Trio of Champs at Meet & Greet!
A trio of champions got together to meet their fans at special events organized by author Gene Aguilera (Lost Stories of West Coast Latino Boxing) and author Chris Smith (Eder Jofre: Brazil’s First Boxing World Champion).
Ruben “El Puas” Olivares (89-13-3, 79 KOs), Danny “Little Red” Lopez (42-6, 39 KOs) and Michael “Second To” Nunn (58-4, 38 KOs) appeared at back-to-back fiesta weekends in various locations around Southern California.
Mexico’s Olivares and his wife Elba were in town for appearances at Maria’s Grill in Downey, the Arts District Brewing Company in downtown Los Angeles, El Pollo Fino in Anaheim, Tamayo Restaurant in Los Angeles, and the La Puente Boxing Gym in La Puente.
Here’s what the day was like at the Arts District bash held January 22.
Olivares was given a hero’s welcome as he visited the Los Angeles area rich with boxing history. A couple of his fellow champs (Lopez and Nunn) who live in SoCal, joined “Mr. Knockout” for the festivities. That’s a lot of talent, skill and power right there. Olivares and Lopez are actually former foes inside the ropes. And between the three men, they have a combined number of 156 knockouts during their illustrious careers.
Besides the Hall of Famers and champions, there were other notables in attendance including ex-fighters (both amateur and pro), boxing coaches, ring announcers, photographers, longtime boxing supporters and more showing their support at the get-together at this popular brewery. Spotted in the crowd were Gregory Puente, Manny Nava, Steve Harpst, Anthony Huizar, Hector Duarte, Jose Palacios, Melvin Perez, Nate Wren, Richard Hansen, Melissa Hansen, etc.
It was a great turnout with plenty of photo ops and autograph opportunities for all. Olivares brought his World Boxing Council (WBC) belt for the guests to see up close and in person. And there were also boxing collectibles available for purchase like rare books, vintage posters, DVDs, 8×10 photos, trading cards, and souvenir boxing gloves. And award-winning author Aguilera (www.myboxingfans.com/2022/01/new-interview-boxing-historian-gene-aguilera) was also signing copies of his newest book.
It was a lively gathering with no punches thrown! The fighters and fans traded anecdotes, swapped stories and shared laughs as they reminisced about the boxing stars’ highlights in the squared circle.
The celebrations were a big hit and there’s already a demand for future Meet & Greets. Smith and Aguilera are planning more boxing functions coming up in the next few months so be sure to stay tuned if you’d like to meet some legends of the ring!
Photos by Michele Chong