B BTW op, your article prompted me to do a search. A former poster on this site conducted an interview with Pimentel. I'm not sure how to link. But it's worth reading.
Yes, Harry Kabakoff was one colorful character. I remember when Harry was being interviewed by Jim Healy on a weekly fight show telecast at the Olympic Auditorium. On the folksy telecast, Harry said that a fighter of his, Oscar Albarado, was looking for a job. In an obvious joking manner, Harry implied that he would be getting 1/3 of Oscar's earnings from such a job. Healy, quite a character himself, replied, "Get out of here, Harry!"
I remember those interviews, Chuck. I remember once Healy doing an ad-hoc interview with Connie Stevens - who by the way was a very knowledgeable woman on the sport of boxing - and asking her who her favorite fighter was. And with a bit of a smirk she said Mando Ramos (notorious ladies man) and Healy rolling his eyes says, "Yeah, of course he is." Connie burst out laughing, but I guess today Healy would be taken to task as saying something offensive.
Do you remember Jim Healy's daily radio sports show with a Walter Winchell-like format? On his radio show, Healy would talk at very rapid rate about his numerous sports scoops, which he got from his countless sources, usually unnamed. Ironically, he didn't talk much about boxing on his radio show. In a direct contrast to his radio show persona, Healy acted like a British television sportscaster when he did the play-by-play on the weekly boxing show telecasts from the Olympic Auditorium, talking comparatively little and in a measured manner while giving only the bare facts and occasional observations while a bout was taking place. It seemed that Healy didn't believe in talking needlessly when the audience could already see what was taking place watching the telecast. - Chuck Johnston
Chuck, I only heard an excerpt from it once. Not being from Calif., and that being local, I wasn't so privileged (did he employ the use of a gong?). I know what you mean about his style of blow-by-blow. He didn't try to make himself be the star of the show. I did like his cry of 'it's allllllllll over!'
