Catching Up With The “Fightin’ Friends”!
If you truly love boxing, does your passion for the sweet science fade away as the years go by?
I found the answer while chatting with two gentlemen who have spent decades in the local boxing scene.
Meet Ray Owens and “Gentleman” Phil Barba.
I caught up with the pugilistic pair at a boxing get-together held last night in the Southland.
Barba is a former lightweight from the ’60s who was a fixture at the famed Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles; Owens is a founder of “The Gathering of Angels” organization, which later became today’s Golden State Boxer’s Association. If you’re wondering about the curious name of the original group, it’s a take on the classic film “Angels with Dirty Faces” starring James Cagney Humphrey Bogart. Owens and his fellow founders’ intent was to assist prizefighters in need.
Decades later, both Barba and Owens have remained pivotal members in L.A. boxing circles and their love and loyalty of the fight game is clearly evident.
Immediately after greeting the two boxing buddies, we quickly lapsed into a discussion of the past weekend’s fights including the Sergio Martinez-Sergei Dzinziruk and Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga bouts.
Owens also talked about the current stars on the canvas including the southpaw Sergio Martinez, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Nonito Donaire, Manny Pacquiao, Paul Williams and others.
While the duo aptly follow current fighters, the real highlight for me is listening to the men reminisce as they remember the golden age of boxing. While their fighting reflexes may have slowed through the years, their memories are sharp as ever.
These “blast from the past” memories–entertaining and humorous–always keep me engaged. Who needs vintage magazines or Google when these walking chapters of history are right here in front of me?
The longtime friends take turns sharing their recollections with me as they bring to life boxing of yesteryear.
“Do you know why they called him ‘Gentleman Phil Barba’?” Owens asks me as he glances to his right where his amigo sits.
At this point, a smiling Phil tells me, “During one of my fights at the Olympic, the referee stepped in to separate us and naturally I said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry!'” Then he recalls that the ref started laughing at his well-mannered apology and thus Barba became the “Gentleman” in the ring.
Owens shows me a “rap sheet” filled with a list of Barba’s accomplishments inside the ropes, including his stint as the 1959 AAU Golden gloves division titlist and his 1960 championship in an Olympic elimination tournament.
“What was your record?” I ask Phil.
The two gentlemen answer, “Thirty and two–but his two losses were controversial decisions!”
“He was also a sparring partner for Davey Moore, Carlos Ortiz, Sugar Ramos, Emile Griffith, Danny Valdez and more,” his compadre Owens added.
After hanging up the gloves, Barba picked up the scissors and opened his own barber shop near the area he grew up in, and it’s also where you can still find him today.
Both he and Owens hail from the city of Venice in Southern California, and both have many a link to boxing icons in our favorite sport as well. Talking about their hometown, what’s remarkable are the other recognizable names from Venice High School; men who all were immersed in the scene back then. “Jimmy Lennon Sr., Phil “Babe” Brandelli, Frankie Duarte, Tommy Garland, GeGe Gravante, Danny Valdivia among others,” Owens and Barba point out as fellow Venice boys.
One thing that stands out about the veterans in boxing is that they never complain how boxing has changed. Many true boxing loyalists are often very vocal in their disappointment about how the sport has become filled with “politics and paper champions.” Owens and Barba, unwavering in their passion for the sweet science, never let their love of the game become the “bittersweet science.”
On the occasions I see them at boxing events, they are always upbeat in continuing to honor and respect the sport they’ve been involved in–and have followed intensely–for years and years. Never have I heard any griping about how the game has changed–either for better or worse.
Ray Owens and Phil Barba: Two Venice boys. Two boxing aficionados. Two trusted friends.
And two gentlemen in the sweet science.
Photos courtesy of Michele Chong