And while this story is peppered with real-life events, it is still a work of fiction (which means I made stuff up)
By kiki
Edit by Phil Rice
Eddie Gomez was watching a boxing match on a nineteen-inch TV when his dad, Rudy, came into the house and told Eddie.
"Eddie, look what I have here."
"Pops, did you get some tickets for the title fight?
Eddie had been bugging his pop to take him to see the Art Argon vs. Jimmy Carter lightweight title fight at the Olympic Auditorium for some time, but his Pop thought that Eddie, being twelve years old, was too young to go to the boxing matches.
"Yes, Eddie, I bought four tickets. Your uncles, Tony, and Ray will be going with us. Now I hope your mom doesn't get mad at me. She too thinks you are too young to go to the fights".
Eddie's mom, Lupe, was not too crazy to see Eddie going to the fights, but she did agree with Rudy that their son would be disappointed if he was not allowed to go with his Pop and uncles, so she gave her the okay for Eddie to go.
Eddie couldn't wait to find his best friend, Chano Diaz, to tell him the good news. Instead, he found Chano tending his two cows and one goat at a nearby pasture. "Chano, my Pops is taking me to see the Aragon and Carter title fight."
"Gee, Eddie, you are lucky. I wish I could go."
"I'll ask Pops if he can get another ticket for you. Chano. You think your mom and pops would let you go?"
"I'll ask them,"
Eddie asked Pop if he could get a ticket for Chano.
"Yes, I'm sure I can get one, Eddie; tell Chano that if his mom and pop say it's okay for him to go, we'll take him with us."
The next day in school, Eddie told Chano the excellent news.
"Chano, my Pops said he'll get you a ticket if your mom and pop say it's okay for you to go."
"Eddie, Mom, and Pop said I could go as long as your father was going; they trust your father, but not your uncle Ray. They say he is crazy and will get into a fight at the fights."
"Yeah, Uncle Ray is a bit wild, especially when he drinks beer, but Pops won't let him drink too much; he'll be okay."
They all piled into Rudy's 1946 Dodge two weeks later and headed west from Simons on Washington Boulevard. Eddie and Chano were so excited that they couldn't sit still, and it was starting to bug Uncle Ray.
"If you kids don't sit still, we will stop and drop you off here, and you will have to wait for us to pick you up after the fights."
"Leave them alone, Ray; they are excited to go to the fights. After all, it's their first time seeing boxing live. You remember when you went for the first time, and you got all crazy on us, wanting to fight everybody there?" said Uncle Tony.
"Yeah, but I was drunk, and let me remind you that I was doing okay until that big guy cold-cocks me and knocked me on my ass," Uncle Ray said, laughing.
The area was so packed that they had to park three blocks away. Eddie and Chano were shadowboxing as they walked up 18th Avenue.
"Hey Eddie, Chano, you two want to become fighters? Because; if you do, I'll train you guys," said Uncle Ray.
"Ray, what the hell do you know about training fighters?" Rudy demanded.
"Hey, Rudy, I have fighting experience."
"Yes, you do, but it's a street fighting experience, and I don't think you ever won a fight!"
"At least I've never been KO'd, always finished on my feet," laughed Ray.
As the group approached the front entrance of the Olympic Auditorium, they started seeing movies and boxing celebrities hanging around the sidewalk of Grand Avenue.
"Chano! There's John Wayne and Pedro Armendariz," said the excitable Eddie
"And over there is Rosemary Clooney and her husband, Jose Ferrer," said Uncle Tony
"I see Tommy Campbell, Frankie Muche, Irish Bob Murphy, Enrique Bolanos—and Babe Herman's over there talking to two men," said Chano
"That's Cal Eaton and Babe McCoy they are talking to. Probably talking about upcoming fights," said Rudy
Before entering the Olympic Auditorium, they all bought the Knockout program from Speedy Dado. Then, Eddie and Chano started getting autographs on their programs to show their friends in school the next day.
They found their seats in the second-to-last row in the peanut gallery. No sooner had they sat down when toilet paper rolls started flying around; some ladies' underwear was passing by too. So Eddie and Chano started making paper planes and flying them down to the ring.
"This is fun, Eddie; thanks for bringing me," said Chano
"Thank my pop, Chano. He is the one who bought your ticket."
The fighters for the first fight came into the ring. Rudy, Tony, and Ray started betting on the fights. They bet one dollar on the white or black corner—whatever fighter went to the corner they had, that was their bet.
The first fight was won by Al Galindo over Bobby Brewer. After that, Rudy and Tony won a dollar each, and Ray lost a dollar.
The second fight was between Joey Gurrola and Sammy Figueroa.
"Chano, see that big guy in Figueroa's corner? That's big Jake Horn; he's a great trainer," said Eddie
The fight ended in a draw.
"Guess it didn't help Figueroa having Jake Horn in the corner, did it, Eddie?" Chano said as he threw a roll of toilet paper.
"He didn't lose, did he?" Eddie retorted
"Well, no, he didn't."
After a couple of more fights, it was time for the main event. Art Aragon and Jimmy Carter would be coming into the ring soon.
Jimmy Carter and Art Aragon made weight.
Aragon, looking weak, entered the ring first.
"Aragon is going to lose," said Eddie
"How do you know?" asked Uncle Ray.
"Look how pale he looks. I read in The Mirror that he was having trouble making '35," said Eddie.
Aragon was down in the 6th round.
Carter came into the ring looking great. After both fighters had been gloved in the ring, they were introduced by golden voice Jimmy Lennon, then referee Mushy Callahan called the fighters to the center of the ring for their instructions.
The fight started pretty even for the first four rounds, but from the fifth on, it was all Carter, who won an easy 15-round unanimous decision.
Keeny Teran
Right after the fight ended, Uncle Ray wanted to leave. "Okay, guys, our guy lost; let's get out of here."
"No! We have to stay and watch Keeny Teran fight Bobby Garza. They are fighting a six-rounder," said Eddie.
Uncle Tony agreed. "Ray, Keeny is the toast of the town; we have to stay and watch him fight."
They stayed and watched Keeny win a unanimous decision.
On the way home, Uncle Ray asked Eddie and Chano if they wanted to box. "Guys, if you're going to become fighters, I'll train you. After you train for a few months, I'll take you to the downtown CYO, where Johnny Flores runs the boxing program. I'm sure we can get you some sparring. Johnny is my friend, and he'll help us out.
"Ray, you don't even know Johnny Flores," said Rudy
"Well, maybe not, but I know where the CYO is," laughed Uncle Ray.
Eddie and Chano were the toast of the school the next day as they held court with their friends.
"You should have seen Aragon land that left hook of his!" said Chano as he threw a left hook.
"Too bad he didn't land it enough," Eddie moaned.
"He was too weak from making weight."
"Yes, he was," agreed Eddie.
"But you should have seen that little Keeny Teran," Eddie and Chano said in unison.
"Guys, Chano and I are going to start training next week. My uncle Ray is going to train us," said Eddie.
Their lives had been forever changed by a single night at the fights.
