805 Boxing Pictures

805 Boxing Pictures - Page 2

Here are some pictures that tell you about the long history of boxing in Ventura County. If you have pictures and stories you want to share, you can "Contact Us" on the top or bottom of each page on this site. This page and its pictures would not be possible without the help of the people who shared these like Melanie Ley, Martin Noriega, Manuel Herrera, Salvador Santacruz, ect.

(These pictures are in no certain order.)

Fernando Vargas won the US title at the 1994 US Olympic Festival making him the youngest ever National amateur champion.

In 1998, Robert made local headlines becoming the first world champion from the city of Oxnard.

Adam "Bomb" Flores was a terrific local heavyweight prospect during his time in the sport.

Fernando Vargas becomes the first boxer out of Oxnard to make it on an Olympic team to represent the USA at the 1996 games in Atlanta.

These three fighters were the up and coming fighters when Oxnard was making noise with Robert and Fernando. Left to right : Carlos "El Terror" Madrigal, Jose "Sweet" Aguiniga, and "El Pochito" Rolando Reyes.

Martin Noriega would often take the young fighters out of town to compete.

Ray "Windmill" White was placed on historian Bert Sugar's list of the the worst boxers ever due to his in ring antics and playful style.

This picture is a shot of the Oxnard Opera House. It was located at 551 South C St. in between 5th & 6th St. in Oxnard's downtown area.

Martin Noriega was the head trainer at La Colonia Boxing Club from 1984 - 1992. Here he is mentoring one of his best fighters during his time there, Saul Perez.

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Sam McVey (McVea) was a big strong fighter. He fought Sam Langford fifteen times, Harry Wills five times, and the future first black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson three times.

Felix Vega trained boxer Lupe Aquino. Aquino would later become Ventura County's first world champion. Mr. Vega dies the day after Christmas of 2017. He is buried at the Pierce Brothers Cemetery in Santa Paula.

Ralph Lemos on the left, with trainer and manager John Flores who is wrapping fighter Donald Dawson at the El Rio Boys' Club.

Fritz Huntsinger (left) and heavyweight king Jack Dempsey training together at Soper Ranch in Ojai.

Fernando Vargas (left) and Robert Garcia (right) take a picture with their idol, Julio Cesar Chavez.

Boxer John Ramirez makes some local noise with another win.

Frank "Panchito" Ontiveros always helped young fighters at La Colonia Boxing Club. He was a tough man that was known for his prison boxer fighting while incarcerated.

Popular female boxer Mia St. John trained at the La Colonia Gym with trainer Robert Garcia.

Jose Aguiniga gets another amateur win. Jose would retire undefeated with a record of 33-0.

Trainer Ruben Juarez with President Donald Trump.

Oxnard rapper Young Quicks with "Bam Bam" Brandon Rios. Quicks would rap during the entrance of Rios's last fights.

Joel "El Platanito" Salas getting his gloves taped.

"El Pochito" Rolando Reyes literally lived across the street from the La Colonia Boxing Gym. He would first hang out outside to cause trouble until he was let in and was fascinated by what the fighters did and traveled to go to fights.

This article is prior to Sam McVey's (McVea) first fight in Oxnard on April 12, 1902. The article is from the Oxnard Courier.

A bird's eye view of the Soper Ranch boxing training camp in Ojai.

Santa Paula's Lupe Aquino making some negative news that hit the sports world in the 1980's. I've talked to Lupe recently and have been planning to bring him on our podcast to talk about this and more in the future.

Saul Perez hanging out with 1992 USA Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya.

Left to right : Melanie Ley, Robert Garcia, and his brother Danny Garcia.

* Picture by the late Melanie Ley.

"Sweet" Jose Aguiniga in action. Aguiniga retired undefeated with a record of 33 - 0.

Coach Joseph Janik and Santa Barbara's Francisco "Chia" Santana at Knuckleheadz Gym in Ventura, CA.

This is La Colonia Boxing Club in 2014.

Saul Perez was a great Oxnard prospect boxer. Once martin Noriega left the city in 1992, he stopped taking the sport serious. Today, he works for the Oxnard School District.

Hugo "The Boss" Centeno didn't train in the popular gyms in Oxnard, but he did boxing his way and made his way into the spotlight against all odds.

Rudy Ochoa is the most recent popular fighter out of Oxnard, CA!

Referee Jack Reiss now lives at the Oxnard Shores. He is a retired Fire Fighting Captain for Los Angeles City Fire Dept.. He also does real estate today in Ventura County.

The character Montana from "Blood In, Blood Out" is Enrique Castillo. He came on to say Hi on TheBoxingBar podcast!

Carlos "El Terror" Madrigal was a very exciting fighter to watch. He also fought going forward and being very active with his punches.