Hell yeah, jeez what did he have to say? His dad was a brilliant boxer - did he have any interesting anecdotes - and anything about the Rocky fights??
i was at a supplement store and he saw my shirt, I was wearing a rocky marciano everlast shirt. (how coincidental right? ) he pointed it out and asked me if i knew of his father and then went on to say how roland absolutely won the first fight and how great of a guy he was. then he told me about his time in the marines and his amateur boxing, and i told him about some of my boxing stories too. he was a nice guy and apparantly works out at the same gym that i do so i am sure i will run into him again.
Great story man. The first fight was a close fight, although most reports say Rocky won. Not unreasonable to think Roland did as some did at the time and still do. You should ask him about what happened in the second bout? How badly were his father's arm beaten up? Did Rocco really break blood vessels and did Roland really need reconstructive surgery?
Roland E. LaStarza, 82, of Port Orange, a former professional boxer, died Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at the This content is protected Center, Port Orange. Mr. LaStarza, an Army veteran of World War II, was born in Bronx, New York and moved to the area in 1973 from Los Angeles, California. He enjoyed acting and appeared in several episodes of the television show The Gallant Men. He also enjoyed flying, playing pool and reading. Survivors include one son, Mark LaStarza, M.D. of Ormond Beach; one daughter, Amy Farmwald of Port Orange and five grandchildren. This content is protected will be by Dudley Crematory, New Smyrna Beach. Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Volusia/Flagler, 3800 Woodbriar Trail, Port Orange 32129.
