Classic Photos

The photos and captions are courtesy of Rick Farris

(Photo by Theo Ehret)

Jose "Manteqilla" Napoles vs. Emile Griffith

The Forum - October 17, 1969

This one is for Roger Esty. . .

Undisputed welterweight champ Jose Napoles scored a unanimous fifteen round decision over former champ Emile Griffith at the Forum. Griffith was down in the third round.

(Photo by Theo Ehert)

Bobby Chacon vs. Turi Pineda

February 15, 1973 - Olympic Auditorium

Jack Dempsey & Charlie Chaplin

The photo was taken at the Charlie Chaplin Studios on La Brea Ave. Hollywood. For more than half a century, it has been home to A&M Records. Dempsey lived in the neighborhood, a few miles away, in the Los Feliz area below Griffith Park.

Andre Berto Interview: Haiti Earthquake and Boxing

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Berto family.

New Mexico's Austin Trout WBA's Number One Contender

Courtesy of newmexicoboxing.com and fightnews.com

Unconventional Contention
New Mexico’s Austin Trout finds himself a No. 1 contender
Story & photos by Chris Cozzone

Even Austin “No Doubt” Trout (21-0, 13 KOs) has to pinch himself to make sure he’s not dreaming.

After a long, slow five-year climb barely out of the club level, Trout has not only found his name ranked among the world’s best, but just one notch below world championship honors.

The new year – and the WBA – have been good to Trout, for one morning, early this year, the undefeated, former amateur star from Las Cruces, N.M. discovered he was ranked No. 1 in the world at 154 pounds.

“I was surprised,” admits Trout. “A year ago, I thought I had a few more years to go. I knew I was getting close to the spotlight, but not this close.”

The crafty, 24-year-old southpaw gained entry into the WBA’s ratings mill last March, when he picked up the organization’s Continental Americas belt, stopping Juarez sub Martin Avila in four. After two lopsided decisions over journeymen, Trout was matched up with WBA No. 7 Contender Nilson Tapia, then 11-1. After a tough fight, Trout picked up another minor WBA belt – and a No. 2 ranking.

“Nilsen was my toughest fight,” admits Trout. “I thought I won eight of the 11 rounds, but I took some good shots. It showed me what I can take, and what I can do. I’d been waiting for a fight like that.”

The move to No. 1, up from No. 2, came after Japan’s Nobuhiro Ishida (22-5-2, 7 KOs) claimed the interim version of the WBA’s 154-pound title by defeating Oney Valdez (19-10-1, 13 KOs) on Dec. 29. Ishida slid into interim status under Yuri Foreman (28-0, 8 KOs), who’d beaten Daniel Santos (32-4-1, 23 KOs) in November and the names were reassembled: Trout hopped past No. 2 to No. 1, becoming the mandatory challenger for the interim challenger, who became the mandatory challenger for the “real” champ, that, being Foreman, who is most likely going to fight Miguel Cotto in June. Foreman’s possible match-up with Cotto has created a domino effect waiting game for the contenders hoping for a title shot.

Trout, managed by Bob Spagnola and trained by Louie Burke, hopes to get a shot at the interim champ, and says negotiations have already begun. Having just fought, however, Ishida may not be ready until the spring.

“Things are happening so fast, so I can’t be caught with my pants down,” says Trout, who stays in the gym year round. “Fighting Ishida means probably going to Japan – which I don’t mind. I just have to take it out of the judges’ hands.

“Beating Ishida means getting a shot at Foreman – or Cotto. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have thought it possible that I’d be getting a shot at someone like Cotto this early on.

“If given the choice, I’d rather fight Cotto than Foreman, so I’m hoping he wins. Foreman has good footwork and Cotto will be easier – he stands right there in front of you and will let me bang him up.”

The even bigger danger, says Trout, is not Ishida, Foreman or Cotto – it’s getting rusty. On the other hand, fighting means risking a loss or injury – and a shot at a title, interim or otherwise.

“We’re not gonna just sit around,” says Trout. “We’re hoping to get a tune-up in the meantime. We’re hoping to clean up our backyard. The bigger risk is in not fighting.”

Trout names Elco Garcia (22-7, 11 KOs), of Durango, Colo., as a suitable opponent for a backyard tune-up.

“Elco would be a nice tune-up until I get a championship opportunity,” says Trout. “There are a few others, too.”

Other possible tune-up opponents would include two former victims of Garcia: Joaquin Zamora (18-2-1, 12 KOs), of Pecos, N.M., who was, at one time, ranked as a WBC top ten contender, and Joe Gomez (17-2-1, 8 KOs), of Bloomfield, N.M., who was TKO’d by Garcia last summer.

“I’m not dissing any one of them,” says Trout. “But this is a business and staying busy means keeping sharp.”

If Trout had it his way, it’d be Garcia as a tune-up, Ishida for the interim belt, and the winner of Foreman-Cotto for the real belt.

There’s one other fighter Trout feels he is destined to fight again sometime in the future: Vanes Matirosyan.

The last man to beat Trout was Matirosyan, having last met at the 2004 Olympic box-offs. After years of grooming by one of the top promoters in the world, Top Rank, Martirosyan, after meeting much harder competition than his former nemesis, has risen slowly on the ladder of contention, but is looking at a title shot this year.

Martirosyan, coming off a hard-fought win on Fox Sports En Espanol last week, is rated in two of the four major ABCs top ten, from No. 7 (WBC) to No. 8 (IBF), though his last win – a hard-fought decision over former champ Kassim Ouma – should move him into the top 5.

Trout was not only unimpressed with Martirosyan’s win, but hopes his path will cross again with the last man to beat him.

“Vanes is tough, but he’s not the smartest fighter,” says Trout. “I’d outsmart him.

“He stopped me from accomplishing my dream to be an Olympic champion. It was his fault . . . but I’m not holding a grudge. I’m using his win over me to fuel my fire. If we fight again – this time as pros – they’ll be no stopping me from my dream now, to be a world champion.”

Trout says the pressure is suddenly on him, but he’s right where he wants to be.

“We figure, we’ve been put in the right spot, now it’s time to perform,” says Trout, who wants nothing but name contenders from here on out – minus the aforementioned tune-up.

“Too soon for me? I don’t think so. I’m going to get the chance to be a real champ. This just means I’ll be able to fight as a champion longer, and to lock down my legacy.”

Mando Ramos & Raul Rojas, 1970 . . .

By Rick Farris

A bitterness had developed many years earlier. When Mando was young, Rojas would pound his stablemate brutally.
As Mando grew in size and ability, their gyms wars would equal bouts of a championship level.
They didn't like each other. In time, Raul Rojas would win the world featherweight title.
Ramos was a rising star, and shadowing the newly crowned world champ. The bitteness grew.

At 19, Ramos would challenge Teo Cruz for the lightweight title.
In a co-main event, Rojas would make his first featherweight title defense against Shozo Saijyo of Japan.
Jackie McCoy took both boxers to camp in Santa Ana, California.
At night, after McCoy had turned in, Rojas and Ramos would go out. It was margaritas and senioritas.
Ramos would lose in his first attempt to become the youngest lightweight champion in history.
Ramos would lose his featherweight title and take a whipping in the process. Raul's swollen, cut face was unrecognizable.

Mando regrouped and a few months later stopped Teo Cruz to win the title at age twenty.
More angry than ever, Rojas left the Jackie McCoy stable.

Fast forward nearly two years to 1970, and Ramos has lost the lightweight title to Ismael Laguna, a year after winning it.
He came back to engage Sugar Ramos in one of the best fights ever held at the Olympic, winning a unanimous decision.
Ramos was cut to ribbons and underwent surgery to remove the scartissue.

1970 wasn't good for Rojas. He lost to Sugar Ramos, Ruben Navarro and Yoshiaki Numata.
Rojas still had one big payday looming and that would be with his former stablemate Ramos.
It would be an equally profitable fight for Mando.
A win puts him back in line for a title shot and, most important, settle a score.

The bout was signed and the fighters started training. Mando had given up alcohol, and all drugs, "even weed", he boasted.
Rojas was talking tough in the papers, calling Ramos a coward, etc.

A few weeks before the match, Mando and Stella Ramos' little boy, Armando Jr. celebrated his first birthday.
Mando decided to throw a birthday party for his baby son, but said it was really for the adults, of course.
He hired one of the best Mexican bands to play at the party and invited Jackie & Shirley McCoy.
Mando knew if Jackie was there he would be on his best behavior.

The party was going along nicely and everybody having a good time when McCoy sees Raul Rojas step into the room.
The manager could see trouble and went to Mando, letting him know Rojas was in the house.

Mando told me approached Rojas and invited him to join the party, told him he was welcome.
Rojas told Mando he needed to speak with him, in private. Mando excused himself from the party and went outside with Rojas.

Mando said Raul got very emotional, told him he was just talking big in the papers to pump up the box office.
He told Ramos that this was going to be his last fight and wanted to cash out big.
He said he had not trained a day for the fight and planned on laying down after a few rounds.
He asked Mando if he would "take it easy" on him, before he laid down.

Mando put his arm around Rojas, told him he'd take it easy and not to worry about anything.
"I invited Raul to stick around and enjoy the party, but he said he was to embarrassed to stay, and he left right away."

Mando returned to the party and told a suspicious Jackie McCoy that "everything was OK."
Shortly afterwards, McCoy and his wife left. Mando told me the first thing he did was light up a joint.
Mando told me that he partied hard for more than a week. Booze, cocaine, weed, etc. He missed days at the gym.

One day he wanders into the gym and Jackie McCoy was livid.
"What in the hell are you doing? Rojas is working his ass off, reports say Raul is in the best shape in years!"
It suddenly occured to Mando he'd been had.
Ramos got himself together, as best possible, and somehow came into the fight in good condition.

At the opening bell, Rojas was out for blood. Ramos gave him a whipping.

Rodolfo Gonzalez vs. Ruben Navarro I

(Photo courtesy of Theo Ehret)

By Rick Farris

Rodolfo Gonzalez vs. Ruben Navarro-I
July 31,1972 - Anaheim Convention Center

"El Gato" vs. "The Maravilla Kid". This was an important bout between two top lightweight contenders.
WBA Champ Roberto Duran had been offered $75,000. to fight the winner in a title defense.

In a very close match, both fighters were cut, with Gonzalez keeping Navarro on the ropes much of the fight. In the end, Gonzalez was awarded a majority decision by the officials who scored the bout as follows: Chuck Hassett 4-4, John Thomas 5-4, Rudy Jordan, 4-3.

The title match with Duran never materialized for Gonzalez, who's stablemate Mando Ramos would lose the WBC title to Chango Carmona shortly afterwards. Ramos had been beaten badly and KOed by Carmona, who offered Gonzalez a shot at the WBC crown in his first title defense. Four months after edging Navarro, Rodolfo Gonzalez destroyed Carmona in twelve rounds to win the WBC crown. Like a true champion, Gonzalez agreed to defend his title against the deserving Navarro.

Eight months after the contest pictured above, El Gato and The Maravilla kid would meet again, only this time with a world title on the line. Ruben had won three straight after losing to Gonzalez, but at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on March 17, 1973, El Gato would dominate the Maravilla Kid.


Here is the Boxrec account of the Gonzalez-Navarro WBC Lightweight title bout:

Location: Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA
Referee: George Latka

"In the first two rounds Ruben peppered the jab but Gonzalez casually slipped the weapon with bob and weave tactics and then rocked Navarro back on his heels with jolting left hook counters. By the 3rd round Gonzalez was beginning to catch the challenger on the ropes with solid combinations, which immediately caused an ugly mouse to form beneath his right eye. Aggressive but never awkward, Gonzalez managed to connect constantly with punches ranging from hooks to right uppercuts, while Ruben could land nothing in return. At last conceding that the jab was not the proper strategy, Navarro, 133, decided to try and club his foe in close. That wasn't the answer either. Strong as an ox, Rodolfo, 135, out-muscled Navarro with few difficulties and seemed almost bored in the process. But, although his eye was closed and his lips were caked with blood, the scrappy Navarro refused to give up until Referee George Latka took matters into his own hands at 2:33 of the 9th round." -International Boxing, August 1973 issue

Post fight comments

"I worked my ass off for this fight, but I just couldn't do anything. I don't know what the hell went wrong. He didn't hurt me but he humiliated me. He's 1000 percent improved since he won the title and I don't see anyone beating him for a few years." -Ruben Navarro
"I felt I was on top all the way. Actually I was pacing myself for the full route, but as it turned out, I got to go home early." -Rodolfo Gonzalez
Attendance: 16,146 Gate: $192,755

Muhammad Ali Quotes

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

"A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life."

"If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize."

"It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself."

"Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you."

"My toughest fight was with my first wife."

"My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world."

"No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room."

"Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths."

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."

"There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people."

"To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich."

"We have one life; it soon will be past; what we do for God is all that will last."

"When you are as great as I am it is hard to be humble."

"When you can whip any man in the world, you never know peace."

"A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing."

"Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."

"Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong."

"I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own."

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion."

"I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free."

"I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want."

"I never thought of losing, but now that it' s happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life."

"I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world."

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."

"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was."

"I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest."

“Champions aren´t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision.”

“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.”

Happy Birthday Muhammad Ali

Painting by Roger Esty

Happy Birthday to Muhammad Ali the "Greatest"

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston II

By Randy De La O

What can I or anyone else say about Muhammad Ali that hasn’t already been said countless times in every language, in every country and medium imaginable. Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) was the 1962 gold medalist at Rome. Muhammad Ali, three time Heavyweight Champion of the world, defeating Sonny Liston, George Foreman and Leon Spinks to win the heavyweight titles. Muhammad Ali, a Muslim, a member of The Nation of Islam and a civil rights activist, who was thrust into the turbulent political battlefield of the 1960’s when he refused to be inducted into the U.S. military. Muhammad Ali, one half of the greatest rivalry in boxing’s rich history, the other half of course, being “Smoking” Joe Frazier. Their trilogy may be the greatest rivalry in sports, period.

I was just a kid but I knew who Muhammad Ali was early on, he was still Cassius Clay then. My father a former boxer in the U.S. Army was still a fan of the sport so I always picked up bits and pieces of the sport just by listening to him. I knew Ali was big when I saw a photo spoof of him and Sonny Liston on the back of a Mad Magazine. I mean, if you’re in Mad Magazine you have to be somebody, right? I thought so.

I don’t know if my father actually hated Ali but he sure as hell didn’t like him. Not too many did back then. Ali, the master of bombastic verbal assault, could infuriate anyone within earshot. My father was old school and Ali was definitely something new. Ali was not afraid to say what was on his mind, whether it was about himself, boxing or race in America.

In the ring Ali was something else. He was 6’ 4” and averaged around 220 pounds but he moved like a middleweight. His type of speed had never been seen before. If the truth be known, Ali never learned to box correctly, or as his long time trainer Angelo Dundee once said “Ali does everything wrong, he just does it better than anyone else”. The guy fought with his hands down, brought his feet together, pulled back from a hook and rarely slipped a punch, preferring to throw his head back to avoid them. Yet, he kept winning and he kept talking.

At the time, 1962, I really didn’t understand the significance of Ali’s fight with Archie Moore. I didn’t know who Moore was other than another boxer, nor did I know that Moore was an old man when Ali fought him. Looking back, it was not one of Ali’s finest moments, I think he realizes that now. I know he has expressed some deep regret over much of his behavior during his career. He predicted he would stop “Moore in four” and he did.

Ali had a much stiffer test the following year in a tough fight with Henry Cooper, when Coop knocked him down in the fourth round before he was stopped on cuts in the next round. They would fight again a few yews later, this time Ali would stop him in the sixth round, again on cuts.

I don’t think anyone gave Ali a chance against Sonny Liston. Despite his gold medal and a string of victories leading up to his challenge, no one took him serious. This fight would change everything. The fight was stopped in the seventh round when Liston remained on his stool. Ali displayed skills and a maturity in the ring that no one, especially Sonny Liston, expected. Ali stopped Liston in the first round of their rematch.

Ali ran up a string of victories over Floyd Patterson, the always tough Canadian, George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Karl Mildenberger, and “The Big cat” Cleveland Williams before fighting Ernie Terrell in February of 1967, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Again Ali showed his penchant for cruelty to an opponent when he punished Terrell over 15 rounds, for refusing to recognize him as Muhammad Ali. For some reason, Terrell refused to recognize him as Ali, instead he referred to him as Cassius Clay. I listened to the fight that night on the radio with my father.

In 1967, Ali refused induction into the U.S. Armed Forces and was subsequently arrested, tried and found guilty of draft evasion. He was stripped of his title and his boxing license was revoked. Ali did not fight again until 1970 when he defeated “Irish” Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena, setting up “The Fight of the Century” with Smoking Joe Frazier, who had become heavyweight champion by beating everyone that mattered in the heavyweight division. Frazier was no mere token champion waiting for Ali to return. He was the real deal, a legitimate champion and he was eager to prove it to Ali, the world and to anyone who doubted him.

Frazier got his chance on March 8, 1971 when he won a hard fought decision against Muhammad Ali at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It was the pinnacle of Joe Frazier’s career, his finest moment. The fight is one of the greatest in the heavyweight division and one of my personal favorites.

Ali was far from through though, he would fight Ken Norton twice, splitting a pair of split decisions, the first a loss, in which Ali suffered a broken jaw, the second ended in a controversial win for Ali. He had one more tune-up fight with Rudi Lubbers, winning a 12 round decision, before fighting Joe Frazier for the second time.

Ali vs. Frazier II seemed to lack the excitement of the first fight, neither fighter was undefeated now, and no title was on the line, with Frazier having lost his title to George Foreman and much of his invincibility with it. Still, whenever the two met there was magic in the air, even if it was just in anticipation. Ali got the nod and a shot at George Foreman’s title. The fight which was to take place in Kinshasha, Zaire in Africa was billed as “The Rumble in the Jungle” As with his first fight with Sonny Liston, no one gave Ali a chance. Who could blame them? George Foreman was knocking everyone out and had won the Heavyweight title in a devastating fashion by knocking Frazier down six times before the referee stopped the fight.

Ali won the title from George Foreman by knocking him out in the eighth round, using his now famed rope a dope tactic to wear down the hard punching Foreman. Foreman never left room for a plan B, in the event he did not knock out Ali early and it cost him his title. Ali again shocked the world. Foreman would shock the world himself when he won the championship from Michael Moorer on November 5, 1994, twenty one years after losing his title to Ali. The heavyweights of that era were exceptional!

Ali KO’ed Jean Pierre Coopman in five and remained undefeated in his next five fights, posting victories over the likes of Jimmy Young (a controversial win), Richard Dunn, a third win over Ken Norton, Alfredo Evangelista and Ernie Shavers before facing the lightly regarded Leon Spinks in defense of his title on February 15, 1978.

This one caught everyone off guard. Spinks, a member of the 1976 Olympic team and a gold medal winner had only seven fights prior to his challenging Ali, none of them against quality opponents, yet, due to circumstances and Ali’s declining physical condition, Spinks won this fight. Ali would regain the title the following September winning a 15 round decision. Ali never won another fight. His next two fights were losses against Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick, two fights that never should have happened.

The night that Ali lost to Spinks, on February 15, 1978, my wife Jeri and I were busy moving into our house in Whittier, my friends, Ken Robledo, Mike Teran and Sergio Billings came by after the fight to help. When they told me that Ali had lost to Spinks, I was in complete disbelief. We all were. With the exception of the period when Ali was stripped of his title and came back to defeat George Foreman to regain the heavyweight title, Ali had been the heavyweight Champion for most of my childhood, my teen years and all my adult years up to that time. It seemed that Ali would be champion forever. It was tough finding out that he was human, just like the rest of us. Well, maybe not exactly like the rest of us, Ali was an extraordinary human being but he was human nonetheless. I still miss those days.

In 1991 I met Ali. He signed his book Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times and we had a chance to speak with him. He was decent to my family, hugging my wife and kids and planting a (soft) right hand on my chin. I consider it an extraordinary day in my life and my family has never forgotten it.

There was a time when Muhammad Ali roared like a lion, a king of his domain. Muhammad Ali is quiet now. Silenced by Parkinson’s disease. He talked a lot of smack and he backed up everything he ever said. He ducked no one in his career. Love him or hate him, Ali was unlike any heavyweight champion before him.

Classic Photo: Rick Farris vs Gabe Gutierrez

Rick Farris (Flores Gym) vs. Gabe Gutierrez (Teamsters Gym)

1970 Diamond Belt Championship - 118 lbs.

Olympic Auditorium

Randy: Classic Photo! This is what "Classic American West Coast Boxing" is all about. Rick, I know you landed that right hand. Looks like a beautiful shot!

I see you fought Gutierrez three times as a pro. The first was a loss, not content with that you fought to a draw in the second and in the third fight you got the win. That's determination. I admire that. That's a fighter.

Rick: Thank you, Randy. I actually fought Gabe Gutierrez six times in an 18-month period.
I fought him three times as a 17-year-old amateur (the photo is from our last bout, he was 23-years-old).
He won the first amateur bout at the Olympic, we drew the second time, and I won the last (the bout pictured) for a Diamond Belt title.
We both turn pro a few months later, and again, he wins the first, the second a draw, and I end our series with a win.

The last time we fought I had just turned 19, and had nine pro fights. My body was maturing and I was gaining strength that I had lacked earlier.
I was now too strong for Gutierrez, and I beat him up pretty bad. I wanted to make sure he'd never want to fight me again.
I was tired of seeing him in front of me, I wanted to put and end to it. I also wanted to whip Louie Jauregui's fighter.

George "ScrapIron" Johnson

Printed here with the expressed consent of the author

By Jim Amato

He only won 21 of 51 professional contests in a career that spanned seventeen years. He still became one of the most recognizable heavyweight " journeymen " of his era. His record although dotted with losses looks like a who's who of the heavyweight division during the 1960's and 70's. He battled three world champions and seven men who fought for the heavyweight title and one who fought the great Bob Foster for the light heavyweight title. He also faced ten others who at one point or another was considered a legitimate contender.

George " Scrap Iron " Johnson was only 5' 9" tall so he was usually at a disadvantage against the big heavyweights. Still he took on all comers. He began his career in 1958 and had his last fight in 1975 when he was stopped in five rounds by the then up and coming Duane Bobick.

In only his sixth pro fight he met future contender Tod Herring and was stopped in six.In 1964 he suffered losses to Andy Kendall and Thad Spencer. In 1965 he lost to Amos " Big Train " Lincoln, Henry Clark and Elmer Rush. He also fought to a draw with Mexican heavyweight Manuel Ramos.

In 1966 he was stopped in two by a young Jerry Quarry. He also went the distance in a losing effort against the talented Eddie Machen. In 1967 he took the streaking Joe Frazier the full ten rounds. Johnson then went on a six bout win streak.

George met the returning Sonny Liston and was stopped in seven. He then traveled ten in a rematch with Quarry. Future champion George Foreman halted him but he then went the full route with Joe Bugner. In 1971 he went out in two rounds against Jurgen Blin. In 1972 big, bad Ron Lyle took his measure in three.

George put four wins together but the he lost consecutive decisions to Boone Kirkman, Johnny Boudreaux, Quarry and Leroy Jones. In 1975 he drew with the rugged Scott LeDoux. Then came the loss to Bobick and the end of his career.

Scrap Iron was a tough, tough guy. The kind of fighter you had to beat if you hoped to raise your game to the serious contender level.

Happy Birthday Joe Frazier!

Happy Birthday to boxing great Smoking Joe Frazier.

Joe Frazier's complete record here

Smoking Joe Frazier

This is for Smoking Joe Frazier.

By Randy De La O

Joe, I became a fan of yours on May 4, 1967 when you beat ScrapIron Johnson in 10 at the old Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. This was the first time I saw you fight. ScrapIron was a tough guy. You impressed the hell out of this seventh grader. You impressed my father too and he was not so easily impressed. I knew you were something special. You proved me right when in your very next fight you KO’ed one of the toughest man to ever lace up a pair of gloves, George Chuvalo, no easy feat but you did it in four.

Over the next few years you ran up a string of victories against guys like Buster Mathis, Mexico’s Manuel Ramos and a second win against the Argentinian Bull, Oscar Bonavena. You beat one of my favorite fighters, not once but twice when you stopped West Coast favorite “Irish” Jerry Quarry in both fights. I admired the way you stayed out of the heavyweight tournament, content with the New York state version of the heavyweight title, knowing all along that your day was coming. You never doubted yourself.

Your time arrived when you faced the elimination Champ Jimmy Ellis at the Madison Square Garden on February 16, 1970, stopping him in the fifth at the Madison Square Garden. Now you were the undisputed champ. You earned that title the hard way. No one can say Joe Frazier was born with a silver spoon in his mouth!

Your next fight, a fifth round KO of the great Light heavyweight Champion, Bob Foster, sealed the deal and “The Fight of the Century” was set. I believe to this date it was the most anticipated fight of all time. I couldn’t wait.

I was still in high school when that fight took place. I have to be honest, I was as much a fan of Muhammad Ali as I was of Smoking Joe Frazier but I did know one thing. Smoking Joe was going to win this fight. I bet my weeks lunch money on you, five bucks. I knew that the man I saw beat ScrapIron did not know how to lose. Granted, Scrap Iron was no Ali but I knew that you had the right stuff inside you to find a way to win. You didn’t disappoint. You were great that night Joe, about as great as any heavyweight champ in history. I can’t imagine how you felt that night. Both of you made history that night, two legitimate undefeated heavyweight champions with a rightful claim to the title facing each other. You came through that night Joe. You had a heart the size of the moon and it didn’t let you down.. You were King of the world that night Joe! That bum I bet the five dollars with never did pay me but it didn’t matter, you gave me bragging rights too.

You never left anything in the ring Joe, your heart and your style didn’t permit it. You fought like a man Joe, no one can ever question that. Sometimes though, as they say, styles make fights and George Foreman had the right style, that’s life. We can’t always choose when we are going to lose but we can choose how we lose. That Smoking Joe heart kept you from staying on the canvas. When I look at the tapes of that fight I am always moved by your courage, and your big heart.. There was no quit in Joe Frazier. You faced him again a few years later. Not many would have faced Big George a second time.

You would meet Ali three times in total but it was the third fight, the “Thrilla in Manilla” that would once again cause the world to stand still and hold it’s breath while you and Ali would meet at the Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines, again making history in what many consider the greatest heavyweight fight in history.

You had a career to be proud of Joe and you gave fight fans like me a thrill that has lasted a lifetime. You always carried yourself with pride and distinction and made your family proud. I remember that era, possibly the greatest in heavyweight history and I remember Joe Frazier. You stood head and shoulders above the rest. You were one the fighters that inspired me to become a boxer.

Thanks for the memories Joe.


Note: Joe Frazier will be at the Pechanga Resort and Casino, February 12, 2010, to meet and greet fight fans and sign autographs, Scheduled to fight the main event that night are Lightweights Tyrone Harris and Korean Ji-Hoon Kim. The fight will be shown on ESPN Friday Night Fights. For more on that fight and that night go here.

Collateral Damage . . . By Rick Farris

Rick Farris (L) vs. Jose Mendoza

The Forum, 1972

Referee- Dick Young

Collateral Damage....

By Rick Farris

It was a tough fight.
We both got busted up pretty good in an eight-rounder.
I finished with a broken nose, left eye swollen shut, cut over right eye. I urinated blood most of the night.
And those little bumps you never hear about all over your head from butts, elbows, etc.
My pale English/Irish skin had glove and rope burns here and there.

That was the most damage I suffered in a bout, and I won a unanimous decision.
Mel Epstein was in the corner that night, along with Johnny Villaflor. Johnny took care of the cut, Epstein was blind.
In the drssing room afterwards, my father unlaced my shoes as I rested on a table.
The doctor had left the building to accompany a boxer to the hospital that had been KOed in the main event.
I was "out on my feet" in the shower. Thought I'd just stepped in before Mel told me I'd been in for 15 minutes. Get out of there!

Mel was left to close the cut. Dr. Jack Useem had left the building. As I mentioned, Mel was legally blind.
Thank God the old bastid didn't own a needle & thread.
He bitched and moaned while attempting to create a "butterfly" using tape and gauze.
Mel's hands shook like a Parkinson's patient. He was angry the doctor had left. I assure you I certainly wasn't pleased.

As Mel bitched thru the procedure. He condemned me for my "Saturday Night Special" (Mel's reference to my being over-sexed.)
Mel had no idea that less than 48 hours before the match, I was carried out of a bar over the shoulder of my buddy, a former USC running back.
I was so drunk, and so badly affected, that what should have been an easy win turned into a nightmare. I took a lot of unneccesary punishment.

I was twenty years old that night. Had been fighting pro for more than two years.
Mel told me before we entered the ring that night . . . "You ain't right. I can see in your eyes, you ain't right!"

Mel was right.


-Rick Farris