Never really took the time to check this guy out. Had a relatively short career spanning from 1930-1935 and through 41 pro bouts. Retired with a final record of 35-4-2-27. One thing that I noticed was that he had wins over everyone whoever beat him... He fought Tommy Loughran 4 times and split the series 2 and 2. He likewise fought Lee Ramage 4 times and beat him twice while acquiring a loss and a draw in the other two meetings. He faced Max Schmeling twice and went 1-1 against him... Began his career 29-0-0-26 which was a rare start for a man coming up in the thirties and his KO percentage ( though not always telling ) implies that he could punch.. He was stopped only once in the last fight of his career which was the rematch against Schmeling.
Very sturdy build as I believe he was a two sport athlete. He was the number 1 contender when Schmeling defeated him ending his career. I believe he suffered permanent damage in that return bout with Max. He went into the fight with a slight shoulder tear and as the rounds progressed he couldn't lift his arm into a proper defensive position against Max's right and he got hammered for it over and over again. A real beat down. Very good fighter.
A tremendous athlete, maybe along with Charlie Powell the best 'athlete' to be a top level boxer. Talented guy.
Thanks for the info guys. Shame that his career was cut short by that Schmeling rematch.. And yeah I read that he went to college and did well in a few different sports. Very athletic guy and apparently very intelligent as well. He spoke a few different languages and at one point even spoke of becoming a doctor. Interesting fellow.
There was talk about him facing Baer right after he beat Primo, Hamas deserved a shot at him, Baer had a contract that seemed to be the reason he stayed out of the ring for a year, he was also unsure about his plans after winning the title, he did mention Hamas' name as a possibility Hamas was one of the top guys around this time and Baer considered him the best challenger to his title at the start of 35'. The other top guys were Lasky, Schmeling and Carnera Hamas-Lasky was a very close fight and taken to the NYSAC by Laskys side because of the misunderstanding by the ref regarding the rules of a backhand thrown by Lasky in the 4th round that got the round taken away from him (a round he was apparently winning). The NYSAC didnt overturn the decision and the win for Hamas stayed, they said a rematch between Hamas and Lasky for 15 was best, Hamas' manager declined (Jimmy Jacobs seemed to have a contract signed between Schmeling Lasky and Hamas that the winner of Hamas-Lasky would meet Schmeling, and then the winner of that would face Baer in June (Baer had a contract to fight at Madison Square Garden in June) The NYSAC felt there wasnt an outstanding challenger for Baer and wanted the top guys to fight it out for the shot If Hamas stood his ground and stood by his right to fight Baer based off his wins over Schmeling and Lasky then the fights in the elimination would be Schmeling-Lasky and Carnera-Impillitierre Hamas did end up fighting Schmeling a second time Carnera fought Impelletiere And James Braddock ended up coming in and facing Lasky The winner of Carnera-Impelletiere would fight the winner of Braddock-Lasky on April 5, with that winner facing the victor of Schmeling-Hamas, and then Baers got a challenger. Schmeling beat Hamas Carnera beat Impilliteierre Braddock surprisingly beat Lasky and became the NYSACs No.1 challenger for Baer. Carnera-Braddock seemed to be ditched and they were trying to get Braddock-Schmeling going, but Schmeling didnt want to fight in America because of the 30% that went to Jacobs and the income tax, and refused to fight Braddock first on the basis of (according to him) he was already under contract to fight Baer, and that Braddock didnt show anything before his victory over Lasky and that was his first important success. The NYSAC wouldnt approve Schmeling as a challenger until he met Braddock. Schmeling and German promoter Walter Rothenburg were trying to get Baer to fight Schmeling in Europe, mostly likely Rome for 250-300 thousand. Baer ended up fighting Braddock at Madison Square Garden at the June date he was under contract for Baer-Hamas shoulda came off sometime soon after Baer-Carnera, If the Baer that turned up for Schmeling turned up for Hamas it woulda been a rough night for Hamas There was a report out after Schmelling II saying he had practically lost the use of his legs when he left Hamburg and his speech was slightly affected "Still suffering from the effects of the terrific thumping he took last Sunday from Max Schmelling, German heavyweight, Steve Hamas rested tonight in a sanitorium. Although the Americans manager, white-haired Charley Harvey, and attending physicians hope Hamas will be fully recovered within a fortnight, they admittedly are worried over some of the symptoms the fighter developed after he had been stopped in nine rounds by Schemelling. Hamas is suffering from numbness of the left leg, double vision in the left eye and possibly a spinal ailment. As a result doctors ordered him to a sanitorium and placed him on a strict diet, forbidding alcohol or tobacco. Harvey said the physicians are not yet sure Hamas suffered any injury to his spine. They believe it possible the young New Jersey boxer may be suffering simply from exhaustion, the result of the terrific punishment he took from Schmelling. Dr Goebbels asserted that a Schmelling punch, close to the ear affected Hamas' brain so that he was unable to understand the meaning of words during the fight."
That beating Schmeling gave him was pretty awful. I've seen that fight, that was an old school where's-the-referee?-style beating. Definitely one of the premier fighters at HW of that era, with a genuine record of worthy results to prove it. (Unlike, say, Art Lasky, who gets cited as a #1 contender but whose tenure must have been brief and doubtful anyway.)
That beating ended his career at only 28. Schmeling was probably prime too as this fight came roughly a year before Max defeated Louis.
Yeah, it was quite a significant comeback fight for Schmeling, having been written off as "washed up" the previous year after the losses to Baer and Hamas, and a poor draw in Spain with Uzcudun. Of course, the idea that he was past his best hung over him until he returned to America and beat Louis, but in hindsight the Hamas rematch certainly signalled a return to form.
I would just like to point out that Braddock was never the #1 contender. Schmeling was. Braddock was allowed to leap frog Schmeling because MSG wanted the title to stay under their control and if Schmeling fought Baer it wouldnt. Baer had declined to resign with the garden and Schmeling would have taken it to Germany as he was hesitant to sign with the Garden again. It was very controversial at the time and Schmeling even appeared and weighed in for an aborted match with Braddock to decide who would get the shot. This backroom deal, combined with his previous loss to Schmeling is why Louis insisted he wouldnt feel like a champ until he beat Schmeling, not Braddock.
Exactly.Max would have been the first heavyweight champ to regain the title if Braddock had matched him ,imo.
