In a Tribute Wedded to Memorial Day, Boxing Writer David Avila Pays Homage to Absent Friends

In a Tribute Wedded to Memorial Day, Boxing Writer David Avila Pays Homage to Absent Friends

Memorial Day. In honor of those who served in the military in service for our country.

I would also like to honor those in the boxing world that we lost.

For more than 40 years as a boxing journalist I’ve encountered thousands of people in the fight world including prizefighters, managers, trainers, promoters, publicists, and fans throughout the world.

Even before becoming a journalist the sport of boxing was engrained in my family’s soul with my great grandfather telling our family stories of his career that began in the early 1900s.

Good old Battling Ortega.

Today, I’m remembering or trying to remember all those in the boxing world that I met who have passed but have not been forgotten.

Though my father was a professional fighter, his career was stopped short for a variety of reasons. He passed on the boxing torch to me beginning at age four when he shoved me into a boxing ring to take my licks early.

It took me about three years to learn how to defeat someone in the boxing ring. Those lessons taught me that boxing was not just about strength, speed, stamina, but also about spirit. I also learned that not everyone is suited to be a world champion regardless of their physical gifts.

My life always involved boxing. As a child I watched it during the 1950s on a very small black and white television. Our family was big, so I usually sat on the carpet or on the floor as the adults sat on the furniture smoking cigarettes, drinking Schlitz and shouting instructions.

I thought everybody did this.

My grandfather, great grandfather and father would all talk during intermission about the good old days. All would give reverence to my great grandfather Battling Ortega, who growled when he talked about Jimmy McLarnin, Soldier Bartfield, Ted “Kid” Lewis and Willie Ritchie.

Ortega began fighting in the San Francisco Bay area as a featherweight around 1915. Over the years he fought lightweights, welterweights, middleweights, and light heavyweights despite standing around 5’7” in height.

When asked why he would fight all those weight classes he answered:

“I don’t give a s–t.”

Battling Ortega was alive until the late 1970s and saw all of the stars of that period like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Ruben Olivares among others.

He claimed Benny Leonard was the best fighter he ever battled.

Long after he retired, the only fighter Ortega saw in the 70s and admired was Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran. Both were similar size and had a similar fighting style.

Even in his late age Ortega was gruff and no nonsense. His hands were like old baseball mitts with his knuckles protruding. He was very protective of my great grandmother in their corner house down the street near Resurrection Boxing Gym in East L.A.

Pro Boxing World

Decades after my father retired from pro boxing he took me to a boxing match at the Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. It was constructed for boxing back in the 1920s when the sport was allowed back within the L.A. city limits ending the ban forced by the holy rollers.

On my first visit to the Olympic I saw Jose Pimentel fight Japan’s Sho Saijo on February 1968. It was a fierce featherweight battle that Pimentel won by split decision. They would meet two more times including for the world title in Nakajima, Japan. Saijo won the rubber match by knockout in the second round.

But after that fight in February 1968, we met Pimentel and his trainer/manager Harry Kabakoff at a popular restaurant bar on Figueroa. We also met Ruben Navarro, Mando Ramos and a couple of others that late night.

It was my first taste of the pro boxing world with its colorful Raymond Chandleresque characters and dim candlelight dinner tables. Drinks were splashed not sipped. Anyone speaking in more than two-syllable words was suspect.

I liked this world.

Kabakoff, my dad’s old trainer and manager, was the most colorful of all. He was loud, confident and keenly aware of everyone in the vicinity like a traffic cop in the middle of a five-point intersection.

My dad told me Kabakoff was a former cop.

We listened to Kabakoff as he speed-jabbered about the boxing activities going on in the L.A. area at the time.

That night ignited the spark inside me that enflamed me a few years after I graduated from UCLA. I began writing a boxing column for a small newspaper in the San Gabriel Valley area. My first story was about the Marvin Hagler versus Tommy Hearns ferocious middleweight explosion. I guess it was my destiny.

Over the decades I met many legends and not-so-legendary boxing people.

Perhaps the most legendary was Muhammad Ali who I met and had short conversations with many times in many places. Three times we crossed paths on the streets of Los Angeles at hamburger joints, elevators and parking lots. He also had an office in the same building I worked on Wilshire Boulevard near the Ambassador Hotel.

Ali was the most recognized man in the world and a great humanitarian. He was gracious to everyone who wanted to reach out to him. An amazing human being.

I later met Joe Frazier the most famous rival of Ali. My first time meeting Frazier occurred after the Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley fight at Staples Center in June 17, 2000. We met on Sunset Boulevard near the Whiskey A-Go-Go. I helped Frazier gain entrance in a post-fight party there. The last time I saw Frazier was at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. We sat next to each other. I couldn’t believe my luck.

Frazier asked if it was ok to sit next to me. I told him it was an honor and privilege.

I also met Frazier’s old trainer Eddie Futch who replaced Yank Durham when he passed away in 1973. Futch later trained so many of the fighters I wrote about or met such as Freddie Roach, Wayne McCullough, Ken Norton, Riddick Bowe, Alexis Arguello, Don Jordan, Marlon Starling and Hedgemon Lewis.

Remembering Old Friends

Hedgemon Lewis – a standout in the Los Angeles boxing scene passed in March 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. He was a Los Angeles-based fighter and one of the nicest human beings. Lewis fought many of the top welters in the lates 60s and 70s including Jose Napoles, Armando Muniz, John Stracey, Carlos Palomino and Adolph Pruitt. The last time I saw Lewis was in Las Vegas following a Top Rank show.

Rodney Hunt – cameraman and promoter, died from Covid in March 2020. He shot sports footage for CBS and KCAL and was a big fan of boxing and MMA. When he retired from camera work, he concentrated on promoting female boxing. Among those he promoted were Japan’s Tomomi Takano and Kazakhstan’s Aida Satybaldinova. He had a million stories to tell and helped promote heavyweight contender Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola. Those were fun camps.

Roger Mayweather – one of the greats as a fighter and trainer. He passed away in March 2020. Very few were as brutally honest as Mayweather. He never minced words or opinions when it came to boxing. His knowledge of the sport went beyond knowing technique or training processes. He was a historian and could talk about anyone in modern day boxing. He had a way of testing journalists and if you failed, then “you don’t know s–t about boxing.” If you passed, then he remembered you and willingly talked about the sport. He asked me who I considered the best. I mentioned Sam Langford. “You know boxing,” he told me. Mayweather was an encyclopedia of prizefighting and also helped many boxers including female fighters with financial assistance. As a fighter he was known as the “Mexican Killer” in the L.A. area. A very important figure in 21^st century prizefighting.

Stan Ward – also passed during the Covid-19 era. He was active as a boxing trainer and coach in the Los Angeles area and passed in April 2020. He was a heavyweight fighter who traded blows with Mike Weaver, Greg Page and Gerrie Coetzee. I met Ward when he trained talented super featherweight Jennifer Barber in the early 2000s. He was a generous man and was revered by those that knew him.

William Bamish – was a manager of several top female fighters including Seniesa Estrada, Melinda Cooper, Celina Salazar and Crystal Morales. It was during a period in women’s boxing when it was tough to get a female bout on any card without paying for it yourself. He was actually in real estate but took action when someone mentioned to him that women boxing was treated rudely. He was a big man at 6’4” and weighed about 260 pounds of muscle. Sadly, he suffered a stroke and a few years later passed in December 2019. He grew up in East L.A. and Montebello. I met Bill while in high school. Years later we met again at UCLA and rekindled our friendship. He was a very good man and gave whatever he could for women’s boxing.

Bert Sugar – I met boxing the journalist at a Golden Boy Promotions fight in Las Vegas. Several journalists were invited by Oscar De La Hoya to a dinner at a Mexican restaurant inside the MGM. We sat next to each other and struck up a conversation regarding boxing movies It turned out we both shared an affinity for a little-known film that featured Max Baer, “The Prizefighter and the Lady.” His knowledge of boxing was incredible. Very friendly guy and down to earth.

Andy Suarez – when I first arrived in the Riverside, Calif. area and began a boxing column for the local newspaper, one of the first boxing people I met was Suarez. He was one of the trainers at the Lincoln Gym and his son was a rising star Mark Suarez. I got to know Andy because he worked as a cut man for Bobby Boy Velardez who was knocking off better known fighters one-by-one. Andy was wise to all of the tricks and practices that other trainers would use and would spot them and show me. He was well-liked and started the boxing careers of Josesito Lopez, Chris Arreola and Henry Ramirez. He passed away at a young age in March 2006.

Johnny Ortiz – was one of those boxing people that did it all, from boxing to managing to broadcasting, and he was one of the owners of the historic Main Street Gym in downtown Los Angeles. I met Johnny O while starting up Uppercut Magazine with a friend in East Los Angeles around 1995. He called and offered his expertise and knowledge. He worked in radio including a boxing show on ESPN Radio. He also acted and was last seen in the 1998 movie “Play It to the Bone.” Ortiz was involved in every aspect of boxing. He also wrote a book titled “My Life Among the Icons” which sums up his incredible life in the Southern California area. He passed away in the summer of 2014.

Dan Goossen – was a promoter for several decades and had a number of tremendous prizefighters including James “Lights Out” Toney, Andre Ward, John Molina and Chris Arreola. More than that, he was a great guy and a favorite promoter of many in the boxing world. Dan always reached out to his friends. When I was hospitalized with a brain bleed in June 2014, I got a call from him. Little did I know that he was suffering from cancer and was not doing well. He was a great human being and I miss those press conferences he held in the San Fernando Valley. He was well-loved by his friends and family. The Goossens remain one of the great families in Southern California. Dan passed away in October 2014.

Willie Schunke – He was known as “Indian Willie” and worked as a hand wrapper and cut man for many boxers in the Riverside and San Bernardino area. He was always in Josesito Lopez and Chris Arreola’s corner until he passed away suddenly in his sleep. He bought a house on a hilltop in Riverside and transformed his garage into a boxing gym. It had the most spectacular view perhaps in the history of boxing gyms. Many top fighters sparred there including Mikey Garcia, Damian “Bolo” Wills and Jameel McCline. On most days anyone could stop by and talk to Indian Willie. He passed away in September 2015.

Bennie Georgino – when I first began my boxing column for the Riverside Press-Enterprise I received a call from Bennie Georgino. He didn’t need to introduce himself, I knew about him as a manager and promoter for decades. I had no idea he had moved into Riverside and he offered his expertise to me and I accepted. Over the years we would meet and he would tell me boxing stories about the sport from the 1930s until he passed in February 2016. Georgino worked with many world champions such as Danny “Lil Red” Lopez, Jaime Garza, Mike Weaver and even the great Salvador Sanchez. He knew all the ins and outs of boxing and was a power broker during boxing’s heyday in Los Angeles.

Bill Daniels – he was known as “Old Billy,” a name he bestowed on himself, and he was a great fan of Chris Arreola. He had covered boxing during the 60s and 70s and was also a close friend of the great Jerry Quarry and family. Old Billy was raised in Downey, an LA suburb, and was enamored with boxing. Daniels also became friends with Mike Quarry and his family.

Max Garcia – was a coach and trainer near the Bay Area in Northern California. I first met Max in the late 90s in Big Bear. I can’t recall who he was training at the time but we hit it off from the start. Over the years it was like a reunion whenever we crossed paths. I always felt like I had known Max my whole life. He and his son Sam were boxing people that you never forget. I felt fortunate to have known this coach whose expertise was phenomenal. His fighters always had something extra. Now his son carries on and there is no drop-off. The Garcias continue to mold and groom excellent prizefighters.

Cameron Dunkin – the longtime manager of top-flight boxers passed away last year on January 2, 2024. Over the last four decades, Dunkin managed Diego Corrales, Mikey Garcia, Kelly Pavlik and so many others. He was easy to reach and even during bad times he was accessible. He worked primarily with Top Rank but also with other promoters. The last time I saw Dunkin was at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Riverside. He was one of the first boxing managers I ever met.

Mike Marley – died in March 2022. He was a quick-thinking boxing man who ran the gamut of journalist, publicist, Emmy-winning TV producer for Howard Cosell, and human encyclopedia of the boxing world. I remember meeting Marley in Las Vegas after he shouted out my name and looked around as if part of an undercover exchange of top secrets. I met him in the mid-90s and we continued to run into each other at boxing events where he would continue to offer me a job as a writer. I always told him “no thanks” and he would immediately tell me I will pay you $1 dollar more than I’m receiving. I always smiled when I saw Marley. Only in boxing.

Here is a 10-count for old friends now gone but never forgotten.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE