Who are some? The obvious ones get mentioned over and over again i.e. Arturo Gatti, Mickey Ward, Rocky Marciano, Roberto Duran, Julio Caesar Chavez, etc. But who are some lesser known ones?
i would give Dave mc Auley a mention here. Game as a pheasent and has been in some tough tough scraps, more often than not taking one or several counts. Certainly no ATG but a brave wee fighter
I recall the spirited effort of Adolfo Medel giving Robin Blake all kinds of hell back in probably '85. He had to retire shortly after that due to a kick in the head in while playing soccer. Kevin Pompey, a welterweight that used to be shown a lot on the Tuesday Night Fights on the USA network is another one. Couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag, but fought like he could, which made for great fights.
Tommy Cordoba was obscure, but MAN-O-MAN was he BLOOD 'N GUTS! Had the most unusual strategy of any fighter: He would batter your fists with his face until you quit.
I remember a fight on ESPN between Kenny "Bang Bang" Bogner and Kato Wilson which was so good that Bob Arum awarded each with a $500 bonus immediately after the match, which became ESPN's FOTY for 1982. Kato Wilson wore a black mouthpiece into the ring so there would be a very strange look whenever he opened his mouth. (Black mouthpieces were not common in boxing at the time.) Although a black belt practitioner of the blocking oriented Goju school of Japanese Karate, he actually wasn't seen blocking many punches in the bouts I saw him in. That little bald guy was fun to watch, and got a fair share of televised exposure in the early 1980s on ESPN. Here he is now: http://www.theartofstayingfit.com/meet.htm Considering the punishment he took during his career, he seems to be doing very well. (I can't picture him as a cruiserweight though.)
Harlem Tommy Murphy (check out that famous "bloody" pic of Murph and Abe Attell) Jack Havlin Ever Hammer Joe Mandot (Benny Leonard once called him his next toughest opponent after Ever Hammer) Spike Sullivan (vastly outclassed vs Joe Gans, he made such a gutsy showing that it earned him tons of kudos). Gus Christie and Bob Moha (Milwaukee's tough twosome. Fought EVERYONE and always made it an unpleasant night. I'm sure Les Darcy could have told you all about the roughhouse ways of Christie)
michael gomez oisin ***an scott harrison martin rogan wayne mccullough henry wharton eamonn magee jon thaxton ah....theres loads... how obscure is obscure though ?...these lot too well known ?
A good part of the mentioned fighters aren't particularly obscure. :huh:huh Anyway, Art Jimmerson was a warrior in every sense of the word. His slugfest with Lenny LaPaglia (A Hearn's victim at CW) was an awesome fight. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7CQcqzn99Y[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RjQmTBLTkM[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TMD6RnBu8k&p=B7C8230C41CE0730&playnext=1&index=84[/ame]