Even though I don’t trade with as many people as I used to, I couldn’t bear to throw away the lists of my old trading partners because it would seem like I was throwing them away too.
I can hear you now: "But you don’t trade with them anymore. Haven’t you already thrown them away?" You’re right, but since when has sentiment been logical?
Anyway, I came across some old lists while rummaging through a small box in my bedroom and I was instantly transported to the mid-1990s, when I had a large enough list to attract interest from other collectors but a small enough inventory to want even more. As I looked them over, the wheels in my head began to turn and, as usual, they veered off in unusual directions.
Just like the fighters we admire, each collector has his own style of keeping track of his acquisitions that range from Spartan to stylish. One fellow used to write his updates longhand and used a four-star system to rate the quality of each fight. From time to time these updates were three pages front and back and at first I thought he must have suffered from writer’s cramp. Those concerns went away, however, when I noticed they were copies and that he probably wrote them down as he went along instead of all at once. In any case, this guy’s list was a bit difficult to read because he used initials for the first names of the winners and only last names for the losers, so one really had to know his boxing to decipher them. Unlike some hobbyists, he was honest in his ratings as well as precise, for he used fractions in one-quarter increments. It’s difficult to fathom the difference between a two-and-a-half star fight and a two-and-three-quarters star bout, but being a stickler myself I appreciated the effort.
Another collector was a bit more sophisticated with his updates in that he typed them out. He began each update with my name and address at the top followed by a brief introductory note about how things were going in his life – a nice personal touch. He then keyed in the full names of both fighters followed by a quality rating (E for Excellent, VG for Very Good, G for Good, F for Fair and P for Poor), the length in minutes and the date the fight took place (in most cases anyway). If he had more than one fight for a certain boxer, he took the time to group them together and just typed the opponents’ name underneath so that it lined up perfectly, like this:
Chucho Castillo VS Lionel Rose
VS Ernie De La Cruz
VS Bernardo Caraballo
VS Jesus Pimentel
Just doing that little bit required some extra effort, but the professionalism of the final product made it worthwhile. He obviously used tabs to line up the other three columns and all in all he did a good job of packaging his product. While he had a very large list – far more voluminous and diverse than mine at the time – I eventually stopped trading with him because the quality of too many of the fights I requested was disappointing – wavy lines, generation-driven decay, etc. At least I couldn’t argue with his presentation.
The highest quality list I ever came across came from a guy who is no longer in the hobby. As meticulous as I think I am, I can’t hope to top this guy. He was very choosy as far as the quality of his own recordings and he correctly wanted the same from those who traded with him. He is the gold standard in terms of detail and specificity, plus he had the volume to be considered among the big boys. Here’s an example of what I mean: I found a copy of an update he sent me in September 1996 which included the following cover page:
"Unlike my master list, the update that follows is NOT cross-referenced. Bouts are listed only once each, usually by the name of the more well known contestant, but not so in every case. Thus, if you are looking for a specific fight not immediately located please check under the name of the "other" fighter.
"I’ve received many football, baseball, basketball, tennis and other events since my last update one year ago. Please inquire if interested in non-boxing items. Also, the list of boxing matches is not exhaustive; due to time constraints I have omitted most bouts that I taped off of television myself in the last year.
"Virtually all broadcasts are COMPLETE bouts, live color VIDEO recordings (not from film) with sound. Exceptions to these criteria are noted.
Key: "A"=Amateur
CC = Closed Circuit (Original Pay-Per-View or Theatre Broadcast"
SB = Superbouts version
S = Silent
B&W = From black-and-white film
HL = Highlights Only
CSN = Classic Sports Network version (original call w/CS logo)
Sp = In Spanish
Quality:
A1 = My original recording, excellent to "mint" picture. "A1 - (minus) " denotes an original recording but with only good, not excellent, signal reception.
A2 = Obtained from another source, but excellent to "mint" quality nonetheless; sometimes better than an "A1"
B = Good to very good quality picture, usually pretty sharp but a generation away from excellent; my "master" not beyond third generation
C = Definitely viewable, good color and sound, clarity diminished but at least a solid "fair." A few are SLIGHTLY grainy. Better than other collectors’ "fair/goods," no annoyances such as a jumpy picture or tracking flaws. These include about 15 older bouts I recorded myself when antenna signal caused minor ghost image.
D = Fair/poor; not junk, but beyond four generations duplication history. Boxers’ facial features (but not audience’s) somewhat discernible. Not enjoyable to view, but not like some of the garbage out there.
Note: Assume pre-1968 bouts are black-and-white; 1968-present, color, unless otherwise noted."
I have not yet seen a more descriptive breakdown of the differences between quality on any other list and to me that portrayed professionalism, expertise and a willingness to be candid. Although honesty can lead to short-term losses, it can also produce long-term gains because it is the only way to build the kind of goodwill that will open otherwise inaccessible doors. In short, trust is huge.
As stated in previous articles, word of mouth remains the best selling tool known to man because friends trust other friends’ judgment. If a person has a good name word will spread, but if he has a bad name it spreads faster.
But back to the subject at hand: The update consisted of eight pages – front and back – and seven of those pages contained 63 items divided into two columns for the fighters involved, one column for one-line notes that provided incredible detail and one column for the quality rating. He specified whether an item was one generation removed from mint, that some were silent color films or a live call kinescope that was complete. From time to time he even judged the quality of an announcer’s call. For example, his copy of Wilfredo Gomez-Eddie Ndukwu noted that "Cosell waxes unhappy during slaughter."
I was referred to this collector through one of my earliest trading partners and the result is a friendship that is nearing the 20-year mark. Because he dropped out of the hobby we don’t correspond nearly as much as we used to but we both know that if one is in need the other will move mountains to help.
As for me I modeled the format of my own list after that of fellow scribe Boxing Bob Newman, who laid out his bouts in a three-part grid that denoted names, divisions (and name of title if applicable) as well as tape/disc number. In the intervening years, however, I’ve expanded the information provided in the name field to include the date the fight was held, the length of the recording down to the second and other relevant notations such as quality flaws (rare these days), partial rounds and other comments.
Ah yes, "other comments." They serve many purposes. First, they can inform the recipient of the nature of the event ("1993 Golden Gloves," "televised by ABC," "non-title bout," "pro debut for (put famous fighter’s name here)"). Second, they point out potential flaws ("tracking issues," "one-round highlight," "incomplete because telecast begins at round three," "TV troubles shortened some rounds") as well as tout the positives ("great quality," "mint," "complete," "great fight," "both men go down," "rare, not shown in the U.S.").
Third, they can be used to point out oddities ("Staton breaks foot," "double knockdown," "fight lasts only 12 seconds," "famous trainer goes nuts in the corner," "crowd attacks Zapata in eighth round"). In looking over my various lists I came across some interesting notations:
* On tape 419 I have a fight between Ed Pollard and Freddie Pendleton, which might not draw much interest on the surface. But even now my notation makes me want to pop it in again – "Freddie DQ’ed after outburst." What outburst would that be? I’d sure want to find out after reading that. And on Tape 498 I would never have remembered what happened during the light heavyweight fight between Ramzi Hassan and James Joseph but because I added "one-punch come-from-behind KO," I made sure that it remains special.
* The junior welterweight bout between Carlos "Bolillo" Gonzalez and Ray Collins wasn’t memorable in and of itself, but I must have gotten a kick out of the way the underdog Collins approached the bout because I noted "Collins’ war whoop is a hoot!"
* On Tape 600 is the bout between Guty Espadas Jr. and Cesar Santos, which was held December 3, 1994. My favorite division and era was the flyweights of the 1970s and early 1980s and I couldn’t believe that the son and namesake of the former WBA flyweight champion was already at an age where he could box professionally. I couldn’t help but add "doesn’t that make us all feel old?" – and I had just marked my 30th birthday. Now that Espadas Jr. is at the tail end of a 17-year career how much older must I feel?
* One the first fights I recorded saw Vernon "Yogi" Buchanan fight Alvin "Too Sweet" Hayes at the Forum in Inglewood. While the fight itself was forgettable – Buchanan floored Hayes four times before stopping him in the sixth – the pre-fight scene wasn’t. I noted, "Hayes’ pre-fight dance hilarious," and ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Sr. thought so as well. The normally solid dean of ring announcers couldn’t help but stop his introduction and break out into a wide grin as Hayes gyrated to Michael Jackson’s "Billy Jean."
Here are some other notations I found on my various lists:
Donald Curry-Tony Montgomery – "DQ causes riotous ending."
Juan Martin Coggi-Eder Gonzalez I – "Blatant favoritism by ref."
Matthew Franklin-Marvin Johnson I – "Breathtaking war."
Roberto Duran-Edwin Viruet I – "Edwin puts on good show."
Larry Holmes-Randall "Tex" Cobb – "Cosell goes ballistic."
Junior Jones-Orlando Fernandez – "No way Jones won this fight."
Alberto Jimenez-Mauro Diaz – "Diaz’s cut among worst I’ve seen."
Carlos Monzon-Emile Griffith II – "Not bad as Cosell says."
Chana Porpaoin-Rafael Torres – "Most flies you’ll ever see in a ring."
Carlos Romero-Harold Petty – "Worst swelling I’ve ever seen."
Shane Sutcliffe-Paul Presley – "Paul is boxing’s first Elvis impersonator."
Julio Cesar Chavez-Akwei Addo – "Chavez should have been DQ’d."
Daniel Zaragoza-Freddie Jackson – "Blatant headbutt gives Zaragoza title."
Tim Witherspoon-Sherman Griffin – "Tim’s best shape and effort in years."
Khoren Indjian-Jason Williams – "Indjian is SCARY looking guy."
Mark Johnson-Marcos Pacheco – "Johnson is fun to watch."
Hector Acero-Sanchez-Daniel Zaragoza I – "37-year-old vet ROBBED!"
Mike Tyson-Peter McNeeley – "Trainer, not Peter, deserves scorn."
Frankie Randall-Julio Cesar Chavez I – "I predicted this upset."
Juan Martin Coggi-Frankie Randall II – "Fakery pays off."
Michael Grant-Lionel Butler – "What’s the big fuss about Grant?"
Roberto Duran-Davey Moore – "New copy, but call stinks." (Jake and Vikki LaMotta served as "analysts.")
Tommy Morrison-Marcus Rhode – "Rhode fought in fear."
Wayne McCullough-Jose Luis Bueno – "Great fight!!!!"
Pernell Whitaker-Diosbelys Hurtado – "Pernell very lucky."
Bert Cooper-Richie Melito – "Vet exposes kid."
Reggie Johnson-William Guthrie – "Good for Reggie!"
Roy Jones-Montell Griffin II – "Roy lets anger out."
Lennox Lewis-Henry Akinwande – "Octopus gets boot."
Jake Matlala-Michael Carbajal – "Called this upset."
Manuel Medina-Hector Lizarraga – "Manuel’s amazing!"
Tim Austin-Mbulelo Botile – "Tim overcomes broken jaw."
George Foreman-Bobby Hitz – "Two promoters square off."
Junior Jones-Richard Evatt – "Unexpected struggle."
Mark Kaylor-Errol Christie – "Man-sized grudge match."
Paulie Ayala-Johnny Tapia I – "Classic give and take."
Michael Carbajal-Jorge Arce – "Perfect career-ender."
Chong Pal Park-Vinny Curto II – "Surprise before round 4."
Jeff Fenech-Junior Thompson – "Surprise after round 1."
Fres Oquendo-Cliff Etienne – "Rabbit-punch festival."
Hasim Rahman-Lennox Lewis I – "You can see this coming."
Danny Potter-Mark Williams – "Mind blowing comeback."
Richard Grant-James Butler – "Post-fight punch."
Ben Villaflor-Morito Kashiwaba – "Villaflor’s left destructive!"
Fidel Bassa-Hilario Zapata II – "Draw prompts riot in Panama."
Nigel Benn-Anthony Logal – "British Hagler-Hearns."
Riddick Bowe-Elijah Tillery I – "Tillery attempts field goals."
Johnny Boudreaux-Scott LeDoux – "LeDoux knocks Cosell’s toupee off."
Jimmy Carruthers-Vic Toweel I – "Ultimate ambush attack by Carruthers."
Robert Carson-Segundo Mercado – "Mercado DQ’d, then goes nuts."
Ron Essett-Sanderline Williams – "13th round tie-breaker used."
Jeff Franklin-Gabriel Ruelas – "Franklin breaks Ruelas’ elbow."
Dave McAuley-Rodolfo Blanco I – "McAuley down four times, wins."
Tim Anderson-Mark Gastineau – "Gastineau exposed."
Larry Holmes-Maurice Harris – "Larry receives gift."
Buster Douglas-Quinn Navarre – "Buster looks good!"
Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson II – "Mike gets munchies."
Who knew I was this opinionated? Although the original intent was to highlight certain things for my own use, they helped greatly once I became a full-time boxing writer. They helped me separate the wheat from the chaff when putting together the "Closet Classics" series and assisted me in seeking out other column ideas. What began as private amusement morphed into something far better and that can only be realized over the course of time. Will wonders ever cease?
With all the extra information I include on my master DVD list in the "fighters" field, there is precious little room for editorial comments. I guess that’s my loss, but if I run across a worthy fight in the future, I’ll make the effort to grant myself the final word. When one boils it all down, isn’t that what we all want?
