R.I.P. Reagan “Buddy” Turman

Noted Boxer, East Texan Dies
From KLTV News
04/02/07

Often feared, and known the world over, a boxing legend has died.

Reagan “Buddy” Turman passed away Sunday in a Longview hospital. The Noonday native was known as “Texas Tornado” and the “Golden Boy from Noonday”.

He fought all over the world.

Funeral services are set for Thursday morning at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Noonday. Buddy Turman was 73.

Source

Coach Ralph Luna

Longtime Coach Ralph Luna Reached Kids Through Boxing
By Rosa Ramirez, Rocky Mountain News
February 23, 2007

Ralph Luna, a well-known Denver boxer and trainer, didn’t stand before large crowds to speak about equality for minorities or lead marches for better jobs.

Instead, he took his fight for these causes into the ring, lacing up his gloves time and time again to help those most vulnerable, say those who loved him.

“He wanted young people to have a chance at education and a choice in their employment,” said Mr. Luna’s second-youngest son, Raul Luna, 45.

“He was an unseen champ.”

Mr. Luna, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer about three years ago, died Feb. 8. His family said the disease took a toll on him during the last three months of his life, often making it difficult for him to get out of bed or to speak.

He was 76.

Mr. Luna was born and raised in Denver and began boxing during his teens. He coached boxing for more than 40 years in an effort to give youngsters an alternative to the streets.

“He felt lucky he was there at a time when boxing was in its golden age,” Raul Luna said.

Mr. Luna’s sparring partner, he said, was Chicano Movement leader Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales.

Mr. Luna’s stamina and agility in the ring helped him win a Golden Gloves title in the ’50s. But it was coaching that gave him the chance to teach teenagers to be focused and disciplined so they could pursue their dreams, said Lou Silva, 45, a longtime friend.

He and Mr. Luna worked side by side for some 15 years coaching young boxers.

“He had a lot of dedication for the kids,” Silva said. “He turned a lot of kids around.”

Unlike coaches who focused on young boxers who showed promise, Mr. Luna paid closest attention to those who struggled.

“He’d say they needed his help more than the other ones. He’d help those who weren’t very good, and he’d try to make them feel comfortable, to get their confidence up,” Silva said.

During his coaching career, Luna “put out a lot of champions,” Silva said.

Mr. Luna’s oldest son, Ralph Luna Jr., 58, of Brighton, said his father was so dedicated to training youth, that he’d “even go train when he was sick.”

Lou Silva’s son, professional boxer Joseph Silva, 21, said Mr. Luna trained him for some 11 years.

The fighter, with a 5-0 record with two knockouts, credits his success to Mr. Luna.

“Ralph was there for me. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for him,” he said, adding that he saw Mr. Luna as a grandfather figure.

Mr. Luna was apparently equally fond of Joseph Silva and even recorded a song in Spanish to encourage him to be fearless in the ring.

“Call me with the good news, kid,” Mr. Luna would tell Joseph Silva before every fight.

The two met when his father asked Mr. Luna to train Joseph Silva.

“My father knew what type of reputation he had. He was a really good coach and was a champion,” he said.

During a fight Feb. 9 in Tucson, televised on Telefutura, Silva dedicated his fight to his coach.

In addition to his two sons, Mr. Luna is survived by his wife, Susie; daughters, Mercedes Archuleta and Carolyn Luna; 17 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a son, Jesse Luna.

Memorial services were held Saturday at St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church, 2301 York St. in Denver.

Source

‘Eddie’ Giosa, 82, Pro Boxer

By Gayle Ronan Sims
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Armando “Eddie” Giosa, 82, a quick-hitting lightweight boxer from South Philadelphia who faced world champions Bob Montgomery, Ike Williams, Willie Pep, Wesley Mouzon, Lew Jenkins and Beau Jack, died of kidney failure Sunday at Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Cherry Hill. He had moved to Sicklerville two years ago.

Mr. Giosa’s 11-year career in professional boxing began with 18 straight wins in 1943. Although he never won a championship, he retired in 1954 with a 67-30-9 record with 11 knockouts.

Known as the “fistic comebacker,” Mr. Giosa was inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame in 1979.

Mr. Giosa, one of 10 children born to Italian immigrants, started boxing at 14. As an amateur, he was undefeated, winning 113 bouts. In 1940, he won the Philadelphia Golden Gloves tournament as a featherweight and in 1942 as a lightweight before going pro. He graduated from Bok Vocational High School in 1942 and worked at RCA in Camden. His job as a metal plater was considered part of the war effort. Mr. Giosa’s three older brothers were fighting in World War II while he supported his sickly parents and six younger siblings.

“RCA set up a boxing bag for him to practice during his breaks,” said son Frank. After working a nine-hour shift, Mr. Giosa headed for the gym to train or to a fight.

Mr. Giosa married his sweetheart from the neighborhood, Sue Gentile, in 1946. They raised four children in a South Philly rowhouse. Known for his crashing left hook, puzzling crouch and flaming courage, the 5-foot, 4-inch fighter was a crowd-pleaser with his tricky style. Mr. Giosa, who fought several times in Madison Square Garden, beat Lulu Constantino in 1946 in one of the first televised fights.

Mr. Giosa won his last four fights in 1953 and 1954, before he retired from the ring.

After RCA shut down in the early 1970s, Mr. Giosa went to work in The Inquirer’s mailroom. He retired in 1996.

In addition to his son and wife, Mr. Giosa is survived by another son, Ed; daughters Geri Seitchik and Rita Taylor; 11 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; three brothers; and a sister.

Friends may visit at 7 tonight and 8:30 a.m. tomorrow at Vincent Gangemi Funeral Home, Broad and Wolf Streets. A Funeral Mass will be said at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Church of the Epiphany, 11th and Jackson Streets. Burial will be in New St. Mary Cemetery, Bellmawr.

Donations may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association, Robert Morris Building, 100 N. 17th St., Second Floor, Philadelphia 19103.

Source

RIP Bernie “Schoolboy” Friedkin

Schoolboy Friedkin, 89, a Pro Boxer Who Fought Ex-Champs to Draws, Is Dead
By DENNIS HEVESI
February 1, 2007

Bernie Friedkin, a native of Brownsville, Brooklyn, who was known as Schoolboy and who as a professional boxer in the late 1930s and early ’40s battled many of his opponents to a draw — including three former lightweight champions — died Jan. 18 in Brooklyn.

He was 89.

He died of natural causes at a hospice, his granddaughter Sabrina Saltz said.

Given the nickname Schoolboy because of his baby face and 5-foot-6 height, and because he used his older brother’s birth certificate to be admitted to local gyms when he was 14, Friedkin developed into a skilled tactical fighter, rather than a hard puncher, in a six-year professional career that began in 1935.

He started as a featherweight, at less than 126 pounds, but bulked up to 135 as a lightweight. According to records at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y., Friedkin won 48 fights, 9 by knockout, with 11 losses and 16 draws.

“He has more draws than losses,” the boxing historian Bert Sugar said. Referring to the heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan, Sugar said: “Sullivan had a line that went, ‘I can beat any man in the house.’ Friedkin could say, ‘I can draw with any man in the house.’ Sixteen draws is almost an unheard-of number.”

In March 1937, Friedkin fought the former lightweight champion Eligio Sardiñas, known as Kid Chocolate, to a draw. In January 1940, he faced Mike Belloise, another former lightweight champion, twice, with both bouts ending in draws. Five months later, he stepped into the ring with a third former lightweight champion, Petey Scalzo; another draw.

In November 1940, five months after their draw, Friedkin and Scalzo faced each other again. This time, Scalzo won an eight-round decision.

Bernard Friedkin was born on July 10, 1917, one of seven children of Morris and Bessie Friedkin. Besides his granddaughter Sabrina Saltz, of Staten Island, he is survived by his wife of 60 years, the former Lenore Bennett; two daughters, Donna Saltz and Marilyn Saewitz, both of Staten Island; and two other grandchildren.

Even before he bluffed his way into a local gym, Friedkin had set up a ring in his parents’ basement and begun sparring with friends.

On July 21, 1938, a bitter rivalry between Friedkin and Al Davis, known as Bummy, brought 6,000 fans to Madison Square Garden. Friedkin was knocked out in the fourth round.

“This was a turf war,” Sugar said, “two Jewish boxers from Brownsville.”

Source