Wow this is a trip sounds like we have been to lot of the same gyms around that time. When i moved to Glendale my Dad talked to that guy at the Salvation Army but supposedly was only training pros or his certain guys. I heard they closed down shortly after. Thats why i went to Bennys that was the closest one, when i was at Bennys i also knew Alex Garcia he was their project i used to eat lunch with him all the time, this is around the time he was gonna fight Teofilo Stevenson. I also use to go to Hollenback Pauls old gym, i never heard on anyone whipping Paul in sparring not as an amatuer at least. He was whipping ass on top pros back then. My buddy Efren sparred with Lopez back then and said how tough he was, he was still in High School when he won the Silver Medal.. Yey i know the city gym where the one Johnny Flores use to run. I remember hearing about the tragic accident there. I havent heard anything about Hector in a longtime. What city do you live in now?
It's not the record, but it's 5th overall on most punches landed in a championship fight by a single fighter at 504 punches for Zaragoza.
At the moment I am of all places in Orlando, Florida. My mother took an early retirement to a few years ago to take care of her dad and I came out to lend a hand. You and I must have been living parrallel lives back in Glendale. Didn't know that Gordon was training only pro's at the Army. At the time I didn't know any pro's that came in, only amateurs. Lot's of guys training for the Diamond Belt and Golden Gloves. Dennis "Machine Gun" Ross, Tracy Prell. Guys that I began sparring with. Actually Dennis was the first person I ever sparred with. I got a shellacking for two rounds! lol Came back the next day nose a bit red and swollen, slight bruising around the eyes. Worked out normally, rope, bags and exercises. Gordon waited till the end of training before he came over and said "you just got a lot of respect around here. These guys figured you wouldn't be around after yesterday." That was the beginning of all the fun! Then we would go from gym to gym, downtown, Hollenbeck, Ressurection. This was mostly for Hector and Robert. Genaro Hernandez, Paul Banke and others needed work so lots of times we would travel. (Just read that Banke contracted AIDS) Did you ever compete? Who was training you? What weight were you? Sorry to badger you but it has been forever since I have had anyone familiar with the area and the time and people!
Did you see the video someone posted a while back that had Chuvalo talking about how he thought helped him take a punch? Amazing that he's still in such good health even now.