have watched a limited amount of footage of him(ie giardello and i personally think he won the fight that joey sued for)and find him a very good fighter . how would billy fare in todays game?i also believe he damn near beat srr in the amateurs(not quite sure)this guy was the real deal why not a champion?
Gavilan stood in his way and was able to edge Graham twice in close title fights. I believe he would have reigned over many inferior champions but it was a tough era to make it in. Gavilan at welterweight, and Robinson at middleweight. Tough to get past that.
A little tidbit about Billy Graham. In the early 1940s my dad took me to St Nicks Arena in NY. After getting our tickets we waited on line to hand the tickets over to the attendant. In front of me was a young fellow holding a gym bag waiting for the ticket attendant to let him in.The guy looked like a choir boy,so boyish looking he was. Well it turned out this young guy fought a 4 rd prelim fight, and his name was Billy Graham. I saw him many times after that night ,fighting main events. Graham was a great stylist, not much of a puncher - and surprisingly had an iron chin. In 126 bouts Billy Graham was never floored,and Whitey Bimstein his famous trainer, insisted that he never saw Billy Graham ever staggered. A great welterweight during a talent laden 147 pound division in the great 1940s...
Yes indeed, great, great chin. Excellent boxer, very smart in the ring, not great power but compensated with ring smarts and boxing ability. Dubbed the "uncrowned champion" after the first Gavilan fight which many claim was a huge robbery. I have footage of his fights against Pellone, Shans, Rafferty, Larkin, Herring, Young, Basilio, Giardello, Gavilan. Would love a complete copy against Basilio if anyone has it.
Doc, those names you have mentioned sure rings a bell for me. Tony Pellone, Cleo Shans,Tippy Larkin, Jimmy Herring, Paddy Young etc,were fighters who i watched live numerous times in NY. As I have posted before Tippy Larkin was a great pure boxer who whipped Billy Graham decisevely. I saw Tippy a few times fight,and if Larkin had Billy Graham's set of whiskers, he would have been an alltime great fighter. I would love to see a film of Tippy Larkin as a reminder of what he was in his heyday....
Burt, I can send you a copy of the Graham-Larkin footage if you like. It runs for 16mins. PM me your details.
Someone once described Billy Graham as "as good as a fighter can be without be truly great," and I think that may have been an accurate assessment of him. Graham was good enough to compete with greats and ATGs, but couldn't quite distinguish himself from them. I always felt he was one of those fighters who looked spectacular against B and C level opponents, but when he stepped it up against the elite fighters of his day (ie: Gavilan, Giardello, Castellani) he fought much more tentatively and often did just enough to fall short. He lost his title fight with Gavilan because he stayed on the defensive for the first two thirds of the fight and allowed Gavilan to outwork him, and didn't really step it up until the championship rounds after Gavilan got tired.
Doc,I would love to see the Larkin/Billy Graham footage, but I am technically challenged. Just started on the internet a short time ago in my Autumn years. If you can E-mail me at [dempsey200@msn.com] with some suggestions,I would surely appreciate your help. Tippy Larkin was seldom beaten by decision, but i saw him kod a few times. Thanks doc...b.b.
