BOXING: Tragic Stories

[Brian Zelley]

Throughout the long history of boxing, there have been many tragedies
from the ring and beyond the ring.

Classic tragedies in the ring include the likes of Benny Kid Paret,
Davey Moore, Johnny Owen, Lavern Roach, and others.

Outside the ring, there have been numerous tragedies and sad moments
with deaths such as Al (BummY) Davis to war casualties such as
Garland (Ripper) Randall, and the many accident victims such as
Rudel Stitch, Chic Calderwood, and Zora Folley.

For some their story was a tragedy such as Georgie Small.
Following his victory over Lavern Roach in 1950, his life spun out of control
due mainly to the guilt of having beat his friend Lavern Roach who died
following the bout.

And many are now aware of the years of turmoil for Emile Griffith
following the tragic death of Benny Paret. A must watch is the
"Ring of Fire, The Emile Griffith Story".

A river of tears, teardrop by lonely teardrop, can never wash away the sorrow of the lost potential, the ruined lives, and the pain of family
and friends, but we can remember them.

[JOSEY WALES]

Originally Posted by Brian Zelley

Throughout the long history of boxing, there have been many tragedies
from the ring and beyond the ring.

Classic tragedies in the ring include the likes of Benny Kid Paret,
Davey Moore, Johnny Owen, Lavern Roach, and others.

Outside the ring, there have been numerous tragedies and sad moments
with deaths such as Al (BummY) Davis to war casualties such as
Garland (Ripper) Randall, and the many accident victims such as
Rudel Stitch, Chic Calderwood, and Zora Folley.

For some their story was a tragedy such as Georgie Small.
Following his victory over Lavern Roach in 1950, his life spun out of control
due mainly to the guilt of having beat his friend Lavern Roach who died
following the bout.

And many are now aware of the years of turmoil for Emile Griffith
following the tragic death of Benny Paret. A must watch is the
"Ring of Fire, The Emile Griffith Story".

A river of tears, teardrop by lonely teardrop, can never wash away the sorrow of the lost potential, the ruined lives, and the pain of family
and friends, but we can remember them.

Very True mate , when Johnny Owen died i stopped watching boxing for a long time , whether this was because of the tragic way in which Johnny died or that i was a young man starting a family i just don't know , but Wales is a small country by comparison to others and it hit us as a nation very hard indeed , his loss to us is no way worse than any other nations pain when one of its favorite sons dies but it did bring with it this nation a time of mourning , least we forget these fallen warriors , i agree .

[elgoadie]

One that springs to mind is Gerald McClellan after his war with Nigel Benn.

[ChrisPontius]

Originally Posted by elgoadie

One that springs to mind is Gerald McClellan after his war with Nigel Benn.

The happiest story a dog could ever read.

[El Puma]

Originally Posted by ChrisPontius

The happiest story a dog could ever read.

While sad, in retrospect it appears justice was served.

[TIGEREDGE]

Originally Posted by El Puma

While sad, in retrospect it appears justice was served.

couldnt agree more. that cunt had it coming

[the cobra]

While what McClellan did with the dogs is atrocious, I really don't see a man being beaten into brain damage, memory loss, blindness, and being for the most part deaf pretty much all for the entertainment of others as something "he had coming." Obviously he was a bad person, but the effects of that fight are things I wouldn't wish upon nearly anyone.

Apart from in the ring tragedies, a lot of boxers had tragic life stories, such as Esteban DeJesus.

[RDJ]

Originally Posted by the cobra

While what McClellan did with the dogs is atrocious, I really don't see a man being beaten into brain damage, memory loss, blindness, and being for the most part deaf pretty much all for the entertainment of others as something "he had coming." Obviously he was a bad person, but the effects of that fight are things I wouldn't wish upon nearly anyone.

Could not disagree more. Fuck him.

[tommy the hat]

I feel the tragedy that George Chuvalo suffered in his family life is an incredibly sad story. Three sons became heroin addicts, one committing suicide,the other two dying from OD's. Then to top that off, his wife commited suicide. Geoge now spends alot of his time touring Canada and speaking to young kids about the tragedy he endured in hopes he can save other people from what he had to go through. A incredibly tough man in and out of the ring.

[the cobra]

Originally posted by tommy the hat
I feel the tragedy that George Chuvalo suffered in his family life is an incredibly sad story. Three sons became heroin addicts, one committing suicide,the other two dying from OD's. Then to top that off, his wife commited suicide. Geoge now spends alot of his time touring Canada and speaking to young kids about the tragedy he endured in hopes he can save other people from what he had to go through. A incredibly tough man in and out of the ring.

His life story is probably the saddest of any boxer I know of.

[Minotauro]

Yeh what’s happen to Chuvalo is really sad to lose so much ESPN did a piece on him for those who haven't seen it here it is.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[TommyV]

Chuvalo's story is awful. Huge respect to the guy. Someone posted a story in the general forum the other day about a guy called something Perez. He was Jewish and after his 100+ fight pro career was taken to a German concentration camp, and make to fight every week to save his life. I'll try and find the story now and edit this and post it.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Vantage_West

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]



Victor (Young) Perez was of Tunisian-Hebrew heritage, and the first Hebrew fighter from North Africa to win a world championship. He preceded the many outstanding Jewish fighters who came out of North Africa after World War II.
Perez was arrested by local police on October 10, 1943, and deported to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland. According to reports, Perez was forced to fight in the bi-weekly boxing matches at the camp. The fights were bet on by the Nazi officers in command of the camp. The winners of these matches were awarded with bread and soup, while the loser was executed.
Perez's first fight in the camp was against a German-Jewish heavyweight (inmate) named Iorry. Even though his opponent was over a foot taller, and 50 pounds heavier, Perez scored a knockout. Perez went on to fight twice a week, every week, for the next 15 months, reportedly scoring 140 straight knockout victories.
In 1945, Perez was evacuated from the camp. It was reported that on the road near a camp called Gleiwitz, Perez attempted to pass bread through a fence to another inmate, and was shot and killed by Nazi guards. Some sources list his death in January 1945, others in March.
From cyberboxingzone.com: Perez arrived at Auschwitz on October 10, 1943 as part of "Convoy 60" a group of 1000 prisoners shipped from Drancy, France. While at Auschwitz, Perez was forced to particpate in boxing matches for the amusement of the Nazis. By 1945, Perez was one of just 31 survivors of the original 1000. In March 1945 the Camp was evacuated. The Nazis shot and killed Perez on the ensuing "Death March."

[Waynegrade]

I am curious, what`s McClellan`s story with regards to dogs?

[Minotauro]

Originally Posted by TommyVercettiX

Chuvalo's story is awful. Huge respect to the guy. Someone posted a story in the general forum the other day about a guy called something Perez. He was Jewish and after his 100+ fight pro career was taken to a German concentration camp, and make to fight every week to save his life. I'll try and find the story now and edit this and post it.

EDIT:

Thats tragic what happened to Perez, never read that before thanks for posting it.

[Seamus]

Originally Posted by elgoadie

One that springs to mind is Gerald McClellan after his war with Nigel Benn.

Didn't shed a tear.

Nigel fought a brilliant fight.