EVERY BOXING FACE HAS A STORY
April 29, 2024
BY: Simon Ruvalcaba
@mister_boxing
“You ask me if I have my scars? Yes Sir, I have my scars” Said Emilio Estevez’s “Billy The Kid” character in “Young Guns II.” Every random face in life that you encounter has scars, whether visible or inside. In boxing, each face the fans see has it’s scars, every face has a story.
November 7, 1992 I was at the Caesars Tahoe Showroom in Lake Tahoe to watch Azumah Nelson vs Calvin Grove. On the undercard, former Heavyweight Champion Tony Tucker fought Paul Poirier. It was a one-sided match where Tucker stopped Poirier in the 4th round. There was an image though, as Poirier was walking out of the ring and into the back stage curtains out of view of the crowd, a crowd that didn’t care much about the beating he took.
I was wondering at the time, how many in the crowd are aware that the “bum” they just booed was once an undefeated Middleweight on the verge of a title fight before suddenly retiring and taking 15 years off? Paul Poirier of New Bedford, MA was an 18 year old 26 and 0 phenom, when suddenly he got burned out and walked away from boxing. He came back as a heavyweight, and faced some notable fighters before retiring for good in 1993 after losing to Larry Holmes.
In November of 2000, in the finals of a Central Texas tournament, I had my final amateur bout vs then 17 year old James Kirkland. The match was referee’d by a new amateur ref at the time. A referee that from a distance, some of us teased for how nervous he looked and for how loud he gave standing 8 counts while flashing his fingers what seemed like an inch in front of a fighter’s eyes.
For 19 years that ref was an after thought in my memories until last week when I recognized him refereeing high level pro fights on the Errol Spence, Jr. VS Mikey Garcia card. No longer a nervous looking face but rather a seasoned pro referee Mark Calo-oy has since ref’d World Title bouts in countries like Japan and Mexico. After not seeing him for 19 years, I have now seen him 2 weeks in a row as he is now in Reno, Nevada officiating Elite level amateur boxing at an Olympic Trial Qualifier that is happening this week. His face tells a story, his feet have walked quite a journey!
Sitting, observing on day 1 of the tournament, there’s a Coach in the corner of one of the boxers that is competing. That Coach’s face draws me to smile as I know places that face has gone, I know part of his journey. When my Son comes to sit by me, I point and tell him, “See that coach? That Coach was my teammate on the Army team. We where in Korea together and then we where in Texas together.” Through my peripheral vision I notice two sitting in the bleachers react when I say that.
Coach Charles Leverette has been the Army Boxing Coach for the W.C.A.P. (World Class Athlete Program) out of Colorado Springs, CO (Fort Carson) for sometime now. Retired from the Army, he has been part of the staff for the last several Olympic games. Yes, that coach sitting in the corner, he has a story, quite a story…from Alabama to across the ocean, to working with the nation’s top amateurs and notable pros.
So when you see a random face, realize there is a story to that face, just as your own face has a story as well! The journey in life that we travel comes full circle. It truly is a small world and the boxing world is even smaller, you run into so many over the years, and yes, you sit down and share your scars! It’s the beauty of boxing, and the beauty of life…we all have our scars, we all have a story…
About the Editor
Army Veteran and former Professional Boxer Simon Ruvalcaba started boxing at the age of ten and Had a 71 fight amateur career which featured a 139 lbs. 1998 8th U.S. Army Boxing Championship out of Camp Casey, Korea and a spot on the prestigious Army Boxing Team at Fort Hood, TX. After a journeyman pro career of 18 fights, which included sparring sessions with many champions and contenders including Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whitaker, Simon started writing and has contributed to many publications and websites including fighthype.com, pound4pound.com, Tahoe Daily Tribune (South Lake Tahoe, CA), Nevada Appeal (Carson City, NV). He has also been the Boxing Instructor for Ken Shamrock and The Lions Den and was MMA and Bareknuckle star Paige VanZant’s first boxing coach!
Born and Raised in South Lake Tahoe, California he now resides in Sun Valley, Nevada and spends as much time as possible with his Sons Gabriel and Oscar! Beyond boxing, Simon is an all around sports fanatic and is passionate about the teams that he roots for. Simon also works as a Sportsbook Supervisor for Caesars Sportsbook in Lake Tahoe.
