By Mike Silver

On September 23, 1952, in Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium, Jersey Joe Walcott defended his heavyweight crown against challenger Rocky Marciano. During the seventh round of a thrilling fight a caustic substance got into Marciano’s eyes. He returned to his corner blinking and squinting. “There’s something in my eyes, they’re burning.” Freddie Brown, one of the best corner men in the business, sponged Rocky’s eyes with copious amounts of water, giving the challenger some relief. But the burning began again in the eighth round. At the bell Rocky returned to his corner in obvious distress, telling his trainer Charley Goldman, “My eyes are getting worse. Do something, I can’t see.” Goldman and Freddie Brown continued to douse his eyes. Al Weill, Marciano’s volatile manager, was beside himself. Leaving the corner he approached referee Charley Daggert and pleaded with him to investigate Walcott’s gloves and shoulders. The referee waived him back to the corner.

If there was something illegal going on in Walcott’s corner Weill’s complaining must have gotten someone’s attention because by the end of the 10th round Rocky’s eyes have cleared and his vision returned to normal.

After 12 brutal rounds Walcott was ahead in the scoring. Unless Rocky can win by a knockout he will lose the decision. Less than a minute into the 13th round Marciano connects with a devastating right cross to Walcott’s chin and one of the greatest heavyweight title fights of all time comes to a sudden and dramatic ending.

The kinescope of the closed circuit telecast lends credence to the belief that Walcott’s gloves were doctored.

Was there foul play in Philly? The kinescope of the closed circuit telecast lends credence to the belief that Walcott’s gloves were doctored. At the end of the sixth round the camera shifts to Walcott’s corner and if you watch closely you can see Felix Bocchiccio, Walcott’s manager, rubbing Walcott’s left and right gloves as if he is applying something. Was this just a nervous reaction? I think not. The action looks too deliberate. After the eighth round the camera again follows Walcott to his corner. As soon as he sits down we see Bocchiccio leaning through the ropes and he again rubs Walcott’s right glove for at least six seconds in a circular motion before the camera moves over to Rocky’s corner. (My personal kinescope copy clearly shows this but for some reason it has been cut from the version available on YouTube). Just before the bell rings to begin the ninth round the camera moves back to Walcott’s corner and we again see his manager quickly rub Walcott’s gloves and then wipe his hands on the fighter’s stomach and trunks, as if trying to remove something. This part is included on the current YouTube version. Could the substance just be Vaseline? It’s doubtful. There is no reason to apply Vaseline to a fighter’s gloves in the midst of a fight.

Rocky never believed Walcott was aware of anything illegal going on in his corner. “He was too wrapped up in the fight (to notice),”

Rocky Marciano always believed that Jersey Joe’s manager had rubbed a hot, irritant salve—perhaps a capsicum ointment—on Walcott’s gloves and upper body. Rocky had good reason to suspect foul play. Felix Bocchicchio had resurrected Jersey Joe’s career and put him on the road to the championship, but he was also a well-known gambler and an organized crime figure in Philadelphia and New Jersey with a rap sheet dating back to 1925.  Rocky never believed Walcott was aware of anything illegal going on in his corner. “He was too wrapped up in the fight (to notice),” Marciano said. “He was too great a champ to go along with something like that. They wouldn’t tell him. But somebody did it, because I know what was happening to my eyes.” Peter Marciano, Rocky’s brother: “Rocky believed he was blinded intentionally until the day he died. He spoke of it often.” After he retired as undefeated champion Rocky accused Bocchicchio of rubbing the substance on Walcott’s gloves and upper body in a story published in the Saturday Evening Post in October 1956. Walcott’s manager sued for libel. A Pennsylvania jury believed the allegations and found in favor of the Post.

In Liston’s corner his principal seconds are two men whose home base just happens to be the City of Brotherly Love.

Now let’s jump ahead to February 25, 1964.  The scene is the Miami Beach Auditorium. Cassius Clay, a 7 to 1 underdog, is about to challenge heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. It’s not Philadelphia, but it might as well be. In Liston’s corner his principal seconds are two men whose home base just happens to be the City of Brotherly Love: Joe Polino, a well-known trainer and corner man, and former heavyweight contender Willie Reddish, Sonny’s chief trainer.

As the fourth round came to a close it was apparent that the odds did not reflect what was taking place in the ring. The challenger appeared quite capable of pulling off a huge upset. But near the end of the round Clay looked pained and began to blink furiously. He returned to his corner in an agitated state. “Cut the gloves off!” screamed young Cassius whose eyes felt like they were burning up. A caustic substance of unknown origin had somehow gotten into Clay’s eyes just as he seemed to be taking charge of the fight. The very capable and experienced Angelo Dundee, Clay’s trainer and chief second, kept a cool head. He sponged the stricken fighter’s eyes in an attempt to wash away whatever was causing the problem. At the bell to begin the fifth round Clay was still complaining. “I can’t see. We’re going home.” “No way” answered Dundee. “Get in there and fight. If you can’t see, keep away from him until your eyes clear. This is the big one. Nobody walks away from the heavyweight championship.” Dundee shoved him out of the corner.

Even though he was fighting half blind Clay incredibly was able to survive the round despite Liston’s best efforts to render him unconscious. Swaying and shifting like an Indian rubber man Clay instinctively avoided most of Liston’s punches. It was an amazing display by an extraordinarily talented 22-year-old athlete.

In the following round, with his vision improved, Clay dominated Liston, landing dozens of unanswered punches. The exhausted and demoralized champion returned to his corner at the end of the sixth round a tired and beaten fighter. Claiming an injured shoulder he told his seconds he could not go on. Cassius Clay—soon to be renamed Muhammad Ali—became the 22nd heavyweight champion of the world.

There is strong reason to believe that someone in Liston’s corner tried the same illegal methods used in the Marciano-Walcott fight to influence the outcome…

Conclusion: There is strong reason to believe that someone in Liston’s corner tried the same illegal methods used in the Marciano-Walcott fight to influence the outcome by temporarily blinding Clay. When asked his opinion Angelo Dundee, ever the diplomat, said that a substance used to treat Liston’s cut under his eye must have accidentally gotten into Clay’s eyes. But couldn’t it have gotten into Liston’s eyes as well, and why would anyone choose to treat an eye cut with a caustic substance in the first place?

Eddie Machen told reporters, “The same thing happened to me when I fought Liston in 1960.

Two days after the fight heavyweight contender Eddie Machen told reporters, “The same thing happened to me when I fought Liston in 1960. I thought my eyes would burn out of my head, and Liston seemed to know it would happen.” He theorized that Liston’s handlers would rub medication on his shoulders, which would then be transferred to his opponent’s forehead during clinches and drip into the eyes. “Clay did the worst thing when he started screaming and let Liston know it had worked,” said Machen. “Clay panicked. I didn’t do that. I’m more of a seasoned pro, and I hid it from Liston.”

Years later Joe Polino, Liston’s assistant trainer, told Philadelphia Daily News reporter Jack McKinney what actually happened.

According to Polino, in between the third and fourth rounds, Sonny had told him to “juice the gloves.” Polino said they were always ready to do that if Sonny was in real danger of losing. He admitted they had done it in Liston’s fights with Eddie Machen and Cleveland Williams. He said it was a stinging solution but did not specify what was in it.

According to McKinney, “Polino told me that he put the stuff on the gloves at Sonny’s express instructions and then threw the stuff under the ring apron as far as he could.” McKinney also added, “Joe himself felt so conflicted over this. He’d been sucked into it, but he knew if he ever came clean he would never work again.”

…both Walcott and Liston were handled by Philadelphia boxing people.

In each of the above scenarios the heavyweight champion of the world was facing defeat. It appears that desperate and illegal measures were taken by someone in the champion’s corner to influence the outcome. The other common denominator is that both Walcott and Liston were handled by Philadelphia boxing people. Philadelphia was home base for Blinky Palermo, the notorious fight fixer and longtime godfather of the city’s boxing scene. Blinky operated freely in Philly but was banned in New York State. This is not to say that he was involved in either incident (in fact he was in jail in 1964) just that Philadelphia was no stranger to boxing scandal considering who had been in charge for many years. Fight fans with long memories remember the notorious incident involving Harold Johnson, who claimed he was drugged after someone had given him a “poisoned orange” just before he stepped into a Philadelphia ring to face Cuban heavyweight Julio Mederos in 1955. Johnson, the betting favorite, was stopped in the second round. Professional boxing was suspended in Philadelphia for six months following the incident.

Perhaps because Marciano defeated Walcott to win the title the matter was not pursued by Weill or anyone else. There was no investigation by Pennsylvania boxing officials into the possibility that Walcott’s gloves were doctored. Florida officials were even more lax in the aftermath of the Clay-Liston bout. Florida didn’t even have a state boxing commission. Instead, local municipalities (in this case Miami Beach) ran the show. The only investigation that took place concerned the veracity of Liston’s claim that he injured his shoulder, which may have been bogus or exaggerated, but could not be proven.

The nefarious attempts to alter the course of boxing history failed…

Both Rocky Marciano and the fighter then known as Cassius Clay were destined for greatness. The nefarious attempts to alter the course of boxing history failed because Clay’s amazing speed, reflexes and uncanny athletic instincts enabled him to survive the fifth round. The attempt to foil Marciano was also unsuccessful because of the Rock’s almost super human toughness and determination. For three full rounds Marciano could barely see the target in front of him yet he kept attacking in his relentless way, bringing the fight to Walcott despite taking punches that would have stopped most heavyweights in their tracks. On that night it would have taken more than the two fists of a mortal being, let alone a “caustic solution”, to defeat the indestructible “Brockton Blockbuster.”

Article is excerpted from “The Night the Referee Hit Back: Memorable Moments from the World of Boxing” by Mike Silver (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2020).

Remembering Jerry Quarry
How Would He Have Fared Against
George Foreman?

By Bobby Franklin

Jerry Quarry would have turned 77 years old this year. Unfortunately, the ravages of too long a career in the ring led to Jerry developing severe dementia and he passed away at the early age of 53 in 1999. Though what happened to him is not uncommon, it is still tragic to think of just how badly he ended up. There are a lot of what ifs in Jerry’s life, but the biggest one is what if he had retired much earlier and followed a promising career as a boxing commentator? He excelled at the job with his keen insight, pleasant demeanor, and articulate use of language. Make no mistake, Jerry Quarry was as talented outside of the ring as he was in the squared circle.

When looking at his record you see an outstanding career. He had a total of 66 fights over 23 years against the best in the heavyweight division. He first retired in 1975 after being stopped by Ken Norton. Two years later he made a comeback but clearly was only a shell of his former self. After three wins in which he looked terrible he wisely hung up the gloves again.

In 1992, 9 years later, while showing signs of advanced dementia, he was talked into having another fight. It is sickening to watch the film of this fight in which he took on Ron Cramer, a fighter with a 3/4/1 record. It would be Jerry’s last fight and that bout tells all anyone needs to knows about the slime that infest boxing.

Out of his 66 fights Quarry lost only 9 time. The ugly loss to Cramer should not even be counted. Of the other 8 defeats, two were at the hands of Muhammad Ali and two by Joe Frazier. Ken Norton, Jimmy Ellis, George Chuvalo, and Eddie Machen were the only other men to defeat Jerry.

The Chuvalo loss was, to stay the least, odd. Machen beat him when he was on the way up and that was a story of experience over youth. I recently wrote about the Ellis fight. Jerry was at the end of his A game against Norton.

So much for the losses. His victories were exciting and outstanding. After the Machen fight he improved and beat Brian London and Alex Miteff. He then went on to fight a draw with former Champion Floyd Patterson. This is the fight that caused people to take a closer look at the young heavyweight from Bakersfield, California. The Patterson fight earned him a spot in the WBA Tournament to find a successor to Muhammad Ali. There he was matched once again against Patterson whom he defeated.

Next he stopped Thad Spencer and then had the disappointing decision loss to Jimmy Ellis. Jerry came back from that loss to score five straight wins culminating in a victory over Buster Mathis. That earned him a shot at Joe Frazier for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1969. Joe was just too much for a very courageous Quarry who was stopped in the 7th round. He would lose a rematch with Frazier in 1974.

Frazier and Muhammad Ali were two hurdles Jerry could never get over, but he did show outstanding ability when matched up against the most ferocious punchers of the era.

In 1970 he took on undefeated Mac Foster who had kayoed all 24 of his opponents. Jerry dismantled the hard punching Foster in six rounds. In 1971 he took on undefeated Ron Lyle who had knocked out 17 of his 19 opponents. And that same year he completely obliterated Earnie Shavers in one round. Shavers had kayoed all but one of the 45 men he had defeated.

Based on the Shavers, Lyle, and Foster fights it has to be asked how Jerry would have done against an up and coming George Foreman? Word was that the Foreman camp wanted nothing to do with Quarry. His outstanding chin and excellent counter punching which he used so well against the other big punchers would have proved a serious problem for George. I believe he had the movement and power to beat Foreman and I think it would have looked similar to the Mac Foster fight where Jerry methodically took his opponent apart.

It’s a shame that fight never took place. My money would have been on Quarry. Next to Frazier and Ali, he was arguably the best heavyweight of the early 1970s. When you remember Jerry Quarry remember him for the great boxer he was. He was a credit to the sport, though boxing never returned the favor to him.

Carter Vs Mims

Learning While Fighting

By Bobby Franklin

Recently, I watched the 1962 fight between Ruben Hurricane Carter and Holly Mims. The fight took place on December 22, 1962 at Madison Square Garden. It is a highly interesting bout to watch. In it you can see how Carter had to adapt from depending on his powerful punch in order to deal with the wily veteran Mims.

Carter’s original opponent for that night was Gomeo Brennan. Brennan pulled out the morning of the fight when he woke up with a head cold. A call was put in to Mims who lived in Washington, DC and he agreed to fill in for Brennan. He caught a flight to NY and by that evening was in the 

ring facing the hard punching Carter.

Mims was a savvy boxer and was always in shape. he had fought just a month earlier. However, stepping in with short notice against such strong opponent may not have seemed like a wise move. Of course, it could also be argued that in what was only his 16th bout Carter may have been smart to avoid such a ring wise veteran as Mims who could make him look bad even if Carter won. It actually proved to be a good move on Ruben’s part even though Holly gave him all he could handle.

Two months earlier Carter had destroyed Florentino Fernandez in the first round with a devastating knock out. Carter had raw power and a solid chin, but was he beginning to rely too much on that power to score victories? That is the curse of the heavy hitters. They get lazy when it comes to learning the finer points of the game. The list of promising superstar punchers who never quite made it because of this lack of learning is a long one.

This is where the Mims fight showed a lot about Carter. Ruben was the favorite going into the match. The odds were large in his favor probably due to the fact that Mims only had a few hours notice before taking the fight. Holly had 82 fights at that point in his career and had never been stopped. Ruben was in only his 16th fight. Eleven of Carter’s victories were by kayo with the Fernandez stoppage putting him on the fistic map.

Mims came into the fight with 59 wins, 23 losses, and 6 draws. He had been fighting since 1948 and had faced the likes of Joey Giardello, Rocky Castellani, Spider Webb, George Benton, and Henry Hank. 

When the bell rang in the Garden that night Carter came out in explosive fashion. Memories of his destruction of Fernandez were still fresh in his mind, and he probably felt he could repeat what he did that night. He did hurt Mims, and for a moment it looked as if he would score an early kayo. However, Mims was no Fernandez. He was a complete fighter who knew how to handle any situation in the ring. When hurt, he knew how to cover up, how to hold, how to fight back and let his opponent know he’d better not get too wild or he will pay a price. 

Carter was not able to pull off a first round victory, but he kept the attack up in the second round. By now Mims was figuring Ruben out and was hitting him with beautiful jabs from a distance, and when Carter would get within power punch range, Holly would move in close where he was the superior in-fighter. 

In the fourth round Mims dropped Carter with a left hook right hand combination  near the ropes. Carter was up immediately, but he had been shaken. He didn’t see this coming and you can see by his face he was recalculating his strategy. At the end of the round he tapped Mims on the shoulder in a sign of respect for the veteran.

Starting in round five Carter showed he was more than just a powerful puncher. He had the mind of a good boxer. He came out shortening up his shots. He had been made to pay for swinging too widely, but what differentiated him from so many other punchers, he was able to adapt mid-fight. It turns out he had more than a punch, he had the mind of a good boxer. Sure, Mims was still frustrating him, but he didn’t allow that to discourage him as so many others would have. 

Watching this fight is a pleasure for a couple of reasons. First, you get to see the brilliant boxing of Holly Mims. He is amazing in the ring. The term “educated left hand” could have been coined just for him. He was the consummate counter-puncher, could fight in close and at long range with equal skill, and was very difficult to hit with a solid blow.

With Carter you see a young fighter developing right before your eyes. After he was dropped in the 4th round he could have let his frustration take hold and he would have lost. Instead, he realized he had to do something different, and he did even if that meant having to give up on scoring a knockout. 

Ten rounds in the ring with Holly Mims was like going to boxing graduate school for Carter.

Ruben Carter won a unanimous decision that night, one he worked hard for. Even if he had lost the fight to Mims it would have been worth it for what he learned that night. Ten rounds in the ring with Holly Mims was like going to boxing graduate school for Carter. He came out of that fight a much better fighter than he was going in. 

In 102 career fights Holly Mims was only stopped once, and that was on cuts and near the end of his career. In 40 fights Carter was also stopped only once, and that was also on cuts. Mims was not known as a puncher having only scored 13 knockouts in his career. Carter will always be remembered as a knockout artist having scored 19 knockouts in his 27 victories. Both will be remembered as being fighters who were next to impossible to kayo.

Watch the Mims/Carter fight, then watch it again. It is a very interesting fight and you will not only be entertained by it, you will learn a lot from it.

Carlos Ortiz

One Of The Last Of The

Golden Age Champions 

Answers His Final Bell

By Bobby Franklin

Carlos Ortiz passed away on June 13th at the age of 85. Born in 1936 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Carlos began fighting professionally at the age of 18. Well schooled, he was a superb boxer/puncher who certainly rates up there with the best lightweights of all-time.

Ortiz turned pro in 1955 and Ortiz had a record of 28 wins suffering just one defeat over the first three years. That loss was to Johnny Busso in1958. He beat Busso in a rematch three months later. In 1959 he got a shot at the vacant Light Welterweight Title. In a bout against Kenny Lane Carlos won recognition as the new champion. 

He defended the belt winning by a tenth round knockout over Battling Torres in 1960. Next, he took on  the Italian champ Duilio Loi. The fight took place in California. Loi came in to the fight with 102 wins against just 2 losses. In a close fight Ortiz won a majority decision. This was only Carlos’s 35th fight and he was in there with an extraordinary fighter. 

Ortiz was so confident he could improve on his performance that he agreed to a rematch in Italy just three months later. This fight also ended with a majority decision but in Loi’s favor this time. The two met once more  in 1961. Again fighting in Italy with Loi winning a unanimous decision.

After the second loss to Loi, Carlos began fighting as a lightweight. In 1962 he challenged the great Joe Brown for the title. Ortiz won convincingly and his reign as champion began.

In 1965 he lost the crown to Ismael Laguna but won it back the following year. He would continue as champion until 1968 when he was defeated by Carlos Teo Cruz. Despite having lost by a split decision, Ortiz did not fight for  the championship again. He went into semi-retirement and fought only once over the next three years. That fight being a win against Edmundo Leite in November of 1969.

Carlos retired after that fight, but then made a comeback in 1971. As with so many fighters, he had fallen on hard times. Now 35 years old he was long last his prime but still felt he could win back the lightweight crown. 

After winning nine straight fights he was matched against Lightweight Champion Roberto Duran in a non-title fight on the undercard of the second Patterson/Ali fight in New York. Duran came down with the flu and dropped out of the fight a week before it was scheduled to happen. Former Champ Ken Buchanan stepped in to take his place.

The match turned out to be one sided. Father time had caught up with the great champion. Ortiz, exhausted, retired after the 6th round. He gave it all he had but just could not turn the clock back. It was the only time he was stopped in 70 fights. When interviewed after the fight a candid Carlos said 

“This was definitely my last fight. I started tiring in the 4th round. And I realized after the 6th that I couldn’t go on and I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. I was in the best shape I could have been. Time just caught up with me.” 

Boxing historian and author of The Arc of Boxing, Mike Silver knew Carlos well. I reached out to him for his thoughts on Ortiz, the man and the boxer. Here’s what he had to say:

Mike Silver remembers Carlos Ortiz: Carlos Ortiz’s storied career represents so much in boxing that has been lost over the past two generations. He was among the last of the great “golden age” champions and contenders who turned professional in the decade after World War II and achieved a level of skill that evoked admiration from the old-time trainers who’d seen every great lightweight champion since the 1920s. He was a consummate boxer and ranks as one of the greatest lightweight champions of the 20^th century, up there with Leonard, Canzoneri, Ross, McClarnin, Mandell, Ambers, Williams, Carter and, yes, Roberto Duran. How he would have done against those legends is pure speculation, but they would have been competitive contests. Taking nothing away from Duran, but Ortiz’s competition in the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions had more depth. Duran held victories over Hector Thompson, Ken Buchanan, Esteban DeJesus, the Viruet brothers and Sugar Ray Leonard. Ortiz defeated Len Mathews, Paolo Rossi, Dave Charnley, Kenny Lane, Dulio Loi, Flash Elorde, Sugar Ramos, Ismael Laguna, and drew with Nicolino Loche in Argentina (Loche’s hometown). 

 When I am asked to recommend a fight to watch on YouTube that would demonstrate the art of boxing at its best my answer is the third match between Carlos Ortiz and Ismael Laguna. It is like watching a class in brilliant boxing technique, especially as relates to effective use of the left jab, timing, and counter punching skills. Laguna was a fine boxer with extraordinary speed, but Ortiz was a master technician with all the answers.    

I had the honor of interviewing Carlos Ortiz in 1998. (This interview is included in Mike’s latest book “The Night The Referee Hit Back: Memorable Moments From The World Of Boxing”).  I have met and interviewed dozens of former world champions and top contenders. What impressed me about Ortiz was his intelligence, and I’m not just talking about boxing intelligence. Carlos, I am positive had a very high IQ, and could have succeeded in any profession he chose. But, thankfully for us, he chose boxing (or more correctly boxing chose him) and we fans are all the richer for it.

In his 70 fights Ortiz won 61 times with just 7 losses, 1 draw, and 1 no-decision. He scored 30 kayos.

My condolences to the Ortiz family, and to Carlos’s lovely wife Maria. Carlos Ortiz will be missed but never forgotten.

Braddock vs Baer

Was It On The Level?

By Bobby Franklin

(This article originally appeared in the Boston Post Gazette in 2019)

On June 6, 1934 Max Baer won the Heavyweight Championship of the World by defeating Primo Carnera in the 11th round. He had floored the courageous champion 11 times on his way to winning the crown. Baer, who had preciously scored a brutal kayo over Max Schmeling, looked like a man who would be champion for quite some time. He was a brutal puncher in the ring while possessing the charm of a Hollywood leading man outside of it. in fact, he had made himself a bit of a reputation acting in movies. He was a man sitting on top of the world.

Just a few days over a year later that would all change when Max put the title on the line on against the lightly regarded James J. Braddock. Braddock had been a leading light heavyweight contender a few years earlier, but injuries and a number of loses had derailed his career. He had managed to string together a number of wins over heavyweights and position himself for a shot at Baer. Nobody gave him a chance, and many thought he was risking his life to step in the ring with the murderous punching Max. 

In fact, earlier in his career Baer had killed Frankie Campbell in the ring, and many also believed he was the one responsible for the death of Ernie Schaaf who collapsed and died in his fight with Primo Carnera after being hit with a left jab. In an earlier fight with Baer Schaaf had taken some terrible shots and was knocked unconscious as the final round ended. He was saved by the bell and lost a decision to Baer.  It is believed the blows from Max had caused an injury to Ernie from which he never recovered, resulting in his death in the Carnera fight. 

It seemed unbelievable Braddock would have any chance against Baer. While he was certainly a very capable boxer, he just would not have the strength to hold off the dynamite that was in Max’s two fists. He went into the fight a ten to one underdog. However, he did go on to win the title that night, and along with that win he became known as the Cinderella Man. 

Most people are now familiar with the Braddock story from the 2005 movie directed by Ron Howard. In the movie Braddock’s fight with Baer is depicted as a life and death struggle with Jimmy hanging on to win a close and exciting fight. Actual footage of the fight tells a different story.

When I was a kid my father and I watched an 8mm film of the Braddock/Baer match on a home movie projector. It was the only time I had seen the fight until I viewed it again the other day. I do remember when watching it with my father how surprised he was at what he saw. He was a teenager when the bout took place but had never seen it. He was a great admirer of Braddock, particularly because after winning the title James had repaid the money he had collected while on relief (welfare) when things were bad for him and his family. I admired that about him as well.

What surprised my father while watching the film was how the two men were fighting. He had always believed Braddock had won in the manner depicted in the Ron Howard movie. After viewing the film for a short while my father exclaimed “Max threw the fight!” He was disappointed to see that, as it took the glow off of Braddock’s win. My father also liked Baer very much so that added to his disappointment. He justified it all by saying Max probably did it because he liked and felt sorry for Braddock and his family. 

I decided to take another look at the fight to see what I would think after all of these years. After viewing highlights from each of the 15 rounds, I have no doubt at all that Baer threw the fight. I even think it is possible Braddock was in on it as well. For most of the fight it looks like two guys trying not to hurt each other. It is nothing like the all out battle seen in the Howard movie. 

The fight, which took place on June 13, 1935 at the Madison Square Garden Bowl on Long Island, was one of the most boring in history. With the exception of one round, the 7th, Baer didn’t through any serious punches, and in that round he only opened up because the crowd was booing and he felt he had to look like he wasn’t dogging it. When he did land a decent right hand he hurt Braddock but immediately backed off. 

At the opening bell you would think it was Jimmy who had the tremendous power in his hands as Baer began the fight by backpedaling. As the fight progressed Baer did some clowning that brought laughter from the crowd and which was more exciting than fight itself. He also was talking to Braddock quite a bit, and if you watch closely it appears the two men are speaking to each other in the clinches. It would be interesting to know what they said to one another. 

They seemed to be afraid of hurting one another.

Going into the fifteenth round Braddock appeared ahead in the scoring. Max had to know this, yet he did nothing to try and save the title. In fact, the two men spent most of the round at close quarters exchanging light punches. They seemed to be afraid of hurting one another. The fact that Braddock was also not throwing hard punches gives me reason to believe he was aware of the fix. 

In the end James J. Braddock was award the decision. The scoring on one judge’s card and the referee’s was pretty one sided. The other judge had it scored evenly by rounds at 7-7 with 1 even. However, he gave the fight to Braddock based on points which is the rule in New York when a judge’s card comes up even. 

Neither fighter made a particularly good payday out of this fight as it didn’t draw big money. Ironically, both would make the biggest purses of their careers in their next fight against the same opponent. They both took on Joe Louis.

I have not gotten into the reasons Max Baer would have thrown this fight, but after watching it closely I have no doubt that my father was correct when he said “Max threw the fight!
”

Weak Opposition And Fatal

Flaw Keeps Him From Elite Status

By Bobby Franklin

Big George Foreman is remembered as a powerful man and a devastating puncher. His brutal destruction of Joe Frazier in 1973 is etched in every fight fan’s memory. It is mainly off of this performance that George made it onto many people’s lists of all time greats. That January night in Jamaica he looked fearsome. In taking Frazier apart so one sidedly, he took on an almost superhuman status. But on closer examination of his record and boxing technique, the all time great designation doesn’t hold up.

Going into the title fight with Frazier, George had an impressive undefeated record of 37 and 0. Only three opponents had gone the distance with him. Yet, even with those impressive numbers, Frazier was made a 3 1/2 to 1 favorite to retain the title. Joe was also undefeated at the time and had defeated Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century less than two years earlier.

While Foreman’s record looks good on paper, when taking a closer look at his opposition the numbers give a clearer picture of why he was the underdog. Out of those 37 opponents there were very few that could be considered serious competition. In fact, in his last bout before facing Joe, George fought Terry Sorrell, who at the time had had a total of 19 fights winning only 4. Sorrell would close out his career with a record of 29 fights with only 6 wins (3 by KO), 22 losses (10 by KO), and 1 draw. 

Some might argue this was just a warmup bout for George before stepping in with the Champ. Well, a warmup bout usually involves having a warm body for opposition. I’m not sure it was ever verified Sorrell had a pulse when he stepped into the ring. 

Three fights earlier George had faced the immortal Clarence Boone. Boone had a record of 30 fights, winning only 3 with 26 losses and 2 draws. Of those 26 losses he had been stopped 14 times. I think the promoters used the same undertaker that provided Terry Sorrell for George.

Go back one more fight and you will see where an opponent was dug up who made Boone and Sorrell look like Louis and Dempsey. On January 29, 1972, George faced the immortal Joe Murphy Gordwin of Houston, Texas. This would be the final fight of Gordwin’s career and he would bring his remarkable record of 1 win, 1 draw, and an astounding 15 losses (13 by KO) into the ring with him that night. George surely had to be terrified; terrified he might kill Joe Murphy. 

Go back a little further in George’s career and you will find such immortals as Vic Scott (1 win 2 losses), Bob Hazelton (3 wins, 6 losses), Leo Peterson (3 wins, 4 losses), and Fred Askew (2 wins, 6 losses, 1 draw).

Of course, when a young fighter is being brought along, it is not unusual for him to be given “opponents” to face. But usually those “opponents” are fighters who, while not posing much of a threat, do have beating hearts and the ability to provide some opposition so the prospect will have a chance to learn his trade and improve.

Looking back at the rest of George’s opposition in those 37 fights, you will not find a lot of strong opposition. While many are better than those I have just mentioned, most aren’t too far ahead of the Boones and Sorrells. 

George did face a few solid “opponents” during those years. Levi Forte (20 wins, 21 losses 12 by KO, and 2 draws) and Roberto Davila (21 wins, 14 losses 3 by KO) both were the type of boxer an up and coming prospect would be expected to face, and both extended George the full ten round limit.

The most notable names on Foreman’s record at the time were Boone Kirkman, Gregorio Peralta (twice), and George Chuvalo. His wins over Kirkman and Chuvalo were impressive, he struggled with Peralta.

Kirkman was another up and comer who had faced a series of “opponents” and had not been tested. George simply overpowered him.

Chuvalo was known as incredibly tough. He had never been knocked off his feet, and a number of years earlier had given Muhammad Ali a tough go of it. But with the exception of a very odd win over Jerry Quarry, the Canadian never beat a top rated contender. His slow moving style made him an easy target for Foreman’s heavy but wide swings. Big George did look impressive in stopping Chuvalo.

I have written about Foreman’s fights with Peralta. George won their first fight by decision, and stopped Peralta in their rematch. In both fights, George’s flaws were exposed. It was these flaws Ali exploited a few years later to regain the crown.

Looking at the accumulated record of Foreman’s opposition at the time of the Frazier fight you see that combined they had a total of 289 wins, 376 losses, and 58 draws. if you remove the three fighters who had a pulse from that group, Peralta, Chuvalo, and Kirkman you end up with a group that had a total of only 100 wins with 355 losses, and 48 draws. 

After defeating Frazier, Foreman defended the title twice in impressive fashion knocking out Joe Roman in one round and Ken Norton in two. Roman would have been considered an opponent if he had fought Foreman earlier, and was far from having an impressive record. Norton was never able to stand up to a big puncher as was seen when he went on to be kayoed in one round by both Earnie Shavers and Gerry Cooney.

After those two defenses George lost the title to Ali who used many of the tactics the over the hill Peralta had employed a few years earlier. After the loss to Ali, George still did not score any major wins with the exception of his victory in a slugfest with Ron Lyle, which was a battle of attrition, not skill.

He closed out his career with a loss to the light punching Jimmy Young, who also used technique to neutralize George’s power. Without that power Foreman had no boxing skill to fall back on to win a fight.

His major flaw was extending his arms when trying to parry punches. If you watch him in action, it appears he is trying to emulate Jack Johnson’s strategy of catching punches with an open glove. Only with Johnson, he would grab the punch just before it was about to land on him. With George, he would reach out and try to stop it just as it was being thrown. As a fight moved along he would begin pawing with both his hands and leave himself open. Ali, Young, Peralta, and Lyle were all able to land on him because of this fatal flaw. Any one off the great, and even not so great heavyweights of the past would have spotted this flaw and taken advantage of it. 

George certainly had amazing raw power, but that only takes a fighter so far. He did not develop the skills to make him a great fighter. Sure, he would always have a puncher’s chance against anyone. But hoping for a lucky punch is not the stuff of greatness. George simply never showed the skills to be considered an all-time great heavyweight champion.

I have not discussed Foreman’s second career because it really is not relevant to this discussion. Foreman 1.0 was the prime George and the one to look at when judging him as an all time great.