie Murphy Jersey City, USA W KO 2
1946-09-17 Eddie Matt Jersey City, USA W KO 4
1946-05-21 Daly Curtis Somerville, USA NC NC 2
1946-04-23 Mickey Logan Somerville, USA L PTS 4
1946-04-02 Cliff Garden Somerville, USA W PTS 4
1946-01-17 Willie Radin Highland Park, USA W PTS 4
1945-11-15 Red Rossi Highland Park, USA W PTS 4
1945-10-25 Joe Froiju New Brunswick, USA W TKO 1

Record to Date
Won 45 (KOs 31) Lost 22 Drawn 4 Total 72

bennie wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Sugar Ray Robinson

BLACK GENIUS

Blacks are gifted. They are inclined to perform well and beyond. Oh,it's genetics. They're predisposed. Music and athletics. Is that it?

Paris, France. Most visited place in the world . The Eiffell Tower. The most visited landmark. So what does Paris ask for? What don't they have that they want,even if it's only for a little while? How about Sugar Ray Robinson. Art Tatum. Charlie Parker. Some of our Black geniuses. Black geniuses? Talented. Gifted. Even blessed. But to go so far to say they are geniuses? Paris,the most alluring ,romantic place on Earth asked for our Black geniuses. That's what Pariseans called them. Now don't counter me with that Jerry Lewis bull shit. The Pariseans who wouldn't live anywhere else wanted our geniuses. Music you can connect with art and beauty. Fatha Hines playing on the Champ Elysses.That's art obviously. Ray Robinson went to France several times. Paris wanted to see the last flicker of his light. They could tell in the early 60's by the way he held himself that he was a genius. Maybe not a champion,but a master.

Paris today is nothing but the structures that adorn the city. The Louvre. The Arch de Triumphe. The small cafes. The narrow streets. The geniuses are gone. Edith Piaf is all but unknown. I'm in the Monmarte in a book store. No books on her life. The clerk scratches his head when I say her name.
"But we have the Stones and the Beatles."
They don't know the geniuses. Their names are in space. Across from the Pigalle where the torch singers and thugs roamed the area and the bistros and clubs nurtured and provided the dreams are gone. McDonalds is next to the Moulin Rouge. The lines of tour buses in front. Only the structures remain. The flesh and blood that made Paris the City of Light are extiguished.

Our Black geniuses are talked about by the ones who remembered them. La Creme de la Creme. Maybe not fully appreciated here,but in the the City of Light,it was their presence that set the city ablaze.

My brother proposesd to his wife at the top if the Eiffel Tower. It was around March time, and he remembers it was effin' freezing. France is a strange country and the French are strange people. They don't like the British and we don't like them. I once spent four rather unpleasant weeks in France. Never again.

Yes Bennie that is very obvious when you visit both countries.

Rick Farris wrote:Ray Robinson's biggest critics were those who had loaned or advanced him money. Personally, I have no sympathy for boxing promoters who find themselves being taken for a ride by a boxer, considering every world class fighter I've ever known has been screwed by a promoter in some respect. Personally, I always liked Mickey Davies, who both Randy and I fought for. Mickey, to my knowledge was a straight shooter. However, Davies complained t
o George Parnassus in front of myself and Mel Epstein about Ray Robinson. Mickey offered Robinson $300 for a personal appearance (1971). Ray demanded$500 in advance, which Davies reluctantly gave him. Robinson then was a ''no show''. Parnassus said that was typical of Ray Robinson. -Rick

Rick,you might find this interesting. My father knew Ray Robinson a little. Like I mentioned before ,the dairy where my father worked was trying to put Robbie's name on a product. It fell through. But on several occaisions in Chicago, and here in California ,my father bumped into the Sugar Man. My father being very Neopolitan was like a Falstaff. A Pavoratti. He was loud and boistrous. When my father saw Ray Robinson,he would overwhelm him with his personality. Put his arms around him,look into his face with a big smile.
"Sugar,how's things? Remember the mob hit in front of the dairy? You thought they were shooting at you."
Then my father would laugh. Ray Robinson was ,you could say,overwhelmed by people like that. He was meek. Gentle. Soft spoken.

Often if you were sincerely nice to the guy,like Basilio was when he first approached him in New York,he'd give you the brush off. Or if he knew you were trying to "con" him. A promoter or a matchmaker,he could be surly with people like that.

Ray Robinson wore many different hats. But his choice of head wear depended on what was covering yours.

He's bringing boxing back
By Doug Krikorian, Sports Columnist

David Gonzalez

When you sit and talk a few moments with a gentleman named David Gonzalez, you never get the impression that he's long been a risk-taker whose latest daring move is to take out a second mortgage on a condominium he owns for $40,000 to stage what no doubt will be the most prolific boxing promotion in the history of Long Beach.

He has this gentle self-effacing manner, and speaks softly about what he has planned Sunday at the Walter Pyramid - and what he has planned has never been tried even by the likes of Don King, Bob Arum or Dan Goossen.

The owner of the DG Boxing Gym in Long Beach is putting on an amateur show that will feature at least 40 matches - Gonzalez says the number could rise to 50! - with the proceedings unfolding simultaneously in two rings beside each other on the Pryamid floor.

"It's going to be literally a two-ring circus," laughs Gonzalez. "If one fight isn't gong well, the fans can turn their attention to the other one. And if they're both exciting, then the fans will really be entertained. I think the latter's going to happen a lot."

Of course, David Gonzalez is hoping that occurs, but he's hoping even more than that there is a respectable turnout for an event in which he's made a sizable investment.

"We'd like a crowd of 5,000 to show up," says Gonzalez, who's priced the tickets at $35 and $24 and says they can be purchased by calling (562) 986-9421 or at http://www.dgboxingyms.com. "So far we've sold about 1,000 tickets. We need to sell more."
What inspired a fellow who readily admits he doesn't have Bill Gates' Dunn & Bradstreet rating to strike a deal last December with Long Beach State to rent the Pyramid for a sport - amateur boxing - that isn't exactly at its popularity peak?

"Basically, there are two reasons why I've done it," says Gonzalez. "First, I've always wanted to put on a big boxing show with strictly amateurs. That's never been done around here before, and it will give so many people a chance to box and I think help the sport.

"And, secondly, I'm doing it in honor of my late father. J. Guadalupe Gonzalez. He loved boxing, got me into it, and this is my way of paying him back. I'm doing this in honor of his memory."

If the turnstiles fail to click, a distinct possibility, well, David Gonzalez insists he won't be holding a sign at a freeway exit cadging for money, but admits life will become financially more stressful for him.

Not that 38-year-old David Gonzalez, a Barstow native who moved to Long Beach 19 years ago, isn't accustomed to putting himself in such an insecure position.

When he decided back in 2000 to open his boxing emporium in an 800 square-foot room that's located in the same strip mall as the venerable 49'rs Tavern on Pacific Coast Highway, many of his friends thought he was destined for failure.

"Oh, nobody thought I'd succeed," he says matter of factly.

"And I didn't have much at the start. It was a struggle. But I got it going pretty good. We've got more than 200 members now, and about 35 of them are going to participate in my show."

Actually, it should be a terrific show, with anywhere between 80 and 100 fighters participating, from skilled amateurs with dreams of one day appearing in the Olympic games like Mighty Mo Orozco and John Crispo to youngsters just learning the sweet science to adults who have taken up the sport for cardio conditioning.

"We're going to have every age, every size, every kind of person from every kind of background," says Gonzalez. "And, of course, there are going to be some women bouts."

One young fellow who will have a large contingent in the stands is 14-year-old Frankie Rossi, a 5-foot-8, 140-pound freshman at Wilson High who has been affixed a catchy nickname, the Italian Stallion, by his mother, who happens to be quite skilled in coming up with catchy nicknames.

After all, she was a marketing whiz for the Long Beach State athletic department - she retired last summer - and is excited by her son making his fistic debut in Gonzalez's show.

"Frankie also is a soccer player at Wilson, and he felt boxing would help his quickness," says Dede, who, of course, has started a consulting marketing firm.

I know young Frankie's father, Frank Rossi, a painting contractor and a local golfing fixture, and I've heard over the years that he was quite a boxer in his youth.

David Gonzalez certainly was.

"From the time I can remember, I was always boxing," he says.

"I'd box in my backyard with local kids. And then I started frequenting boxing gyms where I'd spar a lot. Used to spar all the time at Westminster."

David Gonzalez had a few smoker matches - unsanctioned amateur bouts - and wound up taking over the Westminster Gym a few years ago, even putting on several amateur boxing shows in it.

"We'd get pretty good turnouts in Westminster ... always sold it out," says Gonzalez, who has been spending all his waking hours in recent weeks peddling tickets, doing PR seeking sponsors for what he is calling Fight Night at the Pyramid even though hostilities are set to start at noon Sunday. "But this is a different challenge because of the money that was put up to get the Pyramid. I just hope it works out."

No matter what, David Gonzalez will survive.

He always has.

Before he turned the DG Boxing Gym into a success, he was a bouncer for a decade at the Golden Sails.

"Had some action-packed nights there," he says. "I remember one when we chased a guy out who had caused some trouble, and he had a gun and shot back at us as we pursued him. Fortunately, he was shooting in the air. We still apprehended him."

Obviously, David Gonzalez is fearless.

Any guy who puts up $40,000 to put on a boxing show - albeit one that should be laden with plenty of thrills - in Long Beach on a Sunday afternoon in September is.

[email protected]

Diaz showing improvement

SAN ANTONIO (TICKER) —Oscar Diaz, who fell into a coma more than two months ago due to a brain injury, is now breathing on his own, a San Antonio University Hospital spokesman said Thursday.

Julie Wiley told PA SportsTicker that Diaz has been upgraded from critical to stable condition.

“He’s been opening his eyes and showing improvement every day,” Wiley said. “He is now off the ventilator and breathing on his own.”

Dr. David Jimenez is scheduled to appear at a news conference at the hospital later Thursday to update Diaz’s condition.

“It’s very exciting to see Oscar open his eyes. He’s a fighter and I believe he will get better,” his mother, Theresa Diaz, said in a statement.”

Diaz, 25, collapsed in his corner following the 10th round of a technical knockout loss to Delvin Rodriguez on July 16. He underwent a two-hour operation to relieve swelling on his brain and had been in a coma since.

After the surgery, doctors said it could take at least a week for Diaz to emerge from the coma.

Bob Pastor

Lew Hanbury

Joe Louis vs Max Baer

Joe Louis vs King Levinsky