Fighters meet in Hollywood
Each and every Tuesday a group of loyal enthusiasts of the sweet science gather in Hollywood. Many of the gentlemen are warriors of yesteryear. Several are trainers from the golden age of pugilism. Others are current boxers, coaches, promoters, journalists, historians, and filmmakers who share the one common thread of boxing.
Welcome to the weekly meeting of the Golden State Boxer’s Association (GSBA), a dedicated group of men and women who support the sport. They also believe in honoring the fighters, both amateur and pro, who were born, bred, reside or fought in California.
I visited with the organization during a special showing where renowned boxing historian and former fighter Rick Farris treated the guests to a screening that showcased interviews he and his associates, writer Dan Hanley and former amateur slugger Greg “Knock ‘Em Dead” Patterson, had previously conducted at boxing events. The three subjects that were featured on this particular day were former WBC Lightweight Champ Mando Ramos (who passed away in 2008), former WBC Lightweight titlist Rodolfo “El Gato” Gonzalez, and Hall of Fame judge and referee Gwen Adair.
For Farris, paying tribute to the boxers–the heralded athletes of the past–is a labor of love. Rick is also a writer on a very popular forum board on BoxRec. “We have the largest boxing forum,” he told me at the luncheon. “It’s the Classic American West Coast Boxing 
forum.” The ex-pug currently works in the film industry but still maintains close ties to his fellow fighters and has been a big part of the L.A. boxing community for years.
Joining Farris, Patterson, Gonzalez and Adair were legendary promoter/publicist and California Boxing Hall of Fame’s Don Fraser, ex-fighters Bobby Chacon, Allen Syers, Jerry Williams, Danny Valdez, Georgie Garcia, Mando Ramos’ widow Sylvia and father Ray Ramos, Rick Farris’ dad Bill Farris, the World Boxing of Hall of Fame’s Executive Treasurer Josie Arrey-Mejia along with a roomful of other fight aficionados in attendance.
President Larry Montalvo and his wife Elsa, along with Vice President Bill Dempsey Young and his wife Linda, and the GSBA committee hold fundraising events and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize not only the gladiators, but also their families. Recent banquets have included boxing’s “Father and Son” awards and a “Tender Heart: Women Behind the Boxers” function.
The Tuesday meetings always have a warm and relaxed atmosphere where ex-fighters can regale visitors with tales of past bouts, where current boxers can meet their boyhood heroes face to face, where fight fans can analyze weekend matchups, and where old friends can reconnect while making new acquaintances too.
While a couple of the guys’ gaits have slowed down considerably, their faces still light up, eyes sparkling when they remember the glory days long before boxing was a primarily a business, way before Pay-Per-View buys dictated who fought who, during a less political era before the alphabet craze of infinite belts and championship titles came to be.
Back when boxing was just boxing. Pure and simple.
These former champions and contenders from the squared circle can tell you what it was really like. They lived it. And while most of them are at the age where their days of being carded while buying beer have ceased a while ago, the men are still very fit and athletic. And all remain just as exuberant as they probably were when they were climbing through the ropes while in the peak of their careers.
I always love hearing the stories about battles in the infamous Olympic Auditorium or recollections of the fierce sparring wars at famed gyms whose doors have been closed long ago. I’m all ears as these men relive what boxing was really like back then. I’m lucky to listen to the main principals of that era as they vividly relive the history that comes to life in their colorful retellings.
One of the other highlights of these weekly get-togethers is the impromptu show and tell sessions when members bring vintage magazines, photographs, books, mementos and more from a unique time in boxing. You never now what souvenirs you’ll see. On this Tuesday, Josie Arrey-Mejia brought two poignant tomes with her, cookbooks authored by boxing veteran Stacy White, who just passed away last month.
I also took a look at some collectible magazines and posters that everyone was checking out. Staring back from the covers of a few now-defunct publications were Ezzard Charles, Sonny Liston, Cassius Clay, a then-touted future star Boone Kirkman, and other blasts from the past.
And while admiring all the memorabilia is always something I enjoy, nothing compares to listening to these flesh-and-blood brawlers as they recall their own stories about their time inside the four corners. These boxers offer an invaluable treasure trove of memories that only they can tell; and their remembrances are clear as a bell.
Chatting with British lightweight Allen Syers and his former stablemate “Smiling” Jerry Williams, the two were walking time capsules as they told me funny anecdotes about their fightin’ days. Syers is from Liverpool and he said Jimmy Lennon Sr. would introduce him as “The Beatle.” Both spoke with revered tones of the storied Olympic Auditorium, where Jerry described, “There’s nothing else like it. The atmosphere was incredible. We would all go and sit together in the boxers’ section. It was great!”
No matter what, you can never take their memories away from these power punchers. And as the memories came flooding back, the two also agreed why they are so passionate about the sport, “There’s nothing else like boxing; it can all change in the blink of an eye.”
Syers, who came up from South Orange County to join his peers, said he still loves boxing but also adds he is glad to be part of it, “Back when it was a sport–not just a business.”
His pal, who was given his moniker because on the rare occasions when he was knocked down, he would perpetually bounce back up with a big grin, thus the always “Smiling” Jerry Williams was born. As the two men shared tales with me, I can only imagine how great their golden age of boxing was then. But while I see how much it meant to them then, I can also feel how much it still means to them now.
For many involved with this association, their memories and careers are respected and honored. Each champ remembered and revered. Many come from a time when becoming a champion wasn’t as easy as it is now. With so many sanctioning bodies, there are a boatload of “paper champions” who may–or may not have–really fought the best opposition to earn those championship belts.
“Smiling” Jerry says when he was an up-and-comer, he was surrounded by many champs who really were the toughest hombres around–willing to fight anyone.
“These guys who fought were REAL champs,” the mustachioed Williams says with a wistful air. “This was back when being a champion really meant something.”
That is one of the things that the Golden State Boxer’s Association does best. President Montalvo and his officers ensure that these former and current champions know how much they mean to those who follow boxing.
After all, once a champ…always a champ.
Photos by Michele Chong