Ron "The Butcher" Stander

After forty-two years of quietude, the fanfare returned to Omaha and the spotlight briefly shone again on Big Ron Stander, during the pageantry leading up to Crawford vs. Gamboa this past weekend on HBO WCB. This was the city's first time hosting a world title clash since 1972 when Stander challenged Joe Frazier. On strength of that nugget of trivia, he was invited up to make speeches during the pressers and weigh-ins, and got some time on-camera and shout-outs from the commentators during the live broadcast.

I figured why not extend the attention with a thread about the guy - likely to be his first and only mention on here outside conversations about the merits of Frazier's reign. :!:

Old-timers, just how good was the Butcher?

He dealt Earnie Shavers his first kayo loss, when both were young prospects. He then spent the second and third years in the prizefighting racket taking on mostly no-name soft touches, mostly guys who lost for a living, highlighted perhaps by going 2-0-1 in ten-round decisions with super heavyweight Jack "Non from Superman" O'Halloran and onetime Frazier challenger Manuel Ramos. Then a mere four months before his big date with Smokin Joe, he was upset by Rico Brooks who sported a losing record.

How seriously was he taken? Shavers was himself, by '72, not quite yet the established punching legend by whom subsequent generations would remain awestruck. Was the fact that Stander had slugged with, stood up to & knocked him out in their nascent days even considered by contemporary reckoning to be all that important by then? :think

It should be noted that Stander - while ultimately taken apart, halted by the ringside physician on account of grotesque facial damage - showed no fear and went at Frazier right from the opening bell, walking through shots and laying heavy leather on the champ in the 1st and probably winning it...and remaining dauntless throughout even as Frazier took control and made pulp of him.

Aside from that early promise left unfulfilled on the biggest night of his life, however, and outlasting Shavers in their battle of attrition - was there anything to indicate Stander had the makings of a real contender if he were to have stayed motivated, linked up with a decent trainer, and stayed off the booze? Was his natural lack of athleticism, speed and finesse and reputation for being a bleeder always going to limit him, no matter the circumstantial improvements? Frazier is supposed to have once said the hardest punches he ever felt were from Stander, and it has been suggested their match laid the stylistic blueprint (and perhaps softened Joe up) for George Foreman to wreck Frazier a short time later in his very next defense.

Chin, power, and mental fortitude (all seemingly exhibited by Ron) - even when absent other attributes - have been more than enough for several contenders in history to accomplish some respectable things. With access to superior coaching and sparring than was available in Omaha, and with someone to keep him focused and dry, could Stander have been one more of that ilk? Maybe not a titlist, but a little more Shavers-like depth in his W column?

 

Also - footage of Stander vs. Shavers, anywhere?

 

Yeah, pretty much everything after Frazier is supposed to be a long and forgettable downward spiral of self-destruction.

I'm asking more about specifically the early 70's version, where the window opened a crack for him - could a dedicated Stander have wriggled through and made a bit more of a name for himself, and if so how much? Like, could he maybe have been somewhere in the Wepner to Bugner range, making lower-end appearances on top 15 lists?

 

Yeah, there are rumors (though I don't know how mucky stock to place in them) about Sly being inspired by Frazier vs. Stander as much as if not more than Ali vs. Wepner, actually. :think

Stander himself kind of casually dismissed the concept in one interview (as in 'not that I'm aware of') but did note with amusement that it was possible. Besides, for obvious - mostly litigious - reasons, Sly has never officially branded Chuck the direct, primary or sole inspiration for the character, leavingg the door open for alternate theories despite the widespread acceptance of that one.

 

Really, Auto-Correct? "Much" to "mucky"?

 

Yeah, that last decade in the ring was cringe-worthy, but he seems to be healthy and happily enjoying retirement and family life based on printed interviews over the years and media appearances last weekend as the guest of honor. He was half-jokingly crowing at the final press conference about how the doc screwed him against Frazier over 'minor scrapes'. He is definitely a character.

He was an IBF referee in the 1990's and 2000's, and trained a few guys including cruiser and heavy floater Dicky "The Raging Bull" Ryan who took Brien Nielsen's zero.

 

Well, he was a purely offensive fighter, which inherently shouldn't hold one back if they have the wherewithal to handle what comes - modeling himself after Rocky Marciano, who ofttimes (though not always) used his grill as his defense as well.

Much lower tier, obviously, point being that simply having been all-offense is no barrier if the chin is up to it and the attacks strong enough to serve as deterrent a fair amount of time.