Martin, Bonavena, Quarry, Patterson. Quite a run, divided opinions on the scoring of Ellis-Patterson aside. And then he ran into Frazier.
Hmm? I've never looked into this run but you're right, that's an impressive streak . Better streaks than you'll see today. Good piece of information you've posted , thanks.
It was a 13-month run that basically "made" his entire career. Ellis didn't do much before the tournament (23-5 as a middleweight, light heavy and heavyweight), and, although he remained highly rated for years, didn't really do much and lost quite a bit afterward. It was just like one burst of peak form. Then it was over.
I've always felt Ellis was a bit underrated overall. He gave Bonavena quite a hiding & dropped him twice, something Frazier couldn't do in 2 tries. It was quite a shocking feat for any1 who remembered seeing Ellis as a scrawny MW earlier in the decade. As a MW he was raw & underweight. After teaming up w/ Dundee, he had his tonsils removed & quickly filled out into a LHW-HW. His breakout win before the tourney was a 1-round blowout of Johnny Persol. After losing to Frazier, he grinded out a hard-fought, but convincing win over Chuvalo. His 1-shot KO loss to Shavers seems to have been the catalyst that ruined him & sent him on a steep decline. This content is protected This content is protected I know I'm in the minority, but I never thought that fight was a clear cut robbery. Patterson landed the harder & more damaging punches, but he fought in very selective & sporadic spurts while Ellis was often busier & more consistent w/ his output IMO. Ellis was also fighting thru a broken right hand iirc.
He had a pretty great 13-month run, given how his career started. But, before the tournament and after Patterson, he didn't really do too much. Lots of cancelled fights and rumored bouts that never came off. His run in the tournament kept him highly rated for years, though.
