TBG Book Review: Latino Boxing In Southern California

The Boxing Glove Book Review
By Peter Silkov

"Latino Boxing In Southern California" Written By Gene Aguilera.

In his first book, the excellent "Mexican American Boxing In Los Angeles" (2014) Gene Aguilera paid homage to the many Mexican American fighters who have lit up the world of boxing on the West Coast, but especially Los Angeles, where the Olympic Auditorium produced weekly classics from the theatre of boxing. Legendary fighters such as Manuel Ortiz, Mando Ramos, Bobby Chacon, and Alberto Davila, to name just a few, fought out the twists and turns of their careers before thousands of screaming fans in Los Angeles. The book looked at a group of fighters who despite their huge influence upon the sport, especially in the lighter divisions, have been curiously neglected by the many books that have been produced upon the sport of boxing.

Baby Arizmendi (photo not included in book)

Aguilera has now produced his second book, "Latino Boxing In Southern California" and like his first book, it is another gem, which looks at a part of boxing's history that has for too long been underappreciated in boxing literature.

Once again, Los Angeles and the Olympic Auditorium is the center stage, but this time Aguilera mainly focuses on the Mexican born fighters who largely dominate the Latin America boxing world, and who have contributed so much action and excitement to the rich history of the boxing ring.

We are taken into the world of the Mexican warrior, as Aguilera introduces us to fighters such as Kid Azteca, Raul 'Raton' Macias, Baby Arizmendi, Vincent Saldivar, Ruben Olivares, Carlos Zarate, Lupe Pintor, Salvadore Sanchez, and Julio Cesar Chavez.

Just as the Mexicans dominate the Los Angeles community, the Mexican fighters also monopolize the Los Angeles rings.

Alexis Arguello Vs. Ruben Olivares (photo not included in book)

Mexican fight fans are famous for being the most passionate and loyal of all boxing fans. It is not hard to see why when Aguilera outlines how the Mexican fighter, perhaps more than any other nationality, feels so strongly that he is fighting not just for himself and his family, but for his Nation as a whole. Mexican fighters, whether champions, rising contenders or struggling club fighters, no matter what the different levels of fistic talent, are usually always emboldened and toughened by the pride which they feel at representing their people every time that they enter the ring.

It is this pride and drive that has seen so many Mexican fighters reach greatness.

As well as reliving the careers of the great champions and contenders that Mexico has produced over the years, Aguilera also takes us back to some of the legendary matches and rivalries. In addition to the famed ring wars between Mexicans and American, there are also the classics between Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, Mexicans and Mexican-Americans and of course, the often unforgettable duels between two Mexican battlers. It is true to say that a Mexican fighter is never so determined to win a match as when he is facing a fellow Mexican.

Enrique Bolanos (photo not included in book)

Gene Aguilera takes us on a tour of some of boxing's most exciting moments, especially the sport's golden era of the 60s to 80s. classic fights between the great champions and their most dangerous rivals was a weekly event, and more often than not, one or even both of the participants were of Latino origin.

"Latino Boxing in Southern California" a friendly and engrossing read. It is packed full of a dazzling array photos, ranging from programs, tickets, Flyers, magazines, to action photos and portraits of various boxers in fighting pose. The vast majority of this memorabilia comes from Aguilera's own boxing collection, and an impressive collection it is.

Carlos Zarate (photo not included in book)

"Latino Boxing In Southern California" is unlikely to disappoint any boxing fan with an interest in one of the most exciting areas of a sport that has always relied on its ability to thrill, and entertain, and raise the passions of its fans. The Mexican boxing fan, in addition to being the most passionate of all boxing fans, could also be said to have over the years been the luckiest and most entertained, as he and she have been treated to a veritable feast of great ring warriors over the past six decades.

This is the kind of book with the ability to both delight the boxing connoisseur and converts the non-believer.

If you would like to purchase this book it is available on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Latino-Boxing-Southern-California-Aguilera/dp/146712883X

 Target:
https://www.target.com/p/latino-boxing-in-southern-california-by-gene-aguilera-paperback/-/A-53705603

 Thriftbooks:
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/latino-boxing-in-southern-california_gene-aguilera/18646664/#isbn=146712883X&idiq=27951083
 

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Kid Azteca: The Mexican Champion That Punched His Way Through Five Decades

Kid Azteca is one of Mexico’s legendary fighters. Azteca never won a world championship, but he was a top contender for the World welterweight title throughout most of the 1930s and 40s. He was one of Mexico’s earliest boxing stars, paving the way for the many great Mexican world champions who would take over many of the sport's lighter weight divisions from the 1950s onwards.

Born Luis Villanueva Paramo in Tepito, Distrito Federal, Mexico, Azteca’s birth date is generally given as being June 21, 1913, but some sources have placed his birth date as June 21, 1917, which would make him only 12 years old when he started his professional boxing career in 1929. Starting his career fighting under the name of ‘Kid Chino’ Azteca was a strong and fearless fighter, with a dynamite punch, that would score over 100 knockouts during his career. Some of the top names that Azteca fought, included fighters such as Battling Shaw, Tommy White, Eddie Cerda, Joe Glick, Eddie Frisco, Ceferino Garcia, Manuel Villa 1, Richie Mack, Young Peter Jackson, Baby Joe Gans, Cocoa Kid, Chief Parris, Fritzie Zivic, California Jackie Wilson, Charley Salas, and Sammy Angott.

Azteca won the Mexican Welterweight title on October 23, 1932, when he out-pointed David Velasco over 12 rounds. It was the beginning of a tremendous 16-year reign, which would see him defend the title successfully 11 times, before vacating it, undefeated champion, on March 1949. Azteca would try and regain his title 10 months later, on January 28, 1951, but was stopped in 10 rounds by El Conscripto. By this time, Azteca was in his late 30s and fading, yet he carried on fighting until 1961, going 28-2-2 in his last 32 contests, although against lesser opposition than he had fought in his prime.

Kid Azteca finally ended his career with a 1^st round knockout of Alfonso Malacara, on February 3, 1961. Azteca ended his career having achieved the rare feat of fighting within 5 decades, and scoring over 100 knockouts, making him one of boxing’s most formidable punchers. Azteca’s final record was 192(114koes)-46-11. Kid Azteca died on March 16, 2002. 

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com

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Miguel Cotto vs. Saul Canelo Superfight Or Super Farce?

By Peter Silkov

It’s been billed as one of the year’s most anticipated showdowns, a real genuine ‘superfight’ from which it is hard top pick a clear winner.  Despite the initial good vibes that this clash seemed to provoke, the shine soon began to fade from it. First there was the long protracted negotiations between the two fighters, which at one point began to resemble the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao debacle.  Eventually, both men agreed to the terms enough so that the fight could go ahead, but only after there was a ‘catch-weight’ clause pinned onto the fight that gave it a 155- pound weight limit.  With the fight supposedly being for Miguel Cotto’s 40(33koes)-4, WBC world middleweight championship, which has a 160-pound weight limit, the catch-weight clause was a contentious issue, how can both fighters contest the 160 title when the fight is made at 155 pounds. Sadly, it seems that the last vestige of integrity in boxing’s weight divisions is slipping away, if they are a big enough name, fighters can now change the weight limits of their division’s when it suits them.

It’s an irony that Saul Alvarez 45(32koes)-2-1, protests that he is not large enough to be considered a true middleweight, yet it is well known that by fight time he re-hydrates to well over 170 pounds. This is actually heavier than what Gennady Golovkin re-hydrates to in the last hours before fight time.

At least we know that, for his part, Cotto is indeed a small middleweight, although such things were simply shrugged off by boxers of previous eras.  The truth is that the real reason behind the 155-pound limit for this contest is that both men’s disinclination to get into the ring with WBO and WBA world middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin. The 155 ‘catchweight’ limit for Saturday’s fight is a convenient excuse for both men to use as to why they will not fight Golovkin.  'We are too small!' they are both trying to say, but the truth is that there is very little size difference between Cotto and GGG and in the case of Alvarez, if anything the Mexican is in truth the bigger man.  Alvarez certainly weighs as much, if not more, than Golovkin, when he enters the ring for his fights.  But it is precisely this size advantage that Alvarez has over most of his opponents, that makes him unwilling to face Golovkin.

With GGG the interim WBC champion, and the number one challenger for the WBC title, it is perhaps not surprising that the general boxing public is inclined to be more interested in either Canelo or Cotto taking on the unbeaten Golovkin, than they are watching both men fighting each other.  It is interesting to note that, while Cotto vs. Canelo has generated interest, it has by no means proved to be the blockbusting sell out that some might have believed it would be. The reason for this could be that the fans are somewhat jaded and disenchanted by both men’s avoidance of Golovkin.    

The fight suffered another blow to its credibility on Tuesday, when just 4 days before fight night, the WBC announced that they had withdrawn recognition from Miguel Cotto as being their champion. The reason for this seems to be quite simply that Cotto has refused to pay the sanctioning fees demanded by the WBC, which amounted to 300,000 dollars.  This is in addition to a hefty 800,000 dollars that Cotto was asked to pay Golovkin in step aside money. The amount itself seems to be vast, even taking into account the fact that Cotto with be picking up around about 30 million collars for this contest.  From the WBC’s point of view, Cotto is refusing to comply with the very rules that he has always played along by when it has suited him. 

The WBC has been especially indulgent of Cotto since he won this title from a stricken Sergio Martinez 18 months ago.  Cotto has defended the title just once so far, (a one-sided blowout of Daniel Geale) and was allowed to impose his own weight limit onto the fight.  Now, when the rules are not so advantageous to him, Cotto seems to bypass them.  It is worth remembering that the sanctioning fees are something that every champion has to abide by and indeed this is how Cotto came by the WBC title in first place.  It is a distasteful development, which leaves the WBC title vacant, with only Canelo able to claim the title should be beat Cotto.  If Cotto wins the match, the WBC title will still be registered as vacant.  Also up for grabs will be The Ring magazine belt, a prestigious belt in its time, as it signifies the acceptance of boxing's most famous magazine.  However today that prestige is muddied, as The Ring is owned by Oscar De la Hoya, Saul Alvarez's promoter and mentor, hardly a recipe for unbiased fairness and integrity.  Will Cotto keep hold of The Ring belt if he wins the fight?.  It seems doubtful, yet it would also seem somewhat perverse if Cotto were to be stripped of The Ring belt, which should be independent coming under any influence from any of boxing's world bodies.  But again, The Ring is now owned by De La Hoya.

With hindsight, this is probably not such a blow for Cotto, who seems to have no intention of fighting Golovkin should he beat Alvarez on Saturday. Indeed it would be no surprise to see Cotto announce his retirement on after the fight, no matter what the result.

The fight between Cotto and Canelo has definitely suffered as a result of the political and financial wrangling. Most tellingly is the feeling that whoever wins, it will not decide who is the best 160-pounder upon the planet, until Gennedy Golovkin is involved in a showdown with Saturday’s winner.

Away from all the boxing politics, Saturday’s match is an intriguing contest. It is difficult to pick a sure winner.  While Cotto has the advantage in experience when it comes to fighting against big name opposition, Canelo has the advantage of youth and size against Cotto.

Canelo seems to have just too much size and youth for Cotto, but this fight should be entertaining while it lasts. Look for a Canelo victory via a late round stoppage, somewhere after the 9th or 10 rounds.


Copyright © 2015 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com