LATE SANCHEZ WOULD HAVE BEEN 4O

Had he lived, yesterday would have been Salvador Sanchez' 40th birthday. At the time of death in 1982, Salvador was the WBC featherweight champion with a record of 44-1-1, 32 KO's.

LEGEND OF SANCHEZ

There are some who feel historians overate Sanchez because of his untimely demise brought on when Sanchez rear ended a chicken truck at 120 mph. The white car car literally looked like an accordion in photos taken after Sanchez was removed from the car.

LUST RUN

Salvador was returning to his training camp at around 5:00 AM when he plowed into the poultry transit from a rendezvous with a mistress who remains nameless. The thought was that he had done it before. But that the Popeye like tough guy had always made it back before his trainers got up, and in turn awakened him.

The difference was that this time Salvador had over slept.

SAW GREATEST MOMENT

And that was in September of 1981. Promoter Don King billed it as the Battle Of The Little Giants, and it turned out to be as exciting as the pre-fight build up.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS

It was the Salsa band of Gomez the Puerto Rican, vs. the Mariachi's of Sanchez' native Mexico duking it out ring center before and during the introductions.

GOMEZ 2-1 FAV

Wilfredo Gomez was 38-0, with 38 stops, and he was the longtime 122 lb. titleholder who was moving up to challenge Sanchez for his featherweight belt at 126 lbs. The fight was held in the recently torn down Ceasars Palace Sports Pavilion, a mecca for fights in the late 70's.

$50 DUCAT

The $50 seat I purchased three months prior was burning a whole in my pocket a week before the fight. That's because I was at the time a Recruit in the SFPD Academy and had to either fake being sick and go to Las Vegas, or sell the ticket.

CALLED IN SICK, SEEN ON CLOSED CIRCUIT

My best friend Hector Martinez and I were to find out later that we could be seen for a split second on the Closed Circuit broadcast. At the time, the department wanted to know anytime that you left the state. So without telling them I was going to the fight, to which they were not going to let me go to anyway, I could have been fired.

BOTTOM LINE

I wasn't going to miss the fight. If those narrow minded pencil necks I worked for were going to can me when I got back on Monday, so be it as I saw one hell of a fight. And seeing Sanchez would only fight once again, it turned out to be more than just a great clash of fistic talent.

FIRST ROUND TESTS BOTH CHINS

In that opening stanza, Gomez would hit Sanchez with a shot that would have dropped a horse. Salavador shrugged it off without showing any concern, and then broke Gomez' cheekbone when in scoring a first round knockdown.

GOMEZ HAD BIG STONES

Today, Wilfredo Gomez weighs around 200 lbs. For Sanchez he was 126 lbs. But the beating he took before the fight was called in the eighth round showed he wasn't going out by any other means than on his shield.

SANCHEZ WOULD FACE AZUMAH IN FINALE

In July of 1982, Sanchez faced a relative novice from Ghana in 13-0, (10 KO's) Azumah Nelson in what would be the last dance for the Mexican ringmaster.

As the fight entered the 14th and final round, it was up for grabs. Both fighters knew the title hung in the balance. But for Nelson, who went 10 rounds in his pro debut, and five times in all up to that point, was taken into waters the depth he couldn't handle and Sanchez stopped him.

ARGUELLO NEXT?

According to those in the know, the fight he was training might have been his last at 126 lbs., as Salvador and Alexis Arguello had tenatively agreed to fight at 135 lbs.

LAST GLIMPSE OF SANCHEZ

Boom! The door shot open and there sat a virtualy unmarked Sanchez. In a flash, he was being whisked from a small dressing room in the sports pavilion in almost a slow jog through the tennis courts, and past the pools to the rear door of Caesars Palace.

TIP YOUR HAT TO THE FALLEN LEGEND!

Sanchez was what boxing should be all about as he was willing to meet all comers, a quality not so plentiful in the boxing world that exists 17 years after his death.

SHELLEY TWEAKING

Mike Tyson's manager/agent Shelley Finkel seems to be losing his cool and calm manners in his handling of matters relating to his client. It seems his jab at me when I was leaving a Vegas party last week wasn't the only time Sheldon had not kept his cool.

TOUGH GIG, NO MATTER HOW MUCH COMPENSATION

Shelley Finkel dealt with drugged out and psyciotic as a rock promoter in the 70's. But, I bet you a drugged out Joe Cocker was a lot more predicatable than Mr. Tyson.

NOT AN ACT

One Las Vegas hotel suit told me that Tyson's media tirade in the 10 days prior to the Botha fight was a choreagrahed dance in order to turn the PPV crank and create a last minute rush for live seats. But the way Finkel was acting, and now SHOWTIME not setting aside the date of April 24, for a Tyson fight until he gets sentenced next week in Maryland. Then it's the state of Indiana's chance to incarcerate Mike for violating his parole.

DEAL SET?

I went to somebody I know who has spent some time in both state and federal courts as a criminal lawyer. He is of the opinion that there is, "no deal in place. I can't see it. People think Mike was acting, when in fact he was a runaway train."

JAIL TIME AN ALMOST CERTAINTY

That's what my Stanford law alumnist says. "If they let Mike Tyson, a felon on parole get away with attacking two men, it would send the wrong message. He's got to get some time."

SORRY, INOW NOT WORKING

I have seventy four messages in my INOW e mail out box that I cannot send. Therefore, I have not been able to respond to your e mail. We are going to try ringtalk@yahoo.com and see how it works.


Pedro Fernandez

Note: The writer is a syndicated talk show host with the Talk America Radio Network(s) and has his own site at www.fighters.com Mr. Fernandez can be reached at ringtalk@yahoo.com

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