by kiki
Contrary to rumors, I never told my boys they had to fight. I did inadvertently introduce them to boxing; I say “inadvertently” because it was never my intention to make fighters out of them, but here’s how it all started: In 1964 when I had my last amateur fight (Los Angeles Golden Gloves, I lost) I decided to keep going to the gym just to stay in shape. One Saturday morning, as I was getting ready to drive to the Teamsters Gym, Connie asked me to take Fernie and Anthony with me; she said she needed a drama-free morning. I did, and the boys enjoyed hitting the bags while I sparred with some of the young fighters….One Saturday morning, Louie Jauregui, who ran the gym, told me he would hold a smoker show the following Friday and bring the family. That Friday, I took Connie, our daughter Linda and the boys to the smoker, and Anthony, who was all of 3 ½ years old, said he wanted to fight; Frankie, who was 6 years old, said he too would fight. Louie, who was doing the matchmaking, matched Anthony with a kid about 4 years old and Frankie with another boy about the same age. Anthony won, and Frankie lost….They kept on boxing after that, winning numerous Junior Golden Gloves titles. When Frankie was 12 years old, he told me he wanted to rest from boxing, and I told him that was fine. He came back when he was 15 to fight in the Junior Golden Gloves (he won). It was the last year he was eligible because of the age limit. Between the age of 16 and 18, Frankie had no more than 10 fights. He turned pro days after turning 18.
Contrary to rumors, I never told my boys they had to fight. I did inadvertently introduce them to boxing; I say “inadvertently” because it was never my intention to make fighters out of them, but here’s how it all started: In 1964 when I had my last amateur fight (Los Angeles Golden Gloves, I lost) I decided to keep going to the gym just to stay in shape. One Saturday morning, as I was getting ready to drive to the Teamsters Gym, Connie asked me to take Fernie and Anthony with me; she said she needed a drama-free morning. I did, and the boys enjoyed hitting the bags while I sparred with some of the young fighters….One Saturday morning, Louie Jauregui, who ran the gym, told me he would hold a smoker show the following Friday and bring the family. That Friday, I took Connie, our daughter Linda and the boys to the smoker, and Anthony, who was all of 3 ½ years old, said he wanted to fight; Frankie, who was 6 years old, said he too would fight. Louie, who was doing the matchmaking, matched Anthony with a kid about 4 years old and Frankie with another boy about the same age. Anthony won, and Frankie lost….They kept on boxing after that, winning numerous Junior Golden Gloves titles. When Frankie was 12 years old, he told me he wanted to rest from boxing, and I told him that was fine. He came back when he was 15 to fight in the Junior Golden Gloves (he won). It was the last year he was eligible because of the age limit. Between the age of 16 and 18, Frankie had no more than 10 fights. He turned pro days after turning 18.
When Anthony started junior high, I tried talking him into taking a rest; he would have none of it. He said he wanted to keep boxing, and he did, winning at the age of 15 the 1976 AAU National Junior Olympic Title. He also won Los Angeles Golden Gloves titles. Again, when Anthony got into high school, I asked him to take the 3 years off, saying no. Anthony, at a very young age, was literally knocking out opponents. At 16, after knocking out a top local amateur in the first round at the Olympic Auditorium during an am/pro card, finding any local amateurs willing to get in the ring with him became tough. After knocking out the top local amateur, he only fought one more time as an amateur. The year between 17 and 18, he didn’t fight because we couldn’t find opponents. He, too, turned pro a few days after his 18 birthday.
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