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| e-mail: rich@pochepictures.com |
| Yesterday I read about the passing of an acquaintance of mine from my days as a gym rat at Pittman's Gym in Oakland. Eric "The Prince" Martin, passed away on December 23, 2007 I was training at the Pittman's gym for a couple of months before Eric came there to train. Apparently he really didn't have a "home gym" and trained at a number of gyms in the Bay Area before spending a few years at Pittman's. Anyway, there was a buzz in the air when he first started training there. Eric had been on ESPN before and I had seen some of his bouts on television. My trainer, Jimmy Simmons, was to train him also. I remember them not getting along too well. Jimmy would complain that "you can't tell him nothing." Jimmy had a roughouse way of training his fighters; he would demonstrate a punch and actually HIT you with an open hand to the side of your head. I thought it was an old school way to toughen me up to take the hits I would take in the ring. Eric didn't want any part of that. "He don't anyone touching him," Jimmy would say of his attempts to mold Eric into his way of doing things. Nonetheless, I got the impression that Jimmy had a grudging respect toward Eric. "He wants to be in there," Jimmy would say, as Eric would spar endless rounds with whoever was willing to step into the ring with him. |
| Eric was already a seasoned vet before he came under the eye of Jimmy. He didn't really need a trainer anymore, at least in his own mind. He didn't work the mitts too much. In fact, his training was different from almost everyone in the gym. He didn't do any work on the speed bag, heavy bag, jump rope or any of the timeworn exercises for boxing. He just stretched, shadow boxed a bit and went straight into sparring. Then he'd stretch for a bit, shower and go home. He did it his way. The only relevant thing for him was getting into the ring and sharpening his skills against a live opponent. There was one fellow named Bill who was trained by Jimmy also. Bill was a huge, raw boned body builder. I'd say he was about six feet even and weighed about 230 lbs of solid muscle. He was a novice level boxer, however. I remember one sparring session when Eric, who campaigned as a junior welterweight, just plum beat the crap out of him. He hit him with one right hand after another until the big bodybuilder was stumbling backwards across the ring in hopeless retreat. Jimmy invited me to tag along one Saturday afternoon to go to San Jose's Alum Rock Gym. He wanted me to get a glimpse of world class sparring and take in the atmosphere. It was there that Eric would be the sparring partner for David Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a real up and comer at this time. They boxed about 8-4 minute rounds. It was a rather redundant sparring session. Eric played rope a dope and allowed Gonzalez to pummel away. I remember hearing one of Gonzalez's handlers say "I'm surprised he lasted that long..." Months later, I eventually had to get in the ring with Eric. I had modest success in sparring sessions with other guys in the gym. I had what was later diagnosed as "exercise induced asthma" which basically meant if I expended myself too fast I would have trouble breathing. So, whenever I got into the ring I had that in the back of my head...When would the asthma attack come? In hindsight, I think it was just nerves despite what the doctor said. I did my best to hold my own with "The Prince." Eric was instructed by Jimmy not to come at me 100%. Most sparring sessions are at moderate speed anyway with oversized gloves. So, maybe he was using about 70% of his ability at best. But it felt like 100% after a minute. I remember him countering my left jab with a right hand over the top. Repeatedly. So I stopped jabbing. Now for those of you who know anything about boxing the jab is the primary weapon for most prize fighters. It scores points, keeps your opponent at bay and if you have a particularly hard or slashing jab you can cut and swell up your opponents face. I went to plan B after about forty seconds. Plan B was to throw lead rights. Which Eric easily blocked as if he knew what I was going to do. Then we started in-fighting. Or I should say he started in-fighting. He flurried and I covered up. I pivoted a few times and tried to get an angle on him. I remember pivoting to my right, throwing my right cross and catching him flush as he leaned back sideways to his right. That would be the only punch I would ever land on him. I then had to go to Plan C. Plan C was to run away. I made like Carl Lewis and danced away from trouble with Eric in hot pursuit. I didn't want to get hit anymore and threw occasional flurries to save face. After the session was over one of my gym mates named Sonny came over and encouraged me. "You were competitive! He's a pro...Do you understand that? He's a pro." I silently begged to differ. I couldn't hit the guy. I had another sparring session with a pro lightweight contender named Manny Hernandez in which the whole gym was stunned at how I was able to nail him with shots. But I couldn't do shit against "The Prince." And I learned more in that sparring session that I had ever learned from hitting the heavy bag or watching the fights on t.v. Eric got a fight which was televised by the now defunct FNN Score channel. I have it on Beta and will upload it as soon as I have time. He fought a guy they were building up from Venezuela named Engels Pedroza and lost a ten round decision. I remember thinking that he could have won the fight he had been in a tad better shape. But I digress. Eric was a good guy. I am stunned that he passed on at such a young age. POST SCRIPT: David Gonzalez looked like he on his way to becoming a serious threat to the lightweight throne but was removed from the game for two years. I forgot why...He returned in 1991 as a welterweight and achieved some success. He defeated former amateur stars Skipper Kelp and Louis Howard. Another good win was against former title challenger and Kronk standout Anthony Jones. In his final bout, he lost to junior middleweight champion Terry Norris in nine rounds in 1995. His career was over at the age of 27. I thought he had the tools to become champion. The guy who I saw spar in the San Jose gym that day against Eric would have been hell for any of the lightweight champions at that time. Eric "The Prince" Martin fought anyone and everyone. It should be said that throughout his career he was brought in as an opponent. He could almost never be stopped; there is one stoppage loss on his record which I would have to see proof of. It is to Angel Mona in Mona's native France. Smells like an early hometown stoppage to me; nobody stopped "The Prince." Eric fought five world champions by my tally; Buddy McGirt, Lupe Aquino, John David Jackson, Quincy Taylor and Eric Lucas. Among the notable contenders he fought were Cubanito Perez, Herman Montes, Brian Baronet, Dio Colome, and John Montes. In some of these matches, Prince was overmatched, weight wise. J.D. Jackson, Quincy Taylor and Eric Lucas were middleweights and super middleweights, respectively. Martin was naturally a junior welterweight. But even though the odds were against him, "The Prince" went the distance with all of them. And that's how I'll remember him. I welcome any and all feedback, rich@pochepictures.com |
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