Classic American West Coast Boxing

[Expug]

Rog, your post is right on in that a maestro comes along very very rarely.
If a person has the oppurtunity to see a maestro in just about any endeavor, they should do it.
Its an extremely rare oppurtunity, one that may come along only a couple times in a persons life.
20 years ago, Baryshnikov came to town.
My wife wanted to go see him perform .I dont know anything about ballet. What ballett?
However, this man is a maestro, a master at what he does, so I wanted to see him do his thing.
I wasnt disappointed.
I felt out of place, but I wasnt disappointed.
Gorilla goes to the dances.

Pug
Baryshnikov said the greatest dancer who ever lived,without question,was Fred Astaire. I can't argue with him. BTW,when are you arriving in LA.? We have a daughter in Irvine which isn't far from the Marriot. If you're arriving Friday maybe I can turn you on to Tequila.

Rog, Ill be arriving late Friday night.
Tequila,... you mean firewater tequila?
Rog, Id like to make it to the banquet. I dont want any rides in the back of a police car.

[dagosd2000]

Rog, your post is right on in that a maestro comes along very very rarely.
If a person has the oppurtunity to see a maestro in just about any endeavor, they should do it.
Its an extremely rare oppurtunity, one that may come along only a couple times in a persons life.
20 years ago, Baryshnikov came to town.
My wife wanted to go see him perform .I dont know anything about ballet. What ballett?
However, this man is a maestro, a master at what he does, so I wanted to see him do his thing.
I wasnt disappointed.
I felt out of place, but I wasnt disappointed.
Gorilla goes to the dances.

Pug
Baryshnikov said the greatest dancer who ever lived,without question,was Fred Astaire. I can't argue with him. BTW,when are you arriving in LA.? We have a daughter in Irvine which isn't far from the Marriot. If you're arriving Friday maybe I can turn you on to Tequila.

Rog, Ill be arriving late Friday night.
Tequila,... you mean firewater tequila?
Rog, Id like to make it to the banquet. I dont want any rides in the back of a police car.

Maybe I can talk Frank into this. The Boom Boom Club in TJ is only a couple of hours drive. Ever been in the back of a Mexican police car? Those guys don't read you your rights or give you a chance to make a phone call. I'm going to post one on my experience in the Tijuana jail. Believe it or not they threw my wife in there too. When it gets dark out here I'll run it by you guys.

[kikibalt]

Red Burman, Johnny O'Neill, Baby Leroy and Johnny Whitewater

[kikibalt]

Jackie Kid Berg

[dagosd2000]

Rog, your post is right on in that a maestro comes along very very rarely.
If a person has the oppurtunity to see a maestro in just about any endeavor, they should do it.
Its an extremely rare oppurtunity, one that may come along only a couple times in a persons life.
20 years ago, Baryshnikov came to town.
My wife wanted to go see him perform .I dont know anything about ballet. What ballett?
However, this man is a maestro, a master at what he does, so I wanted to see him do his thing.
I wasnt disappointed.
I felt out of place, but I wasnt disappointed.
Gorilla goes to the dances.

Pug
When I was in school no one messed with me. I played football and would always win the challeges in practice. In grammar school and junior high school i got in a lot of fights. In college I was the best defensive lineman on the team. But there was another side to me the other guys had a hard time understanding. Sometimes they'd ask what's going on for the weekend. I'd reply that I'm going to the symphony or an art show. Maybe a jazz session at one of the clubs. I'd hang out at the downtown library maybe. Even enter a chess tournament once in a while.

Yeah,as you guys know by now,I could get down and dirty also. Here's a good one. Every summer there's a Mozart Festival in San Diego and Baja California. Concert musicians from all over the states play music by Mozart in this area. There's about 20 to 30 concerts in different places .They always ,for some reason, begin the series at the Guadalupe Church in Tijuana. I always make that one. The church is located in a pretty seedy area downtown. A block up from the Coahuila. The day of the concert the cops clear out the bums,clean and block off the street,and sweep the inside of the church. Then the big buses arrive out front bringing in Tijuana's aristocracy. Women in minks with lots of jewelry. The concert is very good and well received. After it's over the elite get back on the buses and return to their fancy neighborhoods. Not me.

I figure after listening to Mozart for 2 hours,it's time to roll down to the Coahuila and listen to some Nortena music,have a shot or two,then do something that maybe later in the week would require me to get another shot or two.

[Randyman]

Nino LaRocca vs Filipe Canela

Seeing these photos of Felipe Canela bring to mind the wisdom of Mel Epstein, and something I learned from him and applied after his death. Mel passed away in 1980. Sometime in 1980 and into 1981 I started training again at the Main Street Gym. It had been a few years for me. Larry Soto was my trainer now. Larry was Felipe's trainer. Felipe had turned pro earlier in the year and had about five or six fights by the time I met him.

Years before Mel would tell me how a fighter would come back to the gym after a long lay off. He would begin the long process of getting back in shape. On the first couple of days of sparring, his timing might be off, might be a little winded, might get hit a little more than usual, maybe a lot more. As the week wore on things might start picking up, the timing starts to come back, the wind is better and the fighter is not getting hit quite as much and his punches are landing with a little more snap, with a little more authority. Then with out realizing it everything starts to fall in place, the movement around the ring, the slipping punches, the timing, the feinting and the punches are now crisp and landing when and where you want them to and you are no longer getting winded. You are back in business.

This is what came to mind the first day Felipe and I sparred. He was pretty rough in the gym, as I would expect him to be. He had no qualms about using me as a punching bag, and he did. But I thought about what Mel had said and kept it at the forefront of my mind. I still remember the turn around. He threw several punches and most of them missed. I was slipping his punches now and countering with my own. I remember landing a several punch combination when he was on the ropes. It felt good. I got his attention and his respect. I was back in business, at least for the time being. Canela by the way was a true gentleman and he had a respectable career.

[Randyman]

Rog, your post is right on in that a maestro comes along very very rarely.
If a person has the oppurtunity to see a maestro in just about any endeavor, they should do it.
Its an extremely rare oppurtunity, one that may come along only a couple times in a persons life.
20 years ago, Baryshnikov came to town.
My wife wanted to go see him perform .I dont know anything about ballet. What ballett?
However, this man is a maestro, a master at what he does, so I wanted to see him do his thing.
I wasnt disappointed.
I felt out of place, but I wasnt disappointed.
Gorilla goes to the dances.

Pug
Baryshnikov said the greatest dancer who ever lived,without question,was Fred Astaire. I can't argue with him. BTW,when are you arriving in LA.? We have a daughter in Irvine which isn't far from the Marriot. If you're arriving Friday maybe I can turn you on to Tequila.

Rog, Ill be arriving late Friday night.
Tequila,... you mean firewater tequila?
Rog, Id like to make it to the banquet. I dont want any rides in the back of a police car.

Smart guy, that Pug! Shows good sense and the ability to think on his feet.

[Randyman]

Well, Zelley, this thread ranges from West Coast boxing to the British and German scene, to Sweden, New York, The Windy City, Japan - anywhere where boxing is good and was once golden.
Nobody seems to mind too much.

PS: Just don't mention the French.

Marcel Cerdan is all right, though. Georges Carpentier, too.

Wasn't Marcel from Algeria :?? However, he did win the French middleweight title
before turning Tony Zale, the "man of steel" into rust and retirement.

Right Zelley
Marcel was born in Algeria. I don't know if you're a movie watcher,but last year's Academy Award winning Actress Mary Cotilland won the Oscar for her role as Edith Piaf in the movie "Piaf".Her romantic affair with the married Marcel Cerdan is legendary. She talked Marcel to leave France early for his return with LaMotta, She was suffering not being with him. She was performing in New York at the time. As you know the the plane crashed in the Azores.

Edith Piaf blamed herself for his death. She tried to lose herself with alcohol and drugs. Her singing became more passioned. Her life more tragic.[/quote]
Rog, that painting of Edith Piaf puts you in the maestro category. The agony in that woman screams out of the canvas. Absolutely haunting. Same with Zapata. Amazing!

[Expug]

Any of youn guys seen the Cerdan - Zale fight.
I have it on tape.
Cerdan looked tremendous in this fight. He really put it on Tony.
The thing about this fight is the end of this one is dramatic sort of in a Marciano - Joe Louis kind of way.
Cerdan is hitting Zale with shot after shot along the ropes and the bell ends ending the round. Tony is hung up in the ropes as Marcel walks away. The great former champ Zale just cant get back to his corner.
It was Tonys last fight. .

Heres the end..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgGgFVNR6iU&NR=1

[Randyman]

Any of youn guys seen the Cerdan - Zale fight.
I have it on tape.
Cerdan looked tremendous in this fight. He really put it on Tony.
The thing about this fight is the end of this one is dramatic sort of in a Marciano - Joe Louis kind of way.
Cerdan is hitting Zale with shot after shot along the ropes and the bell ends ending the round. Tony is hung up in the ropes as Marcel walks away. The great former champ Zale just cant get back to his corner.
It was Tonys last fight. .

Heres the end..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgGgFVNR6iU&NR=1

Pug, thanks for posting that youtube link. I had never seen it before. A sad ending to a great career. After Zale retired, his wife became somewhat bitter with the news media and refused to allow Tony give interviews. She was angry and felt that Rocky Graziano received the lion's share of attention regarding their rivalry and careers. Zale, was a great fighter, to be sure but he lacked charisma, something Rocky had in spades and I'm sure that had everything to do with it.

[dagosd2000]

THE LAST OUT

I was gonna' turn in. Got my workout in the gym ,on the canvas,and on the Forum. Watched Amanda audition for the Nutcracker. I flipped the channel one last time.
"A grounder to first base. Ball game over. The last out. The last game at Yankee Stadium."
I saw it. I saw it accidently. It was on TV,but I saw it. It was shitty to watch. The fans didn't go home. They played " New York, New York" with Sinatra at least ten times. Jeter made a speech to thank the Yankee fans. The announcer talked, with limited time remaining before Sports Center came on,of all the Yankees that played there. 85 years ago Ruth started things off with a home run.

The big fights. The great fighters. Who's left? Yogi. Whitey. Go ahead tear it down. Enough of this nostalgic rhetoric. Sports Center with Chris Berman is on next. Can't miss that. Berman with his,"Might..Go..All..The..Way!"
Wow that's better than Yankee Stadium. I bet Berman couldn't wait for that Yankee bullshit to get over so he could say,"Might..Go..All..The..Way!"
Chris ,you want everyone to know that's your signature line. And the little cutesy names you make up for the players. Like David"Wishing" Wells. Or Barry "U.S" Bonds".
That's classic stuff. Get that Yankee sentimental crap off the air. We want to hear you Chris. Hey when you do the "Swami" football predictions with that turbin on your head,the whole world stops. But how about picking a winner once in a while?

If I know you Chris,you'll be drivin' one of the bulldozers that tear the old ball park down. Don't forget to wear a hard hat. A brick might fall on your head.

[bennie]

Nino LaRocca vs Filipe Canela

Seeing these photos of Felipe Canela bring to mind the wisdom of Mel Epstein, and something I learned from him and applied after his death. Mel passed away in 1980. Sometime in 1980 and into 1981 I started training again at the Main Street Gym. It had been a few years for me. Larry Soto was my trainer now. Larry was Felipe's trainer. Felipe had turned pro earlier in the year and had about five or six fights by the time I met him.

Years before Mel would tell me how a fighter would come back to the gym after a long lay off. He would begin the long process of getting back in shape. On the first couple of days of sparring, his timing might be off, might be a little winded, might get hit a little more than usual, maybe a lot more. As the week wore on things might start picking up, the timing starts to come back, the wind is better and the fighter is not getting hit quite as much and his punches are landing with a little more snap, with a little more authority. Then with out realizing it everything starts to fall in place, the movement around the ring, the slipping punches, the timing, the feinting and the punches are now crisp and landing when and where you want them to and you are no longer getting winded. You are back in business.

This is what came to mind the first day Felipe and I sparred. He was pretty rough in the gym, as I would expect him to be. He had no qualms about using me as a punching bag, and he did. But I thought about what Mel had said and kept it at the forefront of my mind. I still remember the turn around. He threw several punches and most of them missed. I was slipping his punches now and countering with my own. I remember landing a several punch combination when he was on the ropes. It felt good. I got his attention and his respect. I was back in business, at least for the time being. Canela by the way was a true gentleman and he had a respectable career.

Nice post, Randy. Canela was a good fighter. The LaRocca fight proved to be a crossroads one but as I said earlier, LaRocca also beat a peak Kirkland Laing, the man who beat Duran.

[kikibalt]

Felipe Canela

I Think I've posted this pic. before, but here it is again...

The record

Felipe Canela

Alias De Jesus
Country USA
Global Id 49553
Division Light Welterweight
Stance Orthodox
Height 175cm


Career Record © www.boxrec.com

Date Opponent Location Result
1988-03-07 Derrick Kelly Inglewood, USA L PTS 12
1987-10-01 Derwin Richards Inglewood, USA W UD 10
1987-07-07 Roman George Inglewood, USA W KO 3
1987-02-05 Russell Mitchell Riverside, USA L TKO 7
1986-11-14 Young Dick Tiger Universal City, USA W UD 12
1986-09-04 Alphonso Long San Jose, USA W PTS 10
1986-07-25 Richard Aguirre San Diego, USA W KO 1
1986-05-27 Alphonso Long Irvine, USA W TKO 8
1985-05-16 Mitchell Julien San Jose, USA L UD 10
1984-12-20 Derrick Kelly Inglewood, USA D PTS 10
1984-09-21 Glenn Corbus San Jose, USA D PTS 12
1984-07-12 Luis Santana Las Vegas, USA L SD 10
1984-05-21 Derrick Kelly Inglewood, USA L UD 10
1984-03-30 Nino LaRocca Las Vegas, USA L UD 10
1984-03-05 Victor Abraham Inglewood, USA W UD 10
1983-10-12 Victor Abraham Inglewood, USA W UD 10
1983-09-30 Hedgemon Robertson Inglewood, USA W TKO 11
1983-05-06 Hector Rivera Chino, USA W TKO 8
1982-10-21 Frankie Davis Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10
1982-08-19 Jerry Cheatham Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10
1982-07-09 Edward Nuno San Bernardino, USA W UD 8
1982-06-04 Reinaldo Roque San Bernardino, USA W KO 6
1982-02-02 Tim Harris Sacramento, USA L UD 12
1981-09-09 Reinaldo Roque Las Vegas, USA W TKO 6
1981-06-04 Rudy Hernandez Los Angeles, USA W TKO 9
1981-04-04 Barritos Hernandez Los Angeles, USA W TKO 3
1981-03-03 Eric Bonilla Los Angeles, USA W TKO 5
1981-02-17 Carlos Bryant Los Angeles, USA W KO 3
1980-11-06 Petrolino Velasquez Los Angeles, USA W KO 5
1980-07-01 Henry Gill San Bernardino, USA W KO 5
1980-06-13 Alfredo Carranza San Bernardino, USA W TKO 8
1980-05-30 Eric Bonilla San Bernardino, USA W TKO 7
1980-05-02 Guillermo Arreola San Bernardino, USA W SD 6
1980-03-07 Eric Bonilla San Bernardino, USA D PTS 6
1980-02-22 Eric Bonilla San Bernardino, USA W UD 6
1980-02-08 Willie Hall San Bernardino, USA W TKO 5

Record to Date
Won 26 (KOs 16) Lost 7 Drawn 3 Total 36

[kikibalt]

Tony Canzoneri

[kikibalt]

Photo courtesy of Rick Farris


Jack Dempsey

[bennie]

Felipe Canela

I Think I've posted this pic. before, but here it is again...

The record

Felipe Canela

Alias De Jesus
Country USA
Global Id 49553
Division Light Welterweight
Stance Orthodox
Height 175cm


Career Record © http://www.boxrec.com

Date Opponent Location Result
1988-03-07 Derrick Kelly Inglewood, USA L PTS 12
1987-10-01 Derwin Richards Inglewood, USA W UD 10
1987-07-07 Roman George Inglewood, USA W KO 3
1987-02-05 Russell Mitchell Riverside, USA L TKO 7
1986-11-14 Young Dick Tiger Universal City, USA W UD 12
1986-09-04 Alphonso Long San Jose, USA W PTS 10
1986-07-25 Richard Aguirre San Diego, USA W KO 1
1986-05-27 Alphonso Long Irvine, USA W TKO 8
1985-05-16 Mitchell Julien San Jose, USA L UD 10
1984-12-20 Derrick Kelly Inglewood, USA D PTS 10
1984-09-21 Glenn Corbus San Jose, USA D PTS 12
1984-07-12 Luis Santana Las Vegas, USA L SD 10
1984-05-21 Derrick Kelly Inglewood, USA L UD 10
1984-03-30 Nino LaRocca Las Vegas, USA L UD 10
1984-03-05 Victor Abraham Inglewood, USA W UD 10
1983-10-12 Victor Abraham Inglewood, USA W UD 10
1983-09-30 Hedgemon Robertson Inglewood, USA W TKO 11
1983-05-06 Hector Rivera Chino, USA W TKO 8
1982-10-21 Frankie Davis Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10
1982-08-19 Jerry Cheatham Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10
1982-07-09 Edward Nuno San Bernardino, USA W UD 8
1982-06-04 Reinaldo Roque San Bernardino, USA W KO 6
1982-02-02 Tim Harris Sacramento, USA L UD 12
1981-09-09 Reinaldo Roque Las Vegas, USA W TKO 6
1981-06-04 Rudy Hernandez Los Angeles, USA W TKO 9
1981-04-04 Barritos Hernandez Los Angeles, USA W TKO 3
1981-03-03 Eric Bonilla Los Angeles, USA W TKO 5
1981-02-17 Carlos Bryant Los Angeles, USA W KO 3
1980-11-06 Petrolino Velasquez Los Angeles, USA W KO 5
1980-07-01 Henry Gill San Bernardino, USA W KO 5
1980-06-13 Alfredo Carranza San Bernardino, USA W TKO 8
1980-05-30 Eric Bonilla San Bernardino, USA W TKO 7
1980-05-02 Guillermo Arreola San Bernardino, USA W SD 6
1980-03-07 Eric Bonilla San Bernardino, USA D PTS 6
1980-02-22 Eric Bonilla San Bernardino, USA W UD 6
1980-02-08 Willie Hall San Bernardino, USA W TKO 5

Record to Date
Won 26 (KOs 16) Lost 7 Drawn 3 Total 36

Thanks, Frankie. Canela was only stopped once, by the useful Russell Mitchell. He held two wins over Alphonso Long, who went on to fight Simon Brown for the IBF welterweight title, and nice wins over Roman George and Jerry Cheatham.
Tough fighter, fringe world class.

[kikibalt]

Mushy Callaghan (R) and Young "Baby" Manuel

[bennie]

Photo courtesy of Rick Farris


Jack Dempsey

Dempsey looks almost innocent in that shot.

[kikibalt]

Photo courtesy of Rick Farris


Jack Dempsey

Dempsey looks almost innocent in that shot.

He looks like he wouldn't/couldn't hurt a fly..... ;;-)

[Rick Farris]

Nino LaRocca vs Filipe Canela

Seeing these photos of Felipe Canela bring to mind the wisdom of Mel Epstein, and something I learned from him and applied after his death. Mel passed away in 1980. Sometime in 1980 and into 1981 I started training again at the Main Street Gym. It had been a few years for me. Larry Soto was my trainer now. Larry was Felipe's trainer. Felipe had turned pro earlier in the year and had about five or six fights by the time I met him.

Years before Mel would tell me how a fighter would come back to the gym after a long lay off. He would begin the long process of getting back in shape. On the first couple of days of sparring, his timing might be off, might be a little winded, might get hit a little more than usual, maybe a lot more. As the week wore on things might start picking up, the timing starts to come back, the wind is better and the fighter is not getting hit quite as much and his punches are landing with a little more snap, with a little more authority. Then with out realizing it everything starts to fall in place, the movement around the ring, the slipping punches, the timing, the feinting and the punches are now crisp and landing when and where you want them to and you are no longer getting winded. You are back in business.

This is what came to mind the first day Felipe and I sparred. He was pretty rough in the gym, as I would expect him to be. He had no qualms about using me as a punching bag, and he did. But I thought about what Mel had said and kept it at the forefront of my mind. I still remember the turn around. He threw several punches and most of them missed. I was slipping his punches now and countering with my own. I remember landing a several punch combination when he was on the ropes. It felt good. I got his attention and his respect. I was back in business, at least for the time being. Canela by the way was a true gentleman and he had a respectable career.

Randy . . . You are also a true gentleman and this was a great post! Only a true boxer could write this.

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Photo courtesy of Rick Farris


Jack Dempsey

Dempsey looks almost innocent in that shot.

He looks like he wouldn't/couldn't hurt a fly..... ;;-)

Guess this proves that "looks are deceiving".

-Rick

[Rick Farris]

Mushy Callaghan (R) and Young "Baby" Manuel

I had the opportunity to meet Mushy Callaghan in 1971, thru Suey Welch and George Parnassus in George's office at the Eks Club near MacArthur Park in L.A.

-Rick

[bennie]

Matthew Saad Muhammad

Saad had one of the greatest physiques for a fighter and, like Jim Watt, refused to lose. When he laughed at Yaqui Lopez when Lopez was bombarding him in a corner, it was just eery, almost inhuman. I really thought this guy could come-from-behind forever.
I hated Braxton after he finally licked Saad.

He was a big lightheavy thats for sure.
What a great fight that was he and Yaqui.
Yaqui was one of my favorites.That guy was a warrior just like Matthew was.
Im still pissed at the verdict in one of those Yaqui Lopez - Victor Galindez fights.
I thought Yaqui won the fight and the title clearly.

You know, one of the saddest things I evers saw was when Saad, after being inducted into the IBHOF in Canastota, immediately put his induction ring for sale on ebay.

[kikibalt]

Mushy Callaghan (R) and Young "Baby" Manuel

I had the opportunity to meet Mushy Callaghan in 1971, thru Suey Welch and George Parnassus in George's office at the Eks Club near MacArthur Park in L.A.

-Rick

I never met Callaghan, I did see him ref lots of fights in the 1950's, I remember that he referee the Art Aragon/Jimmy Carter title fight in 1951.

[raylawpc]

Mushy Callaghan (R) and Young "Baby" Manuel

I had the opportunity to meet Mushy Callaghan in 1971, thru Suey Welch and George Parnassus in George's office at the Eks Club near MacArthur Park in L.A.

-Rick

That looks like Mushy Callahan, the former world junior welterweight champion. I don't think that's Mushy Callaghan, a Canadian who fought as a middleweight in the late 30s.