Expectation: Incredibly high. And you know the reason why. Two of the greatest entertainers in boxing history sharing a ring? Description: 1. A slow start; a serious feeling-out round. There were some good, short exchanges near the end though. Basilio's knees buckles at least twice from right hands. Gavilan. 2. Gavilan opened with mean jabs that snapped the Onion Farmer's head back a couple of times, sending him in retreat. Gavilan went after him in roaring fashion, but was caught and noticeably staggered by a counter left hook of Basilio's. Shortly thereafter, Gavilan rolled past a left jab of Basilio's, getting closer, but only to catch a right and left uppercut in succession; Gavilan was already buckling, but a left hook helped send him on his way. Gavilan was up at 9, and managed to smother Basilio's mop-up. Basilio. 3. Mostly cat-and-mouse games with the ocassional brief exchanges. Even. 4. Basilio chased Gavilan into a corner with a couple insignificant body hooks, and tried it again later on the ropes. Basilio tried a more lengthy body attack later on, but Gavilan did an expert's job of tying him up, making Basilio's attack quite ineffective. Basilio. 5. Gavilan started a little more aggressively. Basilio attacked, but Gavilan countered with two good left hooks that backed Basilio up. Basilio later went to the body furiously, catching a powerful overhand right from Gavilan in the process. Gavilan. 6. Gavilan missed a right and took a good one. Gavilan darted in and out with the left jab, but was not throwing any. Gavilan missed a left and a right before landing a good left and right. Gavilan got in several good licks in the last minute. Basilio. 7. Simply incredible. Never thought I'd see the Kid incapable of evading or outpunching Basilio. Those rights of Basilio's were as hard to catch as lightning bugs. Aside from that, the round did contain one of the fight's larger exchanges, where both swapped big left hooks for a little while. It was a truly unusual sight to see Gavilan forced to mingle with Basilio in the final minute. Basilio. 8. Actually began with one of their finest exchanges, the two standing fairly close and laced each other up with several left hooks, Gavilan off-balance once, and neither had moved scarcely an inch. Exchanges were persistent, with Basilio's right being the main penetrating factor in my opinion. I don't have a clue what caused it, but it was definitely a round that belonged to Gavilan. His jab had renewed effectiveness to it, and he was starting to thrash Basilio around the face with bolos and uppercuts, and was determined to keep him on the ropes where he could achieve his own aspirations for Basilio's face. Basilio grew a little tired and was even a little groggy in that last minute. Gavilan. 9. Understandably it was begun cautiously. Basilio was fortunate enough to land a strong, sweeping right. Basilio. 10. There is no substitute for the aggression of Kid Gavilan. He stayed in Basilio's face and Basilio focused heavily on blocking the Kid's punches to his damaged right eye. He was fairly successful, but was struck with a number of other blows. Even in his bravest moments, the moments of his greatest effectiveness, Gavilan kept Basilio at bay. Gavilan. 11. Gavilan kept Basilio off balance with left jab's. A big lead right by Gavilan rocked Basilio, who countered to the body. Despite being a dominant round for Kid Gavilan, Basilio drove Gavilan backwards once with a minute to go, but the round itself ended with Gavilan on top. Gavilan. 12. Gavilan mercilessly pummeled Basilio. But Basilio came back, countering well with a left-right once and another right later on. It was a strong comeback by Basilio, and it seemed as if he could add back to the points edge he had nearly lost. Gavilan had a good little flurry before the bell. Basilio. 13. Two left hooks knocked Basilio off-balance at the intro of the round. For the rest of the round there was little Basilio could do. His haymakers were too slow and innacurate, and too easily intercepted by Gavilan. Gavilan. 14. A few good exchanges took place, most of the work being done downstairs. Gavilan. 15. The tie-maker, not the tiebreaker. Basilio was making a monstrous effort, but it was a poor product. Gavilan jabbed only moderately against Basilio who was going all out, swinging with huge haymakers that never came close to landing. But Gavilan did just enough. Gavilan. Final score: 8-6-1 for Gavilan. Assessment: Gavilan-I was surprised. Once again Gavilan produced an exciting performance, snatching a fight from the jaws of defeat even closer than in his previous filmed outing (Ralph Jones 1). Although it well displayed Gavilan's stalwart grit and determination, it showcased his blinding speed and fancy footwork. I surprise myself in saying that this is one of Gavilan's poorest showings on film I think, especially against a top opponent. Of course, that may be why. Basilio-It had been some time, but Basilio had made stylistic improvements since his bouts with Davey and Graham. He was much faster, more accurate, and possessed improved stamina. Evidently he had improved: he went from badly outclassed by Chuck Davey to nearly defeating Kid Gavilan. Obviously Basilio stole the show when he joined Ike Williams in scoring a KD over the Kid. Verdict: Unfornately disappointing for a fight between these two. Still a very good fight, a classic, but still a let-down. This should have rivalled Gavilan's fights with Gil Turner and Johnny Bratton and it doesn't come close. Nor does it rival Basilio's future wild slugfests with Tony DeMarco, Johnny Saxton, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Gene Fullmer (among others). While it was not a great action fight, nor a particularly compelling tactical fight, I value it most highly as a classic because of the constant ebbs and flows. I knew Gavilan won the fight historically, but was in suspense as to how my own score would come out, all the way into the 15th. A great fight. One of the greatest? Nah.
Their styles didnt mesh but indeed it kept you on the edge of your seat. I hope you make a thread on Gavilan’s loss to journeyman Danny Womber,the Kid was basically p4p no 1 and somehow managed to lose to a journeyman. Puzzling.
I did actually. Bouta month ago. You'll have to dig back thru my posts. It is a very interesting situation indeed. Especially since Womber held no good victories before or afterwards.
Got around to re-watching it. I think I have seen edited highlights somewhere along the line, but this is the first time I have seen the fight since 1953. I remember the announcer back then mentioned when Basilio was ahead early, that Gavilan was expected to come on in the later rounds. My memory was of the wild cheering when Gavilan was knocked down. That didn't come across on the film, but I think this was a film and not a kinescope of the live broadcast. I was impressed watching this with Basilio. He was a lot harder to hit cleanly than I expected and looked to me the more accurate puncher. Gavilan missed a lot, but did better when he used his height and reach to stay away and jab. Gavilan was definitely hurt more by Basilio's left hook in this one that in any fight of his I have seen. The first buckled his knees. The later ones sent him down and he took nine. After that he did not seem interested in exchanging that much with Basilio but looked to outbox him, with I thought so-so success. I had it very close. I scored it even in rounds, 6-6-3, but on points Basilio would have edged it because of the knockdown. It was close and Gavilan did come on and so it is hard to get excited about the decision going to Gavilan. My bottom line was it appeared Basilio could hurt Gavilan but Gavilan could not hurt Basilio who looked very tough despite seeming to be slowish and predictable. As for the quality of the fight, it was interesting but rather tactical as Gavilan fought cautiously after the 2nd. Most interesting today because of the historical stature of the two fighters. Thanks for posting.
William, I scored this about 3 years ago. This is what I wrote at the time: I'm scoring this on the NY rules used at the time which was a rounds basis and no extra point for the knockdown in the 2nd round. Round 1: Gavilan Round 2: Basilio (Basilio scores a knockdown) Round 3: Even Round 4: Basilio Round 5: Even Round 6: Basilio Round 7: Basilio Round 8: Gavilan Round 9: Even Round 10: Gavilan Round 11: Gavilan Round 12: Basilio Round 13: Even Round 14: Gavilan Round 15: Gavilan Total: 6-5-4 Gavilan This was a decent fight but nothing scintillating about it. Very, very close. Man, 4 even rounds was a lot but I don't like that flip of a coin style of judging. That really penalizes one fighter and this was a very tight fight.
