Thursday, May 17, 2012
Louie Burke: Austin "NO Doubt" Trout update
By Louie Burke
Austin “No Doubt” Trout, just two weeks from defending his title against mandatory challenger Delvin Rodriguez, is putting in his most intense training during this period of camp. Sparring with Austin is veteran J.C. Candelo, who fought “Winky” Wright for the IBF junior-middle weight world championship and who also held the NABF and WBC/USA titles. Joining the wrecking crew is 16-0 Abie Han, who’s getting ready himself for a big fight, on the undercard of Chavez/Lee at the Sunbowl. Rounding off the crew is amateur standout’s Siju Shabazz, Tim Meek and Zach Prieto.
Austin is expecting a tough fight against Rodriguez, who is 26-5-1 with 14 ko’s, and who fought the fight of the year against Pawel Wolak last year. Rodriguez, a good fundamentalist and a student of boxing, is mechanically sound, quick and carries a good wallop in both hands. Rodriguez has been showcased many times on TV and 3 or 4 of his losses have been somewhat controversial.
This is the type of competition that makes great fights and great champions. At this point of the game, Austin is more than ready for the cream of the crop, he wants to be able to prove just how good he is, and the only way to do that is to get through Delvin Rodriguez. This is not going to be no walk in the park, that’s not what he wants. He wants a fight that will be ingrained in the memories of the fans that watched it.
Camp “No Doubt” has been an excellent camp, with excellent sparring. Austin is right on schedule, and he’s looking and feeling good. He expects a tough fight and has been training for such a fight. That is one of the reasons we’ve incorporated strength and conditioning coach Shukree Shabazz, who jumped on board with Team “No Doubt” before the Lopez fight. Also, working in Austin’s corner will be Assistant coach Moose Gomez and cut man Bobby Benton. The rest of the cast that has played a huge part of this fight is Austin’s manager Bob “Spag” Spagnola, promoter, Greg Cohen and advisor, Al Haymon.
This camp, has been a great camp and chemistry within has been awesome. Austin and everyone involved has worked very hard in preparing for this fight. All I can say now is please watch June 2nd on Showtime and Austin will make New Mexico and the Borderland proud once again.
Austin’s fight is dedicated to good friend LaVar Washington, who passed away this week, RIP.
Thank you for all the continued support.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Classic Photo: Frankie Baltazar vs Bazooka Limon
"Frankie Baltazar v Bazooka Limon....Limon by 4th round tko...
...I'm holding Frankie against the ropes''
....For as long as I remain on this planet that moment will be etched in my mind" Frank Baltazar Sr.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Andrew De La O: The Last Milestone
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| Andrew Salazar De La O 1923-1981 |
The Last Milestone.....
Today marks the 31st anniversary of my father's death on May 7, 1981. A lifetime ago, and yet in some ways it is like yesterday for our family. There are events and dates by which we mark time in this world. My father's death is one of those marks. My father was 57 when he died from prostate cancer. I am 57, and as of September of last year I have lived on this Earth longer than my father. My father died the day before my 27th birthday. Tomorrow, I'll be 58, an age my father never reached. I will officially be older than my father. It is a day that I have thought about for so many years. Still trying to wrap my head around that concept.
This photo of my father was taken a couple of years before his death. We were in the backyard of my parents home. I remember that day well. I was no longer boxing but as was my father's way, he continued to instruct my brother and I on the value of the jab and his belief that every other punch worked off the jab. He wasn't wrong.
Http://andrewsalazardelao.blogspot.com
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Mayweather vs Cotto and Alvarez vs Mosley
By Randy De La O
There were no real surprises during Saturday night's fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Sugar Shane Mosley. Not that I wasn't hoping for Mosley to pull the rabbit out of the hat one more time, as he did in his fight with Antonio Margarito back in 2009. Alvarez, was just too young and too strong. Mosley, ever the warrior had nothing left in the tank but heart and courage and he never stopped trying.
Despite winning the fight hands down over Mosley, Canelo seemed almost passive at times. There were times in the fight where it seemed if he would have opened up with a long sustained barrage of punches he might have dropped or stopped Mosley. Maybe it was just hard to reconcile fighting one of his boyhood idols. Just Speculating on that.
Far be it for me to presume to tell any man when to retire, that's a private decision between him and his family, still as a fan of the sport of boxing and as a long time fan of Mosley, I can't help but hope that he fought his last fight Saturday. At times it was painful to watch, as it always is when a fighter reaches the end.
In his last four fights, Mosley has lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquiao and now Saul Alvarez. He also earned a lackluster draw with Sergio Mora at the staples Center in Los Angeles. There is nowhere else to go and nothing left to prove. Personally, I believe the Mosley of , say, 1999, could have won any of those fights but that Sugar Shane Mosley no longer exists. There is no shame in growing older. It's out of our control. The shame comes later when a fighter cannot or will not come to terms with his age or the loss of his skills and reflexes, and suffers needless damage. Here' hoping that the great and much loved Sugar Shane Mosley, escapes that trap.
Alvarez on the other hand is still an ongoing work in process. Despite his unanimous win over Mosley, Canelo, strong and confident, still needs a lot of work and experience before he faces the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao.
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| US boxer Floyd Mayweather (R) fights against Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto during their super welterweight title bout in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 5, 2012. Mayweather won the World Boxing Association super welterweight title with a unanimous points decision over Miguel Cotto on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWNFREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GettyImages |
So did Mayweather change his style for this fight because at 34 he is finally slowing down? Or because, as he says, he wanted to give the fans their money's worth? So did Cotto really up his game for Mayweather? Hard to tell right now.
So we are still left with the question “What about Mayweather vs Pacquiao?” No one has the answer.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Another True Roberto Duran Story
From my friend Ray Maynez
Roberto Duran
"I beat the great Roberto Duran"
By Ray Maynez
Shortly after the Famous "No Mas" fight between Roberto Duran, & "Sugar" Ray Leonard, I was watching television late at night when the sportscaster came on. After giving all the scores of the various sports of that day. He mentioned that Roberto Duran, was in town, and that he would be working out at the Broadway Gym, in L.A. the next day at 1:00 pm.
I had a 8X10 glossy picture of Duran, that I had for quite some time. I called up my friend Eddie B. I asked him if he wanted to go with me to see Roberto Duran, workout? Maybe I could get him to sign my picture. He said sure. The next day I showed up at the gym. There seemed to be only a few people there. One person I recognized was Richard Steele, the referee. I walk over to a gentleman I recognized as being in Duran's corner occasionally. I asked him "is Roberto Duran, supposed to be here today? because I have this picture I would like to have him sign for me. He stated "Yes" but he's in a very bad mood! so you better ask him before he gets into the ring. Just as he said that Duran, walks right behind him and jumped into the ring, and proceeded to shadow box. I said to my friend 'Shit".LOL.
As he worked out I stood right up to the ring, holding the picture, so he could plainly see what i wanted. After shadow boxing for about 20, minutes, he asked his trainer for a towel. He looked at me and gestured to me to come over. I handed him the picture, and told him my name was Ray! He smiled. I wonder why. "Ray??. After about 5 minutes he hands it back to me. I thought "Wow" he must of wrote something long. It said Roberto Duran. I thanked him. Then he walked over to a table that had a checkers board game on it. Again he motioned to me to sit down. At this point everyone in the gym came over to watch us play checkers. I was so much in awe! I really couldn't concentrate. He won a few games, & I won a few games. I will never forget the day I beat the great Roberto Duran at Checkers. The Picture, here on this post is the one he signed.
Rick Farris on Sparring With a Legend
Roberto Duran and the Horseshoe
By Rick Farris
Navarro and I were stablemates and would often spar together. However, for this match Ruben had a group of sparring partners whose styles were more like Gonzales than mine. Two years previous, Ruben came close to upsetting then lightweight champ Ken Buchanan but lost a close decision. This would be another opportunity to win a version of the world title and he was taking no chances.
One day I arrived at the Main Street Gym shortly after Duran and Navarro had completed their workouts. I talked to Ruben in the dressing room as I laced up my boxing shoes. That day, Navarro had sparred with Duran and he seemed a little different than usual.
"This guy hits harder than anybody", Navarro said. "He hit me high on the forehead with a spent jab and it shook me all the way down my back to my toes". I had known Ruben for quite a few years and never heard him express respect for another fighter as he was Duran. It was almost as if he was intimidated, not in a cowardly sense, but in a way that caught me off guard. Navarro had fought and beaten some of the best lightweights and Jr. lightweights in the world during his career, so I had to believe what he was saying.
A few days later, I was in the gym at the same time as Duran and it was fascinating watching him train. He skipped rope like nobody I'd ever seen, including the great Sugar Ray Robinson. Duran could do things with a jump rope that made for quite a show. However, the most entertaining of all (aside from his sparring) was watching Roberto hit the speed bag with his head. I don't mean just banging it back and forth, Duran could make the bag dance with his head as well as most boxers do with their hands.
However, watching Duran spar was the real show. In fact, Duran didn't just spar, he fought all out regardless of who he was in the ring with and it was common for a sparring partner to hit the canvas and be out cold. When
Roberto would launch a body attack he'd fire vicious shots that would land with a thud. He'd let out a "yelp" as the punch was delivered. The high pitched noise coming from Duran's mouth would punctuate each blow and had an eerie effect. I was impressed, to say the least, and privately thought to myself, "Glad I'm a featherweight and won't have to fight this guy".
Little did I know that my manager had been talking with Duran's trainer, Freddie Brown, and had agreed to let me spar with Duran. It wasn't something I had a great desire to do, but a fighter doesn't show his feelings so when I got the news I just acted like it was no big deal. I was told that the only reason I'd be working with the larger Duran was for speed. I had fast hands and would provide quickness for Duran. Brown had assured my manager, Johnny Flores, that Duran would work lightly and not cut down on me.
Somebody must have forgot to tell Roberto the plan and about midway thru the opening round I found myself sitting on the canvas. I got up quickly and was OK but it occurred to me that I might be fighting for life. When the sparring resumed I understood what Navarro had meant when describing Duran's power. It was awesome, and even punches that most would consider average shots had something I'd never felt before. It was like being hit with baseball bat. Duran had 16 ounce training gloves on that looked to be padded, but it didn't feel like they were. This was before Roberto had been tagged "Manos de Piedra" or "Hands of Stone" in English. I can personally verify that this is more than just a nick name, it's a fact!
Duran is a guy who considers the ring his personal domain and anybody who stepped in with him was treated as if they were caught breaking into his home. The ring was Duran's office and he'd establish this immediately with anybody who entered, including me.
After the three rounds of torture with Duran, I punched the heavy bag. The champ finished sparring with two other boxers, a lightweight and a welterweight who was beaten so badly he left the ring trembling. After Duran stepped out of the ring Freddie Brown untied the champs gloves and pulled them off. I was resting between rounds on the heavy bag and moved closer to Duran to get a look at his hands. There had to be something harder than a fist inside the gloves and I wanted to see what it was.
Brown glanced over at me and said something to Duran in Spanish and the two began to laugh. I asked Brown "What did you say to him"? Brown just looked at me with a smile and answered, "I told him you were looking for the horseshoe".
I had to laugh, but honestly, that's exactly what I was doing. However, The only thing I found in Duran's gloves were his fists. Or as they would later be known, "Hands of Stone".
About a week later, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, my friend and stablemate Ruben Navarro was stopped by Rudolfo Gonzalez in his last attempt to win a world title. In the fight before the title match, the real lightweight king Roberto Duran battered Javiar Ayala savagely and won a unanimous ten round decision.
With the feel of those rock hard fists still fresh in my mind, I knew that Javiar Ayala discovered the same thing that Navarro and I had just days before. The horseshoe had nothing on "Hands of Stone"
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