Bob Pastor eliminated Lem Franklin from contention for a crack at Louis

[McGrain]

This from an interview in the rum up to the Buddy Baer rematch.

"I'd fight Lem Franklin with the greatest of pleasure. Roxy and Chappie don't think much of him, but I know he's improved. I keep track of all them fellas. I'm going to see Franklin fight Bob Pastor in Febuary. I've seen him two or three times. I saw him lose a six round decision to Freddie Fiducia in the Garden. He hasn't hit Freddie yet but that was four years ago and Freddie knew to much for him. He's a right-hand puncher who depends on punching and has a brittle right hand. I hope that right hand stays in good repair and he keeps them fellas out until September. I'll be looking for an appointment around that time."

Pastor, not a puncher, stopped him of course, then he went waaay back. Anyone got any details? Needs looking into that one.

Anyway, Franklin is someone who is occasionally mentioned as a fighter Louis ducked. Louis seemed very keen.

[Surf-Bat]

I did quite a bit of research on that fight (and on Franklin). What do you need, mon ami?

[TheGreatA]

Yes he did. Franklin was in line to fight Louis, he only had to get past the unfortunate "gatekeeper" to Louis's title that was Bob Pastor, due to having lost twice to Louis already.

It was a fairly big fight and there is a lot of coverage out there. Franklin suffered a bad KO loss and a loss of confidence due to his belief that a relatively light puncher such as Pastor shouldn't be able to hurt him.

Here are some choice articles that are worth a read:

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[McGrain]

Originally Posted by Surf-Bat

I did quite a bit of research on that fight (and on Franklin). What do you need, mon ami?

Break it down for me handsome.

Cheers GreatA.

[Surf-Bat]

Originally Posted by McGrain

Break it down for me handsome.

Cheers GreatA.

Here is an excerpt from an unfinished (as of yet) piece I wrote on Franklin:



Despite these impressive victories a title bout eluded Franklin. Louis had been immersed in his “Bum of the Month Club” fights, a point criticized in a flyer sent out by a Franklin publicity man which stated “Joe Louis is the only champion in boxing history allowed to conduct his own private tournament…made up of hand-picked, panty-waisted stooges, all of whom have been knocked out by the champion…this round-robin affair seems to have the support and blessing of the press and various boxing commissions…how much longer can they get away with this brazen racket?” Boxing scribes soon picked up on this chant and began to suggest that Louis and his promoter, Mike Jacobs, were ducking the man whom they were now referring to as “The Dark Destroyer”. They began to compare Lem’s plight to that of Sam Langford, the great heavyweight from the 1910s-20s who was so feared that it was all but impossible to get Champion Jack Johnson to give him the title shot he had so rightfully earned. “The ferocious Franklin has established himself now, and will be heard from every time Louis tackles anybody else…” wrote sportswriter Harry Grayson. Hurley vented his frustrations to the press as well: “Mike Jacobs has some boys down there that he’s protecting- Joe Louis, Billy Conn, Buddy and Max Baer and Lou Nova…they’re trying to keep Lem in the second flight by not offering one of these ‘untouchables,’” he complained. “I had the old ‘Fargo Express’ Billy Petrolle, for 5 years and couldn’t get him a title fight until he was too old…there wasn’t a better fighter around at the time and everybody knew it. It’s the same with Franklin.”

Joe Louis felt the pressure and promoter Jacobs knew he couldn’t circumvent Franklin for long. Elimination matches with Melio Bettina and Bob Pastor were suggested by Jacobs, with the winner to get a title shot with Louis in September of 1942. Bettina was an awkward southpaw who could make his fighter look bad, so Hurley instead chose Pastor. “Bicycle Bob” had a reputation as being a tricky spoiler, having dampened the prospects of such up and comers as Turkey Thompson, Booker Beckwith and Roscoe Toles. But Lem had a solid track record against such fighters already (Blunt, Reddish), and seemed like the safer route considering Franklin’s record against Louis’s former KO victims. The bout was set for February 24, 1942 in Cleveland with Lem installed as a heavy favorite. But fans still anticipated this classic boxer vs. puncher matchup; the spoiler of slayers vs. the slayer of spoilers.

13, 278 fans packed the Cleveland Arena, setting a record indoor gate. Private Joe Louis was at ringside along with Mike Jacobs to watch a fight sportswriters later described as “One of the game’s biggest surprises since Jim Braddock wrested the heavyweight crown from Max Baer.” Franklin took an early lead, pounding the defensive-minded Pastor with hard shots and opening a gash above his left eye. It looked bad for Bob. But by the fifth round Lem was tiring from his attempts for an early knockout. He began to flounder, giving Pastor the opportunity he’d waited for. He put on a boxing clinic, opening up with a steady stream of peppering jabs, hooks and crosses that found Lem’s face time and again over the next few rounds. A flurry of some thirty unanswered blows in the eighth round finally crumpled the hometown favorite to the canvas, where he was counted out.

[Surf-Bat]

A close modern-day approximation to this bout would be the Nigel Benn-Michael Watson fight. Like Franklin, Benn exploded out of his corner and shot his bolt early. Watson bided his time, played tight defense and put in his shots when he could. In both instances the smarter boxer wore out the blitzing puncher.

But unlike Franklin, Benn was able to recover and have a successful career.

[McGrain]

[janitor]

Why oh why did they all have to fight Pastor?

If there was one contender who everybody in that era should have avoided like the plague it was him.

[McGrain]

haha yeah

[WhyYouLittle]

Nice thread.

Franklin had a better run, but almost the same thing happened to Turkey Thompson. Thompson had a 12-0 run with 10 stoppages beating a fading Teddy Yarosz in the process until he bumped into Pastor and lost twice to him. Bivins dropped a SD to Pastor too.
Cheeky spoiling bastard.

[McGrain]

Originally Posted by WhyYouLittle

Cheeky spoiling bastard.

[Surf-Bat]

He and Joe Louis had the same amateur trainer (whose name escapes me for the moment). That trainer claimed Lem was the harder puncher. So did Hall of Fame baseball legend Tris Speaker, who was a boxing fan and most likely saw many hard-hitting heavyweights come and go over the decades.

High praise

[WhyYouLittle]

Originally Posted by Surf-Bat

He and Joe Louis had the same amateur trainer (whose name escapes me for the moment). That trainer claimed Lem was the harder puncher. So did Hall of Fame baseball legend Tris Speaker, who was a boxing fan and most likely saw many hard-hitting heavyweights come and go over the decades.

High praise

Franklin's right, Thompson's left hook, Sheppard's whatever he touched you with... Lots of fireworks between that lot. The trainer was George Moody?

[Mendoza]

Originally Posted by McGrain

This from an interview in the rum up to the Buddy Baer rematch.

"I'd fight Lem Franklin with the greatest of pleasure. Roxy and Chappie don't think much of him, but I know he's improved. I keep track of all them fellas. I'm going to see Franklin fight Bob Pastor in Febuary. I've seen him two or three times. I saw him lose a six round decision to Freddie Fiducia in the Garden. He hasn't hit Freddie yet but that was four years ago and Freddie knew to much for him. He's a right-hand puncher who depends on punching and has a brittle right hand. I hope that right hand stays in good repair and he keeps them fellas out until September. I'll be looking for an appointment around that time."

Pastor, not a puncher, stopped him of course, then he went waaay back. Anyone got any details? Needs looking into that one.

Anyway, Franklin is someone who is occasionally mentioned as a fighter Louis ducked. Louis seemed very keen.

One should never confuse what a fighter says in the press with reality. The Freddie Fuducua match was Franklin’s 5th professional fight. Here’s the truth. From 1940-1942. Franklin won 20 matches in a row, including KO’s over Simon and Musto. Louis gave title shots to Simon and Muston in 1941. Franklin also Ko’d Sheppard, Bivins, and Reddish during this time same time period. Franklin was very qualified.


Franklin was a puncher, and IMO Louis could have easily made a match with him, but opted not to. The risk vs. reward was not in Louis favor. One loss back then did not take a man out of the picture for many in the bum of the month club.

Elmer Ray was another fighter who was worthy of a title match with Louis. In Louis 26 title defenses, he only fought two black men, one of whom was sick ( John Henry Lewis ) , and the other really made him look bad by flooring him twice, and winning the majority of the rounds in both matches ( Walcott ).

[burt bienstock]

Bob Pastor an NYU product was a helluva boxer spoiler who was fearless...Beat just about anyone bigger than him, except Joe Louis, UNTIL the night of Sept. 6.1940 when
the great fiery LH champion Billy Conn gave Bob Pastor a thrashing stopping Pastor in the 13th round...What does this say about Pittsburgh's second greatest fighter, Billy Conn. ?