burt got me thinking about this when he mentioned beau jack using it... apart from jack, caferino garcia and kid gavilan, who else from boxings big names from back then used it ?
There is footage of Robinson using a bolo like right. Vintage instructional literature does caution that the safe and effective application of the bolo requires a considerable level of skill. (Don't ask me which of my manuals contains this information just yet. I'm still not mobile enough from the ankle I shattered in June to dive into storage.)
Napoles was big on it. Used it better than any of them, in my opinion. His uppercuts in general were some of the best I've ever seen.
The bolo punch is almost obsolete now. The bolo with the full overhead wind up is a very risky punch to throw; a regular uppercut is harder and shorter. I can’t think of a heavyweight who used a real bolo. More of a flashy signature move than a seriously effective finishing blow IMO. I don’t think I have ever seen a genuine full bolo with the full circuit wind up take anyone out. Is there footage of one dropping anyone? I would love to know.
Pedroza came closest to doing this against Pat Ford of anybody I saw applying it with force. (Ali's bolo punch on Dunn was more of a sham, as a stiff breeze would have blown over Richard at that point.) In his first match with Lockridge, Pedroza's bolos to the body slowed down the challenger noticeably. There may well be footage of El Alacran using it to take out an opponent somewhere.
this is very early sugar ray {1940 golden gloves final i think this is}....but something like at 3.50 here ? [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9wY1EJhM8M[/ame]
Good example. Here, he does it again at 1:16 in 1939 against NY Daily News GG successor Louis Valentine. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88qNlf7cohk[/ame]