Boxing Autograph Updates

It has been awhile since I have posted a new blog so I'll do a recap of some boxing autographs I have obtained in the past couple months.

Peter Kid Chocolate Quillin:  Training Cap for Rosado fight

Quillin is one of my favorite boxers. He is not only a great champion but a great person. His trainer Eric Brown was a really nice guy as well, he spent time with my little brother who wants to be a boxer.

 

 

Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.: Signing bottles of his Tequila

 

 



 

 

Andre Ward: Sports Chalet Grand Opening in LA

 



 

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl

 

 This is my third consecutive year attending the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. This is one of my favorite events to attend. The game is always filled with great college players, former NFL players and coaches. This year Coach Dick Vermeil returned to defend his championship and looking for his third win. He is going up against Coach Dennis Green. This turned out to be another successful autograph outing. I got the same seats I got last year and has a tremendous view.

 

 

I arrived at the game just before kickoff. Unfortunately, they ran out of game programs this year. So I was unprepared because usually I have the players sign the program. But as usual I improvised. I did come prepared with 2 jerseys I got on Ebay for a great price. I got a Desmond Howard (Commentator for the game) Michigan Jersey and a Daunte Culpepper (Coach for American team) Miami Dolphins jersey. My main goal for autographs for the players were: JC Copeland(LSU), Roy Finch (OU), Connor Shaw(SC), James Frankilin (Miz), Tom Hornsey (Memphis) and Trey Watts (Tulsa)

 

American Team:

 



 

National Team:

 

 

The first player to sign Autographs was Priest Holmes. I used to be a Holmes fan but his attitude towards fans turned me away. He does sign autographs sometimes but not a big enough name to have an ego like that. I decided against asking him for autographs. The same goes for Darrel Green. He did respond to me on Twitter which was cool but completely ignored fans at the game. Charlie Joiner, Art Monk and others former NFL players fell under this category.

 

Priest Holmes:



 

 

 

Since arriving at the game kind of late we missed out at pre-game graphing from players and coaches. But we did arrive in time to meet current NFL players Tavon Austin and EJ Manuel. They were both class acts and took time to meet any fan who came up to them. Denard Robinson was there but he was more stand-offish but did sign for some people.

 

Tavon Austin:



 

 



EJ Manuel (This was bittersweet as a Dolphins fan lol)

The next person I got to meet was a personal favorite for me. Jordan Campbell was a player who played in the bowl game last year. He was just picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs. I think he has a lot of potential to be a solid line backer in the NFL. I missed out on meeting him last year, so this was a nice surprise.

Jordan Campbell

School Boy Q performed at halftime

 

 

At halftime I was able to get Daunted Culpepper to sign my jersey. As he was walking off the field he noticed my jersey and came over to sign it.

 



 

 

 

The game turned out to be a pretty entertaining game. Dick Vermeil's team won again. After the game I was able to get Autographs from Caleb Herring, Sean Schoerder, Connor Shaw, Roy Finch, Tom Hornsey, James Franklin and many others. Roy Finch gave me his armband and Abdul Smith(Temple) gave me his glove. I had a great time and plan on attending again next year.

Boxing's Top Trainers

I have had the opportunity to meet the best trainers in Boxing:

Robert Garcia, Virgil Hunter, Freddie Roach and Nacho Beristain

Mares Vs Gonzales Weigh-In

Here is a late recap of the Abner Mares- Jhonny Gonzales weigh in at the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown LA. Goldenboy always puts on a good event. They blow Top Rank out of the water in terms of bringing their fighters closer to the fans. I wont go into too much detail because I'm a big Abner Mares fan, so those of you who saw the fight know why I'm upset. Overall I had pretty good success. I got Abner to sign the first of the collectors series of Corona Bottles. I got to meet the great Nacho Beristain. Even though as a Pacquiao fan I hate JMM, but I still respect his trainer. To top it off I got to meet the voice of Showtime Boxing and the son of the wrestling legend Jimmy Lennon, Jimmy Lennon Jr. It was also nice to meet his son, which could end up being the third generation of great announcers. I had a few misses, Leo Santa Cruz , Jhonny Gonzales and JoJo Diaz. I was able to meet a future heavy weight top prospect Dominic Breazeale and get a signed glove. 

Me and "The Classy Jr" Jimmy Lennon Jr.

HOF Trainer Nacho Beristain

Abner Mares signed Corona Bottle

Phillip Rivers

Today I decided to make a trip out to San Diego to attend an open practice at Chargers Park. I used to go to Charger practices every year when they were held at the Home Depot Center. Since they moved to Chargers Park I haven't been as often, plus the fact I was not a fan of the Norv Turner era Chargers. As a Miami Dolphins fan and living in Los Angeles this is as close as I get to the NFL. I wasn't planning on going this year but a local standout Tony Burnett from USC and Mayfair High School, made the team. I have met Burnett a few times in the past through mutual friends, hes a really cool guy. So I made the trip to show some support I arrived at the practice shortly after 3pm. The practice was scheduled from 3-5pm. Since I made the trip I decided to take advantage and get a couple autographs. My goal was to get Ronnie Brown(former Dolphin), Dwight Freeny, Eric Weddle and rookie Manti Te'o. But unfortunately not one of them stopped to sign autographs after practice. I couldn't even get Burnett's attention. Most of the players headed straight for the locker rooms. I wasn't all that bummed because the practice was pretty interesting to watch. It was sad to see receiver Malcolm Floyd go down with a Knee injury. I could tell it was serious as soon as it happened. He was doing 1 on 1 receiving drills and he landed wrong. After the practice I waited around for a bit . There was fans sticking around getting autographs from some backup players that were nice enough to sign. There was nobody I was interested getting. As I was walking to leave I spotted Phillip Rivers. He avoided the crowd by going off to the side where the players families watch the practice. I have had terrible luck with trying to get his autograph in the past. He usually ignores the fans. But I thought I'd give it a shot. I was in perfect position, nobody else was around. To my surprise I was actually able  to get his attention and he came over and signed. I was able to get a pretty clean signature on a autograph panel football. Overall it was a pretty good day. Best of luck to the Chargers this year.

The Hangover 3 Premiere

Yesterday I made a trip out to Westwood for The Hangover Part III world premiere. The premiere was scheduled to start at 7:30 and the celebrities were scheduled to arrive at 6:30. Me and my little brothers got to the theatre a little early. The streets were already lined with hundreds of people. Some waiting to go into the theatre and some were just there to catch a glimpse of the celebrities walking the red carpet. Its been a while since I have been to a movie premiere I was a bit rusty on finding the perfect location to meet the most celebrities. As we were scouting the lay of the land I noticed someone across the street. He was much taller then everybody else.

It turned out to be Metta World Peace of the Los Angeles Lakers. I have met Metta before so I know what an incredibly nice guy he is. So I asked he would take a picture with my little brother. He was very down to earth as usual. He was there with his son(who is very tall). After meeting Metta we went back across the street to watch the celebrities arrive. Zach Galifianakis was the first to arrive(exactly at 6:30). He rushed in and spend to much time with the fans at first, but after he walked the red carpet he stopped and signed some autographs for some fans on the other side of the street. Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper arrived next and were awesome about meeting with the fans. They walked around the entire street meeting as many fans as they could. I got Ed Helms to sign my Hollywood Star Photo. I missed out on Bradley there were way to many screaming girls. Heather Gram was next to arrive, she also spent time to meet as many fans as she could. I was also able to get her to sign my photo.

 

The next to arrive was Justin Bartha who I also signed my photo. Ken Jeong in similar fashion to Galifianakis walked straight to the red carpet then signed for the fans on the opposite side of the street. Then to my surprise my favorite artist showed up...Kid Cudi! But unfortunately I missed out on meeting him. Not many people recognized him and he rushed past the red carpet. After the movie was over I was able to get Jamie Chung(beautiful) and Sasha Barrese to sign my photo. Also in attendance but I was unable to meet were: Matt Barnes, Deandre Jordan, Big Sean, Mike Epps, Michael Bay, Todd Phillips, and Kevin Nealon.

Hollywood Star Photo signed by (movie Characters): Doug, Stu, Lauren,Tracy, Jade
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Victor Ortiz

Viscous Victor Ortiz was at the Huntington Park Curacao today to promote his "VO" cologne. This was a very intimate event, Victor spent time to talk and take pictures with every fan that showed up. Ortiz is a true class act. He is very down to earth and very humble. I arrived a few minutes before the signing was scheduled to begin. There was only a few people in line when I got there. This might of been to the fact that every Curacao employee was clueless to the fact there was an autograph signing was scheduled there today, despite of the giant banner hanging from the entrance of the building. It took me like 5 minutes to find where the actual event was taking place in the store. To meet Victor they said you had to buy a bottle of his cologne ($55), but Victor was nice enough to sign for everybody. They were giving away free VO merchandise: posters and lip balms. I got to spend about 10 minutes talking boxing with him. We talked about how I hope he picks Freddie Roach to be his new trainer. He said he still has to visit other camps, but he loves working with Freddie. We also talked about my favorite boxer Amir King Khan. I said to please don't fight him I wouldn't be able to watch, since I'm a fan of both of them. He said he would "end Khan's career". I said I believe you but Knock out Floyd instead (lol).  It was overall a great event. I was able to get a signed glove and poster.

Me and Ortiz

 

 

Check out Victor on March 17 for the premiere of the new season of Dancing With The Stars