Tony and friend
Green Bay-De Pere Wis,
1976
By kiki
In Tony Baltazar's first fight in the 1976 AAU Junior Olympic National Tournament, he became disqualified because of his hair. All our boys have lots of hair, and in the 1970s, they wore their hair long, which was the style back then.
Before we left for Green Bay-De Pere, Wis., I tried to get Tony to cut his hair, but to no avail, as he told me, "don't even think about it, Pops."
We flew into Green Bay and were met at the airport by Penny, a fella I had known for about ten years. He told us, "follow me," we did as he walked us to a school bus where a driver was waiting. We were driven to St. Norbert College, where we would be housed during the week we would be there. St. Norbert is a private Roman Catholic liberal art college in the Green Bay suburb of De Pere. The fights were also to be held at the college.
The day after arriving was spent with the boys weighing in, checking out the possible opponents, etc. Tony fought in the 125-pound class even though he only weighed 121 pounds and could've fought in the 119-weight class. But by putting him in the 125 lbs class, we didn't have to worry about him making weight.
After checking out and learning as much as possible about the boys in the 125-pound class, it was clear who the betting favorite was; yes, some betting was going on from the get-go. A boy (I don't remember his name) represented The Henry Armstrong Boys and Girls Club out of St Louis, Mo.
Boxing got started on the third day we were there. Tony's first opponent was a kid from Oregon. In the middle of the first round, the referee called time because Tony's hair was coming out from under his headgear. In the second round, Tony hit the kid with a left hook, and the kid went down; right after they resumed fighting, the referee again called time because of Tony's hair. In the rest period between the second and third rounds, the referee came to our corner and told me that he would disqualify Tony if he had to do the hair thing again in the third round. Out came my scissors, and I chopped Tony's hair that was sticking out from under the headgear; Tony couldn't believe what I had just done!! Tony went on to win a unanimous decision.
Tony was pissed at me, but he cooled down once I convinced him his hair would grow back. In his second tourney fight, Tony fought a kid from Michigan. Dropping the kid down twice, he again won by unanimous decision.
Tony's next opponent in the semi-final was the one I had been dreading, the favorite to win the whole enchilada in the 125-pound class, the kid from the Henry Armstrong Boys and Girls Club.
After the formalities, the bell rang for the first round, and about thirty seconds into the round, Tony nailed the favorite with a left hook. The kid's eyes went blank, but he didn't go down; the referee jumped in, gave the kid a standing eight count, and after the eight count, told him to resume fighting. Tony walked up to the kid who had his hands down and nailed him again with that hook of his; again, the referee jumped in; at this point, I thought the referee was going to stop the fight as the kid was literally out on his feet. Still, the referee thought otherwise as he motioned Tony back into action after giving the kid another standing eight count; again, Tony nailed the kid, who still had his hands down with that monster hook. That was enough for his corner as they jumped in the ring and stopped the fight, damn the referee! But, to his credit, the favorite never went down!
Tony was now in the championship bout; his opponent was from Arkansas, a kid whose last name was Fuller. Tony dropped Fuller once in the second round and won unanimously. Tony was now the 1976 AAU National Junior Olympic 125-pound class Champion. But it did not end there, as he was chosen as the outstanding fighter of the first four weight classes in the tournament. All in all, it was a great trip for us.
Green Bay-De Pere Wis,
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