This content is protected What a great fight. A classic. Two ATGs here. It doesn’t get better than this. Even at age 37, Moore was a great great fighter. And he had to be to defeat an opponent the caliber of a prime Harold Johnson. Johnson would normally be an impossible task for an aging champion, but not Archie..with his fast hands, high work rate, incredible left jab, and textbook perfect boxing skills. But the Mongoose brought a lot to the table. Along with sporting perhaps the greatest sneaky counter right hand of all time, he possessed an astonishing IQ, great upper body movement, top shelf defense, and he was an incredible finisher. Great fight for 13 rounds. Johnson slightly ahead...then Archie landed that right. Then he finished him off in very clutch fashion. One of the more underrated finishes of all time. Time was running out for archie
Marciano has Moore so far behind that he needed a desperation KO to win. But that isn't accurate. Johnson was ahead, but not so far that he could afford to lose the last two rounds. The ref had it 6-5-2 for Johnson. (which means if Moore, as very likely, won the 14th, he would have been even in rounds going into the 15th) One judge had it 8-5 for Johnson (Archie couldn't make up the rounds on this card) The 2nd judge actually had Archie ahead, unless boxrec is giving an inaccurate score. So if boxrec is accurate, Moore could have won the decision by winning the last two rounds, although Johnson was slightly ahead going into the 14th. The AP had it 7-5-1 for Johnson, which meant Archie could tie it up in rounds. The UPI had it 7-6 for Johnson, so Archie could still have won in rounds if he took the last two. The biggest thing which stands out to me is Archie coming on despite his years. This happened with Valdes in 1955 also. Archie is quoted as saying his legs were gone, but he seems to have held onto his stamina.
Watch his win over Doug Jones for the title. Master class boxing performance. He won 14 out of 15 rounds against a guy who pushed Ali to the brink of defeat.
Moore really was something in 1954. He beat Valdes over 15. I see no reason why Cleveland Williams would do any better.
