By Paul Strauss: This challenge requires that you correctly guess the names of ten people based on the plain, straightforward, unembellished and unemotional facts provided. Okay, the facts might be a little bent and somewhat embellished, and remember, they do not have to be fighters.. Some of these characters also might generate a certain level of emotion (happy, sad, or even a bit of anger), and there is a hope readers will widen their scope of the sport while reading the deceivingly (lie) salient (notably significant) features of these distinguished individuals. If you correctly name between seven and ten, you yourself become notorious. Four to six correct picks means you probably haven’t had a date in quite a while, or your wife is mad at you.. Zero to three and you probably were an extra in a Stooges film.
1. Your first task involves identifying an individual who started late in the sport, but gained lofty heights. This is someone who came into his own during the mid 70s, and is still going pretty strong. His earlier flamboyancy is waning somewhat because of his age and tarnished reputation. In fact, if you ask three ringside judges to render a decision about this odd ball, you’d probably have a safe bet guessing there would be a unanimous decision that he is a loser. But, that wouldn’t dissuade him a bit, and in fact he would probably figure out a way to turn the negative decision around in his favor. Regardless, he undoubtedly would make money on the deal, and shield much of it from the tax man. Originally this fellow came from the mid-west. He dropped out of college, and became involved in illegal gambling activities. After doing some prison time, he decided to apply his particular skills to the fight game. However, he didn’t know much about it, but was audacious enough to approach the biggest name in the game at that time and convince him to do a deal. As they say in horse racing, he “…was off and running”, along with his relatives and cronies, who always managed to be on the payroll. One physical characteristic about this guy has often resulted in him being imitated and impersonated, even on the Simpsons.
2. The next one involves the main character type often written about in stories concerning troubled youth, who are discovered by some boxing mentor, rescued from his environment, who eventually makes good. However, this one is hardly typical, and goes far beyond the Floyd Patterson type saga. This lad didn’t have just one mentor, he had three, and all three were necessary to keep him in tow. They did a good job and had this kid knocking out bums left and right, jumping over their carcasses on his way toward the title. Early on though, there were signs, things (unusual and violent things) that occurred, some of which predictors of the more serious stuff to come. However, the trio’s efforts to contain the kid, and cover up or smooth over the problem areas were successful. This kid developed a reputation of being invincible. His opponents were said to be beaten before the fights started. He set records, reached the pinnacle of his sport, and then crashed harder than just about any fighter has crashed before or since. By this time all three mentors were out of his life. The crash that followed was so unusual, and so talked about that that one fight that precipitated it provided enough material for an entire book! A long-time and well respected journalist was once heard to say that he always tried to find something worthwhile about his subjects. However, with this individual, he said he failed to find one worthwhile thing, and as a result described this person as a “worthless human being”!
3. A big hint for you concerning this guy is he is more famous for his involvement with other sports, than he is with boxing. However, he has proved equally skilled at performing his job in all of them. His brother has probably reached greater heights in boxing than him, and on one of his jobs, he was replaced by his son. Our character was often quoted, and had an unusual style, and has been inducted into more than one Hall of Fame. However, just like our previous two picks, this fellow is not without notoriety. He has always been outspoken, which cost him at least one job, but which also made him popular with the talk show circuit. A little over ten years ago, he became “the focus of a media frenzy”. The subject of the frenzy included just about everything a perverted imagination might conjure up: sexual assault, phone sex, a three some, man in women’s underwear, biting, and on and on. Not surprisingly, he lost his job.
4. Here’s another one who was once thought to be invincible. Often his opponents were beaten before they entered the ring. For years title-holders avoided this behemoth. Finally, he got his chance, (against the better judgment of his opponents handlers), and he made good……..spectacularly good. Then to prove it was no fluke, he did it again, but the fans didn’t seem to care. They didn’t like him. There’s no record of exactly when this pug was born. His mother guessed his birth (her twelfth of thirteen children) to be the year of the Crash. He thought it was two years later? I’d bet on his mother! While a youth, this delinquent participated in all kinds on stuff, finally getting incarcerated for armed robbery. A Roman Catholic priest discovered his (boxing) potential, which got him out of jail early. After racking up titles in a year of fighting as an amateur, he turned pro. In his eighth pro fight, he suffered a broken jaw. The circumstances were hilarious though, as our tough guy was laughing so hard at his smaller opponent’s unorthodox ring tactics, he got clipped on the chin while his mouth was open and had his jaw broken. He still went the distance, but lost the eight round judges’ decision. He had two more fights with this joker, stopping him once, and winning by decision in the third. It was about this time that he served six months of a nine month sentence for assaulting a police officer. He was suspended from boxing for the remainder of the year. The next year he resumed his career, fighting eight more fights, then four more the following year, knocking out the number one challenger in three. However, he couldn’t get a title shot. His alleged ties to the mob were given as the reason. Here’s one last hint. You remember the much told story about Jack Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons fighting in the small mining town of Shelby, Montana, don’t you? Well, this fighter was involved in a title fight that took place at an equally unbelievable location. Plus, like the Dempsey versus Tunney Long Count, this one had a controversial and much debated ending.
5. This one might be the most interesting of them all. First of all, he came from a good family. “His parents had a stable, long-lasting marriage, and provided well for the family, and raised their other six-children without significant problems.” But, that didn’t stop our selection, because by the age of 14, he was already doing time in juvenile reformatory. He escaped and managed to avoid the authorities for a few years, and later joined the military. He pulled a tour of duty in Germany, and it was there he acquired a taste for boxing. He was a “bad apple” though, and was court-martialed for everything from insubordination to being AWOL. He finally was discharged as “unfit for military service”. When he returned home, he was arrested and forced to serve a ten month sentence for escape from the reformatory. When he got out, he continued with his criminal activities, which resulted in a four year prison sentence. He picked up on boxing again while in the joint, and when he came out, he turned pro. Soon Ring Magazine had him listed in the top ten. In hopes that I’m not giving this away, here’s one last clue. A movie was made about him.
6. This foreign born candidate for our list is also accustomed to prison garb. However, this fellow had more problems than just a tendency for crime. He was way past that, “claim(ing) he could see demons that would torment him.” His first stint in prison was for two months, but it hurt his reputation with promoters, who started to shy away from him. He did manage to get a shot at a highly respected defensive fighter, and succeeded in scoring a crushing knockout, but that was his last fight. Soon after that fight, he was arrested and sentenced to prison. He’s still there; although, he has come up for parole twice, but has been denied both times. This fighter was a favorite of announcer Max Kellerman, who thought enough of him to believe he could have been champion.
7. Any time I think of this guy, I think of his smile. It’s a pip! He and his younger brother were part of one of the USA best Olympic boxing teams. They continued with their success in the professional ranks too. However, our select tee moved too fast, and couldn’t handle the wine, women and song. In fact, he couldn’t even hang on to his drivers’ license. Not too many years removed from being on top, he was homeless. He regained some semblance of his career, and fought on way past his prime, never coming close to his early success. His younger brother avenged one of his humiliating losses. He now lives what he calls a comfortable life. He stays out of the lime-light, only occasionally showing up at ringside for big fights. He once commented that, “He wasn’t no educated fool.”
8. This guy is a little bit different. He never served any jail time, but he was never the less notorious, notoriously bad. But, that’s not how he started out. No, he was ballyhooed as the next greatest. One of his publicity runs said, “For breakfast (this guy) has a quart of orange juice, two quarts of milk, nineteen pieces of toast, fourteen eggs, a loaf of bread and a half pound of Virginia ham.” That sounds like it would satisfy a school of piranha. Yes, he was big. In fact, his nickname was the Ambling Alp. But, with that kind of hyperbole, it was obvious something was amiss, either with his handlers, promoter or both. As it turned out, the “fix was in” and this man mountain cut through a list of nobodies faster than Britney Spears can say, “Yes officer”. The stories about him continued, and got more and more incredible. The fighter was once ask this question,”What do you think about Los Angeles, and his response was, “I’ll take him in six!”
9. This guy is an all time favorite of many. He died at a relatively young age, but his professional skill is still considered some of the best ever. He was born in New York City, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. His birth name was Garfinkle, which he later changed. After the death of his mother, he was sent to a school for difficult children. It was in that school he first became introduced to boxing by the school’s principal. Unfortunately this youngster contracted several serious childhood diseases, which left his heart damaged, and limited his ability to participate in strenuous physical activity. However, he was able to give his body and soul in the ring under the name of Charley Davis, and who knows why, but maybe because of a criminal record, he also fought under the name Johnnie Bradfield. The worst blow he ever received though was outside of the ring when he was labeled a communist and black listed. His daughter said she thought that is what sent him to an early grave. He was only 39 years old.
10. This guy might be misplaced on this list, because it isn’t so much that he was notorious, as it is that he was simply one of the most unforgettable characters in and out of boxing. He fought 299 bouts, winning 223 and drawing in another 32, with 2 more that were no contests. That in itself makes him a pretty amazing character. He came by his toughness honestly, having grown up on the rough streets of Harlem. He was on a first name basis with the truant officer. An older brother helped straighten him out by introducing him to boxing. He went on to have a great career, and the famous writer Damon Runyon gave him a great nickname. He was extremely popular, and often was a guest at parties given by movie stars and even big time gamblers. Hollywood opened its doors to him, and he went on to act in more than a hundred films.
Hopefully you enjoyed this little quizzical escapade, and did well with your picks. If you didn’t, it doesn’t mean insomnia. So, for all you Rip Van Winkles, here are your answers: 1.) Don King – What we have HAIR is a failure to communicate, at least intelligibly. King has mangled more words than President Bush. The big name that helped King get started was none other than Muhammad Ali. He should be ashamed! 2.) Mike Tyson – What more can one say about Iron Mike. It’s all been said, photographed and written about. His loss to James Buster Douglas is considered one of the biggest upsets (42-1) in boxing history. On that night in Japan, Buster’s “proprioceptive” senses were going strong (look it up). His trio of mentors was Cus D’mato, Jimmy Jacobs and Zach Cayton. Cus and Jimmy died, and Cayton was forced out, Can you say Robin Givens! 3.) Marv Albert.- He started out in sports at the bottom, as a ball boy for the Knicks. Later in life he became the Voice of the Knicks. He announced everything from BB to Bowling, and initiated a new and unique style of announcing, and coined new phrases, such as: “Oh! A spec-TAC-ular move” (Michael Jordan). He also would jab his announcer partner Mike Fratello by calling him The Czar of the Telestrator. In addition, he started his own form of sports bloopers (Albert’s Achievement Awards), which he often would show and narrate on the David Letterman show. His brothers Al and Steve are both in the announcing business as well as his son Kenny. Marv’s moment of notoriety came in a highly publicized 1997 trial brought against him by his long time girl (sexual partner) friend. Accusations of all kinds of lewd and perverted behavior made him a laughing stock, along with his bad rug. DNA tests proved bite marks on her back came from his choppers. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery charges, and got a 12 month suspended sentence, along with the usual required counseling. NBC let him go, but two years later he was back. 4.) Sonny Liston – The Big Ugly Bear, as Cassius Clay called him, was always viewed as a thug, and someone in the pocket of the mob. Even after his total destruction (twice) of Floyd Patterson, the fans still didn’t like him, and stayed clear of him. In the first fight (a title defense) against Cassius Clay he committed a mortal sin for a champion. He quit on his stool. In the rematch in Lewiston, Maine (where?), he wilted like a wet noodle from the phantom punch. Angelo Dundee and Ali have steadfastly claimed there was (good) punch, and that it was a legitimate knockout. Phooey! If you will recall, referee Jersey Joe Walcott got all confused because of Ali’s failure to go to a neutral corner. When Liston got up, and before Walcott waived the fight over (at the suggestion of Ring Magazine’s Nat Fleischer), Ali threw several punches at Liston. None of them landed! Now does that seem likely if he had really been knocked out? It’s highly doubtful. Liston was someone who allegedly could be bought or coerced. 5.) Rubin “Hurricane” Carter – Everyone is familiar with the movie, starring Denzel Washington, made about his life, and particularly about his incarceration for three murders in 1966. Bob Dylan wrote a song about him called “Hurricane”. An Appeals Court determined Carter and his alleged accomplish did not receive a fair trial. The prosecutor declined to pursue a new trial, and in 1988, his office made a motion to have all charges dropped. After twenty-two years, Rubin was once again in the headlines. I never watched the movie, but I understand it depicts Carter getting stiffed by the judges in his title fight against Joey Giardello. For what it’s worth, I saw the film of that fight more than once, and I think Giardello legitimately deserved the win. 6.) Ike Ibeabuchi. He was on his way to the title after beating Tua, and setting a new “per round” punch record. It was after that fight that he started complaining about seeing demons that would torment him. According to a Wikipedia article, he abducted his girl friends son, and threw him into his car and drove straight into a concrete pillar. He served two months in jail, and paid an undisclosed amount of money to the boy’s family. In 1999 he crushed Chris Byrd, which proved to be his last fight. In 2001, he was convicted of raping an exotic dancer, who he had invited to his hotel room. He received a sentence of five to thirty years in Lovelock Correctional Center. (Lovelock! What the hell kind of name is that for a prison?) 7.) Leon Spinks His gap tooth smile was his most identifiable feature. Talk about a kid from the slums hitting the highest heights too soon, well he was that kid. During his amateur career, he was also a U.S. Marine, a true fighting marine, who along with his brother, and Sugar Ray Leonard brought boxing glory to the USA in the 1976 Olympics. After only seven pro fights, he found himself fighting the legend Muhammad Ali for the most prized title in all of sports. After he pulled off the upset, it was all down hill. It was really turning the kid loose in the candy store. 8.) Primo Carnera – This giant of a man was the subject of Budd Schulberg’s “The Harder They Fall”, starring Humphrey Bogart. Also in the movie were Rod Steiger (who played Charlie in “On the Waterfront”), and Jersey Joe Walcott. Carnera was probably one of our most unskilled heavyweight champions, but he did prove to have a champion’s heart, as demonstrated in his brutal defense against Max Baer, when he kept getting up after each knockdown. 9.) John Garfield – John made at least two of the great movies about boxing: “Body and Soul”, and “They Made Me a Criminal”. In 1934, he married Roberta Seidman, who was a communist. Although there was never any evidence John was a communist, he was still called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and because he refused to name anyone, was blacklisted. According to a Wikipedia, just before his death, he wrote an unpublished article describing how he had been duped by the communist ideology. The article was titled, “I Was a Sucker for a Left Hook.” He died of a broken heart. 10.) Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom. What a colorful character. Everyone loved him for his pug face, and his nasal mutilation of the English language. He was the perfect choice for casting as the boxer or bouncer. No acting was needed, only a script. He loved life and the parties, gambling and people in general. And they loved him back. Everyone wanted him around. He was a magnet for attention. He and Max “Madcap Maxie” Baer were partners in a restaurant. Can you imagine those two together? Wow, what fun! Unfortunately, those 299 fights eventually took their toll on him, and in his later years he suffered deterioration of his motor senses, sometimes called pugilistic dementia (or Paget’s Disease). He died at the age of 71.
(Resources: Wikipedia and IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base).