Check out my newest posted interview with special guest, Jim Lampley! Before talking to him, I didn't know much about him personally. I always figured that because he had covered so many sports for all those Olympic games, that was how he was placed to cover boxing. With no real knowledge of the sport. I guess his old boss at ABC thought the same. Boy, were we wrong! In April, Mr. Lampley came on TheBoxingBar podcast for an interview just a couple of weeks after the passing of one of his fellow commentating friends, George Foreman. Just a few weeks after this interview, Jim's autobiography was set to be released in early May which had already been given the title with the opening words of "It Happened …", which was the phrase that he yelled out on TV the moment George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer and became boxing's oldest heavyweight champion. "It's freaky to me", said Lampley during the interview while still in shock of Foreman's passing. This was a fun interview for me listening to all the stories first hand from that all familiar voice. A special thanks to Mr. Jim Lampley!
Sam Firstenberg is an Israeli-American film director that was born in Poland and raised in Jerusalem. Firstenberg directed several low-budget films in the 80's and 90's such as the American Ninja movies, Revenge of the Ninja (my favorite), Breakin' 2 : Electric Boogaloo, and many more. The ex-director had so many great stories like when Muhammad Ali came out to hang out with the cast of Breakin' 2 while they filmed in one of the locations. He also brought up the fact that earlier in his career, he worked for KCOP-Channel 13 in Los Angeles and was the cameraman for many boxing and pro wrestling events from The Olympic Auditorium. It was a great honor to have had him on as a guest on our podcast, TheBoxingBar. Sam directed many films for the film company Cannon, and was interviewed for the documentary "Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films" which can be watched on YouTube. Awesome person! Check out the interview …
This past Wednesday evening, trainer Robert Garcia came on for his yearly interview with TheBoxingBar podcast. At that moment, he had just finished breakfast in Saudi Arabia where he is at for this afternoon's big fight between his fighter Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KO's) and Fernando Daniel Martinez (18-0, 9 KO's). During the interview, Robert shared the news that Rodriguez's baby was born that morning in Texas and watched it all via video call. Congrats to the Rodriguez family! We also discussed things that are going on in his gym, his fighters, and the recent passing of long-time local Oxnard trainer Louie "Tiny" Patino. Today's boxing event will be on DAZN Pay-Per-View from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia headlined by "The Mexican Monster" David Benavidez taking on Anthony Yarde with the start time of 12:00 pm PT. Check out our interview!
In the next few weeks, I will be bringing on some interesting people from Ventura County to interview for TheBoxingBar podcast. The first one is historian, author, and well-known local ghost hunter Richard Senate. Mr. Senate talks about many of the local hot spots for ghosts in Ventura County. Richard has written a number of books which can be found on Amazon or his website richardsenate.com. Ricky and I had a blast talking with the "Ventura County Ghost Hunter" Richard Senate. Check out this interview!
Here is our interview with 1996 boxing Olympian "Dangerous" David Diaz of Chicago, IL. He represented the United States in the Atlanta games on a terrific team which included Floyd Mayweather Jr., Fernando Vargas, and Antonio Tarver. Diaz debuted on November 30, 1996 in Albuquerque winning by unanimous decision. He won his first twenty-six straight professional bouts until losing to the crafty Kendall Holt in 2005. David took on some other very tough competitors in his career like Edner Julio, Emanuel Augustus, Humberto Soto, Erik Morales, and Manny Pacquiao. His last fight was in 2011, ending his career with a record of 36-4-1. Check out this interview!
Joel "El Platanito" Salas started his professional boxing career on June 25, 2000. Salas fought fifteen professional fights and stopped fighting in 2003. Joel is the son of Jose Salud "El Platano" Salas. Jose was from Puruandiro, Michoacan, Mexico but later trained in Mexico City and almost made the 1968 Mexican Olympic team for the games which were held there in Mexico City that year. "El Platano" trained under the guidance of legendary trainer Lupe Sanchez and fought alongside and got to know many greats like Ruben "El Puas" Olivares, Salvador Sanchez, Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles, Lupe Pintor, Rafael Herrera, "El Chango" Carmona, ect.. Great story! Listen to this interview and get to know former Oxnard fighter Joel "Platanito" Salas!
Gilbert Esquivel is what you would call a real "O.G." in the comedy world, especially in the Latino stand-up comedy scene. Gilbert started as an actor being an extra on TV shows and films. He is one of the most respected comedians around. He mostly does private shows today, but if you happen to hear he will be performing, go check him out! We had a great time talking to him on the podcast. Check out our new episode with Mr. Gilbert Esquivel !
If you don't recognize his face, you probably don't watch boxing too much. Jacob "Stitch" Duran is one of the most respected and popular cutmen in decades. He's even been on many films like all the Creed movies working Michael B. Jordan's corner in those films. Duran is from a small town in the Central Valley in California, Planada. Recently, he was inducted into the National Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2025. Check out his books and upcoming documentary. Cheers to "Stitch" Duran!
Many years ago, I had a boxing page called Oxnard IsBoxing in tribute to my local boxing community. At that time a Facebook friend stood out by the name of John Bray of Van Nuys, CA. In time, we got to talk one-on-one about boxing and he would share his story in the sport. It was pretty amazing! At one time he was supposed to be the face of the sport. He was a young good looking "White-Latino" from Southern California that was supposed to be the prospect to take the heavyweight division by storm first in the amateurs and hopefully in the professional ranks thereafter. But it didn't happen as planned. Through his admission in this interview, life and bad decisions got in the way. In his time, he got to work with some of the best of the best including the likes of Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and Tommy Morrison just to name a few. Due to some injuries related to boxing he can no longer participate physically in the sport that he loves. But his love for the sport is still there and the people that remember him, love him. On June 22 of this year, he will be inducted into the WBC's "Legends of Boxing Museum". Congratulations, John! Well deserved. Check out our interview with Mr. John Bray!
It was a real honor to have legendary comedian/actor Paul Rodriguez on TheBoxingBar podcast recently for an "Outside the Ropes" episode. Paul is in the movie "Holy Cash" which was released in October featuring many familiar faces. You can watch it on "Must See Movies with Mario" (Lopez). We talked about his career, shows he did visiting prison, and his movies like D.C. Cab and Ali. Listen to what he is up to, and the new projects he is working on. Check this interview out!
Here is our new episode of TheBoxingBar podcast with ring announcer, Christian Schmidt. In this interview, Schmidt talks about all the announcing experience he has which includes pro wrestling, MMA, bare-knuckle fighting, and boxing shows. He is a real professional, and a great guy. If you don't know who he is, get to know him as my cousin Ricky and I did during this interview. Thank you, Christian! Click the link below …
"Dangerous" David Rodela was a tough fighter from the Oxnard P.A.L.. Rodela was originally born in East Los Angeles but moved to Oxnard when he was about nine years old. Right before making his pro debut, Rodela walked into the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood to get some sparring. Trainer Freddie Roach asked David what his height and weight was. David said he was close to 6 foot tall. Roach thought it would be good to put him with Manny Pacquiao who was there training for an upcoming fight with "El Terrible" Erik Morales. After the session Pacquiao asked David how many pro fights he had on his record. Rodela responded that he wasn't a pro yet. The two became close friends and many years later Pacquiao help him pay for his current home in Oxnard as a gift. The two worked together in the gym for over thirteen years. Rodela fought many terrific fighters during his career including names like Kevin Kelley, Terence Crawford, Jorge Linares and Ronny Rios. David came on to say "Hi" to the fans of TheBoxingBar … Check it out!
Dr. Roger Anderson is the most popular chiropractor in Ventura County. His office on First Street in Oxnard neighbors the popular La Colonia Boxing Club and for decades he has helped the people in that area which is pretty much an all-Mexican community in the Eastside of town. In time, he started helping many of the fighters that were making some noise in the boxing community starting with Oxnard's first world champion, Robert Garcia. Not only has he worked with local boxers, but many fighters from out of town that were here to train like Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez and Marcos "Chino" Maidana. Today, you can still see him walking out with fighters during fight cards on TV to work their corner. Prior to this interview, I got a few short comments from both Robert Garcia and Fernando Vargas on what they think of the "Doc" which I read to him during this chat. Check out this interview to see why is a respected member of the local community, the local Mexican community, and the boxing community. Cheers to you Dr. Anderson! https://www.theboxingbar.com/
Sindy "La Alacrana" Amador was a very tough fighter during her career. She made her pro debut on October 28, 2010. In her twelfth professional fight, she won the vacant IBA World Light Flyweight title against Amaris Quintana in 2013. Only two fights later, she was forced to retire due to a detached retina in 2014. Today, it would not be a surprise to see a female match on a televised boxing card but during her career it was rare. Amador was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame (IWBHF) in Las Vegas earlier this year. The former still hits the gym as hard as ever to stay physically and mentally strong. A few months back, she came on TheBoxingBar podcast to tell her story about her journey in boxing. I also want to thank her husband, Paco Perez, for joining us during this conversation to share his point of view on his wife's life and career of a fighter. Check out this interview!
"El Magnifico" Israel Vazquez recently passed away. Vazquez was an action-packed type fighter who never disappointed when it came to fight time. He had come on our podcast several months back. During the interview we discussed his life and career as usual. In this interview, he also explains his illness and all the symptoms leading up to the diagnosis in detail. In closing the interview, I asked him how he wants to be remembered to his fans. It was emotional hearing his response at the time, and listening to it today. Rest in peace, Israel. This interview was done in Spanish.
It was great to have Orlando Canizales of Laredo, Texas on TheBoxingBar podcast. Canizales was inducted into The International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009. Orlando's older brother, Gaby, was also a former bantamweight champion. Orlando holds the record with the most defenses in this weight class at sixteen. It was great listening to him tell his story. Check out the interview!
Dr. Randy Roberts is a very well-respected historian on many subjects including boxing. You might remember him from documentaries like "Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise & Fall of Jack Johnson", "Joe Louis: America's Hero … Betrayed", or different episodes of ESPN's Sports Century. He is a distinguished Professor at Purdue University, who at times, teaches a class on boxing history. He has written almost a hundred books in his career on a variety of historical topics and has received many awards for all his achievements. A few minutes after the interview, Dr. Roberts sent me an e-mail to tell me he had a great time and he would always be happy to come back on. It was a great honor to have him on. Check out this interview!
"The Pittsburgh Kid" Paul Spadafora was a very slick boxer. "Spaddy" came on TheBoxingBar podcast to say, "hello" to the boxing fans and to talk about his life as a boxer. He discusses the ups and down in his colorful life and career in a brutally honest way. Just like when he was in the ring, Paul didn't hold back. It was a great honor to have him on the podcast. I'd like to thank his wife, Nadine, for making this interview possible. Check it out...
It was great chatting it up with Buffalo's "Baby" Joe Mesi recently on TheBoxingBar podcast. The former top heavyweight contender came on to talk about his boxing career. He had a great run as an amateur almost making the 1996 USA Olympic team. As a pro, "Baby Joe" got so popular that people thought of him as Buffalo's third franchise after their two professional sports teams. Mesi left the sport as an undefeated fighter with a record of 36-0. I never quite knew exactly why he had left the sport. He came on to explain it in detail! Since his retirement, Mesi became a politician in New York and is an award-winning salesman of medical implants spending a lot of time in operating rooms with neurosurgeons. It was a real pleasure for Ricky and I having Joe Mesi on to interview. Check it out!