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Chris Cozzone: Joey Olguin was almost N.M.'s first world champion
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To many, he was simply "Jose."
But to the boxing community and fight fans in the '50s and '60s, Joey Olguin was "Joltin' Joey."
After serving in Vietnam, while stationed in the Air Force in California, he was "The McClellan Knocker-Outer."
While becoming Northern California's top draw, and upon his return home to the Albuquerque ring, he was simply "Joey" - always a thriller in the ring who packed a punch in both gloves.
Olguin, one of seven brothers, was born in Milagro on Sept. 13, 1940, to farm laborers who rarely stayed too long in one place. The Olguins went from Milagro to Artesia to Grants to Albuquerque, where four of those five brothers, between 1957 and 1974, earned seven state Golden Gloves titles among them. The son of one Olguin - Flory Jr. - carried on the tradition, picking up the family's eighth in 1981.
But back in the 1950s, boxing was at the onset of a golden age, with plenty of entertaining fights staged at Albuquerque's Civic Auditorium, packed by local draws such as Joe Louis Murphy, Joey Limas and Flory Olguin - Olguin's older brother.
It was on the undercard of these local giants that Joey Olguin made his initial climb.
On March 31, 1959, Olguin turned pro. He had won the state Golden Gloves, for the third time, but lost a decision at Regionals to San Antonio's Jesse Leija (father of the former champ Jesse James Leija).
Stealing the show on his debut, Olguin knocked out El Paso's Armando Cervantes with a big left hook in the first round.
Knockout followed knockout until, by March 1960, local promoter Ralph Garcia was trying to move "Little Joey" up from a spot on the undercard to, at least, a semifinal. The problem he had was finding opponents for the knockout artist.
Although a narrow majority decision loss in July 1960 set Olguin back, a return KO win in October put the hot prospect at 7-1 (7 KOs) and second in popularity to Joey Limas.
Former Tribune scribe and editor, Carlos Salazar, wrote: "Joey Olguin could be the finest product ever to emerge from the Duke City's ring corps."
A tour in Vietnam followed, and a stint with the Air Force relocated Olguin to California, where he picked up his boxing career in July 1963.
While he developed into Northern California's top-draw, Albuquerque continued to report his progress up the ladder of lightweight contention when he defeated the Pacific Coast's top fighters, including a decision over former world champion Joe "Old Bones" Brown.
By the end of 1965, Olguin was No. 3 in the world and No. 1 in the United States. He was featured as The Ring magazine's May 1964 "Prospect of the Month," and, that same year, received the prestigious "Max Baer Memorial Trophy," Northern California's award for "Fighter of the Year."
In 1966, Olguin came home to headline his first hometown fight in the Duke City. It was no easy homecoming for Olguin, who took on undefeated 20-0 Phoenix fighter Jaime Wonder, but Olguin, mixing skills with his lethal punch, stopped his foe in the fifth round to regain his box-office draw.
Problems with his manager and promoter, Louie "Red" Valencia, ensued, keeping Olguin out of the ring until 1968. He then fought two more times, finishing his career in September with one of his impressive wins, a decision over Mexican contender "Baby" Vasquez, who'd handed Olguin a loss in 1964.
Olguin called it his "sweetest win yet," but, to everyone's dismay, it turned out to be his final fight. Although there was talk of fighting Estrella Sanchez, a top-10 contender from Mexico City, the show never happened.
"He left the sport on a bad note," said Flory Jr., of his uncle, who finished his career at 29-4, 21 KOs.
"He didn't fulfill what he thought he could fulfill. . . . He became a total family man, worked real hard and never really spoke much about boxing."
"He was a real humble man."
Flory Jr. says his uncle, who had relocated to Grants, still remained passionate about boxing. The two would watch fights on TV together, and the uncle would give advice while Flory Jr. fought Golden Gloves.
"He'd tell me, `If you're gonna do this, you have to give it your all, or you'll get hurt. You have to give it 110 percent.' "
Last Sunday, Joey Olguin lost a bout with bladder cancer, and he passed away in Grants.
Some of his friends, even his family, might not have known how talented a boxer Olguin was in his heyday or how close he came to getting a shot at being New Mexico's first world champion, but if you want to know how much he's going to be missed, ask any Duke City fight fan old enough to have graced the old Civic Auditorium.
