R.I.P. Dan "Pops" Hanley

Boxing has lost a great friend in Pops. Our condolences to the Hanley family. This photo was taken at the 2009 World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, California. Goodbye friend! ...Randy

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
Roger Esty, Dan Hanley Jr, Frank Baltazar Sr, Dan "Pops" Hanley Sr and Rick Farris

 POPS

By Roger Esty

"Let me help you getting that stuff in Rog,"said Dan Hanley.
We were in the the Marriot parking lot and I wanted to get my paintings inside the lobby for the WBHOF convention. I met Dan in the parking lot and he wanted to lend a hand.
"Thanks Danny. By the way,where's Pops?"
"Oh my dad's in the lobby looking at all the girls."
That was Dan. That was Pops. Always kiddin'. Always jokin'. Having fun was number one with them

We wheeled my paintings of the boxers inside and sure enough sitting by himself was Dan's dad,Pops Hanley.
"Hey young fella I laughed. What the hell is going on?"
"Did you kick my son in the balls for me?
Danny and I about fell on the floor.
"Hey Pops",Dan said ,You're getting to be a real prick."
Ol' Pops still sitting in the chair said,"Wait till I get up I'll take that smile off your face.

Just then walked in Rick Farris Vice President of the California Boxing Hall of Fame. Dan went over to talk with him.
You know Rog,"said Pops,"I have five pensions."
Pops grew up in Chi town like I did,but he was in the North Side where the Irish lived. Me,being a Dago I was from Taylor Street.He grew up tough in a tough town.
"Rog,you know my son has a right hand that hits like the sock of a mule."
"I bet he does Pops,"I said.

Dan broke away from Rick and went to his Dad.
"Hungry Pops?"
"Yes Danny let's find something to eat."
Dan helped his father up and they started to walk to the dining room.
Rick came over.
"Rog,read any good books about boxing?"he asked.
"I always liked Hemingway's 'Fifty Grand."
"Me too",said Rick. "like when he describes Jack Brennan sitting in the locker room with his sweat shirt and old boxing shoes and his rough beard 'looking Irish and tough."
As I watched Dan put his arm around his father walking into the dining room,I said,"Yeah,I know what you mean."

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

Touching gloves with…Sammy Goss

Posted on this site with the expressed courtesy of the author

By Dan Hanley

In the summer of ‘73 during a series of telecasts on ABC from New York’s Felt Forum, I was introduced to the east coast’s version of Mexican featherweight warfare. And I was absolutely smitten with the rampaging style of Sammy Goss as I watched this ’sure thing’ in action on those Saturday afternoons. Catching up with Sammy takes me back to the days of network TV and the efforts displayed which drew rabid crowds into unforgiving arenas of attrition. Good times.

DH: Sammy, you’re originally from Trenton, New Jersey, is that right?

SG: Born and bred and still here to this day.

DH: You’ve got quite the family background in boxing. Tell me about it.

SG: Well, my Dad was Jesse Goss. He was a fighter and eventually a trainer. As a matter of fact he trained Ike Williams back in the day. I started boxing around the age of 6 or 7 and all my brothers boxed. But boxing was not just in the family but also in the entire neighborhood. Everything was about boxing.

DH: How old were you when you formally started?

SG: I was 15. My father brought me down to the Trenton PAL to Percy Richardson for instruction.

DH: You had a remarkable amateur career. What are your stats?

SG: Well, I came along very fast. I was 5 time N.J. Golden Glove champ, 5 time state AAU champ, 1965 National AAU flyweight champ, 1968 National AAU bantamweight champ and 1968 National Golden Glove runnerup, losing in the finals to Earl Large of New Mexico.

DH: Now didn’t the AAU title grant you a berth at the ‘68 Olympic Trials?

SG: Yes it did. And in the finals of the trials I beat Earl Large. However, since I had lost to him recently in the Nationals it was decided we had to have a boxoff. So I beat him again for the bantamweight spot on the 1968 Olympic team.

DH: Tell me about Mexico City 1968
.
SG: I would have had to win 5 fights to medal in the tournament, I received a bye in the 1st round and the second round I was fighting an eastern European. Now remember, Percy Richardson was not in my corner. I got to that point with Percy Richardson, who knew my style. In the Olympics we all had the National Coach, who was Pappy Gault. In the first round of my bout I had my opponent hurt bad but when I got back to my corner Gault jumped all over me. He wanted me to go to the body and nothing but. Well, he’s the coach and I had to do as I was told but I had to try and get under and in there and ate nothing but jabs trying to get in. He just kept popping me as I bore in and I lost the decision. That was all for me and I went pro after that.

DH: Who did you turn pro with?

SG: Well, Percy Richardson of course along with Frank Cariello were my trainers and I was managed by Pinny Schaeffer and Pat Duffy. We were together from beginning to end and we had the best time. (laughing) Those crazy guys could joke, let me tell you.

DH: You were up and down the eastern seaboard after turning pro. Maine, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts. Was it an issue getting fights for you?
SG: Well, I was taking the fights as they were coming to me, but then we hooked up with Promoter Russell Peltz in Philadelphia. And now, although I still lived in Trenton, I would take the train into Philly on weekends for some real serious sparring.

DH: I take it you were introduced to the Philadelphia gym wars?

SG: Oh man, you had to be on your toes. Sparring in Philly, to me, meant working on defense because every sparring partner was looking to beat on me in order to make a reputation for himself.

DH: You were a very busy fighter. In a year and half after turning pro you were 18-1 and went into a fight which smacked of old school rivalry. You and Augie Pantellas had been making a lot of noise out of Philly. In fact, Marty Feldman, Pantellas’ trainer, said that this had been brewing for two years. Tell me about the fight.

SG: Well, you’re right, this really was a rivalry. We packed them into the Philadelphia Spectrum that night, which was one of my best paydays. I don’t recall the figures but I remember I made enough to put a down payment on a house. As for Augie Pantellas, he was a puncher and this was going to be a very tough fight if I fought him the same way. But during training I watched the tape of the Sugar Ray Robinson - Jake LaMotta title fight every single night. I copied the same moves. I boxed, I spun him and countered him and took an easy decision.

DH: Were you aware that Promoter Lou Lucchese offered to bring lightweight champ Ken Buchanan to Philly to fight the winner in a non-title?

SG: I was not. And obviously I never heard anymore about it. See, Lucchese was more Pantellas’ promoter, whereas I was affiliated with Russell Peltz. But Buchanan would have been too big for me anyway. I was comfortable between 126-130.

DH: Your next fight set you back a bit. That was one bad dude you fought in Ricardo Arredondo. Does the fact that he would become world champ less than a year later suggest that you may have been overmatched at this stage of your career?

SG: Yes, he was far more polished than I was.

DH: Were you ‘in’ the fight at all?

SG: No, to tell you the truth, he was picking me off coming in. He had reach on me and could hit. But it was a learning experience.

DH: Several fights later you had a similar result against Jose Luis Lopez, getting stopped in 6. Was it simply a case of having a problem solving the Mexican style?

SG: Yeah, it was the same thing. He was a tall guy and he caught me with an uppercut. But we rematched about a year later and I had it down. I made him chase me, boxed and took the fight easily. See, the first fight I was going after him and walking into the shots.

DH: It does seem like you had it figured out with a two round blowout of Raul Cruz in your next fight. But thinking of some of these Mexican fighters made me wonder why you never relocated to the west coast for more work.

SG: I suppose I should have but Russell Peltz was bringing in the talent for me, so I didn’t have any complaints.

DH: In March of ‘73 you fought for the first and only time in Madison Square Garden. A 12 rounder against Walter Seeley. It was a brilliant win, but whatever happened to Garden matchmaker Teddy Brenner’s promise of an October title fight for the winner at the Garden against featherweight champ Ernesto Marcel?

SG: Don’t know. Nothing ever came of it. Of course, like Lucchese and Pantellas in Philly, the Garden was Seeley’s promoter.

DH: Jose Fernandez of the Dominican Republic was coming off of a tremendous result over in Europe when you beat him at the Felt Forum. Then you rematched on National TV for the newly created American Jr. Lightweight title. Tell me about the fight.

SG: Everything was right that night. He came right at me, I boxed, I punched. I couldn’t miss.

DH: The following month you were back on the air against undefeated Edwin Viruet. But you came in as a late substitute for Chango Carmona. Were you ready for this fight?

SG: I was staying in shape, so yes, I was ready and won a close decision.

DH: There was some controversey over your 8th round knockdown, wasn’t there?

SG: (laughing) Yeah, I caught him good with a leaping left hook, but he couldn’t pull away because I came down on his foot. He was a good fighter but I beat him with body punches.

DH: At this time you were Ring Magazine’s #1 contender for the 130 lb. title. What kind of efforts were there to get you a title shot?

SG: I know Russell Peltz was working on it but the only one we heard from was Ricardo Arredondo offering us a non-title fight. I was the #1 contender, I wasn’t going to go for that.

DH: For the first time in your career you took time off. It was seven months before you fought again and looked very ring rusty against a club fighter. Why the inactivity?

SG: I think it was a combination of me needing a rest and them working on a title fight.

DH: In August of ‘74 you signed to defend your American title in an all-Philly affair with undefeated rival Tyrone Everett. I understand the fight reeked of bad blood. Tell me about it.

SG: Tyrone was saying a lot of nasty things in the press, which really angered me and I was responding to it, which really heated things up. As for the fight, he dropped me around the 3rd round. I then began doing well with body punches but then he began running and boxing on the retreat. Percy was telling me between rounds to chase him and I was saying, “I’ll chase him but I don’t know if I can catch him.” And he won the fight. Afterwards Tyrone shook hands with me and apologized for the things he was saying and that it was just to hype the fight and pump up the gate.

Goss (right) seen here dropping Raul Cruz

.
DH: After that fight you began fighting on the road more. You fought Flipper Uehara over in Japan and held him to a draw. He was one of Japan’s hotshots at the time. How do you perceive the draw?

SG: That was no draw. I gave him one severe body beating. He came up to me after the fight and said, “I never fought anybody that hit to the body like you.”

DH: Something happened around this time that really bummed me out. You started losing to guys you had once dominated such as Jose Fernandez and Augie Pantellas. Were you spent after such a long amateur and pro career?

SG: I really think I was. I was just tired by that point.

DH: While on the road you fought twice in South Africa when apartheid was at its height. How were you treated over there?

SG: Oh, I was treated alright, like one of their own. I had no issues. As for my two fights over there, the first fight was against ‘Happy Boy’ Mgxaji and I thought I beat him. From bell to bell I pounded his body but they gave it to him. My fight with Brian Baronet was also my last. In the 7th round I was hit with a right and something happened to me. I went down and just sat there and let them count me out. Percy asked me afterwards what happened and I told him that my head felt like a bottle of coca-cola after you shook it up. I felt something rushing to the top of my head. It was enough. And I never fought again.

DH: What have you been doing with yourself over the years?

SG: I have been running the Goss & Goss Gym in Trenton along with my brothers Barry and Tommy. We’re giving kids the same chance we had.

DH: Sammy, if there was one fight you wanted that you never got an opportunity at, what would it be?

SG: A third fight with Augie Pantellas.

DH: Whooa! I thought for sure you were going to say a title fight with Ben Villaflor or Kuniaki Shibata.

SG: (laughing) Nope! I felt I beat him again in our rematch. I wanted a third fight with Augie Pantellas to set things straight.

DH: Sammy, last question, while we’ve been talking I’ve been noticing that fighters you beat such as Jose Marin, Jose Fernandez and Edwin Viruet along with fighters you felt you beat such as Flipper Uehara and Happy Boy Mgxaji all received title shots sometime after fighting you. Where was the justice?

SG: Really? All of them? Well, I don’t know how those guys made out in life, but I’m healthy, have all my senses, have my family and my own home from my ring earnings. So…maybe I did OK.

Alas, in the fight game, fate can be a cruel bitch. She provides amateur silverware to adorn the shelves, grants Olympian status to enhance the transition to pro and even bestows the ranking of #1 contender for world laurels. Yet, obstinately withholds the elusive shot at that very same world title. Cruel indeed. However, cruel fate has left no malice in the heart of Sammy Goss as he teaches the very same sport which left him marooned from the brass ring. For that alone I say, way to go champ.

See ya next round

Dan Hanley
pugnut23@yahoo.com