Former San Quentin resident and boxer Paul Nave ended his final bout on the canvas. He was defeated by 27-year-old Luis “Tijuana Tornado” Hernandez in the second round.
“I left it all in the ring, every time,” Nave said after the match, according to a Feb. 1 article in the Marin Independent Journal, “Nave Comes Up Short As He Wraps Up Career,” by Paul Liberatore.
“Nave, the 54-year-old ‘Marin County Assassin,’
wanted to cap his 30-year career with a 21st win in a farewell fight”
Nave, the 54-year-old “Marin County Assassin,” wanted to cap his 30-year career with a 21st win in a farewell fight at the Marin Center Exhibition Hall in San Rafael.
Nave got his weight down to 147 pounds for the match and headed to the ring with Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” playing. He entered it rocking Italian flag colors, said the article.
Hernandez knocked him down in the second round and was awarded a technical knockout.
Previously Nave served three years in San Quentin State Prison on a 1990 conviction for selling cocaine. He was temporarily released for several bouts, all of which he won. Back then, Nave wore black trunks with white stripes to show he was a convict.
Thirty-year San Quentin resident Lonnie Morris remembers Nave.
“He was sociable and well-liked. He never bought into the racial tension,” said Morris. “He left San Quentin for a boxing match while still incarcerated.”
In 2009, after nine years off and two back surgeries, Nave made a comeback. He gained his 20th and final victory in 2012, capping a five win, one loss run, according to the article. He decided to come back again for a 21st win.
Nave is very well respected in the boxing world. Showing good sportsmanship, Hernandez raised Nave’s hand in the air and told the crowd, “He’s a true champion,” according to the article. Several voices in the crowd responded, “We love you, Paul.”
Andy Foster, director of the California State Athletic Commission, said he would like to give Nave a role in boxing as an official, a judge or a referee.
“He’s done so much for the sport,” the commissioner said.
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