Why did Ezzard Charles get the Marciano title fight and not Nino Valdes or Harold Johnson?

Yes, although Weill and Norris wanted a Marciano-Valdes fight to take place Miami in 1955. Weill said the fight would draw huge, Valdes “would bring in the Cuban trade”.

Weill was all about money first. He wanted Marciano to hang around until Floyd was ready (even if that meant 1957) so he could set up a blockbuster event and cash out . Rocky was like screw that, especially after Weill stole $10,000 from him vs Cockell. Rocky wanted at least 1 more fight in spring of 1956 for number 50, it was looking very strongly like it would be Bob Baker. Marciano wasn’t going to wait another year for Floyd. He hated Weill, his back was hurting at age 33, and he wanted to spend time with family. Rocky said he had 2 good fights left in him when he retired

 

Cockell was #3 ranked contender. No champion is obligated to fight his #1 for every fight. Valdez was only ranked #1 for about 10 months...effectively 8, not long enough to force the issue.

 

Valdes was incredibly mismanaged. He had another shot to be Mariano’s number 50, a title elimination vs Baker in December 55. Not only did he lose, he stunk out the joint. His manager marketed him so poorly that he didn’t even get selected for elimination tournament to determine Marciano successor.

then later on, Valdes went on another winning streak in 57-58 knocking out all of Europe to get back to number 2. His manager could have negotiated a title shot with Patterson. Instead he screwed that up as well

 

I don’t hold it against Marciano, since like I said Valdes was going to get his shot next. However, since Valdes never ended up getting that title shot or any for that matter, it makes the choice of Cockell appear poor. You can’t have tuneup fights when you only defend your title twice per year.

Cockell was an egregious number 2 contender. Looks awful on film. His record was porous. He barely sneaked by Marciano damaged goods victims Matthews and LaStarza. Won his British title by beating a mummified version of Farr. He was short, fat, couldn’t punch hard. The press openly mocked Cockell after watching him in training camp. They called him the worst title challenger since Johnny paycheck. Marciano himself said “this guy is nothing everyone knows I’m going to kill this guy”. Marciano lost focus enough to get floored in sparring by Toxie Hall.

 

I thought Marciano was supposed to be done after the Cockell fight and Moore successfully lobbied him into fighting one more time.

Cockell was a EBU and Commonwealth champ so there was some politics behind that one. The only European Rocky had fought since beating Joe Louis was Buonvino.

 

Well, you can have tune-up fights if defending twice a year. That allows you to fight once against your #1, which is all anyone can ask.

 

Ironically while all this was going on Marciano himself announced that his next defence was going to be against... Danny Nardico.

https://ibb.co/jyX21Qs

 

I'm guessing Nardico's loss to Norkus screwed that up?

 

Well, by that time it was already pretty clear that the Marciano fight wasn't happening. It seems like Nardico was one of the names kicked around as a potential opponent if Marciano made a winter title defence - being winter, it would be held in a southern state, probably Florida, and it wouldn't hurt the gate if the opponent was a local fighter. Marciano just jumped the gun by announcing his name to the press before it was settled. As it turned out, of course, the whole idea of a winter defence was ultimately abandoned.

 

Good find.

In UNBEATEN, the author said that Weil as interested in Valdes and Bobo Olsen, but Marciano had decided just about immediately that he didn't want to fight anymore. Weil had a conversation with him and told him that he couldn't make him fight, but that he should pretend that he intended to carry on for awhile so they could make money by appearances. So there may never have been any Nardico fight on the table at all.

 

Nino lost to Archie Moore...and Moore was ranked in the #1 spot.

 

Early in 1954 ( or thereabouts) the NY State athletic commissioner accepted a $5000 bond from Valdez for a title shot vs Marciano. Then Valdez beat James J Parker at MSG in a televised bout but looked so bad in doing so his $5000 bond was returned!

The commissioner stated “things could change but would need to wait until Marcianos bout with Charles” which was already in the works.

 

The short of it, Al Weill.

Harold Johnson knocked out Bob Satterfield in two, decisioned Nino Valdes, decisioned Ezzard Charles, decisioned Jimmy Slade twice ... yet somehow Ezzard Charles and Bob Satterfield fight in a title eliminator?

Why? Al Weill.

Nino Valdes decisioned Ezzard Charles and knocks out the European heavyweight champion Heinz Neuhaus, but Nino's 'win' against James J. Parker wasn't 'exciting' enough so his request to fight for the title is denied.

Why? Al Weill.

Al Weill was a matchmaker for the International Boxing Club. He was also Marciano's manager. The IBC decided which contenders fought. If someone he wanted Marciano to fight ended up losing, (like Charles, in back to back fights to Valdes and Johnson) they just kept at it until they could pass off Charles as a viable contender and dismiss the others. Ezzard Charles was one of the original IBC fighters. He had people looking after him.

It was a monopoly at the time. Boxers did what the IBC said. They controlled most of the televised boxing shows, the biggest arenas where the fights were held, the top contenders and the champions.

https://vault.si.com/vault/1956/04/23/the-case-against-the-ibc

 

Marciano did not have any tune up fights from Walcott to Cockell though. It just that Charles pretty much slice the Rock's nose in half in their 2nd fight, they needed a tune up fight against a lesser contender that was not Valez or Moore to see if it would hold up. They really did not want the nose to get undone in a really dangerous fight vs Valdes. Of course Valdes than set up the Moore fight and we know what happen there.

 

Well, we kind of "don't" ... because the biggest heavyweight fight between the two top contenders ... wait for it ... wasn't televised or broadcast on radio.

The IBC controlled all the boxing programming on TV, the top arenas, they controlled Valdes and Moore, and yet the fight wasn't broadcast. And it wasn't held in one of those top arenas.

It was held as far away as they could possibly place it in the US in 1955. A minor league baseball field in the desert of Las Vegas.

Which, in 1955, wasn't exactly the Las Vegas of today.

But it sounds like a doozy.

"In the rough battle, referee Jim Braddock took one round away from each battler because of low blows. There were no knockdowns but each was knocked back onto his heels several times during the exciting slugging match. Archie Moore was bleeding from the nose and mouth at the finish, and his left eye also was swollen. But he could see very well. Nino Valdes forced the fighting in nearly every round and tried to impale his bobbing-weaving opponent with long left jabs and whistling rights. In the 13th session, Nino's left eye was closed tightly shut and he fought on half-blinded and fatigued. Moore's superiority in the 14th and 15th rounds clinched the fight and gave Moore his 20th straight victory." - United Press

Sounds Razor close.

• • The Associated Press had the fight even going into the final round.
  • The United Press scored the fight 8-6-1 for Moore. (Or 6-6-1 after 13 rounds)
  • Valdes' manager, said the decision was "burglary." He accused the IBC of a "double cross" and said, "They used this fight to get Nino out of the heavyweight picture."

Again, sounds RAZOR close.

It's a shame this heavyweight eliminator featuring the #1 heavyweight contender and the World Light Heavyweight Champion and top heavyweight contender ... WASN'T televised (OR BROADCAST ON THE RADIO).

And it's a shame there weren't any judges ... since we know how fans tend to differ in the scoring of fights they watch.

There was just the referee Jim Braddock scoring. (And he wasn't exactly a veteran boxing judge.)

Braddock had it eight rounds for Moore and the other seven he gave to Nino or he couldn't decide.

Again, SOUNDS RAZOR close.

I guess the guys who controlled ALL of televised boxing in the US and all the top arenas in the US and all the top fighters couldn't somehow put it on TV or record any of it for broadcast later?

I mean, who wants people OUTSIDE those who showed up in a minor league park on a Monday night in a Nevada desert in 1955 sticking their noses in.