Palomino Tries to Go Home Again

When he came off the court after a Laker game, Magic Johnson’s primary concern, regardless of what the rest of the world thought of him, was what his father thought.

When Michael Jordan temporarily hung up his basketball jersey and put on a baseball uniform, he said it was partly to fulfill a dream he had shared with his murdered father.

When welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya gets into the ring, his first

concern is where his father is sitting.

Never underestimate the power of a father to motivate a son, regardless of how big that son grows in size or stature.

Friday night at the Hollywood Palladium, the story will be repeated again. Yet another son will step into an arena, moved by the influence of his father.

This son’s name is Carlos Palomino. Yes, that Carlos Palomino, the former World Boxing Council welterweight champion, who successfully defended his title seven times in the 1970s before losing to Wilfredo Benitez. Palomino retired in 1979 on his 30th birthday with a 27-3-3 record and 15 knockouts.

But on Friday night, Palomino will face Wilbert Garst (18-5-1, 13 knockouts) in a 10-round bout, the second fight of a comeback that began in January when he stopped Ismael Diaz at the end of eight rounds of a scheduled 10-rounder.

At 47, Palomino figured his ring career was far behind him. And with good reason. He was one of the lucky ones. He had gotten out with his brain in good working order. No ugly scars for Palomino. No debilitating injuries. No slurred words.

Just the opposite. Articulate and handsome, Palomino has since devoted his energy to becoming an actor.

But when his father, Pablo, died, Palomino returned to his roots, the Westminster Boxing Club in Orange County, to work out.

“I was just trying to get distracted,” he said, “and to get close to my father.”

It was in that gym where Palomino’s career had flourished under the watchful eyes of his father, and trainers Jackie McCoy, who also recently died, and Noe Cruz, back with Palomino for his comeback.

In the gym when Palomino returned after his father’s death was Hector Camacho, then preparing to fight Sugar Ray Leonard. Palomino stepped back into the ring to spar a few rounds with Camacho.

“I just wanted to get the cobwebs out,” Palomino said.

Camacho’s punches did more than break up the cobwebs, more than bring back feelings of pain.

“That special feeling came back,” Palomino said. “Being back there in the ring, it was like I never left.”

And, in a way, as though his father had not left.

Although he now lives in Sherman Oaks, Palomino has moved back into the Westminster house he grew up in while training at the nearby Westminster gym. His mother, Maria, still lives there and, insists Palomino, so does the spirit of his father.

“I sleep in my old room,” he said, “and I can feel my father’s presence there.”

But now what?

Still in fighting shape at 147 pounds, still flashing some of the hand speed that earned him a title, Palomino is good enough to beat an Ismael Diaz, and perhaps a Wilbert Garst. He looks good enough to have convinced promoter Peter Michaels to sign Palomino to a million-dollar contract for four fights or 15 months, whichever comes first.

But does all this fool Palomino into thinking that he can go back down that long-abandoned road to a championship? Will he follow the course Leonard took several months ago, when, at the age of 40, he fought and lost to Camacho, seven years his junior?

As a matter of fact, yes. Palomino says he would love to fight Camacho if things can be worked out after Camacho’s September match against De La Hoya.

“Ray was injured for that fight,” Palomino said. “I don’t know why he didn’t postpone it. I wouldn’t fight with any kind of injury.

“But I’ll tell you one thing. If I ever performed like Ray did that night, I would tear up my contract and go to Mexico and hide.”

Palomino acknowledges that, while the memory of his father brought him back to the ring in the first place, it is the lure of money that is keeping him there. He figures that, in his previous career, he didn’t make a total of a million dollars for all 32 fights. Now, if he gets lucky and lures a big name into the ring, he hopes he can make that much and more in one night.

“But I’m not looking for world titles,” Palomino said. “I’ve been through that. I’m working on perfection, on becoming the perfect fighter. I don’t feel any different than I did at 22. I can still run a 10K in 38 minutes.”

And he says that if his acting career should blossom, he’d rip off his boxing gloves in a minute.

“I’m not planning on fighting into my 50s like George Foreman does,” he said.

Of course, Palomino never planned on fighting at 47. But that’s what the memory of a father can do. That and a million bucks.

COMING UP AND COMING BACK

The America Presents boxing organization expects to have quite a bit to present in the next few months.

The rising star of the organization, Olympic gold medalist David Reid, will return to the ring for the second time as a professional May 24 when he fights Robert Koon in a six-round match in Denver.

Reid won his first pro fight in March, a four-round decision over Sam Calderon.

Even the best of fighters start their careers in slow gear, beginning with opponents commonly referred to as “tomato cans.” But give Reid credit for at least taking on cans with impressive labels. Calderon was 10-0 when he fought Reid. Koon is 12-1 with four knockouts.

America Presents promoter Dan Goossen is also deep in negotiations to match former WBC super-featherweight champion Gabriel Ruelas against International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight champion Arturo Gatti in late July.

It’s a fight Ruelas desperately needs. He hasn’t been the same since his fists ended the life of Jimmy Garcia in a 1995 bout.

And Goossen will pit Michael Nunn (50-3, 32 knockouts), the former IBF middleweight and World Boxing Assn. super-middleweight champion, against Booker T. Ward (22-4-2, 16 knockouts) in Moline, Ill., next Saturday. Goossen is trying to match Nunn, now fighting as a light-heavyweight, against Roy Jones in the near future.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

QUICK JABS

If Gatti and Ruelas meet in July, promoter Bob Arum is expected to try to match the winner against Genaro Hernandez in the fall. . . . Former cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi, 44, is the latest to plan a comeback, saying Foreman has “inspired” him. . . . When De La Hoya fights David Kamau on June 14 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Steve Johnson will be on the undercard, defending his WBC lightweight title against Joel Diaz. . . . Joining Palomino on the Palladium card Friday will be Hector Lopez (34-6-1, 17 knockouts), a silver medalist in the 1984 Olympics, fighting a 10-round junior-welterweight bout against Omar Flores (31-8-5, 18 knockouts). In an eight-round match, P.J. Goossen (17-0, 11 knockouts), a former state junior-middleweight champion, will fight Tim Payton (26-36-1, six knockouts). Yes, at the age of 34, Payton has had 63 fights and lost more than half of them. . . . What is thought to be only the second all-women’s boxing card, and the first in California, will be held at the Reseda Country Club on May 17. Plans call for three eight-round matches, three six-rounders and a pair of four-rounders, each round lasting two minutes, a minute shorter than those in male fights.

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Calendar

Thursday--Jaime Ocegueda vs. TBA, welterweights, Ventura Fairgrounds, 7:30 p.m.

Friday--Carlos Palomino vs. Wilbert Garst, welterweights; Hector Lopez vs. Omar Flores, junior-welterweights; P.J. Goossen vs. Tim Payton, junior-middleweights, Hollywood Palladium, 7 p.m.