When he came over here to fight our own Jack Bodell ( The Swadlincote Swine herder ) I had the good fortune to go watch Jerry work out, I finished work early so had time to go to the gym and feast my eyes on well prob the best white HW since Marciano. First thing that struck me was how strong and sturdy he was in the flesh, legs like tree trunks, huge hairy forearms, and a very broad back, he looked very formidable and intimidating, he had the Californian tan, a thick mop of blondish/brown hair, it was his face that left the biggest impression, rugged but again handsome, heavy brows that showed scars, a flat nose ( of a sorts ) his eyes stood out, they were still alert and engaging at this stage of his career, they would not be that way for much longer, no less a scribe than Mailer said this of Jerrys countenounce " he had the kind of face that would give a Marine sergeant pause, in a bar room brawl " I will go with that. Jerry was my favourite HW for many a year, even overshadowing Ali and Frazier, there was something about him, hard to quantify, but palpable, of course they have been dozens of fighters that ended up like Jerry, all very sad cases, but Quarry's seemed to resonate with me more, he reminded me of my own youth, my own struggles, thanks for the memories..... stay safe guys.
I did the research myself, now this is Ring Magazine top tens only I go back month to month to 1959. The WBA will differ some but not a whole lot in most instances. Kenny Norton vs top ten This content is protected This content is protected Kenny had a great career no doubt about it other Fighter's like Earnie Shavers (# 2 WBC), Scott LeDoux and Tex Cobb among others might have been ranked by other affiliates, but not by This content is protected at the time they fought Norton. And Jose Luis Garcia attained a World ranking after he had defeated Norton.
Great Description of the "Bellflower Bomber" Jerry Quarry. Jack Bodell was at the best of his Career when he fought Jerry. He had won 23 of his last 25 bouts dating back to 1966, only losing twice to Henry Cooper and only stopped once. He beat Gizzi (Twice) O'Halloran, Roman , and ranked Bugner among others had all 3 British and Europeon titles World Ranked : This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
Hi Buddy. You know your british boxing, good to see, poor old ( well he looked old ) Bodell he was a much derided fighter,mostly seen as a country bumpkin, up against Prescot and Bugner he looked like the ugly 3rd sister, but to be fair he was tough ( Quarry fight notwithstanding ) and tenacious, carried a hefty dig, and immense self belief, had Cooper not been around, he might have reigned for a a lot longer, sadly remember an interview on ITV just before one of his fights, he was wearing a cardigan that had 3/4 holes in it, and was buttoned up wrong, he didn't do himself any favours when it came to the fashionable early 70s , also didn't he cut a toe off while mowing the grass . stay safe ronny, chat soon.
I guess Bodell had opend a fish and chips and Muhammad Ali said and would be there for his grand opening , One great human aspect came outta boxing that day.
Anyone who bumps their own thread after 3 years after his own initial post about the Quarry Brothers .. tells you 4 things 1) He's looking like Burt Reynolds and probably drives a 6.6 litre trans am , look at his avatar .. or he's a 2) Spitting image of Bobby from Saturday Night Fever ..... 3) or hes just a hard core CA boxing fan from Bakersfield Either way the Quarry Brothers were as tough as they come
