U.S. Rep introduces bill to rename Ramona Post Office after boxer Archie Moore – San Diego Union-Tribune

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa announced Monday that he is introducing a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to have the Ramona Post Office renamed as the Archie Moore Post Office Building.

Issa described the renaming as a “lasting tribute” to the light heavyweight boxing champion at a gathering of local and national officials at the Ramona MMA Center. Issa has referred the bill, HR 4982, to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability for consideration, he said.

He said Moore is being recognized for his long professional boxing career with 220 fights and 186 wins in addition to his service to the Any Boy Can program, which he founded in 1957 to help keep young men off drugs and out of gangs.

“The reason the Post Office is being named in honor of Archie Moore is because he did get knocked down and he got up,” Issa said at the news conference. “He helped youths who got knocked down and got back up. This is an honor for Archie Moore and his family, today and in the future.”

The timeline for the bill’s approval is not yet known, but Issa’s representative says it has “widespread support.”

Dan Summers, a Ramona Unified School District trustee and former Ramona Community Planning Group member, is leading the local effort for the postal name change. He also wants to see a statue and mural of Moore, who lived in Ramona for a time, at the Post Office.

Summers said Monday that he appreciates Issa’s efforts to recognize a “great athlete and a great American.”

“He chose Ramona as his training site where he trained a young Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) and also trained George Foreman,” Summers said of the boxer nicknamed “The Mongoose,” who passed away in 1998 at age 84.

Endorsements in support of the Post Office name change have been made by the Planning Group, the school district, Ramona Municipal Water District, Ramona Chamber of Commerce, Ramona Town Hall Association, the Ramona MMA Center and The Gym fitness center. Representatives of these groups were in attendance Monday.

William Spencer, regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said at the event that the new Post Office name would honor the enduring legacy of a great boxer and human who believed that resilience and faith could change a life.

Spencer said Moore had been a presidential appointee like himself who worked for the Housing and Urban Development department on a project named “Project Build.” The program focused on teaching boxing to youths who lived in low-income housing projects, Spencer said.

“He built life lessons when he built Any Boy Can and Project Build,” Spencer told the crowd after stating President Trump sent his warm regards. “We are all fighting for Americans and the people. It’s a different arena, but the same fight, to teach the future generations how to lead.”

Moore’s children, Billy Moore and J’Marie Moore, thanked the crowd for their support.

Billy Moore, who continues to guide youths through boxing at the Any Body Can Youth Foundation in San Diego, said his dad was known internationally not only for boxing but for caring for people as a humanitarian.

He recalled that his dad once met with President Dwight Eisenhower and told him that the U.S. was headed for a gang and drug epidemic, but if the country focused on prevention as opposed to rehabilitation the nation could save billions of dollars and millions of lives.

“My dad believed that youths are our future,” Moore said. “That’s where we are today – helping our youths.”

J’Marie Moore described how her dad chose to build his training camp on 120 acres he bought near the current Archie Moore Road and state Route 67.

“He made it quite a place, he lived right here in Ramona,” she said, adding that her father taught her to box. “He nicknamed me ‘Lady Mongoose,’ that was my ring name.”

Duncan Hunter, who served as a U.S. Rep from 1981 to 2009, said at the event that Archie Moore epitomized the American character.

Hunter said Moore fought former Canadian light heavyweight boxing champion Yvon Durelle for the world championship on Dec. 10, 1958. Durelle knocked Moore down several times during the fight but Moore got back up and won the title with an 11th-round knockout.

Moore can be a mentor to youths struggling with academics and athletics, Hunter said.

“Parents can take their kids to the Post Office and give them an example of another guy who got knocked down and got back up,” he said.

Originally Published: August 18, 2025 at 1:31 PM PDT