Peter Broudy Remembers… Don Chargin and The Olympic Auditorium

Published

6 years ago

October 23, 2018

TSS Press

Over the past fifteen years, TSS has had the good fortune of featuring the works of highly talented boxing authors and journalists. We have a loyal fan base and we also have a loyal following from within the industry itself. We are going to be reaching out to those who answer the bell every day, those that add to the fabric of the sport, to pen something more personal and unique that may have escaped the eyes and ears of the boxing public.

The first article up is a request made upon promoter Peter Broudy, regarding the recent passing of Don Chargin, a legendary boxing figure on the West Coast. Considering Chargin’s friendship and mentoring, Peter was the perfect guy for the task, not to mention their involvement with the historic Grand Olympic Auditorium, which is part of the sport’s rich history. What follows are some of Peter’s recollections of Don, the Olympic Auditorium, and a few other names you might recognize.

Peter Broudy Remembers… Don Chargin and The Olympic Auditorium

In the fifties and sixties, boxing was a prominent sport in the United States. I was a young boy and I could hardly wait for the weekly fights. That is when I first heard the name Chargin, as he was the promoter. The fights were held in the most famous boxing venue in the world, The Olympic Auditorium at 18^th and Grand in Downtown Los Angeles. Built in 1924, The Olympic hosted the best fighters in the world from the 1920’s through the 1990’s.

The fights were broadcast on local TV, long before cable TV existed. KTLA Channel 5 televised the weekly fights from the Olympic, with legendary TV and radio personality Jim Healy calling the action along with Dick Lane. This is when I first became familiar with the phrase “War-a-Week” Chargin.

Don became known as “War-a-Week” Chargin because of his great matchmaking ability. He managed to put together competitive fights each and every week, and even with free local TV, the Olympic was busting at the seams to hold over 10,000 jammed-in fans, with standing room only. And there was a wide spectrum of fans in attendance… from the most glamorous Hollywood movie stars arriving in chauffeur driven limousines, to fieldworkers from Tijuana, and everybody in between.

The fights brought the best in professional sports entertainment to Los Angeles. At that time, professional sports were limited to the Los Angeles Rams that had recently moved to LA from Cleveland, and the Dodgers that had relocated from Brooklyn in 1958. Unlike today, boxing was front-page news every week.

Besides the great wealth of world class professional fighters, Chargin also featured amateur fights before the weekly pro card began, and those fights were also televised. Many of the amateurs went on to very successful pro careers and some became world champions. Many became household names such as Mando Ramos, Frankie Crawford and Joey Orbillo. The fans loved these young stars of the future, almost as much as Los Angeles’ “Golden Boy” Art Aragon, the most popular fighter to this day in Los Angeles.

The name Don Chargin will forever be linked to the nearly 100-year-old Olympic Auditorium. Chargin will be remembered along with the great personalities of the Olympic. Aileen Eaton (the female promoter), Luis Magaña (the legendary publicist), the original ring announcer, Jimmy Lennon (father of Jimmy Lennon, Jr.) the great fight doctor, Dr. Bernard Schwartz (always wearing the white doctor smock), managers like Jackie McCoy, Benny Georgino, and never to be forgotten, “El Ruso Loco” “Da Beegman” Harry Kabakoff with those wild, crazy Hawaiian shirts.

Chargin was every bit as significant as any of the great names that fought at the Olympic Auditorium on a regular basis, such as Mando Ramos, Frankie Crawford, Joey Orbillo, Ray “Windmill” White, Big Ernie “Indian Red” Lopez, his younger brother and future world champion Danny “Little Red” Lopez, Hedgemon Lewis, Carlos Palomino, Jesus Pimentel, Ruben Navarro, and of course, the “Golden Boy” Art Aragon. All of these individuals became famous because of the platform to excel that was provided to them by “War-a-Week” Chargin.

Don’s name is synonymous with all things Olympic Auditorium, including 18^th and Grand, Giant Felix Chevrolet on Figueroa, the beautiful marquis on the front of the Olympic, the “celebrity section”, the gamblers section, KTLA channel 5, Jim Healy & Dick Lane, the wannabes and the something specials, and who could forget the famous sign above the ring with the following: RI 9-5171 (The Olympic’s phone number RI-Richmond, long before area codes were used). This is the building that Don was influential in shaping and helped make boxing must see entertainment in Los Angeles.

Don Chargin was both my friend and mentor for well over 30 years. I love him like family. I first met him when I attended a California State Athletic Commission monthly meeting in the early 1980s in Palm Springs, California. I was lucky enough to meet both Don and his lifetime partner and love of his life, Lorraine. At the commission meeting, Don kindly introduced me to Aileen Eaton, the legendary promoter at the Olympic Auditorium. Though she was wheelchair bound, she was, even at her advanced age, a remarkable woman. Aileen, Lorraine and Don were all involved with the Olympic, and “War-a-Week” Chargin is known for the memorable bouts featured there from 1965-1984.

Don was a licensed promoter for 69 years and became the most knowledgeable man in boxing. For over half a century, he taught many people about boxing and the art of promoting. From the day I first met him, he was always there for me to answer any questions I had. When I took over promotions at the Olympic Auditorium in the mid 1990’s, Don’s advice was invaluable.

The Needleman family were the owners of the Olympic Auditorium. While we were negotiating, I made a promise to them that I could fill the Olympic and bring it back as close as possible to the glory days of Eaton and the Chargins. I reached out to Don and we discussed the formula required in order to bring instant success back to the grand old building that, since being renovated, had still not had much success in that first year under Bob Arum’s Top Rank. Chargin knew that I wanted to bring the spotlight back to the greatest venue in the world, rather than simply using the Olympic as a sound stage for ESPN shows.

At that time Don, along with Dan Duva, was managing the career of Ramon “Yory Boy” Campas. In a fight for the IBF welterweight title in September of 1994, Campas experienced his first loss to rising star, Puerto Rico’s Felix Trinidad. There were many fight fans who wrote “Yory Boy” off after the fourth round TKO, especially those from his home country of Mexico. We decided that Campas was the right guy for the Olympic.

The LA Times printed a story by Tim Kawakami on June 18^th, 1995 entitled “From Glory Days to Yory Days. Campas has breathed new life into Grand Olympic Auditorium.” Chargin is quoted as saying, “I told Peter he’d be the guy to draw at the Olympic. Number 1, he’s a real Mexican. He’s from there. He’s had the majority of his fights in Mexico, he will take two punches to land one, and he’s a puncher, which they like.” The way the guy meets the people and shakes hands, he just typifies the fighter from below the border that they really like. “I will admit they needed each other,” Chargin said of the fighter and the old building. “His career, after losing to Trinidad, needed a boost and the Olympic needed a boost.”

The rest is history, as “Yory Boy’” brought a huge turnout to the Olympic. And not just once, he came back a short time later and again delivered a full house and thrilling fight. The fans loved it. “Yory Boy” was back. At the end of Tim’s article about “Yory Boy” and the venue, Chargin emphasized that the key was to do what the old Olympic did, keep finding young fighters who can draw the real fight crowd. “Peter’s not afraid to work, so he’s probably going to be successful,” stated Chargin. Which is something Top Rank, for all its power and name fighters, could not do. Chargin also said,“I heard that Arum told (Top Rank Matchmaker) Bruce Trampler ‘Your friend Chargin gave the new promoter “Yory Boy”. Why didn’t he give him to us?’” “Thing was,” Chargin said, “they never asked.”

Don Chargin must be credited for The Olympic Auditorium taking off again in the 90s.

Don and I talked every day and each conversation always evolved into a discussion of what fighters to bring to the Olympic. Once again, Don helped me out and was able to get Hector “Macho” Camacho, who was one of my most favorite fighters. We both were very confident that Hector was the type of fighter that could fill the Olympic Auditorium. Even though Hector was not a Mexican National, we both felt that the type of fans at the Olympic appreciated Hector’s immense talent. And because he fought in weight divisions that Mexican fans closely follow, they had seen him fight many times on TV. It is important to note that in boxing, not only was Hector not a Mexican, he was also the natural enemy, a Puerto Rican. Best of all, Hector had never fought in Southern California. In fact, the only time Hector fought in California was many years before, when he fought for my man Don in Northern California. We both knew that the Los Angeles fans would appreciate being treated to this great showman.

The only thing was that I had some reservations in the back of my mind because of all the crazy stories that were out there about Hector. Don assured me that I would love working with Hector, to forget all the craziness that people saw on TV. Don told me that Hector was a real gentleman, very business-like, and was a promoter’s best friend because no one could hype a fight the way Hector could. Hector understood that promoters and fighters needed to work together so that the show would be highly anticipated and a truly memorable night for the fans. Everything Don told me about Hector was true, and the Olympic Auditorium was rockin’ the night Hector fought.

Don shared a funny story about Hector. Years before, when Hector fought for Don, after the fight was over, Hector asked Don to please hold his money and later, he would let Don know where to send it. I believe his purse was $80,000, so we are talking about a significant amount of money. Don deposited Hector’s purse into a separate account. Years went by, and Don told me Hector finally called him. To the best of my recollection, the conversation went almost exactly as follows: Hector introduced himself, “Mr. Chargin, this is Hector.” After Don acknowledged him, Hector said, “Mr. Chargin, do you still have the $80,000?” Don told me that although he had a big smile on his face, he said in a serious tone, “Hector, I don’t have the $80,000.” Don waited for Hector to say something, but there was just silence on the other end. Don finally spoke up, saying “Hector, I don’t have the $80,000, but what I do have is your $80,000 plus whatever interest has accrued after all these years.” Hector laughed and told Don how much he loved him and then gave him the address of where to send the money.

What’s ironic about this story is that after Hector fought for me at the Olympic, we had a similar situation. After Hector’s fight, which the crowd loved, I went down to Hector’s dressing room. I wanted to thank him for a great show and tell him what a pleasure it was working with him and his team. Hector pulled me into an adjoining room, so that we were alone and could have a private conversation. Things proceeded as follows: Hector said to me, “Peter, the whole experience of fighting at the Olympic was great. I enjoyed the public workouts every day at Brooklyn Gym and I was happy doing all the interviews.” (Hector went by limo every night to different radio and tv stations, hyping the fight. He was even a guest on the Monday Night Football game telecast the week of the fight. I never saw any fighter work that hard to help a promotion, he really understood the whole boxing business.) Hector continued the conversation and said, “Look Peter, I know you took a big risk putting me on a show with no television. I know I am expensive, especially with all the plane flights I requested, and that you housed us in a beautiful hotel for almost two weeks. Even though I know it was a great show and a big crowd, I know you couldn’t have made any money, and you may have even lost money. I know what you’re doing with the Olympic and I feel honored to have fought in a building with such history.” (After the fight, I still owed Hector a balance of $25,000.) Hector continued, “Why don’t you hold my $25,000 and in a month or so, you can start sending me $5000 a month until the entire purse is paid.”

That was the Hector Camacho I knew, not the Hector “Macho” Camacho the public saw on their TVs. Once again, it all happened because of Don Chargin and Hector’s manager Mike Acri. I could never thank Hector, Mike and especially Don enough.

I wanted to share another side of Don Chargin with you. He was co-promoting a world championship fight with Don King. They were all busy during the week leading up to the fight. One day Don was in his hotel room with some people involved with the show. There was a loud knock on the door and Don answered it. One of the individuals involved with the promotion was there, out of breath, and excitedly telling Don that he had to get down to the lobby as fast as possible. Don told the guy to calm down, catch his breath, and tell him what the problem was. The guy told Don that his wife Lorraine was arguing jaw to jaw with Don King in the lobby and he needed to get down to the lobby asap to save Lorraine from King. With a big smile on his face, Don told the guy that Lorraine wasn’t the one who needed saving, it was King! Lorraine was as tough as anyone in boxing and that is one of the reasons why Don and Lorraine Chargin made such a great match as partners in promoting and partners in life.

Don has had a huge impact both on my life and on the sport of boxing. He was not only instrumental, but also essential to the success of the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Chargin was a remarkable matchmaker and promoter. Personally, I consider him to be the Godfather of professional prizefighting. The boxing world has lost a legend in Don Chargin and he will be greatly missed.

By Peter Broudy

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When Fighting in a Ballpark Really Meant Something

History has Shortchanged Freddie Dawson, One of the Best Boxers of his Era

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2025

Arne K. Lang

History has Shortchanged Freddie Dawson, One of the Best Boxers of his Era

This reporter was rummaging around the internet last week when he stumbled on a story in the May 1950 issue of Ebony under the byline of Mike Jacobs. Boxing was then in the doldrums (isn’t it always?) and Jacobs, the most powerful promoter in boxing during the era of Joe Louis, was lassoed by the editors of the magazine to address the question of whether the over-representation of black boxers was killing the sport at the box office.

This hoary premise had been kicking around even before the heyday of Jack Johnson, bubbling forth whenever an important black-on-black fight played to a sea of empty seats as had happened the previous year when Chicago’s Comiskey Park hosted the world heavyweight title fight between Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott.

Jacobs ridiculed the hypothesis – as one could have expected considering the publication in which the story ran – and singled out three “colored” boxers as the best of the current crop of active pugilists: Sugar Ray Robinson, Ike Williams, and Freddie Dawson.

Sugar Ray Robinson? A no-brainer. Skill-wise the greatest of the great. Even those that didn’t follow boxing, would have recognized his name. Ike Williams? Nowhere near as well-known as Robinson, but he was then the reigning lightweight champion, a man destined to go into the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the inaugural class of 1990.

And Freddie Dawson? If the name doesn’t ring a bell, dear reader, you are not alone. I confess that I too drew a blank. And that triggered a search to learn more about him.

Freddie Dawson had four fights with Ike Williams. All four were staged on Ike’s turf in Philadelphia. Were this not the case, the history books would likely show the series knotted 2-2. Late in his career, Dawson became greatly admired in Australia. But we are jumping ahead of ourselves.

Dawson was born in 1924 in Thomasville, Arkansas, an unincorporated town in the Arkansas Delta. Likely a descendent of slaves who worked in the cotton plantations, he grew up in the so-called Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, the heart of Chicago’s Black Belt.

The first mention of him in the newspapers came in 1941 when he won Chicago’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) featherweight title. In those days, amateur boxing was big in the Windy City, the birthplace of the Golden Gloves. The Catholic Archdiocese, which ran gyms in every parish, and the Chicago Parks Department, were the major incubators.

In his amateur days, he was known as simply Fred Dawson. As a pro, his name often appeared as Freddy Dawson, although Freddie gradually became the more common spelling.

Dawson, who stood five-foot-six and was often described as stocky, made his pro debut on Feb. 1, 1943, at Marigold Gardens. Before the year was out, he had 16 fights under his belt, all in Chicago and all but two at Marigold. (Currently the site of an interdenominational Christian church, Marigold Gardens, on the city’s north side, was Chicago’s most active boxing and wrestling arena from the mid-1930s through the early-1950s. Joe Louis had three of his early fights there and Tony Zale was a fixture there as he climbed the ladder to the world middleweight title.)

The last of these 16 fights was fatal for Dawson’s opponent who collapsed heading back to his corner after the fight was stopped in the 10^th round and died that night at a local hospital from the effects of a brain injury.

Dawson left town after this incident and spent most of the next year in New Orleans where energetic promoter Louis Messina ran twice-weekly shows (Mondays for whites and Fridays for blacks) at the Coliseum, a major stop on boxing’s so-called Chitlin’ Circuit.

That same year, on Sept. 19, 1944, Dawson had his first encounter with Ike Williams. He was winning the fight when Ike knocked him out with a body punch in the fourth round.

The first and last meetings between Dawson and Ike Williams were spaced five years apart. In the interim, Freddie scored his two best wins, stopping Vic Patrick in the twelfth round at Sydney, NSW, and Bernard Docusen in the sixth round in Chicago.

The long-reigning lightweight champion of Australia, Patrick (49-3, 43 KOs) gave the crowd a thrill when he knocked Dawson down for a count of “six” in the penultimate 11^th round, but Dawson returned the favor twice in the final stanza, ending the contest with a punch so harsh that the poor Aussie needed five minutes before he was fit to leave the ring and would spend the night in the hospital as a precaution.

Dawson fought Bernard Docusen before 10,000-plus at Chicago Stadium on Feb. 4, 1949. An 8/5 favorite, Docusen lacked a hard punch, but the New Orleans cutie had suffered only three losses in 66 fights, had never been stopped, and had extended Sugar Ray Robinson the 15-round distance the previous year.

Dawson dismantled him. Docusen managed to get back on his feet after Dawson knocked him down in the sixth, but he was in no condition to continue and the referee waived the fight off. Dawson was then vacillating between the lightweight and welterweight divisions and reporters wondered whether it would be Robinson or Ike Williams when Dawson finally got his well-earned title shot.

Sugar Ray wasn’t in his future. Here are the results of his other matches with Ike Williams:

Dawson-Williams II (Jan. 28, 1946) – The consensus on press row was 7-2-1 or 7-3 for Dawson, but the match was ruled a draw. “[The judges and referee] evidently saw [Williams] land punches that nobody else did,” said the ringside reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Dawson-Williams III (Jan. 26, 1948) – Dawson lost a majority decision. The scores were 6-4, 5-4-1, and 4-4-2. The decision was booed. Ike Williams then held the lightweight title, but this was a non-title fight. (It was tough for an outsider to get a fair shake in Philadelphia, home to Ike Williams’ co-manager Frank “Blinky” Palermo who would go to prison for his duplicitous dealings as a fight facilitator.)

Dawson-Williams IV (Dec. 5, 1949) – This would be Freddie Dawson’s only crack at a world title and he came up short. Ike Williams retained the belt, winning a unanimous decision. The fight was close – 8-7, 8-7, 9-6 – but there was no controversy.

Dawson made three more trips to Australia before his career was finished. On the first of these trips, he knocked out Jack Hassen, successor to Vic Patrick as the lightweight champion of Australia. A 1953 article in the Sydney Sunday Herald bore witness to the esteem in which Dawson was held by boxing fans in Australia: “None of our boxers could withstand his devastating attacks which not only knocked them out but also knocked years off their careers,” said the author. “It is doubtful whether any Australian boxer in any division could have beaten Dawson.”

Dawson had his final fights in the Land Down Under, finishing his career with a record of 103-14-4 while answering the bell for 962 rounds. Following what became his final fight, he had an eye operation in Sydney that was reportedly so intricate that it required a two-week hospital stay. He injured the eye again in Manila while sparring in preparation for a match with the welterweight champion of the Philippines, a match that had to be aborted because of the injury. Dawson then disappeared, by which we mean that he disappeared from the pages of the newspaper archives that allow us to construct these kinds of stories.

What about Freddie Dawson the man? A 1944 story about him said he was an outstanding all-around athlete, “a champion in all athletic undertakings – basketball, baseball, track and even jitterbugging.” A story in a Sydney paper as he was preparing to meet Vic Patrick informs us that he had two young children, ages 2 and 1, owned his own home in Chicago, and drove a two-year-old Cadillac. But beyond these flimsy snippets, Dawson the man remains elusive.

What we learned, however, is that he was one of the most underrated boxers to come down the pike in any era, a borderline Hall of Famer who ought not have fallen through the cracks. Inside the ring, this guy was one tough hombre.

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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

5 days ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside-at-the-Fontainebleau-where-Mikaela-Mayer-won-her-Rematch-with-Sandy-Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

5 days ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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