Did Tiger Ted Have The Handcuffs On Against Rocky?

This was a fight during Rockys learning curve. Judges always go with the house prospect because there is no real mileage in giving a journeyman an upset points win unless it is so clear that they have to. It is a sad fact of life (even today) that Tiger Ted and guys like him knew they were there to test kids and wanted to get re booked. Ted was a good old pro who went through the motions and was crafty enough to hold his own with just about anyone. Roland Lastarza Said he was just as proud to share a ring with a master like Lowrey as he was a champion like Rocky. Who knows? Maybe Ted had another fight already booked against another home town prospect in his next fight and just let off the gas to make sure the next fight didn't get cancelled? It would not have to be handcuffs in the actual sense. This was a fight before Rocky was anything.

In the same article Houser quotes Goldman saying what a raw talent Rocky was, that for his age he only had so many short years worth of experience and was still learning. "They call him crude because he misses a lot of punches. But it's his style. Most guys Rockys age are as good as they're going to be. Rocky only has about three years of real experience so he's still learning" and that might have been taken from a later point than the first Tiger Ted Lowrey fight.

 

Ted proberbly tried just as hard for Rocky as he did for all those fights he had on the prospect circuit as "the opponent".

I could not care less if Rocky lost that fight or the Lastarza fight. I think a lot of champions, proberbly most, could have lost at least one learning fight or fought at least one guy who could have tried harder to win. If those fights went the other way for all those other champions would it detract from the eventual great fighters they became? I think more than just Patterson and Liston could have lost a close learning fight on the way to a title. It does not detract from them.

Liston got a split decision win on the way up as well as the Marshall loss. Ali had his struggles with Alonzo Johnson. Bowe had Tubbs. Joe Louis had a tough fight with Adolph Waiter that could have been a draw. There just isn't the mileage in giving the away fighter a close decision against a house fighter. Does not make it right but it is a fact of life.

 

Lowry was a defensive minded guy with a good chin and a ton of experience who meet a 20-0 Rocky Marciano. Sometimes these survivor types look like they are not trying to win when in fact it's the way they prefer to fight. Rocky was always active.

If Lowry wanted to tank the fight, why would make it close? He wouldn't. A tank job takes a fall or losses the vast majority of the rounds making it almost impossible for the judges select him as the winner. This was a close fight. Some feel Rocky won 6-4, others say Lowry won 4-6.

 

With Weill being marciano's manager in those shall we say grey days it's not entirely out of the question that some of rocky's fight's might of not been completely on the level , is it ?

 

Mr Grey had a piece of everyone at that time. Some say he had a part of every two fighters that fought each other at MSG directly or indirectly. Why should he care who wins? This fight happened at Rhode island not New york and Rocky was nobody then.

It's no different than any close fight any other prospect ever had with a journeyman where the prospect looks lucky to get the decision. Happens all the time. Nobody is looking to give the journeyman the decision and in most cases the journeyman is not expecting to get it or trying to get the win. He just wants to be booked for another fight.

 

I have a 2006 softcover book written by Ted Lowry titled 'God Is In My Corner.' It includes a five-page chapter concerning his two ten-round fights with Marciano. Here's a few excerpts:

"I had heard of Rocky Marciano; he was the new kid on the block. I had the feeling they were hand-picking his fights, bringing him along. So, I was not intimidated by his record. I did not know until I was in the ring with him that he was all that they said he was: "A future champion." Marciano's record claims that he was undefeated, that he never lost a fight in 49 fights. But I claim to have beaten him in our first fight on October 10, 1949. The local paper was there and judged the fight by rounds. The Providence Journal scored six rounds for me and four rounds for Rocky. Ask anyone who was there that night and saw the fight, and they will tell you who really won.

Lowry then goes on to give the details of that fight. He claims he hit Rocky at will for the first four rounds and had him hanging on the ropes by the fourth round. He claims the bell saved Rocky in that round. In the fifth he say's Rocky changed his style, started to figure him out a bit, and started to move around him instead of rushing, and was able to get him a bit better as a result.

"In the fifth round, he stopped rushing me and throwing punches everywhere. He slowed down and began to concentrate on what he was doing. He threw a right hand and then a left hook. I blocked his right hand and threw up my right hand by my ear to block the hook. That's when I found out that he could punch. He hit me on my arm, and I thought he almost broke it."

From that point on, I fought a defensive fight. When he threw his right hand, I would ride with the punch, that is, I would fade with the punch to avoid feeling its full effect. In other words I would turn away, so that the full strength of the punch was not realized. Nevertheless, I know that I won the first four rounds, and I took two of the last six rounds, which gave me six rounds to his four. I will always beliee that his manager in New York - Al Weill had something to do with the fight's outcome. Al was not at the fight but, because "the Rock" was his fighter, the judges gave the last six rounds to Rocky to gain favor with Mr. Weill.

The decision was booed, and I received a lot of pats on the back and was told by many: "You were robbed!" Others said, "You won that fight, Ted." Some people say that fight was fixed. I never said anything concerning this fight, but I will tell you, that if the fight was fixed, it was to make sure "the Rock" won no matter what.

No one can tell me differently. I know I beat Rocky Marciano in our first fight, and, if he were alive today and wanted to set the record straight, he would tell you the same. There are those who were in Providence, R.I., on October 10, 1949, who know that he lost his first fight - No. 21 - to me, Tiger Ted Lowry, the New England Light Heavyweight Champ.

I don't want to take anything away from Rocky Marciano. He was a good fighter, well conditioned and tough. He was a hard puncher and had a habit of hitting fighters on the arm - a maneuver that made it difficult for them to lift their arms.

I know that, when I was in the ring with Rocky Marciano, I was in the ring with a fighter - not a boxer - and he was a good one. But - perhaps to Rocky's surprise - I was a good boxer and a smart fighter too.

He goes on to say that in 1982, Bill Gallo wrote an article for the New York Daily Times commemorating the 33rd anniversary of that fight in which he said he suspected Lowry was walking around proudly as a result of boxing a total of 20 rounds (in two fights) with Marciano never having visited the canvas.

The Journal's reporter, Mike Thomas, who covered the first fight had it 6 rounds to 4 for Lowry.

It was the first time in 21 pro fights that Marciano failed to KO his opponent.

Lowry said both men weighed 182 in that first fight.

Lowry then goes on to say that Rocky beat him the second time around on Nov. 13, 1950 and that he lost that fight fair and square.

So, according to Lowry both fights were on the level as far as the two fighters were concerned, but he say's he deserved the decision in the first one, not Rocky.

 

Marciano's mystique and lofty standing is most peoples eyes rests on the undefeated record though.

 

Great insightful stuff. Seems like the rock struggled early on making the first fight a 50/50 fight with the judges leaning on the hot prospect.

 

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Thanks for posting this! Great read.

Lowrey sounds like a good man, as he did in the article I have with an interview about that fight. By his own account he lost four rounds, as the away fighter I doubt he was too surprised with the decision. It is not like the judges gave all the rounds to Rocky, they had it close too. For it to be a real robbery the judges would have scored all the rounds to Rocky. I don't doubt anything Ted says but 6-4 is a close fight.

 

Not to me. A learning loss before full progress has been achieved makes no difference. Winning the rematch can also help to erase things.

 

yes that was impressive but like Rocky, Patterson, Ali and Louis Sonny also had his hiccups along the way. Rocky was not knocked down and did not get his jaw wired up either.

Cleveland Williams lost his 27th fight, and it was a 4 rounder. Keene Simmons fought 26-0 Williams and 31-0 Rocky at simular stages of their development and he felt Rocky was the harder puncher.

I only care that anyone might think there was a conspiracy to keep just Marciano winning or that anything more than what happened for most other groomed champions went his way. If Rocky lost 2 learning fights do you think it should change anything much? He won rematches with both once he had improved.