Featured Articles
Avila Perspective, Chap. 90: Travels with Henry Ramirez, Roger and More

Not all boxing trainers are wheeler-dealers like Henry Ramirez. One day he’s getting on a jet across country and another day he’s driving up the 101 Freeway with a carload of amateur boxers.
The jet-setting ways of Ramirez came to a sudden halt last week.
“It happened so fast. Within a day we were told to head home,” Ramirez said, who was in Washington D.C. with prizefighter Marcos Hernandez who was set to face James Kirkland at MGM National Harbor on a Premier Boxing Champions card. It was canceled.
Ramirez and hundreds of other boxing people discovered that the Coronavirus had derailed all fight cards in March. Now they are learning that April is gone too.
“It’s crazy,” he said.
Ramirez has a small army of boxers ranging from eight-year-old amateurs to 30-year-old professionals at his Rain Cross Boxing Gym in Riverside, California. No matter the season, the gym cranks out noise like one of those chain guns.
“I’ve been doing this since 2000 back when Andy Suarez had a gym,” said Ramirez, who back then was boxing and helping the late Suarez train fellow boxers.
Andy Suarez passed away in 2006. Ramirez picked up the training baton and kept working with fighters like Josesito Lopez and Chris “the Nightmare” Arreola. Both still are active but Ramirez no longer trains them. He still has more than 30 boxers in his gym located in the northern end of Riverside.
“We’re pretty busy all of the time. California has one of the busiest boxing schedules in the country,” said Ramirez who had his crew ready to perform in Washington D.C., Orange County, San Diego County, Ventura County and also in Reno, Nevada.
All were shut down.
Worldwide nearly all boxing cards have been erased except in Mexico and South America were apparently the virus has not hit.
This past weekend Tijuana, Mexico, which sits on the other side of the U.S. border next to San Diego, California, had several boxing cards on the same night. Boxing did not skip a beat in Tijuana.
“The only thing they did was close some schools,” said Felipe Leon, a journalist living in Tijuana. “Everything else is normal.”
Normally, for Ramirez in Riverside, he would be hustling to arrange fights for his amateurs and his pros.
“They canceled the Golden Gloves,” said Ramirez who had several boxers ready to participate. “We had a fight at Chumash Casino, also on the Thompson Boxing card and in Reno that was scheduled. Now we lose all that money. That was a lot of money we were expecting to make that’s out of our hands now.”
The Riverside trainer gave all of his fighters time off for a short while so things can be re-assessed. He receives calls from all of his team wondering if they should head to the gym. He’s got a lot of eager beavers on his crew.
Ramirez has always been able to attract potential boxers to his gym. He credits television as his weapon.
“Basically, they see me working someone’s corner on television and they contact me,” he said. “Television is a big way to attract fighters.”
Over the years Ramirez has been seen working on numerous high-profile fights beginning with Arreola back in October 2005 when he fought Domonic Jenkins at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif. It was a televised fight that featured the late Vernon Forrest in the main event. Arreola won by knockout and continued to grow into a heavyweight contender.
Last Saturday, at the MGM National Harbor, Ramirez’s fighter Hernandez was set to perform in the main event that was being televised by FOX. It was canceled abruptly.
“We got there on Wednesday and by Thursday we were told they might not allow the public to see the fight. Then they told us to pack up and go home. They were canceling the fight and on Friday I was heading back home,” Ramirez said.
Rival fight cards in New York City were also canceled.
“We’re hoping things get back to normal by the middle of May,” said Ramirez who had potential fights set for May. “It’s crazy but not only sports is affected, it’s the whole world.”
Even the ever-busy Henry Ramirez has to slow down.
Roger Knows
Sadly, boxing great Roger Mayweather passed away. Many times I would talk to the former fighter turned trainer; whenever I could.
Very few knew boxing better than Roger Mayweather.
Unknown to many was his love for teaching the youth. Over the years he passed his knowledge on to hundreds of aspiring boxers of all ages.
One of those was Melinda Cooper one of the best female prizefighters of her era.
“He used to work a lot with Melinda,” said James Pena who mentored Cooper throughout her boxing career. “He went with us to at least five tournaments when she was very young. He bought her boxing shoes. He used to call her a bad MF.”
Pena remembers going to Midland, Texas for a tournament back in the 90s and with the money Mayweather was paid to assist, he used it for other things.
“He spent $500 to buy stuff for the other kids to eat at a restaurant,” said Pena of Mayweather. “He really enjoyed helping kids in boxing. He got a big kick out of it.”
My own familiarity with Mayweather came when he was coaching Laila Ali in Las Vegas. I would often visit the Top Rank Gym in town and would sit down and just talk boxing with Mayweather.
On one occasion some young aspiring boxing journalist sat in the small office with us and proclaimed that both Julio Cesar Chavez and Oscar De La Hoya were flukes.
“They’re all hype,” said this young guy.
Mayweather looked at him like he was a space alien.
“How are you going to say De La Hoya won world championships in seven weight divisions and call him a fluke,” said Mayweather to the surprised young writer. “You win any world title and you are a champion. If everybody could win a world title they would. You don’t know shit about boxing.”
Upset at the young journalist’s statement, he then proceeded to test his boxing IQ.
“Who do you think is the greatest fighter of all time?” asked Mayweather to the youngster.
The kid responded with somebody I can’t recall who.
Then, Mayweather looked at me and asked my opinion.
“I kind of think Sam Langford,” I answered.
Mayweather looked at me and did a double-take.
“You know boxing,” he said.
I swear, hearing Mayweather say that to me made my career. I had watched him as a fighter and as a trainer for Floyd Mayweather and considered him one of the top boxing minds in the world.
Mayweather then asked me which Las Vegas newspaper I worked for?
I answered I work for the Riverside newspaper. He looked at me in surprise.
“I see you here all the time,” Mayweather said. “I never see the Las Vegas guys in this gym.”
That day kind of inspired me to continue covering boxing like a madman. I’ve retold this story many times because I love the boxing world and all of its participants. No other sport has its history, personality and reach. Whether from Grand Rapids, Michigan or East Los Angeles; whether from Moscow, Dublin, Tokyo, Mexico City or Accra, Ghana, prizefighters come from all over the world.
Losing Roger Mayweather really hurts. We’ve lost another tie to boxing’s history and a man who contributed greatly to its continued success.
Rest in peace Roger Mayweather.
30 Years Ago
This St. Patrick’s Day was the 30th anniversary of the epic fight between Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor that took place in Las Vegas for the WBC super lightweight world title. It was March 17, 1990.
It brings back vivid memories for me.
At the time I was a fledgling journalist for a small free newspaper in the San Gabriel Valley area in Southern California. Money was tight and I could not afford pay-per-view television or cable network viewing. Back then I was living in the suburban city of Montebello. The Montebello Mall was just built and a new sandwich shop opened and claimed it was showing the Chavez-Taylor fight for customers.
I arrived early that day and got an elevated seating spot to watch the small television screen. By the time the main event appeared the place was packed with fans. I forget the name of the sandwich spot, it didn’t last more than a year.
That fight vividly remains in my memory. It was fiercely fought with both displaying their individual talent. Taylor had blinding speed and could take a heck of a punch. Chavez was relentless and his defense was better than most expected, especially against those Taylor combinations.
Of course, nobody knew that Chavez was far behind on two judges scores after 11 rounds, but the commentators felt he needed a knockdown or knockout to win. They were right, and Chavez did exactly that by dropping Taylor in the corner. Referee Richard Steele looked into his eyes and called the fight over with two seconds remaining. Chavez was declared the winner and inside the Montebello sandwich shop about 100 fans erupted in cheers.
I went home and told my live-in girlfriend at the time what had transpired. She just smiled. Oh well. Ironically my ex-girlfriend’s family was from Culiacan where Chavez hailed from.
That same sandwich shop also showed Roberto Duran’s upset of Iran Barkley a year earlier. It proved to be my savior for watching big fights.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
To comment on this story in The Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Thomas Hauser’s Literary Notes: Johnny Greaves Tells a Sad Tale

Johnny Greaves was a professional loser. He had one hundred professional fights between 2007 and 2013, lost 96 of them, scored one knockout, and was stopped short of the distance twelve times. There was no subtlety in how his role was explained to him: “Look, Johnny; professional boxing works two ways. You’re either a ticket-seller and make money for the promoter, in which case you get to win fights. If you don’t sell tickets but can look after yourself a bit, you become an opponent and you fight to lose.”
By losing, he could make upwards of one thousand pounds for a night‘s work.
Greaves grew up with an alcoholic father who beat his children and wife. Johnny learned how to survive the beatings, which is what his career as a fighter would become. He was a scared, angry, often violent child who was expelled from school and found solace in alcohol and drugs.
The fighters Greaves lost to in the pros ran the gamut from inept local favorites to future champions Liam Walsh, Anthony Crolla, Lee Selby, Gavin Rees, and Jack Catterall. Alcohol and drugs remained constants in his life. He fought after drinking, smoking weed, and snorting cocaine on the night before – and sometimes on the day of – a fight. On multiple occasions, he came close to committing suicide. His goal in boxing ultimately became to have one hundred professional fights.
On rare occasions, two professional losers – “journeymen,” they’re called in The UK – are matched against each other. That was how Greaves got three of the four wins on his ledger. On September 29, 2013, he fought the one hundredth and final fight of his career against Dan Carr in London’s famed York Hall. Carr had a 2-42-2 ring record and would finish his career with three wins in ninety outings. Greaves-Carr was a fight that Johnny could win. He emerged triumphant on a four-round decision.
The Johnny Greaves Story, told by Greaves with the help of Adam Darke (Pitch Publishing) tells the whole sordid tale. Some of Greaves’s thoughts follow:
* “We all knew why we were there, and it wasn’t to win. The home fighters were the guys who had sold all the tickets and were deemed to have some talent. We were the scum. We knew our role. Give some young prospect a bit of a workout, keep out of the way of any big shots, lose on points but take home a wedge of cash, and fight again next week.”
* “If you fought too hard and won, then you wouldn’t get booked for any more shows. If you swung for the trees and got cut or knocked out, then you couldn’t fight for another 28 days. So what were you supposed to do? The answer was to LOOK like you were trying to win but be clever in the process. Slip and move, feint, throw little shots that were rangefinders, hold on, waste time. There was an art to this game, and I was quickly learning what a cynical business it was.”
* “The unknown for the journeyman was always how good your opponent might be. He could be a future world champion. Or he might be some hyped-up nightclub bouncer with a big following who was making lots of money for the promoter.”
* “No matter how well I fought, I wasn’t going to be getting any decisions. These fights weren’t scored fairly. The referees and judges understood who the paymasters were and they played the game. What was the point of having a go and being the best version of you if nobody was going to recognize or reward it?”
* “When I first stepped into the professional arena, I believed I was tough. believed that nobody could stop me. But fight by fight, those ideas were being challenged and broken down. Once you know that you can be hurt, dropped and knocked out, you’re never quite the same fighter.”
* “I had started off with a dream, an idea of what boxing was and what it would do for me. It was going to be a place where I could prove my toughness. A place that I could escape to and be someone else for a while. For a while, boxing was that place. But it wore me down to the point that I stopped caring. I’d grown sick and tired of it all. I wished that I could feel pride at what I’d achieved. But most of the time, I just felt like a loser.”
* “The fights were getting much more difficult, the damage to my body and my psyche taking longer and longer to repair after each defeat. I was putting myself in more and more danger with each passing fight. I was getting hurt more often and stopped more regularly. Even with the 28-day [suspensions], I didn’t have time to heal. I was staggering from one fight to the next and picking up more injuries along the way.”
* “I was losing my toughness and resilience. When that’s all you’ve ever had, it’s a hard thing to accept. Drink and drugs had always been present in my life. But now they became a regular part of my pre-fight preparation. It helped to shut out the fear and quieted the thoughts and worries that I shouldn’t be doing this anymore.”
* “My body was broken. My hands were constantly sore with blisters and cuts. I had early arthritis in my hip and my teeth were a mess. I looked an absolute state and inside I felt worse. But I couldn’t stop fighting yet. Not before the 100.”
* “I had abused myself time after time and stood in front of better men, taking a beating when I could have been sensible and covered up. At the start, I was rarely dropped or stopped. Now it was becoming a regular part of the game. Most of the guys I was facing were a lot better than me. This was mainly about survival.”
* “Was my brain f***ed from taking too many punches? I knew it was, to be honest. I could feel my speech changing and memory going. I was mentally unwell and shouldn’t have been fighting but the promoters didn’t care. Johnny Greaves was still a good booking. Maybe an even better one now that he might get knocked out.”
* “Nobody gave a f*** about me and whether I lived or died. I didn’t care about that much either. But the thought of being humiliated, knocked out in front of all those people; that was worse than the thought of dying. The idea of being exposed for what I was – a nobody.”
* “I was a miserable bastard in real life. A depressive downbeat mouthy little f***er. Everything I’ve done has been to mask the feeling that I’m worthless. That I have no value. The drinks and the drugs just helped me to forget that for a while. I still frighten myself a lot. My thoughts scare me. Do I really want to be here for the next thirty or forty years? I don’t know. If suicide wasn’t so impactful on people around you, I would have taken that leap. I don’t enjoy life and never have.”
So . . . Any questions?
****
Steve Albert was Showtime’s blow-by-blow commentator for two decades. But his reach extended far beyond boxing.
Albert’s sojourn through professional sports began in high school when he was a ball boy for the New York Knicks. Over the years, he was behind the microphone for more than a dozen teams in eleven leagues including four NBA franchises.
Putting the length of that trajectory in perspective . . . As a ballboy, Steve handed bottles of water and towels to a Knicks back-up forward named Phil Jackson. Later, they worked together as commentators for the New Jersey Nets. Then Steve provided the soundtrack for some of Jackson’s triumphs when he won eleven NBA championships as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s also a matter of record that Steve’s oldest brother, Marv, was arguably the greatest play-by-play announcer in NBA history. And brother Al enjoyed a successful career behind the microphone after playing professional hockey.
Now Steve has written a memoir titled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Broadcast Booth. Those who know him know that Steve doesn’t like to say bad things about people. And he doesn’t here. Nor does he delve into the inner workings of sports media or the sports dream machine. The book is largely a collection of lighthearted personal recollections, although there are times when the gravity of boxing forces reflection.
“Fighters were unlike any other professional athletes I had ever encountered,” Albert writes. “Many were products of incomprehensible backgrounds, fiercely tough neighborhoods, ghettos and, in some cases, jungles. Some got into the sport because they were bullied as children. For others, boxing was a means of survival. In many cases, it was an escape from a way of life that most people couldn’t even fathom.”
At one point, Steve recounts a ringside ritual that he followed when he was behind the microphone for Showtime Boxing: “I would precisely line up my trio of beverages – coffee, water, soda – on the far edge of the table closest to the ring apron. Perhaps the best advice I ever received from Ferdie [broadcast partner Ferdie Pacheco] was early on in my blow-by-blow career – ‘Always cover your coffee at ringside with an index card unless you like your coffee with cream, sugar, and blood.’”
Writing about the prelude to the infamous Holyfield-Tyson “bite fight,” Albert recalls, “I remember thinking that Tyson was going to do something unusual that night. I had this sinking feeling in my gut that he was going to pull something exceedingly out of the ordinary. His grousing about Holyfield’s head butts in the first fight added to my concern. [But] nobody could have foreseen what actually happened. Had I opened that broadcast with, ‘Folks, tonight I predict that Mike Tyson will bite off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear,’ some fellas in white coats might have approached me and said, ‘Uh, Steve, could you come with us.'”
And then there’s my favorite line in the book: “I once asked a fighter if he was happily married,” Albert recounts. “He said, ‘Yes, but my wife’s not.'”
“All I ever wanted was to be a sportscaster,” Albert says in closing. “I didn’t always get it right, but I tried to do my job with honesty and integrity. For forty-five years, calling games was my life. I think it all worked out.”
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His next book – The Most Honest Sport: Two More Years Inside Boxing – will be published this month and is available for preorder at:
https://www.amazon.com/Most-Honest-Sport-Inside-Boxing/dp/1955836329
In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Mekhrubon Sanginov, whose Heroism Nearly Proved Fatal, Returns on Saturday
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Floyd Mayweather has Another Phenom and his name is Curmel Moton
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Arne’s Almanac: The First Boxing Writers Assoc. of America Dinner Was Quite the Shindig
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 323: Benn vs Eubank Family Feud and More