Les Darcy

He fought a lot of the best opposition of the time and was well respected as a top fighter of his day.

But to tell you the truth my knowledge of Les is embarrassingly bad considering Im an Aussie.

 

Pretty sure Les Darcy died at around 21..

He wouldve dominated from those years onwards IMO.

Very strong lad, wouldve developed into a beast during
his 20s.

Had a hell of a reach, pretty sure he had the reach
of Jess Willard - but Darcy was more than a head shorter
than Willard.

Dempsey is on record somewhere, saying that Les Darcy
wouldve walloped him.

 

Probably one of the strongest MWs ever; he was built like a brick wall, and fought like one too. Not sure exactly how skilled he was though, although he shows some technical ability in the footage of him. I don't know how much longer he would've been able to make the MW limit either, had he not died; his ideal weight was probably super-middle.

It's a shame we never got to see him against Greb, who was coming up right around the time Darcy died. That fight was surely just around the corner.

 

Here's the Darcy-Chip fight on Youtube:
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Here's a clip from one of his fights with Eddie McGoorty:
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This is a very moving tribute someone made of Darcy. The music at the beginning is from Mozart's "Requiem Lacrimosa."
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Said it before and I'l say it again. Darcy WAS the best M/W in the world 1915-1917.

No M/W would have beaten Darcy over 20 rounds... especially not Greb if they met in 1915-1917. I realise Greb is loved by Classic members, but he was a novice in comparison to Darcy at that point in time.

Carpentier would also cop a hiding at L/HW. Henri Marchand fought both Darcy and Georges, saying Darcy would beat Carpentier.. "I should know, I fought them both"

Ted Kid Lewis stated Darcy would destroy any M/W in the world after seeing a sparring exhibition.

Leading H/W contender to Jess Willards Crown, 6' 5" Fred Fulton lasted 2 rounds of a sparring exhibition.. before quitting. Darcy made him look a fool..

For those who wonder why I dismiss Greb as a threat to Darcy in 1917 or prior, and after anyway, take a look at the records of both men. Compare them by the age of 21 in terms of KO's.. number of 10+ rounds fought.. etc.. Greb was teething.

Theres a list of biographies on Les Darcy. I recommend avid boxing historians to read up on Les. There was not a better M/W before him.

 

I've heard accounts that Jeff Smith was on the verge of stopping Les in their first encounter that were corroborated by ...Jeff Smith.

Outside of that (which I've never heard any mention of anywhere else) I don't think Les was ever dropped or hurt in any fight,and remember he won titles all the way up to Heavyweight in Australia,which is amazing for such a young man.

Put it in the bank he would've destroyed Al McCoy if he had've put his title on the line and a win against Carpentier would also be highly likely.

Still the best fighter Australia's produced imo and could maybe have been one of the fighters ever.Who knows?

A

 

Arguable regarding Jeff Smith..

The first bout between the two ended with Darcy being disqualified. Smith landed a low blow which dented Darcy's groin sheild.. Darcy had turned his back and limped to the corner protesting a low blow... the referee told Darcy to box on. At the end of the round Darcy pulled down his trunks to show the dented shield and his corner threw (dropped) in the towel. Harold Baker assumed it was a signal Darcy had retired and disqualified him.

Darcy had won four rounds with one round even.

Jeff Smith was very unfavourable with Australia's 20 round bouts being a monthly occurance. A lot of circumstance surrounded this stoppage also.

I'd love to hear more of whats available O/S regarding his opponents comments or attitudes towards Les. A very close friend spoke to Jeff Smiths son in 1993 who stated Smith held no grudges towards Darcy at all, yet he was furious at Stadiums Ltd. Smith also wanted to fight Les in the USA after he'd arrived.

 

I like your avatar pic.

Isn't it sad that two of Australia's best ever fighters died so tragically young?

At least Dave Sands got a bit more of an international career than Darcy but he still never got the chance to face the La Motta's,Robinson's or Cerdan's.

Still his two wins over Olsen,victory over Villemain and first round KO of Dick Turpin speaks volumes of his prowess.

A forgotten great for mine.

 

Darcy is difficult for me to rank and quanitfy as such because he's still somewhat of an engima because of the fact he died so young. A bit like fellow MW Stan Ketchel, although Ketchel had time to achieve and prove more.