4th Annual Paul Banke BBQ

Champs and Fighters at Annual Event!

It was a knockout day at the 4th Annual Paul Banke BoxFam BBQ recently held at the Covina Park in Covina, Calif.

Banke is a former WBC champion and Hall of Famer who has stayed in the sport training fighters, attending boxing events and building his BoxFam company. He is a popular fixture at Southern California gatherings and is also the subject of Paul Zanon’s book Staying Positive: The Story of the ‘Real’ Paul Banke.

His yearly BBQ brings out a large crowd from not only local cities but from various counties in California; many out-of-town visitors old me they wouldn’t think of missing this annual party in the park with the champs.

On Saturday, August 6, (starting at 9 a.m.) the fight community and boxing family started to gather for a fiesta of food, live music, dancing, etc.

I arrived later in the afternoon and caught up with many of the guests still enjoying the outdoor festivities.

There were many familiar faces attending the picnic (which continued until late in the afternoon). Spotted throughout the day were current and ex-amateur boxers, former pro fighters, past champs, boxing officials, trainers, cornermen, media members, bodybuilders, entertainers and more including Michael “Second To” Nunn, Gabe Ruelas, Rafael Ruelas, Zack Padilla, Shawn Hawk, Art Frias, Floyd Weaver, Herman Montes, Danny “Little Red” Lopez, Mike Anchondo, Greg Puente, Sindy Amador, Mathew Porcellino, Richard Torrez Sr., Ray Corona, Steve Harpst, Robert Ortiz Sr., Manny Nava, Ronnie Rivota, Alan Santana, Burney Spencer, Sergio Estrada, Larry Covin, Joey Olivera, Joe Robledo, Andy Rojo, Edward Armstrong-Scott, Sean Fitzgerald, Yolanda Cortes, Louie Valenzuela, Antonio Ramirez, Rafael Franco, Tony Ruiz, the Younger Twins (Jim and John), Olga Camacho and many, many more.

Jose Morell arrived from New York to take part in the BBQ, Utah’s Shawn Hawk and his wife (and jewelry designer) Echo Lynn Matthey also made the trek, and Carlos Sam came from Arizona to visit with his fellow boxing aficionados.

The live music was provided by Work It Records’ Phillip Guerrero and Dina Macias and the crowd also sang “Happy Birthday” to DJ Phillip.

The partygoers also had the chance to check out special edition T-shirts from Sindy Amador (competing September 3 in her first bodybuilding competition), Hall of Fame fighter Michael Nunn, the Henry Armstrong Foundation’s Edward Armstrong-Scott, Putasos Fight Apparel, Kid Gloves and Scrappy Promotions’ Robert Ortiz Sr. and a children’s book by boxing veteran Alan Santana.

During the potluck, fans were able to get autographs from their favorite fighters and pose for some selfies. There were people of all ages there and various gyms too. Everyone mingled and talked boxing, of course!

It was a fun and relaxing day under the summer sun. While catching up with fellow guests, all spoke of how much they like being around BBQ host Paul Banke (with assists from Angela Stanfield and George Rodriguez). He loves attending live fights and is supportive of both amateurs and professional prizefighters. The SoCal pugilist has been valiantly battling AIDS and other health issues for years now but remains upbeat, always happy to see everyone and capturing all his friends on film for his BoxFam videos.

While making the rounds to make sure everyone was having a good time, Paul thanked everybody for coming out to the annual BBQ.

Check out some of the snapshots from this year’s bash!

Photos by Michele Chong