At his side when he died were several family members, including Lopez, who Cruz once told me was “the best son-in-law anyone could ever ask for.” Lopez’s wife Beno (Beatrice) was one of Cruz’s five children. His only son, John L., was killed in a motorcycle accident several years ago.

“He was so sick, it was almost a blessing,” Cruz’s daughter Judy told The (Stockton) Record. “After he took his last breath, he looked 20 years younger. He went so peacefully. He took one breath and sailed off. He lived a full life. He instilled a lot of values in us. None of us were rich or famous or doctors or lawyers, but he instilled morals and a closeness and [healthy] competitiveness.”

Several years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Cruz, and he left an indelible impression on me. I was in California’s Central Valley on personal business when I decided to look up Lopez. Somehow I got a phone number for Cruz, who told me to come by his home anytime. Unlike any other sport, boxing people are like that.

Whenever that was, Cruz said, Lopez would be easily accessible. He lived directly across the street from him, and spent at least a few hours a day caring for him.

The day I visited is one I will never forget. Although Cruz was in failing health, he had a bear-like friendliness that enveloped you. Just as he said, Lopez came by minutes after my arrival. He was soon followed by Hank Pericle – a dead ringer for the Paulie Walnuts character on The Sopranos television show, and Benny Casing, a former featherweight fighter.

I’ve written about a lot of subjects over the years, but the emotional bond I developed with this foursome was inexplicable. There was an innate decency and integrity about all of them. They broke each other’s balls incessantly, but the love under the laughter was readily apparent.

Cruz and Pericle had known each other since they were kids, and Lopez and Casing had known them for over three decades. In fact, all had appeared together in the classic boxing film Fat City, which was filmed in Stockton when it still contained a classically seedy Skid Row consisting of transient hotels, pool halls, bootleg fight venues, gambling dens, labor camps, and brothels.

“Jack was a real Morey Amsterdam type of guy,” said the 80-year-old Pericle who, like Cruz, served in the South Pacific during World War II. (In 2004, Pericle received a long overdue Purple Heart for injuries he incurred during a kamikaze attack on the U.S.S. Lamson. At the time of the incident, he refused the Purple Heart because he was afraid that the news of him receiving one would kill his mother.)

“He always remembered jokes and was great with one-liners,” Pericle continued. “Some jokes he must have told me 100 times, and I always laughed. You couldn’t help but laugh around him. He was a larger-than-life character.”

Cruz, who was a cabinet maker by trade, always had a passion for boxing. He was a small-time promoter when his teenaged daughter Beno began dating the gangly Lopez, a native of Zacatecas, Mexico, whose dreams of becoming a bullfighter were dashed when his right leg was gored by a bull.

“I remember thinking that at 6’2”, he was tall for a Mexican,” said Cruz, who was of Irish and Mexican descent. “Albert (the anglicized version of Alvaro) was so green, the first time I put him in the ring he was walking around looking for the gate to get out.”

However, Cruz saw a lot of raw talent in his daughter’s suitor. He soon took him to a nearby Indian reservation for his first amateur fight. When asked what tribe Lopez belonged to, the quick-thinking Cruz responded “Yaqui.”

“That was the only name I could think of,” he said. “Albert has been known as Yaqui ever since.”

Under Cruz’s stewardship, Lopez learned his trade by fighting against inmates in penitentiary smokers. At 19-years-old the young prospect not only married Beno, he also turned professional.

Nobody would have guessed that Lopez would become one of the most popular fighters of the seventies and early eighties. His fights were as thrilling as those involving Arturo Gatti today.

Campaigning from 1972-84, he compiled a 63-15 (40 KOs) record against such championship caliber competition as John Conteh, Victor Galindez (twice), Mike Rossman, Matthew Saad Muhammad (twice), Michael Spinks, S.T. Gordon, and Carlos DeLeon. Four times he fought for a world title, and four times he came up short.

“Hell, Yaqui arguably won at least two, possibly three, of those fights,” said veteran California official Marty Sammon, who was referring to a split decision loss to Conteh in Denmark and two decision losses to Galindez in Italy.

At his apex, Lopez was so popular, the mythical Archie Moore considered him one of his favorite fighters. Spinks said he was the toughest man he ever faced. Former champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, who never fought Lopez, said that if Lopez was around today he wouldn’t be able to wear all the belts he would own.

As memorable as all of those fights are, it was Lopez’s rematch with Saad Muhammad for which he is best remembered. In an astounding eighth round, Lopez hit Saad Muhammad with 20 unanswered punches, but the champion somehow managed to stay on his feet and stop Lopez in the 14^th round. The RING magazine called it 1980’s Fight of the Year.

“The fighters were different then,” said Lopez. “You couldn’t sneak your way into contention. You had to earn it. Saad Muhammad got his second wind. I didn’t. It’s that simple.”

Because Lopez engaged in so many ring wars, one would expect him to be walking on his heels today. In actuality, the opposite is true. He is extremely intelligent, engaging, articulate, lucid, and sincere. His memory is nothing short of astounding.

“Albert could have been a doctor if he chose,” Cruz said. “He’s brilliant. He learned English by himself. To be as sharp as he is with all the fights he had, imagine if he had no fights and went to college instead.”

Beno says that her husband’s reputation for being a strictly offensive-minded fighter is inaccurate. “So many punches rolled off his shoulders,” she explained. “He got hit a lot less than people think. But for some reason God didn’t want him to be a champion.”

The heart that Lopez showed in the ring is only rivaled by the heart he showed as a human being. That was never more apparent than in Cruz’s final years. Cruz’s wife had passed away in the 1980s, so he lived alone with his dog Laura. Not a day went by that Lopez didn’t visit.

Over the last few years he would not only play dominoes and chitchat with Cruz, he would cook and clean, give him his medication, and even take him to the bathroom or clean up the mess if he didn’t make it that far.

“Those guys loved each other,” said Pericle. “They would have gone through the gates of hell for each other.”

In July 2004, Cruz sent me a copy of an emotional letter that he had sent to a member of the Northern California Veteran Boxers Association.

“Yaqui just got through giving me my shot in the butt, he did the dishes, vacuumed the house, fed my dog, and then took off for the gym,” he wrote. “Really, I don’t know what to do with him. But I don’t know what to do without him. Yaqui is my angel in disguise.”

The weeks after Cruz’s death were particularly difficult for everyone. “I really miss that son of a gun,” said Pericle. “The way he was, I know it was for the better that he died but it doesn’t make you miss him any less.”

Pericle had stopped by Cruz’s house earlier on the day that we spoke in late December. The only thing that had changed was the fact that Cruz was no longer there. However, Lopez was there, taking care of Laura, who seemed as heartbroken over Cruz’s passing as the human side of his family.

 “You miss Daddy Jack, don’t you girl,” Pericle asked the dog. The dog responded with a whimper.

“You try to put life and things in perspective when people you love are still alive,” Pericle mused. “But in this case, it’s overwhelming when I think of how many people Jack touched. He was all about love.

“He was loved – and he was loved in return. He led a good life, had a lot of great experiences. He loved his family more than anything. And Yaqui – man were they close. It was like they were joined at the hip.”

James Toney vs. Hasim Rahman

Far removed from being the middleweight he once was, Toney’s now an obese version of Bernard Hopkins, only unlike B-Hop, Toney scraps during his fights, fat and all. He’s the same angry fighter he’s been all along, with the same mad skills, and as one of the last remaining old-school fighters, he deserves a modicum of respect.

Forget the steroid controversy, the real question, in his biggest heavyweight test to date, is the fat man capable of conquering chronic underachiever Hasim Rahman, or will he end up on his backside like a beached whale? Rahman may be the first to shut Toney’s trap, but as Big James is an anomaly, anything can happen. Regardless of how many coconut cream pies he eats, I wouldn’t bet against him. Toney by UD12.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Zab Judah

On January 7, 2006, Zab “Super” Judah puts his WBC, WBA and IBF titles on the line against Carlos “Tata” Baldomir. Should Judah successfully defend his titles as expected, it sets up an April 8 meeting with Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather.

Mayweather sits atop the pound for pound ratings with few others as deserving of the spot. A win over “Super” Judah would further solidify his position and set up a massive superfight with England’s Ricky Hatton at 140.

But Pretty Boy may find Judah to be his most challenging opponent to date. He’s the naturally bigger fighter, he can punch, he can box, and he can match Mayweather’s speed. Plus he’s a southpaw. Judah gave King Kostya all he could handle for a round until a well-paced punch from Tszyu left him flopping around the ring like a catfish in a frying pan. His only other loss was to Corey Spinks which he avenged with a 9th round KO.

In what should be a thrilling and explosive tactical battle: Mayweather by a stunning, one punch fish-finder in the late rounds.

The Thai Elite

Ratanachai Sor Vorapin, Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai, Veeraphol Sahaprom and Pongsaklek Wonjongkam are certainly all among the top ten or twenty of the greatest Thai fighters of all-time and all have one thing in common; they’re all closing in on the end of their careers.

Ratanachai Sor Vorapin

In the Mexico vs. Thailand World Cup promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Sor Vorapin faced a hungry and vastly improved Jhonny Gonzalez. Sor Vorapin went into the bout as the prohibitive favorite and the most experienced fighter of the event with 73 fights under his belt. But in his last title defense against Mauricio Martinez, the 29-year-old veteran showed signs of fraying and narrowly escaped defeat.

The younger Jhonny Gonzalez came in off an impressive KO over William Gonzalez and showed from the start he deserved to be champion. From the outset Gonzalez controlled the bout, pounding Sor Vorapin into oblivion and knocking the Thai down three times before referee Robert Byrd stopped the carnage in round seven.

The bantamweight division has a plethora of talent and Sor Vorapin has a minefield of fighters lying ahead of him; unless he’s given a gift fight against a weak titleholder, his days as a champion will remain a thing of the past.

Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai

When Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai put his title on the line against Vicente Mosquera of Panama, he hadn’t fought for nine months. For many fighters, fighting once or twice a year may be enough; but Thai fighters tend to fight 4 or 5 times per year and need to stay active. Still, it came as a major shock to most when he dropped hard-fought decision in a war with Vicente Mosquera.

When you consider Sor Nanthachai hadn’t lost in eleven years and Mosquera had never defeated anyone of any consequence, this was a huge upset. At 35, Yodsanan is fighting on borrowed time and has to move quickly. There have been talks of a fight against KO artist Edwin Valero, but this has yet to be confirmed by promoter Artie Petullo, and at least for now Sor Nanthachai will have to be content fighting tune-ups in Thailand until he can land a big fight.

Veeraphol Sahaprom

At 38, Sahaprom is also fighting on borrowed time. Early in 2005, after holding the WBA bantamweight title for 6½ years, he dropped a close decision to Hozumi Hasegawa of Japan, losing his title in the process. Sahaprom has been on a mission since the loss, fighting every other month and winning four fights in a row. A rematch against Hasegawa would be ideal, and even at his ripe old age he’d stand a good chance of regaining the title from Hasegawa.

Pongsaklek Wonjongkam vs. Jorge Arce

The much anticipated bout between Wonjongkam, the long-reigning champion from Thailand, and Arce, the interim champion of Mexico, may actually come to pass this year. Rosendo Alvarez had been declared the mandatory challenger however; this was before Arce took the interim title. The WBC ordered negotiations to take place between the two, only to somehow quietly sweep the matter under the rug.

A Wonjongkam-Arce summit promises to be explosive should it take place. The shy and reserved Thai is the exact opposite of Travieso and their personalities match their fighting styles. Arce has excellent knockout power; Wonjongkam’s power is good. Arce is free-swinging and at times wild; Wonjongkam is a masterful technician, content to use his considerable defensive skills to set up openings and force his opponent into making mistakes.

If Pongsaklek makes it out of the first four rounds, I’ll go with the Thai via a close, unanimous decision. If Arce is focused – and especially if the fight is outside of Thailand – it could be the end of a long title run for Wonjongkam.

Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym

He’s arguably the best of the best of the new-age Thai fighters. He’s quick, he’s fundamentally sound, he’s got a decent chin, he’s young and strong and he can whack a little. In another words, he’s the total package. Look for him to defeat WBA champion Wladimir Sidorenko in 2006 in what will be the start of a lengthy reign.

Indonesian Rumble in the Jungle 2 – Chris John vs. Juan Manuel Marquez

On March 4, the WBA featherweight championship bout between former super champion Juan Manuel Marquez and regular champion Chris John will finally take place on Borneo Island, Indonesia. Originally scheduled for December 9th, the bout has been postponed twice due to a chronic and serious ankle injured suffered by John.

It’s been a rough year for Marquez. First, The RING magazine’s #1 featherweight and #5 pound for pound fighter was stripped by the IBF in August for failing to defend his title against mandatory challenger Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym. Then he was subsequently stripped of his WBA super championship. Not one promoter was willing to shell out the 50K purse bid minimum for Marquez to defend the title against the undeserving Rakkiatgym, not even his own promoter. So without declining the mandatory, or even setting foot in a ring, Marquez is now without a championship belt.

Aside from Chris John, though, not many dispute that Marquez is the best featherweight boxer in the world. But he’ll have to prove it against John for a paltry $30,000 and change in order to take back possession of the belt which was unjustly seized.

John is a gifted fighter and by no means a pushover. He’s vastly underrated, underexposed and relatively unknown and unseen outside of Asia. Make no mistake about it, the Indonesian Thin Man can fight and will test Marquez.  Pick-em...

Fantastic Filipino or Future Flop?

Rey Bautista

Filipino fans call Rey Bautista “Boom-Boom,” and the heir to the throne now held by Manny Pacquiao. This may be expecting too much though, as he’s still only a 19-year-old teenager. It may take another year or two, even three, to find and fill the weighty shoes now worn by the Pacman. He’s yet to have faced any high-quality opposition with his best wins coming against undefeated Hengky Wuwungan of Indonesia, Tanzania’s Obote Ameme and KO specialist Gerardo Espinoza of Mexico.

In his most recent bout against Gerardo Espinoza, Bautista was forced to climb off the canvas after being dropped in the second round. He went on to control the rest of the bout and win a close, unanimous eight round decision but he does have some flaws and will need some work. Bautista moves to 19-0 with 14 KO’s while Espinoza drops his fifth fight in a row.

Fantasies and Farces

BRITISH heavyweight pretender Fraudley Audley Harrison will realize his limitations as a pugilist and decide to run for Prime Minister of England. He’ll shock the world and win via the sympathy vote. Shortly thereafter he’ll appoint Danny Williams as his right-hand man and “advisor.”

The self-proclaimed, humble servant of boxing, El Presidente Jose Sulaiman, will follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City for reasons only he knows. Along the way he’ll befriend the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion. Once in the Emerald City, he’ll order the Scarecrow and Tin Man to pay the WBC a sanctioning fee. He’ll then label the Cowardly Lion the “interim” champion and extract a sanctioning fee from him as well. As if this weren’t enough, he’ll find a rich midget who’s never fought a day in his life, somehow rate him #3 in the world and then get him a title shot.

Sulaiman will also realize that regardless of what he may think about himself, or what sort of pompous front he creates, boxing doesn’t need the WBC or him. He’ll retire from boxing, fade from public scrutiny and become the owner of the largest pig farm in Mexico.

The WBA will once again add to its list of growing championships. Not only will they have regular and Super-Champions, they’ll now add the “Super-Duper-Champion” title. A Super-Duper-Champion will be awarded to the fighter who pays the most sanctioning fees in a calendar year and a winning record will not be a prerequisite.

Question of the week

Where would boxing be without the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and every other alphabet organization?

Happy New Year and long live The Sweet Science!

In a recent press release, WBO President Francisco Valcarel wrote that “We support all of the allied troops in our fight for freedom in Iraq. Our troops have represented the world in an exemplary fashion, and their courage, dedication and accomplishments are an inspiration to us. Don King is to be commended for proposing that the Boxing World should recognize their sacrifice with a world championship bout for the allied soldiers, sailors and airmen serving in Iraq.�

The Sweet Science seconds President Valcarel when it comes to supporting the troops in Iraq, and everyone knows where we stand on boxing.

“We call for this event to be a WBO World Championship,� Vacarel continued. “Lamon Brewster v Wladimir Klitschko, Zsolt Erdei v Tomasz Adamek, or Antonio Margarito v Zab Judah in the Green Zone in Iraq would be the most compelling boxing event since the Rumble in the Jungle. If anyone can overcome the challenges of this event, it is Don King. The WBO pledges our total support for this project, and calls on all WBO champions and Promoters and all of Boxing to assist.�

The wheels of boxing, unlike the wheels of justice, move fast (like there’s no tomorrow), and the wheels for a WBO-backed Don King fight in Baghdad are in motion. Brewster, Zab, Margarito, et al – they’ve seen some real nasty ‘hoods in their day, but going to Baghdad, no matter the purse, needs and no doubt will be given careful consideration. The proposed bouts, should they reach fruition, would be a fabulous thing for our forces in Baghdad, like something out of a World War II movie, except this time it would be in living color, red, white, black and blue and green all over.

Robert Ecksel is editor-in-chief of The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

Blog Post | Podcast RSS

In a recent press release, WBO President Francisco Valcarel wrote that “We support all of the allied troops in our fight for freedom in Iraq. Our troops have represented the world in an exemplary fashion, and their courage, dedication and accomplishments are an inspiration to us. Don King is to be commended for proposing that the Boxing World should recognize their sacrifice with a world championship bout for the allied soldiers, sailors and airmen serving in Iraq.�

The Sweet Science seconds President Valcarel when it comes to supporting the troops in Iraq, and everyone knows our position on boxing.

“We call for this event to be a WBO World Championship,� Vacarel continued. “Lamon Brewster v Wladimir Klitschko, Zsolt Erdei v Tomasz Adamek, or Antonio Margarito v Zab Judah in the Green Zone in Iraq would be the most compelling boxing event since the Rumble in the Jungle. If anyone can overcome the challenges of this event, it is Don King. The WBO pledges our total support for this project, and calls on all WBO champions and Promoters and all of Boxing to assist.�

The wheels of boxing, unlike the wheels of justice, move fast (like there’s no tomorrow), and the wheels for a WBO-backed Don King fight in Baghdad are in motion. Brewster, Zab, Margarito, et al – they’ve seen some real nasty ‘hoods in their day, but going to Baghdad, no matter the purse, needs and no doubt will be given careful consideration. The proposed bouts, should they reach fruition, would be a fabulous thing for our forces overseas, like something out of a World War II movie, except this time it would be in living color, red, white, black and blue and green. Read more at the BLOG

Today, the always-worth-reading Mark Staniforth of the Press Association in the UK wraps up the year that was in boxing and looks forward to 2006. The number one goal for the sport, says Staniforth, remains the discovery of the next great world heavyweight champion. Can't say I disagree. And, unfortunately, can't say I disagree with Staniforth on the prospect of that happening. But things can change quickly, so let's see what 2006 brings.

Jeff Haney of the Las Vegas Sun writes the new year's first big boxing event takes place Jan. 21, when Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao square off in a rematch of their sensational fight last March. But there will be a man mysteriously missing from the main event at the Thomas & Mack Center that night: unheralded Zahir Raheem, whose upset victory against Morales in September has erased much of the luster from the promotion. To state the obvious, it's the law of supply and demand in effect. That's why Raheem is not in the main event on the 21st. And I can't agree that Morales' loss seems to have taken a lot of the shine off this promotion, If anything, Morales' loss to Raheem - for me - may even add some intrigue to the Pacquiao rematch. Was the performance against Pacquiao the last great stand for Morales, or was the Raheem loss just a case of a bad stylistic matchup for Morales against a fighter who didn't motivate him to prepare like he had for the Pacman? It is almost certainly the latter, but I can't wait until January 21 to find out. Apparently those who voted on the online HBO poll don't necessarily agree with me about Morales. Regardless, both Morales and Pacquiao are reported to be be putting in the work ahead of the Jan. 21st rematch. And win or lose in a rematch against Erik Morales, Manny Pacquiao is looking toward a rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera.

The Guardian has an interview with promoter Barry Hearn - The Big Interview: Barry Hearn . Admittedly, Hearn spends most of the interview talking about darts and snooker, but The Big Interview is always worth checking out: it has to be one of my favorite sports features, bar none.

Oscar De La Hoya and his wife, Millie, have a new baby boy. What a great way to ring in the New Year. Congratulations to the Golden Boy.

(More Boxing News Links at TheSweetScience.com) Read more at the BLOG

Or at least come close to making weight.  Still, three fights in the time it takes for an NBA season seems a little – I don’t know – too soon? Takes a lot of mettle to fight a war. You can recharge, but you can never get back everything you started with. Diego “Chico” Corrales (40-3, 33 KOs) and Jose Luis Castillo (53-7-1, 47 KOs) are supposed to fight their rubber match Feb. 4 in El Paso, Texas (SHOWTIME) for the WBC and WBO lightweight titles. Aside from a training injury, the only thing that could sour this fight is Castillo’s unbridled appetite and no one around to stop him.

Everybody remembers the first Castillo-Corrales fight this past May. It was completely off the fun meter, Diego getting up off the canvas twice in the legendary tenth round before stopping Castillo.

Fight of the year. Everybody is trying to forget their second fight this past October, Castillo deciding to bulk up toward junior-middleweight status and weighing in one bowling ball too heavy to fight at 135 pounds. They still fought, though most of the drama had been drained out of the fight. Surprise. Castillo won that one in four rounds.

Fiasco of the year.

Now they plan to do it again.

“I’m ready,” Corrales said on a recent conference call. “Heck, I have seen him for most of the year already. I might as well face the year out seeing the guy. What the heck. It’s OK with me.”

Still, maybe Corrales’ promoter, Gary Shaw, got it right.

“This is a great trilogy,” Shaw said. “You’ve got Castillo, who I consider the best 147-pound fighter in the world, and you got my fighter, Chico Corrales, the best 135-pounder in the world.”

OK, Gary. What are you trying to say?

Unfortunately, we don’t know what weight Castillo is going to come in for this next fight. I’m guessing he comes in somewhere between a plump junior-welter and a svelte junior-middle. The extra pounds worked for him in the second fight, why change your game plan when it works so well?

Of course, we probably won’t know anything for sure until Castillo stands on the scale in West Texas on the day before the fight.

“As far as I’m concerned, there is no controversy,” Castillo said of the strange malady he has of actually putting on weight while supposedly trying to lose it. “I am going to make weight this time around, and I’m hoping that [Corrales] does the same thing.”

Maybe you weren’t aware of it Jose, but Diego did make weight last time. You didn’t. It’s a beautiful thing, coming in under the limit.

But Corrales knows what side his bread is buttered is on. This 135-pound stuff has gotta go.

“I think this will be my last fight at 135, even if I win the title,” Castillo said. “Then I’ll move up to 140 where there are very attractive fights for me against guys like (Floyd) Mayweather, (Miguel) Cotto and (Ricky) Hatton.”

Sounds like Mayweather has already tipped his hat goodbye to the 140 pound-division and is quickly settling into the welterweight class.  I’m guessing that’s where Castillo is really headed.