Tag Archives | boxing history

Great Feuds – St Valentine’s Day Massacre (diary entry)

October 27, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
Robinson vs LaMotta

26.10.21 Tuesday night returned us to the careers of Jake “The Bronx Bull” LaMotta and Sugar Ray Robinson. None of their first five matchups are easy to access, at least the first three were damaged beyond repair, and we have to settle for what many consider to be a legendary sixth contest: The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. This would be the last time the two fighters met and would be a key scene in Martin Scorsese’s biopic on LaMotta, “Raging […]

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Great Feuds – Pep vs Saddler (diary entry)

October 20, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
pep v saddler 1951 (2)

19.10.21 Tuesday night’s “Learn from the Fight” returned to the career of Willie Pep and Sandy Saddler. We were unable to unearth footage from their first two fights when Pep was given the spotlight. However, we had access to highlights from their third encounter and the full fourth encounter. Pep and Saddler are often ranked as the greatest featherweights of all time, respectively the greatest pure out-boxer and slugger of all time and in just about anyone’s top 20 greatest […]

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Cinderella Man 2 (diary entry)

October 13, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
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12.10.2021 Tuesday night’s second lesson was “learn from the fight” where we reviewed highlights from Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott’s second fight and the entirety of their third clash. Ezzard Charles versus Jersey Joe Walcott World Heavyweight Championship 07.03.1951 It had been two years since Walcott and Charles had last met to fight for the then vacant NBA heavyweight title. Charles had emerged the victor on a unanimous decision and then gone on to beat the man who had […]

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King Cobra (diary entry)

October 6, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
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Ezzard Charles versus Joe Louis 27.09.1950 After winning the tournament that decided Joe Louis’s successor for the NBA version of the World Heavyweight title, Ezzard Charles fought three title defences before he was given an opportunity to unite the belt with the NYSAC and The Ring titles. He soundly defeated Gus Lesnevich, Pat Valentino and Freddie Beshore inside the distance with a corner stoppage, a straight KO and TKO respectively, but the general audiences weren’t impressed. Neither the first nor […]

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Boxer-Puncher versus Out-Boxer & Swarmer (diary entry)

September 1, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
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31.08.21 Tuesday’s “Learn from the Fight” lesson focused on two championship bouts where Isiah “Ike” Williams defended his World Lightweight title. Williams was born in Brunswick, Georgia on 2nd August 1923. He moved to Trenton, New Jersey as a boy and apparently worked as a newsboy. He turned professional in 1940 aged 17. He fought 157 fights, including newspaper decisions, with an official record of 128 wins (61 KOs), 24 losses and five draws. He was a natural lightweight and […]

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“The Casablanca Clouter” (diary entry)

August 25, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
cerdan zale (1)

Tuesday night’s “Learn from the Fight” lesson focused on the career and three fights of Marcel “The Casablanca Clouter” Cerdan. The first fight acts as a direct sequel to last lesson’s rubber match finale of the Rocky Graziano/Tony Zale trilogy as it was Zale’s first defence. Tony Zale versus Marcel Cerdan Undisputed World Middleweight Title Defence 21.09.1948 After winning the title back from Rocky Graziano, Tony Zale only fought one more time and that was to defend this very title. […]

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Graziano and Zale (diary entry)

August 17, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
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17.08.21 Tuesday night’s learn from the fight lesson spotlighted fights connecting two middleweight champions Rocky Graziano and Tony Zale. Rocky Graziano – real name Thomas Rocco Barbella – was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was the son of sometime boxer Fighting Nick Bob Barbella. His father encouraged Rocky to don boxing gloves and fight with older brother from when he was only three years old almost every night. Rocky disliked authority of any kind and although he did well […]

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Rematches! (diary entry)

July 28, 2021 | Uncategorized [ssba]
louis v simon (2)

27.07.21 I began my second lesson of the evening – my fight history teaching – with a step back to 1940. This was the last footage I have been able to currently find of a full Henry Armstrong fight. Henry Armstrong vs Ceferino Garcia 01.03.1940 Ring Magazine declared this to be their Fight of the Year. This fight was billed as the World Middleweight Championship but was only recognised by the California State Athletic Commission. When last we left Ceferino […]

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Buddy & Joe (diary entry)

July 14, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
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13.07.21 We picked up with Joe Louis’s boxing journey when he faced Jacob Henry “Buddy” Baer, younger brother (by six years) of Louis’s former opponent and the former world heavyweight champion Max Baer. Joe Louis versus Buddy Baer 1941 Although a 10-1 underdog, Buddy Baer was a legitimate contender for the world title. Like his brother, he was a pure slugger in style and had an impressive 85% KO record. Some records have him fighting 58 times, others 62. All […]

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Five Ranges & Night of the Boxers (diary entry)

July 7, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
kid chocolate vs tony canzoneri 1

06.07.21 Tuesday night’s fight history remained in the 1930s for a review of 1931’s first clash between Kid Chocolate and Tony Canzoneri. That year Max Schmeling defended the world heavyweight title against Young Stribling by technical knockout in the 15th round, establishing his reputation as a legitimate holder of the title. That match was rated as fight of the year by Ring magazine. However, there are others that would give the credit to the aesthetically pleasing World Lightweight Championship that […]

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Master of the In-Fight (diary entry)

June 23, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
armstrong vs ross 2

22.06.21 My second lesson on Tuesday night and my client’s course on fight history and analysis continued with Henry Armstrong taking the centre stage and acting as the vehicle through the lighter divisions of the 1930s. He was supported by Barney Ross and Lou Ambers, two other greats of that era. Henry Armstrong Real name was Henry Melody Jackson Jnr. And his nicknames included Homicide Hank, Hammerin’ Hank and Hurricane Hank. His father was of African American, Irish and Native […]

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The Sixth King or Joe Louis Cleans House! (diary entry)

June 16, 2021 | Uncategorized [ssba]
CARNERA VS LOUIS

15.06.21 Tonight’s fight history lesson looked at the emerging career of Joe Louis in relation to the five world heavyweight champions that preceded him. Joe Louis had disproportionately large fists, like Dempsey he had wide shoulders and a narrow chest. He had an all over athletic physique with particularly muscled limbs. Many, including his own trainers, considered him to be a manufactured fighter. He stood in shoulder width stance with lead toe in line with rear heel for stability and […]

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Final Hurrahs for the Five Kings (diary entry)

June 10, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
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08.06.21 Tuesday night continued fight history and analysis in my teacher consultancy/training service. As far as the 1930s heavyweight division goes, there appears to be two distinct stages. The first stage was a battle between five world champions and several rising stars. This could be charted from 1930 when the vacant title was first contested to 1937 when a sixth king claimed the title and held onto it and actively defended it for the longest period of time in the […]

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Night of the Sluggers (diary entry)

June 5, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
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01.06.21 Tuesday night’s fight night history began our first step into the 1930s and we looked to the heavyweight division with one relevant detour into the light heavyweight division. The boxing scene of the 1930s might definitely be considered to be one of the greatest or even the first true golden era. Never before had so many different personalities clashed in the ring and had the drama been so high. Besides various factors created by the Great Depression, this was […]

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Wills, Walker and Loughran (diary entry)

May 28, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
loughran vs braddock diary

25.05.21 Tuesday night’s private teacher consultancy lesson on fight history kept us in the 1920s to cover three more greats that shone in that era. Harry “The Black Panther” Wills vs Luis Firpo (Heavyweight No Title Match) 11.09.1924 Harry Wills is regarded as one of the most egregious examples of a heavyweight boxer denied his opportunity to fight for the biggest prize in his profession. Wills fought most white heavyweight contenders of his era and exhausted the World Coloured Heavyweight […]

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Style and its Limitations (diary entry)

April 16, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
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13.04.21 My teacher consultancy concluded its trilogy of lessons on Jack Johnson with his last two title defences. Prior to analysing the fights, it was relevant to discuss the campaign against Johnson. Having defeated the previously undefeated James J Jeffries in a bout that resulted in a nation wide series of riots, there was  growing tension within the white establishment to handle Johnson. Not only was he destroying all the “Great White Hopes” sent his way, but his extravagent behaviour […]

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