Does anyone have any opinions/recollections of Bobby Boyd? The fifties middleweight who fought among others Giardello, Lausse, Fullmer, Mimms, and Benton...
Bobby was a good boxer-puncher with good pop in both fists and who was quick on his feet, but his main liability was having a weak chin which failed him in several fights. Funny though how he managed to avoid getting KOed by the hardest puncher he ever fought in Eduardo Lausse yet got stopped by lesser punchers/fighters. Although I believe that cut Lausse suffered between the eyes early in the fight had a lot to do with helping Bobby out in lasting the distance, because his timing and balance were not the same after he suffered that gash and he had a hard time seeing all the incoming leather which meant he fought a more defensive fight than he usually did.
He must have been able to whack pretty good to put Gene Fullmer on the floor. I read about this fight but never got to see Bobby Boyd in action.
It saddens me a touch to see Bobby Boyd's name -- haven't thought of him in many years. He was a crackin' good middleweight in the '50s, in line for a title shot. Jimmy Morris, a good friend, and a veteran pro who I used to spar with at the 5th St. Gym in Miami, was strapped for cash and agreed -- on a week's notice -- to fight Boyd, as a tune-up, in the main-go at the Miami Beach Auditorium. Boyd was razor sharp. With only one week to train, Jimmy wasn't. On his best day, Jimmy wouldn't have beat Boyd, so there was no ROCKY ending, but he would've aquitted himself better. He was stopped in four. It hurt, he was a friend, not a stat.
