California Boxing

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Harold 'Baby Face' Jones. Seen Jones fight in the southland a few times.
Still remember his fight with Art Aragon in the early '50s

 

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The elusive Johnny Gonsalves keeps off determined Henry Davis.

 

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Paco Flores

Paco Flores v Vicente Medina
5-4-1973

Community Center, Tucson, Arizona

referee: Joe Vozdik 98-97 | judge: Joe Miller 97-96 | judge: Robert Ferrara 97-97

In 1973I was in Tucson Az. for Mando Muniz’s fight against Manny Gonzalez. With Jake Horn and Louie Jauregui and others we took some amateurs to fill out the card. Vicente Medina came in from Mexico by himself and he needed a corner, I was asked if I would be chief second for him, I of course said yes. Paco Flores was the promoter’s brother and Medina was just supposed to be a an “opponent” At the start of the fight Medina is fighting Flores all wrong, following him in a straight line, throwing one punch at a time. After a couple of rounds I told him to what he was doing wrong, told him he needed to cut the ring on Flores and to put punches together. Medina was a good listener, he did as he was told and he started to win the fight. Now Flores people started to worry because about the middle of the fight a guy who I later found out was from the Az. Boxing commission came to talk to me and asked me “who are you?” I responded “I am Frank Baltazar” “well Frank do you have a license to work corners?”, “yes” I replied, “can I see it?” he asked, I handed him my license “but this is a California license” “of course, I am from California” I said as I played the dummy, “after the fight come to the commission table and get an Az. License”, “okay I will” I replied.

As the fight continued I could see that Medina was pulling ahead, but he lost a split decision. But if you are fighting the promoter’s brother a split decision means you won.

The fight been over I go to the commission’s table. I was drag over the coals for working an Arizona fight without an Arizona license, again I played the dummy, told them that I thought my California license was good enough. No sir! I was told. “You have $100?” I was asked, I replied that I did “good, let me have it” the commish told me as he handed me a license and taking my money at the same time.

 

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Bob Hope and the director of "Off Limits" gang up on apprentice actor Art Aragon.

 

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Rodolfo Gonzalez patented left hook to the liver

 

Harold Smith & Leroy Irvin


After doing 5 years in a country club, Harold Smith came out still having the money he stole from the bank where he was working at and started promoting again, but he couldn’t get a promoter’s license, so he used ex-Los Angeles Rams player, Elroy Irvin as his front man. Smith/Irvin promoted some of Tony’s fight in Arizona. When Irvin tried to renew his promoter’s license in California he was told that he had to show where his money was coming from. Hell, everybody knew whom he was getting the money from. He was denied. I know that Smith also promoted in Indonesia at one time or other. We were offered fights in Indonesia which I turned down.

At the time they promoted my son Tony’s fights in Arizona, Irvin with Jimmy Montoya’s help would get the cards ready, they both would do what was needed to be done in putting a show together. Smith would show up the day of the fights with a suitcase full of cash to pay the fighters. Always paid in cash

 

Vic Weiss, Louie Jauregui, Jake Horn and Mando Muniz


Vic Weiss and Louie Jauregui were co-manager of Mando Muniz....At the start of his career Muniz was manages by Jauregui and Jake Horn...Jake got in a hassle with Aileen Eaton over money...Eaton froze out Muniz until he got rid of Jake....Weiss who owned a Ford dealership bought out Jake and Mando was able to fight at the Olympic again....Weiss who was a bagman for the Las Vegas mob was murder, his body was found shot in the trunk of his car at LAX.

I worked two of Mando's fights when he was still with Horn and Jaurequi. The Ernie Red Lopez fight at the Olympic and the Manny Gonzalez fight in Arizona

 

Lauro Salas: The Lion of Monterrey

Danny Garcia reminds me of Lauro Salas. Like Salas, the 1950s “Lion of Monterrey”, Garcia has minimal boxing skills, and like Salas he was still able to become a world champion nonetheless. Last night as I was watching Garcia dismember Khan, I was thinking ‘I seen Garcia fight in another life’. Than it came to me, “Lauro Salas”

Lauro Salas fought all the top featherweights of the early 1950s, winning some, losing some. He then got in a bar fight with Art Aragon when the Golden Boy called him a “****ing Mexican”. There’re many different versions of that bar fight, as to who won and who lost, but that’s a story for another day.

After the bar fight, which was played-up in the local press to epic portion, Aragon and Salas were sign by the Olympic Auditorium to a ten round fight. Salas lost a close decision. But Salas gave such a good account of himself that when the Olympic was looking for an opponent for lightweight champ Jimmy Carter they gave Salas the opportunity. Again Salas outdid himself; he gave Carter all he could handle in losing a close fifteen round decision. A rematch was in order, Carter and Salas fought the rematch and this time Salas was given the close decision. Salas was to lose the title back to Carter six months later

 

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"Irish" Frankie Crawford vs. Mando Ramos I
Olympic Auditorium

 

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Hall of fame manager, Jackie McCoy...Circa 1949

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Virgil Akins, Ricardo "Pajarito" Moreno & Jimmy McClarnin

 

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Abel Fernandez vs Freddie Beshore at the Olympic

 

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Abel Fernandez on the right went on to have an acting career after his boxing days were over, you might remember him as part of "The Untouchable's" on TV.

Fernandez played Agent William Youngfellow

 

Abel Fernandez

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Friday, November 2, 1951 - Hollywood Legion Stadium Program

PRELIMSTERS BATTLE FOR “BEST OF 1951” AWARD by HAP NAVARRO - With slightly more than eight weeks remaining to be fought, the local crop of prelim stars will be firing all their guns at the opposition in hopes of hitting the tape first in the run for the “Outstanding Prelim Boxer” accolade for 1951. At the moment, and it is merely our opinion, the leaders in this merry chase though not necessarily in this order, appear to be Keeny Teran, Gil Cadilli, Willie Vaughn, Mickey Northrup, Juan Luis Campos, Tommy Harrison, Rocky Robinson, and Leroy Richards. Others who may get into the picture are Don Cloud, Pinky Martinez, Abel Fernandez, Mike Augustain, Pete Aguirre, Frankie Rivers, Eddie Hernandez, Jesse Morales and Jimmy Hayes. This group of headline hunters plus a few others who have already taken part in at least one main event, in Los Angeles or elsewhere figure to provide local fight fans with plenty of fireworks for the remainder of the year. Joe Gurrola, Sammy Figueroa, Oscar Reyes, Bobby Brewer, etc.