Sometimes the best Boxing Matches are not the ones that decide who wears the title belts but are fought by guys trying to get their chance at the Gold Ring.
On June, 11th 1999 Derrick Jefferson was an undefeated, 21 and 0, up and coming heavyweight. He was big, long-armed, had almost no defense, and punched like he was slinging bricks with both hands.
Maurice Harris was called, “The best nine loss fighter to be found in the sport,” by Jim Lampley during his prefight comments. Harris was a smallish heavyweight at 211 pounds to Jefferson’s 246. The tools Harris had to work with were a light heavyweight’s quickness and just enough power to hurt the big boys. At this point in his career he was known mainly for losing a decision to Larry Holmes that everyone but the judges saw him winning.
These guys were shooting for their chance at the big time. With guns fully loaded they came to show the world what they were all about. This is what took place.
Round-by-Round coverage:
Round 1.
Derrick Jefferson comes out charging straight ahead looking to decapitate Maurice Harris with his first punches. He gets clipped with a good left hook early. Jefferson is obviously stronger than Harris but he’s also much slower.
Harris is staggered near the end of the first. Both were throwing bombs the entire round.
Round 2.
Jefferson attacks at the bell looking to end the fight immediately tossing hard, wide punches. He lands several big shots, is countered then drops Harris with a monstrous left hook.
Derrick pounds Maurice around the ring with powerful body shots until he drops him again with a left uppercut.
Jefferson comes in to finish Harris and is dropped by a right hand.
They end the round exchanging huge punches.
Round 3.
It’s no surprise that Jefferson comes out charging. He appears to know only one way to fight and that way is straight ahead. He swings wide punches putting everything into his shots. He has no intention of this fight going the distance.
Derrick drives Maurice back with the sheer force of his punches, blocked or not.
Harris is landing good, hard body punches that Jefferson is reacting to. Harris hurts Jefferson with his body punches. He slows him down, follows that with a crisp left-right to the head and gets crunched with a right uppercut that snaps his head back sending his mouth piece flying.
Maurice Harris staggers.
Derrick Jefferson chases, throwing wildly. His mouth is open. He’s gasping for air.
Harris, seriously hurt gets a break when Referee Steve Smoger stops the fight to replace his mouth piece.
He survives to the end of the round.
Round 4.
Harris tries to move. Compared to the other rounds this one starts out tame with both guys attempting to box. At the 1:20 mark they start exchanging again.
Maurice Harris mouth piece is again sent flying.
They exchange big hooks with Derrick Jefferson displaying more power.
Round 5.
Jefferson comes out swinging wild. That’s the one plan he knows is working and he’s sticking with it.
Harris counters effectively with quick accurate shots but can’t seem to hurt the bigger, stronger Derrick Jefferson.
After Harris lands a huge right hand that Derrick Jefferson walks through, Color Commentator Roy Jones makes the statement, “That’s because of the weight differential.” When the other commentators question him about the size differences of Heavyweights Jones responds with, “Yeah, a fighter under 225 pounds can’t win the Heavyweight title again.”
Jefferson continues to charge, walking through Maurice Harris’ shots. He lands another big right.
They exchange punches until the bell.
Round 6.
Derrick Jefferson pursues and pounds Harris’ body.
Maurice Harris appears to be tiring for the first time. Out of desperation he fights back, throwing what he can. Harris is beaten down to the canvas at the 51 second mark with several shots capped off with a left hook to the liver.
He gets up.
Jefferson hurts him worse with another uppercut. Harris fights back and staggers Jefferson with a right to the side of the head.
Derrick Jefferson is driven back by a succession of hard punches until he uncorks a hellacious wild left hook that puts Maurice Harris down and out.
After the count is over and everybody knows Harris is OK Larry Merchant makes the statement, “This is one of the best Heavyweight fights we have seen in this decade.”
That’s why it is this Blogs’: Forgotten Classic.
The end of Harris VS Jefferson is on this Youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9Vrptx31_U
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Aftermath:
Neither Derrick Jefferson nor Maurice Harris ever reached the pinnacle of the Heavyweight Division.
After their epic encounter Derrick Jefferson lost his next two fights by TKO. Then he won a single fight against 7-7-1, opponent Marcus Johnson by TKO in 1. As is the case so often in the sport of Boxing the World Champion wanted a safe, easy title defense.
Wladimir Klitschko got what he ordered and crushed Derrick Jefferson in 2 rounds in 2001. That was as close as Jefferson ever got to a world title.
He fought 6 more times but never contended again. After losing by TKO in 2 to Da Varryl Williamson in 2005 he never fought again.
Maurice Harris is still an active fighter today. He’s won some and lost some and took a three year lay off after 2007. In 2010 Harris won 3 fights. In his most recent bout he outpointed Nagy Aguilera.
Whether or not Maurice Harris ever climbs to contender status again both he and Derrick Jefferson can be proud of the Classic Boxing Match they created in 1999. They both showed bravery, power and boatloads of heart.
They both showed all of us what being a fighter is about.
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A few words about-
Resurrection BLVD. The Complete First Season:
I found this DVD set at Big Lots for the low price of $6.00. It had a picture of a boxer on the front cover with his Mexican family behind him making serious faces. So I figured this has got to be fun as hell to watch.
The problem is Resurrection BLVD is fun for all the wrong reasons.
I’m only on episode 4 and so far the boxer on the cover, who’s a medical student, decides to drop out of school and fight for his family. He only had a few Golden Glove fights when he was a kid but after one month of training he takes on a come-backing ex-champion and beats the hell out of him.
One of the characters is a family member who is an ex-prizefighter so brain damaged that he can’t talk, can’t eat, or use the bathroom by himself. He kind of grunts or mumbles most of the time with a blank expression on his face and acts like he has the mind of a three year old. At the end of one of the episodes, like a superhero dark avenger he tosses a guy over the side of a bridge who has been giving his teenage niece a hard time.
The fighter on the cover is trained by his father and brother. The father and brother get all pissed off at their new, big-shot promoter because for the 2nd and 3rd fights of his career the Promoter lines up two past their prime journeymen type opponents. They want their family member to be moved up immediately into contender status.
(If this is how they how they want this kid’s career handled do we have to even ask why the other family member got his head beat soft for him?)
Is this ridiculous?
Hell yes it is!
Is it an insult to Boxing fans?
It was an insult to this Boxing fan.
I can’t believe that anyone writing for this Showtime series wouldn’t do at least a little bit of research on the sport of Boxing since Boxing does seem to play a pivotal role in this storyline.
It’s like they didn’t have a clue about the realistic portrayal of how a Boxing Career should be built or the effects of Pugilistic Dementia.
At $6.00 for 20 episodes I guess it is worth what I paid for it. The acting is very good. It does have some interesting moments, most of them probably unintentional. It’s kind of like a Mexican soap opera with prizefights thrown in. It’s a good diversion after a hard day at work. Don’t think if you’re going to watch this series.
If you can find this series very cheap, buy it.
If you can’t, you paid too much.
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Boxing quote of the day: “Nobody hits harder than Shavers. If somebody did, I’d shoot him.” —Tex Cobb on Earnie Shavers.
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B.L. Morgan is the author of Blood and Rain, Blood for the Masses, Blood on Celluloid and Night Knuckles through Speaking Volumes. http://speakingvolumes.us/authors_ebooks.asp?pid=79
He is also the author of Blood and Bones & You Play, You Pay through StoneGarden.net Publishing.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!