Felipe 'The Flash' Torres ~ 'A Good West-Coast Kid'

[Bill Paxtom]

Felipe 'The Flash' Torres

'A Good West-Coast Kid'



Interview From 1976

> Tell us about the time you faced your 'first' World-Ranked fighter.

That was back on March 28, 1968.

I was in the Gym at the time helping Raul Rojas prepare for his World Championship
bout with Enrique Higgins. It was to be for the 'vacant' WBA Featherweight Title.

Originally I was not on the 'fight card', which was to take place at the Olympic Auditorium.

On the 'main undercard' > which was a Television Bout {Channel 5; KTLA}, hot shot
and World-Ranked Featherweight - Bobby Valdez was supposed to fight Len Kesey
in Junior-Lightweight bout.

But, Bobby got hurt in the Gym, and pulled out 3-Days before his bout. They looked
for a 3-Day replacement fighter, and found me.

I was in great shape, so I jumped at the offer.

I was to fight Len 'KO' Kesey. He was a tough 'club-fighter' from Oregon, who was
ranked as the #10 WBA Junior-Lightweight. Len had come down to Los Angeles to
get in a good bout to show off his skills. He was a really tough guy, who had a record
of 19-3-0 {10 KO's}.

He had a lot of experience for a 23 year-old guy, as Len had been in the Ring with
> Mando Ramos, Baby Cassius and Petey Gonzalez.

I was only {Age; 18 1/2}, and I only had fought in 'one' 10-Rounder before this bout,
but my Manager felt that I was ready.

The Olympic Auditorium was buzzing that night, as there was a screaming crowd of
over 10,000 there. The noise sent chills down my spine.

As for my bout with Kesey. It was a good fight. I fought well and kept it close up to
the 8th Round. But Len was a stronger than me down the stretch, and he won a
close 10-Round Unanimous Decision.

After Len Kesey beat me, Ring Magazine ranked him as the #10 Junior-Lightweight.
So that must have meant something about me as well.

I really didn't feel all that bad about the loss. It was more of a learning experience.
But I still looked good, and impressed a few of the Los Angeles Boxing Matchmakers.

[Bill Paxtom]

Felipe 'The Flash' Torres

'A Good West-Coast Kid'



Interview from 1976

> Tell us about your Boxing contacts >

Well, I first started off at the Olympic Auditorium fighting 4-Round and 6-Round
Preliminary bouts.

The Olympic Auditorium Fight-Promoter was Aileen Eaton, and the Matchmaker
was Mickey Davies.

Mickey really liked me, and he loved my style. So they signed me up, and I fought
there '16-times' from June 1967 thru November 1968.

Many of the bouts were televised on KTLA ~ Channel 5. They called me a crowd
pleasing fan-favorite. I really had a good following of fans.

I had a 'great night' at the Olympic on November 14, 1968.

They brought in this 21 year-old 'bomber-kid' from Sonora, Mexico. His name was
Centavito Antonio Hernandez, and they called him 'The Sonora Slammer'. He had
an impressive record of 23-2-0 {17 KO's}.

He was supposed to be a 'real test' for me, and he was slightly favored {10 to 7}
by the Newspapers to beat me. He came in with about 200 of his relatives.

Well, it was a 'war' for 3-Rounds, but then he just 'gassed-out'. Then, I took
him apart and the Referee stopped it {TKO 5}. I got a big write up in the papers,
and they said I was a 'rising star'.

That made my record 15-3-1 {5 KO's}, and I got ranked as the #3 California
State Super-Featherweight in the 'new' December 1968 ratings.

[Bill Paxtom]

Felipe 'The Flash' Torres

'A Good West-Coast Kid'

Interview from 1976

> Who was the 1st World Class Fighter that you faced >

That would be Bobby Valdez. He was ranked as the #5 Featherweight
by Ring Magazine, and {#7 WBA and #7 WBC}. He was also was the
California State Featherweight Champion.

We fought on January 13, 1969.

He was from San Diego, and had been World-Rated for 3-Years. He was
a well-schooled 'ring technician', as he was experienced {Age; 26}, and had
a record of 22-5-4 with {8 KO's}.

He was looking for a good tune-up bout in trying to get another chance at
the Featherweight World Championship.

I went to his hometown {San Diego Coliseum} to fight him. He had a big
following, and they all expected him to easily out-box me.

We agreed on {128 lbs.} as the fight weight, so the State Championship
was not at stake. I was 131 lbs. on Sunday, and had to lose 3 lbs. to
make weight for the Monday Night bout.

Well I stayed 'even' with him thru the 4th Round, as he wasn't doing much
more than flicking out left-jabs. In the 5th Round I stepped in, and caught
him with a big right-hand to the chin and dropped him. He got up, and I
dropped him again with a 'left-right'. He was hurt bad, and barely got up.
He just made it out of the Round.

But I finished him in the 6th Round, as the Referee {Hal Rickards} stopped it.
I was really hurting him.

After the bout, he came up to me and said that he was never hit harder
by anyone. He said that I was a very good fighter, and that I had a chance
to make to the top. He was a 'class guy'.

The 'San Mateo Times' and 'The Fresno Bee' wrote nice articles about me,
mentioning that an 'unknown and unheralded' East Los Angeles fighter
scored a major upset.

[Bill Paxtom]

Felipe 'The Flash' Torres

'A Good West-Coast Kid'

Interview from 1976

> Felipe, when did you first get ranked in the Top 10 >

Right after I stopped {TKO 6} Bobby Valdez.

In the February 1969 Ratings, Ring Magazine listed me as their #10 Featherweight.
But, I wasn't really a Featherweight, as I couldn't make 126 lbs. anymore.

The WBA listed me as their #10 Featherweight, and the WBC listed me as
the #10 Super-Featherweight.

I was most comfortable at around 132 lbs.

[Bill Paxtom]

Felipe 'The Flash' Torres

'A Good West-Coast Kid'

Interview from 1976

> What was your highest ranking from Ring Magazine >

It was right after I upset {W Majority Decision 10} Petey Gonzalez
at the Valley Music Theatre on March 4, 1969.

Petey 'The Spoiler' was ranked as Ring Magazine's #7 Junior-Lightweight,
and he was really a good fighter. I beat him in a great tussle. The bout was
an 'over-the-weight' Junior-Lightweight fight, and I weighed in at 133 lbs.

But still, Ring Magazine listed me as their #7 Featherweight.

I was only {Age; 19 years, 7 months}, and only had been a professional
for 21-Months {less than 2-Years}.

My record was now 18-3-1 {7 KO's}, and George Parnassus was looking to
promote me in a bout at The Forum in Inglewood.

[Bill Paxtom]

Felipe 'The Flash' Torres

'A Good West-Coast Kid'

Interview from 1976

> Who were your Manager/Handlers >

That would be Larry and Memo Soto of the Main Street Gym. They moved me
well, and got me a lot of bouts.

They hooked me up with Mickey Davies who was the Boxing Matchmaker at
the Olympic Auditorium. That is where I had nearly all of my early fights.
By fighting all those bouts at the Olympic Auditorium, I built up a pretty good
following real fast.

Then they got me a deal with the Monarch Boxing Club, with Promoter - Pete Kokon
and Matchmaker - Hal Benson. They promoted bouts at the 'new' Valley Music Theatre
in Woodland Hills, California. I fought there '5' times, and they paid me well.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Who labeled you 'The Flash' >

It was 'The Van Nuys Valley News'. They said that I was a 'flashy fighter' after I beat
Bobby Valdez in January 1969. After that, 'The Flash' became my nickname.

[Bill Paxtom]

Felipe 'The Flash' Torres

'A Good West-Coast Kid'

Interview from 1976

> Felipe, what was your biggest pay-day early in your career >

Back on March 17, 1969. It was $2500 to fight at the Forum.

George Parnassus wanted me as a Nite-Cap bout, after the 'Main Event'
between Ruben Olivares vs. Ernie De La Cruz.

They pulled in a Gate of $44,722 and with an attendance of 8495. It was
a good night there.

They brought in this guy {Miguel Herrera} to fight me. He was the Ecuadorian
Featherweight Champion, and he had a record of 41-5-2 with {25 KO's}.
He was a 3-Day replacement fighter who was co-managed by Gil Clancy.

We didn't know that much about him, other than he was 27 years-old, and had
never been knocked-out in '48-Bouts'. We really had no idea how good he was
either. Only that he'd been around for awhile {since 1960}, and was a 9-Year pro.

We fought as Junior-Lightweights. I got off to a real slow start, and the next thing
I know I'm behind by 3-Points. He was a real good in-fighter, and he smothered me
with short-hooks. And, he was real cagey. He knew how to fight inside.

I did my best to rally in the Middle-Rounds, but I got tired near the end. I just came
up a little short, and lost to him by a Split-Decision over 10-Rounds.