Wolgast, Rivers and the double knockout drama

07/02/201507/02/2015 Mike Dunn

By Mike Dunn: One of the most controversial title fights took place on the Fourth of July, 1912, in Vernon, Calif., near Los Angeles. Popular local favorite Mexican Joe Rivers – who wasn’t Mexican at all but a fourth-generation Californian of Spanish-Native American descent whose real name was Jose Ybarra – challenged rugged lightweight champ Ad Wolgast in a fight that would forever be known for the rarest of all fistic occurrences – a double knockout – and for the subsequent shocking actions of the ref enabling Wolgast to retain the title.

Rivers was a formidable challenger, having dispatched of both Johnny Kilbane (KO 16) and Frank Conley (KO 12) to earn his shot at the crown in the open-air Vernon Arena before 11,000 witnesses that hot Independence Day.

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Mike Tyson – The 1980s

06/30/2015 James Forster

Michael Gerard Tyson was born in Brooklyn, New York, on the 30th of June 1966. His upbringing came on the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville, the latter in particular a dangerous landscape littered with abandoned tenements. His single parent mother had children but no husband and little money. Tyson remembers her as a person incapable of much affection. At 12-years-old Tyson is carrying a gun, mixed up with drugs and violence, and running with the wrong crowd although – as he remembers – there was no other life available to people like him. Or so it seemed.

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Remembering Lamon Brewster’s electrifying destruction of Andrew Golota

07/06/202205/21/2015 James Slater

Ten years ago today, a U.S heavyweight who is best remembered these days for being the last man to defeat the mighty Wladimir Klitschko, scored one of his most ruthless and impressive wins. In Chicago, “Relentless” Lamon Brewster, defending his WBO heavyweight strap, annihilated troubled Pole Andrew Golota inside a single minute of action.

Some interesting facts about the fight:

31-year-old Brewster was sporting a 31-2 record and he was making the second defence of the WBO title he had won by stopping Klitschko in shocking fashion the previous April. Golota was 37-years-old and his record read 38-5-1. The shot at Brewster was generally seen as Golota’s last chance at winning a title and of him living up to his earlier potential.

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Peltz Remembers Gene Fullmer

04/28/2015 Peltz Boxing

Photo: IBHOF – Former world middleweight champion Gene Fullmer passed away April 27 at the age of 84. Promoter J Russell Peltz, International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2004, recalls watching Fullmer on television as a kid.

I hated Gene Fullmer! He was one of the first fighters I saw when I began watching boxing on television with my dad when I was 13. This was late in 1959 and I remember seeing Fullmer defend his National Boxing Association (NBA) title against Spider Webb from the Cow Palace in San Francisco. I thought it was dreadful.

Fullmer was all shoulders and elbows and he had no style, just a bull rushing in, falling into unorthodox clinches, grabbing, turning, twisting, doing anything to disrupt the flow of the fight.

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Billy Miske – A Champion Forever

04/04/201504/04/2015 Bill Bradshaw

With less than a month to go to the biggest bout in boxing history, some pundits have taken to reflecting on the past when it comes to finding quality opposition for the men of May 2nd. Perhaps it’s just another symptom of a sport in decline, but the fantasy fight is in full swing and scribes have pitted the silky skills of Mayweather against those of the Sugar Ray’s, Sweet Pea Whitaker and the truly brilliant ‘Homicide Hank’ himself Henry Armstrong. Likewise, the question has been asked as to how Manny Pacquiao would have fared against Roberto Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez and the sadly late and flamboyantly great Hector Comacho Sr. I tend not to contemplate such match-ups. They’re called fantasy fights for a reason and the best we can do is to remember past fighters with the respect that they deserve. May 2nd will establish a champion on the night but boxing history is star studded with ring legends and we shouldn’t need a mega bout to recall their names. Even in the long list that spring to mind, there are those whose stories transcend the sport that made them and none…certainly none that I know of…capture the nobility of the fighting spirit more than the ‘The Saint Paul Thunderbolt’ Billy Miske.

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Muhammad Ali: Portrait of a Champion – Book Excerpts

02/25/2015 Scoop Malinowski

An abstract portrait of legendary boxing champion Muhammad Ali, uniquely composed of memories, anecdotes, interviews, personal encounters, insider stories, artwork, photos, sketches, etc. 220 pages.

BOOK EXCERPTS
Bob Foster (Ali opponent and former Light Heavyweight champion): “I was on the same card at Caesars with Muhammad Ali. He fought Jerry Quarry and I was fighting his brother Mike Quarry (billed as “The Quarry Brothers vs. The Soul Brothers”). Before the fights that night, Ali bet me $1,000 that he could stop Jerry Quarry before I could stop Mike. I said, ‘I’ll take that bet.’ Because I knew Ali couldn’t punch that hard. And Jerry was tough. I ended up winning the bet. I knocked Mike Quarry out with one shot. And Ali paid me too. ‘Cause he knew if he didn’t, I’d have kicked his ass, right there in Caesars Palace!”
　
Mrs. Deanna Dempsey (Wife of former Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey): “We met Muhammad Ali in San Juan, Puerto Rico after he beat Jean-Pierre Coopman in 1976. He was young and handsome and vital and so full of life. After the fight, as he was coming down the steps from the ring, Ali spotted Jack and he said, ‘Mr. Dempsey, can I call you Jack?’ Jack said, ‘Everybody calls me Jack.’ Then Muhammad said, Oh Jack, you were the greatest!’ And Jack said, ‘But Muhammad, I thought you always said YOU were the greatest?’ Ali said, ‘Jack. When I say I’m the greatest, it’s all bullshit!'”

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Iran Barkley speaks about his epic fight with Roberto Duran, over 25-years on

02/25/201502/24/2015 James Slater

On this day 26 years ago, inside a packed Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey, two bitter middleweight rivals went to war over 12 absolutely thrilling rounds.

Outside, snow covered the ground thanks to a blizzard, yet inside the arena the heat was scorching. WBC middleweight ruler Iran Barkley fought a thought to be faded legend in Roberto Duran and the fans in attendance witnessed both a modern day classic and a renaissance.

For all 12 ‘don’t-blink’ rounds, the 28-year-old and the 37-year-old went to war, with a number of unforgettable highlights and a ton of terrific action on display through the 36-minutes. In the end, old “Hands of Stone” prevailed via a somewhat controversial upset split decision, relieving “The Blade” of his green belt.

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Remembering a classic: Kevin Kelley and Troy Dorsey go to war in featherweight showdown

02/18/201502/18/2015 James Slater

On this day in 1992, two featherweights met in New York and engaged in a fierce fight that severely tested the mettle of both men. In fact, both Kevin Kelley of Flushing in New York and Troy Dorsey of Mansfield, Texas threw so much leather, fans could have been forgiven for thinking it was going out of fashion.

Entering the bout, Dorsey, the former IBF featherweight ruler and a natural warrior who had cut his teeth as a world class kick boxer, was the older man by five years at age 29. Sporting a 12-4-4 record, Dorsey was to be the 26-0 Kelley’s first big test. And how the teak-tough Texan tested the slick southpaw from Queens.

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True Greatness! Julio Cesar Chavez

02/12/201502/12/2015 James Smith

It was a whirlwind 48 hours, not with Eddie Murphy but with Mexico’s greatest fighter ever, the incomparable Julio Cesar Chavez at his homeland in Culiacan, a city in northwestern Mexico. Julio is an all time great, a master in the ring, a hall of famer, a true legend in boxing and, most importantly, a hero to his people in Mexico.

Julio Cesar Chavez was being honored by the Culiacan people with a huge, 11½ ft. raised statue of him placed in one of the city’s most visited areas. Celebrities and thousands of fans joined the festivities and we were there.

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Douglas Upsets Tyson – 25 Years Ago Today

02/12/201502/11/2015 John G. Thompson

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the biggest upset in boxing history, and quite possibly the entire history of sports. Twenty-three year old “Iron” Mike came into the fight with an incredible record of 37-0, with all but four bouts ending by way of knockout – most in the early rounds. Along the way, Tyson had picked up the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight titles, making him the undisputed heavyweight champ and one of (if not the most) feared boxers in the history of the sport. His opponent James “Buster” Douglas came into the fight at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan with a 29-4-1 record, and had been knocked out three times in prior bouts.

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