A fight that took place in 1983 and at the back end of both fighters’ careers (it was Kates‘ final fight and Martin’s penultimate one, I think). It’s not on YouTube or obvious anywhere else online that I’ve seen. Does anyone have any recollections of the fight? @Saintpat? @scartissue? Would be good to know if it was entertaining and how it played out. Was the decision fair? Any thoughts welcome!
Jel, didn't see it. Don't know if it was televised and I can't even remember reading about it. And I was a big fan of Kates. Really think of him as one of the great 175 pounders who never won the title. Although late in both careers, it was a good result for Kates. I have to check to see if I can find any write-ups on the bout. Another late one in his career was him beating Jerry Celestine, another decent fighter.
I used to watch every fight I could find on TV back then. I don't recall this being televised national or local ( Philadelphia area) at all
Thanks for the shout @Jel — I have never seen this fight. In fact, I never know until today that they had fought. Some quick research: it was the headliner on a Russell Peltz show at the Sands Hotel Casino in Atlantic City on a Wednesday, which leads me to believe it was not televised — you had USA on Tuesdays and I think ESPN was running Fridays at this time. A lot of Peltz’s earlier cards were televised in the Philadelphia area, but those were from the Spectrum. I did go to the best source I have on this, Peltz’s excellent 2021 book ‘Thirty Dollars and a Cut Eye,’ which chronicles his career as a promoter in great detail. Obviously it doesn’t include every card he ever put on but it has a ton of info (including gate receipts and purses down to the penny for shows and year by year, as well as attendance numbers) and there’s no mention of this fight. He talks about Martin vs. James Scott and reluctantly signing a pressured three-fight deal with Don King for Martin’s rights and how he regretted that and mentions Kates in passing several times, but this card in particular has no mention. Given that they fought at 180 and both were at the end of their ropes, I suspect this was an ‘eyes-only’ show for paying customers that the casino fronted to get mid-week customers through the doors. Floyd Mayweather Sr beat a 12-1 guy, Calvin Porter, in the chief support. This sounds like my kind of fight. I like seeing cagey guys in their twilights when they still have guile and maybe just a little bit left on the fastball, but mostly it’s more their accumulated wisdom on display rather than their youth and vitality. I bet these two had a lot of tricks up their sleeves at this point and probably used a lot of them over 10 rounds.
Great post and knowledge as always! I have ‘Thirty dollars and a cut eye’ too but it’s in a box with everything else in my house at the moment as we’re still in the process of renovation work. Once I have access to it again, I’ll be reading it in full. Sounds quite likely from what you say that the fight was never filmed, which is a shame if that was the case, particularly as it was Kate’s’ final fight. Two quality operators at the end of their careers so would have been interesting to see what they had left, for sure - maybe just enough to make it interesting.
I have just re-watched the fight. The picture says "PRISM" and the commentators are Randy Gordon and Jim Barniak. Resonably good fight between two fighters who knows each others maybe too well. (Much sparring) I have Kates a clear but close winner.
PRISM was a Philadelphia-based regional cable channel that showed sports and movies in that area. Peltz had many shows carried on this channel, including his Spectrum fights (or at least a bunch of them). PRISM also carried, at least in its early years, home games of the Sixers, Flyers and Phillies and WWF/WWE events held in Philly. It was a monthly fee add-on to local cable packages. Jim Barniak was sports director of PRISM as well as an announcer. He sadly passed at age 50 in 1992.
@Woller please share the link if you’d be so kind. Also @Jel there’s an incomplete version (just a few rounds) of Kates vs. James Scott available. I’d love to see the whole fight.
