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Fight night The original James West is in town, and we're not talking about the guy from the slick drama-comedy that came out in movie houses a few years ago.
reeled in Conrad
The 67-year-old actor enjoyed
the bouts, even though
Viloria beat Oviedo quicklyViloria makes short work of Oviedo
By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comRobert Conrad, the tough guy who used to dare consumers to knock a battery off his shoulder in TV commercials, went to the Blaisdell Arena to check out some boxing last night. That's right, James West from the popular 1960s TV show had a seat close to ringside along with his wife and friends.
Specifically, Conrad came to see Hawaii's wonder boy, Brian Viloria, fighting in the main event against Sandro Oviedo.
"I heard about the fight," said the 67-year-old Conrad, who is in Hawaii for a broadcasters convention. "I read it in the paper. I read about it twice. I wanted to see the local boy who is 6-0. It sounded exciting, so I figured I'd come and see what he's got."
And he didn't leave disappointed.
It took just 38 seconds for Viloria to knock out Oviedo with a flurry of punches and a straight right hand.
Conrad is no stranger to boxing. He was 29-2-1 as an amateur, fighting in the Catholic Youth Organization as a youngster. He showed he still had some stuff by shadow boxing for the crowd under the spotlight while he was being introduced by the public address announcer to the crowd of 3,180.
"I'll never forget the two guys who beat me -- and they beat me --until the day I die," Conrad said.
He knows George Foreman and Joe Frazier and he has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder for two actors who refused to fight him -- Sylvester Stallone and Mickey Rourke.
"At least Rourke stepped in the ring, once," Conrad said. "There's only four celebrities who can box -- Tony Danza, Ryan O'Neal, Robert Conrad and ... Rourke. I fought Tony Danza in an exhibition once. He stepped in the ring with me, but I wish he hadn't, because he can fight.
Conrad also served as manager for Frankie Crawford, who he said was ranked second in the world in the 1960s.
Conrad didn't see the "Wild, Wild West" movie and he didn't go to see "Ali." He has other, better things to do, such as play golf and go surfing.
"I was out at Ala Moana today," he said. "And I'll be out again tomorrow. The surf's flat and there's nothing on the North Shore this time of year, of course."
Conrad loved last night's show. He stood to cheer Hawaii's Eric Alexander and Gerry Balagbagan of the Philippines after their undercard bout. Despite a three-year layoff, the more polished Alexander (18-3) held off Balagbagan (9-3), who was a crowd-pleaser because of his brawling style and the fury he showed in the face of defeat, not to mention his shuffling, rather flat-footed dance.
"I try to copy Sugar Ray Leonard to boost up the crowd," Balagbagan said after the fight. It was his second fight in Hawaii, and his managers said he'll probably be back to "bring out the Filipino crowd."
Conrad thought Balagbagan won.
"He (Balagbagan) was always aggressive, always pushing the fight, and to me, the person who wins the fight is the person who makes the fight," Conrad said.
"This was truly one of the best boxing cards I've seen. I went to the men's room at intermission and heard the people saying great things, too. If Hawaii doesn't support boxing, they don't deserve it."
In the other undercard bouts, Urbano Antillon (5-0) got his second pro knockout, flooring Carlos Cisneros (4-1) in the sixth and final scheduled round of a battle of junior welterweights. Antillon dominated most of the fight.
In the night's first bout, former kickboxer Teddy Limoz Jr. of Kalihi took control midway through a four-round exhibition against Jerry Saribay in a welterweight match.
Viloria's U.S. Olympic stablemate Jose Navarro (11-0, 4 KOs) efficiently decisioned Julio Cesar Oyuela (7-5-2). It was nothing fancy, but Navarro showed his ability to deal with an unorthodox fighter.
In the co-main event, Lovemore Ndou had no need to worry about Jun Gorres' punching power -- he never really got hit. Ndou floored Gorres with seven seconds left in the second round, bobbing to put Gorres in position against the ropes then hitting him with a left hook flush in the kisser.
Gorres stayed down until the count of seven, then rose on wobbly legs and started toward Ndou. The referee stopped him however, informing him that his night was over.
Star-Bulletin sportswriter Dave Reardon contributed to this report