This confirms Gibbons' own account of his weight-making troubles published in his Boxing Blade article on November 1, 1924. It's nice to learn for sure that it was not just sour grapes on Mike's part. By the way, I am one of those who has viewed a more complete version of the fight than is available on the GFC version, and based on what I saw I think Gibbons won rather handily. But this has already been discussed to death on another thread.
Whats the GFC version and where can more of this fight be seen? I am puzzled by the fight outcome as well, It is not like Packey sucks but I didnt see him winning that at all.
The Greatest Fights of the Century version was the film version issued by Jim Jacobs and Bill Cayton under the name "Big Fights" primarily for syndication on television. 16mm prints have since been picked up by collectors and then been reduced to video tape and now various digital mediums for ease of viewing. The version currently on youtube is the Greatest Fights of the Century version. This version was edited down from a larger version acquired by Jacobs and Cayton. Steve Lott , who is now the founding CEO of Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas, at one time worked as an assistant to Jacobs and Cayton and had a role in editing their collection of fight films for the purpose of marketing. The entire collection was eventually sold to ESPN. ESPN likely would lay claim to the rights to the longer version. I have seen the longer version years ago, but I don't know if or where it can be purchased.
Gibbons said about his troubles making weight in the same article too. He said he'd have a rematch at 150 but wouldn't do it at 147 again.
Perhaps I'm missing something, but which "Hall of Fame" are we talking about? Aren't there two or three that are active right now? Canastota, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. I'm just going by memory, so I may be way off. The Ring Magazine had a "The Boxing Hall of Fame" for decades up until the late eighties. If I remember correctly, it was seen as legit. It was a big honor to be in that Hall of Fame. Are the guys who were in Ring's HOF also in the IBHOF by default? Or did the IBHOF's establishment effectively wipe the slate clean of those who were already in Ring's long running boxing Hall of Fame? When I see "The Hall of Fame" in a boxing forum, these questions come to mind. I mean, memorials and honors come and go, as we've seen in the news. When I was in third grade, we planted a tree at my elementary school to commemorate the US on its' Bicentennial. Over the years I watched the tree grow and flourish. It was big and beautiful. The last time I drove by it had been cut down. It was merely a stump.
When a question about HOFers comes up (who fought the most, beat the most, etc.), I believe there's an understanding, that we're talking about the IBHOF only. You will no doubt remember, that until not so long ago, if a boxer had been inducted into both the WBHOF and the IBHOF, on his BoxRec profile page the logo of both Halls were shown. But recently they have been weeding out the former - so only the IBHOF is now displayed.
Muhammad Ali faced 14 fighters who were in either the International Boxing Hall of Fame, or its predecessor, the World Boxing Hall of Fame. Archie Moore Sonny Liston Floyd Patterson Bob Foster Joe Frazier George Foreman Ken Norton Larry Holmes Cleveland Williams * World Boxing Hall of Fame only George Chuvalo * World Boxing Hall of Fame only Jerry Quarry * World Boxing Hall of Fame only Ernie Terrell * World Boxing Hall of Fame only Jimmy Ellis * World Boxing Hall of Fame only Oscar Bonavena * World Boxing Hall of Fame only of which he beat 13
