2008 Showtime Sports Highlights

Steve Kim talks with HBO's Larry Merchant

I have not been the biggest fan of HBO's Larry Merchant over the last few years but this interview by Steve Kim shows a more thoughtful side of him. It's worth a look.

Klitschko beats Rahman to retain title

By ScottG

Wladimir Klitschko defended his crown by stopping Hasim Rahman in the seventh round on Saturday. The fight as I saw it was pretty predictable. Any of you who saw the Rahman vs James Tony debacle would have saw this one coming. Rahman had nothing for Klitchko who basically did whatever he wanted to do round after round. The only shocker in this fight was that Rahman lasted into the seventh round. He probably wouldn't have if Klitchko would have pressed him harder in the fight. Klitchko basically gave us the same plodding jabbing straight right hand throwing workman like performance we've grown used to seeing from him. Hopefully this is the last time we see Rahman in the ring, and hopefully this is the last time we are forced to watch and over rated washed up fighter get a cheap title shot. Yeah, right. At least it wasn't a Pay Per View fiasco =)

Mayweather-Pacquiao Rumors Continue To Swirl

One Amazing Kid!

His Good - These bloopers are hilarious

Showtime Boxing: Champion Holt Will Defend His Title Against Hopkins

Kendall Holt will put his title on the line against Demetrius Hopkins, Saturday December 13, 2008 at the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey. The fight will be shown on Showtime Boxing.

Margarito vs Mosley Press Conference

Old man Oscar is done...

By ScottG

Old man Oscar should have never fought a no win fight like this. He had nothing to gain and lost his dignity, That's right I said it, his dignity. He quit sitting on his butt between rounds. Even if Manny falls into the trap of fight the bigger guys for more money, he better be careful who he picks and stay with the older set of fighters that still have a name and are trying to prove they still have something to offer. Manny owns the lower division and would be crazy to stay up at welter. If he does he gets beat by a welter that’s young and fast and stronger. Not like Oscar had nothing to offer but a very nice payday for himself and Manny. De La Hoya fans should feel duped. Randyman stated that his son thought that he quit and you thought that he couldn't continue. Randyman’s son was 100% right. He QUIT on his stool. He was conscious, unhurt, and had presence of mind. What he also had was a pile of money and no real reason to continue being embarrassed. He had no title at stake, and had no chance to win the fight, so he quit in front of his god and everyone. He quit on his legion of fans that had put their hopes and their money on him. I think it would have been better for him to fight another Mexican like Chavez did for him so he could have also passed the torch to a younger stronger man for the fans to latch onto. He was just too selfish to share the fan base or give them up to someone other than himself. So, with that said ...Good by De La Hoya the man that was as they often become under .500 his last few years in the ring. And has more ego than skills allow.

Antonio Margarito vs Sugar Shane Mosley

Believe it or not, there are other things going on in boxing besides Manny and Oscar. On January 24, 2009 Antonio Margarito will defend his WBA Welterweight title against former four time world champ Sugar Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Is this another case of an older fighter (Mosley) not knowing when to quit?

Mosley is coming off a win over RicardoMayorga at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California last September. It was a hard fight for Mosley despite his win. A little over a year ago Mosley lost to Miguel Cotto in a tough fight. The same Miguel Cotto who was stopped by Antonio Margarito in another tough fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in July of this year.

Manny and Oscar

Well, you guys know I was really pulling for Oscar. I like the kid. Always have, always will. I remember years ago when his pro career was starting to gear up, maybe after the Rafael Ruelas fight in 1995. Oscar was being interviewed and he stated that his plan was to retire by the time he was thirty. He was going to be smart. He didn't want to end up the way a lot of other guys did. I'm paraphrasing but you get the point. In the end he did what they all do, or at least most of them, he had one fight too many. They want to go out on top but instead they drag themselves down even further. I hope Oscar gets smart again.

I was there the night Oscar beat Chavez in their first fight, it was the same situation, a young strong fighter facing an older fighter, maybe up to that point still a force but clearly not what he was. Chavez became an old man that night. In the second fight Chavez was unable to come out for the fifth round. Oscar was overjoyed, as he should have been, nothing wrong with that. It's the nature of the business.

Fast forward 12 years, Oscar unable to come out for the 9th round, Pacquiao overjoyed, as he should be. It's a tough, cruel, and for the most part, an unforgiving business. Somewhere out there right now is a young fighter. Maybe he's Mexican, maybe he's Italian, Irish, Jewish or black, it doesn't matter, he's out there, skipping rope, hitting the bag, listening to his trainer. Maybe he has already had a few fights, maybe his star is just beginning to shine. Right now he has no clue he's the chosen one. He couldn't possibly. He'll be gunning for Pacquiao someday soon. it's inevitable. It's inescapable. Pacquiao's only chance is to retire at the right time. Otherwise...... Well you know the story. we've seen it enough times.

I don't know for sure but Manny strikes me as a guy that knows when to retire but then going back a few years, that's what I thought about Oscar.

I was talking to a couple of guys after the fight. The names Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather Jr (remember him?) came up. I said I was 100% convinced that Pacquiao beats both, and as easy as he beats Oscar. I added that not only does he beat both, he beats Cotto too if they fought. I finished by saying if he fought Margarito he has a chance. Thatmight be stretching but right now I would believe anything about the guy.

Atlas Breaks Down Pacquiao's TKO Of De La Hoya

Pearl Harbor

By Roger Esty

They say 2000 World War II vets die each day.Today is Pearl Harbor Day. I heard an interview this morning with one of the last survivors of that Day of Infamy. Harder and harder to find those guys now a days. Yeh,he was scared all right. Get blind sided like that and you're reacting on instincts.
"All I could think of was getting the hell out of there," said the old soldier.
His voice was soft like he was bringing it all back when he was talking to the news reporter. He brings it back everyday. Probably doesn't talk much about it unless someone asks.Most of his pals are gone.The ones that were beside him that day. Not many around that know what happened on December 7th. Just as many don't care. Watching the NFL game. Not a word of it today. More interest in the local team. That's more important. Not really, but 1941 was so long ago. Look at an old man today and wonder what he was doing on December 7th.

DeLa Hoya lost. Were you disappointed? Did your team lose today? If you feel bad about these things,at least you're around to feel bad about it. We can thank the old soldiers and sailors and Marines that were scared as hell 67 years ago who made that all possible. They made it all possible because once they understood their fear, they used it to beat the devil.

On Oscar De La Hoya

By Rick Farris

After sixteen successful years of fighting the best, it's time for Oscar to hang 'em up. I will never forget the first time I heard his name. My former manager Johnnie Flores told me of Oscar in December, 1989, while attending the funeral of one of my stablemates. Flores was very excited about a 16-year-old amateur world champ named Oscar De La Hoya. Johnnie was Mr. Golden Gloves in Los Angeles, and the fighter was nearly three years from winning Olympic gold.

"He's the best amateur I have ever seen" Those were Johnnie Flores words, and Johnny had seen Mando Ramos, another youthful over-achiever just a few years back. Johnny had brought Jerry Quarry thru the amateurs to a National GG heavyweight title and on to a pro career that included world title bouts with Ali & Frazier. Even so, Flores told me on that day that Oscar was the best 16-year-old he'd seen. I started to tell Flores about the Ruelas brothers, who were about the same age and fighting amateur under the Goossens. Flores acknowledged Gabe and Rafael, but he waved off any suggestion that they were equal to Oscar. I'm then thinking back over Johnny's L.A. amateur experience and his familiarization with the Baltazar Boys, and Thurman Durden, Ed Sanders, Clay Hodges, Keeny Teran, Gil Cadilli . . . nope, this kid De La Hoya was the best he said he'd ever seen. Johnnie rarely made such statements, but I heard this, and a couple years later I'd see the Los Angeles boy win the Olympics, and everything else he touched.

Here's my feelings. Oscar is an L.A. guy, who came out of the same tournaments that I did, as did Mando Ramos, the Baltazar boys, Davila, Sandovals, the Quarry's, and so many more. He did it right. Was he lucky, maybe, but more so he was tough & talented. He did his mother proud, and he did all of former L.A. boxers proud, even the ones who are envious and bitter. 

VIVA Oscar!

Now hang 'em up, it's over.

-Rick

Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao

By Randy De La O

The saying goes "Never fall in love with a fighter because he'll break your heart every time". That sums up my feelings about last night's fight. Perhaps it was inevitable and inescapable. Oscar played the odds last night and lost. He had in front of him a 5' 6 1/2" giant of a man named Manny Pacquiao that took Oscar to a place he had never before been, a place he could never have envisioned for himself. It was a place called surrender. It is an unholy place.

I was as confident of De La Hoya's victory going into this fight as I have ever been. Despite the fact that I thought this fight was a no win situation for Oscar, I figured he would win the fight. I was caught off guard. Of course I thought the possibility of a Pacquiao victory existed. I have seen enough fights to know that in boxing anything is possible but not this.

My first inkling that things did not seem right was when I saw Oscar in his dressing room. His face seemed hollow and his skin did not set well on his frame. Still, I was confident, concerned, but confident. I saw no fire in his face when he was making the walk into the ring. A funny feeling came over me.

One minute into the first round, at least for me, it was foregone conclusion. Suddenly Oscar De La Hoya was an old man. The fact that he was facing a human dynamo, this relentless nightmare that is Manny Pacquiao, this human predator that would not be denied, had much to do with it but so too did Father Time. Still Oscar was showing some heart. He was taking his lickings and once or twice during the fight he mounted an attack but it was short lived, sporadic and unsustainable. He had nothing to offer in the way of defense or offense. Not an iota.

Somewhere during the fight, maybe the third round, I forget which because they all looked alike, I saw Oscar losing heart. There came a point when Oscar was just trying to survive. Where once Oscar De La Hoya was the hunter, relentless in his pursuit of his opponent, now he was the hunted, mere prey for the relentless Pacquiao, who was like a young wolf challenging the old wolf for his rightful place as the new leader of the pack.

It was painful for me to watch. I knew Oscar was going to fold. I saw it in his body language, I saw it in his eyes. I said out loud "Oscar, don't quit. Don't quit". At another point I turned to Ed Hernandez and said "I think he might quit on his stool". A round or two later, either the referee or the fight doctor asked "Are you alright? Do you want me to stop the fight? Can you continue? (I'm paraphrasing) Oscar just stared. His heart and spirit were gone. That he had enough of Pacquiao was evident. Age, weight loss, Manny Pacquiao, take your pick, all of them conspired in the total destruction of a fighter named Oscar De La Hoya. Unable to voice the words Oscar just stared but his eyes betrayed him, just as his once strong body betrayed him. His eyes, his body language and his overall demeanor told trainer Nacho Beristain everything he needed to know. He signaled to referee Tony Weeks to stop the fight and just like that the career of Oscar De La Hoya was over. It doesn't matter if he fools himself and fights again, it is over for Oscar De La Hoya. If you don't believe me ask the "Fat Lady" she was there last night singing.

My son Andrew called from Seattle last night after the fight to find out what I thought. We had two widely different opinions about the fight. He was disgusted with De La Hoya, once one of his favorites. His first words to me were "Dad, don't defend him!" He believes, as I'm sure many others do, and maybe rightly so, that Oscar didn't care if he won or lost, he made his money and took the easy way out. What it ultimately boiled down to is that Andrew believes Oscar would not continue and I believe he could not.

Whatever it was, only Oscar knows. He will play the fight over and over again, hoping for a different ending but the ending will remain the same. Oscar could not or would not come out for the ninth round. Time will not change that.

Never fall in love with a fighter, he'll break your heart every time. Every single damned time.

Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao: The Fight Card

Courtesy of  HBO World Boxing

Saturday, December 06 2008

MGM Grand / Las Vegas, NV
Welterweight Fight (12 RDs)
HBO Broadcast: 9:00pm ET
International Broadcast: 02:00 GMT
Click here for the international format

Oscar De La Hoya
10 Time World Champion
(39-5-0, 30 Ko's) vs. Manny Pacquiao

No. 1 Ranked pound-for-pound champion
(47-3-2, 35 Ko's)

10-time World Champion "Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya will face current No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound champion MANNY "Pacman" Pacquiao on Saturday, December 6 for a 12-round, non-title fight contested at the 147-pound welterweight limit. This exciting and intriguing match-up pits two of the most recognizable and popular talents in the sport today in what will surely be the grand finale of the 2008 boxing calendar.



NABO Junior Welterweight Championship (12 Rounds)
Victor Ortiz
Oxnard, CA
(22-1-1, 17) vs. Jeffrey Resto
Bronx, NY
(22-2-0, 13)

WBO Junior Featherweight Championship (12 Rounds)
Juan Manuel Lopez
Caguas, PR
(23-0-0, 21) vs. Sergio Medina
Salta, AR
(33-1-0, 18)

Super Middleweight Fight (8 Rounds)
Daniel Jacobs
Brooklyn, NY
(12-0-0, 11) vs. Victor Lares
Corpus Christi, TX
(14-3-0, 3)

Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao: In Support of Oscar De La Hoya

By: Randy De La O

I have mentioned before that I feel like the Lone Ranger in my support of Oscar De La Hoya but a more accurate analogy would be General George Armstrong Custer making his last stand against the entire Souix and Cheyenne nations. It's a lonely feeling.

Whether Oscar wins his fight with Manny Pacqiauo or not, his career is coming to an end. Even if he fights one or two more times next year, his career is winding down. It's been a great career too. A gold medal in Spain in the 1992 Olympics, several world titles and several great fights. Through it all Oscar has recieved a lot of criticism, some deserved, some not. Oscar may not have won all of his fights but I don't really see that as a big deal. Not even Babe Ruth batted a thousand. Everyone loses. Oscar never really made excuses and he was one of the few that took on all challengers. He fought the best of his era and if he came up short a few times it was only because he dared. While everyone else around him were doing their best to avoid each other, trying to keep their positions and rankings or titles, in the hope of fighting Oscar.

We lament about the fighters from the past. We remember how they could lose a fight, shake off the loss and come back and fight again. We loved the old time fighters. No trash talking and no excuses. We complain too, how promoters, managers and just about every hustler looking to make a buck would use up a fighter, then spit him out when they were done with him. So many exfighters ended up broke, alone and maybe a little punch drunk, some more than a little. Some never made it at all.

So, in Oscar De la Hoya, we have a fighter that fought the best of his day. Win lose or draw, he fought the best of his day. In 1996 when De La Hoya fought and beat the great Julio Cesar Chavez, we all thought he did something special. He made it look easy that night. At that time Chavez had suffered only one loss, by split decision to Frankie Randall only two years earlier. Chavez, though no longer at his peak, was still a force to be reckoned with. Why have we retroactively changed the dynamics of that fight?

If Oscar has fallen short at times, and who hasn't, it is only because he is a fighter who takes risks. Fighting guys like Pernell Whitaker, Felix Trinidad, Sugar Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather Jr and early in his career, Rafael Ruelas and Genaro Hernandez. In the riskiest of business' DeLa Hoya took plenty of risks.

The late Jerry Quarry, one of the bravest in what is arguably the toughest of occupations once said "No coward ever stepped in to the ring". I agree. It would be an impossibility.

To sum it all up, in De La Hoya we have a fighter that has faced the best, he has been a gracious winner and just as importantly he knew how to lose. He shook of his losses, ignored the criticism and continued to fight, winning some and losing some. Unlike most fighters, Oscar has never touted his own greatness.

In Oscar we have a fighter who made up his mind early on that no one was going use him up and spit him out when they were done with him. In that, he has succeeded like no other fighter before him.

In Oscar, we have a fighter that, despite proving himself over the years in a business where "No coward has ever stepped in to the ring" he continues to be called a coward, even by those that should know better. It's almost shameful.

Oscar fights Manny Pacquiao tonight. On paper it has the makings of a fight that can't fail. I hope it lives up to the expectations. Despite the fact that Pacquiao refuses to face his rightful challenger in Juan Manuel Marquez, he has had an admirable career.

Personally, I think too much is being made of the size difference between the two. Boxing has never been about the height, it has been about the weight.The size issue has been brought up ad nauseam but it is not unprecedented. Carlos Monzon enjoyed a height advantage over Jose Napoles. Tommy Hearns at 6' 1" towered over a 5' 7 1/2" Roberto Duran. Hearns had not only the height advantage but the youth advantage as well. Duran began his career as a 118 pounder and was a natural lightweight. He fought Hearns as a Jr Middleweight. Duran was no Jr. middleweight. Hearns ended his career as a cruiserweight. He was a big man. My point is, is that it is not unprecedented.

Tonight I will be pulling for De la Hoya to win, hopefully by knockout. Pacquiao and his fans can take solace in all the ready made, built in excuses that have been put in place by almost every boxing writer in the country. The same excuses that will ultimately, at least in perception, make De La Hoya's victory appear hollow.

To writers like Doug Krikorian of the Long Beach Press Telegram and others of his ilk, I leave you with this:

.....It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.......

THANKSGIVING

THANKSGIVING

All the darkened arenas where fighters bled and poured their sweat to pay the rent. All the punches they dealt and received to buy food for their families. This was how they made their living. A human body that wasn't prepared for that kind of life despite all the road work and sit ups and sparring partners that readied them to step into the ring to fight another like him.

Now he's old beyond his age and doesn't remember the fights he had in all those arenas that don't exist anymore. Like the old fighter,those smoky coliseums have been broken down so the new faces can never tell what they once were or who the battlers were that made the crowds roar.

Explain to the youth who the Golden Boy was ,or The Olympic where he made his living ,and you'll get a puzzled smile. But we can put it together ,if only from memory. We're thankfull that we lived there once,and now we can see it in a dream that can never be lost.

ROGER ESTY

Referee Toby Gibson Dies

It was reported today that boxing referee Toby Gibson died either this morning or last night, as a result of suicide. Gibson was a competent and successful referee. It's hard to imagine what demons drove him to this. R.I.P. Tony

Toby Gibson at Boxrec.com

2008 World Boxing Hall of Fame

This video is a compilation of photos taken by Rick Farris, Roger Esty, Dan Hanley Jr and me, and was taken at the 2008 World Boxing Hall of Fame's 29th Annual Hall of Fame at the LAX Marriott, Saturday, November 15, 2008.

Chris Arreola

Special From Bill O'Neill

I have visited heavyweight contender Chris Arreola's training camp in the piney woods outside the mountain community of Big Bear (elevation:  about 5,500 feet) three times in the past three weeks.  I'm happy to report that Chris is working very hard, looking strong, in preparation for his Nov. 29 HBO bout with Travis Walker.  There are unconfirmed reports that if Chris passes this test impressively, his next bout will be against one of the giant Klitschko brothers of the Ukraine, holders of two of the four or five splintered versions of the world heavyweight boxing title.

 

Yes, it's a bleedin' shame that the title is so fragmented.  But that isn't Chris's fault.  He will fight whoever they put in front of him--and, in my humble, slightly biased Southern Opinion--knock 'em all out.   Right now, he is still a comparative Unknown, even here in his home town.  But if he racks up just a couple or three more wins, he COULD become one of the most famous, most acclaimed sports stars in the world. 

 

I am privileged to have been the only "outsider" in the Arreola training camp.  And, of course, I am there strictly as a low-profile observer and "friend of the family."  My good friend "Indian Willie" Schunke, Arreola's assistant trainer, cut man, and hand-wrapping specialist, has allowed me to tag along with him on visits to the secluded camp.  They want no cameras, no microphones, no media people--and probably, most of all, none of Chris's beer-drinking buddies.  Right now, it's all business.  There will be plenty of time for partying, once that business is completed.

 

For the uninitiated:  Chris is Mexican-American, born in East L.A. and raised primarily in Riverside.  He is six-four, 240, heavily muscled, heavily tattooed, mean-looking, but very much a "gentle giant"--until the bell rings.  He is extremely intelligent and quite articulate, and welcomes the opportunity to become a role model.  My friend Jackie Hayden has dubbed him the "Mexican Rocky Marciano"--and I will second that endorsement.  

 

Of course, a professional boxer is always "only as good as his last fight."  And Travis Walker, every bit as big and confident as Arreola and with a record of 28 wins against one loss and one draw, could send us back to Square One in a hell of a hurry.  But I don't think so.  Chris has no intention of losing to him--or to anyone else, ever.

 

So tune in to HBO on the night of Saturday, Nov. 29, and decide for yourself whether Chris Arreola is, indeed, the Next Great Heavyweight.  If he ends up on his backside--you are free to question my credentials as a judge of fistic talent.

 

bon 

2008 Fighter and Fight of the Year

Highlights of Israel Vasquez vs Rafael Marquez III
2008 World Boxing Hall of Fame's Fight of the Year

Antonio Margarito
2008 World Boxing Hall of Fame's Fighter of the Year

Genero Hernandez Fighting Cancer

Former junior featherweight champ Genero Hernandez(38-2-1) is fighting a rare form of cancer.

Your tax deductible donations can be sent to :World Boxing Cares

36 W. 22 Street

New York,NY 10010 (mark contributions 'Genero')tax id:26 2665978.Also on January 17,there will be a dinner at the WBC LEgends of Boxing Museum in San Bernardino with proceeds going to Genero as well as a card by Thompson Productions).Email:mouthpiecedoctor@yahoo.com

2008 World Boxing Hall of Fame

Congratulations to the World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductees Class of 2008

Saturday,  Novemeber 15, 2008

LAX Marriott

Los Angeles, California

2008 Boxers Catagory

Lennox "The Lion" Lewis

42-1-2 (32 KO's)

Pernell "Sweetpea" Whitaker

40-4-1 (17 KO's)

Marvin Johnson

43-6 (35 KO's)

Greg "The Mutt" Haugen

43-10-3 (19 KO's)

2008 Expanded Catagory

Miguel Diaz

Akihiko Honda

Gilberto Mendoza

Alberto Reyes

2008 Posthumous Catagory

Guido Bardelli

Fighter of the Year

Antonio Margarito

Fight of the Year

Israel Vasquez vs Rafael Marquez III

View the complete list here

Young Firpo

Congratulations to the Entire Bardelli Family on the Induction of Guido Bardelli (Young Firpo) to the 2008 World Boxing Hall of Fame at the 

29th Annual Banquet of Champions at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott

Young Firpo - Guido Bardelli - The Uncrowned Light Heavyweight Champion 

and 2008 World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee

Click on the photo for a larger view

John Bardelli and sister (My apologies for forgetting her name) and World Boxing Hall of Fame Board of Directors member and friend of the Bardelli family, Rick Farris

John Bardelli and Rick Farris

John Bardelli remembering his father

John Bardelli and Emcee Tom Kelly

John Bardelli and sister

Click here to read more about Young Firpo's life and career on this website

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Photo

Click on the photo for a larger view

My daughter Meranda (right) and her friend Jesse were in Las Vegas recently and ran into Floyd Mayweather Jr. According to her he was a pretty nice guy and a perfect gentleman. Score one for Mayweather for being nice to my daughter.

Veteran's Day 2008

Joe Calzaghe vs Roy Jones Jr: They never see it coming.

This is what an aging fighter looks like that has not yet had one fight too many.......

.........This is what an aging fighter looks like that has.

They never see it coming.

Tony "The Tiger" Baltazar vs Roger Mayweather - July 8, 1984

Former Lightweight Contender Tony “The Tiger” Baltazar stops by RSR to talk about his Boxing Career

Former Lightweight Contender Tony “The Tiger” Baltazar stops by RSR to talk about his Boxing Career
Exclusive interview by “Bad” Brad Berkwitt-October 30, 2008
(Re-published from May 2006)
Ringside Report

“I have been a fighter all of my life”--Tony “The Tiger” Baltazar

During the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s, the lightweight division was full of talented fighters that included names such as Hector Camacho, SR, Edwin Rosario, Roger Mayweather, Cubanito Perez and our man of the hour in this interview, Tony “The Tiger” Baltazar, who by the way, when he was younger, looked like a dead ringer for a young Tony Danza when he starred on the TV show Taxi. Tony, a tough as nails fighter based out of Los Angeles, California, would turn pro on Feb 8, 1979, when he stopped Art Silveira in just the first round of their boxing match. From there, Tony would fight seven more times in just 1979 which today, a fighter is lucky to have a total of five fights per year, even an upcoming prospect for the most part. Tony would win via the TKO, KO and decision route remaining undefeated in 24 fights over a four year period. In his 25th fight of his career, he faced former 1976 Olympic Gold Medal winner and slick boxer, Howard Davis, JR. In this fight, Tony would taste defeat for the first time via a decision in Davis’ favor.

Tony would go on in his boxing career, beating some big names along the way such as Roger Mayweather and Roque Montoya, while being stopped by another hot prospect named “Rockin” Robin Blake. Baltazar for whatever reason which we will get into during our interview could not secure a World Title shot until his 11th year as a professional fighter when he faced Hector Camacho, SR. for his WBO Junior Welterweight Title on August 11, 1990, dropping a decision to the “Macho Man”.

Tony would challenge for another world title on March 22, 1993, but in this title attempt, he would not fair so well being stopped in the first round by Carlos Gonzalez.

Baltazar would fight on for another year, winning one and losing another. He retired for the next six years, but made a brief comeback to raise money for his son’s Kody foundation. After one fight back and winning, Tony knew his boxing days were over and would pursue other avenues to raise money for his son’s foundation. Tony ended his boxing career with a record of, 39-7, 1 NC, 30 KO’s. On August 19th, Tony and his brother Frankie Baltazar are going to be inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame in Studio City, California.

These are the warriors of yesteryear that boxing tends to forget, but RSR will not allow that to ever happen.

BB: To catch up the readers who many will instantly know your name, fill them in on what you have been up to since you hung up the boxing gloves in 2002?

Though a lot of my family is still in California, I stayed in Arizona because I have two teenage daughters that I love to be a dad to. Currently, I work as a salesman for Danny’s Family Carousel here in Phoenix, AZ, selling detail packages for cars.

BB: Our very own Feature Writer, Antonio Santiago did a heartfelt tribute on you recently that actually had you and your father writing in to thank him. In his article, he chronicled the sad story about you losing your beloved son Kody to a disease, but in his research, he couldn’t find the name of what took this little angel. Let’s talk about the disease so we can raise awareness on it and maybe help find a cure through donations to charities out there battling to find one and if any of our RSR readers feel inclined to donate.

Kody was born with Down Syndrome, but that is not what took his life. He also had heart problems and a condition called Tetralogy of Fallot, which is when your heart is not completely formed. In addition, he also had three holes in his heart.

Kody was a gift from God. He was the happiest kid in the world and lived until he was five years old. During those five years, he had three open heart surgeries. After each one, this little man would bounce right back like nothing happened. He was a true fighter and touched everybody that came into contact with him.

My son Kody really taught me a lot about life and changed it for the better. I will be honest with you to say I was very arrogant when I was a fighter because of the success that came my way and it carried over in my life for many years. Kody humbled me!

BB: Did you have an amateur career and if so, how did you fair? Were there any big names you beat during that career?

Amateur career? Are you sitting down? My first amateur fight was in 1964 as a young three and half year old. Between 1964 and when I turned professional in 1979, I had over 350 amateur fights. I won the Junior Olympics and the Golden Gloves.

BB: Were there any fighters you beat in the amateurs that went on to make a name for themselves in the professional ranks?

Yes, I beat John Montes and there were a few others, but I cannot remember them.

BB: You turned professional on February 8, 1979, when you knocked out Art Silveira in one round. What was like to have your first professional win under your belt and by the big KO?

To be honest, I fought all of my life so having my first professional fight under my belt did not affect me as it probably does so many other fighters. I was just going to work.

BB: In just your first year as professional you fought a total of 8 times. In today’s boxing, you hardly see that even from a young prospect on the rise. Why do you think that is?

Back in those days, the purses were very small compared to what it is today. The training we did back then and today is completely different. Sure they are more advanced in their training methods, but we took our training a lot more serious. Today Boxing is just a money sport. I see guys with 8-12 fights under their belt and they are not fighting for a world championship. You can see them in the ring, but they are not at the level that they should be.

BB: In your first 24 fights of your career, you fought them all in Los Angeles except for one that was held in Sacramento, California. LA fans love boxing and I assume that you really built up a following. Talk about those times and what it was like fighting in front of them.

I stayed in California because that is where I fought as an amateur so it only made sense to turn professional there as well. The following came way before my professional fight in 1979. It was great to have the fans behind me.

BB: In your 25th fight as a professional you faced Howard Davis, JR., on February 27, 1983, in a bout that was aired on CBS. It’s weird to say that today since the major networks show zero boxing, but in your day, it was a fixture on them for the most part. In this fight, you lose for the first time via a point’s loss. What do you recollect about this fight and what did you take away with the L on your record that you wanted to improve on?

When I faced Howard Davis, JR., I went into the ring knowing he was the former 76 Olympic Gold Medalist and what he accomplished as a pro as well to this date. I knew it would a tough fight because Howard was very quick. In this fight, I learned about the true politics of boxing. No matter what I did in the ring, I was supposed to lose. I really think I won the fight. Looking back, I can tell you my Dad said to me it was a close fight, but when he saw it on tape, he changed his mind totally and thought I won.

BB: You get right back in the ring beating rugged Roque Montoya on June 17, 1983, by a ten round decision. In your next fight just a little over a month later, you faced highly touted lightweight prospect “Rockin” Robin Blake who stops you for the first time in your career in the 9th round. How do you rate Blake as a fighter? Also, how did a TKO loss affect your state of mind?

I never even heard of Robin Blake before I fought him. But after the fight, I rated him as a world class boxer. Honestly, after I fought Howard though I lost, I kind of got a little celebrity and some money, which went to my head. I trained for the Blake fight, but not like I should have. After he stopped me, I knew right away that I needed to take my training serious for the rest of my career!

BB: After the Blake fight, you take a couple of months off and then, reel a TKO win over Lupe Rocha. From there, you face former WBA Super Featherweight Champion Roger Mayweather who is moving up in weight and you beat him via a unanimous decision. I am very surprised that with this big win on your record, you are not immediately offered a world title shot. What happened that you were not given a title shot against the then WBA Lightweight Champion Livingstone Bramble or WBC Champion Edwin Rosario?

That is a very good observation. It’s funny, when I look back on what you actually mentioned; I realized I was always supposed to have been the underdog going into any of my big fights against guys in the top ten. I guess I have to blame my management at the time whether it was my Dad or whoever, but in hindsight, I really cannot answer this question on why that happened to me.

Bottom line: I should have gotten a title shot after this win.

BB: After the Mayweather win, you took off an entire year from the ring and came back in December of 85 with another KO win over Darryll Cottrell in two rounds. From that fight, you stay out of boxing for two years (86-87). What was going on to keep you away from the ring and building on that big points win over Mayweather?

It was actually 30 months I was away from the ring. I was involved in an accident that had me drunk behind the wheel and I was convicted for and went to prison.

BB: Between 1988 and 1989, you reel off five wins, then face slick boxer Buddy McGirt. In this fight, you drop a unanimous decision to him. What do you recollect about this fight? What do you think of McGirt’s life after boxing as a World Class trainer for many champions?

I remember I hit Buddy so hard that I dropped him and didn’t think he was going to get back up, but he did. At that moment, I realized once again in my boxing career, I was back facing world class competition. Buddy was a tough fighter and I do think he won this fight fair and square. I am in awe of what Buddy has done as a trainer. I would have to loved to have been a trainer, but I wanted to stay in AZ to be around my two daughters.

BB: After the loss to McGirt, you reel off three more wins and finally in your eleventh year as a professional fighter, you faced then WBO Junior Welterweight Champion of the World Hector Camacho, SR, on August 11, 1990. You go the distance with the “Macho Man”, but drop a wide margin unanimous decision. You are 29 years of age at this time and as I mentioned, fighting professionally for 11 years. The boxing fan looking would say you were young in age, but far past your prime. Would you agree with this observation? And had you met Camacho six years earlier after your win over Roger Mayweather, do you think the outcome would be the same?

I totally agree with your observation that I was past my prime in this fight. Yes, I feel the outcome would have been different if Hector and I had met six years earlier, the fight would have been different. It would have been a tough fight, a heck of a lot closer and in the end; I think I would have won it. In our title fight, I hurt him with a body shot during one of the early rounds and knew it. But being friends with him, I just couldn’t go in for the kill and hurt him. I love Hector to death and we remain friends till this day.

BB: In your final attempt to secure a Word Title you face then WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Carlos Gonzalez on March 22, 1993. In this fight, you are out of there in just one round. What are your recollections of this fight?

I caught Gonzalez in the first round with a left hook that had him wobbling all over the ring. My first instinct was to jump on him and I threw a wild left hook that almost put me down and he backed up and threw a right hand that hit me in back of my head. From that punch, my equilibrium was knocked off and I went down, I got back up and he hit me again, causing me to go back down. I got back up and once again, got knocked down. The referee had to stop the fight because of three knockdown rule was in affect. I think the fight would have been different had I not been hit in the back of the head.

BB: You fight on for one more year with mixed success and in 1995, you retire again, but come out of retirement in early 2002. From accounts you came back to raise money for Kody’s foundation, but did you know in this fight (points win over Eduardo Jacques) that your days in the ring were way behind you?

I came back to raise money to help the foundation that I had at that time, but I knew no matter what my mind said about maybe getting a world championship shot. I knew my boxing days were over at this point. I didn’t have in my heart to fight anymore.

BB: Your brother Frankie also boxed during your time as a super featherweight and retired from boxing in 1991 with a record of, 40-3-1, 27 KO’s. What is he up to today?

Frankie today is an insurance adjuster out in Los Angeles, California. Actually, both Frankie and I are going to inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame on August 19, 2006, in Studio City, California.

BB: In your opinion, how would you stack up in today’s lightweight division against guys like Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo and Acelino Frietas?

If I was boxing today at the ages they are, I would be very competitive for sure. I just feel as I said earlier, that the level of fighters today is not as deep as the days I was in the lightweight division.

BB: From the day you turned pro in 1979 to the present day in boxing, what one fighter do you think moved the sport ahead the most and why?

I think there are two. The first is Roy Jones, JR. He was just an amazing fighter in his prime. Second would be Oscar De La Hoya. He is not a great fighter, but he knew what he was capable of doing in the ring. They marked him well with the good looks he has and I have to give him his props because he made a lot of money in his career. I would like to see him not fight anymore and just enjoy the success he has had during his career and now enjoy his promotion company.

BB: Do you favor a mandatory retirement fund for all boxers and if so, how would you like to see it accomplished?

I defiantly favor a mandatory retirement fund and believe it or not, I actually have one now. Being from California, I had to pay into one and I will get it at the age of 55. Every month I get a statement from California saying how much I have in it and what it is going to.

In boxing, the promoters and managers are making millions and millions of dollars off of these young fighters who are taking all the punches and some are ruined for life after their boxing career is over.

I think every state should have an athletic commission that monitors boxing and ensures that fighters pay in so they can get something back in retirement. Everybody who works at a trade needs to get some type of retirement coming in for the fruits of their labor. I like what Senator John McCain has done and we need more help.

BB: What is one thing that the RSR readers can learn about you today that boxing fans might have not known before this interview?

Many people didn’t know before this interview that I boxed for as many years as I did as an amateur and professional combined.

BB: To all of the Tony “The Tiger” Baltazar fans around the world, what thoughts would you like to leave them with?

I want them to know I love them all and thank them for all their support over the years during my career. Kids mean so much to me and I want to appeal to all parents out there to really love your kids and teach them the right things in life.

BB: Finally, what is the saying you live your life by?

“Live a life you would be proud of.”

Tony Baltazar:
Lightweight - Junior Welterweight
Professional record: 47 fights; 39+ (30 KO's), 7-, 1 N.C.

- 1979 -

+ (Feb-8-1979, Los Angeles) Art Silveira ko 1
+ (Mar-22-1979, Los Angeles) Julio Alfonso ko 2
+ (Apr-19-1979, Los Angeles) Roberto Garcia kot 2
+ (May-10-1979, Los Angeles) Eric Bonilla kot 2
+ (Jun-21-1979, Los Angeles) Jaime Nava 6
+ (Jul-26-1979, Los Angeles) Willie Daniels 6
+ (Sep-20-1979, Los Angeles) Clemente Enriquez kot 5
+ (Nov-8-1979, Los Angeles) Clemente Enriquez ko 1

- 1980 -

+ (Feb-19-1980, Sacramento) Max Cervantes ko 1
+ (May-15-1980, Los Angeles) Juan Campos ko 2
+ (Jul-10-1980, Los Angeles) Ruben Martinez ko 1
+ (Aug-28-1980, Los Angeles) Rosario Gonzalez ko 1
+ (Sep-25-1980, Los Angeles) Ed Ballaran ko 4
N.C. (Oct-30-1980, Los Angeles) Jesus Rodriguez 4

- 1981 -

+ (Mar-19-1981, Los Angeles) Raul Bencomo ko 5
+ (Apr-30-1981, Los Angeles) Darrell Stovall 10
+ (Jun-19-1981, Las Vegas) Sonny Perez kot 6
+ (Jul-31-1981, Las Vegas) Roberto Garcia ko 8
+ (Sep-24-1981, Los Angeles) Roberto Garcia ko 4
+ (Oct-22-1981, Los Angeles) Manuel Abedoy 10

- 1982 -

+ (Jan-30-1982, Los Angeles) Felix Favella kot 4
+ (May-30-1982, Las Vegas) Ricky Samudio 10
+ (Jun-26-1982, Los Angeles) Raul Bencomo ko 2
+ (Sep-23-1982, Los Angeles) Jesus De La Cruz kot 1

- 1983 -

- (Feb-27-1983, Atlantic City) Howard DAVIS 10
+ (Jun-17-1983, Los Angeles) Roque Montoya 10
- (Jul-24-1983, Las Vegas) Robin Blake kot 9

- 1984 -

+ (May-23-1984, Santa Monica) Lupe Rocha kot 2
+ (Jul-8-1984, Reseda) Roger MAYWEATHER 10

- 1985 -

+ (Dec-18-1985, Sacramento) Darryll Cottrell ko 2

- 1986-1987: inactive -

- 1988 -

+ (Oct-21-1988, Las Vegas) Miguel Dominguez ko 7
+ (Nov-18-1988, Las Vegas) Ron Johnson kot 9

- 1989 -

+ (Feb-10-1989, Las Vegas) Joe ALEXANDER kot 2
+ (Mar-10-1989, Las Vegas) Sammy Brooks kot 7
+ (Apr-7-1989, Las Vegas) Derrick Mc Guire 10
- (Jul-9-1989, Swan Lake) James MC GIRT 10
+ (Nov-3-1989, Phoenix) Juan Muniz kot 4

- 1990 -

+ (Feb-22-1990, Phoenix) Pedro Laza kot 3
+ (Mar-30-1990, Albuquerque) Danny Vargas ko 5
- (Aug-11-1990, Lake Tahoe) Hector CAMACHO, SR. 12 (W.B.O., Junior welterweight)

- 1991 -

+ (Mar-12-1991, Phoenix) Martin GARCIA kot 3
+ (Aug-29-1991, Irvine) Alberto Castro ko 5

- 1992 -
- (Jan-18-1992, Philadelphia) Rodney MOORE 10

- 1993 -

- (Mar-22-1993, Inglewood) Carlos GONZALEZ ko 1 (W.B.O., Junior welterweight)

- 1994 -

+ (Mar-1-1994, Phoenix) Jose Robert LOPEZ ko 1
- (Apr-8-1994) Jaime OCEGUEDA disq.4

- 1995-2001: inactive -

- 2002 -

+ (Feb-1-2002, Phoenix) Eduardo JACQUES 6


Top

Calzaghe Vs. Jones 24/7 Episode 1

More on Kevin Finnegan

The following is courtesy of the Times Online U.K. Edition

By Ron Lewis

Kevin Finnegan found dead

Kevin Finnegan, the former British and European middleweight champion, has been found dead at his home at the age of 60. Finnegan, the younger brother of Chris, the 1968 Olympic gold medal-winner, held the British title three times and the European title twice. He boxed Alan Minter three times and Marvin Hagler twice. Among the boxers he beat were Frankie Lucas, Gratien Tonna and Bunny Sterling, whom he first won the British title from in 1974. He is pictured above (right) on the way to possibly his best win over Tony Sibson at the Albert Hall in 1979.

His body was discovered when police broke into his flat in Hillingdon, Middlesex, after he has not been seen for a few days.

Minter was among the first to pay tribute to his former rival 

(the pair are pictured, right prior to their final bout in 1977). "I'm very shocked" he said. "When you box someone three times, you have a special rapport with them. He became like a brother to me and he gave me t

he three hardest fights of my life."
He also boxed another future world champion in Ayub Kalule in Denmark in 1978. He

 retired in 1980, at the age of 32, after losing his European title to Matteo Salvemini in Italy.

Big brother Chris also paid tribute: "Kevin was the cream of boxing, he had far more class than me," he said. "In all his boxing career he was never knocked out, this time he just couldn't beat the count."

Young Firpo, 2008 World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee: By John Bardelli

Guido Bardelli is being inducted into a World Boxing Hall of Fame on November 15th, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

This article submitted and posted here with the express permission of the author.

Guido Bardelli also known as Young Firpo, one of the world's greatest light heavyweights, campaigned from 1924 - 1937, an era considered by many boxing historians to be the greatest era in the history of boxing.

Born in Barre, Vermont in 1907, his family moved to northern Idaho eventually settling in the mountainous mining town of Burke, Idaho, where Guido was introduced to the world of boxing in 1924 at the age of 17 as "Young Firpo."

Young Firpo's reputation as a quick-silvered reflex knockout artist in the Pacific Northwest grew, as knockout followed knockout, until January of 1930 when he was signed to fight in Portland, Oregon, against Oaklander Ray Pelky. Pelky entered the contests as a prohibitive favorite. Firpo revealed his wares by viciously kayoing Pelky in 2 rounds, Pelky declaring he had never been hit so hard in his life after being revived nearly 2 hours later. Pelky also stated, "He is a murderous puncher. He'll knock any man up to 200 pounds. I was a fool to take the match."

Already well known in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District and Pacific Coast because of a rugged viciousness that many sport's writers of the era compared to the greatest fighters they had every seen, after disposing of Pelky in Portland, Portland claimed the Idaho slugger as its own. Thereafter, Firpo went on to fight in Portland 24 times during a 7 year period while also engaging in major fights throughout all the west including Oregon, Colorado, California, Montana, Washington, and Idaho.

In the early part of his career, he became embroiled in disputes with a series of contending individuals who sought to become his manager. Firpo came to disdain managers and refused to sign contracts with anyone who sought to be his manager.

Mel Epstein, veteran fight manager-trainer, also sought in vain to become Firpo's manager from the late 1920's, when Epstein first laid eyes on Firpo in Butte, Montana, through the duration of Firpo's ring career. Although Firpo refused to engage Epstein as a fight manager, Firpo did come to trust Mel and engaged him as a trainer. Indeed, it was Mel Epstein who was in Firpo's corner, as a trainer and quasi-manager, for the majority of the major fights in which Firpo was involved from 1930 onward including Firpo's epic Portland contests with Leo Lomski, Wesley "KO" Ketchell, George Manley, Tiger Jack Fox, and John Henry Lewis.

In a 1970's interview, Mel Epstein was asked, "How good a fighter was Firpo, Mel?" In a voice loaded with excitement, Epstein answered the question over the course of more than 30 minutes, stating in part that "Young Firpo was unbeatable; he was practically unbeatable until he had that damn car wreck. He was colorful! Every fight was filled action. The fans liked the action. Excitement and action.... He should have been the light heavyweight champion of the world. Ask him. He knows it."

When asked during the interview how Epstein envisioned the outcome of a fight between Young Firpo and then reigning light heavyweight champion Victor Galindez, Epstein replied, "Ahh ... Firp woulda knocked him out. He'd knock all of em [light heavyweights] out. He was a slugger and nobody's fool in there. Firp was like lightning you know. He was like an eel, elusive, slippery. You couldn't tie him up to keep him off. He had too much for these guys."

In another 1970's informal Los Angeles interview, former welterweight champion of the world Jimmy McClarnin was asked by a Mel Epstein managed fighter Rick Farris, who had overheard McClarnin and Los Angeles Boxing Promoter George Parnasus talking about Young Firpo, "Just how good was this Young Firpo?" McClarnin responded without hesitation, "Oh, let me just tell you that Young Firpo was the greatest fighter I ever saw."

During that same interview both McClarnin and George Parnasus volunteered to an awe struck young and impressionable Rick Farris, who later became a boxing historian and World Boxing Hall of Fame Director, which "Young Firpo hit harder than either Bob Foster or Archie Moore. Firpo would have knocked them out."

Sport's writer L. H. Gregory, who penned Greg's Gossip for the Portland Oregonian for over 50 years, in a 1971 column wrote that Young Firpo was the most "exciting fighter" he ever saw in a writing career which encompassed over 50 years of watching fights. Gregory wrote that "Young Firpo was unforgettable.... His aggressive, go-get-em-style was spectacular.... We have never seen more active fighting once in the ring. He started them in motion from the first bell and never let up while the fight lasted.... From opening bell he'd move in on an opponent with the least possible 'feeling out' of experimental jabs, both arms and hands flailing as if on half-circular hinges ---- bang, bang, bang, bang, almost exactly alternating left, right, left, right in a continuous tattoo. We can still see those explosive alternating gloves breaking through against the opponent's face and upper body."

Northern Idaho writer Maidell Clements who witnessed Firpo's ring exploits wrote in 1981: "When the bell rang, Firpo would charge across the ring and throw punches from all angels. Many a fighter wouldn't know what hit them till their heads began to clear in the dressing room."

Another Portland boxing writer, Billy Steppe, himself a prolific writer and keen observer of the boxing scene for over 70 years on the Pacific Coast, had suffered a stroke prior to his being interviewed in the 1970's and was unable to speak. However, when asked to name the greatest fighter he ever saw, Steppe simply wrote, "Young Firpo."

Young Firpo's futile and turning point in his march toward the light heavyweight championship suffered its severest blow when, in the spring of 1934, while traveling to Butte, Montana, to fight Gorilla Jones, Firpo was involved in a motor vehicle accident and sustained serious injuries which landed him in the hospital for weeks. It was thought that the injuries brought about the end of his fight career.

Firpo would not fight again until August of 1934, when he defended his Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Championship in a "tune-up" match against the onslaught of hard punching knockout artist Tiger Jack Fox, the same Fox who Jersey Joe Walcott, in 1974, called the greatest fighter Walcott ever fought not excluding Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, and Ezzard Charles. Walcott was knocked out by Fox and beaten in 10 rounds in a second fight with Fox. Fox was favored to defeat Firpo because Fox had been active throughout the 1934 fight year while he recuperated and Fox had run up a string of knockouts while Firpo was totally inactive and had not engaged in a single fight in 1934.

Despite the odds, Firpo defeated Fox in a Portland brutal encounter. Firpo floored Fox in the sixth round after Firpo, himself, had been floored by Fox in the same round. Seemingly, it appeared that Firpo had recovered from the injuries sustained in the automobile accident but, as Epstein stated, such was not the case.

One month later, on September 20, 1934, John Henry Lewis, claiming that he was the uncrowned light heavyweight champion of the world following the NBA's stripping Maxie Rosenbloom of the title, sought to divest Young Firpo of the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight title in yet another Portland fight. Lewis was being touted as the "uncrowned light heavyweight champion" because he had defeated titleholder Maxie Rosenbloom in two non-title affairs flooring Rosenbloom 7 times in the process.

In another vicious slugfest taking place on September 20, 1934, Lewis escaped with a draw. Every major newspaper writer in attendance covering the fight, including Billy Steppe, H.L. Gregory, Don McCloud, and George Bertz, thought that Firpo won the fight. Lewis was on the verge of being knocked out in both the 7th and 8th rounds. Referee Tom Louttit declared the contest a draw. Firpo retained his Coast title. However, bedlam ensued with pronounced booing between 5 and 10 minutes and things were thrown into the ring including a knife before order was restored.

As an aftermath, Lewis eventually went on to win the title by defeating Bob Olin and refused to fight Firpo in a rematch with the World's Light Heavyweight Championship on the line despite repeated challenges having been made from Firpo.

From 1930 through 1937, Young Firpo challenged in vain for a shot at the light heavyweight title, held chronologically during this period by Maxie Rosenbloom, Bob Olin, and John Henry Lewis. Firpo telegraphed a Spokane promoter "Will fight Fox, Lewis, Olin, or Rosenbloom. I fear no man."

In 1933, Rosenbloom and Firpo were signed to fight a championship match thought to be the first championship match ever held in Portland but a gate dispute led to cancellation of the fight. When the fight was initially signed, coast writers gave Firpo a better than even chance of beating Rosenbloom because of his speed and punching prowess. After the cancellation, Firpo sought in vain to again get Rosenbloom's signature on a contract. During an interview, Firpo told a boxing writer, "With the championship on the line, I'll fight Rosenbloom for nothing." Rosenbloom, who seemingly ducked no fighter, would not sign to defend his title against Firpo.

Retiring in 1937, Firpo maintained that between 1924 - 1937, he engaged in 134 fights, scored 79 knockouts, suffered 15 losses (some of which he questioned) and had 4 draws. BoxRec, a computerized database of boxing data, maintains that Young Firpo's record consists of 93 fights, 74 victories, 45 knockouts, 15 losses, and 4 draws.

Guido Bardelli married the lovely Mary Widitz from Roundup, Montana, in 1934 and their marriage produced three children, Cleo Marie Clizer, Frederick Ketchell Bardelli, and John Ambrose Bardelli. Young Firpo passed away in 1984.


Young Firpo is being inducted into the World Boxing Hall Of Fame on November 15, 2008 at the Banquet of Champions at LAX Marriott, located at 5855 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90045. Social hour will begin at 6:00 pm, followed by dinner and induction ceremony at 8:00 pm.

Dinner tickets are priced at $100.00, $150.00 and $200.00. For ticket information and all the details call: 626- 964-2414 or visit official website at www.wbhf.org.

A nonprofit organization based in California, the World Boxing Hall Of Fame is dedicated to preserving and honoring boxing and its history.

Kevin Finnegan

Kevin Finnegan - By artist Roger Esty

Kevin Finnegan Dies

The following was written by Bennie, a fight reviewer and a contributor to Boxrec's West Coast Boxing Forum. The photo is also courtesy of Bennie.

A young Kevin Finnegan

Former British and European middleweight champ Kevin Finnegan has been found dead in his flat in West London at the relatively young age of 60.
In the context of today's boxing scene, with 'world' titles seemingly given away, it is incredible to think this man never got a sniff at a world title shot. The younger brother of the better-known Chris licked the likes of Bunny Sterling, Tony Sibson, Gratien Tonna, Jean Claude Bouttier, Frankie Lucas, gave "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler a real war in the first of two fantastic efforts in the States in 1978 (both stopped on cuts, just two months apart) and looked desperately unlucky in the second of three 15-round classics with Alan Minter, who staggered home to a debatable decision in 1976.
Quite simply, Kevin Finnegan was gifted.
After his five wars with Minter and Hagler, both of whom went on to win the undisputed world middleweight title, Finnegan enjoyed a glorious, totally unexpected twilight to his career. In 1979 he outboxed Sibson over 15 rounds for the British title - just after "Sibbo" had destroyed "The Animal" Lucas - and then avenged a defeat to the ferocious Gratien Tonna with another magnificent boxing display in 1980 in France to lift the European title (his points loss to Tonna in the mid-1970s possibly cost him a shot at Carlos Monzon) and picked up a couple of nice paydays abroad in defence of the European belt. Finnegan fought well in his very last fight with Matteo Salvemini in Italy in September 1980, flooring the local man with a beautiful counter right, but Salvemeni proved a bit too energetic and took the points.

Marvin Hagler always said Finnegan gave him his hardest fight. What a boxer, what a character, what an epitah.