He was one,or if not the most underrated fighter in the 40-60s roster. This content is protected He was Duran before Duran,having good infighting skills and good longetivity,but unfortunately his chin didn't live up to his style,making him lose empathetic knockouts to greater fighters. That didn't stop him from coming back,on his way to comeback,he even fought Jose Torres, although he loses in a knockout again,he still managed to get more fights and go competitive with some more contenders,even with that mini Galento looking physique. He deserves to be mentioned more than just a good mark on a greater fighter's name,nobody looks good fighting him except Robinson for his 34 fights against him.
I don't know too much about him except he was KO'd several times by better fighters. What were some of his best wins? I did see an interview from him once, maybe before he fought Archie Moore or SRR, talking about challenging Rocky Marciano for his title. Umm, ok.
Gavilan Turpin maxim x2 Wayne Thornton x2 Rocky Castellani Ralph Tiger Jones Joey Giambra (albeit controversially)
His fight was Turpin is a good showcase, Don Fullmer (Gene’s brother) thought he was a wonder of an inside fighter.
That's quite the HOF career imo. Maxim, Turpin and Castellani did gave Robinson some trouble,same to Olson although he would get ko'ed more later on.
Carmen Basilio idolized Bobo Olson when he was just entering the professional ranks. Sort of a role model.
I've only seen one film of Castellani, the fight with the 34 year old Robinson. Just from that film I don't know how he didn't win the title at some point. He put Robinson on his face with a left hook.
I mean, Bobo can punch a bit,can fight inside smart and good,and wasn't afraid of anything, he's exactly what Carmen Basilio would idolize.
Rocky Castellani: Been studying him the past week. Exciting middleweight. Fought a lot of wars. Put Sugar Ray on the floor in 1955.
His boxing style was nice. He had quick hands, good upperbody movement, held his hands low but slipped shots pretty good. His reflexes were impressive.
I think someone like Bill Miller could’ve turned Bobo Olson into a gem of a boxer. physically he had it all, bold, very willing to fight and I never saw him “fight scared” today he’d run the table at 147lbs.
