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BOXING

COMMISSIONER: Danny Villanueva
SITE: The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles.
VENUE: A beautiful setting for Olympic boxing competition, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena seats 16,353. The rental agreement for the Sports Arena was signed on 11 June 1980.

Site of many important events, the Sports Arena was dedicated on 4 July 1959 by then Vice-President Richard M. Nixon. Groundbreaking had been held on 7 April 1958. The original cost of construction was $7,407,664. There are a total of 208 exit doors and 28 ticket windows to service the public.

Home to some 17 championship bouts since opening its doors in 1959, the all-time attendance record for boxing is 16,230 on 15 November 1962, when Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) knocked our [[out]] Archie Moore in four rounds. The first event held in the Sports Arena following dedication was a Bantamweight title fight between Jose Becerra and Alphonse Halimi on 8 July 1959.

The Sports Arena was also the backdrop in the motion picture "Rocky" and "Rocky II."

Commissioner of Boxing is Danny Villanueva, a former professional American football player and past President of the Los Angeles Aztecs Professional Soccer team. A graduate of New Mexico State University, he is also President and General Manager of the Spanish language television station KMEX-TV in Los Angeles. He has promoted numerous boxing events, including ten championship matches at the Sports Arena itself. Danny has also been a sports broadcaster for a local television station.

Floyd Patterson
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Swimmer & Boxers Olympic team 1948 (London)
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