Does anybody have any insight on the Olivares-Rudkin bout? I know basically that it was one of Olivares' best showings..probably his most efficient ko..he reallt was "on" for that fight. A boxing mag description likened Ruben's attack to a "circus knife thrower" in terms of deadly accuracy.
Like you say, it probably was one of Ruben's best performances. He was 22 years old with plenty of experience behind him (53-0-1) with 52 kos gained against all those tough Mexicans bantams of his day, Medel, Octavio Gomez, Julio Guerrero, German Bastidas, Felipe Gonzalez. Not many bantams in history came through that sort of comp without picking up a couple of losses. On the international front he took on plenty of other top class bantams, Ushiwakamaru Harada, Sal Burruni, Kasuyoshi Kanazawa, Jose Bisbal, Takeo Sakarai and Lionel Rose. I would say he was definitely around or dead on his prime at the time of the fight, in tiptop shape, first defence and in front of his home crowd (Inglewood, LA). Rudkin(my father) for those who don't know also had a wealth of experience with fights against Pierre Vetroff(toughest of his career), John Caldwell(former world champ), Walter McGowan (World flyweight champ), 2 fights winning one each though the first was highly disputed in favour of McGowan, there wasn't one paper that agreed with it and the referee resigned after being asked to explain his scoring. Reigning European bantam champ and perennial contender at both flyweight and bantam Mimoun Ben Ali (2 fights) the first in England dad won by a shutout, the second in Spain was over 15 for the European title and Ben ali got the decision in another highly controversial decision which caused outrage. The problem in this one which turned into a very untidy affair was the referee who just wouldn't let dad fight, grabbing him at every oportunity. Dad said it was like fighting 2 men that night. Other fighters he overcame were good Mexicans, Edmundo Esparza, points winner over Fighting Harada in Japan, common opponent Felipe Gonzalez who was the first man to take Ruben the distance, dad outpointed him and incidentally Gonzalez ko'd Chucho Castillo in his very next fight, Raul Vega another good Mexican with ko power was a good win despite a very bad cut between the eyes which needed plastic surgery. Dad suffered with cut eyes but was only stopped once due to it in his second pro fight against Carl Taylor, later avenged. In all the other instances he managed to box his way through. The Olivares fight was dad's 3rd attempt at the title after losing a competitive fight against Fighting Harada in Japan and an even closer split decision against Lionel Rose in Australia. After the Rose fight a good stoppage win over future British feather champ Evan Armstrong set him up nicely for the Olivares fight. Armstrong was a known commodity in LA after losing a controversial decision to Joe Medel but was stopped comfortably by Castillo. I don't want sound like sour grapes but dad didn't have a great time in LA. He was having weight problems, he was involved in a car accident a couple of days before the fight and a policeman came into his dressing just before the fight to inform him they'd just arrested a Mexican with a gun in the crowd, dad was aware of the riot after Rose outpointed Castillo in the same arena. Incidentally Castillo worked out in the same gym as dad but they never sparred. Dad always said he wished they had of and that it had been a tear up, it might of got him more focused. Onto the fight, dad entered as the no 1 contender to the strains of the British Grenadiers while Ruben entered to the Cucaracha. The audience were pretty volatile with Fire*******s going off all over the place as you would expect. First round and dad got off to a good start finding Ruben with his jab and wrongfooting him on a few occasions but Ruben found him with a left right halfway through the round which really shook him up and put him down. This was a new experience for dad, he told me that he'd never really been hurt in the ring before that and he didn't really know what to do, I should of grabbed and held on he said. Instead he tried to stay out of range but Ruben was too good, feinting his way in and landing. Dad always said that Ruben was a complete master of range and a great boxer, not just a puncher. When the evasive tactics didn't work he thought to himsel, "I'm gonna have to have a fight with this fella" and he did taking the fight to Olivares and seeing it through. He started the second in the same fashion but he was feeling the effects of the battle and was shipping some bombs although landing some as well including a left hook that "flicked Olivares jaw like the fangs of a snake". "Every shot was numbing" he told me. At the one minute mark dad was down for an 8 count, the result of another left hook, right hand combination. The fight went on for another minute and a half in what was described as a savage encounter when dad landed a good right hand with Ruben on the ropes. This was dad's last hurrah as Ruben promptly finished it there with a trademark left hook to the body and 2 short right hands right on the button. John Thomas started counting while dad looked up at him from a kneeling position and then waved it off without completing the count. Like all fighters dad said he would of liked to of seen the round out (30 seconds to go) but in hindsight had no argument, he was hurt and against someone like Olivares it could of been dangerous "the referee probably done me a favour" Ruben came into the dressing room after the fight to check on dad, offer his congratulations on a good fight and tell dad that he'd been stunned himself pointing to his chin. There was nearly a Olivares Rudkin 2 set for London in 1971 but sadly it never came off. Who knows what might of happened, dad was a bit older but Ruben might of been showing signs of his lifestyle as well. Last word on it. In the dressing room after the fight there was a power cut and the lights went out. Dad quipped "that's the second time that's happened to me tonight"
