Carlos Palomino, Armando Muniz took boxing rivalry to higher degree

Carlos Palomino, Armando Muniz took boxing rivalry to higher degree


Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times
Carlos Palomino, left, and Armando Muniz joke around in the ring at the Bell Gardens Boxing Club.
Palomino and Muniz became the first -- and only -- fighters to battle for a world title while being college graduates.

Jerry Crowe
February 16, 2009

As young fighters trying to make their way in a brutal, demanding discipline, Carlos Palomino and Armando Muniz often were given the same advice:

If you're serious about boxing, forget about college. And if you're serious about college, forget about boxing.

Neither paid it any mind.

"It was a dream of mine as a kid to be a boxer," Muniz says, "but I also knew that I was going to go to school."

Palomino stayed in school, he says, "because I figured that even if I got lucky and won a world title, athletic careers are pretty short and I'd still have a whole life ahead of me."

So, even while they continued trading punches, the Southern California-bred fighters never stopped hitting the books.

And when they twice met for the World Boxing Council welterweight championship in the 1970s, they made history: never before had college graduates fought for a world title.

Nor have they since, boxing historians believe.

As longtime boxing writer Bert Sugar notes, "You're not getting your recruits for boxing from the graduating line at Harvard."

That's why, before the first Palomino-Muniz fight, at the Olympic Auditorium on Jan. 21, 1977, Times columnist Jim Murray called the matchup "boxing's finest intellectual hour since George Bernard Shaw wrote to Gene Tunney" and noted with tongue in cheek, "If the fight is close, maybe they can decide it by debate."

Palomino, the champion, had only recently earned a degree in recreation administration from Long Beach State.

Muniz, taking his third title shot, had graduated from Cal State Los Angeles, where he majored in Spanish and minored in math, and was working toward a graduate degree in administration.

Neither, however, was a bookworm.

Their first fight, won dramatically by Palomino when he stopped the challenger late in the 15th round, is considered one of the most memorable bouts of 1977.

After 14 rounds, it was even.

In the 15th, "I went out and just threw everything I had for 2 1/2 minutes," says Palomino, who also won the rematch -- by unanimous decision -- in May 1978. "Finally, he went down."

Muniz wept when the bout was stopped, believing he'd squandered his last title shot, and rues its ending still.

"I was tired, but I was totally aware," he says. "I knew Carlos was on top of me and I knew he was trying to knock me down, but I was waiting for one more punch myself. I knew if I threw one more punch straight at him, he was going to go down."

He never got the chance and less than two years later, after tendinitis in his left arm forced him to quit against Sugar Ray Leonard, Muniz retired with a record of 44-14-1.

Later, after his plan to buy a beer distributorship fell through and he discovered he wasn't cut out for selling real estate or insurance, he used his degree and turned to teaching.

Last June, the former boxer retired after 21 years of teaching Spanish and math at Riverside Rubidoux High.

"I never thought I'd be a teacher," says Muniz, who helps run a youth boxing program in Riverside. "I thought, teachers are paid too little. I'll win the world title and go from there."

Like Palomino, Muniz was born in Mexico. Both are from big families -- Palomino was the third of 11 children, Muniz the second of eight -- and both fought in the Army at Ft. Bragg, N.C., before going to college. Muniz boxed for the U.S. in the 1968 Olympics. Both fighters say their fathers' hard-knock lives as laborers motivated their pursuit of higher education.

Today, both are grandfathers.



Muniz is 62, Palomino 59.

"I don't think going to school affected my fighting at all," says Muniz, echoing his longtime friend and former rival. "All I needed to be a fighter was time in the morning to jog, time in the afternoon to go to the gym and the dedication to take care of myself."

He laughs, noting, "I don't know how in the world I did it."

Says Palomino, "A lot of people had doubts. My manager told me, 'You're not going to be able to do it.' I said, 'Just give me a year to see where we're at.' In a year, I was 8-0 and carrying 18 units a semester. He said, 'OK, you're doing it,' but I didn't have much of a life. I trained and went to school."

Unlike Muniz, Palomino never had to rely on his degree to find work. He successfully defended his title seven times before losing a split decision to Wilfred Benitez in 1979, then launched a career as an actor and pitchman. Including a brief comeback in the late 1990s, he ended his career with a 31-4-3 record.

These days, Palomino owns a credit-card processing company and works with at-risk teens, pushing education.

It's a subject he and Muniz know well.

"I'm proud to say that Carlos and I were in that fight," says Muniz, who supplements his pension income as a bail bondsman. "I think the Latino community took it as, 'Wow, two of our guys are doing this.' I just wish it would have translated into more kids going into college and getting out of gangs."

Who's to say it didn't?



jerome.crowe@latimes.com

GREAT PUERTO RICAN FIGHTERS By William Dettloff

03 Aug 1977, New York, New York, USA --- 8/3/1977-New York, NY- World junior welterweight champ Wilfredo Benitez of Puerto Rico strolls around ring with both arms raised in jubilation after retaining the crown with a 15th round TKO over challenger Jose Ramon Guerro Chavez at Madison Square Garden 8/3. Referee Arthur Mercanto stops the bout. Chavez is a native of Venezuela now living in Montreal. --- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

By William Dettloff
Courtesy of HBO Boxing

Miguel Cotto is the latest in a long line of wonderful prizefighters from Puerto Rico. Like the best of his compatriots, he is highly diverse; when facing a puncher, he can move and box with the best of them. When he's the puncher, there may not be a more dangerous young guy at 140 pounds. He's young still and growing, but shows poise beyond his years and has consistently faced stiff competition. Will he be remembered among the great Puerto Rican fighters when he's done? Only time will tell, of course, and he's got a very tough act to follow. Here's one man's list, presented in alphabetical order, of the best fighters Puerto Rico has produced.

Wilfred Benitez
Benitez was the best defensive fighter of his era, and not by a little. You just had to see him fight once to know it. If you saw him boxing rings around the great Antonio Cervantes, at 17 years old for cripes' sake, or Carlos Palomino or Roberto Duran, you knew how special he was. He hated to train and loved to party but if you want to see one of the smoothest defensive fighters of the last 50 years, get a tape of prime Benitez. He was pure magic.

Hector Camacho
There are those who still don't take Camacho seriously because of his persona and ring style, but the Camacho who tore through a pair of divisions in the early 1980s was a very good fighter. He beat Rafael Limon, Rafael Solis, Jose Luis Ramirez, Freddie Roach and others. Even later on he was still too good for Ray Mancini, Vinny Pazienza, Howard Davis and Greg Haugen (he also lost to Haugen). And he proved his heart once and for all when he lasted the distance with Julio Cesar Chavez, despite taking a terrific beating.

Esteban DeJesus
DeJesus wasn't only the first guy to beat Roberto Duran. He beat a lot of talented fighters, such as Ray Lampkin and Johnny Gant and Alfonso Frazier. Duran will forever overshadow him, but what's terrible about being second best to maybe the greatest lightweight ever? Of DeJesus' five career losses, two were to Duran, one was to Antonio Cervantes, and another was in his very last fight, to Saoul Mamby. That's nothing to be ashamed of.

Carlos DeLeon
DeLeon is another guy many don't take seriously, but he got a lot accomplished in the cruiserweight division. He won a piece of the title four different times and beat about every decent cruiserweight there was throughout the 1980s. It wasn't a very deep division and DeLeon wasn't especially dominant, but he was a very stubborn, skilled fighter who fought at the top of his division for nearly a decade. What more can you ask a fighter to do?

Wilfredo Gomez
Gomez was a magnificent puncher with underrated skills and a cannon of a right hand. He still holds the record for title defenses at junior featherweight with 17, and also owns the fourth longest knockout streak ever, at 32 straight. He stopped 88% of his opponents and fought the best of a brilliant era. It's true that in the biggest fight of his career he crashed against Salvador Sanchez, and Azumah Nelson did a job on him too later on. But at his best, Gomez was a 122-pound Godzilla.

Carlos Ortiz
Ortiz couldn't punch like Gomez or box like Benitez but on his day almost no one put the two together the way he did. When he had to move and box he did, like when he decisioned and dethroned the power-punching Joe Brown to win the lightweight title. But he liked to punch better than anything and when he did it right, which was most of the time, he was a sight. There wasn't a better or more fluid combination puncher in the business when Ortiz was in his groove. He could do it all.

Edwin Rosario
In an era that was full of big punchers, Rosario may have been the best. His right cross produced many of the most chilling knockouts of the period and was a feared weapon. The left hook was good, too. A single hook to the point of Hector Camacho's chin in their close bout turned Camacho into a safety-first boxer for the rest of his career. "Chapo" was flawed, but most of the time his power made up for it. It was enough to get him elected posthumously into the boxing hall of fame this year.

Jose Torres
Torres' one-punch, body-shot kayo of Willie Pastrano in 1965 is reflective of the kind of fighter he was early on: calculating, efficient, and a brutal puncher. He softened somewhat as a champion - he admits the drive to defend the title wasn't as great as the drive to win it - but at his best he was superb. Neither all puncher nor all boxer, he could do most things very well and is today one of the game's most respected elder statesmen.

Felix Trinidad
Things ended badly for Trinidad, but they do for most fighters. He had a heck of a run. From the time he knocked out Maurice Blocker in 1993 to his controversial decision win over Oscar De La Hoya in '99, there wasn't a more dominant champion in the game. He was deadly as a welterweight and even the move to 154 didn't diminish his power -ask Fernando Vargas or David Reid. His destruction of William Joppy, a full-fledged middleweight, was breathtaking. When you're talking about great Puerto Rican fighters, Trinidad is right near the top.

Wilfredo Vazquez
Vazquez was a three-division titleholder and one of the tougher featherweights around for the better part of the 1990s. He's one of a handful of fighters from the era with more than 50 career wins, and scored 41 knockouts by the time he was done. No one will ever mistake him for one of the great featherweights ever, but Vazquez did very well for himself with solid skills and a killer of a left hook. It's possible that he might have wrung out a few more wins had not the more athletically gifted Naseem Hamed come along when he did.

Carlos Ortiz Knocking Out Flash Elorde

Speaking of great Puerto Rican fighters, here is a quick video clip of one of the greatest, Carlos Ortiz, knocking out Flash Elorde in the fourteenth round of their second fight on November 28, 1966 at the Madison Square Garden.

Carlos Ortiz Vs Flash Elorde Classic Boxing KOFighters.com

Mando Ramos Memorial Service - July 18, 2008

Mando Ramos: November 15, 1948 - July 6, 2008

Sylvia Ramos and Mando Ramos Jr.

Yesterdays Memorial service for the late Mando Ramos at the Longshoremen’s Memorial Hall in Wilmington was at times celebratory and at times somber. Celebratory because Mando was being remembered, stories were being shared, old fight clips were shown on a large screen, as well as personal photographs. Somber because as Mando Ramos Jr. was giving an emotional eulogy to his father, and as others stood up and spoke, you knew Mando was really going to be missed by those who loved him and knew him best. The fight clips shown during the service were a testimony to his greatness. Mando was one hell of a fighter. Thanks to Mando’s wife Sylvia for sharing the memorabilia and the memories with us. This boxing fan appreciated it.


The local boxing community came out to pay their respects to one of their greatest. In attendance were Frank Baltazar Sr, Frankie Baltazar Jr., Carlos Palomino, Mando Muniz, Bobby Chacon, Ruben Castillo, Rodolfo “El Gato” Gonzalez, Orlando De La Fuente, Raul Rojas, Paul Gonzalez, Frankie Duarte and so many more, as well as hundreds of fans.

Mando Ramos belongs to history and to God now. Rest in Peace Champ.

All photographs are courtesy of Frank Baltazar Sr. For more photos click here

Frankie Baltazar Jr., Frankie Duarte and Orlando De La Fuente

Carlos Palomino and me

Frank Baltazar Sr. and Mando Ramos Jr.

Rodolfo "El Gato" Gonzalez and Ed Hernandez Sr.

Frank Baltazar Sr., Frankie Baltazar Jr and me

Mando Muniz, Carlos Palomino, Ruben Castillo and Paul Gonzalez

Jackie Hayden, Bobby Chacon and me

Frankie Baltazar Jr. holding up Mando's belt

Above and below, some of the memorabilia at the service

For more photographs click here

Mando Ramos November 15, 1948 - July 6, 2008

R.I.P. Champ

Sugar Shane Mosley vs Sergio Mora: It's a (Boring) Draw

Photos courtesy of the Los Angeles Times

By Randy De La O

Daniel Ponce De Leon vs. Antonio Escalante

It was a tough loss for El Paso’s Antonio Escalante Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Escalante was stopped in the third round of their scheduled twelve round WBO Title elimination bout. I thought Escalante was holding his own against De Leon before he was stopped.  Going into the fight, trainer Louie Burke had some concern over Escalante having some trouble making weight. That may have been a factor in the fight.  Escalante showed some promise in this fight and one loss, KO or otherwise is not the end of a career. The best remedy for a loss is a little rest and then back to the gym.

De Leon still has some fight in him and is now the mandatory challenger to world featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez.

Victor Ortiz vs. Vivian Harris

I have to admit, I didn’t think too much of Victor Ortiz before this fight, and I’m not exactly a fan just yet  but I have to give him some credit  in his effort to redeem himself after quitting against Marcos Maidana. Everyone deserves a second chance. Ortiz handled himself well against the veteran Harris, though to be fair, Harris has seen better days and I don’t think he gave Ortiz the kind of fight that would have answered some questions about Ortiz. In other words this was the perfect fight for Ortiz to shine. To his credit Ortiz took a few good right hands from Harris in the fight and shook them off as he continued to press the fight. Harris was Ko’ed in the third round. The jury is still out.

Saul Alvarez Ko's Carlos Baldomir

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Carlos Baldomir

I couldn’t help mentioning to my pal Ed Hernandez Saturday night, as we watched Alvarez make his ring walk and ring entrance, that we  were looking at a very special fighter, someone poised for greatness. His fight with Carlos Baldomir seemed to put a stamp on it. Alvarez is a well trained fighter and shows skills far beyond his twenty years. There is an old school aura that seems to permeate the air around him.

Former fighter and current boxing historian and writer, Rick Farris,  had this to say about Alvarez: “I know this kid is getting a lot of publicity and I think it's a good thing. I've only seen him in his match with Cotto's brother but I was impressed. The great thing about Alvarez is that he is not a product of amateur boxing. There was a time when the amateurs was a great start to a pro career. As they tried to make amateur boxing "safe", they came up with rules that has taken the fight out of boxing. Basically, today's amateur boxing is ruining the sport. I can understand why the younger generation is gravitating to MMA. People want to see something that suggests a fight, not a game of tag. Alvarez is a solid body puncher, and can come back after being rocked to KO his opponent. He comes to fight. ‘ I couldn’t agree more.


Baldomir seemed angry as he entered the ring, scowling and pushing aside one of his handlers arm. He should have saved some of that anger for Alvarez. Baldomir seemed to break down round by round and had no real answers for Alvarez, who was consistently landing right hands against Baldomir.  It was a right hand by Alvarez and a quickly followed up left hook that finished Baldomir in the sixth round. Saul Alvarez was the main event of the evening.

Sugar Shane Mosley, Sergio Mora and Referee Pat Russell

Sugar Shane Mosley vs. Sergio Mora

There were rumors of a fight between Mosley and Mora Saturday night. We were mislead. Instead of a fight we got an early audition for “Dancing with the Stars”.  I don’t know how else to put it.

Mosley, once an elite, top of the game fighter, is aging quickly now but even with that I thought he beat Mora, in what has to be 2010’s Snoozefest” of the year. Mora is lucky he was facing an aging warrior in Mosley. Mora never has been, and absolutely never will be, in Mosley’s league, not even the same ballpark. I couldn't help but yell for Mosley to knockout Mora and end the fight. It's hard not to root for a guy like Sugar Shane.

To his credit, Mosley at least tried to make a fight of it but his punches no longer have the sting they used to and the hands no longer have that quick fluid motion that scored so many victories. The legs are gone too. Still, he was more than enough for Mora, who did nothing to deserve a gifted draw.

By the way, did anyone else notice the head clash between Bernard Hopkins ans Sugar Shane Mosley just before the introductions? Wouldn't have been something? The fight stopped on cuts caused by an accidental head butt before the fight even started!

Update, on Trout, Rodriguez and Han in Torreon, Mexico

The latest email update from Torreon, Mexico, per Trainer Louie Burke.

Well our suspicion of bad news was confirmed today at 8:00 am, but their could be some good news with it.

We're extremely disapointed that Avendano pulled out due to a contract dispute, there goes the tiltle eliminator. In Avendanos place will be Martin Avilla, a local from Torreon residing in juarez. Austin knows he cannot look pass this kid, even with a less than steller record, it appears as if he's been the victim of mis-management, His losse have been against experienced foes and he has a win over Saul Duran, has been the Mexican light middle-weight champ and has gonne 12 rounds. He was KO'd his last fight but it was overseas against an undeafeted fighter, Koji Sato who is 13-0 with 12 KO's and is a full fledged middle-weight.

I wish we could have fought the fight we prepared for, But since it's not going to happen we can't look past Avila.

The good news is that there is a possibliry according to Nacho Huizar that the Avendano fight will happen in El Paso sometime in May. I'll gladly take it on the home turf.

It was a long day. Two huge press conferences, that reminded me of the way boxing was covered a couple of decades ago, a full house of spectators and media.

Austin and David then had to tape the Telivisa entry for Saturday, then go get physicals.
Why isn't it this easy in the states?

Abie Han arrived at 8:00pm, ate and went for a short walk. He then called it a night at 10:00pm.

David's fight is still a go for the NABA title. Austin's fight looks like it will probably be reduced to a 10 rounder. David has to be ready to go in the ring by 8:45 and austin is know the swing bout.

During the press conference tempers flaired between Pucheta and David. David felt when Pucheta put his fist up to his chin during the stand-off, Pucheta shoved his fist into his chin a little to rough while posing for cameras, so he knocked his hand away causing a little pre fight mayhem. Not Much came of it, just some finger pointing and a few curse words.

Abie's opponent is Juan Carlos Ochoa, a debuter from Gomez Palacio, the sister city that lies just accross the river from Torreon. We know nothing about him.

I wanted to make a correction. expected attendance is 9,000 not 40,000. Sorry I misunderstood, but a sell out is expected.

The card as it stands today is 11 bouts long.

Featherweights 4 rds
Tomoki Kameda vs Carlos Hernandez
3-0 0-1
Japan Gomez Palacio, Durango

Light-weights 4 rds
Gerardo Diaz vs Cristian Rojas
6-0-1 7-0-1
gomez Pl. Monclova

Welter 4rds
Francisco Reza vs Adres Reyes
6-0 8-1-0
Torreon Gomez Pl

Middle 4 rds
Abie han vs jaun Carlos Ochoa
2-0 debut
El Paso Gomez Pl

fly 4 rds
Noe Rosas vs Irving Cortez
5-2 5-1-1
Mexico City Nuevo Loredo

Mini-fly 6rds
Jose Rodriguez vs Tony Rodriguez
15-0 4-4-1
Mazatlan Gomez pl

Middle 4 rounds
Gerrado rojas vs Alberto Martinez
2-0 debut
Torreon Monterrey

Super-light 6 rds
Ricardo mijares vs ricardo Rejeda
12-0 6-2-1
Gomez Pl Monterrey, NL

Super Welter 12 or 10 rds ?
Austin Trout vs Martin avila
16-0 9-4
Las Cruces Torreon/juarez

Heavyweight 12rds
David Rodriguez vs Manuel Alberto Pucheta
30-0 23-3
El Paso Tucuman, Argentina

Crisitan Mijares vs Nehomar Cermeno
38-4-2 16-0
Gomez Pl Venezula

Whew! I didn't realize how many fights there was, I guess we're in for a long night.
Thanks for the support.
Louie

California Boxing Hall of Fame 2010

California Boxing Hall of Fame 2010 Program
Originally uploaded by randyman

By Randy De La O

This past weekend, at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, California, some of the best boxers of the past were honored and recognized by the California Boxing Hall of Fame, and the boxing community came out to celebrate with them. The mood was festive as the boxers, their families and friends, as well as the fans, were on hand to witness their favorite fighter being immortalized in California’s Hall of Fame.

Some like Rick Farris and Tony Cerda Jr., were born and bred here in the Golden State, while others like Art Hafey came here from far away lands to stake their claim in California’s long and rich boxing history. They trained in places like the Main Street Gym or the Teamsters Gym and they fought in legendary venues such as, the Olympic Auditorium, the Hollywood Legion Stadium, the Forum, the Los Angeles Sports Arena, Wrigley’s Field, the great casinos of Las Vegas and in Madison Square Garden in New York. Others, like Oklahoma’s Sean O’Grady fought here briefly but made their mark by showing great courage in their ring battles, as was the case for seventeen year old O’Grady who came to Los Angeles in 1976 to face Danny “:Little Red” Lopez at the Forum. He lost that battle when the fight was stopped after the fourth round but showed the stuff fighters are made of by taking the fight to Lopez. He proved he had the right stuff when in 1981 he wrested the WBA Lightweight title from Hilmer Kenty. Sean’s award was accepted by his friend and attorney Tom Ray. Tom Ray was also O’Grady’s cornerman.

California’s own Golden Age was represented by Enrique Bolanos, who’s boxing record reads like a veritable who’s who of one of booing’s greatest era, fighting the likes of Manuel Ortiz, Ike Williams, Art Aragon, Joey Barnum, Maxie Docusen, Jimmy Carter, Chico Vejar and so many more. His induction award was graciously accepted by his wife Ruby.

Legendary trainer Johnny Forbes, who passed way in 1971, received his honor posthumously. Forbes had a great stable of fighters that included Carlos and Al Chavez, Gil Cadilli, Keeny Teran, Cali Martinez and Vince Delgado, to name a few.

Rick Farris received his 2010 induction as a fighter but he may someday receive another award for his dedication to preserving and writing about local boxing history. Rick was a fighter’s fighter and he still continues to fight, only now he’s fighting to ensure that boxers of the past are not forgotten. He fights for their legacy.

Canadian Art Hafey, who knows a thing or two about being forgotten, has had a great year, starting with Dan Hanley’s “The Featherweight Wars ”, last years premier of the ”Toy Tiger” and culminating with his induction into the Hall of Fame. It’s a well deserved honor.

Lupe Aquino, the epitome of a humble man sated simply “I’m a man of few words” gave his thanks and left the podium. John Beyrooty ,on the other hand left no stoned unturned in accepting his honors and may very well be back in the near future to accept a newly created award for the longest and most drawn acceptance speech in any award, boxing or otherwise. Referee Pat Russell, a class act, accepted his award with his usual aplomb and was enjoying himself and interacting with fans. Russell, who’s name is synonymous with integrity is a referee’s referee.

The families of Junior Robles, Paul Palomino (Brother of Carlos Palomino) and Bryon Lindsay were there to accept the posthumous awards. All three were tragically killed on March 14, 1980, when, as part of a team that was headed to Warsaw, Poland, their plane crashed near the airport killing all 77 aboard the plane. It was a somber and touching moment as they recalled their loved ones.

There are so many personal stories for each and every fighter. There can be no greater honor than being inducted into the Hall of Fame for doing something that you loved. Especially a sport that can demand so much from an athlete. Boxing is a sport like no other and in my eyes boxer’s stand the tallest, at any weight.

Along with the honorees that were on hand to receive their induction were local boxing legends; Mando Muniz, Carlos Palomino, Bobby Chacon, Danny Lopez, Frankie Baltazar Jr., Ruben Castillo, Vince Delgado, Rodolfo “El Gato” Gonzales, Gwen Adair, Tony Cerda Sr. and Frank Baltazar Sr. and so many more.


A special thanks to Don Fraser and Frank Baltazar Sr. for a job well done. The 2010 California Boxing Hall of Fame was a success.

The Class of 2010 California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductees

Bazooka Limon
Art Hafey
Bob Arum
Sean O'Grady
Enrique Bolanos
Rick Farris
Brad Pye Jr.
Larry Montalvo
John Beyrooty
Pat Russell
Ray De La Fuentes
Victor Valenzuela
Jerry Cheatham
Joey Barnum
Tony Cerda Jr
Joe Barriellli
Bill Caplan
Lupe Aquino

Posthumous Category
Jr. Robles
Paul Palomino
Bryon Lindsey
Young Corbett III
Joey Medill
Bobby Pacho
Joe Robledo
Johnny Forbes

Congratulations to all the 2010 Inductees. Your legacy is preserved

Touching Gloves with…Dave ‘Boy’ Green

By Dan Hanley

Over the years, having devoured in text anything and everything fistic in nature, I have become quite cynical with the ease a scribe can dole out such descriptive terms such as his “lethal left hook” or his “air-tight defense”. However, back in the day, there was a kid taking English shores by storm and the Brit press introduced this then-teenage Yank to the unique phrase, “teak tough” when describing this fiery, young pug. If there was ever an understated term, this was it.

 DH: Dave, I always recall seeing in Ring Magazine’s ratings, your home base as Chatteris. Is that where you’re originally from?

 DG: Born, raised and I’m still here. Chatteris is in Cambridgeshire in the south east of England. It would be considered…East Anglia.

 DH: What steered you towards boxing?

 DG: Well, I wanted to be a footballer when I was a kid, but one day I went with a mate of mine to a boxing gym and I just loooooved it! The one on one competition had me hooked.

 DH: How did you fare as an amateur?

 DG: I fought amateur from the age of 13 until the age of 21. I had 105 amateur fights and won 82. Now, I must mention that after 91 fights Andy Smith began training me. Andy tweaked my style a bit and I’ll tell you, whatever he did, something clicked because I only lost 1 of my last 14 fights.

 DH: Describe how Britain’s annual ABA tournament unfolds and how you progressed.

 DG: There’s about eight different areas throughout England, Scotland and Wales that will compete and eventually eliminate one another throughout the tournament with the finals to be held in Wembley Stadium. In 1974 under Andy Smith I made it to the Semi-Finals in Manchester losing to eventual winner Terry Waller, who was a 5 time ABA champion.

 DH: The Commonwealth Games were held in ‘74. Did you have a shot at England’s squad?

 DG: Y’know, it’s my one regret, that I never boxed for England internationally. If I stayed on for another year it probably would have happened, but I wanted to go pro. In September of ‘74 I signed a pro contract, in October I got married and in December had me first pro fight.

 DH: Who did you turn pro with?

 DG: Oh, I stayed on with Andy Smith. He managed and trained me my whole career.

 DH: He had quite a stable. Did you ever feel overlooked?

 DG: Oh, no! Although Andy was also managing Joe Bugner, Des Morrison, Jimmy Harrington, Bjorn Rudi and others, he looked after each of us so well.

 DH: Where did the ‘Boy’ nickname come from?

 DG: (laughing) That was Andy. There was a great fighter from Chatteris named Eric ‘Boy’ Boon. Well, Andy said there must be hundreds of Dave Greens fighting throughout England, so to set me apart he started the Dave ‘Boy’ Green thing.

 DH: In your 12th pro fight you fought veteran Billy Waith in a final eliminator for the British 140 lb. title. Tell me about the fight.

 DG: Billy was a tough little fighter, but all he did for 5 or 6 rounds was cover up. I only had 11 pro fights and he was obviously waiting for me to get winded and be done. But I kept going and stopped him in 11. 

DH: You fought three times over the next several weeks before receiving your title shot at Joey Singleton’s British title. Wouldn’t a loss have scuttled your title fight?

 DG: I…don’t know. The question never came up. (laughing) Andy must’ve had great faith in me.

 DH: What did it feel like in the Royal Albert Hall that night being crowned British champ?

 DG: Oh, fantastic. Joey Singleton was a lovely fighter but he was no puncher and I was able to walk right through him. A tremendous atmosphere in the Hall that night.

 DH: With Andy Smith as your manager, what role was Mickey Duff playing in your career?

 DG: Mickey Duff was the Matchmaker. Mickey was the best Matchmaker this country has seen. He was a great man and boxing was his love. He always made great matches for the punters.

 DH: I see he was bringing in some very diverse talent for you such as Ramiro Bolanos and Jimmy Heair. But tell me, was there bad blood between you and Heair?

 DG: No, but he was doing things to rattle me such as sticking out his tongue and following me back to me corner and saying, “Is that all ya got?” Just trying to get in me head.

 DH: At the end of ‘76 you received a shot at the European light welterweight title. Tell me about the fight with Jean Baptiste Piedvache?

 DG: Piedvache’s record was like 40-1 going into that fight. It was a very tough fight but I stopped him in nine rounds. But that was it for me at 140. I couldn’t make the weight anymore. Two days after a fight I was weighing 11 stone. To tell you how easy I’d put on the weight, around this time we went on Holiday to Spain and I came back weighing 175 lbs.

 DH: I believe it was around the time of the Bolanos fight that I began hearing tales of ‘Boy’ Green’s ‘Muckspreader’. You have got to elaborate on this for me. DG: Well (laughing), I’m from an agricultural area in the south east and Andy Smith noticed the way I would throw an overhand right. It was sort of over and down. Like the way a farmer would sling a shovel. So Andy started calling it my ‘Muckspreader’ and the name stuck.

Green (right) blocks a left hook from Stracey.

DH: In March of ‘77 was the fight that stopped traffic over in England. Tell me about your fight with former welterweight champion John Stracey.

 DG: This was a cracking fight with the winner to get a shot at the world title. I was up by about 2 or 3 rounds and it was stopped in the 10th round with John’s eye closed and taking punishment.

 DH: Did I hear he’s doing after-dinner singing now?

 DG: Yeah, and he’s not bad. But (laughing), it’s a good thing he did a bit of boxing first. Don’t think he would have made much money singing back then.

 DH: January 14, 1977 at the Empire Pool in Wembley. Your shot at the world welterweight title against Carlos Palomino. You were doing so well, appeared to be ahead and had really stung him in the 10th round. What happened?

 DG: It was actually in the 10th round that he caught me and closed me left eye. In the 11th I was turning in order to see and he caught me with a left hook and that was it. It also marked the last time my wife would ever watch me fight.

 DH: Three months later you were back against top contender Andy ‘The Hawk’ Price at the National Sporting Club. Tell me about the fight.

 DG: Andy ‘The Hawk’ was an excellent fighter and like you said, a top contender. Andy Smith said we have to keep fighting this type of fighter in order to stay in the top ten. It was a very close fight, which I believe I only won by one point on referee Sid Nathan’s card.

 DH: In March of ‘78 and then rescheduled for May you were to fight Canada’s Clyde Gray for his British Commonwealth welterweight title. Why did this fight not take place?

 DG: Just prior to that I had beaten Roy Johnson of Bermuda and damaged me right hand in the process. We thought we were right before the rescheduled fight but a week before the fight the hand went again while sparring with Des Morrison. Clyde Gray thought I ‘bottled’ it, but I had damaged the metacarpal bone and it had to heal. But I do think it would have been a great fight between myself and Gray.

 DH: On October 21st of ‘78 you were scheduled for your awaited rematch with Carlos Palomino in Monte Carlo. Again, why did this fight not take place?

 DG: About two weeks before the fight Palomino hurt his back and pulled out. But rather than allow him to reschedule, the WBC ordered him to sign for the #1 contender, which was Wilfredo Benitez. Benitez, after beating Palomino then promised me the shot but Sugar Ray Leonard’s people offered him $1,000,000 to defend against Leonard. Bob Arum then promised me the shot at the winner, which eventually did happen. 

DH: Your fight with Henry Rhiney for the European welterweight title was televised over here. I think Rhiney was a very under-rated fighter. Tell me about this fight.

 DG: Well, you’re right. Henry Rhiney was a very good fighter and it was a great fight, which I won on a 5th round knockout. However, what bothered me about this fight was the fact that Henry held both British and European titles, but at this time the European Boxing Union shortened their title fights to 12 rounds, whereas the British title fights retained the 15 round distance. Therefore, Henry’s British title was not at stake. And do you know who he eventually lost his British title to? Kirkland Laing. I beat Kirk three times as an amateur, but never got me chance at him or the British title at welterweight.

 DH: In June of ‘79 you lost your Euro title to Jorgen Hansen in Denmark. Now, I gotta ask you. You took everything Jean Baptiste Piedvache, John Stracey and Carlos Palomino - for 10 rounds - threw at you without flinching. Suddenly, an aging fighter, whom you had on the canvas earlier in the round, takes you out in 3. Do you think you lost a step after the Palomino KO?

 DG: No! This was my fault. As a matter of fact, I believe he went down earlier in the round strictly for effect. Andy Smith kept telling me to be careful, that he was a big puncher. And he was, plus he was a cagey old boy at that. I got reckless after scoring the knockdown and walked into one. It’s funny talking about this because I was recently contacted to participate in an interview over in Denmark for a documentary on Hansen.

 DH: In March of ‘80 you received your second shot at the world title. What was it like in Landover, Maryland being involved in a Sugar Ray Leonard event?

 DG: To be honest, I could have fought Sugar Ray Leonard 25 times and wouldn’t have beaten him once. He was so good. I don’t recall the Sugar Ray Robinsons, but for my money Leonard is the best that I’ve seen. But I did make me career high purse for that fight.

 DH: What kind of money were you seeing through your career?

 DG: Well, early in me career Andy wouldn’t take any of his share of the purse. But eventually I began making some decent money. I made £25,000 for the Price fight, £35,000 apiece for the Stracey and Palomino fights and my career high of £125,000 for the Leonard fight. And remember this was in Pounds, which was roughly at a 2 to 1 ratio with the Dollar at that time. In total I made about £450,000 while boxing.

DH: After the Leonard fight you ran off a string of wins before inexplicably being stopped by unknown Reggie Ford. When I saw that result I recall ranting, “There is no way ‘Boy’ Green lost to Reggie Ford!” And you never fought again. What did you lose?

 DG: I had said to Andy once that when he thinks I’m finished that I’d follow his decision. During that fight I had nothing to offer. I was down around the 3rd round and at the end of the 4th Andy said that he would give me one more round to turn it around. And when I came back to me corner at the end of the round he retired me on me stool and the career with it. But it was the correct decision and that’s why I’m able to talk to you today.

 DH: You retired at 28. On your heels was the emergence of Kirkland Laing, Colin Jones and Lloyd Honeyghan. Did you ever feel the desire for a comeback?

 DG: No, I had an opportunity at a job in business and I took it. Although Andy did take me aside and say, “Listen, Dave, if anything goes wrong, come and see me again. I’ll get you the right fights.” He was so pleased that I made it in business and did not have to return. I cannot say enough good things about Andy Smith. He was the best manager this country has seen. He was more than a manager. Joe Bugner wouldn’t listen, but those of us who did were looked after.

 DH: What business did you get into after boxing?

 DG: I got into sales for a firm supplying Cash & Carry’s with inventory. I must’ve had a knack because my boss was complaining that I was making more than he was. Eventually I began running me own company. It’s called Renoke Marketing Logistics, Ltd. We buy and sell to Co-ops, Cash & Carry’s and retailers.

Green, at right, seen landing a right on the chin of Palomino.

DH: Any regrets?

 DG: None. Boxing was great to me. I’ll tell you a funny story of the notoriety it’s given me. A number of years back I was in King’s Lynn in Norfolk for a New Year’s Eve party. I was going out of the hotel for a breath of air and who do I run into but Princess Diana. I just sort of awkwardly introduced myself by saying, “Hey, Princess Di! Dave ‘Boy’ Green.” She was such a lovely person and the funny thing was, she knew who I was. Boxing has given me lifelong friendships as well. It’s one of the few sports where you can beat on one another and then lock arms afterwards. I’ve had a great time with Carlos Palomino while on holiday in California and Sugar Ray Leonard’s been to me home. I’m here today living fairly comfortably. My wife Kay and I have been married 37 years and we have twin daughters and a son who are all doing well. So, I couldn’t ask for much more.

 —

 A few years back I was fortunate to make fast-friends with a pair of die-hard boxing fans in Colin and Carolyn Chilver of the Middlesbrough area of England. Two people that have traveled the globe pursuing their passion with the sport of boxing. When they told me of an awards dinner they were attending in Hammersmith, I could only think to ask, “Do you think ‘Boy’ Green will be there?” Thus, my hashfest with Dave ‘Boy’ Green. And, to be audacious enough to abuse the metaphor, this teak-tough fighter’s Muckspreader has served him well in life.

 See ya next round,

 Dan Hanley
pugnut23@yahoo.com

UPCOMING FIGHT SCHEDULE

Courtesy of The Ring Magazine

Friday, March 20, 2009
Laredo, Texas (ESPN2)
Fernando Beltran Jr. (31-3-1, 18 KOs) vs. Aldo Valtierra (25-10-0, 13 KOs)
12 Rounds - Featherweight Division

Saturday, March 21, 2009
Stuttgart, Germany (ESPN)
Vitali Klitschko (36-2-0, 35 KOs) vs. Juan Carlos Gomez (44-1-0, 35 KOs)
12 Rounds - Heavyweight Division

Las Vegas
Roman Karmazin (37-3-1, 23 KOs) vs. TBA
10 Rounds - Middleweight Division

Pensacola, Fla. (Integrated Sports PPV)
Roy Jones Jr. (52-5-0, 38 KOs) vs. Omar Sheika (27-8-0, 18 KOs)
12 Rounds - Light Heavyweight Division

Friday, March 27, 2009
Milan, Italy
Giacobbe Fragomeni (26-1-0, 10 KOs) vs. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (41-2-0, 31 KOs)
12 Rounds - Cruiserweight Division

Los Angeles (ESPN2)
Samuel Peter (30-2-0, 23 KOs) vs. Eddie Chambers (33-1-0, 18 KOs)
10 Rounds - Heavyweight Division

Saturday, March 28, 2009
Mexico (Top Rank PPV)
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (38-0-1, 29 KOs) vs. Luciano Leonel Cuello (23-0-0, 10 KOs)
10 Rounds - Jr. Middleweight Division

Tamaulipas, Mexico
Edgar Sosa (32-5-0, 17 KOs) vs. Kompayak Kompayak (31-3-0, 22 KOs)
12 Rounds - Jr. Flyweight Division

USA (Showtime)
Andre Dirrell (17-0-0, 12 KOs) vs. David Banks (18-4-1, 3 KOs)
10 Rounds - Super Middleweight Division

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Paul Spadafora (41-0-1, 16 KOs) vs. TBA
10 Rounds - Welterweight Division

Saturday, April 4, 2009
U.S. (Showtime)
Timothy Bradley (23-0-0, 11 KOs) vs. Kendall Holt (25-2-0, 13 KOs)
12 Rounds - Jr. Welterweight Division

Austin, Texas (HBO pay-per-view)
Edwin Valero (24-0-0, 24 KOs) vs. Antonio Pitalua (46-3-0, 40 KOs)
12 Rounds - Lightweight Division

Joel Casamayor (36-4-1, 22 KOs) vs. Julio Diaz (36-4-0, 26 KOs)
10 Rounds - Lightweight Division

Michael Katsidis (24-2-0, 20 KOs) vs. Jesus Chavez (44-4-0, 30 KOs)
10 Rounds - Lightweight Division

Jorge Barrios (47-4-1, 34 KOs) vs. Carlos Hernandez (43-7-1, 24 KOs)
10 Rounds - Lightweight Division

Saturday, April 11, 2009
Las Vegas (HBO)
Paul Williams (36-1-0, 27 KOs) vs. Winky Wright (51-4-1, 25 KOs)
12 Rounds - Middleweight Division

Chris Arreola (26-0-0, 23 KOs) vs. Jameel McCline (39-9-3, 23 KOs)
12 Rounds - Heavyweight Division

Friday, April 17, 2009
Primm, Nev. (Showtime)
Yuriorkis Gamboa (13-0-0, 11 KOs) vs. TBA
12 Rounds - Featherweight Division

Friday, April 24, 2009
Hollywood, Fla. (Showtime)
Celestino Caballero (31-2-0, 22 KOs) vs. Jeffrey Mathebula (22-1-2, 12 KOs)
12 Rounds - Jr. Featherweight Division

Saturday, April 25, 2009
Bayamon, Puerto Rico (HBO)
Juan Manuel Lopez (24-0-0, 22 KOs) vs. Gerry Penalosa (53-6-2, 36 KOs)
12 Rounds - Jr. Featherweight Division

Krefeld, Germany
Felix Sturm (31-2-1, 13 KOs) vs. Koji Sato (14-0-0, 13 KOs)
12 Rounds - Middleweight Division

Mashantucket, Conn. (Showtime)
Carl Froch (24-0-0, 20 KOs) vs. Jermain Taylor (28-2-1, 17 KOs)
12 Rounds - Super Middleweight Division

Saturday, May 2, 2009
MGM Grand, Las Vegas (HBO Pay-per-view)
Ricky Hatton (45-1-0, 32 KOs) vs. Manny Pacquiao (48-3-2, 37 KOs)
12 Rounds - Jr. Welterweight Division

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Las Vegas, Nev. (HBO)
Chad Dawson (27-0-0, 17 KOs) vs. Antonio Tarver (27-5-0, 19 KOs)
12 Rounds - Light Heavyweight Division

What If: Roberto Duran vs Aaron Pryor

By Randy De La O

Debunking a common fallacy…………..

Almost without fail, whenever the subject of both Roberto Duran and Aaron Pryor comes up, Duran is almost always accused of purposely passing over the junior welterweights in order to avoid a showdown with Aaron Pryor. But the truth is when Roberto Duran moved up in weight to fight Edwin Viruet in April of 1978, it was Antonio Cervantes who held the junior welterweight title. Pryor would eventually challenge Cervantes for that title in August of 1980, almost two and a half years after the Duran vs. Viruet fight, stopping Cervantes in the 4th round.

Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello 1982

Prior (no pun intended) to winning the title against Cervantes, Aaron Pryor had not fought anyone of any real consequence and certainly no one of Duran’s caliber. At the time of the Duran vs Viruet fight, Aaron Pryor was undefeated in 12 fights with 10 KO’s to his name. A fine record for an up and coming fighter but hardly someone deserving of a fight with Roberto Duran, at least not in that era. Even with an amateur win over Detroit’s Tommy Hearns in 1976, Pryor would not even be an after thought as an opponent for Duran. Pryor’s claim to fame was his 14th round KO over three time champ Alexis Arguello in November of 1982. He would fight Arguello the following year stopping him in the 10th round.

Pryor, a fine fighter with an exciting style peaked with the Arguello fight and never in his career came close to being the type of fighter that Duran was. Pryor had six more fights after the second Arguello fight, all of them against mediocre to average competition.

Roberto Duran was the reigning lightweight champ for almost seven years before moving up in weight and setting his sights on the welterweight crown. Duran ended the 70’s with fights against Viruet, Ezequiel Obando, Monroe Brooks, Jimmy Heair, Carlos Palomino and Zeffie Gonzalez. In the case of Viruet, Heair and Brooks, Duran was fighting better than average competition, and in Palomino’s case he was fighting an outstanding former welterweight champion. In his previous fight earlier that year, Palomino lost the welterweight title to the great Wilfredo Benitez by a 15 round split decision. It was Duran’s win over Carlos Palomino that showed he was a real threat to the welterweights.

So the question remains, who would win?

Roberto Duran vs Sugar Ray Leonard I 1980

Physically, they match up well, Pryor standing 5’6” ½ , Duran at 5”7’ a ½ inch taller, but for me this is a no brainer. Duran, a natural lightweight might have lost some of his KO power when he moved up in weight, especially when he moved up to the middleweights, but he would have been right at home as a junior welterweight. Pryor was street tough and aggressive. Duran was feral, savage and primal in his approach. Both fighters could be relentless but Duran had bigger arsenal to draw from. Overall Roberto Duran was a fundamentally better fighter.

Duran was no one hit wonder and his career record will back me up. He is in the top five of almost anyone’s all time great list and certainly in the top ten. Counter punching was the key to defeating Pryor and Duran was a great albeit vastly underrated counter puncher. Duran had angles and was great on the inside. He had too much experience for Pryor. Duran was a well schooled fighter with perhaps the greatest cornermen of all time working in his corner, Ray Arcel and Freddie Brown, Panama Lewis would be in Pryor’s corner. There is no such thing as a sure thing, I know that but I believe Duran had too much going for him.

Duran beat Ken Buchanan to win the WBA World Lightweight Championship at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 1972. In 1980, at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec Duran lifted the welterweight crown from Sugar Ray Leonard in a hard fought and exciting 15 rounds unanimous decision. After the disastrous rematch with Leonard (I can hardly utter the words) and following a dark period in his career, including a 15 round unanimous decision loss to Wilfredo Benitez, Duran rebounded with a win over Pipino Cuevas, winning by a 4th round KO and securing a title fight with junior middleweight Davey Moore. Duran would outclass and out fight the game but overmatched champion Davey Moore in 8 rounds.

Later that year, 1983, Duran would face Marvelous Marvin Hagler for the middleweight title, losing a closer than expected unanimous 12 round decision. It was a fight that brought out all of Duran’s crafty experience. Duran would be knocked out the following year for the first time in his career by fellow legendary fighter Tommy “Hit man” Hearns. For the next several years Duran would have inconsistent success against mostly inferior opponents, including a split decision loss to Marvin Hagler’s half brother Robbie Simms.

In 1989 Duran would once again fight for a world title, facing the ever tough fighter from the Bronx, New York, Iran Barkley in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the WBC Middleweight title. It was a close back and forth fight that saw Duran enduring some great punching by Barkley and drawing upon his experience to knockdown Barkley in the 11th round and securing a split decision win from the judges. This would be Duran’s last great fight.

Aaron Pryor would beat both Antonio Cervantes and Alexis Arguello. The first fight with Arguello was named the fight of the decade by Ring Magazine and is considered one of the classic fights of the 1980’s. Despite fighting many good fighters during his career, in 40 fights in a 14 year career these are the only truly meaningful names on his resume. One, Cervantes, a near great, the other, Arguello, an all time great champion. Juxtaposed against Roberto Duran, whose career records reads like a classic boxing hall of fame roster, Pryor pales in comparison. It’s true that anything can happen in boxing and on any given night any fighter can win or lose, that’s been proven again and again over the years. Still if I had to pick a winner between Duran and Pryor, on their best night, I would pick Duran. When Duran was Duran he was unbeatable.


Roberto Duran's Career Record

Aaron Pryor's Career Record

Burke's Blog: Thoughts on Fridays fight

By Louie Burke

First I’d like to congratulate Tony Escalante on a great win Friday night, his defense and head movement has improved greatly. Team Escalante, keep up the good work! We really were hoping that Abies fight would make it on TV. It was too bad that His performance, which I was pleased with, wasn’t televised, due to the fights going the distance.
As a swing bout we were stuck in the dressing room on on again-off again mode . Being a swing, can really be nerve racking and a let down if it’s not televised. The win cured all of any harsh feeling towards the other fighters not trying hard enough to knock each other out.

After the first round knockdown, I felt the right hand was the key to the fight for Abie. When Abie came back to the corner, he was instructed to set up the right hand with jabs and hooks, he followed instructions to the tee. He started by jabbing more and trying to bait Soto in by throwing numerous left hooks. Once he felt that Soto was looking for the hook, Abie threw the quick right, ending the fight for Soto. I feel Abie is improving with every fight and he’s showing maturity beyond his 5 fights. But no one has a perfect performance, as a trainer I also see some things we need to work on in the gym. Hopefully we can get another quick fight this coming Friday at the Pan Am Center under Austin and George " Monk" Foreman.

It’s a shame Sammy won’t be on the card, he was diagnosed as having a posterior rotator cuff tear, this will take time and some therapy to heal properly. Never-the-less, Lil Sammy still wanted to fight and told big Sam that he thought he could go. Big Sam did the right thing and said no. All I can say is he’ll be ready when it’s healed and being that he’s young and in good health it shouldn’t take too long.

Austin is getting ready for Fridays fight, sparring with Siju, Abie, Cornelius Shuler and Tim Meek. Despite personal issues at this time, Austin wanted the fight with Primera, even though I showed concern for the bout. Why should I be concerned about a boxer who has only won 3 of his last 7 and has been off for 2 ½ years? Let me tell you why.

1. The guy is a full fledged middle weight and has fought super-middle several times against world class opposition and beat a few.
2. Has a wicked right hand and is known as a "chin tester" knocking out the likes of super-middle contender Curtis Stevens. Stevens only other loss in his 21-2 record was to bronze medalist Andre Dirrell.
3. He also wrecked 21-3 super-middle prospect, Carlos De leon jr. Giving him his first loss, stoppong him in 4 rounds with the same right hand. Carlos De leon, has a win over James "Buddy" Mcgirt Jr.
4. He beat 24-4-2 Julio Garcia. Garcia had wins over rugged boxers Augastine Rentaria and Kirino Garcia.
5. He has a win over Austins last opponent, Shawn Garnett.
6. Primera is known for his iron jaw going the distance with rugged 20-1 Jesus Gonzalez, losing to him in 10.
7. Going the distance with middle weight contender Jose Luis Zertuche, who has a win over Jesus Gonzalez and losses with Kelly Pavlik and Danny Perez and Marco Antonio Rubio.
8. Went 10 with 28-1 and #5 rated contender Joshua Clottey. Clottey has wins over Diego Corrales and Zab Judah and only 3 losses one with Antonio Margarito and his last fight which was losing a 12 round split decision against Miguel Cotto.
9. Lost a 10 round split decision over contender Danny Perez, dropping Perez in the 10th .
10. Lost a decision to Emmit Linton, who has wins over former-world champions Donald Curry and Manning Galloway and local fighters Benjie Marquez, Rudy Lavato, twice and Renee Herrera.
11.Lost a 12 round decision to Joachin Alcine, who just fought Daniel Santos for the WBA World Junior-Middle title.
12. Lost an 8 round decision to 18-1 Luis Callazo, who lost close decisions to Shane Mosely and Ricky Hatton. And just lost against Andre Berto, fighting for the WBC welter weight championship.
13. Has big fight experience.
14. Fought Joachin Alacine on Showbox
15. Fought Callazo on HBO
16. Knocked-out Curtis Stevens for the interim WBC youth world Super-middle weight title.
17 Fought Joshua Clottey for the Continental of Americas Title.
18. Fought Danny Perez for the WBO/NABO 154 title.
19. Primera has been stopped,4 times, thrice in ‘03 against 18-0 Quentin Smith, 24-1 Kifi Jantuah and future world champion Jermain Tayler. Primera’s last loss by a stoppage was in ‘05 against 21-1 Kingley Ikeke: who has a ko win over Antwon Echols, this set Ikeke up for the #2 spot in the IBF..
20.He has been absent for two years but it didn’t really make me feel any better when I was told he was in jail for the 2 ½ years. He got out of jail lighter than before. This tells me either he was stuck in a 4x4 cell and emaciated away or worked out the time he was serving his debt. I hope, but doubt it had anything to do with a 4x4 cell.
21. Short notice to prepare for the fight. Really only had about 3 weeks. Even though Austin fought recently and was not in bad shape, we did not expect to fight til August, so he took a little break time.

I just gave you 21 reasons, why I’ve been staring at the ceiling til 3 in the morning and I haven’t even mentioned the obvious the 22nd reason. Right now Austin has a lot on his plate, we’re sure everything will turn out fine, but anytime your dealing with a judicial process, it’s hard to concentrate on the task at hand, but if anyone can do it, Austin can and he will.
I can say I’ve known Austin since he was ten and he would not take anything that did not belong to him, he certainly is not a thief. He’s been a solid young man and a role model for the kids at PAL and in Las Cruces. Anyone that has known him through boxing, knows he would not take anything that was not his. I believe that it was a mistake and if feel it will be rectified. So we have to stay positive, hope for the best and keep his mind at the task at hand.

This is not going to be a cake walk, We tried getting an opponent from around the area without any luck, this guy was the only one that accepted the fight.. I would have liked a lighter tune-up prior to a Sept. 4th fight in Panama which is a #3 WBA eliminator, But Austin wanted to fight and has never backed down from anyone. Yea, his opponent doesn’t have the best record but the guys he’s fought have been some of the best in the word and he’s beaten some of them. He’s a solid opponent.

This is a big challenge and a win will be a big step toward bringing a world title to New Mexico. We hope that NMB readers will come and support his quest for the world title.
　

Leo Santa Cruz, Amir Khan and Nonito Donaire All Win Big

By Randy De La O


Seemed like old times yesterday. I came home from work and watched a fight on CBS. When was the last time we saw a fight on free TV? Relatively free anyways, we still have to pay for cable but it still brought back memories of 70's and early 80's when both CBS' Sports Spectacular, and ABC 's Wide World of Sports, regularly aired big name fights on the weekend. The fights were held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. I can't remember the last fight held there.

Photos: Big Joe Miranda

Leo Santa Cruz successfully defended his IBF Bantamweight belt against Albert Guevera, an unheralded and unknown fighter from Mexico. Santa Cruz found himself in a tougher than expected fight with Guevera, who showed a lot of smarts and moxie in this fight. He made a good showing against the champ but ultimately lost a 12 round unanimous decision. Guevera looks to have  lots of potential and showed a big heart. We'll be seeing him again.

Photos: Big Joe Miranda

Later that evening, at the same venue,  but airing on Showtime, Amir Khan and local fighter Carlos Molina, fighting for the vacant WBC Silver Light Welterweight title, fought up to the 10th round of a scheduled 12 rounder. The fight was correctly stopped by Molina's corner, after their fighter had taken a sound beating from Khan.  Khan,  trying to reposition  himself as  viable force  in boxing, took another step in that direction. His chin however remained untested in last night's fight. A game Carlos Molina showed courage in his fight but, at least in this stage of his career, he was over matched and taken to school in this fight.. A fighter can learn from a loss like this and grow or he can let it get to him and regress. It's up to him.

Photos: Chris Farina / Top Rank

Over on HBO, the real main event of the evening, was Nonito Donaire vs Jorge Arce, fighting at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Donaire was defending his WBO Super bantamweight title. Donaire was the favored going onto this fight, and rightly so. The surprise (for me at least) was not that he won but the ease in which he did so. Donaire pretty much had his way with the always game Arce, knocking him down with a right hand in the second round and then stopping him in the third round with a sensational left hook. Expect bigger and better things from Donaire in 2013. He's the real thing. It was a good day for boxing yesterday.

THE HISTORY OF L.A. BOXING BY HAP NAVARRO

THE HISTORY OF L.A. BOXING COURTESY OF HAP NAVARRO

Los Angeles one of the world's great boxing cities has probably developed more sensational box-office attractions than any other city. Baby Casanova, Enrique Bolanos, Art Aragon, Raton Macias, Jose Becerra, Ricardo Moreno, Battling Torres, Mando Ramos, Ruben Olivares, Jesus Pimintel, Jose medel, Jose Napoles, Carlos Zarate, Alberto "Super Fly" Sandoval, Lupe Pintor, Ruben Navarro, Alfonso Zamora, Danny Lopez, Bobby Chacon, Pipino Cuevas, etc. literally "EXPLODED" on the L.A. fight scene with "breathtaking" action performances that made them huge drawing cards.

Los Angeles' boxing tradition goes back to the days of Jim Jeffries, Tom McCarey, the famous Los Angeles Athletic Club under the direction of George Blake who developed Fidel LaBarba, Jackie Fields, Joe Salas. The names of the fighters and movers and shakers continued with Jimmy McLarnin, Gig Rooney, George Hansford, Henry Armstrong, Turkey Thompson, John Thomas, Fitzie Fitzpatrick, Chalky Wright, The Olympic Auditorium, Cal Working, Hollywood Legion stadium, Cal and Aileen Eaton, George parnassus, Manuel Ortiz, Babe McCoy, Clarence Henry, Irish Bob Murphy, Wrigley Field, Gilmore Stadium, Jimmy Lennon, Frankie Carbo, Mickey Cohen, Howie Steindler,South Gate Arena, Don Jordon, Ramon Fuentes, the tragic teenage boxing sensation-Keeny Teran, George raft, Lupe Vellez, Main Street Gym, Billy Peacock, Duke Holloway, Canto Robleto, Boots Monroe, Dwight Hawkins, Raul Rojas, Frankie Crawford, etc.

Get the picture? All great tales. I know of no other boxing town with such a colorful or exciting story to be told, and nobody knows it better than Mr. Hap Navarro......,,,,Jackie
McCoy, Norm lockwood, Harry kabakoff, Indian (Ernie) Red Lopez, the Baltazar brothers, Ralph Gambina, Hegeman Lewis, Eddie futch, Tury (The Fury) Pineda, Carlos Palomino, Inglewood Forum, Jerry Buss, Don Chargin, Genero Hernandez, the Ruelas bros., Oscar DeLaHoya, Fernando Vargas, etc. etc.

Roberto Duran: Redemption and Legacy

By Randy De La O

Something I learned years ago, both as an old adage and as a life experience is that “To err is human”, and perhaps the best example of this is Roberto Duran's second fight with Sugar Ray Leonard, when he uttered the now infamous words “No Mas!”, literally translated “No More!”

Duran, at his peak, was the epitome of Latin Machismo. Unrelenting, primal and savage. His behavior inside and outside the ring was often times crude. He conceded nothing. Yet, the very second he spoke those words, all that he was, was no more. His career was thought to be over. He was expected to never fight again. For a time, it seemed the entire boxing world; fans, sports writers, contemporary boxers and everyone capable of expressing an opinion, turned their collective backs on Roberto Duran. Even trainer Ray Arcel turned his back on Duran, never again working the corner for Duran. No other fighter in boxing history, to my knowledge, had fallen so far. Even Mike Tyson's biting of Evander Holifield's ear pales by comparison.

We may never really know why Duran quit that night in New Orleans but the fact remains he did and it is beyond dispute. Maybe he needed a bowel movement, or maybe it was just complete frustration, or maybe it was something sinister. I don't know. No one does. Everything is just pure speculation.

What I do know, what I am absolutely certain of, is that Roberto Duran is no coward. This is the man who moved up to welterweight after a seven year reign, as perhaps the greatest lightweight champion that ever lived, to pursue the Welterweight title, beating west coast favorite former welterweight king, Carlos Palomino, and tough Monroe Brookes, before finally securing a title fight with Sugar Ray Leonard, and winning that fight. He had already proven himself countless times.

He would prove himself again, after the second fight with Leonard, but not before being humbled by Wilfredo Benitez and Kirkland Laing. The year immediately following his 1981 loss to Leonard was a dark time for Duran. For Duran 1981 and1982 was a short visit through hell.

After his back to back losses to Benitez and Laing Duran fought and beat Jimmy Batten. His next fight, in January of 1983, would be at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles against legendary puncher and former welterweight champ Pipino Cuevas. Duran stopped Cuevas in four and secured a fight with Junior middleweight champion Davey Moore, stopping Moore in eight rounds, and finding some redemption in the process. The world was ready to forgive and Duran was once again in the business of being Duran. Maybe not the same old Duran of the past, some of the fire was gone but it was enough to take Marvin Hagler, later that same year, to the 15th round and giving him an education in a close losing effort. Cuevas, Moore and Hagler in the same year. It just doesn't get any better than that.

In his next fight, he would be stopped by Tommy Hearns, in what has to be considered the most devastating loss of his career, he would have many more fights before winning the Middleweight title from Iran Barkley. The Barkley fight would be his last hurrah. He would have his last fight at the age of fifty, losing a 12 round unanimous decision against Hector Camacho.

Today boxers are fighting well into their thirties and forties but back in the day, the late twenties were considered old, or at least the beginning of old age for a fighter. That makes the later stages of Duran's career all the more remarkable. At that stage, with no catch weights (unheard of) Duran moved up and fought Carlos Palomino, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Iran Barkley and at an even later stage, Vinnie Pazienza (twice and Hector Camacho (twice).

Yes, quitting is a cardinal sin in boxing and Duran has paid the price. A sin is like a stain on a fine piece of furniture, it can't be rubbed out or sanded out, it cannot be erased, it will always be there. There are some that will see nothing but the stain regardless of the beauty of the furniture and there will be others that will see that fine piece of furniture for what it is, weathered, worn and with a fine patina to it. Hardened by the years Duran has worn that stain like a man.

When I think of Roberto Duran, I don't think about the man that quit in the 8th round of his fight with Sugar Ray Leonard. What I think about is a man who by one single act, destroyed his career and then found it in himself to rise up again, to persevere, shouldering the abandonment of friends and peers and even his country, to fight his way back to the top, stains and all. No fighter ever fell lower and no fighter ever climbed higher. That is his redemption and that is his legacy. Roberto Duran a quitter? You decide.

Roberto Duran: Living Legend!

What a year it has been for boxing icon Roberto Duran. His biography, Hands of Stone: The Life and Legend of Roberto Duran, was released earlier this year. He has just been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in California, and has now been nominated to the International Boxing Hall of Fame for 2007, in Canastota, New York. Duran is a true living legend, a term I do not use lightly, or often.

Duran began his career on February 23, 1968 against Carlos Mendoza, winning his four round debut by unanimous decision. He won the lightweight title from Ken Buchanan in 1972. After dominating the lightweights like no other champion before him, suffering only one loss in seven years, against Esteban de Jesus which he twiced avenged, and outgrowing the lightweight division, Duran would invade the welterweights, beating both Zeferino Gonzales and Carlos Palomino, to set up his title match with "Sugar" Ray Leonard, winning an exciting and hard fought decision over the 1976 Gold Medalist, and never mind that decades old excuse, "Leonard didn't fight his fight". If Sugar Ray didn't "fight his fight", it was because Duran didn't leave him any choice but to fight Duran's fight. Looking back, I think this was Duran's greatest night, the pinnacle of his career, a few months later it would all fall apart for him when he said those two unforgivable words, No Mas", in what would turn out to be the mistake of his life. If the first fight was the pinnacle, then the second was the nadir, Duran not only reached the lowest point in his career, Duran had become the lowest point in boxing. But Duran, if anything would prove to be a tough survivor, and anything but finished. He would win and lose a few more insignificant fights before losing a decision to Wilfredo Benitez, then come back to stop Pepino Cuevas in four rounds at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. He would then stop Junior Middleweight Champ Davey Moore to win his third championship in as many weight divisions. He then challenged Marvin Hagler in 1983 for the Middleweight Championship of the world. Though clearly not the Duran of old, in terms of foxiness and ring craftmanship he came in that night at the top of his game, and if fatiguehad not caught up with him he might have won that night, as it were, he lost a very close decision. A large part of that was due also, to Hagler showing Duran a lot of respect, and it almost cost him the title. Duran was not a fighter to take for granted at any time in his career. The following year Duran suffered a devastating knockout at the hands of "Hit Man" Tommy Hearns. Duran would continue to fight through the eighties, and would close out the eighties with an incredible performence against Middleweight Champ Iran Barkley. Barkley had earlier ko'ed and decisioned Tommy Hearns, so going into the fight Duran was an obvious underdog. This was Duran's last hurrah and he would make the most of it. Throughout the eighties Duran had been chasing the ghost of Sugar Ray Leonard. He was seeking both redemption atonement, and on this night he would find it. The fight was close until the knockdown of Barkley in the 11th round. Duran wanted it more, needed it more than Barkley. He reached back into the past one last time to show Barkley who Roberto Duran was. Even after having been spun around and almost having his head knocked off, Duran never lost heart. He gave his fans one last chance to see the old "Hands of Stone", winning a split decision. Duran fought throughout the nineties and ended his career in the year 2001 with a 12 round unanimous decision loss to Hector Camacho. The following year Duran was in a near fatal accident that effectivly ended his career.

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I think Duran, pound for pound, was the greatest, purest fighter that ever lived, rivaled only by Sugar Ray Robinson, and that's pretty good company. His career record stands at W 103 (70 ko's) L 16 D 0 Total 119, they don't make them like that any more. I would like to hear your thoughts on Duran, so please feel free to leave a comment.

It Happened in California

This article is from 1981 and is a time capsule of boxing in Los Angeles in the early eighties. Many of the fighters mentioned in this article are the fighters we love to write about. It's a bit long but I think you'll enjoy it. Courtesy of Bigtimefighter.com. Randy

It Happened in California

By: Jess Hernandez

Boxing fans are a special kind of breed. They are totally dedicated to the manly art of self defense. The fact is many fans carry their love of the sport too far and extreme. Some fans love to argue who was the greatest fighter of all-time. Some who visit the Main St. Gym in Los Angeles even carry a boxing encyclopedia who backup their knowledge of the sport. The gymnasium is the place where old timer's argue about the fistic merits of yesterday and today's ringmen. "Was Joe Louis the greatest fighter of all-" hollers 75 year old Duke
Holloway. Holloway trained Archie Moore, Harold Dade and Sugar Ray Robinson. "No, Louis wasn't the greatest, Sugar Ray Robinson was the.best of all-time" whispers old timer Rip. Rip is the doorman at the Main St. Gym.

When discussing the greatest Mexican fighter of all time inside the gym a guy needs a security guard for protection. In the back room of the gym guys like Frank Williams and Bob Armstrong reply that Manuel Ortiz was the greatest. "Ortiz could do it all, he could box, punch and had plenty of durability. Hell, he was bantamweight champion for eight years," replied Frank Williams. If Ortiz was the best fighter of Mexican descent then who was the second best? "I would nominate Baby Arizmendi as the second best. He beat Henry Armstrong three times and fought guys like Lou Ambers, Sammy Angott, Mike Belloise. He was N.B.A.
featherweight champ in 1934," said manager Larry Soto. Soto trained Jose Becerra to bantamweight crown and also worked with Battling Torres.

The subject that comes up frequently inside a gymnasium is the subject of good trainers. One of the outstanding trainers in Los Angeles is Al DeNava. "I look for coordination and execution in a fighter. A fighter can punch hard but he needs coordination and execution to put it all together, said DeNava. Like I said, boxing fans are a special kind of breed. They will fight and argue all day about who was the best. But they are also good sports and will shake hands when all the arguments are over! Managing good fighters can sometimes be just a streak of good luck. Like being at the right place at right time. Manager Bennie Georgino seems to have been at the right place when Howie Steindler died in 1976. Georgino inherited featherweight champ Danny Lopez. It wasn't just luck that made Lopez a rich champion. It was the shrewd management of Georgino that
made Lopez a millionaire. Georgino seems to be one of the few pilots who cares what happens to his stable of ringmen when when they retire." I see to it that my fighters save their money don't let them waste it way," commented Bennie. Georgino has paid his dues to boxing. He was a pretty good amateur boxer in the 1930s and sparred with Lou Ambers when Herkimer Buzzsaw defended lightweight crown against Henry Armstrong in 1938. Georgino created some jealously because his fighters like Herman Kid Montes, Jaime Garza, Oscar Muniz, Rodrigo Aguirre, Johnny Montes are progressing. Right now, I would nominate Jaime Garza as the
ringman to inherit the prestige of retired Danny Lopez. Garza has the fire power to defeat any guy who gets in the ring with him. Jaime is the terror of the 126 pound class with 22 KOs in 24 fights. Garza is now after top notchers like Carlos Mendoza and Juan (Kid) Meza. Albert Davila seems to be just about ready to join his stablemate Danny Lopez in the retirement barn.

Hector Cortez the outstanding 130 pounder from Ecuador seems to come up with good fights when needed. He just whipped tough Rolando Navarette in Hawaii in 10 rounds. The victory could get Cortez at featherweight champ Salvador Sanchez who defended his title against Roberto Castanon in Las Vegas. Don Georgino promoted the Sanchez-Castanon for Five-Star Calvacade.

Have you ever noticed how many ex-fighters own cocktail bars? Georgie Levine who fought Pete Ado for welterweight diadem in 1927 has the popular Blackhawk Bar - in Hollywood. Georgie Latka the professor of boxing in the 30s and 40s has a bar in Huntington Beach, Calif. Tony DeMarco runs a bar in Phoenix, Arizona and Eddie Marcus who was a stablemate of Manuel Ortiz manages a cocktail bar in Las Vegas. Poor Bobby Chacon had two opponents pull out on him in fights in one week. That's one reason why so many fighters become discouraged and retire. There is too much inconsistency in getting fights and too many fighters get
injured while training. Frankie Duarte hasn't had a fight in over eight months and the minute he got a fight his opponent was hurt!

Heavyweight champ Larry Holmes maintains that this will be his last year in boxing. If Larry retires will he rate with Joe Louis and Muhammad All as an all-time champ. After all, Holmes appears to be within reach of being undefeated in his career.

Is Bazooka Limon a gentleman? Not if you ask manager Mickey Duff."Limon said he was going to kill my fighter Cornelius Boza Edwards. I was shocked by Limon's statement. But the threat backfired and my fighter won the title from Limon," replied Mickey Duff. Bobby Chacon wanted Limon to whip Edwards but it didn't happen. "I hope Limon wins so I can beat the hell out of him. I just want the chance to punish him. He's a discredit to our sport," said Chacon.

Bobby Chacon will get his long awaited shot at the world super lightweight title but it won't be against Bazooka Limon. The man Chacon will be fighting for the crown is unheralded Cornelius-Boza-Edwards who defeated Limon for the title in 15 exciting rounds in Stockton, Calif "I told Corny at the end, you've got him stay away from him, and he told me, no he was going to punch the hell out of him," said manager Mickey Duff. Bazooka Limon was knocked down in the fifth round by a lethal left hand. It appeared then that Limon would not weather
the storm of lefts and rights. But he got up determined to turn the tide of battle. Limon thought he had won the fight. "I felt that I carried the last three rounds and won the fight," Limon said. "I tried to postpone the fight
because I felt I wasn't ready. I didn't feel I was ready. This was an obligation title defense. I'm usually better prepared," Bazooka exclaimed. 25 year old Conelius Boza Edwards will defend the title against Bobby Chacon later this year." Cornelius is strong and dedicated to boxing. He can willingly win three title and get down to 126 pounds easily. We'll challenge Salvador Sanchez for title," replied Mickey Duff.

What is the price a professional fighter pays for ring inactivity? As lightweight Herman (Kid) Montes who just barely beat workhorse Jimmy Blevins at the Olympic Arena. And Blevins isn't even in the top twenty lightweights. Montes huffed and puffed to a 10 round split decision his first match in nearly 10 months. There is no substitute in boxing for ring activity. We don't know what Montes problem has been in laying off for 10 months but he'll have to remain active to challenge for the lightweight crown. "I was rusty and I got tired," said Montes. Montes has a ring ledger of 35-1-2. "I thought I was in good enough shape but I know I could have been busier in there,' added Herman. Referee Marty Denkin had the winner ahead, 96-95. Judge Jim Jen-Ken had Montes ahead, 95-84 with judge Vince Degado scoring for Montes 96-95. The surprise fighter of the night was Jolting Joe Kowalski the 135 pounder from Glendale. Joe scored a thunderous two round knockout triumph over Izy Amenta to notch his second straight win as a pro. Kowalski is trained by Manny Vasquez and gets better with every bout. He spars frequently with Herman Montes at Main St. Gym and the workouts have payed off for 22 year old Joey.

Rodrigo Aguirre ran his winning - streak to 23 wins in 26 fights with a 10 round win over veteran Roy Hernandez. Aguirre a classy 132 pounder is ready for the likes of Hector Cortez who holds the U.S. super-lightweight title. Felipe Canela, 140, stopped Eric Bonilla in five rounds to argument his ring ledger to
9-0-1. Canela is a corking 140 pounder managed by Larry Soto who developed Jose Becerra to the Bantamweight title and also trained Battling Torres to contending Carlos Ortiz for world jr. welterweight diadem. Two-fisted Felipe has the ring skills to move up the fistic ladder in months to come.

Classy Fidel Fraijo, 135, is looking for a return match with Johnny Montes who knocked him out. Fidel claims he wasn't in top condition when he fought Montes who 10-0. Jaime Garza the 122 pound terror is demanding action with veteran ringmen like Jose Cervantes, Carlos Mendoza and J uan (Kid) Meza. Kleber Viteri who had amateur record of 31-4 pulled out of his bout with Ruber (Baby Face) Castillo. Joey Kowalski scored a stunning four round win over Jose Gonzales in his professional debut. Also winning handily in pro debut was Randell Williams a corking light-heavyweight trained by Al DeNava. Ricardo Montalnado is the manager of ex-champion Bazooka Limon. What has happened to Bernardo Mercado? Eddie (Animal) Lopez is weighing around 245
pounds which is too much poundage for him. Frankie Duarte who fought a losing fight in Honolulu, Hawaii, got in trouble with manager Ralph Gambina. What happens to a fighter like Joey Olivo and Albert Davila who both fought in title matches and lost? Do they both have the same determination and desire like before? Davila fought for the bantamweight title three times and may just hang up his gloves. Olivo feels he will get a second shot at crown and win it. However, Joey must maintain a winning attitude and keep busy with winning fights to assure himself of another title match. It could be pretty tough and frustrating for a fighter losing in a championship bout. The majority of fighters seldom get a world title match in their careers.

What has happened to the career of Bruce Curry? Curry was recently kayoed by unknown fighter. Another welterweight on the downgrade is Zeffie Gonzales. Welterweight Pablo Baez is one tough hombre inside the ring. Pablo stopped Jose Palacios in two rounds and now wants Randy Shields.

The most awesome newcomer in fistic ranks is welterweight Rick Holder. Rick has notched two quick knockouts in pro career. Watch out for this kayo artist. Randell Williams the handsome 175 pounder trainer by Al DeNava scored a victory in hit initial pro debut. Six-foot Randell hat a fast-pair of hands, quick moves and a stout heart. Felipe Canela the Colton Comet is the apple of Larry Soto's eye. Felipe is 9-0-1 in his pro career. Estaban Agundez from El Monte, Calif. was 4-0 in the semifinals of Golden Gloves in bantamweight class. Estaban is a
hard puncher who likes to work the body of opponent over. He appears destined for stardom in professional field under trainer Ernie Castenada. Ex boxer Abel Fernandez a good 175 pounder who headlined at Olympic Auditorium back in 1950s is now turning movie work. Remember when Abel was starring in the gangster series Untouchables on TV with Bob Stack? Abel recently appeared in cameo role on Lou Grant show.

Publicist Van Barbieri who was the Olympic Auditorium public relations man for 13-years resigned his job to seek challenges. In a way Barbieri was a casualty in the reorganization policy of the New Olympic Sports Arena. Like promoter Aileen Eaton, Barbieri was forced to release his many duties as public relations man with the L A. press. Van was one of the best liked and most competent publicists in the business. His replacement is Bill Caplan who formerly handled the press relations for Anaheim Convention Center.

Paul (Superfly) Gonzalez is the star to watch in the amateurs. He's got all the fistic tools to make it big in the -pros. Estaban Agundez has a record of 18- wins and three losses in the amateurs. The bantamweight - star from El Monte, Calif. is trained by Ernie Castenada. Also in stable are Jesse Olivares, 4-1, Jose Rodriguez,
14-4 and Juan Rodriguez who is 4-0. Rocky Part 111 will go before the cameras at Main St. Gym with Sly
Stallone-starring. Al DeNava the impeccable trainer has finished a role in remake of fight movie Body And Soul.


Its all in the family in the boxing whirligig. Like father like son goes the boxing tradition. How many father-son boxing combinations can you recall? How about Lenny and Ray (Boom, Booms Mancini. Well the latest son of a famous fighter to launch a fistic career is Robert Folley the son of Zora Folley the heavyweight from Chandler, Arizona. Robert a dandy middleweight is 22 years old, 5-11, 160 pounds and trains at the Main St. Gym. In 62 amateur bouts Robert Folley scored victory after victory with only 4 ring defeats. He is certain to stir up some action among the world's top 160 pounders. Eddie Marcus who was a topnotch fighter and referee . in California. in the 30s and 40s is now the owner of the cocktail bar in Las Vegas. Rick Mills and Roger Braxton did a TV commercial for films at the popular Main St. Gym. Al De Nava the popular trainer of champions is now doing acting work in Hollywood. Al has a neat role in the upcoming remake of boxing film Body And Soul which won plaudits for late John Garfield. Film was shot at Main St. Gym. Sylvester Stallone and Burgess Meridith will do a sequel of the successful blockbusting film "Rocky Part II."

Promoter Tony Trudnich of Las Vegas has had tremendous success at the box office with Jorge Morales alias the "Dynamite Kid." Marshall Wright, founder of the world-reknowned Boxing Hall of Fame is launching amateur boxing at Jeffries Barn in Burbank, Calif. Jeffries Barn was the mecca of amateur boxing in 30s and 40s with Manuel Ortiz, Eddie Marcus, Red Shannon, Joey Barnum, Art Aragon launching careers in Burbank Arena. Former light-heavyweight champ Joey Maxim is working in Las Vegas' Tropicana Hotel and former champ Ralph Dupas is now a security guard in Las Vegas.

Fight manager Larry Soto is training jr. lightweight Felipe Canela who will headline for Don Georgino when Don promotes fights at Olympic Sports Center. Soto trained former bantamweight champ Jose Becerra in 1959 when Jose won the world's bantamweight diadem from Alphonse Halimi in Los Angeles. Soto who is the brother of Memo Soto also handled jr. welterweight Battling Torres who fought Carlos Ortiz the ex-lightweight titlist for jr welter title in 1959. Canela a dandy fighter has notched over ten victories and headlined the main go at San
Bernardino Arena last year. He is 10-l in his ring career and only 20 years old Ellis career appears promising under the tutelage of Larry Soto.

Rodriguez (Rod) Aguirre was born in Juarez, Mexico and his ring ledger is 25-2-l. In the amateur the 130 pounder was 21-3 and took a pair of Golden Glove titles. "Rodrigo can beat any 130 pounder in the world when he's in top physical condition, commented manager Ben Georgino.

Julio Floras is training newcomer Sonny Flores, a nifty lightweight who comes from Michigan. Sonnet once defeated Tommy Hearns in the amateurs. 21 year old Flores sparred with terror Jaime Garza at Main St. Gym. Tlie more I see of Johnny Montes Jr. the 19 year old lightweight the better I like him. If Johnny can beat fighters like Fidel Fraijo who had 40 pro fights he definitely is headed for stardom. Johnny is only 19 years old and is
12-0 in his career.

Joe Kowalski, 21, a terrific 135 pounder is managed and trained by veteran Manny Vasquez. Joe is following the footsteps of his dad who was a professional boxer. "My parents told me it was up to me to fight, if that's what I wanted. My girl friend who is a professional dancer is on my side. I think I can amount to something if I dedicated myself to boxing," said Joe. Joe was 3-3 in the amateurs and manager Manny Vasquez is optimistic that the hard socking Kowalski will surface as a good pro.

Oscar Muniz is after a shot at bantamweight crown after his stablemate Albert Davila was repulsed in bid for W.B.C. bantamweight diadem. Oscar could mount the bantam weight throne room if given a chance this year. Red Shannon is training Rudy Hernandez at Olympic Gym in his comeback attempt to regain his ring wizardry and prowess.

Rudy Hernandez the flashy ir welterweight will make his initial start for manager Red Shannon very soon. Rudy once reeled off 23 straight wins before he was upset by Jimmy Heair in a controversial 10 rounder in Los Angeles.

The new Olympic Sports Arena on the famous corner of 18th and Grand in Los Angeles has taken on an entertainment look. According to manager Bill Griffith, the Olympic Arena will not be confined to sports alone. "We expect to showcase the best entertainment in the world. Rock concerts, ice palaces, you name it and we'll feature it," said Bill. The Olympic Auditorium was founded in 1925 when Dick Donald was the promoter. One of the early ring heroes was fabled Bert Colima the "Whittier Flash." Bert was born in Colima, Mexico but moved to
Los Angeles in the late 1920s.

Manager Paddy Millon believes that Wellyn Gilliam a nifty 156 pounder will climb the stairway to fame in boxing.Other ringmen in- the Dillon stable are Jan William, 147, Lessie Powell, 135 and Dahi Williams a terrific 160
pounder.