Sorry if this is common knowledge, but I never realized just how much Moore yo-yo'd in weight (and weight classes) in the 1950s. I know that it wasn't uncommon for blown-up light heavyweights to take fights at heavyweight in that era, but has anyone ever gone back and forth like this? In around a year and a half, Moore went from: 175 against Joey Maxim in late January 1954 to 190 against Bob Baker in early March 1954 to 189.5 against Bert Whitehurst in June 1954 to 173 against Harold Johnson in August 1954 to 196.5 against Nino Valdez in May 1955 to 175 against Bobo Olson in June 1955 to 188 against Marciano in September 1955 In a similar time span later in the decade, he went from: 189 against Howard King in August 1958 to 173.75 against Yvon Durrell in December 1958 to 192 against Sterling Davis in March 1959 to 174.25 against Yvon Durrell in August 1959 to 206.5 against Willi Bisamof in May 1960.
Yeah, crazy discipline it took to make those light heavy fights when he's 42, 43 years old and enjoying eating and fighting as a heavyweight. I know he used to chew the steak and spit it out, said it gave him the nutrients without the actual meat that would add weight. Said he learned in Australia from aboriginal people. Don't know if that was just a gimmick for the press men but it's a good story anyway. He was a notoriously hard trainer too.
Back then people didn't realize how dangerous and unhealthy gaining and losing weight that quickly is.
He was royally pissed off at his manager for booking him to fight Bobo Olson in a LHW defense right after Nino Valdez in a HW eliminator. Theres a video where his manager is interviewing him prior to Olson and they get into a slightly heated exchange over it.
They didn't need to diet because of the way they ate ! lol Somebody has actually posted the old article here : This content is protected
To have longevity, let alone HIS longevity with all those fluctuations is insane. Not to mention the sheer quality of his resume.
Good info. Moore & Marciano both weighed the same 188 lbs for their fight. But you have to wonder what the effect was on Moore to go from 196.5 (Valdez fight) down to 175 (Olsen fight) a month later, then back up to 188 three months later. The Olson defense was "unnecessary", and Moore might just have fine-tuned his 196.5 Vadez fight weight down to 192 or so for Marciano fight, and been stronger.
Anyone have a sense of what Moore's optimal fighting weight would have been during those two periods (54-55 and 58-60)?
Only all time greats can do that and still fight at the top level yes sir archie is one bad son of a gun