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Ryan O’Neal Loved Boxing So Much he let Joe Frazier Punch Him in the Face
Ryan O’Neal passed away last week at a hospital in Santa Monica, California, at age 82. During the 1970s, O’Neal was one of the most well-known and highest-paid actors in the world. The propellant was the 1970 blockbuster “Love Story” for which O’Neal received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
O’Neal played a boxer in the 1979 comedy “The Main Event.” He was penciled-in to star as the broken-down prizefighter in the remake of the 1931 classic “The Champ,” but dropped out when the director Franco Zeffirelli reneged on his promise to cast Ryan’s son Griffin O’Neal in a secondary role and was replaced by Jon Voight.
O’Neal’s involvement in boxing wasn’t limited to the big screen. Born in Los Angeles, the son of a TV screenwriter and Hollywood actress, he fought as amateur, was a regular on fight nights at the Olympic Auditorium when he wasn’t off somewhere on a movie shoot, was involved in the management of several fighters, one of whom won a version of the world welterweight title, and once actually swapped punches with Joe Frazier!
He shared the ring with Frazier in 1967 when he was co-hosting Mike Douglas’s TV talk show. At the time, O’Neal was starring in the hit ABC nighttime soap opera “Peyton Place,” and Frazier was a fast-rising contender with 17 pro fights under his belt.
They fought a two-round exhibition with headgear in a ring pitched in the middle of the street outside the Philadelphia TV studio where Douglas’s show was taped. The referee was Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali played the role of a ringside TV commentator. The episode aired in most markets on Sept. 29, 1967.
This came about when Douglas’s producer learned that O’Neal had an amateur boxing background. Had he known more about that background, he would have undoubtedly shelved the idea.
“I fought as an amateur back in 1959 and 1960 in Santa Monica,” O’Neal told Los Angeles Times staff writer Dwight Chapin for a story that ran two years after the Frazier exhibition. “Middleweight division. I wasn’t worth a damn. My brother Kevin was a bantamweight and he wasn’t any better; we took some terrible beatings.”
Recollecting his misadventure in Philadelphia with Smokin’ Joe, O’Neal said, “Everything was OK until Frazier hit me. I still wake up screaming.” He later said that he had to visit a chiropractor to have his neck straightened.
O’Neal’s amateur background was useful in one respect. “I learned enough so that I could recognize somebody else with talent,” he said.
On Dec. 1, 1966, a young fighter from Detroit, Hedgemon Lewis, made his West Coast debut on the undercard of a show at the Olympic Auditorium where he was matched against a local tough named Phil Garcia with whom O’Neal was familiar from his amateur days. Lewis knocked Garcia out in the third round and O’Neal, watching on the TV, was mesmerized.
O’Neal wasn’t the only one who saw great potential in Hedgemon Lewis. When a man named Dell Jackson, a hair stylist in an exclusive Hollywood boutique, set about forming a syndicate to back the young prospect, he had no trouble finding investors. Ryan O’Neal jumped on board, as did Bill Cosby and recording artist and Broadway star Robert Goulet.
Lewis failed in three cracks at the world welterweight title, losing twice to the great Jose Napoles and to John H. Stracey in what would be his farewell fight, but he captured the New York version of the title when he out-pointed Carmen Basilio’s nephew Billy Backus in 1972 on Backus’s turf in Syracuse. (They fought again six months later at the same venue with the same result; Lewis won a 15-round decision.)
No member of the syndicate was more hands-on than O’Neal.
Lewis trained at LA’s Hoover Street Gym under the watchful eyes of the renowned trainer Eddie Futch and his protégé Thell Torrence. Whenever he could fit it into his busy schedule, O’Neal turned up there to keep tabs on his fighter. He eventually took a financial interest in several others that trained there, including another Hedgemon, Hedgemon Robertson, whose signature win was a first-round stoppage of Andy “The Hawk” Price at the LA Forum.
In popular fiction, boxing managers are commonly portrayed as venal, as people that extract as much mileage as they can from a prizefighter before casting him aside with only his memories to console him as he grows older. Ryan O’Neal didn’t fit the stereotype. He took an interest in Hedgemon Lewis the man, not merely in Hedgemon the boxer. With O’Neal’s encouragement, Lewis — who had taken some college courses before leaving Detroit — got his real estate license and invested his purses wisely. Ryan and Hedgemon remained close long after Lewis retired and returned to the Motor City to care for his ailing mother,
“The Main Event” reunited Ryan O’Neal with Barbra Streisand, his co-star in the screwball comedy “What’s Up Doc?” Streisand was notoriously hard to work with, but she and Ryan had great chemistry.
In their second collaboration, Streisand plays a perfume company tycoon who loses her fortune and her assets, save for a washed-up boxer who runs a driving school that is a subsidiary of her perfume company. She induces him to return to the ring and maneuvers him into a title fight. Yes, it’s a hokey movie, but an enjoyable romp with a surprise ending (sorry; no spoiler alert here).
As O’Neal’s popularity began to fade, he continued to make headlines in the tabloids because of his bumpy, albeit long-standing, relationship with actress and swimsuit model Farrah Fawcett who bore him a son. An intrepid reporter once asked Fawcett what she saw in O’Neal. “He’s real” was her terse reply.
Thell Torrence, who still keeps his hand, or at least a couple of fingers, in the boxing game at age 87, would concur. Torrence was also close with O’Neal. He was there in 2017 when the actor was awarded the Tom Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to boxing at the annual banquet of the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame. “I can’t say enough good things about Ryan,” he said when we talked with him yesterday.
Ryan O’Neal, who had leukemia, died peacefully with family members at his side. We here at TSS send our condolences to all of his loved ones.
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Arne K. Lang is a recognized authority on the history of prizefighting and the history of American sports gambling. His latest book, titled Clash of the Little Giants: George Dixon, Terry McGovern, and the Culture of Boxing in America, 1890-1910, was released by McFarland in September, 2022.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 324: Ryan Garcia Leads Three Days in May Battles
They’re fighting on the streets of New York again.
Times Square.
Ryan “King Ry” Garcia leads six of the best crack shots in boxing under 30 in New York City on Friday, May 2. It begins a three-day event that moves to Saudi Arabia on Saturday then Las Vegas on Sunday. Three targets.
A number of the best promoters in the sport of boxing are combining forces for “Ring Magazine’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.”
Time Square is target one.
Fresh off a one-year suspension, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) brings his brand of speed and power against Rollie Romero (16-2, 13 KOs), who is no shrinking petunia when it comes to power. They meet in the main event.
Ever since Garcia took off the amateur head gear, he’s shown almost inhuman explosive power and speed. Though his destruction of Devin Haney last year was overturned by the New York Athletic Commission, what viewers saw cannot be erased.
“His dad likes to talk a lot,” said Garcia of Haney. “that’s what got his son beat the first time.”
Now he faces Romero, whose years ago sparring superiority caused a furor when it happened. But sparring and fighting are distinctly different. Now there will be millions watching and future earnings at stake.
“This fight was destined to happen. I called it. I knew it was gonna be at 147 pounds and be one of the biggest fights in boxing history,” said Romero, a two-division champion.
Then, you have Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) who got his loss in the ring removed by the commission but now faces former two-time champion Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a welterweight showdown. It’s a compelling match.
“Styles make fights. He does a lot of good things and a lot of bad things in there. It’s my job to go in there and handicap him of the good things he does and exploit the bad things,” said Haney of Ramirez.
Ramirez recently lost his last match and has a history of problems making weight. This fight will not be at 140 pounds, but five pounds heavier.
“I owe it to myself to show up and move up into a bigger weight class. I think that’s going to do wonders for me,” Ramirez said. ““I’m preparing for the best Devin Haney. That’s the guy I want to beat. I want that challenge.”
A super lightweight battle between New York’s Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) and California’s Arnold Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) might be a Rubik’s Cube battle or a blast of nitro. Both are highly skilled and master craftsmen in a prize ring.
“We’re going to go out there and do what I have to do. I’m going to have fun and beat the brick out of this boy,” said Lopez, one of the local fighters who now lives and trains on the West Coast.
Barboza, a Los Angeles native, has knocked off several top contenders in remaining undefeated.
“This is the toughest opponent of my career,” said Barboza, who bested England’s Jack Catterall and fellow Californian Jose Carlos Ramirez. “I’m gonna punch him in the mouth and see what happens.”
Six of the best American fighters under 30 are slugging it out on Times Square. It probably hasn’t been done since Boss Tweed.
Day Two: Riyadh
Super middleweight champions Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) and William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) meet on Saturday, May 3, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s an extension of Ring Magazine’s event on Friday and presented by Riyadh Season. DAZN will stream the event on pay-per-view.
Another world title match pits Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) versus Norair Mikaeljan (27-2 12 KOs) for the WBC cruiser world title.
Also, a return match between Mexico’s Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) and France’s Bruno Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) in a super middleweight fight.
Day Three: Las Vegas
Immensely talented Naoya “Monster” Inoue of Japan returns to Las Vegas to showcase his fighting skills to an American audience.
It’s been nearly four years since Inoue appeared in Las Vegas and demonstrated why many experts and fans call him the best fighter pound for pound on the planet. The best.
“I’m excited about everything,” said Inoue about the opportunity to fight in front of an American audience once again.
Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) defends the undisputed super bantamweight championship against a little-known banger from San Antonio, Texas named Ramon “Dinamita” Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs). ESPN will televise the Top Rank and Teiken Promotions fight card.
Don’t dismiss Cardenas casually. He is co-promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz who knows a thing or two about signing little known sluggers such as Manny Pacquiao, Marcos Maidana and female undisputed champ Gabriela Fundora.
Cardenas trains with brothers Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio, California and rumor has it has been cracking on the Uzbeks who are pretty rough and tumble.
Of course, the Monster is another matter.
Inoue has fought many of the best smaller weight fighters such as Luis Nery, Stephen Fulton and the great Nonito Donaire and swept them aside with his combination of speed, power and skill.
“I’m always going for the knockout,” Inoue said.
Cardenas always goes for the knockout too.
Two bangers in Las Vegas. That’s what prizefighting is all about.
“I hope to enjoy the whole atmosphere and the fight,” said Inoue. Also, it’s my first time fighting in the T-Mobile Arena.”
Co-Feature
WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) of Mexico defends against Edward Vazquez (17-2, 4 KOs) of Texas. This will be Espinoza’s third defense of the world title.
Espinoza could be Inoue’s next opponent if the Japanese legend decides to move up another weight division.
Also on the fight card will be Emiliano Vargas, Ra’eese Aleem and others.
Fights to Watch (all times Pacific Time)
Fri. DAZN ppv 2 p.m. Ryan Garcia (24-1) vs Rolando Romero (16-2); Devin Haney (31-1) vs Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2); Teofimo Lopez (21-1) vs Arnold Barboza (32-0).
Sat. DAZN ppv 2:45 p.m. Saul Alvarez (62-2-2) vs William Scull (23-0); Badou Jack (28-3-3) vs Norair Mikeljan (27-2); Jaime Munguia (44-2) vs Bruno Surace (26-0-2).
Sun. ESPN 7 p.m. Naoya Inoue (29-0) vs Ramon Cardenas (26-1); Rafael Espinoza (26-0) vs Edward Vazquez (17-2); Ra’eese Aleem (21-1) vs Rudy Garcia (13-1-1).
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Jorge Garcia has a lot in common with Mexican countrymen Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza. In common with those two, both reigning world title-holders, Garcia is big for his weight class and bubbled out of obscurity with a triumph forged as a heavy underdog in a match contested on American soil.
Garcia had his “coming of age party” on April 19 in the first boxing event at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (roughly 35 miles north of San Diego), a 7,500-seat facility whose primary tenant is an indoor soccer team. It was a Golden Boy Promotions event and in the opposite corner was a Golden Boy fighter, Charles Conwell.
A former U.S. Olympian, Conwell was undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) and had won three straight inside the distance since hooking up with Golden Boy whose PR department ballyhooed him as the most avoided fighter in the super welterweight division. At prominent betting sites, Conwell was as high as a 12/1 favorite.
The lanky Garcia was 32-4 (26 KOs) heading in, but it was easy to underestimate him as he had fought extensively in Tijuana where the boxing commission is notoriously docile and in his home state of Sinaloa. This would be only his second fight in the U.S. However, it was noteworthy in hindsight that three of his four losses were by split decision.
Garcia vs. Conwell was a robust affair. He and Conwell were credited with throwing 1451 punches combined. In terms of punches landed, there was little to choose between them but the CompuBox operator saw Garcia landing more power punches in eight of the 12 rounds. At the end, the verdict was split but there was no controversy.
An interested observer was Sebastian Fundora who was there to see his sister Gabriela defend her world flyweight titles. Sebastian owns two pieces of the 154-pound world title where the #1 contender per the WBO is Xander Zayas who keeps winning, but not with the verve of his earlier triumphs.
With his upset of Charles Conwell, Jorge Garcia has been bumped into the WBO’s #2 slot. Regardless of who he fights next, Garcia will earn the biggest payday of his career.
Honorable mention: Aaron McKenna
McKenna was favored to beat veteran campaigner Liam Smith in the co-feature to the Eubank-Benn battle this past Saturday in London, but he was stepping up in class against a former world title-holder who had competed against some of the top dogs in the middleweight division and who had famously stopped Chris Eubank Jr in the first of their two encounters. Moreover, the venue, Tottenham Hotspur, the third-largest soccer stadium in England, favored the 36-year-old Liverpudlian who was accustomed to a big fight atmosphere having fought Canelo Alvarez before 50,000-plus at Arlington Stadium in Texas.
McKenna, from the small town of Monaghan, Ireland, wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion. With his dad Feargal in his corner and his fighting brother Stephen McKenna cheering him on from ringside, Aaron won a wide decision in his first 12-round fight, punctuating his victory by knocking Smith to his knees with a body punch in the 12th round. In fact, if he hadn’t had a point deducted for using his elbow, the Irishman would have pitched a shutout on one of the scorecards.
“There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class,” wrote Tris Dixon of the 25-year-old “Silencer” who improved his ledger to 20-0 (10).
Photo credits: Garcia/Conwell photo compliments of Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; McKenna-Smith provided by Mark Robinson/Matchroom
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Feudal bragging rights belong to Chris Eubank Jr. who out-lasted Conor Benn to
emerge victorious by unanimous decision in a non-title middleweight match held in
London on Saturday.
Fighting for their family heritage Eubank (35-3, 26 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs)
continued the battle between families started 35 years ago by their fathers at Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.
More than 65,000 fans attended.
Though Eubank Jr. had a weight and height advantage and a record of smashing his
way to victory via knockout, he had problems hurting the quicker and more agile Benn.
And though Benn had the advantage of moving up two weight divisions and forcing
Eubank to fight under a catch weight, the move did not weaken him much.
Instead, British fans and boxing fans across the world saw the two family rivals pummel
each other for all 12 rounds. Neither was able to gain separation.
Eubank looked physically bigger and used a ramming left jab to connect early in the
fight. Benn immediately showed off his speed advantage and surprised many with his
ability to absorb a big blow.Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Benn scrambled around with his quickness and agility and scored often with bigcounters.
It took him a few rounds to stop overextending himself while delivering power shots.
In the third round Benn staggered Eubank with a left hook but was unable to follow up
against the dangerous middleweight who roared back with flurries of blows.
Eubank was methodic in his approach always moving forward, always using his weight
advantage via the shoulder to force Benn backward. The smaller Benn rocketed
overhand rights and was partly successful but not enough to force Eubank to retreat.
In the seventh round a right uppercut snapped Benn’s head violently but he was
undeterred from firing back. Benn’s chin stood firm despite Eubank’s vaunted power and
size advantage.
“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Eubank said.
Benn opened strong in the eighth round with furious blows. And though he connected
he was unable to seriously hurt Eubank. And despite being drained by the weight loss,
the middleweight fighter remained strong all 12 rounds.
There were surprises from both fighters.
Benn was effective targeting the body. Perhaps if he had worked the body earlier he
would have found a better result.
With only two rounds remaining Eubank snapped off a right uppercut again and followed
up with body shots. In the final stanza Eubank pressed forward and exchanged with the
smaller Benn until the final bell. He simply out-landed the fighter and impressed all three
judges who scored it 116-112 for Eubank.
Eubank admitted he expected a knockout win but was satisfied with the victory.
“I under-estimated him,” Eubank said.
Benn was upset by the loss but recognized the reasons.
“He worked harder toward the end,” said Benn.
McKenna Wins
In his first test in the elite level Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) showed his ability to fight
inside or out in soundly defeating former world champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs)
by unanimous decision to win a regional WBA middleweight title.
Smith has made a career out of upsetting young upstarts but discovered the Irish fighter
more than capable of mixing it up with the veteran. It was a rough fight throughout the
12 rounds but McKenna showed off his abilities to fight as a southpaw or right-hander
with nary a hiccup.
McKenna had trained in Southern California early in his career and since that time he’s
accrued a variety of ways to fight. He was smooth and relentless in using his longer
arms and agility against Smith on the outside or in close.
In the 12 th round, McKenna landed a perfectly timed left hook to the ribs and down went
Smith. The former champion got up and attempted to knock out the tall
Irish fighter but could not.
All three judges scored in favor of McKenna 119-108, 117-109, 118-108.
Other Bouts
Anthony Yarde (27-3) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. in a light heavyweight match. It was the third time they met. Yarde won the last two fights.
Chris Billam-Smith (21-2) defeated Brandon Glanton (20-3) by decision. It was his first
fight since losing the WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez last November.
Viddal Riley (13-0) out-worked Cheavon Clarke (10-2) in a 12-round back-and-forth-contest to win a unanimous decision.
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History has Shortchanged Freddie Dawson, One of the Best Boxers of his Era
Avila Perspective, Chap. 320: Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame, Heavyweights and More
Results and Recaps from Las Vegas where Richard Torrez Jr Mauled Guido Vianello
Filip Hrgovic Defeats Joe Joyce in Manchester
Weekend Recap and More with the Accent of Heavyweights
Remembering Hall of Fame Boxing Trainer Kenny Adams
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis Wins Welterweight Showdown in Atlantic City
Boxing Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser
Avila Perspective Chap 320: Boots Ennis and Stanionis
Dzmitry Asanau Flummoxes Francesco Patera on a Ho-Hum Card in Montreal
Mekhrubon Sanginov, whose Heroism Nearly Proved Fatal, Returns on Saturday
Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal
TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts
Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside
‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’
Floyd Mayweather has Another Phenom and his name is Curmel Moton
Arne’s Almanac: The First Boxing Writers Assoc. of America Dinner Was Quite the Shindig
Avila Perspective, Chap. 323: Benn vs Eubank Family Feud and More
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Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April
Avila Perspective, Chap. 324: Ryan Garcia Leads Three Days in May Battles
Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April
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Floyd Mayweather has Another Phenom and his name is Curmel Moton
Arne’s Almanac: The First Boxing Writers Assoc. of America Dinner Was Quite the Shindig
Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside
‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’
Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal
TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts
Mekhrubon Sanginov, whose Heroism Nearly Proved Fatal, Returns on Saturday
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis Wins Welterweight Showdown in Atlantic City
Boxing Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser
Avila Perspective Chap 320: Boots Ennis and Stanionis
Dzmitry Asanau Flummoxes Francesco Patera on a Ho-Hum Card in Montreal
Remembering Hall of Fame Boxing Trainer Kenny Adams
Weekend Recap and More with the Accent of Heavyweights
Results and Recaps from Las Vegas where Richard Torrez Jr Mauled Guido Vianello
Filip Hrgovic Defeats Joe Joyce in Manchester
Avila Perspective, Chap. 320: Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame, Heavyweights and More
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Featured Articles4 weeks agoHistory has Shortchanged Freddie Dawson, One of the Best Boxers of his Era
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Featured Articles4 weeks agoAvila Perspective, Chap. 320: Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame, Heavyweights and More
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