I know if I hit anyone clean, they’re going out, and I feel as I’ve gotten older and gained more experience, my accuracy has become frightening. –Randall Bailey
By Ted Sares: I love to watch bombers duke; always have and always will–and if they are a bit “chinny,”all the better because the excitement index goes up. Take a guy like Alejandro Berrio whose excitement index (total number of KOs divided by total number of fights) is an astounding 97%. If he doesn’t’; get you, you get him.. Others like Antonio Pitalua, Alexis Arguello, Julian “The Hawk” Jackson, Tommy “Hitman” Hearns, Jaime Garza, and Gerald “G-Man” McClellan all had high KO percentages. They had the ability to stop a fight at anytime with one punch and that always means ultra excitement in my book. Sean O’Grady and Andy Ganigan had the knack as well. Heck, Ganigan even knocked out “Bubblegum” in 1981 when O’Grady was decked three times in the second round by the power punching “Hawaiian Punch.”
“Pajarito”
Ricardo “Pajarito” Moreno was a classic bomber. This Heavy handed Mexican flyweight was born in the small mining town of Chalchihuites in the state of Zacatecas on February 7, 1937.With no amateur experience; he relied on a two-fisted attack anchored by awesome power in either hand. Moreno was part of the Mexican bantamweight revolution which started in the ‘50s and included names like Jose (Toluco) Lopez, Jose Becerra, Raul (Raton) Macias, German Ohm, and later, Jose Medel. (See Mexico’s Bantamweight Sensations of the Fifties by Dan Cuoco, http://www. cyberboxingzone.com /boxing/ wail900_cuoco.htm).
“Little Bird” finished with an eye-popping slate of 60 (KO 59)-12 (KO 8)-1 and a KO percentage of 80.82 and an excitement index of 91.78%. His only win that wasn’t by KO was a disqualification victory. Pajorito was named to the Ring Magazine’s list of 100 greatest Punchers
Randall Bailey
Another bomber now appears to be on the way back. Hard hitting Randall “The Knock-Out King” Bailey turned pro in 1996 and won the WBO Light Welterweight Title in 1999 with a brutal first round KO in just 41 seconds over Carlos Gonzalez. He was 21-0 (with 13 first round icings) when he lost a razor thin SD to Ener Julio in mid-2000. Each of his prior wins had come by way of convincing stoppage. Some observers had even compared him to Tommy Hearns for the way in which he delivered his straight right hand power.
After the Julio shocker, he won four in a row including a KO win over Demeirio Ceballos for the Vacant WBA Light Welterweight Title, but was soon knocked out in the seventh by tough Cuban Disobeys “The Oriental Kid” Hurtado in his first title defense. Then, after a few more bouts against good opposition,, he was topped by Miguel Angel Cotto in 2004 with the WBO light welterweight title at stake.
Bailey then successfully regrouped 9no easy task for any fighter) and won seven in a row against stiff opposition including first round KOs of Santos Pakau and Juan Polo Perez. In 2006, he beat Shawn Gallegos for the IBA Intercontinental Light Welterweight Title. But on June 6, 2007, he “lost” a SD to Herman Ngoudjo in the Black Panther’s home town of Montreal in a decision that re-energized the term “home cooking.” Undiscouraged, Bailey ran off three more wins, the latest of which was a redemptive one against fading DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, former WBO light welterweight title holder. Corley beat Bailey in a 2003 world title fight in Washington, D.C., but this time the feared power puncher got his revenge with a dominant performance.
Bailey’s knockouts are usually vicious and often come early. He wastes no time in launching an onslaught of heavy and savage artillery. Many who attend his fights are often not even in the comfort of their seats when the end comes. He is able to take out opponents with classic left hooks to the body or with clean straight rights that hit with power of a poleax. If the fight goes past the second stanza, he goes into a stalk mode and more often than not makes the kill.
Randall Bailey and his manager Si Stern seem to have found the right combination. His defense has improved, his ring movement is spry, he has regained his swagger and confidence, and most importantly, his right hand power remains intact. With a record of 38-6 and an impressive KO percentage of 77%, “The Knock-Out King” may well be back into the light welterweight mix.
Sure, it’s been a while since he was a major factor, but the 34 year old Floridian can still rumble, and like other Bombardiers, an icing is always a distinct possibility. Don’t count him out.