Wow Burt...that must have been something else...I gotta admit I am envious that you saw so much of the Golden Era of this great sport...fair do's and have a great Christmas fella!
When I was a young amateur boxer in the 70s I heard story after story about randy turpin.some were true, some werent but I listened to them all. To my mind turpin beating robinson remains Britain's biggest sporting event.the young licker was confident he could beat the sugarman and was disappointed not to have knocked him out. Randy kept in touch with robinson till the end.
FH, yes I was fortunate to see ringside many great fighters of the Golden Age, but I'd trade all that to be young again. For dang sure. Merry Christmas to you and yours...
t, that fight and the FOTC I saw were the 2 greatest boxing events I ever attended ...As long as I live, I shall never forget when after Robinson in a furious Robinson flurry of punches stopped Randy in the 10th round, he was so exhausted from all that happened, that he was half picked off the floor by his cornermen rushing him in the aisle, past my row of seats to his dressing room...His eyes looked dazed, his mouth was opened wide, looking like a man ready to pass out I thought that eventful night...Besides SRR's unparaleled talent was an ego so great to be thought as the very best, which he WAS...
After the stoppage randy wanted to congratulate the victor but his brother **** and the other corner men thought he wanted to resume fighting so they tried pulling him back. Turpin was so strong he pulled them along in his haste to say 'well done' Did you notice that, Burt??
A couple that got my attention early were Joe Bugner Vs Frank Bruno and Barry McGuigan Vs Eusebio Pedroza but alsorts really lots of watching people like khaosai galaxy aswell and my grandad getting me the rocky Marciano story on video and the 12 greatest rounds ever video as well haha
No t, I was too caught up in the moment to notice that...To see the greatest fighter I EVER saw SRR, with a badly cut eye, unleash his do or die fusillade of punches on sturdy and courageous Turpin , stopping Randy, excluded noticing anything else....Turpin seemed to go downhill after that bout...As a Rocky Graziano, after his three truly brutal fights with an older but still underrated and murderous punching Tony Zale, also went downhill after absorbing such punishment...
Boxing was big in my era of black and white TV, the 60's as a kid always had exciting fights on the tube, I remember watching Griffith vs Benny Paret and it stuck in my mind how serious the sport could be
Leonard-Hearns I. I followed boxing casually prior to this, this was the fight that cemented my love of the sport, and I've been a diehard fan ever since.