R.I.P: Danny Villanueva

 By kiki

In 1969, I enjoyed working with Danny Villanueva as a co-commentator on a TV youth boxing show. Danny, an ex NFL player, was now general manager of KMEX, channel 34, and he asked us, by us, I mean trainers working with young kids if we were interested in running a 13-week two-hour youth boxing show on Sunday afternoons. So, of course, we said yes in a New York minute. 

I was asked if I would do commenting in Spanish alongside Danny; I told Danny my Spanish wasn’t that good, hell my English isn’t that good either! He said not to worry that he would help me brush off on my Spanish, which he did for a half-hour every Sunday before the show went on air…The show ran during the summer, and that allowed us to have the show outside. I found Danny to be a really nice man who did everything possible to make the show a success, and it was. We had big crowds every Sunday afternoon.

Around that time, Danny and Ralph Gilbreath were co-managing a young Mexican fighter, “Rodolfo Gonzalez” Rodolfo went on to win the world lightweight title from Chango Carmona.