Archive for the ‘Historical’ Category

Jimmy Braddock

By Daniel Ciminera

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Well, with the new year so full of fresh starts and second chances well underway, what better fighter to talk about than Jimmy Braddock. A man who made better use of his second chance than probably any man ever has. Braddock was a first generation American, born to Irish immigrant parents in the summer of 1905 (June the 7th to be precise). He was a simple boy, who lived a typical life of an Irish immigrant in New York. As a youngster he thought he’d grow up to be a fireman, but dreamed of playing college football, but conceded that he did not have the brains for such a path.

Braddock discovered his love of boxing in the early 1920′s whilst working several jobs and began fighting as an amateur. His amateur career was very successful and this is where he earned his stripes before turning professional in 1926 as a Light-Heavyweight against Al Settle in a draw over 4 rounds. Braddock quickly established himself as one of the top fighters in the Light-Heavyweight division by knocking out his next eleven opponents within the first 3 rounds. Instead of then moving onto tougher opposition, Braddock stayed fighting over 4 or 6 rounds in local Jersey fights and the occasional foray into New York City.

Contrary to popular belief nowadays, perhaps the 2005 motion picture “Cinderella Man” based on his life as has something to do with this. However, the fact is, Braddock had lost 5 contests prior to his loss to Tommy Loughran at Yankee Stadium on the 18th of July, 1929. Though he had never been knocked out, and had gained some notable victories over Pete Latzo, Tuffy Griffiths by 2nd round TKO at Madison Square Garden, where he also knocked out Jimmy Slattery against heavy odds in the 9th a few month later.

However, the war he engaged in with Tommy Loughran over 15 rounds was to be part of his downfall. Braddock broke his hand in several places during the fight and lost out to a heartbreaking decision in their July ’29 bout. This, along with the stock market crash later that year, ruined Braddock.

With his personal fortune lost in the stock market, Braddock was forced to fight with his badly broken hand in order to put food on the table for his family. This hampered any progress he otherwise would have been capable of making and his record for his next 33 fights was 11 wins, 20 losses, with 1 draw and 1 no contest before the boxing commission revoked his license after a poor bout with Abe Feldman at a police charity event in which Braddock re-broke his right hand once more. This left Braddock with nothing, and he even found getting menial work a struggle due to the state of his hand and the scarceness of any paid work on offer. Eventually he had to swallow his pride and sign on for public relief in order to support his wife and three young children. (He would later famously pay this relief money back.)

Less than one year later though, in June 1934, James J. Braddock’s long term manager Joe Gould offered him one of the greatest lifelines any fighter, or indeed man, has ever been given. He was to stand in as a late replacement against Heavyweight challenger John “Corn” Griffin on the undercard of Max Baer’s World Title fight with Primo Carnera.

With new found physical strength he would later attribute to his time doing manual labour at the docks, Braddock knocked out Griffin in the 3rd round in a fight nobody, including himself, thought he could get through, never mind win. This win gave Braddock the opportunity to start fighting again and in his next bout, he was placed against John Henry Lewis, who had easily outpointed him 2 years previously. Somehow, Braddock managed to pull off the impossible and take his revenge with a 10 round decision.

Seen as a complete inspiration to millions, Braddock then went onto fight Art Lasky, the main challenger to the heavyweight throne at this time who probably saw Jimmy as an easy warm up fight. Braddock again upset the long odds by beating Lasky by unanimous decision to become the top rated heavyweight to face the champion Max Baer, one of the most ferocious punchers of all time, even killing one opponent, Frankie Campbell, in the 5th round of their 1930 contest in San Francisco.

Once again, nobody gave Braddock a chance at winning this bout. It was billed as an execution, with even Baer himself playing up to the fact that he had killed a man previously and talked of handing Braddock the same fate. He was urged by many to back out of the fight, but, undaunted, Braddock ignored this advice and went into the fight with the same dogged determination with which he had done everything in his life and which had got him to where he was currently standing.

Baer was clearly expecting an easy night against “an old man”, but was sourly disappointed when he was met by the determined Braddock, who during the 15 round contest, exhibited everything which made him a great fighter. His granite chin, his awkward crouching stance, good counter punching and his powerful right hand.

One of Braddock’s nicknames was “The Bulldog of Bergen” and he displayed all of a bulldog’s stubborn determination during his 15 rounds with Baer to win a unanimous decision to become the World Heavyweight Champion. The quiet Irishman really had gone from zero to hero and deserved the name given to him by reporter Damon Runyon, who named Braddock “The Cinderella Man”.

Braddock was to go on to fight Jack McCarthy five times all over the country in exhibition bouts before a bout with Max Schmeling was ordered to be cancelled until Braddock had fought Joe Louis. In 1937, Braddock laced up his gloves once more and stepped into the ring against the younger challenger Louis, and after flooring him in the 1st round, went on to both receive strong pain killing medication to combat arthritis, and lose by stoppage for only the second time in his career.

Although Braddock lost this fight, due to a stipulation in his contract, he received 10% of Joe Louis’ earnings for the next ten years and in the following two years alone, made over 150 thousand dollars from this deal.

While possibly not being one of the “hardest hitting”, “most exciting”, “most affluent”, “longest reigning”, or any other title a fighter may be bestowed with, his heart-warming tale and bulldog-like determination to overcome the odds in all aspects of his life make him a most note-worthy boxer in pugilistic history and one as inspirational today as it was during the depression.

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Nipper Pat Daly, real name Patrick Clifford Daley (17 February 2024 – 25 September 2024), was a British boxer who fought professionally between 1923 and 1931. He made his professional debut at the age of nine, achieved widespread fame in his mid teens as British boxing’s ‘Wonderboy’, then retired from pro boxing at age 17

The Wonderboy of 1920s and 1930s Boxing

By Alex Daley

If ever there was a fighter truly gifted with a natural ability to box, his name was Nipper Pat Daly. The Nipper’s story is utterly unique in the annals of boxing history. He is one of the sport’s long-forgotten marvels and also, perhaps, one of its great tragedies.

His professional career began at the age of nine; by 16 he had beaten some of the best fly, bantam and featherweights in Europe, including several champions; yet before he had reached 18 he was finished.

Trained and managed by ‘Professor’ Andrew Newton (one of Britain’s leading boxing figures of the day), at age 10 Pat was making his name around London’s small fight halls, conceding weight, height and reach to older lads, yet boxing as if such disparities meant nothing.

It soon became clear that ‘Nipper’, as Pat’s trainer dubbed him, would require tougher opposition if his boxing skills were to be truly tested and extended. And so he was matched with Johnny Summers of Leeds, the north of England’s very own boxing prodigy. He comfortably beat Summers and when the latter’s father demanded two rematches within the next 24 hours, Pat was successful both times.

For the next three years he attended school in the daytime, while training and amassing a long string of victories in the evenings and at weekends. By 14 it was clear that his future lay not in the classroom but in the ring, and he left school to box fulltime.

Nipper Pat breezed his way through the cream of Britain’s flyweights and by 1928, after defeating continental champions Giovanni Sili and Ludwig Minow, he was considered a top contender for the eight-stone British title, held by Johnny Hill of Leith, Scotland.

But one man in particular stood in the way of his title ambitions: the division’s number-one contender, Bert Kirby of Birmingham. Kirby had fought his way to the top of the flyweight tree and most critics believed he would soon be British champion (which he did become in March 1930).

A match with Kirby was made and immediately sparked a press outcry. Most newspaper critics considered it insane to pit a boy of 15 against a man of Kirby’s experience, however talented the youngster. But, seemingly unfazed by the negative press, Pat boxed rings round the tough Birmingham fighter to finish a clear points winner after 12 three-minute rounds.

Despite confounding the critics and beating the number-one contender, Pat did not get his title shot. He was offered an overweight match with Johnny Hill, but declined as he felt that he had earned a championship fight. Not long afterwards, any hopes of winning the title at 15 were dashed when the newly instituted BBB of C introduced a rule restricting the age of championship competitors.

Pat fought 33 contests in 1929, losing only three. It was a year that would see him rise to the peak of his career and at the same time practically end it. At the start of the year he was struggling to make flyweight, so stepped up to bantam.

Victories over Belgian (and future European) bantamweight champion Petit Biquet and leading contender (and future British champ) Dick Corbett served to further his reputation as Britain’s most outstanding boxing talent. He fought his way through the country’s best bantams with the same ease he had the flyweights.

He had not long celebrated his sixteenth birthday when he was matched with the recently dethroned British bantamweight champion, Kid Pattenden, who, having just lost his title in a closely-contested match to Teddy Baldock, was keen to prove his worth for a return title fight. Few gave Pat a chance against the powerful Bethnal Green man, who had KO’d leading contenders five to ten years older than the Marylebone youngster.

The bout that followed, however, was described by those who witnessed it as one of the finest ever seen on British soil. To quote the press of the day, Pat provided, ‘a feast of boxing in every round. It was a one-sided fight, yet a wonderfully spectacular one. Although he [Pattenden] fought as only he can, he was up against a master, and it was evident that he also realised this position.’ When the fight ended the Bethnal Green man was in the centre of the ring heartily congratulating his opponent on a display of boxing worthy of the greatest.

By mid-1929, news of Nipper Pat Daly’s extraordinary talent had spread to America. A letter arrived at Newton’s gym one morning in early October with an incredible proposition enclosed. It was an offer to fight Battling Battalino for the world featherweight title in America. Due to his age, Pat would not be permitted to box more than six rounds in the USA, but Battalino’s management had found a State willing to sanction and stage a six-round world title fight. Pat was ecstatic. ‘When do we pack?’ he asked his manager. But joy turned to dismay when he was abruptly told he would not be going. The Professor would not permit him to go to the States and no amount of pleading on Pat’s part would change his mentor’s mind.

Although denied his world-title shot, Pat did get a fight with the reigning British featherweight champion, Johnny Cuthbert. Although, owing to Pat’s age, the British title was not at stake, if successful over Cuthbert he was promised a match with the legendary Fidel LaBarba, to be arranged by the Europe-based American promoter Jeff Dickson.

The stage was set for a battle of David and Goliath proportions. Could the ‘wonder boy’ boxer topple one of Britain’s finest ever featherweight champions? Once again certain sections of the press condemned the matching of a 16-year-old with a seasoned champion of 25. But at the same time, Pat, who had already caused so many upsets, was given more than a fair chance of winning.

What the boxing public did not know was that Nipper, still a growing teenager, was having ever increasing difficulty in making even the featherweight limit. For some time, through strict diet and an arduous training regime, he had been fighting at what was probably a couple of stone beneath his natural weight.

He would years later recall making the 9 stone 1 lb limit for the Cuthbert fight as, ‘one of the hardest jobs of my life. I wore five sweaters and a sheepskin jacket to get the weight off. I would take off a couple of pounds, go home to lunch, drink half a cup of tea and a piece of dry toast and then come back to the gym several ounces worse off than when I started!’

On the morning of the fight he was still overweight. A couple of hours’ hard training failed to shift the excess, but a trip to the local Turkish baths finally got him down to 9 stone 1 lb. ‘I was inside the weight but what a wreck I was! Weak and as white as a sheet I went home to rest before going to Holborn to do battle with one of the greatest champions Great Britain has produced.’

Despite his weakened condition, Pat was determined not to let his big opportunity pass. For seven rounds he outboxed the champion and by the eighth had built himself a comfortable points lead. But the eighth would prove to be one of the most disastrous and costly rounds of his career. Realising that the fight was slipping away from him, Cuthbert came out in ferocious style. A momentary lapse in the Nipper’s normally rock-solid defence saw a lightning right hand from Cuthbert land flush on his jaw. As he went down, perhaps more telling than the blow itself, Pat’s head hit the canvas hard. He tried to rise at nine, but collapsed and was counted out.

Straight after the fight Pat had a visit from Jimmy Wilde. ‘He’s a great fighter, but you’re overworking him,’ he told Newton. ‘Handle him right and he’ll be world champion.’ He was told by Pat’s mentor in no uncertain terms to ‘mind his own business’. One newspaper wrote: ‘Daly should be given a long rest, and allowed to grow in a normal way. If this is not done he will be finished before he is twenty.’

Within a fortnight, however, he was back in the ring to beat Jack Millard of Willesden at Paddington Baths. Pat continued to win fights, but something seemed to be missing from the brilliance he had displayed up until the Cuthbert match. He looked like fighting his way back among the champions when he was matched with an up-and-coming fighter called Seaman Tommy Watson, who would later become British featherweight champion and go the distance with Kid Chocolate for the world title in America.

Pat had looked impressive while preparing for the fight. Sparring with Al Foreman, who was training for his lightweight title fight with Fred Webster, he had more than held his own. It was enough to convince him that he was back close to his best and a win over Watson would certainly set his career back on track. But once again he had weight trouble and, come the morning of the fight, was required to sweat and starve to make the 9 stone 6 lb required weight.

Pat came out for the first round in impressive style, but in the second left himself open to a powerful Watson right hand. Down he went for the count of nine and rose to his feet, but only to be knocked down twice more and then rescued by the bell. For the next few rounds the Seaman gave him trouble, but in round six Pat staged a miraculous comeback, and by the end of the 12th had probably edged himself ahead on points.

Catching him off balance in the 13th, however, Watson landed a lightning left hook to Pat’s jaw. He was floored and rose at nine, but only to be put down again - this time for a count of six. His senses scattered and fighting purely on instinct, Nipper was floored twice more and would say of the last knockdown:’I have some dim recollection of trying to get up but when I did nothing hit me. The fight had been stopped. Friends told me afterwards of the tears at ringside.’

He was ill for weeks, unable to walk properly and left with concussion. As soon as he could Pat returned to the gym, but only to be told by Newton that he had another fight arranged, with a tough Welshman named Nobby Baker. ‘I was leading on points narrowly up to the thirteenth round when Baker caught me with a wild swing, which previously I would have avoided, and I went down. I got up and was put down for two more counts and referee Jack Hart stopped the fight.’ Although he hadn’t realised it, Pat was still concussed from the Watson fight.

Not long afterwards, he split from Professor Newton for good. He had a series of fights under Fred Austin’s promotions, winning them all bar a draw. But the magic was gone. None of these men were in the class of Corbett, Pattenden, Cuthbert or Watson. Realising he would now never win a world title, Nipper Pat Daly, the boy wonder, retired from the fight game at 17. Had he fought as a grown man it would probably have been at middleweight or light-heavy. Had he only been handled with care, it is quite possible that the ’30s world fight scene would have boasted another great champion.

Nipper: new boxing book released in 2011

A biography of Nipper Pat Daly, exploring his ring career and life (both in and out of boxing), is due to be published in early 2011.

With rare photos, detailed fight analysis, and extracts from Nipper Pat’s personal (previously unpublished) memoirs, the book resurrects the extraordinary times of an extraordinary boxer, and offers a great insight into the boxing world of the 1920s and ’30s.

For more information on Nipper Pat Daly

http://nipperpatdaly.co.uk/bio.html

Professor Andrew Newton’s (Daly’s trainer) niece Annie Newton (Pioneer for womens boxing).

Nipper Pat Daly at a LEBA function in the 1970s

Nipper Pat Daly of Marylebone (left), unknown ex-boxer (centre) and Arthur Norton of Marylebone (right) at a 1970s LEBA function

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James John “Gentleman Jim” Corbett (September 1, 2024 – February 18, 2024) was a heavyweight boxing champion, best known as the man who defeated the great John L. Sullivan. He is also considered to be the father of modern boxing because of his scientific approach and innovations in boxing technique. Corbett changed prizefighting from a brawl to an art form of the new school of faster, scientific boxers.

James J. Corbett (1866-1933) held the title of heavyweight champion from 1892 to 1897. Corbett marked the turning point in ring history by being the first to win the title under the Marquis of Queensberry rules. College educated, Corbett was also an actor, writer, and boxing coach.

According to records, Corbett started his official boxing carrier on the 3rd of July 1886 under the alias of “Jim Dillon” against Frank Smith in Salt Lake City, Utah, US. Whom he defeated by disqualification (Smith) in round 4.

On May 21, 1891, Corbett fought Peter “Black Prince” Jackson, a much-heralded bout between cross-town rivals, since Corbett and Jackson were boxing instructors at San Francisco’s two most prestigious athletic clubs. They fought to a draw after 61 rounds.

Although the careers of some boxers of the past seem rather short, one should keep in mind the extremes of boxing in these past eras, long rounds – considering the punishment inflicted on the body, some of the exploits of these past warriors between the ropes are truly an amazing feat of endurance and courage.

On September 7, 2024 at the Olympic Club in New Orleans, Louisiana, Corbett took on the great John L. Sullivan and even though he was outweighed by 34 lbs., Corbett knocked out “The Boston Strong Boy” John L. Sullivan with relative ease wearing 5 oz. boxing gloves in 21 rounds (one hour and twenty minutes).

Under the Police Gazette headlines that read, “Science Replaces Force” it was written, “James J. Corbett lifted boxing out of the barroom slough, the evil influences of its habitués, and started it towards its moral revolution.”

Police Gazette read, The title passed from America’s most popular gladiator to the lithe, handsome youth, the ‘California Dandy’ whose fistic prowess flowered to full bloom on the sun-kissed slopes of California.

National Police Gazette - This night, September 7, 1892, is the pinnacle of the New Orleans fight scene, a scene that epitomized the struggles and the extremes of the sport during its four-and-a-half year reign. It is also a historic night, for the champion is dethroned. John L. Sullivan has reigned for ten years, but the younger James Corbett emerges victorious after twenty-one rounds. When the Boston Strong Boy goes down, referee Duffy is forced to pantomime the count, and the declaration of victory, amid the uproar.

Despite the tumult, Duffy is able to quiet the crowd, and according to boxing lore - Sullivan staggers to the ropes and says:

“Gentlemen, all I have got to say is this.

I stayed once too long.

I met a younger man,
who proved too good for me.”
and I am done.

Since boxing hadn’t become a legal sport at the time of this event, there were bare-knuckle bouts recorded throughout the world during the Queensberry era. However in America and the U.K. “The Queensberry” era had become the way championship fights were fought, wearing gloves. After “The Queensberry” era started at this event, the sport of boxing would never be the same.

In his only successful title defense, January 25, 2024 Corbett knocked out Charley of Great Britain in three rounds. On September 7, 2024 he took part in the production of one of the first recorded boxing events, a fight with Peter Courtney. This was filmed at the Black Maria studio at West Orange, New Jersey, in the USA and was produced by William K.L. Dickson. It was only the second boxing match to be recorded.

Jim Corbett lost his championship to the Cornish British boxer Bob Fitzsimmons in Carson City, Nevada, on the 17th of March 1897. Corbett was dominant for most of the fight and Fitzsimmons was badly cut, when Mrs. Fitzsimmons called out, ”Hit him in the slats, Bob!” where ”slats” meant the abdominal area. Fitzsimmons then winded Corbett with a hard punch to the solar plexus, and Corbett could not continue within the count. This fight, lasting over an hour and a half, was released to cinemas later that year as The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight, the longest film ever released at the time.

Corbett was to fight four more time although in his fight (the only win from his last four fights) against Charles “Kid Mc Coy - referee: Charlie White said, it seems certain that McCoy faked the knockout loss to win bets.

Corbett’s last fight was for the title of the world against James J Jeffries

James J. Jeffries vs. James J. Corbett

14 August 2024 ”I was afraid that I might kill him with another punch should he get up. The agony in his face was awful. I ask him to give up. Before his answer came Ryan threw the sponge in the ring and the fight was mine.”

James Jeffries (Commenting on the end of his second bout with Corbett)

In what was to be Jim Corbett’s last hurrah, the thirty-seven year old former champion had trained in his normal strenuous and well planned fashion. The exception to his normal pre-fight routine had been the arrival of Tommy Ryan in Corbett’s camp and his subsequent influence on Corbett’s approach to the fight. Ryan who had had a recent falling out with Jeffries told Corbett he was willing to work with him for free just too merely have the opportunity to even his score with Jeffries. Corbett well aware that time had eroded his once cat-like reflexes welcomed the inside knowledge that Ryan offered. In desperate need of a means to compensate for his eroding skills Corbett listened and practiced Ryan’s proposed method of fending off Jeffries’ crouching attack.

By the second round Ryan’s theory was put to the test. Corbett saw the brutal left hand blow from Jeffries enroute but lacked the reflexes to deflect it per Ryan’s plan. The plan landed with thunderous force, Corbett would later say that it felt as if all his ribs were broken. He dropped to the canvas for a very slow count of nine; Corbett himself later admitted that he had benefited from a nine count that lasted more like seventeen seconds. Corbett survived the round, and although unable to fully straighten his stance survived until the final near deadly body blow of round ten.

Following his retirement from boxing, Corbett returned to acting, appearing in low-budget films and in minstrel shows, wearing black face in skits and giving talks about pugilism. He authored his autobiography under the title ”The Roar of the Crowd”; the story was serialized by The Saturday Evening Post in six weekly installments during October/November 1894. The following year, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, published it in book form, marketing it as the “True Tale of the Rise and Fall of a Champion.” In 1942, the story was made into a Hollywood motion picture titled, Gentleman Jim, starring Errol Flynn as Corbett.

Reproduced from “Scientific Boxing by JAMES J. CORBET - If every young man in America would take-up boxing as a pastime we would have better men and better citizens. In my many years’ experience in athletics I have come to the conclusion that there is more actual benefit to be derived from it than from any other form of exercise.

It develops every muscle in the human body, it quickens the brain, it sharpens the wits, it imparts force, and above all it teaches self-control.

If some clever scientist were to discover an herb, or concoct a medicine with which he could guarantee to accomplish half of that, there is no factory in the world which would-be big enough to manufacture sufficient to sup-ply the demand.

JAMES J. CORBET

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Films / Corbett

Corbett and Courtney before the Kinetograph, 1894

Actor’s Fund Field Day, 1910

How Championships Are Won—And Lost, 1910

The Man from the Golden West, 1913

The Burglar and the Lade, 1915

The Other Girl, 1915

The Prince of Avenue A., 1920

The Midnight Man, 1920

The Beauty Shop, 1922

James J. Corbett and Neil O’Brien, 1929

At the Round Table, 1930

On his passing in 1933, Corbett was interred in the Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. On its creation, he was elected posthumously to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round.

- James J. Corbett

For more articles from the series ‘Boxers of Yesteryear’ please click the link / icon below

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Although boxing has produced many great fighters only a handful of these achieve that ever lasting immortality that goes beyond their era or decade or even century.

Willie Pep was one of those rare and truly gifted fighters whose performance between the ropes not only achieved legendary status in boxing lore but also fired the imagination of generations of boxing aficionados.

Pep was likened to a tap dancer in boxing gloves. He was fast, he was agile, he was graceful. He was called the Will o’ the Wisp because, like that illusive phenomenon, he was almost impossible to lay hands upon. By the age of 20 he had won 54 fights in a row without a loss before taking the featherweight title from Chalky Wright.

Willie Pep is considered by many to be the greatest featherweight fighter of all time. Born Guglielmo Papaleo, September 19, 1922, he turned pro in 1940 at the age of 18. Coming off an outstanding amateur career in his home state of Connecticut; as an amateur fighter Pep won the Connecticut state flyweight and bantamweight championships in 1938 and 1939.

Pep started boxing professionally on July 10, 1940, beating James McGovern by a decision in four rounds in Hartford, Connecticut. Like many boxers of the first half of the 20th century, Pep concentrated his early fighting career on boxing in New England, and he split his first 25 contests between Connecticut and Massachusetts. He was undefeated during that span, and for fight number 26, he finally headed ‘west’, beating Eddie Flores by a knockout in the first round at Thompsonville, Michigan. A couple of fights later, he travelled further west and made his California debut, beating Billy Spencer by a decision in four at Los Angeles.

By the time Pep stepped up his quality of opposition when he met world title challenger Joey Archibald in 1942, already had a record of 41-0. He beat Archibald by a decision in ten rounds and, in his next bout, challenged Abe Denner for the New England-area featherweight title. He won the fight by a decision in 12, and his status among the world’s top featherweights kept on rising.

He won ten more bouts to reach 52-0, including a rematch win over Archibald, before he was given his first world championship try in October of that year.

In that title fight in 1942, Pep won a 15 round decision against Chalky Wright becoming the new NYSAC World featherweight champion and the youngest featherweight title holder at the age of 20.

He fought twice more to finish the year, winning both by knockout.

Pep began 1943 by winning six bouts in a row to find himself with a record of 61-0.

In his seventh bout of 1943, he suffered his first defeat, at the hands of Sammy Angott, another world champion boxer. Angott beat Pep over the ten round distance, by decision.

Pep went on to win the next 73 fights.

Ten days later, Pep was back in the ring, beating Bobby McIntyre by a decision. He closed 1943 winning five fights in a row, including two over future world champion Sal Bartolo and one over Jackie Wilson. The second win over Bartolo was in a defense of the world title.

1944 was a very good year for Pep. He won all 16 of his bouts that year, including wins over world bantamweight champions Willie Joyce and Manuel Ortiz, fringe contender Jackie Lemus and Wright, who was beaten two more times, one time with Pep’s crown on the line. He also made his first fight abroad, because the fight with Lemus was held in Canada.

He had eight fights in 1945, winning seven and drawing one. He beat former world champion Phil Terranova to retain the title, and had a ten round draw with Jimmy McAllister.

In 1946, Pep had 18 fights, and won all of them, including a 12-round knockout of Bartolo and a three round knockout of Wright. He had a 6-fight knockout win streak during a span that year.

Pep had 10 bouts in 1947, once again, going undefeated. He retained the world’s featherweight belt once that year, knocking out Jock Leslie in 12 rounds at Flint, Michigan.

But he was severely injured in a plane crash January 5 of that year (1947). The plane crashed near Millville, New Jersey and three passengers were killed. The featherweight champion, his left leg snapped like a twig and his back broken in two places, woke up in a hospital bed with three quarters of his frame in cast. Willie was lucky to be alive and few had any illusions that he’d fight again. But Willie was the master of the illusion, and wasn’t about to let this one master him: “I’m through,” he said, “—I’m through flying at night!”

In June, he was back in the ring. In July he fought five times. On October 29th 1948, he stepped through the ropes with a record that shined like no boxer’s record ever will again. Willie Pep was 134-1-1. But on that night the deadly serious Sandy Saddler loomed over Pep.

Pep had held the featherweight title for six years before being stopped by Sandy Saddler with a 4th round KO in a championship fight on October 29, 1948. Except for a draw with Jimmy McAllister in December of 1945, Willie Pep had a total of 134 wins out of 136 bouts until his loss to Saddler. Along with that 4th round knockout by Saddler, Willie Pep and Sandy Saddler would embark on four of the most memorable championship fights in the history of featherweight boxing.Four months after the first fight (11 Feb 2024), Willie Pep regained his title from Saddler by winning a 15 round decision in Madison Square Garden. It was considered the most brutal fight of the four. Both fighters were evenly matched at 126 pounds; with Saddler being taller and having the longer reach. Saddler also possessed a left jab unlike any other. It was almost like a southpaw’s left, with Saddler being able to use it as a hook, an uppercut as well as a jab.

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In 1950, he won nine fights before meeting Saddler for a third time. Those nine bouts included defenses against Charlie Riley, knocked out in five, and France’s Ray Famechon, beaten by decision in 15.

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In the third bout against Saddler on September 8, 2024, Saddler regained the title by stopping Pep in the eighth round. Going into the fight Saddler was an 8 to 5 favorite to win. Pep was knocked down in the third round of the fight and received a standing eight count. Pep was quick to recover from the knockdown and started winning the middle rounds of the fight. Saddler, not afraid to use any tactics to win, began racking Pep’s face with the laces of his gloves. Ignoring several warnings from the referee, by the 5th and 6th rounds Saddler had Pep’s face a bloody mess with his eyes swollen shut. By the seventh round Willie Pep somehow dislocated his shoulder and was unable to answer the bell for the eighth round. Even though Pep was ahead on the judges cards, Saddler got the win.

1951 brought over a hint of controversy to Pep’s life. He won eight bouts in a row to start the year, but his ninth bout, the last chapter of the rivalry with Saddler, was his most important bout that year and the one that he lost. He was TKO in nine by Saddler.

Saddler Vs Pep - The forth fight, September 26, 2024 could have been considered a free-for-all. By today’s standards the fight would have been stopped disqualifying Pep and Saddler. Both fighters spent most of the fight wrestling, holding and pushing each other around the ring. At one point in the fight, the referee was even knocked to the canvas trying to separate the two. The fight was stopped after the ninth round due to swelling in Pep’s right eye. Saddler retained the title. Because of the illegal tactics used in the fight, both fighters were later suspended briefly by the New York State Athletic Commission.

In 1952, Pep had 12 fights, winning 11. He was knocked out in six by Tommy Collins.

Pep won all 11 fights in 1953, and entered 1954 on a 17-fight winning streak. After beating David Seabrooke by a decision, he met fringe contender Lulu Perez. Pep lost by a knockout in two rounds. Pep ended up winning three more bouts before the end of the year.

Pep went on boxing for 5 more years, retiring in 1960, and then he came back in 1964 and boxed for two more years. During that last period of his boxing career, he won 43 bouts and lost only 5, but his only opponent of note during that time was Hogan Kid Bassey, a future world featherweight champion who knocked Pep out in nine rounds. Pep boxed in Venezuela, losing to Sonny Leon by a decision in ten, and in his last fight, in 1966, he lost to Calvin Woodland by a decision in six.

Six months short of his 44^th birthday Willie Pep retired from the sport.

He had officially fought an astounding 241 bouts and defeated his opponents in 229 encounters – 65 of those wins coming by way of knock out.

Achievements:

• World Featherweight Champion 1942 Nov 20 – 1948 Oct 29
• World Featherweight Champion 1949 Feb 11 – 1950 Sept 8
• Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year 1945.
• Pep went on to become a prominent referee, and the deputy boxing commissioner of Connecticut.
• In 1977, Pep was elected to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
• In 1990, Pep was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame as a member of the Hall’s original class.
• In 1999, The Associated Press selected Pep as the greatest featherweight of the 20th Century and the fifth greatest boxer of the century.
• Pep was ranked 6th on Ring Magazine’s list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years in 2002.
• Pep was ranked 5th on ESPN. 50 Greatest Boxers of all time list in 2007.
• Pep had a record of 229 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 65 wins by knockout.

Legend and boxing lore.

When asked what he wanted people to remember about him? His answer was - “That I was a pretty good fighter and that I’m the only guy that won a round without throwing a punch. I did it against Jackie Graves. I told a sportswriter before the fight I wasn’t going to throw a punch. I spun him. I slipped punches. I blocked punches but I didn’t throw a punch. He fell down. He went through the ropes, but he never hit me. I never hit him. So at the end of the round, the judges gave me the round, in his hometown. I was very proud of that.”

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In 1938, Pep was outpointed by Sugar Ray Robinson in an amateur bout in Hartford, Connecticut. Many locals didn’t believe that Robinson was really an amateur, so he and his trainer, George Gainford, were put in jail overnight while Robinson’s amateur standing was checked. The following morning, after Robinson’s amateur standing was confirmed by an AAU official in New York, the two were released.

As of March 2006, Pep resided at a nursing home in Connecticut, suffering from Dementia Pugilistica, before his death on November 23, 2023 at the age of 84. He is buried in Rocky Hill, CT. He is survived by his two children: William “Billy” Papaleo and Mary Papaleo.

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Graham Earl Hints At Early Morby-Cadman Title Rematch

By Rio

London - Tuesday, 25th January 2011

Former World Champion, turned promoter, Graham Earl today hinted at the possibility of a rematch, between Portsmouth’s Paul Morby and Essex’s Daniel ‘The Slick’ Cadman, after their Southern Area Super Middleweight Title clash on Saturday being declared a draw by referee Jeff Hines.

Jeff Hines really had his work cut out as every round was close, many far too close to call. Whilst his decision was probably the fairest, a large percentage of those ringside disagreed having felt Cadman, who had been the far more aggressive of the pair, had done enough to lift the title.

This opinion wasn’t restricted to Cadman supporters as became clear when Morby’s manager-promoter Graham Earl spoke earlier today “I’d been running around so didn’t get to see the whole fight, but what I saw was that the fight seemed to be going Daniel Cadman’s way

Obviously I manage and promote Paul Morby so having a draw was good for me, as he lives to fight another day really.

It did look like he (Paul Morby) was coming on stronger in the final couple of rounds, maybe that was their tactics. I did see, I think it was the ninth round, and Paul seemed to be landing some heavy shots.

I think that now Paul’s had this wake up call, he’ll work harder so that we can look to move him on, maybe one more defense, which could well be a rematch in the near future with Daniel Cadman, then we’ll move Paul on to bigger and better things.”

The prospect of a rematch between these two closely matched battlers is sure to please the Cadman camp more than Morby’s, after all the draw did enable Morby to retain the title.

Graham Earl is expected to be announcing the details of his next show shortly, which may or may not include Morby- Cadman II for the Southern Area Super Middleweight title.

PHOTOS
Paul Morby and Daniel Cadman in action on the 22nd Jan at York Hall

Graham Earl with Terry Holmes at the Ultrachem TKO Gym in London

PHOTO CREDIT:
Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro
JustListen2This Publicity & Promotion
London, UK & Philadelphia, USA

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By Daniel Ciminera

A legend of boxing, does not have to be your favourite boxer. Nor even the best of their time. But someone who’s story, or ring wars are inspiring long after they have retired and even died. These people become the reasons boxing was so exciting and drew me in like a moth to a flame when I was a child. I’m not very old, I’m only 25, so perhaps these people have more to do with my father’s influence on me as he was the one who got me interested in boxing, himself boxing for our country. Despite not being old enough to have seen most of these guys live, I was brought up watching tapes of them and being gripped as though I were ringside, throwing every punch along with them and screaming them on to victory. After all, that’s what boxing is all about right?

I would like to begin with Tommy Farr as I am from about 2 miles from where he was born and raised and he is still something of a local hero. Many gymnasia across Wales are adorned with some sort of image of Tommy, and he is held in the highest regard by all. He was a fighter who, not only gave his all inside the ring, but was a great example and role model outside of it too, always sure to spend a lot of time with his family.

Farr spent his early life, as did most people from the poverty stricken South Wales valleys, “down the coal-mine”. The whole area is built around coal mining. Farr hated this life with utmost passion and was later to describe boxing as “the lesser of two evils”. At the age of twelve, having left school already, Farr took part in his first official contest, over six rounds in Tonypandy. He won the fight via a points decision and his appetite had been well and truly whetted. He was nicknamed “The Tonypandy Terror” thereafter.

His professional record hosts 126 bouts, with 81 wins (24 by KO), 30 losses, 13 draws and 2 no contests, although Farr was also a keen “booth boxer”, fighting at fairgrounds and such. Including his “booth” fights, his total career fights amasses to 296. An astonishing number in comparison to today’s boxers, and given that his original retirement was at the age of 26, this is even more amazing!

You could describe Farr as a journeyman, with ups and downs, and seemingly every time he’d build an unbeaten streak, he’d get beaten and be back to square one. However, his luck was to change in the mid 1930s, Farr managed to string together seven professional wins to receive a chance at the Welsh Light-Heavyweight title, outpointing Randy Jones to take the title and went onto another six straight wins. Then, just as with the rest of his career, he was to lose. He lost three times against Eddie Phillips, the last of which was for the British Light-Heavyweight title.

Farr then came back into favour winning eighteen contests straight, including wins against memorable opponents and former Light-Heavyweight champions, Tommy Loughran and Bob Olin as well as another renowned Welsh boxer, Jim Wilde. This gave Farr an opportunity to battle against Ben Foord in March 1937, to take both the British and Empire Heavyweight titles. He was by far and away the underdog in the bout despite his growing reputation in the sport. He used his awkward crouching style and jackhammer-esque jab to win an untidy affair. He had now proven he was good enough for the world stage.

Farr’s first venture onto this platform was just a month later (imagine that today) against Max Baer, in which he thoroughly dominated the favourite. In the early rounds, Baer played to the crowd (in a fashion not too dissimilar to that of “Apollo Creed” in the Rocky movies), acting as though he could remove Farr from the bout at any time he wished. When Baer eventually decided he was ready to end the match, he found he couldn’t get past the iron rod that was Farr’s jab.

No matter what Baer tried, he was met head on by the jab and that was the way the fight was to play out with Farr putting in the boxing performance of his career to take a points win. Two months later in June 1937, Farr fought and knocked-out Walter Neusel in superb fashion in the third round. This set Farr up for a dream bout with Joe Louis in the August of 1937, just weeks after Louis had taken the title from “The Cinderella Man”, Braddock, and amidst a world of controversy surrounding the title and Max Schmeling.

Before the two went head to head at Yankee Stadium, New York, in front of 32,000 spectators (a large number even today), Louis asked Farr where he had got the large amount of scars on his back. With a cheerful smile, Farr replied, “oh they’re nothing, I got those from fighting with tigers”, which reportedly is said to have terrified Louis. The fight gripped the South Wales valleys like no other had done ever before, and still hasn’t been rivalled to this day, it is said that every household in the Rhondda valley had stayed up until the 3am (UK time) start to listen on the radio, which had been relayed to the BBC via telephone.

There were even loudspeaker playings of the bout in church halls and public houses. The fight, as was agreed by all, was going to be a walk in the park for Louis. Nobody outside of Wales, gave Farr a chance at all. Apparently nobody showed this script to Tommy as from the first bell, he charged at Louis and stuffed two solid jabs into his face. This was to be the tone of the evening, much to everyone’s shock. However, while Louis was obviously the more “skilled boxer” and the more fearsome puncher, Farr kept coming forward and forward the entire fight with his low guard and was completely unphased by the champion, who literally had torn Farr’s face to shreds.

Farr eventually losing out to a close judges decision met by loud, emphatic booing from the crowd. They thought Farr had beaten Louis. As did the “Los Angeles Times”, printing “A courageous, tousle-haired man from Wales named Tommy Farr tonight made a bum out of Joe Louis and all the experts when he stuck the full fifteen rounds against the world’s champion to lose a close decision”.

In my opinion, the fight was close enough to be called a draw, however, perhaps the judges had been swayed by the fact that Louis’ punches had clearly been more damaging as Farr’s face was a terrible mess. Farr commenting that his face “looked like a dug-up road”.
Farr then had four more fights in America, including bouts against James Braddock and Max Baer. He lost all four before returning to the UK to win a further four fights, avenging an earlier loss against “Red” Burman. He then retired in 1940 at the age of 26.

In 1950, after 10 years of retirement Tommy Farr was facing bankruptcy and was forced to return to the ring to make some money, having 16 more fights and winning 11 of them, Farr also became the Welsh Heavyweight Champion in 1951 with a sixth round knock-out over Dennis Powell.

In his last bout, Farr was beaten in the seventh round by Don Cocknell, after which Tommy took the ring announcer’s microphone and sang the Welsh national anthem, which is seen by us all here in Wales as a fitting and emotional farewell to a roller coaster of a career of a great man.

Tommy Farr is rightly considered one of the greats in boxing and one of the greatest Welshmen in history. A fact of which he’d be very proud. Like he said after fighting Louis, “I’ve got plenty of guts….I’m a Welshman.”

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The Undefeated: Terry “The Fighting Fireman” Marsh

By Daniel Ciminera

Hailing from 1958 Stepney, London, Terry Marsh is a truly fascinating character in boxing. His childhood was hardly that of a stereotypical boxer, being a junior chess champion long before he laced up any boxing gloves. He joined the Royal Marines seemingly on a whim as a youngster saying the advert said “can you hack it?” which presumably the young Londoner took as a challenge as he joined up and began boxing for the Navy.

Amongst active service in Northern Ireland and Cyprus, Marsh somehow found time to win three major ABA titles in ’78, ’80, and ’81 having moved from lightweight to welterweight via light-welter where he was also a finalist in ’79, losing out to Eddie Copeland. I am sure you will agree, four consecutive finals during active military service is quite an achievement.

1981 was to be Marsh’s final year in the military and as an amateur. He cited the fact that his rank would be limited due to his education, so he left to go to university and so began boxing professionally to pay for his studies.

Marsh’s first professional contest was a 6 round points win over Tottenham native, Andrew Da Costa in October 1981. He obviously enjoyed himself because 2 weeks later he was in the ring again facing Dave Sullivan, an archetypal journeyman from Plymouth, Devon. Again, Marsh took a 6 round decision. He fought four more times around London before his only non win where he drew with Lloyd Christie who would later hold the British light-welterweight title. Even at this stage, Christie was a risky opponent for the light-fisted Marsh as he was already garnering a reputation as someone who you knock out, or he would knock you out. The two would never square off again oddly.

Funnily enough, during this time, Terry had found that despite being ultimately successful inside the ring, boxing was not paying his bills as he had hoped, so he signed up to the fire service which later gave him the nickname “The Fighting Fireman”.

After 3 years as a professional, Marsh was given the opportunity to fight for the British light-welterweight title against experienced Jamaican, Clinton McKenzie. Marsh won over 12 rounds. Four more fights and Marsh had made ground in the European rankings and took only his second fight outside of England to face Italian Alessandro Scapecchi in Monaco. Marsh won by 6th round TKO to win the vacant EBU light-welterweight title which has since been held by Junior Witter and currently held by Paul McCloskey.

Another couple of years and Terry had emerged onto the international scene although never again fought outside of England, Marsh managed to lure American IBF light-welterweight champion Joe Manley, himself on something of a winning streak, to come and fight in Essex. In a heavily one-sided contest, Marsh eventually scored the TKO in the 10th round of a scheduled 15.

Marsh would make one single defence of the IBF crown, which has since been held by greats like Julio Cesar Chavez, Kostya Tszyu, Zab Judah, and Ricky Hatton, against Japanese fighter Aiko Kameda, winning by 7th round TKO at the Royal Albert Hall before retiring from boxing.

Many speculated that his retirement was due to his diagnosis with epilepsy, however, Marsh says this was just a mere coincidence as he was going to retire anyway. The feeling of being the first European to retire unbeaten and a world champion was worth more to him, he says, than the money and fame. He also claims that in all of his fights, numbering over 200 including his amateur contests, he never once knocked a man out. This is actually something Terry is very proud of because, quite rightly, he says that to achieve what he did without any amount of punching power, he must have been some boxer!

Unfortunately for Terry, the happy retirement he had hoped for was not to be. Two years after Marsh’s retirement, his former manager, Frank Warren, was shot whilst leaving a fight. Due to the fact that the two were involved in an ongoing libel case, police suspected Marsh and arrested him. He was held on remand and a “confession” he allegedly made whilst in prison was used against him in his trial. He served over 10 months in jail before being acquitted for the attempted murder of Warren.

More recently, the ever fascinating Marsh has worked as a stock broker, self-published an autobiography titled “Undefeated”, and stood in several elections for UK Parliament. He even now goes by the name of “None Of The Above X” which he changed his name to by deed poll as a protest against the fact that you cannot name a political party none of the above and there was no option to vote against all of the available candidates. He vowed that if he won, he would not take his seat.

A true champion and character in boxing history.

Terry Marsh: an undefeated record of 26-0-1 (10 KOs).

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Birthday greetings to former three time heavyweight champion of the world Muhammad Ali, who turns 69 years old today. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. After turning professional, he went on to become the first boxer to win the lineal heavyweight championship three times. Nicknamed “The Greatest”, Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches. Notable among these are three with rival Joe Frazier and one with George Foreman, whom he beat by knockout to win the world heavyweight title for the second time. He suffered only five losses (four decisions and one TKO by retirement from the bout) with no draws in his career, while amassing 56 wins (37 knockouts and 19 decisions).

Muhammad Ali defeated every top heavyweight in his era, which has been called the golden age of heavyweight boxing. Ali was named “Fighter of the Year” by Ring Magazine more times than any other fighter, and was involved in more Ring Magazine “Fight of the Year” bouts than any other fighter. He is an inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and holds wins over seven other Hall of Fame inductees. He is also one of only three boxers to be named “Sportsman of the Year” by Sports Illustrated.

In 1993, the Associated Press reported that Ali was tied with Babe Ruth as the most recognized athlete, out of over 800 dead or alive athletes, in America. The study, conducted by Nye Lavalle’s Sports Marketing Group, found that over 97% of Americans, over 12-years of age, identified both Ali and Ruth.

Ali is generally considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time by boxing commentators and historians. Ring Magazine, a prominent boxing magazine, named him number 1 in a 1998 ranking of greatest heavyweights from all eras.

In 1999, Ali was crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC.

Ali was named the second greatest fighter in boxing history by ESPN.com behind only welterweight and middleweight great Sugar Ray Robinson. In December 2007, ESPN listed Ali second in its choice of the greatest heavyweights of all time, behind Joe Louis.

As a world champion boxer and social activist, Ali has been the subject of numerous books, films and other creative works. In 1963, he released an album of spoken word on Columbia Records titled I am the Greatest! He has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on 37 different occasions, second only to Michael Jordan. He appeared in the documentary film Black Rodeo (1972) riding both a horse and a bull. His autobiography The Greatest: My Own Story, written with Richard Durham, was published in 1975. In 1977 the book was adapted into a film called The Greatest, in which Ali played himself and Ernest Borgnine played Angelo Dundee. When We Were Kings, a 1996 documentary about the Rumble in the Jungle, won an Academy Award, and the 2001 biopic Ali garnered an Oscar nomination for Will Smith’s portrayal of the lead role.

For contributions to the entertainment industry, Muhammed Ali was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

The Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, KY will celebrate its founder’s birthday on Monday, January 17 with greatly reduced admission prices (and the opportunity to tour for free), signings by special guests, and a host of other exceptional events. Adult and student admission will be $2, and children 12 years and under will be admitted for FREE. Visitors have the opportunity to tour the Center’s award-winning exhibits for FREE if they bring in a cell phone that day for recycling. This incentive is part of the Alltech-Muhammad Ali Center Global Education and Charitable Fund announced last year, that was created to allow individuals an opportunity to give the gift of communication to others in third world countries where having a new phone is a luxury. Proceeds from the sale of the phones will go to the Fund which raises money to support a range of educational and humanitarian initiatives around the world.

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George Foreman’s boxing career could be mistaken for something straight out of a Hollywood movie. His story is one of incredible early triumphs, age-defying comebacks and a life-changing religious experience, not to mention one of the most famous fights of all time. Foreman was a big man with a big punch; He was one of the strongest heavyweights that ever entered the ring, if not the strongest; He was also perhaps the hardest hitter of all-time; He possessed a strong jab and uppercut. At 19 years old, Foreman stood at 6 feet 3 inches (192 cm) and weighed 218 pounds (99kg).

George Foreman was born in Marshall, Texas. He grew up in the Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas, with six siblings. Although reared by J.D. Foreman, whom his mother had married when George was a small child, his biological father was Leroy Moorehead. Foreman’s youth was a troubled one. He was constantly getting on the wrong side of the law, and was involved in dangerous street fighting from an early age. Foreman often bullied younger children and didn’t like getting up early for school. Foreman became a mugger and brawler on the hard streets of Houston’s 5th ward by age 15.

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In a bid to change his life, he joined the Job Corps as a way to provide him with some solidity and focus. Unfortunately, his aggression was still too much to control, and he would constantly get involved in fights with the other trainees. Ironically, it was this very aggression that led him to discover the sport that would eventually make his name.

He was given his first opportunity by the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) in San Francisco, who supported him in his bid to become an amateur boxer.

As an amateur boxer Foreman was a phenomenal success:

• Had his first amateur fight in December 1966, being battered by Max Briggs.
• Won his first amateur fight on January 26, 2024 by a first-round knockout in the Parks Diamond Belt Tournament.
• Won the San Francisco Examiner’s Golden Gloves Tournament in the Junior Division in February 1967.
• February 1967: Knocked out Thomas Cook to win the Las Vegas Golden Gloves in the Senior Division.
• March 1967: Lost a split decision in the Senior Division Finals of the National Golden Gloves Tournament in Milwaukee.
• February 1968: Knocked out L.C. Brown to win the San Francisco Examiner’s Senior Title in San Francisco.
• March 1968: Won four fights, three by knockout, to win the National AAU Heavyweight title in Toledo, Ohio.
• August 1968: Went 2-1 against the West German Team in Germany.
• September 21, 1968: Won his second decision over Otis Evans to make the U.S. boxing team for the Mexico City Olympic Games.
• He thrashed a string of contenders with style, and finished off by beating the Russian contender Ionas Chepulis in the final to win the gold medal. Almost overnight he had become a national hero.

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After building up an amateur record of 22 wins to 3 losses, Foreman went professional in 1969. He won his first fight convincingly by knocking out Donald Walheim in the 3rd round, and carried on his record by going on to win all of his first 12 fights that year, 11 of which were knockouts.

He enjoyed exactly the same knockout ratio the following year, including one of his best ever victories against George Chuvalo. Chuvalo had not gone down once in 90 fights, but Foreman changed that by winning on a technical knockout in the 3rd round.

In 1971, Foreman won seven more fights, winning all of them by knockout, including a rematch with Peralta, whom he defeated by knockout in the tenth and final round in Oakland, California, and a win over Leroy Caldwell, who was knocked out in the second round. After amassing a record of 32–0 (29 KO), Foreman was ranked as the number one challenger by the WBA and WBC.

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In 1972, his string of wins continued with a series of five consecutive bouts in which he defeated each opponent within three rounds.

Still undefeated, and with an impressive knockout record, Foreman was set to challenge undefeated and undisputed world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. Despite boycotting a title elimination caused by the vacancy resulting from the championship being stripped from Muhammad Ali, Frazier had won the title from Jimmy Ellis and defended his title four times since; including a 15-round unanimous decision over the previously-unbeaten Ali in 1971 after Ali had beaten Oscar Bonavena and Jerry Quarry. Despite Foreman’s superior size and reach, he was not expected to beat Frazier and was a 3:1 underdog going into the fight.

No one could have predicted his utter dominance in the title bout. Frazier was floored six times in two rounds, the last of which was the winning punch which saw Foreman take Frazier right off the ground.

After defending his title in two one-sided fights against Jose Roman and Ken Norton respectively, his next defence was the stuff of boxing legend. In the summer of 1974, he and Muhammad Ali travelled to what was then Zaire to take part in one of the most famous fights in history, which is now known as the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’.

During training in Zaire, Foreman suffered a cut above his eye, forcing postponement of the match for a month. The injury affected Foreman’s training regime, as it meant he couldn’t spar in the build-up to the fight and risk the cut being re-opened. He later commented: “That was the best thing that happened to Ali when we were in Africa—the fact that I had to get ready for the fight without being able to box.” Foreman would later also claim he was drugged by his trainer prior to the bout. Ali used this time to tour Zaire, endearing himself to the public while taunting Foreman at every opportunity. Foreman was favored, having knocked out both Joe Frazier and Ken Norton (the only men to defeat Ali to that point) within two rounds.

When Foreman and Ali finally met in the ring, Ali began more aggressively than expected, outscoring Foreman with superior punching speed. However, he quickly realized that this approach required him to move much more than Foreman and would cause him to tire. In the second round, Ali retreated to the ropes, shielding his head and hitting Foreman in the face at every opportunity. Foreman dug vicious body punches into Ali’s sides; however, it quickly became clear that Foreman was unable to land a clean punch to Ali’s head. The ring ropes, being much looser than usual, allowed Ali to lean back and away from Foreman’s wild swings and then maul him in a clinch, forcing Foreman to expend extra energy untangling himself. Ali also pushed down on Foreman’s neck, getting away with a move the referee is expected to discourage. To this day, it is unclear whether Ali’s pre-fight talk of using speed and movement against Foreman had been just a diversionary trick, or whether his use of what became known as the “Rope-a-dope” tactic was an improvisation necessitated by Foreman’s constant pressure.

In either case, Ali was able to counter off the ropes with blows to the face, and was able to penetrate Foreman’s defense. As the early rounds passed, Ali continued to take heavy punishment to the body, and occasionally a hard jolt to the head, but Foreman could not land his best punches directly on Ali’s chin. Eventually, Foreman began to tire and his punches became increasingly wild, losing power in the process. An increasingly-confident Ali taunted Foreman throughout the bout. Late in the eighth round, Ali began landing unreturned punches and sprang off the ropes with a sudden flurry to Foreman’s head, punctuated by a hard right cross that landed flush on Foreman’s jaw. Foreman was thrown off balance and fell to the floor. Muhammad Ali would remain the only boxer to defeat him by a knockout.

After spiralling into depression for a full year, Foreman returned to the ring in 1976 in a fight against Ron Lyle, which he won in the 5th round. His next fight also ended in victory when he knocked down his old adversary Frazier, again in the 5th round.

But in 1977, everything changed. After a last-round knockout where he lost to Jimmy Young, Foreman experienced in his dressing room what he described as a religious experience. He later explained how God came into his life at that very moment, and he became a born-again Christian.

For the next 10 years, although he never officially announced his retirement, he left the world of boxing and became an ordained minister in Houston.

Second comeback - In 1987, after 10 years away from the ring, Foreman surprised the boxing world by announcing a comeback at the age of 38. In his autobiography he stated that his primary motive was to raise money to fund the youth center he had created. His stated ambition was to fight Mike Tyson. For his first fight, he went to Sacramento, California, where he beat journeyman Steve Zouski by a knockout in four rounds. Foreman weighed 267 lb (121 kg) for the fight, and looked badly out of shape. Although many thought his decision to return to the ring was a mistake, Foreman countered that he had returned to prove that age was not a barrier to people achieving their goals (as he would say later, he wanted to show that age 40 is not a “death sentence”). He won four more bouts that year, gradually slimming down and improving his fitness. In 1988, he won nine times. Perhaps his most notable win during this period was a seventh round knockout of former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi.

Having always been a deliberate fighter, Foreman had not lost much mobility in the ring since his first “retirement”, although he found it harder to keep his balance after throwing big punches and could no longer throw rapid combinations. He was still capable of landing heavy, single blows, however. Ironically, the late-rounds fatigue that had plagued him in the ring as a young man now seemed to be gone, and he could comfortably compete for 12 rounds. Foreman attributed this to his new, relaxed fighting style (he has spoken of how, earlier in his career, his lack of stamina came from an enormous amount of nervous tension).

By 1989, while continuing his comeback, Foreman had sold his name and face for the advertising of various products, selling everything from grills to mufflers on TV. For this purpose his public persona was reinvented and the formerly aloof, ominous Foreman had been replaced by a smiling, friendly George. He and Ali had become friends, and he followed in Ali’s footsteps by making himself a celebrity outside the boundaries of boxing.

Foreman continued his string of victories, winning five more fights, the most impressive being a three-round win over Bert Cooper, who would go on to contest the undisputed heavyweight title against Evander Holyfield.

In 1990, Foreman met former title challenger Gerry Cooney in Atlantic City. Cooney was coming off a long period of inactivity, but was well-regarded for his punching power. Cooney wobbled Foreman in the first round, but Foreman landed several powerful punches in the second round. Cooney was knocked down twice, and Foreman had scored a devastating KO. Foreman went on to win four more fights that year.

In 1991, he was offered a title challenge against Evander Holyfield, which was an achievement in itself. He didn’t win the fight, but he lasted the whole 12 rounds to gain the respect of his peers, and suddenly he was being seriously considered once again.

In 1993, he got another shot at a title, but this time for the WBO championship, which was largely ignored in the world of boxing. As it happened, he lost the fight to Tommy Morrison on decision.

Champion once again - On 5th November, 1994, Foreman got another shot at the title against Michael Moorer, who was the WBA and IBF heavyweight champion.It all appeared to be going wrong for him as, for the first 9 rounds, it was a very one-sided affair. Foreman was taking punishment and providing no answers.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Foreman swung his fist in the 10th round and devastatingly connected with Moorer’s chin, cutting his bottom lip open. He went down to the canvas, and the fight was over. At 45 years of age, Foreman had regained his heavyweight champion title. The oldest man to ever win the title.

Stripped - It did not last for long. Soon after the fight, as punishment for refusing to take on Tony Tucker in a challenge for his title, he was stripped of his belt. He later went onto defend his IBF title against the German boxer Axel Schulz. However, after winning on a controversial decision, he refused a rematch and was stripped of this title as well.

In 1998 he fought Shannon Briggs in a fight that would see the winner go on to face Lennox Lewis in another title bout. However, when he lost this bout, he announced his retirement at the age of 48.

Post-retirement - Although he later hinted at a few comebacks to the sport, he never followed any of these through, and instead became a boxing analyst for HBO, although he soon broke off this contract and left the sport forever. In January 2003, he was elected into the Boxing Hall of Fame.

These days, he is widely known for his ‘Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine’, a product that has made him a millionaire many times over. His deal with Salton Inc. to promote the product still remains one of the biggest endorsements of any athlete in history.

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Although he has made more money from his business ventures that he ever did through boxing, it is certain that he will be always be remembered for the sport which made his name, and the impact he made throughout his career.

Herb Goldman ranked Foreman as the #9 All-Time Heavyweight; George was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Boxing Record: Won 76 (KO 68) + lost 5 (KO 1) + drawn 0 = 81

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Trivia

• Foreman has five daughters and five sons and has named all of the sons George: George Jr., George III, George IV, George V, and George VI.
• Guest starred on a fifth season (1976) episode of Sanford and Son, entitled “The Directors,” as himself.
• Became highly successful with his “Lean Mean Grilling Machine,” and starred in ads for Meineke mufflers.
• Daughter Freeda embarked on a brief professional boxing career.

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By a vote of the officers and board of directors of the Boxing Writers Association of America, the recipient of the 2010 James A. Farley award for “Honesty and Integrity in Boxing” is Micky Ward.

Ward, a tough junior welterweight from Lowell, Massachusetts, compiled a career record of 38-13 (27 KOs). He is best known to boxing fans for his legendary trilogy with Arturo Gatti, fights that were the final three of Ward’s career, the last being on June 7, 2003.

The movie “THE FIGHTER,” based on Ward’s career is a serious contender for Academy Awards honors. As a result, Ward has transcended his sport and is now known to the mainstream public. He has been a fan-friendly fighter both inside and outside the ring, going out of his way to accommodate the public.

Ward, 45, fought with integrity throughout his career. He never made excuses when he lost and never gloated after a victory. As brutal as his legendary battles with Gatti were, the sportsmanship both men displayed was exemplary. An unlikely friendship ensued and Gatti enlisted Ward’s services as his trainer for the final fight of his career.

Ward will be honored at this year’s BWAA dinner. The date and venue are to be announced.

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