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Remembering Enrique Bolanos, An L.A. Boxing Icon of 1940s
Johnny Ortiz (left) poses with Enrique Bolanos.
Enrique Bolanos packed stadiums and arenas in Los Angeles with raucous and loyal fans during his fighting days in the 1940s and 50s. He was a boxing icon in an era when other sports could not compete with prizefighting.
Those days have passed and last week the gentleman Bolanos also passed at age 87 in Pasadena.
Bolanos fought numerous boxing legends, including perhaps the greatest lightweight of all time, Ike Williams, a total of three times. Many say he beat Williams once, but that’s a debate that the “greatest generation” has taken with them. All total he engaged in more than 100 prizefights, winning 79.
Born in Durango, Mexico, the light skinned Mexican boxer was one of the first to migrate north of the border and successfully grab the attention of fervent boxing fans at the Olympic Auditorium and Wrigley Field. Sell outs became a trademark of Bolanos and fans flocked wherever he fought.
“My father used to drop me off in the morning to buy tickets to Enrique Bolanos fights,” said Amado Avila, who has since passed away. “People would try to cut in front of me and I wouldn’t let them. I would wait for hours in line to buy tickets at the Olympic.”
World War 2
Known as the “Durango Dropper,” Bolanos arrived during World War II when it was difficult to find boxers not enlisted in the military. Mexico was neutral during the war and aside from sending workers to the United States it also sent prizefighters with Bolanos leading the group in 1943. He stayed in the United States and raised a family in the Los Angeles area.
The amiable boxer quickly became a fan favorite with his blend of stylish boxing mixed with potent punching power. Mexican fans living in California loved Bolanos who fought all of the best fighters from the “Swing era” such as Manuel Ortiz, who many experts consider the greatest bantamweight world champion of all time. They met in the prize ring in Aug. 29, 1944. Ortiz was the bantamweight world champion at the time and both met in a non-title fight set at the featherweight limit. Bolanos was floored twice in the sixth round and his corner wisely stopped the fight.
“He could hit very hard,” Bolanos told me when we met in 1994. “Manuel Ortiz was a great fighter.”
Of course the fight was a sell out.
Luis Magana
Bolanos was a big ticket seller at the old Hollywood Legion Stadium, which is now a fitness center on Gower Street. Soon he would be lured to the Olympic Auditorium again and fought another Hall of Fame fighter Chalky Wright. He lost the first encounter by split decision in August 1945 but avenged that defeat in two later encounters.
“He surprised me when he spoke Spanish to me,” said Bolanos of his first encounter with Wright, who was an African American fluent in Spanish. “The first time we fought he used his experience to beat me. He was never easy to fight.”
Other fighters he beat were Jackie Wilson, Joey Barnum, and John Thomas.
“Enrique Bolanos was a magnificent boxer,” said Luis Magana, a former publicist for the Olympic Auditorium.
Magana died several years ago and had introduced me to Bolanos in 1994. We met for lunch at a small diner on Melrose Avenue and discussed the world of boxing during the 40s and 50s. The three of us spent three hours comparing boxing from that era to the 1990s before Oscar De La Hoya would burst on the scene and obliterate box office records.
“Best I ever faced”
Bolanos spoke graciously about his two greatest foes, Ike Williams and the original “Golden Boy” Art Aragon. He said Williams was “a magnificent boxer with tremendous power” and a killer in the ring. I tried to set up another lunch meeting with Bolanos and include his old nemesis Williams, who was living in Los Angeles. Both agreed but before the meeting could take place Williams died on September 5, 1994. He was 71.
Bolanos was very saddened that he would never see Williams again.
Bolanos and I met again at Senor Magana’s house in the Fairfax district and looked over photos and other boxing memorabilia stored in a backroom. That day we saw an 8-millimeter tape of the third and final prizefight between Bolanos and Williams that took place at Wrigley Field on July 21, 1949 for the lightweight world championship. On the scratchy looking film Bolanos can be seen using his jab like a spear to keep Williams from setting up his power shots. The referee that night was the former great heavyweight world champion Jack Dempsey. Bolanos only used his left hook and left jab for three rounds as Williams seemed ready to counter the right. The Mexican fighter used that “educated left” as Magana described it to keep the dangerous Williams from unloading.
In round four Williams unloaded and knocked out Bolanos. It was their last encounter.
“Many people say that Enrique won the second fight,” said Magana, adding that he did not have a tape of that encounter that ended in a split decision. “Ike Willliams was a tremendous boxer.”
Bolanos agreed and called Williams the “best I ever faced.”
Golden Boy
One other boxer who rivaled Bolanos for fan frenzy was Art Aragon, the boxer from Boyle Heights. The colorful Aragon had a cockiness that many fans abhorred and whenever he fought the aisles of the Olympic Auditorium were packed with fans eager to see him lose or win.
When Aragon signed to fight the immensely popular Bolanos it was a fight fans delight. Their first clash occurred on Valentine’s Day in 1950. People lined up for blocks to buy tickets for the event.
“Enrique Bolanos was a real nice guy,” Aragon told me in an interview in 1995. “I really liked Enrique. When we fought I was too strong for him.”
The first fight ended in a 12th round technical knockout win for Aragon.
Johnny Ortiz, a boxing journalist and former owner of the famous Main Street Gym, recalls the fight that saw his idol Bolanos lose.
“Enrique Bolanos was far and away the most popular fighter Los Angeles ever knew, no one has ever come close, Oscar De La Hoya included. I may have been young, but I remember it all like it were yesterday. He had a ‘look’ like no other, you would have had to see it to know what I mean. It was the ‘look’ his fans saw and loved. There will never be another like him,” said Ortiz, whose book Life Among the Icons describes Los Angeles from the 50s to the present. “Enrique never had an amateur fight. Promoter George Parnassus turned him pro when he brought him from México. Enrique Bolanos was known as “The Durango Kid.”
Ortiz’s brother Phil Ortiz trained in the Main Street Gym alongside Bolanos and introduced them. He witnessed the Mexican fighter train numerous times.
“He had the greatest footwork I have ever seen or will ever see, he and Sugar Ray Robinson. After watching him workout, I would go home, go into my garage and try to emulate everything I saw him do during his workouts, especially his footwork. I used all of it in all of my amateur fights,” says Ortiz, who lives in the San Fernando Valley. “Los Angeles fight fans were crazy about him, there was something about him that was kind of mesmerizing, he always fought before sold out crowds. After he lost the second of his three fights with the great Ike Williams, he kind of lost interest, he was just never the same. His days as a serious contender were over for the most part. He began drinking, putting an end to a once brilliant career.”
Aragon fought Bolanos again five months after the first loss and quickly dispatched of the popular Mexican prizefighter in three rounds.
“He really was a nice guy,” said Aragon, who died in 2008. “People thought we hated each other but I really liked the guy.”
Everyone liked Bolanos.
The last time I saw Bolanos was during a Bernard Hopkins media day training session in downtown Los Angeles. He was introduced to the “Executioner” who was very gracious to the old master.
Many of the “greatest generation” have passed on and Bolanos was one of its super novas. He passed away on June 4.
Remembering Enrique Bolanos, An L.A. Boxing Icon of 1940s / Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel.
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Lucas Bahdi Forged the TSS 2024 Knockout of the Year
A Knockout of the Year doesn’t have to be a one-punch knockout, but it must arrive with the suddenness of a thunderclap on a clear day and the punch or punches must be so harsh as to obviate the need for a “10-count.” And, if rendered by an underdog, that makes the KO resonate more loudly.
Within these parameters, Lucas Bahdi’s knockout of Ashton “H2O” Sylva still jumped off the page. The thunderclap happened on July 20 in Tampa, Florida, on a show promoted by Jake Paul with Paul and the great Amanda Serrano sharing the bill against soft opponents in the featured bouts.
The 30-year-old Bahdi (16-0, 14 KOs) and the 20-year-old Sylva (11-0, 9 KOs) were both undefeated, but Bahdi was accorded scant chance of defeating Jake Paul’s house fighter.
Sylva was 18 years old and had seven pro fights under his belt, winning all inside the distance, when he signed with Paul’s company, Most Valuable Promotions, in 2022. “We believe that Ashton has that talent, that flashiness, that style, that knockout power, that charisma to really be a massive, massive, superstar…” said the “Problem Child” when announcing that Sylva had signed with his company.
Jake Paul was so confident that his protege would accomplish big things that he matched Sylva with Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield. Currently 18-0 and ranked #2 by the WBA, Schofield was further along than Sylva in the pantheon of hot lightweight prospects. But Schofield backed out, alleging an injury, opening the door to a substitute.
Enter Lucas Bahdi who despite his eye-catching record was a virtual unknown. This would be his first outing on U.S. soil. All of his previous bouts were staged in Mexico or in Canada, mostly in his native Ontario province. “My opponent may have changed,” said Sylva who hails from Long Beach, California, “but the result will be the same, I will get the W and continue my path to greatness.”
The first five rounds were all Sylva. The Canadian had no antidote for Sylva’s speed and quickness. He was outclassed.
Then, in round six, it all came unglued for the precocious California. Out of the blue, Bahdi stiffened him with a hard right hand. Another right quickly followed, knocking Sylva unconscious. A third punch, a sweeping left, was superfluous. Jake Paul’s phenom was already out cold.
Sylva landed face-first on the canvas. He lay still as his handlers and medics rushed to his aid. It was scarifying. “May God restore him,” said ring announcer Joe Martinez as he was being stretchered out of the ring.
The good news is that Ashton “H2O” Silva will be able to resume his career. He is expected back in the ring as early as February. As for Lucas Bahdi, architect of the Knockout of the Year, he has added one more win to his ledger, winning a 10-round decision on the undercard of the Paul vs Tyson spectacle, and we will presumably be hearing a lot more about him.
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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.
The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.
Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.
The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.
An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.
Moses Itauma
Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.
His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.
Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.
Bohachuk-Davis
In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.
Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.
Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.
Fisher-Allen
In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.
Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.
In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.
He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Other Bouts of Note
In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.
A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.
In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.
McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.
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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.
The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.
Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.
The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.
That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.
The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)
Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)
Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.
Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).
Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.
The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.
Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.
Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.
We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”
The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.
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