Who in ESB was around to see

.................My first boxing memory was of seeing Ali fight Richard Dunn over at my grandparent's house (on network TV, prime-time). It wasn't until '83 that I really got into it, though.

 

Yea, especially that Ray Leonard.

Lots of other talent too.

 

I was almost around for the 1870s, rr.

 

Sure. I got into boxing around 1978, but wasn't fully a fan until 1980.

 

Louis was champ when I was born,Ive followed boxing since I was about 8 years old.

 

I guess around 1975 when I was around 7.

 

my first fight was floyd patterson vs ingemar johansson2

 

My first memory of boxing were the Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johanson fights. In those days, on the day before the fight, photos of the fighters in their boxing stances were printed along with their measurements and a report. The next day the papers would carry the result and report of the fight. My father and sometime my elder brother would read out and explain the details to me. I was hardly four at that time.

Soon Liston and then Ali came along and I was hooked. Of course, by that time I could do my own reading.

I once went to see off my dad to the airport. I was around seven years old at that time. At the book stall there I saw a boxing magazine for the first time in my life. Seeing my interest, my dad bought me that magazine before he got on the plane. It was an issue of Ring Magazine. I must have gone through that magazine a thousand times. The story of Bobo Olson was the main feature in it. It also had a pencil sketch cum report on the chance of Ali's contenders against him. I still have it with me with a few pages missing.

 

What sticks in my mind are the few bright spots from the era where I really began to develop an interest.

Then reigning WBC Featherweight Champion Danny "Little Red" Lopez was the prominent lower weight American champion displayed on television during that era, and he provided much color and excitement, from his feathered headdresses and red mustache to the knockdowns he inevitably rose up from to knock out his challengers. Unlike many power bombers, Danny had trememdous endurance, as he displayed in his 15 round classic with Mike Ayala. Ever present at ringside, his loyal wife Bonnie, joining him in the squared circle for postfight celebrations and interviews. (If there were ever a boxer's wives HOF, Bonnie Lopez and Joan Antuofermo should be charter members.)

His stature was so immense that he was the subject of the first full color centerfold poster in the inaugural April 1980 issue of KO Magazine, resplendent in red headdress and matching championship belt. (The back page of that pull-out feature displayed his record to that time, while the capsule profile on the front page concluded with, "Lopez awaits the challenge of WBC super bantamweight champion Wilfredo Gomez...If "Little Red" wins that bout, he will be remembered as one of the finest featherweights of all time, and as one of the most exciting fighters in boxing history."

That issue of KO Magazine had barely hit the stands when Salvador Sanchez sprung his shocking upset of Lopez on February 2, 1980. (That Lopez was featured in the April edition of KO tells you something about the gaping time differential between the production release of these issues and when the actual events took place back then. Keep this in mind when seeking and obtaining back issues of vintage periodicals.) The last entry on Danny's record was his September 25, 1979 knockout of Jose Caba. There was nothing to indicate at the time that this would be his final career win. During the interview following that blow-out, the questioner commented that he'd reached a situation where he had cleaned out the division so completely that he'd virtually run out of legitimate challengers. Lopez then mentioned that he did have a mandatory defense coming up. For the pre-fight build-up to Lopez/Sanchez I, CBS stated (incorrectly) that Sal had never been floored, and that this might be an exciting battle with many knockdowns featured. Little did we know what history was about to unfold.

KO Magazine's featuring of Danny Lopez was as timely as it possibly could have been, freezing a point in time when he was at the absolute pinnacle of what he achieved in the sport.


Three events have been cited as triggering the return of boxing to prominence in the United States during the 1970s; Ali's second ascension to the heavyweight championship in Kinshasa, the movie Rocky, and the unexpected success of the 1976 United States Olympic Boxing squad in Montreal. After that program had produced only two gold medals in 1956 and 1960, only one in 1964 (Frazier), two in 1968, and just one in 1972, they stunned the boxing world by racking up five gold medals, a silver and a bronze. (Ironically, Clint Jackson and 1972 veteran Davey Lee Armstrong were thought to be the very best amateur boxers on the team going into Montreal, yet they were among the minority of four who failed to medal in these games.) Professional boxing had long been a mainstay of Latin American culture, but now these three events had revived it in the world's largest economy. Latin heros like Arguello, Benitez and Duran could now command millions for a single title match in North America.

 

about my time also

 

Fantastic Post! Danny Lopez is very near the top of my list of all time favorites. When Danny retired, Boxing Today did a huge piece on his career: Danny "Little Red" Lopez; knock him down, he'll get up and kill ya!

Danny Lopez
Alexis Arguello
Roberto Duran
Bobby Chacon
The '76 olympic team
and so on.

In my opinion it was a great era!

 

pity you where not around to see it :hi:

 

quite down kid, and let the adults talk