October 1, 1943: Manuel Ortiz KO4 Leonardo Lopez

Bantamweight Manuel Ortiz, South California boxing legend.

 

Archie Moore, the light heavyweight king who ruled for most of the 1950s, once said of bantamweight Manuel Ortiz, “He had his weaknesses, but don’t we all?” 

In 1943, about one year into Ortiz’s reign at bantamweight, his only weakness appeared to be a slow-warming motor. From the time he defeated Lou Salica for bantam laurels in August of 1942 to his October of 1946 loss to Carlos Chavez, Ortiz fought 38 times, winning all but one: a loss to a bigger and slicker future featherweight ruler Willie Pep. 

Throwback Thursday - Mickey Walker Evens Score With Maxie Rosenbloom on Points

Source

Most boxing fans should be familiar with the term "crossroads fight." For those who aren't familiar, a crossroads fight is defined as one where the career trajectory of both men seem to be divergent. Bouts where youngsters face veterans often fit the description. 

In those match ups, it sometimes happens that the guy supposedly fated to win and move on actually loses, suffering a setback that affects his career in one way or another. 

On May 8, 1934, Mickey Walker, weathered son-of-a-gun, avenged his most recent loss by out-pointing Maxie Rosenbloom, crafty son-of-a-gun. 

Throwback Thursday - Tommy Loughran Narrowly Outpoints Harry Greb

Tommy Loughran; Source

Many of the greatest fighters in history had some sort of rival or antithesis that helped define their careers. Obvious examples would be Muhammad Ali having his Joe Frazier, or Tony Zale his Rocky Graziano. The list goes on. 

Why, though, are there pairs of men who faced each other numerous times without any sort of higher meaning being assigned to their interactions? 

That said, if one was unlucky enough to have to measure guts against Harry Greb in a ring multiple times, there was a good chance he would only manage one win. Tommy Gibbons, Battling Levinsky, Billy Miske, Soldier Bartfield, Gene Tunney and more had, at a minimum, a terrible time simply sticking around in the same ring as Greb. Getting a legitimate win over the man was rare enough that it could be a cause for celebration. 

Loughran's only official win against Greb in six total bouts happened on October 11, 1923. Call it a personal holiday of sorts. 

Throwback Thursday - Battling Siki Dusts Georges Carpentier, Becomes Champ

Battling Siki, hoisted on the shoulders of his corner and supports after defeating Georges Carpentier; Source

A repetitive, yet ever important theme in the world of boxing is how fights unfold parallel to the history of the times. Boxing fed off the momentum of social movements and vice versa, and it still does, with race being perhaps the easiest of fuels to ignite.

One of the more obvious examples covered here on TQBR was the Mike Weaver vs. Gerrie Coetzee showdown, which included racial tensions that were ridden and manipulated in order to generate more buzz, and more money. But not to be forgotten, Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney was a monster story in its day, around the same time. 

Sometimes the obvious and unexpected meet, though. For instance, France is still in the midst of racial and ethnic issues that have carried on for decades. Where once were the front lines of one of the globe's most shocking and bloody conflicts in World War I, now the current population face similar yet separate choices of color, religion and ethnicity. 

The September 24, 1922 bout between Amadou M'Barick Fall and Georges Carpentier figures has its own connection there, believe it or not. 

Throwback Thursday - Pancho Villa Irons Out Jimmy Wilde, Makes History

Pancho Villa, left, shakes hands with Jimmy Wilde before their bout; Source

The 1920s spirit flowed freely in 1923. The "roar" of the decade was being protected by low unemployment rates, jazz and dance clubs crawled with frantic activity, and New York -- a city that embodied the decadence of the decade -- was graced with ambiguous Prohibition laws that lubricated the mind and spirit.

And boxing breathed fire.

When Al Smith became the governor of New York, threats to ban boxing seemed to dissipate. Nathan Miller, notoriously cardiolithic anti-boxing advocate, could no longer force promoters to seek out venues in neighboring states, and the adoption of the Walker Law all but ensured boxing's survival. More importantly, Miller's exit paved the way for the business of boxing to flourish in New York City and surrounding locales. 

On June 18, 1923, the door was opened, and history was shoved through the threshold by the grating gloves of Filipino legend Pancho Villa. 

Throwback Thursday - Gunboat Smith Outpoints Sam Langford

The names Sam Langford and Ed "Gunboat" Smith are two that would be enough to pen an entire shelf-full of books. While one is often considered one of the greatest fighters to ever smash his mitts into a pair of gloves, the other is largely lost to the wake and smoke trails of history. 


They fought twice, though, highlighting massive social issues of the time, and underlining what exactly it might take to craft a truly great fighter.


Smith and Langford had already been scheduled to meet in New York, but the city's ban on "mixed race" bouts snuffed out the idea. In early October, when it became apparent that the fight would be rescheduled for November 17 or thereabouts, Sheriff Julius Harburger issued the following statement: "From the days when Abraham Lincoln issued his pronunciamento and proposition making colored men free and equal, which was ratified by the Fourteenth Amendment and received and lived up to in fourty-eight states and territories, no board in the city, known as a boxing commission, can adopt rules in violation of the principles of our constitution and governmental affairs."  

In essence, a white sheriff stuck his neck out to not only support the rights of a black fighter to prove his worth against a white counterpart, but to thumb his nose at a hypocritical and misguided system that wouldn't come crashing down until decades later. 

Gloves helped build the system, and over time, gloves would tear that system to pieces. 

Throwback Thursday - Benny Leonard Snags Freddie Welsh's Title

Jack Dempsey, left, pretends to punch Harry Houdini, with Benny Leonard's help

There exists an adage in boxing: "As the heavyweights go, so goes boxing." It's a fancy way of saying that most people extract more pleasure out of the sport the larger the fighters are, and the harder they're hitting each other. It also means that the smaller a fighter is, the more difficult it will be to swat a path into public consciousness.
 
Times have changed, needless to say, but though the popularity of heavyweights has waned in recent years, the little scrappers still find it difficult to earn top billing. 

Many boxing fans are either too young to remember but for eras on end  the heavyweight champion was not only the proverbial "baddest man on the planet," but he was often among the most famous or easily identified. It was rare indeed that a smaller fighter could step into that world of celebrity. 

On May 28, 1917, "The Ghetto Wizard" Benny Leonard took a huge step toward achieving exactly that.

Throwback Thursday - Young Peter Jackson and Dixie Kid Fight to a Stalemate

Young Peter Jackson; Source

Even the most rabid of boxing fans would have to scrape the look of perplexity off their faces if asked about that time Sim Thompkins and Aaron Lister Brown met in a ring. But tell them Young Peter Jackson and Dixie Kid squared off, and that might be speaking their language. 
Around the time of their meeting on December 26, 1904, nicknames and clever monikers were often ways to simply pay tribute to hometowns, ethnicity and even fighters of yesteryear who paved dangerous roads.

In this case, Young Peter Jackson's nickname was an homage to former "colored" heavyweight champion Peter Jackson, who waded through the heavyweight ranks, skin pigment unimportant, to have a respected boxing career. And that meant something to many, whether he realized it or not.

Jack Johnson, giant of both Galveston, Texas and black history, visited the grave of Jackson -- who had died of tuberculosis in 1901 -- in Brisbane, Australia shortly after seizing the heavyweight championship in 1908, as a nod of respect to one of his predecessors. 

On Jackson's grave marker reads simply, "This was a man."

Dixie Kid and Young Peter Jackson were among those who followed in the wake of such culture-bending and stereotype-destroying figures, merely trying to be men themselves. 

Throwback Thursday - Sam McVey Gets Revenge Decision Over Joe Jeannette

Sam McVey; Source

Around the dawn of the twentieth century, it wasn't at all uncommon for top black fighters to have fought each other a dozen or more times. Having been shut out of the title picture in various divisions time and again. Gimmicks were sometimes necessary to sell the fights, and when it came down to simply making a living as a fighter, any opponent would do just fine. 

 

Sam McVey and Joe Jeannette fought only five times -- a relatively short order compared to McVey's 15 times against Sam Langford and six against Harry Wills, or Jeannette's seven against Jack Johnson and 14 with Langford. 

 

These men essentially fought the best upper echelon fighters available, multiple times, and that is nearly unheard of in the current era of boxing.

Throwback Thursday - Sam Langford Dispatches Fireman Jim Flynn

 

Source: San Diego Union

The state of California enjoyed a passionate, on again, off again love affair with prizefighting, having been declared illegal, banned, re-allowed and compromised upon various times in every major Golden State city -- and all that since only 1900. 

When boxing's popularity would peak, many fights were contested over only a few rounds, and in some jurisdictions, decision verdicts weren't even legal. In others, it hinged on what the local police force felt like that day. Needless to say, it wasn't that often that 20 round fights were signed and allowed in a large, seemingly lawless city like San Francisco. 

It was prime geography for a brisk winter match up, though. 

By December of 1908, Sam Langford had ended a months-long fight tour of New York and Boston, during which he stayed undefeated. Fireman Jim Flynn couldn't exactly be described as "fresh," and he was about four months removed from getting stretched by Al Kaufman, but Langford sought big fights and none of the fish were biting. That's where Flynn came in.

Throwback Thursday - Pedlar Palmer and George Dixon Fight to a Short Draw

Pedlar "Box O'Tricks" Palmer; Source

The creation of a rivalry, or even a fistic foil character begins somewhere, and often the beginning doesn't capture the overall result of the series. Roberto Duran being knocked down and decisioned by Esteban De Jesus was shocking, maybe even overshadowing the fact that he was stopped twice as punishment; Ray Robinson's first meeting with Jake LaMotta ended in a relatively uneventful and, per reports, "unimpressive" decision win for Robinson. 

That first chapter in the story of these rivalries is still a necessary one, though, leading to significant chunks of boxing history that feed yet more punch-driven records. In this instance, two of the best fighters around, and two of the more notable really small fighters ever, crossed paths and sparked their own fuse, with Thomas "Pedlar" Palmer meeting George Dixon on January 30, 1896.

Palmer had just won over Billy Plimmer by DQ in November of 1895, in what is generally accepted as the first time a title changed hands by DQ. In the aftermath, the Idaho Statesman called Palmer a "world beater." The result was an unexpected one, and as Plimmer had previously beaten Dixon on points, a Palmer vs. Dixon showdown was a natural -- even as something akin to a six round exhibition. 

Throwback Thursday - "Shadow" Maber Thumps Danny Needham

William "Shadow" Maber; Source

Trying to nail down traits of the typical "old timey" boxing character seems easy enough: funny stance, some type of sash, badly-fitting trousers and an epic mustache. To plant the stereotype's roots deeper still, add a dash of  jail time to a pinch of bar fighting hooligan and you have the "American Dream" of the turn of the century. 

Australian character William "Shadow" Maber, who was the grandson of a pair of Irish and English convicts, calloused his knuckles in mining camps and small stake private bouts before making the sport his thing. 

Taken in by "Smiler" Hales, editor of the Sydney paper the Referee, Maber was something of a prospect, years before the concept really existed. The Los Angeles Herald reported that Hales had said in 1892, "...as I have always predicted in the Referee, I will yet bring Maber out champion light weight of the world. I know this is a big boast, but I do not know a man on earth who has his advantages who can fight strong at 9 stone 7 pounds. When we cut for the championship you can bet all the bad whisky in Australia (and that is a big bet) that he'll not give away a pound to any man, though at present Maber will meet a lot of these fellows up to 140 pounds."

Throwback Thursday - George "Elbows" McFadden Grinds Down Joe Gans

George "Elbows" McFadden

Often in eras past, grudge matches and rivalries weren't blood feuds that spanned years, or even a decade. Some were, but when fighters were content to meet one another multiple times in a year, deciding who the alpha was could be settled with fewer distractions and road blocks. 

George "Elbows" McFadden and Joe Gans had something of a Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez relationship, only perhaps with results reversed. Rather than a four fight series ending in a decisive stoppage of the bigger name, in the McFadden-Gans saga, the lesser-known pugilist made good on assisted naptime in the first meeting, and they finished 1-1-1. All three bouts were interesting affairs, though, matching styles that seemed to simply mix well, catching many an eye in the process -- just like in Pacquiao-Marquez.

The Jersey Journal said McFadden had a "splendid knowledge of the finer points of the game" in previewing the April, 1899 bout, while the Denver Post said of McFadden in their preview, "He has an impregnable defense, beside being a hard hitter. McFadden is also a crack-a-jack with the gloves."

Throwback Thursday - Mysterious Billy Smith Hammers Kid Lavigne

 
There exists a certain breed of nostalgia that fuels interest in eras long completed in boxing -- more specifically, the "Theodore Roosevelt, safari for fun, bending steel beams as a hobby" eras. The ones we generally only have pictures of, if we do at all. The men who boxed then hardly fought in what could be described as a "sport" or "game"; they required a kind of disdain for rules, safety and ethics that is purely alien to us now. 

Imagine a man whose rule-breaking and ferocity was too much even for that era. 

A 1992 article in The Ring magazine announced Smith as "The dirtiest fighter of all time." One can likely confirm without video evidence, though: Smith had lost five times by disqualification at the time of his scrap against Kid Lavigne in March of 1899. In one of those DQ losses, this time to Charles "Kid" McCoy, the Boston Herald said, "It looked as if knees, heads and teeth were being used, with Smith most to blame."

Throwback Thursday - Miguel Cotto Battles Ricardo Torres, Stops Him

Miguel Cotto revels in his hard fought win over Ricardo Torres; photo: AP

When Bernard Hopkins effectively ended Felix Trinidad's run as a world class fighter with an emphatic stoppage in 2001, a sort of vacuum of power was created in Puerto Rican boxing. Era after era, Puerto Rico essentially overachieved in the sport despite simply not being home to that many people. 

Carlos Ortiz and "Chegui" Torres paved the way for Wilfred Benitez, Esteban de Jesus and Wilfredo Gomez, who in turn saw Edwin Rosario and Hector Camacho climb the tangled vines of contender-ship and beyond. Felix Trinidad was the first Puerto Rican to demand the eyes, ears and respect of his people so completely in years, a fame cemented by defeating Camacho himself. And Bernard Hopkins took that away.

Throwback Thursday - Kelly Pavlik Sledgehammers Jermain Taylor, Gains Middleweight Title

A triumphant Kelly Pavlik after stopping Taylor (Ed Mulholland)

It all made sense. 

Bernard Hopkins more or less created a new line in middleweight title management by defeating Keith Holmes and unifying two belts, but he waited to order his official "Middleweight Champion" stationary after he'd made Felix Trinidad contemplate pugilistic existence. And Jermain Taylor ousted that younger version of Old Man Winter in 2005, albeit controversially. 

Forget that the four "major" belts, which had never all been held simultaneously, had been splintered and sent off to different homes like the children in some tragic divorce case; Jermain Taylor was THE middleweight champion.

Throwback Thursday - Julio Gonzalez, Cyborg, Decisions Julian Letterlough, Cyborg

Julio Gonzalez, shortly after winning his first belt from Dariusz Michaelczewski in 2003; Source

Just because a fight doesn't take home all sorts of awards, honors and palpable recognition, doesn't mean it wasn't good or even great. On odds alone, it's probable that there are untelevised matches all over the world that would overwhelm the system with adrenaline -- fights few know or care about aside from the fighters and some immediate family, that are nonetheless outstanding. 

In 2001, Micky Ward vs. Emanuel Burton took home "Fight of the Year" honors by almost everyone, including Ring Magazine. But another bout on ESPN's Friday Night Fights that season was a perfect storm of leather, canvas and ego. 

Julio Cesar Gonzalez was 25-0 (14 KO), and Julian Letterlough was 15-0-1 (15 KO). Both preferred to move forward and keep their punches free flowing, both had respectable power, and both lusted for wins in the face of danger. 

Throwback Thursday - Zack Padilla Braves Maelstrom, Takes Carlos Gonzalez's Belt

Zack Padilla before being inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011; Photo: San Gabriel Valley Examiner

Zack Padilla was already a local celebrity in his hometown of Azusa, Calif. By June 9, 1993. Having retired after a TKO loss to a journeyman named Dwayne Prim, Padilla was in the midst of a comeback that saw him headlining cards at the Irvine Marriott and fighting in co-featured bouts at the Great Western Forum and the Hollywood Palladium only a few fights in. 

We often hear from and about men who honestly declare that they were "born to fight." It's one of those phrases we've come to expect essentially every fighter to utter at some point, whether it's true or not. But fate has a peculiar way of correcting the mistakes of the stubborn and motivated. 

Throwback Thursday - Squinting James Toney Chops Up "Prince" Charles Williams

"Prince" Charles Williams, left, goes lateral courtesy of James Toney; Source

By 1994, the world had already known a few different versions of James Toney: the young prospect under crack-dealing manager Johnny Ace; the thoughtful lamb who would buy newer manager Jackie Kallen sweaters and diamond rings; the ultra-competitive lusus who would arbitrarily kick spectators and patrons alike out of the gym if someone looked at him cross-eyed.

L.A. Times writer Chris Dufresne said a few months after the Charles Williams bout, "So far... rage has paid Toney nice dividends. There is time later for therapy to purge his demons, to psychoanalyze how a man's father might come to shoot his mother six times while cradling a baby--James--in her arms."

Halloween Hostilities for the Ages

As air chills and begins to bite, year after year, the boxing "season" tends to heat up. Whatever the reason, the last part of the calendar year tends to be kind to boxing fans. Below are examples of that, and fights that just happened to unfold while the ghouls and zombies were meandering about, October 31.

Joe Gans DQ5 Jimmy Britt, 1904

In 1903, Britt initially refused to fight a non-white fighter for the lightweight title, and instead fought Willie Fitzgerald for the "white" lightweight title. Britt and his camp then went on to demand 60 percent of the purse against Gans win or lose, until lengthy negotiations -- that included $1000 put forth by the Gans camp to make sure that Britt's second, Spider Kelly, would be unable to offer audible advice to Britt while he was in the ring -- finalized the fight in early October. Britt had his way during the fight, timing Gans to the tune of four knockdowns. On the final knockdown in round 5, Gans was sent to the canvas by a body shot, and Britt rushed over to swat at him some more as he was down. When the referee moved to stop the fouling and declare a disqualification, insanity broke loose. Said the AP, "Britt was frantic with rage when he realized he had lost the fight, and he rushed at [referee] Graney, striking wildly. Graney, who is something of a boxer himself, fought back, but the police interfered and separated the belligerents."