Are there any other Jesse James fans on here? I really appreciated his midrange attack and crouching defense. He was exciting and though he wasn't the most naturally talented and he was prone to cuts and injuries, he was a excellent ring general. He had good wins over Nelson, Louie Espinoza, Troy Dorsey, Ivan Robinson, Panchito Bojado, and Micky Ward. Also, his loss to the then red hot Juan Lazcano was hotly debated at the time. How do you guys think he would have done against some of the mid-level champs at 130 (his best weight), like Sammy Serrano, Robert Garcia, John John Molina, or Mario Martinez? Thoughts?
Met him once in a gym in San Antonio. Seemed like a really good guy -- I was there with an amateur and there were several other amateurs there for a loosen-up workout before fighting the next night and he kind of made the circuit meeting them all, giving them a word of encouragement and whatnot. Then he got down to business and worked like you'd expect a championship-level pro to work out. I was always a fan before, but even more after that.
Leija fought well enough to bring the very best out of Sugar Shane. In many ways that was Mosley's showcase fight at 135.
The Texas Tornado. An excellent boxer. The city of San Antonio absolutely adores this man. Unfortunately, you see him around so often; it's not a big deal anymore. Especially with his gym being right smack in the middle of the hood. Anyway, he represents the city so well. I just wish people here knew more about Bobby Dykes, the real greatest boxer out of San Antonio.
Didn't Bobby Dykes beat Joey Giardello and Kid Gavilan? I heard his fight with Sugar Ray Robinson was very close.
I was there with an amateur, as his coach. They had this Black Tie show that raised big money for charity -- I think there were only four fights (all amateur) and they flew guys in from all over to do it. The theme was military fighters vs. non-military. My guy was undefeated with less than 20 fights but had beaten one ranked guy and one who who had just moved into open after winning the junior national championship. My guy lost to Julius Fogle of the Army -- Julius was the better, more experienced guy and he won, but it was a good experience for us. Funniest part of the JJL part in the gym was he wanted to get a couple of rounds of light sparring. He would have been fighting at 140 at that time and was probably carrying 150 at most, fit but not trained down. Anyway, after the amateurs finished and he had done his bag work and workout, he went one by one through the eight guys looking to see if anyone wanted to go a couple of light rounds. I was debating whether to accept or not if he asked -- it would have been a great experience but on the other hand we were fighting the next day and we were there to fight and to (hopefully) win. So he goes up to everyone and we're next to last and he stops in front of my guy (about 6-1, 165 trained down from about 170, solid muscle) and smiles and says, 'No way,' and goes to the next guy. No one took him up on it. Another cool thing was they put us up in Kelly Air Force Base in base housing for three nights for the trip. That was a neat experience.
He fought brilliantly against Robinson. As well as anybody can against a 114-1 Ray Robinson. May have even been a robbery! Dykes did defeat Kid Gavilan though, and was also winning leading into the 14th round of their first fight. He would lose a close split-decision. Dykes also defeated the likes of Joey DeJohn, Cisco Saenz like 3 times, Ralph Zannelli, California Jackie Wilson, amongst others.
Didn't mean to steal Leija's thunder though. Sorry. It's just he's all anybody talks about here in San Antonio. And Dykes was clearly the greater fighter. And it's not just that he's 'underrated,' literally no one knows about him.
Jesse James Leija. Good fighter. I really enjoyed his series with Azumah Nelson. Excellent fights, worth watching.
Leija's fights with The Professor were pretty goddmaned good stuff. Always enjoyed his efforts and skill. I must admit I have never heard of Dykes. I will do some research.
I was a fan of Jesse. Good all around fighter. I do remember him beating the hell out of Troy Dorsey. He JJL had one of the great ring walks down there in Texas.
