The three outstanding boxing managers/trainers, Angie Dundee (L. Rodriguez), Gil Clancy (E. Griffith), and Doug Lord (Curtis Cokes), have now all passed on. My friend Doug Lord passed away on Feb. 23, 2018, at the age of 90 years old. Luis Rodriguez fought Griffith many times, and Cokes 3 times. Although, Cokes never fought Griffith, the fight was attempted to be made several times at welter, but unfortunately was never made for some reason or other. The 3 managers were friends, and would work in each other's corners if his "friend" need a cutman, or help in one of his friend's fights. I spent a lot of time talking with my friend Doug Lord, regarding the great Welterweight era of the 60's, including the Napoles fights, and the legends of the great welters/other fighters from CA, Philly, Miami, New Orleans, and the New York City era.
RIP Doug Lord. The WW division of the 60s was blessed with some truly outstanding fighters. It's a shame Cokes and Griffith never met. Be interested to see people's views on that fight had it happened.
I think Griffith would have narrowly decisioned Cokes...maybe a rematch would be avenged by decision by Cokes, who knows?
Terrific post longhorn... I'm sorry to hear about your friend. It sounds like he lived a full and complete life, and that's about as much as any of us can aspire to.
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/blog/?p=15989 Longhorn, here is an interview with Curtis Cokes. He doesn't seem to dwell much on Doug Lord, but he stayed with him his whole career, so obviously a great respect for him. Hope it brings back memories of the era for you.
A few years older...but great to hear from you. Maybe Big D will get an important fight over in JerryWorld in the near future. DFW thought the GGG vs Canelo rematch might occur here. But it won't. And who is that in your Avatar (Stormy D?)
Good to hear from you. Yeah, it's been a while. That's Ingrid Pitt. A Hammer Horror beauty. I'd post up some nudes but you know how it is...
I’m certain that Griffith would have beaten Cokes, without a doubt. Although Cokes was an outstanding fighter, Griffith was an all-time great. I’ve always said that Emille was one of the most underrated fighters ever.
I saw an interview of Angelo Dundee and he was asked about a Luis Rodriguez-Sugar Ray Leonard fight. Dundee stated that as great as Leonard was, he would have to be at his BEST to have a chance to beat Rodriguez. I was at The Garden in New York when Rodriguez dominated Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a fierce puncher that no one wanted to fight. Rodriguez was a Welterweight & Carter a Middleweight. Rodriguez cleaned up the top Middleweights of that period, and even beat a Light Heavyweight named “Rocky” Rivero of Argentina. Rodriguez was not concerned about being outweighed. He was outstanding.