Just wanted to throw a sort of random thread out there about a fighter who seemed to constantly be on TV back in my formative years, WBC Junior-Welterweight champ Bill Costello (he was known as "Billy" mostly, but professed to hate that name). He came on the scene with a TKO of a largely spent bullet in Bruce Curry, then defended three times against Ronnie Shields and two elderly retreads in Saoul Mamby and Leroy Haley, winning all three by decision. Do yourself a favor and have a look at the Shields fight if you haven't seen it. The first six rounds especially are great fun. Costello certainly had his flaws as a fighter. He was a bit wooden and lacked movement, was extremely chinny and wasn't a very good finisher. I do remember one story I read about his worth as a man though, which matters more. He was already a known commodity apparently, and defeated a no-hoper of some kind in their bout, and was about to leave the auditorium with his team in a limo when he noticed his opponent standing alone on a street corner. His cornermen had deserted him after his loss, and he was in a strange town with no way to get home. Costello gave him his trip in the limo, telling the driver to take him wherever he needed to go. Total class act. I've read a few things that describe him as that kind of person. Sadly, he died of cancer at 55, but is occasionally remembered here and there in threads like these. Any thoughts about Costello as a fighter? For a while, they were trying to hype a fight between him and Aaron Pryor. Don't think that would have gone well but who knows.
He was a good boxer/ puncher. Great left hook. Average speed, defense and chin. Totally exposed by the speed and power of one Lonnie Smith.
In truth, Smith wasn't really powerful but speed kills. Costello was bombarded by shots he never saw.
I thought he wasn't anything special at all, and was really surprised that he beat the guys he did beat. Guess he was better than I thought. Evidently a nice guy too
There’s a lot about Costello in that book. When he fought Mamby, the slot on ABC (I think) came open when another fight fell out and they offered it to Costello. His team, Valle in particular IIRC, really did not want the Mamby fight. Guy was slick and made people look bad and there was sorry he would pull the upset. They wanted the date but wanted to fight someone who was better suited (they felt) to Costello’s style. The network and team went back and forth and finally it was take it or leave it and we’ll offer the date to someone else so they took it. And Bill(y) more or less won by shutout. But there’s a lot of inside stuff with him and his team that’s worth reading, including how he was really overshadowed and perhaps somewhat shortchanged by his management team, who also had Gerry Cooney (I guess it was the Whacko Twins). In truth, I think he kind of benefitted from that as he was hardly anything super special but got a lot of TV dates and paydays probably from network execs who wanted to be in their good graces on the odd occasion when Cooney would actually follow through with a contracted fight.
That story is actually in The Black Lights as well, probably the best boxing book I've ever read. The fighter he helped out was Bruce Curry, who as you mentioned he had just won the title from. Costello seemed like a class act and had good training and management. An easy guy to cheer for.
Honestly, The Black Lights gives a truer account of how the business of boxing works than anything else I've ever read. Having operated in that space for a time, I can tell you that most fans have no clue.
I remember being really surprised by the loss to Lonnie Smith in that Costello, as I remember from seeing his rise, seemed super sturdy and I would've never have guessed he would be blown out by Lightning Lonnie and bounced off the canvas numerous times. I would've expected him to be outboxed by him but be a hard charging and tough out. Costello always presented as a pretty serious and dignified guy who could do other things besides boxing well. I hope he did them before he passed.
When you say he was wooden, I immediately agreed. However, I should mention one of his best performances was one he lost. I never thought he could fight any way but the way he was known until he fought Arguello. I thought Arguello was going to land on that predictable jaw and we'd be going home early. But instead, his trainer - was it still Valle by this time? - turned him into a shifty, angle-offering boxer-puncher and I gave him the first 3 rounds against Arguello. Finally in the 4th, after absorbing every well-mapped punch by Costello, Arguello caught him. But it was a remarkable plan and it showed he could follow a strategy.