Archive for July, 2009

JACK “The Giant” O’HALLORAN ;

Friday, July 31st, 2009

As Muhammad Ali ruled the heavyweight division in the mid 60’s, white hope contenders came and went. Henry Cooper, George Chuvalo and Karl Mildenberger all were vanquishedby the “Greatest”. When Ali was forced to relinquish his crown in 1967, the best of the white contenders was probably Jerry Quarry. By 1969 a [...]

THE PUERTO RICAN PARALLEL

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

In 1966 two heavyweights of Puerto Rican heritage turned professional. Each would have an impact on the talent rich heavyweight division of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Their careers would mirror each others and they even took the time to cross gloves on a couple of occasions.
Pedro Agosto and Jose “King” Roman met [...]

DREAM FIGHT ; Salvador Sanchez -vs- Alexis Arguello

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

DREAM FIGHT ; Salvador Sanchez -vs- Alexis Arguello
It is a shame that Salvador Sanchez never had a chance to reach his full potential. His tragic car accident cut short any already outstanding career. He dominated the featherweight division after his title winning knockout of the respected Danny Lopez. Nine defenses followed including wins over Juan [...]

WHY DURAN WOULD HAVE GOT PAST PACMAN

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

With all due credit, Manny Pacquiao is on top of today’s boxing world. He is the “Man”. His destruction of Oscar De La Hoya drove the “Golden Boy” into retirement and put Manny as the #1 fighter pound for pound in the world today. His hammer job on the formidable Ricky Hatton put an exclamation [...]

RUBEN CASTILLO ; He Should Have Been A Champion

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

In the 1970’s and 80’s, there were basically two title belts to be won. The WBA or the WBC versions. The IBF and WBO would come later. Ruben Castillo who was born in 1957 in Lubbock, Texas. He would not benefit from the four organization system we have today. That is a shame ! Ruben [...]

GOODBYE TO GATTI THE GREAT

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

NOTE ;
I wrote this article a while back. In light of his tragic death…All I can say is boxing lost a great warrior. Rest in peace Arturo.
Arturo is probably my favorite boxer active today. What tremendous fights he has given boxing fans. The trilogy with Mickey Ward and his wars with Wilson Rodriguez and [...]

Youngstown Pride: Ken Sigurani

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

It was not that long ago that a young Ohio boxer was making a name for
himself in the welterweight division. His name was Ken Sigurani and he
hailed from hard core boxing mecca of Youngstown, Ohio. Nicknamed “The
Cobra,” he was a slick boxer who knew his way around a boxing [...]

What If ; Joe Frazier- Ron Lyle ?

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

What happens when the unstoppable force meets the unmoveable object ? Let me re-phrase that. What would have happened if Joe Frazier and Ron Lyle would have hooked up in the mid 1970’s ?
It is too bad that this fight was never made. It was discussed on occasions [...]

Boxing’s “Big Mac” ; Mac Arthur Foster

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Long before Mark McGwire was launching tape measure home runs in Oakland and acquiring the nickname “Big Mac”, West Coast sports fans used to cheer the feats of another “Big Mac”. MacArthur Foster a heavyweight boxer from Fresno, California won his first 24 professional bouts all by knockout. Six came in the first round, four [...]

ALEXIS ARGUELLO ; “Talk Softly But Carry A Big Stick”

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Note;
I wrote this article several years ago. Alexis was one of my all time favorites. I’m shocked and deeply sad at the news of his passing. He was a true gentleman and a credit to the sport. May he rest in peace.
ARGUELLO ;
One of the best pure punchers of my generation was Alexis Arguello. [...]