Let's hear it for one of the most exciting talents to come out of the hotbed of southern California boxing in those golden years of the late 60's-early 70's.........like most of them, a well-rounded, well-schooled fighter who loved a brawl. Mando is interesting to me for many of the same reasons Chacon is; supreme talent coupled with at best a devil-may-care attitude. At worst, a self-destructive bent. Mando won the lightweight title twice though he never held it for long. His eyebrows and perhaps his lifestyle caught up with him, but he was always in good fights and is remembered fondly by those that remember him from that time, but perhaps forgotten to a large degree by subsequent generations. If you aren't hep to Mando, get on the good foot. He's fun as hell to watch, a precocious young kid who was as fearless as they come and had a lot to offer, albeit for a brief time. Here's a clip courtesy of The GreatA.......... [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTw3y2A_CoQ&feature=related[/ame]
Hmmmm.........I'll have to go look, I'm not sure I have that one. I know I have (Sugar) Ramos, both Crawford fights, Laguna, Numata.......can't remember if there are any others.
What if?...doesn't cut it, but hafta shake my head at the ATG legacy Mando would have if he had a SINGLE sober day.
Gonzalez had such an educated left hand; I've only seen one of his fights, against Carmona, but what a great scrap and such a studied performance by Gonzalez.
I'm in contact with an old time West Coast fight fan and his stories about Ramos are nuts, the guy was something. When he fought Raul Rojas, who was a friend of his, a reporter told Rojas that Ramos had been training hard and kept away from partying. Rojas responded that he hadn't and the newspaper man asked how did he know. 'I was out with him last night' Rojas responded. I really need to watch more of him though, I just have the Sugar Ramos and Laguna fights, but he seems a good fighter and a character to say the least.
