Sage Stallone, Son of Sylvester Stallone Has Died.

Our condolences to the entire Stallone family. Sage Stallone, the son of Sylvester Stallone was found dead yesterday. He was 36. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. R.I.P. Sage Stallone.

Sage Stallone

Father and Son: Sylvester Stallone and Sage Stallone

Sage Stallone, Sylvester Stallone and Jimmy Gambina during the filming of Rocky V. The scene is mock up of the  Main Street Gym used during the filming of Rocky in 1976.

Happy Birthday to the Legendary Julio Cesar Chavez

El Gran Campeon: Julio Cesar Chavez

By Randy De La O

Today is Julio Cesar Chavez' 50th birthday. I hope he had a great day. Legendary fighters deserve to rest on their laurels. Chavez is one guy that really deserves to be called a legend.

Man, when Chavez was fighting and winning during the mid to late 80's and early 90's, he was really something. My entire family were fans of Chavez. It didn't matter who he was fighting, when Chavez was on, the food was plenty and the beer was flowing and the house was packed. Those were great days.

My favorite Chavez fight and the fight that really made a believer out of me was Chavez vs Edwin Rosario. Rosario was somewhat of a monster himself but the constant round by round pressure was just to much for him. Chavez had a granite chin and that had to take the heart away from an opponent, any opponent. The fight was stopped in the 11th round.

You can argue from now to “Kingdom Come” on whether referee Richard Steel did the right thing, in Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor 1,  when he stopped the fight with seconds to go, that will always be one of those (legitimate) arguments that will never satisfy everyone. (for the record, I'm satisfied) but the one thing that is not up for debate is Chavez' greatness while in his prime. Despite Taylor's hand speed, and falling behind on the scorecards, Chavez, fighting back frustration, and unwilling to concede defeat, stuck to his game plan. No stone was left unturned in his arsenal. Chavez was losing on points but if you were paying attention it was plain to see he was winning the fight. In the last round, Taylor had nothing left and Chavez knocked him down and ….... well you know the rest.

When it was announced that Chavez was going to fight Pernell Whittaker, I really thought it was going to be an easy fight for Chavez. It wasn't. Whitaker came prepared and Chavez didn't look quite as prepared. Whitaker gave Chavez fits that night. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was only recently that I was able to admit that (choking) Chavez lost the fight. Officially it was a draw but truth be told, it was Whitaker's fight.

Chavez would lose to an up and coming Oscar De La Hoya in 1996 and again a few years later. In 2000 he was stopped by Kostya Tszyu but by that time Chavez was a shell of himself.

Chavez, like a lot of great fighters are never quite convinced that they are no longer the fighters they once were. We've seen it before with guys like Roberto Duran and Muhammad Ali, and we're seeing it now with Evander Holyfield. It's hard for them, and us, to accept them growing old.

When I judge a fighter's true greatness, I look the peak years, the real fighting years. At his peak, Chavez was as good as it gets. He deserves to be ranked with the all time greats.

Happy Birthday Champ!

Recap: Victor Ortiz vs. Josesito Lopez & Humberto Soto vs. Lucas Matthysse - SHOWTIME Boxing

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is starting to look impressive... a little.

By Scott G

After watching the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs Andy Lee title fight that occurred in El Paso last night, I was actually impressed with Chavez Jr for really the first time in his much heralded career of facing hand picked tomato can opponents. Although Lee was a fighter who once again seemed to be right in Chavez' wheel house for his strengths, Slow, stands right in front of you, not huge power etc.. And despite the fact that the ring was probably the smallest ring I've seen since I bought the WWF play set for my sons for Christmas 20 years ago, he did very well against an Emanuel Stewart trained fighter. Lee isn’t the caliber of a Sergio Martinez, but, Chavez did impose his will on Lee and ultimately knocked him out with a perfectly timed right during a barrage of punches. Chavez also showed a good chin which he will undoubtedly need as he steps up his competition since his defense is woefully lacking. I Think a bit more time with Freddy Roach will help him a lot and pay dividends down the road.

Rocky's Ring: Burke an El Paso Hall of Famer

By Jason Groves jgroves@lcsun-news.com
Posted:   06/11/2012 06:17:57 PM MDT
Courtesy of Las Cruces Sun-News
Original Article: Here


LAS CRUCES - A good boxing official goes unnoticed during the course of a fight.
Throughout the course of a career is a different matter.
Rocky Burke has made his living in the ring, earning induction into the El Paso Boxing-Martial Arts Hall of Fame on Saturday.

"I'm really proud of my brother," said trainer Louie Burke, Rocky's brother and also inducted on Saturday. "I think he is one of the best referees in the world. Being from Las Cruces, it's hard to break into the big megafights. The thing about a good referee is that you don't see them. You get a lot of these referees that think they are part of the show."

Rocky Burke has been officiating fights for roughly 20 years, finally finding a way to stay connected to the sport that defines the Burke family.

Burke got off to a 7-0 start as a professional before life got in the way. He worked for his father, Sammy Burke, for Burke Outdoor Adverting and was also working for Newman Outdoor Advertising.

"I had three stressful fulltime jobs and it was too much, more than ever before," he said.

Burke stepped out of the ring as a fighter in 1981, just as Louie Burke's career was on the rise.

Burke helped train and manage his younger brother's career as well as other fighters from the area.

"Rocky knows the fight game as good an anyone out there," said Lorenzo Saiz, a fellow referee from Las Cruces who has been in the ring for 20 years. "No. 1, he was a fighter. He was also my manager when I was fighting professional and now he's an official. Everything to do with the business, he has done it."

Rocky Burke continued in boxing as a judge before finally returning to the ring as an official, where he has traveled the world and refereed several world title fights.

"I have been fortunate to travel to different countries, a lot of fights in Mexico because I speak Spanish," Rocky Burke said. "As a boxer, I know what fighters go through. I can look in their eyes and see if they are hurt or if they have something left."

Among the memorable fights Burke has officiated was Johnny Tapia's fight against Javier Torres in 2000 at the Pan American Center on Showtime.

Gaining entry into the El Paso Boxing Hall of Fame was significant for the Burke family. Rocky Burke's officiating career continues on Saturday as he will officiated an undercard bout on the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.,/Andy Lee card at the Sun Bowl.

"It's special that our neighbors to the south have given us some recognition because I don't think the northern part of the state likes to recognize us in any sport," Rocky Burke said.

Sammy Burke, Louie Burke and Rocky Burke were each inducted on Saturday, marking a special day for a family that continues to contribute to boxing in the area.

"I started coaching kids before I even turned professional," said Louie Burke, who was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame last summer. "My dad felt for me to improve as a boxer, it was important for me to learn how to coach. My dad (Sammy Burke) had a lot of stories on the old timers who were inducted into the Hall of Fame who I was there with Saturday. They were guys who I tried to emulate and copy and a lot of them voted for me to be in the Hall of Fame."

Jason Groves can be reached at (575) 541-5459. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.

Manny Pacquiao vs Tim Bradley...... Another Controversy!

Photo Courtesy of John Bardelli

By Randy De La O

The Associated Press

I thought Tim Bradley was going to win the fight last night. My reasons were sound and I wasn't picking one fighter over the other for personal reasons, or likes or dislikes. It didn't quite happen the way I thought it would. Officially Bradley won the fight but they gave the fight to the wrong guy. Pacquiao should have won that fight. At best, he lost one round. Bradley was never seriously hurt but he was out worked by Pacquiao. We've seen it before. it's not the first time this has happened but it is one of the most blatant. Still, it was hard for Manny to complain too much since he has been the recipient of at least three gift decisions (in my opinion).

It's not enough to say "Well, that's boxing". That's not boxing! There needs to be a complete overhaul of the judging system and the judges. Someone should be tarred and feathered or worse.

Bradley's win probably does more harm than good for him on a personal level. Had he lost the fight we would have been focusing on his big heart and willingness to keep fighting despite having hurt his ankles (or feet) early in the fight. Instead his reputation took a hit.

Still, both fighters showed a lot of class last night. Though he did express himself, Manny never whined about what has to be one of the worst decisions in recent boxing history and we should applaud Bradley's integrity in not feeling satisfied with the win. He offered, with out being asked, a rematch for Pacquiao. and that says a lot about his character. Bradley has proven himself to be a true ring warrior.

But let's keep things in perspective. it was not a great fight. It was a good fight and nothing more. Still, the fight belonged to Pacquiao and I hate to see this type of ending to a fight..

Boxing is still the greatest sport of all. It will survive this bad decision and somewhere out there is a fighter training away ready to become the next Pacquiao, De La Hoya, Duran, Hagler, Chavez, Leonard or Ali. That's boxing!

A Few More Photos

A few more photos from last week at the Torrance Marriott in Torrance, California. It was the hub for the media and boxing community, as well as the participants in "Four Warned" the multi main event at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Louie Burke, me (Randy De La O), Jeri De La O, Randy "Moose" Gomez

Bob Spagnola, Louie Burke, Jeri De La O, Randy "Moose" Gomez,
a friend of the Trout family and Austin Trout's mother.

Al Bernstein, Me, Steve Farhood, and  friend.

1976 U.S. Silver Medalist Charles Mooney, Louie Burke,
1976 Gold Medalists Howard Davis and me.