Where do we place him? Pretty fine record. Gardner seemed to have his number but he beat some solid to great fighters and otherwise was undefeated. Is he underrated and forgotten or best forgotten?
He was quite influential later in life on West Coast boxing scene becoming president of the Olympic Auditorium. Any other thoughts or is he a mere footnote at best?
Was curious and glad you commented as I don't know about him .... My guess is he's worthy enough not to scroll of page 1 without others chiming in
There are some who think that timeline can't fight. Root will be a bit of a revelation, as he looks good on film. Solid record. Why he stopped boxing at age 29 to me is unknown.
Just to explain, that vid is of Root getting stopped by Gardner, one of his only 3 losses (two to Gardner and one to Hart).
Just found an old 1905 interview where Root claimed that he had been bothered in his fight against Hart by some injuries he sustained before the fight and that his physician had advised him to postpone the fight.
The win over McCoy is air-brushed out of boxing history, he also defeated Hart, Gardner, Byers, Carter, Flynn... much better than fighters that get a lot of mention on here like Jack Monroe, Klondike, probably Childs, Griffin too. Anyone else feel he got a fast count versus Gardner?