John Martinez and the gloves

By kiki

Around 1977, my son Frankie was fighting the main event at the Olympic Auditorium, and around 8:30, Norm Lockwood came into the dressing room and handed me the gloves. I gloved Frankie up so he could begin warming up. Forty minutes or so later, Lockwood stuck his head in the dressing room and yelled, "ring time" I told Frankie, "let's go," "wait! Wait! I have to take a piss," Frankie said to me; well, we didn't have time to take one glove off so he could take a piss, this fight was on live TV, and the TV people had everything down to the minute, so I looked at my assistant, the late John Martinez, he looked at me. He said, "no, no, no, not me! "I said, "yes, yes, yes, that's what I'm paying you for (I wasn't paying him). I'll wait outside" - Most fighters get butterflies in their stomach; Frankie got 'em in his bladder.

I put my arm around John when they came out of the dressing room. I asked him, "Well, John?" his reply was, "you sonofabitch" I told him, "don't worry, John, I won't tell anybody, and I'll buy you a beer and a hot dog after the fight for been such a nice guy" By the following day all our friend knew about it!!