I was in waste disposal John for just under 10 yrs, small private container & labour service... anyway I used to dump loads at an intercity recycling & transfer station on Southwest Marine Dr. in Vancouver Canada. used to talk quite a bit to the owner/manager and occasionally about boxing, he says to me one day Wilf over there (the site welder), fought SRR. What I says, turns out it was Wilf Greaves, the Canadian Champion & Top Contender. amazing.
WOW! remember Wilf well...a TOUGH TOUGH TOUGH guy. Did he look like he'd been a former fighter? Because at 160, he was all knotted muscles.
he was smaller as I remember than his reported 5'8", he looked solid as _uck though with a weathered tanned complexion, he was no mug and he spoke typically like just one of the guys, a tradesman and hardworking man. he was more than that in the ring as you have rightfully said JG, and his record though showing approx. 40% losses is no accurate indicator to just how good, durable and tough Wilf Greaves really was. He fought a host of great fighters, beating some of them, losing on a Split and making more than a good account of himself. equally a proud part of Boxing's rich heritage, I wonder what ever happened to him, this was 1990/91. btw has anybody ever noticed with 'alleged' top fighters & fighters in general fighting so little and scouting for easy pic opponents, the Contenders like Wilf Greaves, George Chuvalo types are No More! wtf has happened to this sport?
Wilf aways stood out as a guy with alotta hard bark on him. Absolutely no shrinkin' violet...the last guy you'd wanna give the bird to in traffic.
One day while I was in the third grade in the late 50s, we had a substitute bus driver. My father saw me get off the bus when it stopped and he told me that the driver was Steve Dudas, who had been a heavyweight prizefighter who had fought Max Schmeling (1938 ) and Jersey Joe Walcott (1945). Steve Dudas worked in our township school system as a school bus driver and maintenance man until he retired. Can't say he was an unlikely-looking ex-fighter - he was a burly man who looked like he could still give a good account of himself, but was very pleasant in demeanor.
Musta been a treat for a young kid, like when I was about five 'n Jack Dempsey ruffled my hair 'n put me on his shoulders
It certainly was! As a matter of fact, Steve Dudas once told me that when he started out he was called a "Young Jack Dempsey" because he patterned his style after Dempsey's, and told of the first time he met Dempsey. And that had to be a monumental memory for you! One that will certainly never be forgotten!
When I was 22, Mike Tyson tussled my hair and said, "what the **** you want, white boy"... Its all true except the hair tussling part.
My favorite bartender in NYC is former heavyweight fighter Bob Bozic who trained with Chuvalo and gave a young Larry Holmes a very tough go in his MSG debut ...
