Sunday, August 31, 2008

Alex Ramos

Alex Ramos

Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos
Founder and President
Retired Boxers Foundation, Inc.

Front row on left a young Alex Ramos
1976 St. Nobert's College, Green Bay-Depere, WI

Tony Baltazar, Alex Ramos and Jerry Cheatham

Frank Baltazar Sr., Alex Ramos and Tony Baltazar

From Jacquie Richardson, a very close friend of Alex Ramos

Dear friends, I am writing this to people who I know love and care about Alex Ramos.He is in the hospital in critical condition. He is on a respirator. After several hours in the Emergency Room, he has just been transferred to the IntensiveCare Unit. He has nor regained consciousness, and now, he is in a drug induced coma to rest his brain. The best guess at this time, per the physician, is that he suffered from brain seizures and possibly an asthma attack. His vital signs are stable, finally. The worked on him for over an hour this morning to resuscitate him in the ER and performed many tests. He had a CT scan and his brain shows no sign of bleeding or anuerysm. Histox screens came back negative --no alcohol or drugs.Since I had not heard from Alex since yesterday at 5:30 PM, and sincehe had not checked his email for 15 hours, I became worried (If youknow Alex, you know he calls me frequently!). I called his apartmentmanager, Vicky, and told her that I had a bad feeling and if she sawAlex, would she call me and tell me he was alive. As we talked, Itold her that I did not want to impose on his right to privacy, but Iwas concerned that he might have fallen or that he was sick. Vickycalled her manager and made the brave decision to go into theapartment. Without going into details, Alex was unconscious, withshallow breathing and probably near death. Vicky called 9-1-1 andthey attempted to stabilize him and took him to the Emergency Room.ER Staff worked for another hour to stabilize him, using a handrespirator. He had a CT scan that revealed no bleeding or anuerysm.As I said, Tox screens came back negative. Based on the descriptionof how he was found (body and neck rigid/stiff), there is a strongsuspician that he suffered a seizure, and complications from asthma.I will keep you posted. Please, if you have a prayer in your heart,use if for Alex. He will be slowly weaned from the respirator whichwill leave us with some answers about how much damage has been doneearly tomorrow morning. Alex is loved by many people through outthe world and he needs you to pray for his recovery.As he always says...."God Bless!"JacquieRETIRED BOXERS FOUNDATIONLets all pray for his 100% recovery,

Courtesy of Rick Farris

Dear Rick,

I very much appreciated the recounting of your boxing experiences during your days in the sun and particularly when you fought at the Olympic. It brought back so many memories to myself, not as a prize fighter, but as a devoted fan and budding historian, watching televised fights with Dad, many of which took place at the Olympic Auditorium. Invariably, he would say, upon hearing that the fight was taking place at the Olympic in Los Angeles, he would tell my brother and myself, "I remember fighting at the Olympic." We have a taped conversation of him describing some wars that took place during his fights at the Olympic, the impression it made upon him, and a description of sparing with heavyweight Dynamite Jackson.

I've taken the liberty to follow-up on your recollections to provide you with the following newspaper account of a fight which took place in January of 1929 between Young Firpo and Marvin Rife. To set the stage somewhat, Young Firpo began his career in 1924 up to the Los Angeles venture he had fought the vast majority of his fights in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District, the Spokane area, Montana, Seattle and Tacoma. He knew the importance of fighting in the Olympic and the need to make an impression upon the Californian crowd. Going into the Rife fight, Firpo had engage in 44 fights and recorded 24 knockouts. And did he ever! Rife became KO victory No. 25. Here's the fight coverage:

Young Firpo Makes a Hit With California Ring Fans

Young Firpo, the Wild Bull of Burke and idol of the Coeur d'Alene district's ring fans has won favor in southern California as a result of his two round knockout of Marvin Rife, Los Angeles light-heavyweight in a bout last Tuesday at the Olympic auditorium, Los Angeles. California sport writers who saw the fracas have nothing but praise for the squat Italian boy from the Burke canyon.

There facts are show in four newspaper clippings received from Los Angeles today by Wallace friends of Young Firpo.

Stub Nelson, writing in the Los Angeles Record, compares the Firpo-Rife bout to the historic Luis Angel Firpo-Jack Dempsey bout of several years ago, and praises the Burke battler as follows in a story headed "Firpo Scores Hit a la Dempsey:

"The thrill is the thing --- especially in boxing. The story of why Dempsey has always had such a hold on the public was pictured --- in a smaller way --- at the Olympic auditorium last night.

"It happened in the special. Young firpo, a squat-built powerful Italian, with barrel chest and bowed legs, started out fast in his bout with Marvin Rife.

"Just when he looked a sure winner, he ran into a right hand and was flattened out in the slag. He barely got up at nine.

"The young Italian --- with his pawing gorilla-like arms, got off the canvas and floored Rife --- knocked him staff as the bell rang.

"Firpo staggered toward the wrong corner and Rife was carried to his.

"There you had a replica of the Dempsey-Firpo fight.

"The crowd didn't care about classy boxers then. Men stood on their seats and yelled --- throwing programs and hats in the air. That action is a fight always grips a human being.

"The world remembers how Dempsey bounced Willard down seven times in one round at Toledo. And they also know that Jack climbed back into a New York ring and felled the huge ox, Firpo.

"Such stuff made Dempsey a million dollar attraction.

"There was more yelling after one round of the Firpo-Rife preliminary bout than there has been in dozen of classy main events.

Young Firpo means something here now. He can come back as soon as he chooses."

In another section of the Record, Stub Nelson also wrote on the Firpo-Rife bout as follows:

"Young Firpo and Marvin rife, light heavies, put on the big thrill of the night. They met in the six-round special. Firpo was out cold near the end of the first session but got up and floored rife. The bell saved the latter.

"He didn't recover and Firpo floored him three times in the second round."

Another Los Angeles sport writer saw the Firpo-Rife bout as follows, and headed his write up with the heading above: Rip-Snorting Bout ---

"Young Firpo and Marvin Rife put on a rip-snorter. Both were down in the first round. Firpo was flat on his back and looked dead as a pickled mackerel. At nine he was up and planted Rife just as the bell rang. In the second round he had Rife on the floor twice for nine counts and the referee halted the battle."

Still another writer saw the bout this way:

"The main event was all but over shadowed by the special event involving a couple of sluggers known to the annals of the racket as Young Firpo and Marvin Rife. Firpo was forcing the issue and pummeling Rife all over the ring when suddenly a right hand shot to the chin and down went Firpo, stretched flat on his back. Up at nine, Firpo went after his man in the second and finally got him, knocking him through the ropes for count of eight, and finally slapping Rife silly --- so silly that the engagement was stopped. The customers stood on the hind legs and howled. You'd have thought it was a football game."

And finally, yet another writer captured the excitement in this manner:

"In a knockdown drag-out affair, Young Firpo managed to score a technical kayo over Marvin Rife after a short period of the second round had witnessed plenty of action. In the first canto, Rife landed a hard right to the chin that sent Firpo to the floor for a nine count.

"The fallen fighter arose, shook his head and tossed his fists into the face of Rife, who got in the way of a heavy right hand --- Marvin fell like a log and only the round bell saved him.

"Coming out for the second canto, Firpo piled in again and soon had his opponent down on the floor, where the fight was stopped. Marvin was in no shape to continue.

For the record, Firpo did return for other engagements in California. Shortly after the slugfest with Rife, Young Firpo decisioned Jimmy Barry at the Hollywood American Legion, and then beat Joe Woods at the Olympic Auditorium. The fights were broadcast over KFWB, Los Angeles. The announcer in the Barry fight, as heard in the greater Spokane and Wallace, Idaho, area yelled to an excited group of listeners within the Coeur d'Alene Mining District: "Whoever named Young Firpo the Wild Bull of Burke was way off. The way that boy punched could not be called wild in any sense of the word!"

Firpo then went on to fight at the Olympic Auditorium again garnering a decision over Tom Patrick. Despite countless invitations to move to the Los Angeles area to pursue his career, Firpo was a product of the rugged mountains of Burke, Idaho and his temperament would not allow him to move away from the environment that gave him strength and solitude and he would be on the road back to his northern Idaho haunts immediately following any out of the area encounter ... be it Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Portland, or Seattle.

Sincerely yours,John A. BardelliAttorney at Law606 North Pines Road, Suite 201Spokane, WA 99206(509)926-9566(509)926-1564 faxJABARDELLI@AOl.COM

Friday, August 29, 2008

What it was like, FIGHTING AT THE OLYMPIC . . . By Rick Farris



Courtesy of Rick Farris

What it was like, FIGHTING AT THE OLYMPIC . . . I'll never forget the first time I went to the Olympic to watch a fight. It was the mid 60's and I was a kid with my dad. The place was like a magic kingdom to me. The smell of beer and cigar smoke, the roar of the crowd, the powder blue ring canvas, the TV lights shining down from the edge of the balcony. The ring lights glaring straight down from above, the beam of light shrouding the ring in smoke that wafted up from ringside.I dreamed of fighting there one day. Just a kid's dream, but I made it come true. How? I don't know, but I did!I remember the excitment of the crowd as I watched as a kid. The fighters would come bouncing down the aisle to the ring, the crowd would greet them with a thunderous ovation, especially for the big fights. You'd never forget the excitement of Mando Ramos, his ring entrance would send a shock wave of energy thru the crowd. So would Jerry Quarry, Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez, and so on. I rememebr Mando when he would enter the ring, it was so different than what you see today. No rap music, no entourage, no dancing, no magic carpet entrance, just Mando bounding down the ring behind Jackie McCoy, holding a bucket. When Mando would step thru the ropes the crowd would explode. When he was introduced by the late Jimmy Lennon Sr. there were no histerics, no stare downs, no false bravado. Mando would just calmly nod to his fans. He'd do his fighting in the ring. He was the coming of a new "Golden Boy".I dreamed of fighting in that ring, and I would one day do just that, and I would do it quite a few times. The first time in the 1967 Jr. Golden Gloves Championship finals, in a bout that Frank Baltazar was matchmaker. Frank's boys were there too, Frankie Jr. Tony and Bobby. Later I would appear there as an amateur, in the Golden Gloves, and the Diamond Belt tournaments, and before the thursday night pro cards on a few occasions, and then as a pro. The first nine pro fights of my career were held at the Olympic. I was never a great fighter like the guys I named above, but I fought at the Olympic, and Jimmy Lennon introduced me to the crowd quite a few times. That is something that NOBODY can take away from me. I had a dream, and made it happen!I sat in those underground dressing rooms, watched the guy fighting before me leave our dressing room and hear him introduced to the crowd from deep below the arena. Then, as I nervously tried to rest, hear the crowd roar. I knew something was happening, as I nervously anticipated my bout, which was next up. Johnny Flores would warm me up, lace on the gloves, apply a thin layer of Vaseline and then pull my robe over my shoulders. The bout would end, a decision was announced and a few moments later the guy who shared the dressing room with me would return, sometimes smiling in victory or not, sometimes battered and bloody, sometimes not. Then the athletic commssion rep would step in and say "It's time Ricky, your on . . ." Johnny Flores would slap my back and say, "Let's go champ", and we were off. Out the door of the room, down to the exit tunnel, thru the opening, turn left and up a short flight of stairs to the top, turn left, past the concessions stands, turn right and down the aisle to the ring. I then move slowly behind Flores as the fans reach out to touch me, we pass from under the balcony and as I come into view of the crowd I hear a roar and I begin to jog the rest of the way to the ring, up the steps, thru the ropes and suddenly all the butter flies disapear. Jimmy Lennon flips a large disk to determine which corner will be mine, then we move to that corner. I walk to the rosen box and see my opponent climb thru the ropes. The perspective from the ring is much different from that outside the ring. Frank will tell you, no matter how many times you've sat ringside, nothing looks quite the same at the Olympic as it does from inside that powder blue ring. Things are suddenly much smaller inside the ropes. There is an unexplaneable intimacy, excitement, energy. Suddenly, the microphone drops down from the rafters into Jimmy Lennon's hands."Ladies and gentleman this is the semi-main event of the evening, six rounds of boxing between two outstanding banatmweights. Calling the bout from ringside will be TV announcer Jim Healy, keeping account of the knockdowns will be our timekeeper Jack Smith at the bell, and physician in attendence will be Dr. Bernhart Schwartz. Judging from ringside will be George Latka and Dick Young, and the referee in charge of this bout will be John Thomas. Allright fans here we go . . ."Sorry guys, I just got caught up in the greatest memory I posess. . . I FOUGHT AT THE OLYMPIC!-Rick Farris

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Baltazars

This photo of the Baltazars, some of them at least, was too good not to post. A great photo Frank, especially of your father.


Four Generations of Baltazars
L to R, ..Rocky, Frankie Jr., Frank Sr. and Frank's Father Aurelio

Oscar De la Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao

As you know, this is not the fight I wanted to see as Oscar's farewell fight (whether it really is a farewell fight remains to be seen). I would have preferred he went out against Antonio Margarito. I'm not being critical of Oscar but I just feel with this fight he puts himself between a rock and a hard place. Though Oscar is certainly not the first fighter to take on a smaller opponent, he has, at the very least, been the most criticized, and wrongly so.

A loss to Manny Paquiao, would not keep him out of the Hall of Fame but it would certainly tarnish his legacy, and for what? A win would produce jeers, no matter how the fight turns out. An easy win over Paquiao would seem like a foregone conclusion and produce a collective "So what". A hard fought narrow victory would justify (at least in perception) all the criticism.

However, since they are going to fight, my hope is that De La Hoya will whip himself into the best shape of his life and fight as if he means it. Don't let it become a battle of attrition, because Manny will be there fighting, swinging and trying his damnedest to win, from the first bell to the last. It's what he does. If Paquiao wins this fight he won't just be the national hero of the Philippines, he'll be their god.

Photo by Alex Cruz
Bill Dwyre:
De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight is set

Oscar De La Hoya has agreed to a December 6 boxing match with rising superstar Manny Pacquiao.
The biggest bout in years, supposedly called off 10 days ago, will take place in Las Vegas on Dec. 6.

The biggest boxing match in years will, indeed, take place. Oscar De La Hoya has agreed to a Dec. 6 match with rising superstar Manny Pacquiao.The official announcement, barring last-minute reversals, will be made in a conference call Thursday morning.The match, the grand finale of 35-year-old De La Hoya's unprecedented career as the box-office king in a sport that has survived on his back for more than 10 years without a dominant heavyweight, will be held at the MGM Grand Hotel Garden in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view will be available on HBO.Ten days ago, Richard Schaefer, De La Hoya's partner in the operation of Golden Boy Promotions, and Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank had announced that negotiations for the much-anticipated fight had broken down and it would not take place. Schaefer and De La Hoya wanted a 70-30% split of receipts, which would include a projected 2-million-plus pay-per-view buys. Arum and Pacquiao had balked and the deal was off.In the interim, as recently as two days ago, stories had appeared that the front-runner to replace Pacquiao on De La Hoya's farewell card was promoter Dan Goossen's Paul Williams, who had a victory over Antonio Margarito. Margarito, who is from Mexico, was the recent surprise winner over Miguel Cotto in a fight that was to set up De La Hoya's next opponent.But when Margarito won, that took the Puerto Rican Cotto out of the picture and De La Hoya had said all along that he did not want his farewell fight to be against a fellow Mexican. De La Hoya, of Mexican heritage, was raised in East Los Angeles and won an Olympic gold medal for the United States.But the Williams talks apparently were mostly wishful thinking, and De La Hoya agreed to drop his percentage of the take in a Pacquiao bout to a two-thirds/one-third arrangement.They will fight at 147 pounds.Pacquiao, 29, the most celebrated and recognized athlete in the Philippines, has won titles at five lower weights and is more comfortable around 136-140 pounds. De La Hoya has won multiple titles and is more comfortable around 154.The largest pay-per-view fight in boxing history was the 2007 match between De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., won by the now-retired Mayweather. That drew 2.4 million buys. De La Hoya previously was involved in the largest non-heavyweight pay-per-view fight when he suffered his first loss, in 1999, against Felix Trinidad.De La Hoya will take a record of 39-5 with 30 knockouts into the fight. Pacquiao's record is 47-3-2, with 35 knockouts.bill.dwyre@latimes.com

Muhammad Ali's manager Herbert Muhammad Dies

Chicago, 1964: Ali with Elijah Muhammad and Elijah's son Herbert Muhammad


Article By Kevin Iole

posted by ScottG

By Kevin Iole
Herbert Muhammad, one of the most powerful figures in boxing in the 1960s and 1970s when he was managing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali's career, died Monday in Chicago.
He never recovered after undergoing triple heart bypass surgery. He was 78.
Muhammad, whose father, Elijah Muhammad, was the leader of the Nation of Islam, began managing Ali's career in 1964, shortly after Ali defeated Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title.
Muhammad negotiated a $10 million purse for Ali to fight Joe Frazier on March 8, 1971, in a bout many consider the biggest event in the sport's history. It was known as "The Fight of the Century."
His negotiating skill on Ali's behalf helped to drive up salaries for athletes in all sports, said Gene Kilroy, Ali's longtime friend and his former business manager.
"He was a good guy and he never got his just due," Kilroy said. "He did a lot for Muhammad and he was a very, very sharp guy. Back in those days, (NFL Hall of Famer) Jim Brown was making something like $60,000 a year. The top baseball players were making around $50,000 or so.
"Ali started making those huge purses because of Herbert and that helped raised salaries for all athletes."
In a brilliant April 25, 1988, piece about Ali's entourage in Sports Illustrated, Gary Smith wrote of Muhammad's negotiating brilliance.
"The Manager had ushered in the era of million-dollar sports contract, brilliantly playing promoters Don King and Bob Arum off against each other," Smith wrote.
Smith later quoted Ali saying that Muhammad would be the only non-family member he'd take with him if he could take five people on a trip to the moon.
Muhammad also worked with Ali in his post-fighting career and estimated Ali could have been making as much as $30 million a year in the late 1980s had he been interesting in pursuing endorsement deals, which he was not.
Kilroy said Ali, who rarely speaks because of the effects of Parkinson's disease and who did not release a statement regarding Muhammad's death, was aware of how important his manager was in his career.
"Herbert did so much for Muhammad that people don't know about, it's a crime," Kilroy said. "He deserves to be remembered for what he did for Ali."

Monday, August 25, 2008

Is Boxing Going to the Dogs?

I've heard of a fighter having a bit of the dog in him but this is ridiculous!


Sunday, August 24, 2008

A Different Place by Roger Esty

Courtesy of Roger Esty

A DIFFERENT PLACE


Look at a boxing ring. Go to an empty gym and look at the ring. Simple structure. Strands of rope attached to ring posts and a canvas mat. A work place and theater for the sport of boxing. Inside the ring is the most unforgiving place in the world. Once you are inside the ring you are expected to accept what comes at you. It is not friendly. Sympathy is a vacuum. If you can't take what's going on in there,there's no law saying you have to go back in. But if you make the decision to get inside the ring,you are on your own. You have to find something inside yourself to survive in there. Don't look at your corner to help you. You have to punch. Protect yourself. You are on your own. When the work inside the ring is over,you leave with a satisfaction that you were tested when you had no one with you. Alone, you withstood the test. If you can do it alone,you know you can do anything.