The mission of the Retired Boxers Foundation is to assist retired professional boxers in the transition from their glorious days in the ring to a dignified retirement.

The Retired Boxers Foundation was started by Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos in 1998.

RETIRED BOXERS FOUNDATION, Inc.

Jacquie Richardson, Executive Director

Alex Ramos, Founder & President

3359 Bryan Avenue

Simi Valley, CA 93063

Contact us:

rbfalex@gmail.com

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(805) 955-9064

(805) 551-3449

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

By Per-Ake Persson

The Retired Boxers Foundation is honored to ave esteemed European writer, Ake Persson writing about

retired prizefighters and where they are today. The first series of columns will be about European based professional

boxers. Please let us know what you think, and tell us WHO you want to hear about. We also want to thank the RBF

European Representative, Marcel Neissen for asking Ake to write the column "WHERE ARE THEY NOW?" for the RBF website!

Name: "Irish" Jimmy Heair

DOB: July 14, 1952, Houston, MS.

Amateur: about a 100 fights, three time Mississippi champ, Southern champ, AAU runner up 69. "I was a big sports fan as a kid, football, basketball, and then boxing, when I started boxing I weighed about a 100 lbs", says Jimmy.

Pro: 96-32-1 in a career that lasted from 1972 and effectively ended a decade later although his last fight was in 1984.

prospect & contender: Jimmy Heair arrived to Los Angeles in 71 by way of Ignacio, Colorado where his family had moved. "I had met Jerry Moore at the national championhsips and L A in those days was the best place to be a for a lightweight. Jerry was a very good man, he took good care of me. I won my first 33 fights" says Jimmy.

Heair turned pro, managed by Jerry Moore and trained by Henry Blouin. He wasn´t a natural but had talent, worked hard and learned quickly. He won his first nine fights on points which indicates a non-puncher but developed a sharp left hook that was especially effective to the body. In less than a year Jimmy was fighting ten rounders at the Inglewood Forum and became popular with his busy style, good skills and big heart - the Irish heritage probably didn´t hurt either. At the end of 1972 he beat Miguel Mayon and Angel Mayoral, two fringe contenders and in March of 73 he outscored a true contender in Chango Carmona and was world ranked.

A shot at then World lightweight champ Roberto Duran was talked about and expected before the end of the 73. However, against Carmona Heair suffered a broken nose that sidelined him for a few months, he then rebroke it sparring with then WBC 135 lb champ Rodolfo "Gato" Gonzales.

"Gato" was probably even better than Duran" says Jimmy but downplays the broken nose incident. "I can´t recall how many times I had my nose broken, at times it was so sore it brought tears to my eyes as I touched it and it was never fixed right."

But then Heair adds: "If you give a young man, a small town kid, a few bucks, have him in a big city and a pretty girl by his side he will get in trouble! I felt like I was the champ of the world but I was only a contender."

Jimmy came back - probably too soon - and but kept winning and in the fall of 73 he stopped another hot prospect and contender in Arturo "the Fury" Pineda. "My two best fights were against Pineda and Carmona." The nose injury continued to be a problem (and affects Jimmy to this day). In May of 74 he took on Rudy Barro, a tough, decent fighter but the kind a world ranked fighter should be able to beat, and lost a ten round decision in a huge upset. Heair bounced back with three straight wins and accepted a fight with highly ranked Australian Hector Thompson in August of 74 - a win there and Heair would have been back in the picture. Jimmy lost though: "I think if Hector and I had thought three times I would have won two but on this night he was the better man."

Back home Jimmy lost an upset split decision to Arturo Leon, whom he previously had beaten twice, moved up to jr welter, relocated to El Paso, Texas. Heair also left Jerry Moore and his first wife. "My new manager was Ron Weathers and he had no clue about boxing. I thought I knew a lot about boxing but I didn´t know enough."

The result was a very busy schedule with fights against topnotchers all over the world at lightweight, jr welter and welter. Jimmy scored some good wins - for instance in stopping Laudiel Negron and Gerardo Ferrat and there were some tough losses like the one to Argentinian great Nicolino Locche in Buenos Aires. "They raised his hands when it was over but he didn´t win that one", says Jimmy.

But there were also upset losses and Heair went 0-2-1 against Arturo Leon, a short, stocky, clubfighter: "He just had my number" states Jimmy but a better reason for the off performances could be that there were no time to recuperate. Heair fought one tough fight after the other giving his all every time. Just three weeks after fighting Thai contender Tongta Kiatvayupakdi in Bangkok - "a close one, could have gone either way" - Heair fought world class welter Armando Muniz in El Paso. "Muniz was a full fledged welter, he was just too strong for me."

Jimmy Heair´s days as a contender was about over now, he gave Brit Dave Green and New Yorker Harold Weston very tough fights on their respective turfs but lost clearly to both. A very good win over then unbeaten Rudy Hernandez proved Jimmy still had a lot left.

Journeyman and hometown hero: Heair relocated again, this time to almost home in Memphis, Tennessee. "I became a hometown fighter and beat a lot of not so good fighters, you know how it is in boxing, they can build you up just as easy as they can take you down."

His Memphis debut was a minor disaster though as he was outscored by the unknown Freddie "the Stepper" Harris. However a tko win over Rudy Hernandez in Tuscon, Arizona, put Heair back in the picture and he became one of the biggest drawing cards in the region as boxing was revived in Tennessee and Mississippi. Jimmy, now up to welter, was popular and the fans knew they would get their money´s worth when he was headlining. He got revenge over Harris, won something called the Southern welterweight title and came close to be ranked again with a stoppage win over Jimmy Corkum. Then the came the wrong kind of opponent, a slick, southpaw from Miami, Adriano Marrero and Jimmy lost a decision. Very tough fights against Pete Ranzany in a NABF titlefight and Roberto Duran followed - " Duran is the best guy I ever fought, he would do anything to win."

Jimmy fought his heart out but was a clear loser to both. "Jimmy Heair is like a Rolex" stated one reporter. "he takes a lickin´ but keeps on tickin". His best days behind him Jimmy got into a welterweight tournament in Orlando, Florida, but was upset by Richard House, the kind of fighter he would have licked a few years earlier. A bad ko loss to Sal Lopez July 1, 1980, appeared to be the end for Jimmy, who according to the Ring´s reporter was in a daze ten minutes after the fight had ended. But less than three months later Jimmy headlined at home in Memphis and was a popular winner over Maurice Quillen, which set up another long string of wins as headliner in Memphis, Tupelo and even his birthtown Houston. He stopped Johnny Copeland in a Southern title defence and won the Texas title at welter. But all reports from the fights indicate a very tough fighter past his best. A loss in Chicago to young upstart Roosevelt Green in August of 81 ended his journeyman days.

The trialhorse: Jimmy suffered back to back losses to Mike Senegal and future champ Mike McCallum - a second round stoppage (on his feet and protesting but he was pretty much outclassed). From now on Heair lost many more fights than he won, his record the last three years reads 4-8 and even the wins came hard. Stoppage losses to Nino La Rocca and Don King (the fighter) in Atlantic City spelled the end for a very brave fighter´s fighter. Jimmy stepped in as a very late sub in 83 against Jim Pixley and was outclassed, gave local hero Danny Ferris a tough fight the first time they fought but was stopped - and stopped a lot easier the second time. Finally Heair went out against Adam George on a second round knockout. "One of the toughest thing for a fighter to do is to know when to go out" says Jimmy with hindsight. "One shouldn´t fight past 30, as a young man you can absorb punishment but as you get older it catch up on you."

After boxing: Jimmy moved to Hamilton, Alabama, not so far from either Houston, MS, or Memphis. He contiuned to work in boxing as a trainer, opened a gym, held down the odd job but remained in boxing. "Out here we don´t have much boxing though, this is football country, or basketball. I trained a lot of kids, some were pretty good but all in all it´s tough to get kids to stick with boxing."

He had married in El Paso with Carol had two kids, divorced, remarried and had a daughter. A bad back, the result of a long and hard career eventually led to that Jimmy got on disability. "I still love boxing and watch whenever I can but again, we don´t have much boxing out here."

Jimmy Heair never became a champion - and even if all cards had been played right he might have failed. The lightweights in the 70´s on the West Coast and in the world were loaded with talent. Heair was sparring with reigning WBC champ Rodolfo Gonzales, the fearsome Roberto Duran was the universially recognized World champ. However, all in all in his career he achieved more than most champions ever do. "I might have been a champion, we will never know, but I´m sure my career had been very different had I stayed with Jerry Moore."

Name: Ralph Dupas

Dob: Oct 4, 1935, New Orleans, LA:

Amateur: grew up poor, very poor, began boxing as a young kid, Ralph was one of six fighting brothers who were very popular, turned pro at the age of almost 15 in 1950 after changing his birth year so he could he get a professional license.

Pro from 1950 through 1966, record: 106-23-0-6, only 18 wins inside the distance indicates a genuine non-puncher. Fighting as a lightweight in New Orleans Dupas got the nickname "Native Dancer" to compliment his slick moves, ("Native Dancer" was a famous race horse), speed and good footwork. While the punch was lacking Dupas had everything else and quickly became a big drawing card in New Orleans and was fighting mainevents before the age of 16 and a year later he was in the picture for a titlefight. From 1953 and ten year onwards the Ring always had Ralph in their world ratings in whichever weight division he fought. Dupas shared the ring with the likes of Paddy DeMarco, Frankie Ryff, Kenny Lane, Gaspar Ortega and other world class performers. But it wasn´t until 1958 that Dupas got a shot at a world title when he fought lightweight king Joe "Old Bones" Brown in Houston, Texas, March 7 1958. But by now Dupas had big problems making 135 and according to his brother Tony there wasn´t a single drop of sweat on Ralph´s body throughout the fight: "Old Bones" won a sixth round knockout. Dupas moved up to welter and fought the likes of Gil Turner and Joey Giardello and in 1962 challenged for the world title held by Emile Griffith but lost a 15-round decision. A bout with Sugar Ray Robinson was next, by now far from the all time great he had been, and in what some described as a terrible decision Sugar Ray got the nod. But finally, in his 123rd fight and 100th win Dupas beat Denny Moyer to win the world junior middleweight title. He beat Moyer in a rematch but then lost the crown to teak tough Italian Sandro Mazzingi. They also fought a rematch and Sandro scored a brutal knockout. His career as a contender was over, he lost to Griffith again, retired but returned in 1966 for a meaningless comeback.

After career: Dupas worked as a black jack dealer in Las Vegas for 13 years but eventually had to retire due to a growing problem: failing memory and other problems, things got from bad to worse and Dupas could be seen collecting aluminium cans and garbage. His brother Tony came to rescue and brought Ralph back to New Orleans. Ralph Dupas has been diagnosed with Puglistica Dementia and resides today in a nursing home. Tony Dupas tried for years to get attention and justice to Ralph´s great career but eventually gave up. Tony passed away some time ago and German journalist and writer Uwe Betker, who did a long story about Dupas for a book that due to the harsh realities for sports books in Germany never got published, says Ralph today sadly is only a shadow of himself.

Name: Alfredo Evangelista

DOB: Dec 3, 1954, Montevideo, Uruguay

Amateur: began boxing at the age of 14 and was reportedly a very good amateur, moved to Spain and Barcelona in the mid-70´s to be trained by Cuban Evelio Mustelier, "Kid Tunero". Turned pro in October of 75 with a first round tko over Angelo Visini.

Pro: 62-13-4, was moved fast, stopped Spanish legend Jose Ibar Manuel Urtain, lost only to slick Italian Lorenzo Zanon, became Spanish citizen and got a shot at Muhammad Ali and the World heavyweight title, that saw neither at their best but at opposite stages of their respective careers, lost clearly but wasn´t outclassed, became EBU champ later that year with an eleventh round stoppgae of Frenchman Lucien Rodriguez, fought in the US just three weeks later and tko´d Pedro Soto in eight. He closed out 77 with a first round knockout of Jean Pierre Coopman. In 78 Alfredo had a tough time with clever Brit Billy Aird but retained the EBU title and after beating Jody Ballard in Las Vegas got a shot at WBC king Larry Holmes in 78 but was knocked out in seven and took a bad beating. He knocked out Rodriguez in a EBU title defence but then lost to Zanon and could only draw with Felipe Rodriguez for the Spanish title. Scored a lot of wins over soft touches, drew again with "Pantera" Rodriguez and was stopped in two by Greg Page. More easy wins followed but he lost to Lucien Rodriguez, whom he had stopped twice before, in a shot at the EBU titlefight. In 83 Alfredo beat Renaldo "Mr" Snipes on a split decision but it was clear something was missing and he was upset by Brit Hughroy Currie at home. Don King, who had most heavies in the bag at the time kept Evangelista busy on shows in Spain, West Indies and the US in 84-85. However, a clear points loss - and after a poor fight where Evangelista fought with a leg injury - to Steffen Tangstad ended all hopes of a titlefight. A loss to Patrick Lumumba ín Madrid seemed to kill Alfredo as a drawing card at home as well - but he got a surprise shot at the then vacant EBU heavyweight title and regained the title with a fifth round tko over Dutchman Andre Van Den Oetelaar. He lost the title right away to Swede Anders Eklund but got a couple of decent paydays losing to Pierre Coetzer and Adilson Rodriguez. ..

After career: after showing up totally out of shape for a fight against Arthur Wright (w tko 1) in 1988 the Spanish Federation pulled his license and he never fought again. Arrested in 89 for drug possession, did time in jail, worked as bouncer in night clubs and reports indicates things didn´t too go with well with continued problems with the police, then caught working for a drugdealer in a bar in Madrid and was sentenced to eight years in jail but was released after five due to his good behaviour. Got back on his feet, working has a house painter,. Reunited with his brother Lindbergh in San Francisco recently after 30 years apart. Alfredo remains a celebrity and his fight with Muhammad Ali is the one most people remember although it was a rather poor fight..

Comment: was 14-1-1 and a pro for 18 months when he fought Muhammad Ali. Ali in a case of too much too soon. Still, seemed to benefit from it but then badly devastated in the loss to Larry Holmes in 78. Scored a lot of easy - some downright dubious - wins in Spain but could only draw with Felipe Rodriguez for the Spanish title in 79. Not the most serious with his training in the later stages of his career. Uruguayan director Aldo Garay did a documentary on Alfredo and his career in 97 while he was locked up. At his peak he was a tough slugger with decent power.

Name: Mihai Leu, fighting as Michael Loewe

DOB: Feb 13, 1969, Hunedoara, Romania

Amateur: 190-10, Romanian champ in the juniors 83-86, World junior champ 87. 89-90 German champ in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen.

Pro: 28-0, pro 91 through 97, one of the few fighters in history to retire undefeated with no comeback - however the retirement came after a serious handinjury that eventually led to that Loewe was stripped of the WBO welter title. Michael won the title with a points win over Santiago Samaniego in 97 and defended it against Irishman Michael Carruth. However, in the Samaniego fight Michael suffered a difficult injury to his left hand. He had surgery and a long rest but had a lot of problems with the hand in the Carruth fight. Another operation followed but in 98 he had to retire as the hand just didn´t get well. Later Loewe sought help from specialists in Austria, Italy and Romania but no-one could help. "My left hand was my key punch, it was very important for me, when I couldn´t use it properly I wasn´t the same anymore, I wanted to comeback but it just wasn´t possible" he says.

After career: In between surgery and attempts to comeback Loewe began a career as a rally race driver - a sport he had been into as a hobby outside of boxing -and became Romanian champ in 2003, and won a silver the year before. He won another championship in 2005. He still drives but is now also into business and politics and is running for a seat in the EU parliament. Michael have remained in boxing and was responsible in bringing talented heavy Konstantin Onofrei to Universum and also got a trainer´s diploma in Romania. "Boxing in Romania is very difficult so I am not active anymore" says Michael, "and I was quite disappointed when Onofrei´s career flopped". At the 250th Universum promotion in Hamburg May 19, 2007, Michael Loewe was of course there and was introduced in the ring along with many other ex-champs. It´s fair to say that the Universum that Loewe represented in the early 90´s isn´t the same big time operation it´s now it´s also fair to say that Michael was one of the fighters it´s all built on.

Name: John Baker Muwanga

DOB: born April 1, 1956, Kampala, Uganda

Amateur: 300+ fights in the very hot boxing scene in Uganda and Kenya in the mid-70´s, fought in the 74 World championships, won gold in King´s Cup in Thailand, should have participated in the 76 Olympics and was all set to go when all African countries withdrew due to New Zealand´s connections with South Africa. John is listed as a loser to Jovito Rengifo but the fight never took place and was a walk over win for Jovito. Beat future world champ Cornelius Boza-Edwards three times and fought on the Ugandan team on a tour to Germany and Scandinavia in 77. John relocated first to Finland and then to Norway - most of the stars from Uganda would find their way to Europe sooner or later for more or less successful boxing careers.

Pro: 14-0, turned pro in Norway in 1978, was 12-0 when the Norwegian Parliament outlawed professional boxing in 1980. John wanted to continue his career but was right in the middle of his education and couldn´t relocate. "It was a tough decison then but now I´m glad I did what I did" says John. Returned in 82 and fought two fights for a new Finnish / Swedish promotional outfit headed by Edwin Ahlquist. When this company folded John retired. During his brief career he beat several good fighters such as Brit Lloyd Christie, Americans Jerome Artis and Jerry Graham and Italian Antonio Puddu.

After boxing: graduated from the University of Oslo in sociology and social science, quit boxing to concentrate on his family and education, settled in Oslo and is since many years a social worker. John returned to boxing a few years ago and is now a trainer at the amateur club IF Ornulf. "There is a lot of good talent out there but it seems like they aren´t hungry enough and many tends to give up way to easily."

Name: Roberto Welin

DOB: April 9, 1966, Porto Alegre, Brazil, Swedish father and Brazilian mother, Roberto came to Sweden as a teenager and began boxing to get friends in his new country. It was easy to tell early on that Enighet BC in Malmoe and Gunnar Bengtsson had a star in the making.

Amateur: Swedish champ 89 and 91 at welter, amateur record about 115-15, Swedish Int´l, European champ 91 also welter. Roberto had a great relation with his coach in Malmoe, Gunnar Bengtsson, the national coach Leif Carlsson and Kjell Fredriksson, who trained him while he was studying to become an airplane mechanic in Vasteras. His style was a bit special, upright, left low and a good right, he wasted few punches and could hurt you with either hand - he was also an enourmosly hard worker in the gym. Some say he worked too hard though. Roberto aimed for the 92 Olympics but couldn´t make welter anymore and moved up to jr middle -and eventually turned pro.

"Roberto was special" says Leif Carlsson. "When he decided for something he was 100% on the job and he always gave his all. So in a way he was very tough, but he was also a sensitive guy and had to have things in a special way. When he turned pro it seemed líke he never found his rythm."

Pro: 23-4 from 92 to 96, turned pro with for Gary Trevett´s team of Nordic fighters based in Florida Angelo Dundee as trainer. Financially it was a sound move but Roberto was unable to change his style to the pros and what had worked in the amateurs backfired in the pros. The low left hand left him open for counters, he seemed musclebound and while he did win over a number of "opponents" he lost the important ones to the likes of Chris Saunders, Delroy Waul and Emmett Linton. The Linton fight, for the WBU jr middle title, was his last. "It didn´t work out the way I had thought it would, everybody here said I had a lot of talent but I never had, I was the product of hard work, over here I wasn´t allowed to train as hard as I wanted and it went the way it went, I´m not crying over it, I made some money, invested it and it paid off" says Roberto.

After career: remained in Florida, although he was looking for a job in that field when he quit boxing never he´s never used his skills as an airplane mechanic. Instead Roberto first became a landlord and is now a licensed real estate agent. "I´m doing well" says Roberto, who have no contact with boxing. "I weigh 180 lbs today, pure muscles, I pump iron and punch the bags sometimes but other than that I´m out of the game and don´t miss it either. I´m married with two kids and also have a son in Sweden."

Name: "Fast" Eddy Smulders

DOB: July 1, 1963, Eindhoven, the Netherlands

Amateur: 3-0 with one no decision. European kick boxing champion. Eddie made the transition to ortodox boxing due to bad ankles. "I was very tough to change style, the distance to your opponents, the way you punch, the whole game is different" says Smulders. "I wanted to continue as an amateur but then had one kick boxing match that I was paid for. The amateur federation found out about this and decided I wasn´t an amateur anymore and that forced me to turn pro. I was stupid, I should have sued them for that but I turned pro instead."

Pro: 36-2-0 from 1898 through 1998, EBU lightheavy champ 95-97, won the BeNeLux lightheavy title 91, Dutch belt at lightheavy in 93, beat the likes of Yawe Davis, Eric Nicoletta, Christophe Girard, Jan Lefeber (a hot all Dutch matchup), and Dirk Wallijn. Smulders was a tall, upright boxer with a heavy right hand. "My best fights were against Davis, a very tough fight, and Girard" says Smulders. Smulders was first managed and promoted by Henk Ruhling but fought for Universum at the end of his career. He was WBA number one challenger for a long time but it wasn´t until he joined Universum things began to happen. "I was all set to fight WBO ruler Dariusz Michalczewski but broke my hand two weeks before the contest and that pretty much broke my will too, and the hand is still not good", says Smulders, who did get world title shot at then WBA king Louis Del Valle later. "He´s a southpaw and just hated fighting southpaws" states Smulders, who got stopped in the eighth. The only other loss came to another world champ, Frenchman Fabrice Tiozzo in a EBU titlefight.

After career: Smulders continued his career moving up to cruiser but after stopping Mike Pearman in 98 it all came to an end. "I caught a burglar and beat him and did three months in jail and then there were other things as well but they were totally untrue" says Eddie, who had had to pass on a possible chance to challenge then WBC cruiser champ Juan Carlos Gomez as he was in custody in a Dutch jail on various charges. Dutch press wrote about links to organized crime and that Smulders had been working as a torpedo. Since a number of years Eddy is in the hotel business in Eindhoven with his mother.

Smulders have no contacts with boxing anymore. "It´s a rotten game, I was cheated so many times, I am totally out, I work out a little to stay in shape but that´s it."

If you are in Eindhoven, Hotel Van Neer is the place to stay!

Name: Michele Aboro

DOB: Nov 17, 1969, London, UK (of Nigerian descent)

Amateur: none, got into kickboxing and muay thai as a teenager and then moved to the Netherlands to further her career. She then took up traditionol boxing and made her prodebut in 1995 (female boxing wasn´t really recognized in those days and there is a lot of confusion in what was "real" profights or not) but eventually she signed with Universum Box Promtion and her career took off.

Pro: 21-0 (12), an alltime great in female boxing, WIBF champ at superbantam. outstanding in her titledefences and she looked ubeatable; Aboro could both box and punch. She beat the likes of Kelsey Jeffries, Nadia Debras and Daisy Lang. However her promoter, Universum Box Promotion, had big problems outside of the ropes with Michele, who for part of her career trained in Croatia, came from London, lived in Holland and fought in Germany. Where most female stars used their good looks to get attention Aboro was quite masculine and it was no secret that she was a lesbian. In short: she was tough to market, so tough that Universum decided to terminate their contract with her. Effectively her career thus ended late 2001.

Aboro tried to take her case to court but eventually the case was thrown out of the system late 2006. Michele and her lawyer wanted to establish the fact she had been employed by Universum and thus should German labour laws apply - and not a promoter´s and manager´s contract. A higly interesting angle but a mission impossible. The Aboro case have attracted big attention mainly from Dutch feminist groups. There´s been a documentary called "A Knockout" made on Aboro and her career in and out of the ropes.

Michele Aboro resides in Amsterdam and work a sound technician at the famed club Paradiso, is a boxing trainer on the side and is doing well. She is in debt though after her court cases and mamacash.nl are trying to raise money to help her out.

Name: Björn Rudi

DOB: Oct 1, 1953 in Kristiansand.

Amateur: began boxing as 15-year old in 1968 for Aik-Lund in Kristiansand, a big, wellbuilt heavy already then, regarded as very promising (some say he was the biggest prospect ever from Norway), junior champ in 69, participated in the senior championships later the same year - a little too much too soon for the 16-year old who was knocked out but the year after Rudi was ready and won gold and did the same in 1972 and 1973. Bjorn was on his way to the 72 Olympics but suffered an upset ko-loss to German Gerhard Rissmann. Still, during the season 72-73 the now 19-year produced several good results and turned pro in 1973 - which may again have been a little too much too soon.

Pro: 17-4-0, began and ended his procareer in Norway but was also with Andy Smith in the UK. After a fine start in Norway Rudi with Erik Stenerud was discovered by British manager Andy Smith, who´s big star was Joe Bugner. Rudi sparred a lot with Joe and fought on the undercard to Ali vs Bugner II in Malaysia in 74. "There was a lot going on in my head, I was mentally shot and at the same time there was a lot of turmoil outside of the ropes as well." An an upset loss to Derek Simpkin followed. The talent was there but Bjorn came across as a notorious underachiever, a revenge win over Simpkin was followed by back to back losses against John L Gardner and Neville Meade - two matchups were the Norwegian was - especially against Gardner - thrown to the wolves. Rudi retired but came back in 78 going 2-1 and at the age 25 it was over. "The comeback wasn´t 100%, I had moved to Alesund, I was training myself and you just can´t do it that way" says Bjorn.

After career: Bjorn moved to Alesund, worked as a municipal employee, and became a trainer with the local amateur club. Among the fighters that came out of Alesund was the now renowned official Mikael Hook, who qualified for the Olympic Games in Barcelona but wasn´t allowed to participate after some boxing political turmoil. After eighteen years in Alesund Rudi moved back to Kristiansand, a prosperous oil town in the south of Norway, where he now resides and is a self employed truck driver. "I have very little contact with boxing these days" says Bjorn. "I follow the big heavyweight fights but not much more. With hindsight it´s easy to see it should have been done differently, I was so young, it´s takes a lot of time for a heavyweight to grow out but I didn´t think like that back then."

Name: Tommy Joyce

DOB: Aug 7, 1947, Edinburgh, UK, grew up in Doncaster and fought out of there throughout his career.

Amateur: won the ABA jr title at the age of 16, bronze in two senior ABA, represented Scotland 17 times, bronze medal at the Commonwealth games in 1970.

Pro: 26-23-3 at welter and jr middle, went 14-0-1 in his first fifteen fights but then suffered back to back ko losses to Mickey Flynn and high class South African Gert Steyn and most of the losses on Joyce´s ledger came inside the distance. Fought for the Midlands title in 73. While never a champ a solid pro. Retired in 1980.

After career: caretaker at a school in Mexborough where he now resides, picked up running to keep fit but started doing it for charities and began an amazing career as a marathon runner. Tommy began by doing five marathons in five days, then ten in ten days all the way to up to an incredible 20 marathons in 20 days, doing about 200 marathons, raising about 200 000 GBP. Received the prestigeus MBE award in 2007. Married to Jean since 1966, two kids, three grandkids. Topped a recent poll for unsung heroes and heroines in the Mexborough region, also named Yorkshireman of the year.

Name: Ulf Danielsson

DOB: March 14, 1944, Jonkoping, Sweden.

Amateur: Swedish champ at flyweight in 1966 which topped a six year career in amateur boxing where he represented BK Ringen in Jonkoping..

Pro: 4-3-1, pro in 67, last fight was at the end of 1969, a points loss to then EBU fly champ Fernando Atzori, and Ulf became one of the last Swedes to enter a professional boxing ring in Sweden before the game was outlawed. Danielsson kept training (also prohibited for pros) and the gym was in the same building as the police department. "We got far more important matters to deal with than Danielsson´s training" stated the local police chief thus allowing Danielsson to carry on training. However, fights abroad failed to materialize and Ulf was forced to retire.

After career: a truck driver turned photographer, check out bildvisning.com for an introduction to Ulf´s great work. Have visited Syria, Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Bolivia, Peru, Rwanda, India and coming up is a trip to Turkmenistan. Ulf was not invited to "the Return" show in Gothenburg January 27, 2007, that marked the return of professional boxing to Sweden. Not involved in boxing in any way. Married with two grown kids, resides outside of Jonkoping.

Name: Felipe "Pantera" Rodriguez

DOB: Dec 22, 1953, Vilaxoean.

Amateur: Spanish champ in 74 and 76, Spanish international.

Pro: 27-9-5, in a career that lasted from 77 through 87. "Pantera" quickly became a drawing card in North Western Spain and won the Spanish heavyweight title in 78. In 79 he drew with Alfredo Evangelista at home in Pontevedra. A points loss to EBU champ Lorenzo Zanon followed and a month later he lost to Belgian Albert Syben. Rodriguez fought his way back and again drew with Evangelista but lost twice to Frenchman Lucien Rodriguez, the last time again for the EBU title. For the remainder of his career "Pantera" was a good journeyman taking on the likes of David Pearce, Anders Eklund, Rainer Hartmann, Pierre Coetzer and Francesco Damiani always losing but always putting up a good fight. Rodriguez was a good allround boxer but didn´t have a big punch.

After career: "Pantera" worked as doorman in nightclubs in Pontevedra and appeared on a local TV show. In 2000 he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and tragically passed away shortly thereafter

Name: Johann Orsolics

DOB: May 14, 1947, Vienna, Austria

Amateur: 23-4 (Orsolics´ amateur career have previously been unknown but as Dr Sigi Bergman made research for an upcoming book about Orsolics they were "disovered"). Johann, a chimney sweeper by trade, began boxing with a good friend and wasn´t a natural southpaw but was taught to box that way and thus had a powerful right to go with his good left.

Pro: 42-7-4 in a career that lasted from 65 through 74. Johann Orsolics quickly became a big ticket seller and won the EBU jr welter title in his 12th profight. In the years to come Orsolics was a huge star at home. He lost the title to Bruno Arcari in 68, moved up to welter and won the EBU title by stopping Frenchman Jean Josselin. A world title shot against champ Jose Napoles was agreeed on but then Johann suffered an upset loss to Eddie Perkins. In the fight that followed, a defence of the title against Brit Ralph Charles, Orsolics was ahead on points going into the 12th round but turned to complain to the referee about a low blow and Charles took advantage of the situation and knocked out Orsolics. It was a devastating loss and it took Orsolics two years before he was back. In 1973 Orsolics challenged EBU jr middle champ Carlo Duran and appeared to have won on points after fifteen rounds but ended up a loser on a split decision and a big riot followed. In 74 Johann got another crack at the EBU 154 lb title and had Jacques Kechichian out on his feet in the early rounds but failed to close the show and ended up a loser on a ninth round knockout. In Berlin November 8, 1974, Orsolics was stopped in the 14th round by Spaniard Jose Duran and that ended his career.

After career: Orsolics had lived in the fast lane already during his fighting days and as the owner of a bar in Vienna he didn´t slow down. Step by step the once famed fighter slipped down the ladder. By the early 80´s Johann Orsolics was pretty much down and out, drinking heavily, the bar gone and had debts that couldn´t be paid. Dr Sigi Bergmann, who had followed Orsolics´s career as TV commentator, reported on what had happened to Johann on the nationally televised Monday Night Sports. Singer / songwriter Charly Kriechbaum watched on TV and came to the rescue: he wrote a song for Johann to sing. Orsolics did some voice training but was hardly a skilled singer nor a very good one when he recorded "Mei Patschertes Leben". If it was the quality of the song or if it was an act of solidarity by Austrian fight fans is hard to say but the single hit the charts big time and stayed # 1 for four weeks in the summer of 86. The song led to a change in the lifestyle for Orsolics, who sobered up, got his finances in order and got back on his feet. Today Johan Orsolics is a working man and is a guest of honor at most shows in Vienna. His good friend, Sigi Bergmann, is currently writing a book about Orsolics and his career.

Name: Bruno Arcari

DOB: Jan 1, 1942, Atina, Italy. His family fled the ongoing war and Bruno grew up in Genova and have remained there. Began boxing at the age of 15.

Amateur: 81-5, Italian champ 62-63 at lightwelter, bronze in the European championships 63, Mediterranean champ 63.

Pro: 70-1-2, one of the greats in Italian boxing, a tough, smart southpaw with great stamina and feared for his bodyshots, who´s only major weakness was a tendency to cuts that led to both losses - he lost his prodebut due to cuts. Bruno turned pro late in 64 and kept active until 1978. He won the Italian title late in 66 after losing the first attempt. In 1968 he won the EBU jr welter, a title he would keep until he relinquished it early in 1970 to go for the world title in the regime of WBC. Arcari outscored Pedro Adique over fifteen and kept the title until he relinquished it in 74 due to problems making the weight, politicial pressure on who to fight from the WBC and problems with an injured shoulder. A shot at welter champ Jose Napoles failed to materialize. While Arcari beat top notchers such as Rene Roque, Joao Henrique, Percy Pugh and Everaldo Costa Acevedo he would never get full recognition outside of Italy. Talks of unification fight with Colombian great Antonio Cervantes never got anywhere. Bruno stayed active through 75-76 and drew with future jr middle champ Rocky Mattioli in what was his last big fight. In 1978 he stopped Texan journeman Jessie Lara in five and retired.

After career: Bruno have remained in Genova and was for many years an ace trainer and manager working with the likes of Salvatore Fanni and Giovanni Nardiello, who top class in Europe, always in collaboration with his former manager Rocco Agostino. He then joined the Italian Federation as an advisor but have kept a low profile.

Arcari is retired, in good health, financially secure (but declines to speak about it) enjoys life, spends a lot of time fishing and with his family.

Name: Borge "the Professor" Krogh

DOB: April 4, 1942, Aalborg, Denmark

Amateur: 225 fights, 5-time Danish champ at feather and lightweight, participated in the Olympic Games 60 and 64. 30 nationals representing Denmark.

Pro: 43-8-5, Krogh turned pro after 64 Olympics and quickly became a headline fighter for then rising promoter Mogens Palle and was in tough right from the beginning. Two years after turning pro Krogh, a very skillful boxer, won the EBU lightweight title by beating Maurice Travant on points. In 1968 Krogh lost the title to Spanish great Pedro Carrasco. Krogh never really made it back, the nickname "the Professor" hinted partly at Borge´s clever boxing but also about his career outside of the ropes where he made a career in the school system. He was however still in tough and took on Eddie Perkins in 1969 losing on points and two of the three knockdowns Krogh would suffer in his procareer came here. Another problem got bigger as the wear and tear of many hard fights began to show: cut eyes. In 1970 Krogh drew with then EBU jr welter champ Rene Roque in his last big fight. He retired in 1971 after a cut eye loss to Pietro Ceru.

After career: Borge Krogh worked for many years as teacher, then became a principle and a school inspector. Krogh returned to boxing as a trainer and was for many years the main man for Danish pros, he worked with Ayub Kalule, Hans Henrik Palm, Jorgen Hansen; Racheed Lawal and others through the 70´s and 80´s.

Comment: Borge is the third of the once feared Krogh brothers who were exellent amateurs, Tage, the oldest, have passed away but Bjarne have been active as a trainer just as Kjeld, the youngest, who have trained Jimmi and Johnny Bredahl, Fredrik Alvarez, Dennis Holbaek and other very good Scandinavian pros.