BoxRec

kikibalt wrote:Pepe Arciga
May 22, 1957

Give or take a match, professional boxing in all of Southern California has been almost totally in the hands of gloved warriors of Mexican descent for, say, the last 25 years.

This monopoly, if you want to call it such, is no mere accident. It is no scheme on the part of anyone, much less promoters. It is no design of convenience, period.

Mexican fighters, born here or yonder, possess a peculiarity which, with the possible exception of glovers of Irish ancestry, isn't always typical of battlers in general.

That peculiarity, my friends, is very basic. It consists of one utterly simple fact: Integrity to the fullest extent.

Translate this into Cauliflower Alley language and they'll tell you, quite candidly, that those "Mexican kids are all action, plenty of guts with never a thought about tank jobs."

One quick glance at the recent past of top-rated Mexican ring stars will bear out the contention.

Look at Tampico-born Baby Arizmendi. Or Mexico City-born Rodolfo Casanova. Or Los Angeles-born Manuel Ortiz. Or Durango-born Enrique Bolanos.

Or Mexico City-born Raul (Raton) Macias and Ricardo (Pajarito) Moreno. Or Laredo-born Kid Azteca.

All of them individuals who enriched and never tarnished the sometimes shadowy profession of I-punch-you, you-punch-me, let's-get-paid.

Even now, when old aficionados of the boxing game sadly shake their heads to moan the fact that "the game ain't what it usta be," Mexican fighters--particularly those of the Mexico City crop--keep sticking out their heads to proudly proclaim that theirs is no dying sport.

For proof, look at your calendar and mark the date of May 23 (when "Pajarito" Moreno and Jose Luis Cotero clash) as a date when Los Angeles will see perhaps the greatest battle of featherweight fury cooked up here since Arizmendi's heroic duels versus Henry Armstrong.

But, now, the inevitable question mark surrounding the overwhelming participation of Mexicans in pro boxing.

Is there a reason why there should not be, in professional boxing circles, a referee, a judge, a commissioner of Mexican extraction?

Tonight, under the joint sponsorship of the Council of Mexican Affairs and the local chapter of the American GI Forum, the absence of officials of Mexican extraction from boxing circles in California comes up for serious discussion and comment.

Attorney Henry Lopez and Frank X. Paz will conduct proceedings which, needless to say, will be highly interesting.

Prominent personalities from the sports and civic world will await the sound of the gong at 8 p.m. at Casa del Mexicano.

The eight-second mandatory count will not be in effect. Not even for Pepe, who'll be there wearing 60-ounce gloves. And plenty of collodion.

I'll be my own referee. Gracias.

Andale Pepe

kikibalt wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Frank, did you see this fight? I heard there was a real grudge going into this and this seems to corroborate.

Dan

Dan, no, I missed that fight, I don't know of any grudge that Ruben and Jimmy might have had.
Btw, look at those prices

I had my second pro fight on the undercard of this match. Johnny Flores had boxers in all four of the matches that night, and we all won.

-Rick Farris

3-18-1971
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California,

Ruben Navarro L Jimmy Robertson MD 12

Armando Muniz W Cipriano Hernandez UD 10

Jose Luis Martin Del Campo W David Sotelo SD 10

Rick Farris W Gabe Gutierrez PTS 4

Frank, on this night only Ruben and myself were handled by Johnny Flores. If you access the Navarro-ROJAS card, You'll see that all four of the bouts had a Flores boxer, and all won. Ruben Navarro, Centavito Hernandez, Ronnie Cisneros and myself. I beat Frankie Granados that night in a four rounder. It was in July 1970, but I forget the date.

-Rick

scartissue wrote:Too true.
Minter, for the record, wobbled Hamsho in the fifth round and boxed his ears off for much of the fight. Strangely, he eased off in the last three rounds and Hamsho put in a strong finish and snatched a split decision. Minter, of course, would have secured a Hagler rematch had he won (Hamsho got the crack instead and picked up around 100 stitches).
Ask yourself this: did Minter want another fight with Hagler?

Bennie, I thought it was in the 2nd round he wobbled Hamsho, but I'll take your word for it since I haven't seen the fight since it happened. Minter was known for a sharp punch but never the kind of 'dig' that would cause Hamsho's legs to do the Judah dance. I believe he caught him at the end of the round and didn't have the time for the followup. Is that about right? It's been a long time. Anyway, I recall the goofy announcer doing a post-fight interview with Minter and saying, "Well, Alan, I'll bet your happy that this is the first fight you've lost by decision and not stoppage." The look Minter gave him was priceless. Minter then proceeded to state, "I guess the jab doesn't mean much in this country." Incidentally, this was one of the few fights being televised here that didn't have a title attached to it, as that was the way the networks were now steering their policy. And it goes to show you, a well matched 10 rounder between talented pugs is far and away better than some of the crap they foist on us today with a title attached to it.

Scartissue[/quote]


Well, the old memory does play tricks as one gets older. I always thought it was the fifth. Hamsho was seriously hurt, either way, but Minter didn't finish him and the Syrian gradually fought his way back, although Minter's lack of effort in the closing rounds surprised me. The fight was his for the winning.

Rick Farris wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Frank, did you see this fight? I heard there was a real grudge going into this and this seems to corroborate.

Dan

Dan, no, I missed that fight, I don't know of any grudge that Ruben and Jimmy might have had.
Btw, look at those prices

I had my second pro fight on the undercard of this match. Johnny Flores had boxers in all four of the matches that night, and we all won.

-Rick Farris

Here it is, Rick.

Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California.
7-9-1970

Raul Rojas L Ruben Navarro UD 10

Centavito Antonio Hernandez W Jose Luis Martinez UD 10

Jerry Williams L Ron Ceniceroz PTS 6

Rick Farris W Frankie Granados PTS 4

What is Next For Antonio Margarito?
By Mike Withers
Ringside Report

I was sitting ringside, watching Craig McEwan beat up a nobody, when the crowd behind me broke into a wild frenzy.

“Margarito, Margarito, Margarito,” they chanted. And in the middle of the melee stood Antonio Margarito. Margarito was trying to walk to his seat just like any other person would, the problem is that Margarito is not any other person, at least he isn’t anymore. It must have taken him close to 20 minutes to get to his seat, and that was with the aid of security.

When Margarito defeated Miguel Cotto to become the undisputed king of the welterweight division, he became one of the great stars in boxing. First of all, he is Mexican, which gives him the most loyal fan base in the sport. Second, he is a welterweight, which is the most competitive division in the sport. Third, and most importantly, Margarito has a fantastic fighting style. The “Tijuana Tornado” as he is appropriately called, walks down his opponents in the ring and then basically mauls them into submission. It might sound kind of weird, but to see him do it on fight night is nothing short of thrilling.

Many people felt that the winner of Margarito-Cotto was going to get a fight with Oscar De La Hoya. However, De La Hoya who is 35, and eyeing retirement didn’t want any part of the wrecking machine that is Antonio Margarito. Since a fight with De La Hoya is not in the cards, Margarito has elected to take the rest of the year off and fight again in either January or February. Top Rank is planning on Cotto taking a fight around that same time, and then having the two meet up for a rematch in June.

As a fan of boxing that sounds good to me! There first fight was one of the most exciting bouts I can remember and I would love to see them do it again. The one question I would have is what can Cotto do differently? Yes he could have gone to the body more, especially considering that was one of his greatest weapons coming into the fight. But he hit Margarito with everything except the kitchen sink. In the first six rounds Cotto was dominant. He was landing great combinations and then getting out of the trouble.

He was fighting the perfect fight, but Margarito was only getting stronger. His face didn’t have a mark on it; I started to think that his head was a brick covered by skin and hair. We all know how the story ends, Margarito breaks Cotto down, and finally from shear exhaustion Cotto has to take a knee. Then his corner wisely throws in the towel to put an end to the beating.

I don’t know what Cotto could do differently in a rematch, more importantly I don’t think Cotto knows what he could do differently in a rematch. Cotto is already on the small side for a welterweight, and Margarito is on the larger side… for a middleweight! As a fan of the sport I would like to see the two of them fight again, but as a fan of Cotto, I think another fight with Margarito may jeopardize his career.

June is still a long way out, and 8 months can be an eternity in boxing. With both fighters possibly taking a fight between now and then, who knows what could happen. Since Margarito is going to take a fight early next year and it isn’t going to be Cotto, he has a number of other options in what is a deep welterweight division:

Shane Mosley

Mosley looked good, not great during his fight with wild-man Ricardo Mayorga. His last second knockout might have been the most exciting moment of the year in boxing, but a couple years ago that knockout would have happened in the sixth round. Nonetheless, Mosley was adamant during a press conference in July that he wanted to face Margarito after a victory over Mayorga. Mosley, who called Margarito’s presence at the fight “interesting,” has since changed his tune a bit. During the pre fight press conference in on September 24th, he hinted to the fact that he is feeling really good at 154, and he doesn’t know if he would want to go down to 147 to meet Margarito. He also stated that he is not willing to weight around for Margarito and he wants to fight again in the near future. Margarito will be fighting again in the near future and Mosley would be a big money opponent. If this fight were to happen it would without a doubt be the biggest challenge of his career.

Joshua Clottey

Clottey is a big physical welterweight, much like Margarito. He is coming of a very impressive performance against Zab Judah and is without question one of the elite fighters in the division. The two met on December 2, 2006. Both fighters were not at 100% on that night, Margarito hurt his wrist while training, and Clottey broke his hand in the fourth round of the fight. Margarito came away with a unanimous decision, but it was a very close fight. Clottey, who has gained some experience since that fight has really improved on his defense. At times he even reminds me of Winky Wright. This is a fight that should happen. They are both elite fighters in this division and both of them need an opponent, but it may not make enough money for it to happen any time soon. If it doesn’t happen the only people who will be losing out are the fans.

Paul Williams

Williams looked brilliant in his trip up to middleweight. He knocked out Andy Kolle in the first round. It was surprising because Kolle isn’t exactly a chump. Williams, unlike Margarito, does not plan on taking the rest of the year off. He is slated to be in the ring again on November 29th, possibly against junior middleweight champion Verno Phillips. No matter what happens in that fight, Williams is a budding star in the sport. He has even hinted to dropping down to junior welterweight. That may be a little far fetched, but he does have the potential to own a belt in three different divisions. And don’t forget that he beat Margarito a year ago. Thus prolonging his eventual fight with Miguel Cotto. Since Cotto lost to Margarito, these are the two best welterweights in the world. Some would tell you that Williams is better since he did win that fight with Margarito last July. The only way to settle the debate is for these guys to get in the ring. Why wouldn’t Margarito want this fight? This would make a lot more money then people realize. And if boxing were a fair business, which it isn’t, this would be a mandatory bout.

Margarito has spent most of his career getting dodged by other fighters. It will be interesting to see if he starts doing the dodging or if he takes on the tough fights. We will know soon enough.

Thompson Boxing Promotions Rocks the Southland
by Edgar Gonzalez

Thompson Boxing Promotions (TBP) has become a Southern California standout with their first-class fight promotions. Be sure to check out their exciting new crop of talent this Friday, October 24th at “New Blood II” at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Ca.

Promoter Ken Thompson is proud to be showcasing a lineup of all So-Cal favorites, “These are homegrown fighters and their fan bases are overwhelming. It’s a night of hand-chosen local fighters who are all hoping to become world champions.”
He’s also looking forward to seeing Michael Santos return to the ring after a two-year layoff, “It’s going to be great to see our pro Michael Santos in the semi-main against Santiago Perez. This will be a stepping stone for Santos, to see if he will continue on to a championship.”

Since its inception in 1999, the Lubbock, Tx. native hosts at least ten shows a year with his “Path to Glory” shows and the startup of the “New Blood” series. TBP puts on high-energy fights at both indoor (Doubletree Hotel in Ontario) and outdoor (Omega Products International in Corona) venues. A big hit in the Southland, TBP’s outdoor boxing shows are now legendary and these annual summer shows will return next year, while the Doubletree shows always sell out fast with a standing-room-only crowd.

At Thompson’s action-packed fights, you get a lot of bang for your buck in the exciting bouts they offer. The popular promoter wants to make sure the crowd has a good time and often sprinkled in the audience are many familiar faces: Chris Arreola, Fernando Vargas, Marco Antonio Barrera, Bobby Chacon, Armando Muniz, Rodolfo Gonzalez and Rene Arredondo have all been at recent events.

The gregarious promoter says, “I’ve been involved in boxing all of my life, in one way or another,” adding with a laugh, “I’m addicted to boxing.”

The founder of Thompson Enterprises says,”We have tremendous fighters with knockout records on the card this Friday. Luis Ramos (7-0) is unbelievable and he’s on a quest to be champ.”

“Desert Storm” Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. and Dominic Salcido are just two of the fighters signed with TBP who are making a mark in boxing.

Alex Camponovo, is TBP’s matchmaker and is also the general manager at Thompson Enterprises for the past 15 years. He says of Bradley’s huge upset over Junior Witter in the U.K. five months ago , “At first, it was tense in England; being in a ‘foreign territory.’ I had confidence in our fighter, but it was a reserved confidence as we didn’t know what to expect. But we trusted our champ and it was an amazing victory. We were elated.”

After suffering his first loss as a pro to Vicente Escobedo last month, TBP’s Dominic Salcido will be coming back to fight on their November 28th card. Camponovo says the lightweight is going back down to 130 and will once again have a winning record within a couple of months.

The Bolivian-born matchmaker enjoys working with Thompson saying, “He gives me creative liberty and offers great leadership. He understands the game, the needs of the fighter, and is 100% fair.”

While promoting TBP, Camponovo has traveled to Spain, England, Mexico and most recently Biloxi, Ms. for Bradley’s win over Edner Cherry in September. He is currently gearing up for a flight to China for the annual World Boxing Council (WBC) Convention. Along for the ride will be the undefeated Bradley, as the junior welterweight has also been invited to attend the WBC’s boxing summit. This will be Camponovo’s third time to China and he’s looking forward to catching up with friends that he’s met during his past two trips to the country.

Besides Bradley and Salcido, their stable of contenders includes: Josesito Lopez, Yonnhy Perez, Pavel Miranda, Sergio Espinoza and Juan Carlos Burgos. The capable and hardworking Camponovo is also excited about five new fighters he’s getting ready to work with in the future.

Friday will be another sellout for the TBP team and Camponovo says of the upcoming night, “These kids have a lot of talent and ‘New Blood II’ will be a good test for them.”

Both Thompson and Camponovo were inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006.
Thompson, married to Vera for 40 years and the father three, is a former president of the World Boxing Hall of Fame and also received a Lifetime Achievement award from the WBC Legends of Boxing Museum this past June.

“New Blood II” at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Ca.
222 N. Vineyard Avenue
Doors open: 6:30 p.m.
First bell: 7:45 p.m.
Tickets: 75.00, 45.00 and 30.00
For info: 714-935-0900

Story by Michele Chong

kikibalt wrote:

This bout should have equated to a great future for Dwight Hawkins. The opposite was true. Managers steered their fighters clear of Hawkins, especially champs with titles. From age 15, Hawkins fought some of the best professionals in the world. He was just 17 when he scored the above victory over Beccera. A rematch took place, in Beccera's hometown of Guadalajara. Dwight was poisened and set up by the Mexican hosts, as was common down there, and lost to beccera in the 9th round. HAwkins idolized his manager Johnny Flores, who knew he could match Hawkins with anybody, anywhere, and he did. The only edge Hawkins needed was a fair chance, and that is something that Flores could not provide.

bennie wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Larry Holmes

I always liked Larry. His win over Ray Mercer in 1990 is similar to Hopkins' win over Pavlik, a result that makes you look twice.

One of Larry's pre-title opponents was Ibar Arrington (stopped in 10), who earned his payday with a first-round destruction of our own John L. Gardner. The latter sticks in the memory because the British referee warned Arrington for 'slapping' - just before Arrington poleaxed Gardner with a huge right hand.
Words fail to depict how funny the scenario was.

bennie wrote:

bennie wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
Larry Holmes

I always liked Larry. His win over Ray Mercer in 1990 is similar to Hopkins' win over Pavlik, a result that makes you look twice.

One of Larry's pre-title opponents was Ibar Arrington (stopped in 10), who earned his payday with a first-round destruction of our own John L. Gardner. The latter sticks in the memory because the British referee warned Arrington for 'slapping' - just before Arrington poleaxed Gardner with a huge right hand.
Words fail to depict how funny the scenario was.

Ok, you want me to punch hard? how's that?

Evander Holyfield vs Michael Dokes

Jack Johnson

No short people jokes now....

Jack Johnson vs "Fireman" Jim Flynn

Jim Jeffries & Sam Berger

Times are slow around here....

kikibalt wrote:
Jim Jeffries & Sam Berger

Trivia question: Anyone know when or where that photo was taken?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB3n7FBdIkM
"Oldies But Goodies"

Little Caesar & The Romans

An old picture of Tony Smith club founder standing with Wesley Cochrane a schoolboy champion,Barry McGuigan former world featherweight champion, David Barnes schoolboy champion and future professional british welterweight champion with Del Willis

BOXER DAVE SANDS MEMORIAL UPGRADE CEREMONY


(Glebe, Sydney) At a public ceremony at the corner of Broadway and Glebe Point Road in Glebe yesterday, an upgraded memorial plaque to Aboriginal boxing hero Dave Sands (Ritchie) was unveiled. The event was attended by over 120 ex boxers, fans, colleagues, Aboriginal identities and community leaders.


Unveiling of the plaque by George Bracken and Joan Laming


The Dave Sands Memorial Plaque


Heavyweight contender Bob "The Eagle" Mirovic, George Bracken and Lyle Munro

At the time of his death in a truck accident at age 26 at Dungog, near Newcastle, Dave Sands was rated the # 3 Middleweight contender in the World behind Champion Sugar Ray Robinson and had scored his 97th victory (62 ko) against 10 defeats and a draw.

In his 11 year career, Sands held the Australian Middle, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Titles and won the Commonwealth Middleweight Title. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997.

“Dave Sands was spoken about as ‘the second fire of London’” said boxing historian and author of The Fighting Sands, Michael J Clarke OAM. “Dave’s successful bouts in the country set London ablaze”.

As Empire Middleweight Champion Dave was due to fight for the world middleweight belt before his untimely death in a driving accident in 1952.

In 1952, Dave’s friend and ex opponent Tom Laming Snr, erected a memorial plaque in Dave Sand’s memory. The original plaque ceremony was attended by Tom’s wife Joan Laming and 56 years later she was again present and together with Aboriginal boxing hero George Bracken performed the unveiling. “Dave Sands was a great Australian sportsman who captured the imagination of my father and his whole generation in the boxing industry” said son Tom Laming Jnr who spoke in tribute.

Event MC Claude Williams and co-presenter of the Sweet Science boxing show on Koori Radio said “The unveiling ceremony for the upgraded plaque is a symbol of our commitment to remember and celebrate the great heroes in our community”.

“I earned five times as much from winning one boxing duel, than from working a week on the farm” said the ex-Australian lightweight champion of the 1950's George Bracken. “The sport gave Aboriginals opportunities to travel and improve their financial status and the humility shown by Dave and his brothers was an inspiration to my career ”

The event was opened by Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council chairperson Rob Welsh and community leader Lyall Munro who said “ Led by Dave Sands and Ron Richards, Aboriginal boxers were the early heroes and warriors who led us off the missions with their successes. Dave helped us believe that we could compete ”

General Manager of Gadigal Information Services and co-presenter of the Sweet Science Radio Show Brad Cooke said ” Led by Dave Sands Aboriginal Australia has and continues to contribute to the success of Australian boxing on the world stage. The unveiling today was an opportunity to remember one of the sport's greats. As the plaque reads – a great Australian and gentlemen, one of nature’s greatest.”

Hosted by Gadigal Information Service (Koori Radio), The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and the City of Sydney, the event also commemorated Dave Sands’ 80th birthday year.

Photo Credit : Michael J. Clarke

About Dave Sands:

Acknowledgment (Michael J. Clarke – Author of The History of the Fighting Sands Brothers)

Born David Ritchie in 1926 at Burnt Bridge near Kempsey, he and his five brothers took on the Sands name, taken off a train guard who helped Percy Ritchie, the second oldest, travel to

fight fare free in 1940. Proud representatives of the Dunghutti people, the Fighting Sands Brothers are arguably Australia’s greatest sporting family.

At the time of his death in a truck accident at 26 at Dungog, near Newcastle, Dave Sands was rated the # 3 Middleweight contender in the World behind Champion Sugar Ray Robinson and had scored his 97th victory (62 KO’s) against 10 defeats and a draw.

In his 11 year career, Sands held the Australian Middle, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Titles and won the Commonwealth Middleweight Title by knocking out Dick Turpin, brother of Randolph in one round in 1949 in England. He beat future Middleweight Champion and Hall of Famer, Carl (Bobo) Olson twice, first in Sydney and then in Chicago. Olson, standing in the Madison Square Garden ring after he had won the vacant world crown in 1953 said: "if Dave Sands was alive, this title would be his". In 1950 and 1951 Dave won the Sports Novel public vote for Sportsman of the year over Clive Churchill, Neil Harvey and Keith Miller.

The man the Americans called the "boxer with the educated left hand" received his due when he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998 at a ceremony held in Los Angeles and there can be no greater tribute than that provided by a sportsman's peers.

The following Daily Mirror Tribute was printed the day after his funeral.

"I suppose there never was a world-class fighter who was more modest, less affected by the glitter and glamour of it than Dave. In his whole career there was never a nasty whisper about him. And who'll forget the Empire, Australian and so on Champion saying after a big fight, "well, got to be getting home", sleeping like a baby on a bench at Central Railway Station and then climbing onto a paper train which carried him and news of another great win the draughty hundred miles back to Newcastle. When our children are old, old people, they'll still be talking about this gentleman of the ring."

Patrick Skene

Event Manager and Producer

Kenny Lane

Jimmy Carter vs Art Aragon

400 pages!!..... ..