Have any details on how it went down? Curious about it. Why was it only scheduled for 10 rounds? Why no second match-up? Was the first simply that definitive? How far past his best was Armstrong?
armstrong was well past his best and if you read "pound for pound" it sounds like an act of charity on robinsons part and he probably carried hammerin henry
It was a 1 sided affair with SRR supposedly carrying Armstrong, hence no rematch. Allot of none title bouts were 10rounders. Armstrong wasn't as past prime as his appologists will have you believe as he had some of his best wins the year before.
Robinson idolised Armstrong and made a point of fighting Fritzie Zivic to avenge him. I therfore find it plausible that he carried Armstrong.
Robinson outboxed him all the way to win a clear decision. Reportedly Robinson was rocked at one point in one of the early rounds, but after that made a concentrated effort to avoid any inside exchanges and keep the fight entirely on the outside. Reports say that Robinson's refusal to engage Armstrong was likely a combination of his personal admiration for him (he was always his professed idol) and his respect for Hank's still dangerous infighting ability. It was a typical non-title bout, neither man held a title. Yes. Plus, Armstrong retired right after the fight. Well past, though still considered a dangerous contender. He had looked badly shopworn when losing to Zivic the second time, and retired for a year. After a year's rest (which allowed his wounds to heal), he made a comeback, and although the skin around his eyes held up (which enabled him to finally beat Zivic in their 3rd fight) he did not have the same relentless fury that he had in his prime; he was starting slowly in fights and picking his spots, which needless to say is a bit un-Armstrong like. At the end of the previous year, Armstrong was rated as the #2 contender by The Ring, one notch below Robinson. But after his loss to Beau Jack soon after that, it was generally acknowledged that he was well past his best. The Robinson fight was basically considered one last shot to put himself back near the top of the rankings. Armstrong retired immediately after the Robinson fight, but then made one last comeback the following year. He had a rough start, but then managed to beat a string of contenders, and by the end of the year was rated as the #1 contender for one final time. But after losing what many people considered a highway robbery against Chester Slider, he quit for good. Had the champion (Freddie Cochrane) not been in the army and the title frozen, Armstrong would've almost certainly gotten a title shot at some point, as he was in line for it several times. Would've been interesting to see if he could've added yet another title winning effort to his resume.
