ATG BANTAMWEIGHT TOURNIE: Round 1, Fight 1 - RUBEN OLIVARES KO12 LOU SALICA

On to the bantamweights!

Lou Salica (seeded 16) is the most underrated bantamweight in the history of the division.

One of fourteen children born in America to Italian immigrants, Salica never received schooling past the age of twelve; for him, it was to be fighting or poverty. A golden gloves victory at 112lbs confirmed that it would be fighting.

I’d suggest that his 1934 victory over the iron-chinned Korean contender Joe Tei Ken was where it all began, but, while he was already scrappy (Salica dropped Ken in the eighth) nobody could have predicted the criminality that Salica was about to perpetrate against the massed ranks of the bantamweight division. The highly ranked “Young” Tommy went next, again out-pointed over ten, this time in something of a surprise, before Speedy Dado put an (unavenged) speed bump in the road. This was understandable; when he out-pointed Indian Quintana in December he had matched his fourth name bantamweight in as many months. Just 23-2-2 he was ushered, probably prematurely, into an alphabet strap contest with the legendary Midget Wolgast.

Wolgast, one of the very greatest flyweights in history, had already defeated a green Salica but that had been the year before. In 1935 the real Salica emerged. He found Wolgast in the sixth, hammered him, dropped him, and took the fight by a shade. He was now ranked the #2 bantamweight contender in the world and would spend an astonishing decade among the top four.

Salica was a tough, stopped only once in the final year of his career, against the all-time great Manuel Ortiz, whom he also defeated in 1939. Salica burgeoned alongside his ring generalship, a master of tempo and range, a fighter who got better with age until he didn't.

A wonderful fighter.

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Ruben Olivares (Seeded 1) was an absolute doomsday machine of a fighter, a punching artist and a genius both. He did not so much knock opponents out as immolate them, vaporize them, vanish them from competition and their own senses. A strange separation seemed to occur within the fighter when he landed his best; knockout victories over Jose Bisbal and Efren Torres, especially, instill within me the alarming sense that we are watching a man having his soul removed from his body but that the body has not yet been fully alerted. The slow collapse of Jim Braddock by Joe Louis has always been seen as something special; I think Olivares did this kind of thing almost routinely.

Olivares ruled during the single most destructive division in history at the poundage. He ruled in 1969 and 1970 before Chucho Castillo unseated him at the second time of asking. Olivares re-took his title in the rematch and ruled once more between 1971 and 1972, at which time Rafael Herrera took over. Olivares got two bites at Herrera and despite the fact that he was, by then, tight at the weight, his failure to defeat his nemesis is the one real knock on his bantamweight legacy.

He took the championship from one of the greatest bantamweights ever to have lived in Lionel Rose, destroying him almost as easily as Brisbal or Torres, smashing him out in five. His first defense was against Alan Rudkin, who had been in desperately close fights with both Harada and Rose. Olivares blasted him to the canvas three times in two rounds, dusting him off like a journeyman. His second defense was against perhaps the greatest bantamweight contender in history, Chucho Castillo, whom he ripped and harried and battered to a clear decision defeat. After swapping the title with Chucho, Olivares added number four contender Kazuyoshi Kanazawa and all-time great puncher Jesus Pimentel. His record, which up until recently had stood at 61-0-1 now read 68-1-1. Olivares was atop a pile of bantams as brilliant as had ever been assembled for the second time.

When the punches failed, Olivares morphed into one of the greatest ring generals in history. His generalship failed him only once. Few such skilled boxers held as much power. Few power punchers have boxed with such skill.

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Who will win under the following rules?

15 round fight.
1950s referee.
8oz boxing gloves.

Cast your vote and explain yourself in a post below! You have 3 days.

 

I'm picking Olivares on points. Salica was a natural born ring general with a great chin and a real gift for getting into scrappy fights when required. I think he would box early and after a couple of frights he'd end up looking to survive and maybe land a significant counter. Wide decision victory for Olivares with a very interesting first six rounds.

 

Someone vote for Lou!

 

Change your vote to Lou.

 

Everyone already knows i'm not just a glory-seeker...here is your chance to prove it!

 

Nah, I want everyone to vote for who they think would win, just makes me sad seeing Lou get the **** end of the stick. But I like him the most and I couldn't find a card for him. Legit don't think he would get stopped though.