[professordp]

This young, mid-60s heavyweight has an interesting back story. Born Ismael Longoria in 1948, he was a Mexican-American kid from San Antonio who started boxing at age twelve and by the time he was seventeen, he was undefeated in the amateurs winning his city's Golden Gloves heavyweight title.

He attracted the attention of former boxer Pat O'Grady who turned him pro in 1966. Longoria spent his first two years fighting in Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area where he soon became a local fan favorite for his "you-or-me" style which saw him tear out of his corner at the opening bell looking to take out his opponent in the opening heat.

Similar to guys like LaMar Clark and Bowie Adams before him, the "Kid" ran up a string of early knockouts over a bunch of stiffs. Nevertheless, there was no doubt that he could punch, and a number of boxing experts started talking about him as a hot prospect.

His greatest win was a first round kayo over Peru's tough Roberto Davila in the first round in just his seventh fight as a pro. No doubt he caught Davila cold with his "all-or-nothing-at-all" attack, but Roberto could take a punch. He was the first person to take George Foreman the distance and went the full twenty rounds in two bouts with an aging Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams.

Longoria continued to plant stiffs for the next two years putting together a record of 20 (KO 18)-0, but then it happened. Nineteen year old Mr. Longoria fell in love and took a bride. Distraction set in and apparent demands were made. Tony met the human punching bag known as Memphis Al "Preacher" Jones (this is the very bad one not to be confused with the journeyman from Florida) in March 1969 for what was to be another knockout win.

It seems that Mrs. Longoria' demands ranked ahead of the need to train for the Jones match. The "Kid" came in ten pounds heavier than his last fight, and there are reports that his mind was elsewhere....hmmm. Memphis Al dumped Longoria on the mat in round two where he was counted out at the 0:54 mark.

I've read that O'Grady, who really believed that Longoroia had what it took to be a world champ, thought that the "Kid" sort of went into the tank against Jones. Not because of any type of fix but rather to find an easy exit from boxing to placate his wife who wanted him to pursue a more regular, normalized occupation.

Longoria, six months from turniing twenty, promptly retired after the Jones loss and is said to have become a plumber (now that's a regular, normalized occupation fit for a married man). Let's hope that he and the little lady lived happily ever after.

Besides spousal pressures on the home front, the loss to Jones had to have a severe emotional impact upon Longoria. He had previously been undefeated--both as an amateur and a pro. Getting kayoed by the likes of someone like Memphis Al is certainly cause for revisiting career options.

A little information about the rating posted below. Somewhere along the way, I had added a rating for the "Kid". I only realized this when I was entering my own rating. There was no source for this rating (it does look like something Rocco would have provided), and I suspect that I took it off Cornerwork (now defunct?) several years ago.

Nothing wrong with that rating, but I wanted to do a different take on Longoria. My goal was to project him beyond that last fight with Memphis Al. In doing so, I juiced up a couple of things and generally tried to be creative. Some of the ratings will no doubt raise many eyebrows, but I wanted to capture the "Kid"'s exciting style.

A few specifics concerning the justification for the intellect and conditioning ratings. I gave him a 10 for intellect. Those who wish to employ strategy can have Longoria go right out of the shute for an early knockout, which was his style.

For conditioning, I gave him an 11---physical and mental problems. Personally, I feel this would accurately cover the demands that a young bride could place upon a boxer, or on any man for that matter.

Finally, I was a little unorthodox with his chin ratings. For knockdowns, I gave him a 2 but set him at 4 for the kayo. This is another attempt to factor Longoria's personality into the mix. Knocking out a string of stiffs can make a guy feel like Superman, but when you kiss the canvas, it's like somebody just dropped a ton of Kryptonite on your front lawn.

I've play tested him against many of the mid-to late 60s heavyweights (Alongi, Quarry, Lovell, Kirkman, etc.), and I'm pretty pleased with the results. I can't say that this is an accurate rating, but I do feel that it's a probable assessment.

One thing that I've fooled around with was setting the conditioning for each match. If I were to do a career sim (don't count on it--I've got two going already plus this thread!), I'd have him fighting in top condition until his first defeat. Thereafter, I'd factor in the emotional elements for his subsequent fights.

All that said, I'm sort of having fun with simming Longoria. Regardless of his opponent, you're never quite sure how the match will turn out in the end.