I just watched his remach with Armstrong. What a great fighter! wonder why he doesn't get more attention on this forum?
Ambers had the bad fortune to peak at the same time that Canzoneri and Armstrong were in his division, both of whom not only hindered his efforts to become/remain a champion, but also overshadowed him to some degree. He was a very tough, cagey fighter who didn't do any one thing spectacularly, but could do a little bit of a lot of different things, plus he could adapt his style as needed. He was never really given a chance to make his mark as champion, so to speak. It took him some time to finally distinguish himself as the top man in his division (after he'd avenged previous losses to Canzoneri and Pedro Montanez), and right when he should've been able to settle down and enjoy a long reign, Armstrong moves into his division and takes his title. He finally gets the title back from him (albeit on a very questionable decision), only to run into one of the hardest hitting lightweights of all time, Lew Jenkins, and he promptly loses his title once again. As said, his title-regaining decision over Armstrong was very questionable IMO. I thought Armstrong pretty much beat the heck out of him all the way (probably even more decisively than in their first fight). The referee very questionably took five rounds away from Hank for low blows, yet Armstrong had beaten him so badly IMO the decision still looked very questionable. The dubious nature of this win I think is another reason Ambers is so underrated today. He really should get more credit for coming back and upsetting Canzoneri, after Canzoneri has soundly beaten him in their first fight (people are too quick to dismiss Tony as having "gotten old" overnight). He also is one of the very few fighters to ever stop Baby Arizmendi (who recently made the Hall of Fame), and he overcame a broken jaw to beat Fritzie Zivic by decision. He also has a very impressive win over Bummy Davis, the dynamite punching welterweight contender who was unbeaten at the time. I'd say that fight was probably Ambers' defining moment.
He has an outside shot at Top 10 all-time at lightweight, and certainly warrants inclusion in anyone's Top 20, based upon his accomplishments. He was smart, versatile, and just a tough, tough guy.
Ambers was a very, very good fighter indeed, sadly the lack of footage on him and other reasons already stated by My2sense make it so that not many folks know much about him or give him the kudos he deserves. I like the man`s style a lot, very mobile and clever boxer he was, his fight against Slugger White shows all his skilllset in a what was a good fight.
Very underrated. The list of opponents he beat is simply amazing. One of the best resumes of any fighter of the era, in one of the strongest eras.
He gets overshadowed by Ross, Canzeroni, Armstrong, and McLarnin but he proved he could hang with and beat those fighters. That has to be the best lightweight era ever. Amazing champion
He was very good. But he was twice beaten by Armstrong, by Canzoneri when Conzoneri still had something left, and then wiped out by Lew Jenkins, so he doesn't quite get into the top 10.
the 2nd Armstrong fight is all i have saw of him. But he was quite good just couldnt keep Hank off of him
I didn't think the decision was that bad, tbh. Ambers certainly did enough to win at least 3 or 4 rounds without the fouls, so if Armstrong forfeited 5, Ambers was bound to win. Personally I think Ambers did much better than that.
Hm, he isn´t often talked about but when he is talked about it´s always with respect. Great fighter who managed to make an impact in an era which was one ef the deepest eras around his weight. I don´t think he is quite on the level of Benny Leonard, Joe Gans, Roberto Duran, Carlos Ortiz and Ike Williams but he fits in after them quite nice and above fighters like Ismael Laguna, Ken Buchannan and Esteban DeJesus. I think Top10 is quite reasonable when you look at his resume.