Best Fights from the 1960s

Reporting back after seeing another five fights.

Emile Griffith vs Benny Paret I, great fight. Nary a jab, many bad intentions, and tons of combination body punching. Could not stop thinking of how it reminded me of Leonard vs Hearns 1 the whole way through. Paret is a lot better than I believed he would be. He had a lot of losses but they are almost all to hall of famers.

Emile Griffith vs Benny Paret II, Rd 4 Commentator “The action has been steady but not spectacular so far.” Agreed. The ref is breaking them up too fast. They want to fight in a half clinch with one arm each it seems like. Each is trying to punch the other while holding one of their arms to prevent return fire. Maybe, the ref is right. I would call what they are doing grappling more than clinching or wrestling, since there was continuous striking. I love the little dancing bird with the razor between rounds. Griffith bending at the waist and pushing Paret back to make room for his punches. Paret not doing that back and forth flurry to the body as much as in the first fight. I’m not sure if I prefer the old single commentator to the modern color commentary team style. Rd 8 and I’m thinking this isn’t quite a great fight, but if it’s not a great fight, what the hell is it? What more do I want? These guys are doing steady work, hitting hard. Do I just want more big moments? Nobody is really getting hurt and rocked or knocked down. Is that it. Or did the first fight just leave the bar too high? This is a lot like the first fight just a little bit slower. If it’s not great, then it’s still very very good. Maybe, it will become great with seven rounds to go. Dammit ref, would you leave them alone and let them fight? Late in the fight they’ve slowed down and their intensity has faded. It’s interesting that though they are tired and they continue to throw many body shots, their form remains good and they never complain of low blows like modern fighters. Not gonna recommend this one as best of a decade.

Gene Fullmer vs Florentino Fernandez, It’s in color but there’s no sound! They are throwing hammers but so lead footed and slow. They fight like heavyweights. Who the **** is reffing, Slender Man? This tall white mother****er looks like Lurch from the Adam’s Family. They sped up a little in round 10. Surprisingly little finesse or technique. It has the feel of one of those old fashioned bare knuckle barroom brawls. It’s appealing in it’s own way I guess. These two are definitely tough and strong. Not a particularly great fight.

Charles Scott vs Ralph Dupas IV, should be good. It’s another of Flea Man’s recommendations I think. Leastwise, it’s streaming on his channel. The commentator mentioned that Dupas was more skilled so Scott thinks his best chance is to get physical with Dupas because Dupas can’t punch. I looked that up, and despite being a hall of famer and junior middleweight champ he only has a 14%KO record. How can a grown man, an athlete even, not be strong enough to knock out another man, especially when that’s your job? If you can’t punch worth a damn, why would you go into boxing in the first place? This isn’t such a bad fight. Look at ‘em toe to toe on the inside the whole round without any clinching. Never happen today. Someone yelled out in round 6 “Come on guys, fight!” but there hadn’t been a lull the whole round. Not gonna’ lie, I lost a lot of interest when I found out Dupas hits like a kid. So much is lost when one guy can’t hurt the other but can defend himself well enough not to let the other guy hurt him. The commentator says that Dupas is using all kinds of tricks, but I don’t see them. I’m not familiar enough with the style to spot all of the inside fighting tricks. This is what you need the second commentator for, usually an ex-boxer, to explain the action for a layman. And it’s done. Not recommended. Think I’ll go watch someone die as a palette cleanser.

Griffith vs Paret 3. Rd 2 commentator says Griffith is trying to win by knockout and Paret by points, like they already had. Rd 3 was a bit of a beatdown by Griffith and he’s still angry at the bell. Rd 4 Paret tries to pitter patter and Griffith lands some bombs, then bullies him along the ropes and in the corner. Griffith looks a lot stronger than Paret this time. Rd 5 Paret punching without conviction. Griffith wobbles him. Rd 6 Woah, some round! Griffith was hitting Paret so hard that I felt it, then Paret lands two punches that floored Griffith and had him badly hurt. If the round were a little longer he was done. Rd7 What a great round. Griffith comes out trying to clear the cobwebs, hurts Paret, then walks into another big punch himself. Shoving match at the end. This thing is see sawing like a mother****er! Rd 9 Paret seems to have gotten his strength back. Rd 10 Paret comes out and punches Griffith square in the nuts then punches him twice on the back of the head. The ref warns Paret, gives no time to Griffith to recover, and they continue. Rd 12 What a terrific fight marred by a horrible tragedy. Well great, I feel sad now.

 

The 4-fight series between Rodriguez & Griffith was interesting.....the 2 fight series between Torres & Tiger at Lightheavy.

Carlos Ortiz vs Laguna 3-fight Series
Plus,
Carlos Ortiz vs Nicolino Locche (a disputed draw in Locche's favor)

1966-04-07 : Carlos Ortiz 139¾ lbs drew with Nicolino Locche 138¼ lbs by PTS in round 10 of 10

• Location: Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina
• Referee: Victor Avendano
• Judge: Juan Barde 198-198
• Judge: Nestor Allende 197-200
• Judge: Eloy Gonzalez 197-197

Majority draw: two officials called the decision a draw and one voted for Locche.

Associated Press:

"Most of the fans at Luna Park Stadium booed the verdict. They thought Ortiz was a clear-cut winner, although they rooted for Locche.

"Ortiz had the upper hand most of the way and Locche clinched frequently. The Argentine's face was swollen at the end of the bout."

 

While I was looking up suggestions in other threads, I couldn’t help but notice how unpopular the 60s seemed to be compared to other decades. To gauge my hunch I checked the Ring’s 1996 list of the hundred greatest title fights against ESB’s 100 greatest fights list compiled around 2010, and here’s what I got for results.

Decade, Ring, ESB
00s, 6, 1
10s, 3, 1
20s, 4, 1
30s, 3, 4
40s, 6, 3
50s, 15, 8
60s, 6, 5
70s, 20, 24
80s, 19, 17
90s, 18, 21
00s, -, 15

The 60s are the least popular post ww2 decade for boxing and the 70s are the most popular. The 50s are roughly twice as popular as the 60s and the 70s are roughly four times as popular. My guess is that the lower scores from the early 00s to the 40s was due to a lack of film footage and the relative age of fans. Otherwise, they might be higher than the 60s too. I'm also guessing that the difference between Ring's list and ESBs is do to the 15 year gap between their compilation, and what looks like a preference in ESB for filmed fights vs newspaper accounts for many listed by The Ring.

I wonder why the 60s seem to be so unpopular. Ali appears to be everyone’s favorite from this time and suck up all of the acclaim. Also, there doesn’t seem to be much interest in anything happening below heavyweight as Frazier, Liston, and Patterson films appear to be the next most popular. Emile Griffith gets his due, and there’s a little love for Dick Tiger but there is an odd lack of interest in the light heavyweight and lightweight divisions. Carlos Ortiz, Harold Johnson, Willie Pastrano, and Jose Torres maybe don’t inspire people.

 

I liked the Dupas fight, he was a smart guy. He controlled the distance from the first bell to the last, first by staying on top of Scott and smothering his punches. Later, when he wanted space he created it, did his work, then got back in close.

For the first six rounds he turned southpaw inside and kept his right shoulder tight to Scott's left shoulder and taking his hook out of the fight. It also gave Dupas angles to land his own left hand. He used his head, literally, by getting it under Scott and making him stand straight up, which enabled Dupas to walk him back.

I like and admire guys that are not big hitters, if they know how to fight. They have to work the whole fight, stick to the plan, concentrate. Build the flight from start to finish.

 

Saw five more 60s fights and am reporting back. Also, I'm updating the earlier list as I see them or get new information.

Doug Jones vs Zora Foley II. Recommended by McGrain. A great first two rounds but not a great fight. The action didn’t sustain itself through the last five rounds. Jones is knocked down in the first round, gets up and has to ship a proverbial storm of punches from Foley over two rounds, comes back and knocks Foley out in the seventh.

Dick Tiger vs Henry Hank. What’s this Ultimate Classic Boxing show on Fight Network? Says they show classic fights from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Could be a good resource. Rd 1 Tiger comes flying out of the gate and the two waste no time busting heads. This gon’ be good. Rd 2. Tiger gets a hold of Hank late in the round and delivers some vicious punches right before the bell. Rd 3 Hank tries to jab while Tiger does his best Mike Tyson impression, although maybe it’s a Sonny Liston impression in 1962. Rd. 5 Hank turns counter puncher, very defensive, but oddly most of his attacks are to the body. He’s rolling with the punches well but Tiger as the aggressor is out landing him two to one. Rd 9 No serious action the last couple rounds. All one way traffic from Tiger. Hank’s been feinting, jabbing, trying to box, but there is a clear gulf in talent here. Started good but the pace slowed half way, good but not great. Just a dominant performance by an entertaining heavy hitter reminiscent of what Golovkin does today.

Rocky Rivero vs. Florentino Fernandez I. I think this one comes recommended by Sweet Scientist. This is fun. Rd 2 Rivero is wailing away at Fernandez’ body. The ref steps in to warn Rivero to keep his punches up and Fernandez for holding behind the head. But the action doesn’t let up after the interruption. These boys came to work. ****in’ ref! Get the hell out of there. Gil Clancy, Arthur Mercante, and Whitey Bimstein seem ubiquitous in this era. Rd 3 Rivero let’s loose and the crowd rises to their feet. He’s like a little tenacious bulldog. Kind of reminds me of Tommy Burns or Mickey Walker. Crowd roars at the end of the round. Rd 4 Fernandez holds, pace slows. Rd 5 Trading back and forth. Rd 6 Decent. Rd 7 Good exchange, hard punches landed. The crowd got so loud that the audio turned to static. Rd 8 Great sustained body attack. Fernandez dips at the waist and his glove touches the canvas, which the ref calls a knockdown. Rd 9 Fernandez isn’t using the whole rest period. He keeps getting up early and stretching his legs. Rd 10 The boys decide to end the fight big and go all out for the first two minutes of the round. Fernandez holds a little at the end. A very good not quite great fight. The commentator compared Rivero’s body attack to Bob Montgomery. I think I saw that kind of body attack in Ike Williams vs Beau Jack. Paret used it too. This is interesting, Rivero and Fernandez fought four times both winning on points and by knockout.

Eduardo Lausse vs Marcel Pigou. This comes recommended by My2Cents. Dammit, the fight announcer before the fight announces that they are going to have a rematch of “one of the greatest light heavyweight fights ever witnessed in this arena” Von Clay vs Doug Jones I. I can only find footage of the second fight which is supposed to be a pedestrian affair. It was broadcast on NBC’s Gillete Cavalcade of Sports; so there should be a recording somewhere. “His opponent, from France-” “Boo!” Lol. Five rounds in Pigou goes down on a left hook. Then it turns into absolute WAR. Lausse is trying to finish Pigou and Pigou is trying to even the score. What a mad scrap that was. It was pretty good going before all that. Rd 6. They are both tired out from the last round and mostly throw sloppy haymakers and hug each other. Rd 7 Dang, Lausse goes down, beats the count, then can’t defend himself and the fight is waved off by the referee. He was on his feet, dodging and blocking, but not returning punches. It looked like he might weather the storm and wasn’t as hurt as he’d hurt Pigou two rounds earlier. I’m going to go ahead and call this a good fight with a round of the year in it, kind of like the Doug Jones vs Zora Foley 2 fight.

Carlos Ortiz vs Ismael Laguna I. This is kind of a dull fight. I’m trying to figure out what’s so great about Carlos Ortiz and I think I’ve got the beginning of a notion. He looks so relaxed that he’s almost asleep, sort of like that conservation of energy you see in Joey Maxim, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Pongsaklek Wonjomkam. No wasted motions. His punching style didn’t seem especially notable. I wouldn’t call him a stylist like Mayweather or Lomachenko. He’s kind of conventional, although maybe he does everything textbook and a little better than everyone else. In the last half I started watching his lower body. He’s thinking with his feet. There’s a method there. It’s not the kind of footwork I’m used to seeing like Ali, Robinson, Pastrano, and many moderns utilize, where the objective is to circle at range then dart in. This is more about being in position to punch at middle to close range while balancing and keeping your foot outside of the opponents. It’s that older non-dancing style, the kind with a little skip in it. Can’t recommend this fight.

 

Back with reports on another 5.

Joey Giambra vs Florentino Fernandez. I was searching for the Giardello fights when I ran across this. It had the words ‘great fight’ in the title and said the footage came from Raging Bull. Since he’d recommended a couple others on this list, I checked it out. Pretty good action, if not spectacular. Giambra seems to hold a lot. They clash heads in the seventh and while Fernandez complains to the ref, Giambra wails away at his body. Then the blood just starts gushing out of Fernandez nose and a doctor stops the fight. Too bad, it was starting to get interesting. Status: good not great.

Emile Griffith vs Jose Stable. A decent if unexceptional fight. What was cool was how many great fighters they got to comment in between rounds: Ray Robinson, Archie Moore, Carlos Ortiz, Dick Tiger, etc. But it’s funny how little they have to say. When asked what this or that fighter should do they inevitably say something like “I think he should hit ‘em more.”

Jose Torres vs Eddie Cotton. Fight of the Year, light heavyweights. Torres, the champion, using the peakaboo style of Floyd Patterson, taught to both by their trainer Cus D’Amato, who would go on to train Mike Tyson in the same style. Meanwhile, Cotton is biting the style of Archie Moore, at least as far as footwork. He barely raises his feet off the canvas to move, almost sliding them along without stepping or skipping. Things picking up in round 4. Cotton is ten years older, so maybe that’s why he has that older style. He’s picking up a lot of these middle rounds. There have been flashes of something, but not anything special as yet, through 8. It’s interesting, but I’ve been more absorbed in the banter between Carlos Ortiz, Joe Louis, and the commentator. 11 rounds down, and it’s a decent fight, not amazing. I’m actually really impressed with this commentator, Tommy Roberts. He does a good blow by blow account, and he gets real excited whenever anything good lands. His voice is pleasant. He makes good conversation with Ortiz, and he’s less annoying or smarmy than Jim Lampley. On the other hand, Carlos Ortiz is no Roy Jones Jr. behind a mic. 12 down. This fight must have a crazy ending to have gotten fight of the year honors. Also, everyone agrees that Cotton is up, but I think Torres wins, so maybe a come from behind knockout in the final round? Torres was supposed to blow Cotton away early, but he’s having trouble, maybe because of the size. Torres came up from middle and Cotton is bigger, sometimes even fighting heavyweights. That’s partly why Dick Tiger was able to dethrone him. Plus, Torres’ nose is cut which is interfering with his breathing. It’s over, and nothing really happened. No knockdowns, no seesaw, neither man emptied his gas tank and gave his all. I’m surprised this got FOTY honors. There surely has to be something better from this year. It’s like those weak Oscar Best Picture winners. In 1952 The Greatest Show on Earth beat out High Noon. In 1956 Around the World in 80 Days won and The Searchers didn’t even get nominated. Torres picked up a UD which evoked boos from the crowd. I wasn’t scoring but it did look like Cotton should have won.

Hiroyuki Ebihara vs Efren Torres. R1. Why do the Japanese of this era look like they are walking in bouncy castles? Which one is Ebihara, the one in the black, or the one in the black? Black and white tv and they are wearing the same thing. Somebody got knocked down. Don’t ask me who. The video isn’t clear enough to distinguish features and the commentating is in Spanish. Rd 2. One intense exchange in there, but things settled down. Rd3. The bell rang and a huge number 2 flashed on the screen. I want to say that Torres is pressuring Ebihara, but the footage is blurry and every now and then the fighters are attacked by a ghost. Rd 4. They are making me seasick with all that bouncing. Torres is cut. The ref takes him to be examined by the doctor and they continue. Somebody hit on the break. Not sure what that was about. Rd.7 Torres is knocked through the ropes, but gets back in time to beat the count. Ebihara and him trade blows for a while before the referee waves it off and Torres collapses on his face. Not recommended. It takes more than a good finish to make a great fight.

Jose Stable vs Vince Shomo. Rd1. That’s what I like to see. No feel ‘em out rounds. The guys get right to work. Rd2. Damn! Shomo loses his mouthpiece then knocks Stable half through the ropes. The ref calls that a knockdown and Stable picks up the pace with a fury to even the score. Rd3. Stable hits Shomo with a hook that knocks Shomo half way across the ring into the ropes. Then Shomo hits Stable making Stable’s knees buckle and stumble on shaky legs. Great momentum shifts in this round. Rd4. Shomo loses his mouthpiece again. Rd.5. Shomo getting battered. Some vicious uppercuts in the corner. Rd6. Stable continues with an advantage but Shomo isn’t in trouble when the ref stops the fight and Shomo shoves the referee in protest. I tell you Stable and Scott do not disappoint. Who knew two unheralded welterweights would be in better fights in the 60s than the great Muhammad Ali? Thanks for recommending this one Russell.

 

The 60s were a transition period in boxing. The Post WW2 stars had moved on yet the Golden Era of heavyweight had yet to take off. I also can't help but wonder if the fact it was the first era with a lot of black champions had an impact.

 

Emile Griffith vs. Paret were the first fights that came to my mind.

Mostly, I was looking to see what other posters had suggested. I've seen a ton of fights from the 70s on, but little of the 60s.

 

Rumsfeld? That chubby nerd.

 

If you’re looking for Hagler-Hearns action, this ain’t it, but Willie Pastrano-Harold Johnson deserves a mention. I’m sure I watched it on YouTube some time ago. Masterclass footwork clinic by Willie against a very able opponent.