|
 Boxing's Most Famous Fight Arena By David A. Avila (January 2, 2003)
 Send this page to friend Give us your feedback
"Good evening fight fans and welcome to the Grand Olympic Auditorium." It was something that announcer Jimmy Lennon must have said thousands of times before each Thursday night fight card at the old Los Angeles fight arena.
Golden Boy Promotions — now there is a nickname synonymous with L.A. boxing — hopes to bring back regular fight cards to the Grand Olympic Auditorium beginning on Jan. 16th, featuring numerous high octane fighters like WBC junior featherweight champion Oscar Larios that will be shown on HBO Latino, a Spanish language version of the popular subscription cable network.
In less than three weeks, those old creaky doors are going to open and thousands of people will be mulling through the halls of the most famous fight arena in the world.
Yes, the most famous boxing facility is not Madison Square Garden, which had its boxing arena leveled long ago and replaced with a building made solely for basketball, not boxing. And it's not the Blue Horizon a true boxing arena made in 1961, but not nearly as old as the Grand Olympic Auditorium.
Olympic Games in Los Angeles
Built in 1932, for the Olympic games being held in Los Angeles for the first time, the 70-year-old Grand Olympic Auditorium has more stories and ghosts than a Halloween night in a Civil War cemetery.
"You know Jack Dempsey shoveled out the first dirt out there," said Johnny Ortiz, a boxing radio columnist who has seen fighters come and go at the Olympic since the late 1940s. "Dempsey's picture used to hang on the outside of the wall facing the freeway."
Dempsey had retired when the Los Angeles fight arena was erected, but many other Hall of Fame fighters stepped in between the ropes at the arena located on 1801 S. Grand Ave. and Washington Blvd.
Roster of Greats
"The Brown Bomber" Joe Louis fought there. So did Sugar Ray Robinson who is considered the greatest fighter of all time. Others who stepped on the fight apron there included Henry Armstrong, Baby Arizmendi, Richie Lemos, Chalky Wright, Manuel Ortiz, Lauro Salas, Art Aragon, Jerry Quarry, Mando Ramos, Raul Rojas and Enrique Bolanos to name a few.
"Bolanos was bigger in L.A. than Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas put together. Men, women and kids loved him. Everybody liked him. He was such an idol and very modest," said Ortiz, who once co-owned the world famous Main Street Gym. "Bolanos was one of the most popular fighters at the Olympic. And of course Art (the Golden Boy) Aragon, they hated him because he beat Bolanos. I remember I cried when Bolanos lost to Aragon."
From the Depression era to the 1970s, boxing was at the forefront of sports in Los Angeles and the Grand Olympic Auditorium regularly had sold-out crowds at the brown colored construction that fit more than 10,400 in its seats and most all of them were excellent for viewing professional and amateur fights.
Who could forget Sugar Ramos and Mando Ramos tangling with each other in a 10-round bout Aug. 7, 1970. Sugar was a Cuban fighter who migrated to Mexico. He won the featherweight title than lost it to Vicente Saldivar in the mid-'60s. Then he moved up to lightweight where he faced numerous lightweight greats including Wilmington's Mando Ramos, who had just recently lost the 135-pound crown.
Or what about Lauro Salas' two world championship bouts against Jimmy Carter as they split two fights in battles for the lightweight crown. The third fight took place in Chicago where Carter won the rubber match in 1952.
Perhaps you remember Richie Sandoval fighting some 10-rounders at the Olympic in 1983 then bursting on the world scene with a surprising TKO victory over Joltin' Jeff Chandler, who was the bantamweight world champion and seen as invincible at the time after a four-year reign.
The roster of champions and great fighters who fought at the Olympic is seemingly endless.
Gamblers and Fight Fans Haven
Bill O'Neill, a former boxing journalist now living in Riverside, said he remembers a regular cast of spectators who were as colorful as any of the fighters who entered the ring.
"There was a section in the bottom where all of the gamblers sat," said O'Neill, adding that when television began airing the Olympic Auditorium fights in the '60s, promoter Aileen Eaton had all of the gamblers seated in a tight section out of the television cameras viewing range, lest the viewers and law enforcement officials see cash passing hand to hand.
Former Olympic Auditorium favorite Armando Muniz, whose fights attracted thousands of fans to the corner arena, realizes times have changed the fight fans themselves.
"People have been trained to watch boxing on TV. Real boxing fans watch boxing in a real arena. The Olympic was the last thing like it was in the old days," said Muniz, who fought more than two dozen times at the old arena. "There were a legion of fans, TV or not, that went every week. It was like an addiction. The gamblers, beer drinkers, fight followers and ex-professional fighters would be there every week. It was something else."
Some parents brought their kids to the fights who could be seen running through the halls of the arena. One of those kids was Oscar De La Hoya, whose father Joel fought at the Olympic. Who knew he would later become one of the greatest fighters in Los Angeles history?
Memorable Fights
One of O'Neill's most memorable moments was watching a young up-and-coming Smoking Joe Frazier fight against Olympic Auditorium veteran George "Scrap Iron" Johnson on May 4, 1967.
"It was probably the only time Joe Frazier ever went on his bicycle," said O'Neill who laughed at the thought of seeing Frazier boxing instead of plowing through an opponent. "Everyone thought Old Scrap Iron wouldn't last long because he couldn't move very well. Well Scrap Iron had no inclination to run. He just stood there taking and giving all Joe Frazier could handle and made Joe move."
Bennie Georgino, a former boxing trainer and manager for world champions Alberto Davila, Danny "Little Red" Lopez and Jaime Garza, also boxed as an amateur at the famous arena.
"People would fill up the arena to see the amateurs as well," Georgino said. "You could win some money fighting amateurs."
Willy Silva, boxing manager in Mira Loma, said his greatest recollection at the Grand Olympic happened when Pipino Cuevas fought Harold Weston on Mar. 4, 1978 in defense of his welterweight title.
"It was an incredible fight. Pipino Cuevas beat Harold Weston that night," said Silva, who was a huge Cuevas fan. "But outside, there were 5,000 people trying to get in. They had to call the fire department and shoot their water hoses at the people. It was a riot out there in the parking lot."
Leonard Castillon, a long-time fight fan, recalled seeing some world champions like Speedy Dado, Richie Lemos and Manuel Ortiz perform at the Olympic.
"Speedy Dado was a little guy. He used to dress real fancy. Always had great clothes," Castillon, 87, said. "Manuel Ortiz was a hell of a fighter. He would hardly ever fight real hard. He was too good. He just did enough to beat you by decision. But if you hurt him, oooh, that was it. He would punish you. And he could hit hard. You could hear his punches way up in the top. That's where I used to sit."
Hollywood Calling
Georgino was a pal of L.A. boxing great Aragon and recalls seeing some of Hollywood's greatest starlets with their arms under his.
"Art Aragon was as famous as any movie star in his time. Oh what a character he is," said Georgino, who owned a bar near the arena and across the street from the now defunct Herald-Examiner newspaper. "The beat writers, boxers, managers, promoters all used to stop by my bar for a drink or a sandwich. Those times will never come back again."
Luis Magana, a former publicist for the Olympic Auditorium, said he would often get calls from movie stars like George Raft, Tony Curtis or Kirk Douglas.
"Whenever Kirk Douglas had a movie coming out he would call and ask for a front row seat where the camera would show him," said Magana, now in his '90s. "I always knew when he had a new movie out because he would be sitting there in front of the camera."
It was a great time in sports history and it's a great opportunity for boxing fans to visit the historic arena and take in actual prizefights.
Roy Englebrecht, spokesman for Golden Boy Promotions, said Oscar De La Hoya will be in attendance. For those wishing to have a special reception with De La Hoya, a VIP package can be obtained for $195 and $495 and includes two tickets, and an autographed boxing glove. The VIP tickets can be purchased by calling (213) 489-5631.
Regular tickets run from $15 to $100 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster or by calling the number above.
A Few Sold-out Olympic Fights of the Past
Baby Arizmendi vs. Chalky Wright — both Mexican-born fighters were dominant fighters in their time. Arizmendi beat Wright twice, first by fourth round knockout in Mexico City on Feb. 2, 1932, then by 10-round decision in Los Angeles in Oct. 5, 1937.
Chalky Wright vs. Richie Lemos — both former world champions made Los Angeles their home base. Before a home crowd, Wright knocked out Lemos in six on Feb. 3, 1942.
Manuel Ortiz vs. Carlos Chavez series — They fought five times between 1941 and 1946. Ortiz, the greatest bantamweight of all-time, won twice, drew twice and lost once to the valiant Chavez. All of their fights took place in Los Angeles.
Enrique Bolanos vs. Art Aragon — It was Bolanos the favorite of Mexican born fans versus Aragon the Mexican-American fighter. Aragon proved too much and stopped Bolanos in 12 rounds on Feb. 14, 1950, then stopped him in three rounds on July 18 of the same year. Both fights took place in the Olympic.
Carlos Palomino vs. Armando Muniz — On Jan. 22, 1977, the two best Los Angeles welterweights finally met. On the line was the undisputed welterweight title. Palomino won by TKO in the 15th round.
Fights on television
Fri. ESPN2, 6 p.m., Lawrence Clay-Bey (18-1) vs. Charles Shufford (19-2).
Fri. Telefutura, 9 p.m., James Crayton (33-6-2) vs. Alvaro Aguilar (12-0).
Sat. Showtime, 10 p.m., DeMarcus Corley (27-1-1) vs. Randall Bailey (27-2) for WBO junior welterweight title.
Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums
David Avila's Archives - Click Here
|
