I was reading that an Irish American fighter Billy Graham once beat Sugar Ray Robinson as an amateur, he went on to fight Kid Gavilan for the title. I had a look online for more info on Billy Graham i.e. especially his Irish links, does anyone know any more details on this fighter?
A really good welterweight from the 40's and 50's, I first came across him when I was checking out the careers of a few guys he fought and had a great series of fights with, like Gavilan and Basilio. He also has wins over Gavilan, Basilio and Giardello on his record. Really good technical fighter with a stinging jab from what I can remember. Here he is beating Basilio: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WpnoiRf_Gg[/url] There's not a lot of him on the internet that I could find, but I think there's a few other bits of footage of him on youtube, against Gavilan I think.
Looking forward to seeing how the boy gets on Have been praying for him to turn over for a long time now!
This the bloke? [url]http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9689&cat=boxer[/url] Not a bad record.
Yeah, that's him. Cheers Sportsokings for the youtube link and info. I had a look as well there and couldnt find anything more on his Irish link, I am curious to know more about his Irish heritage. He seems to have been an interesting character as well from what I've read.