It's late and I have to get up early tomorrow morning to drive Lou Duva to George Benton funeral, But I knew Freddie pretty well. He and Mickey Walker use to come to the VBA meeting and affairs in New Jersey.
Freddie Cochrane was a very good journeyman from NJ who won the welterweight title from Fritzie Zivic in 1941. His title was frozen for 4 years due to WW2,and in 1945 ,the 10 pound heavier sensational puncher Rocky Graziano flattened the smallker Red Cochrane twice.Rocky did the same thing to the smaller Marty Servo. In Feb,1946 Red Cochrane lost the title to the very underated Marty Servo.Hope the info helps.
He lived out his last years at the Lyons Veterans Hospital in Bernardsville, New Jersey, where I had the pleasure of meeting him in 1987 and talking about his boxing career. By then his memory wasn't all that good, but he was a gracious gentleman and I enjoyed the time spent with him.
Cochrane spent most of his career as a clubfighter/journeyman level fighter, then somehow got a shot at WW champ Fritzie Zivic (who was considered at the height of his career at that time) and pulled off one of the biggest upsets in title fight history when he mauled and hustled his way to a decision over Zivic. Cochrane's win was often compared to Jimmy Braddock's over Max Baer, and Cochrane himself even became known as "the new Cinderella Man." Shortly after winning the title, Cochrane enlisted in the Navy, but was allowed to continue fighting for a time in non-title fights. In his next fight after winning the title, Cochrane engaged in a heavily-hyped "superfight" vs. dynamite-punching LW champ Lew Jenkins, in which Cochrane's title curiously wasn't at stake even though both fighters weighed well under 147. Whatever the reason for that was, it became a moot point as Cochrane completely battered Jenkins on his way to a decision. This was probably Cochrane's best career performance, and sent Jenkins onto a swift decline from the top. In his last fight before entering active duty, Cochrane was himself battered by Zivic in a non-title rematch. After returning from the Navy, Cochrane scored a string of KOs over non-descript opponents, then was matched with a rising prospect named Rocky Graziano. Cochrane got off to a big early lead against Graziano, but his stamina failed him late and he was stopped in the 10th and final round. The fight was voted The Ring's FOTY. In a highly anticipated rematch (which established Graziano as a big drawing card), Cochrane was beaten much more decisively over 10 rounds. By now, Cochrane was considered "finished" as an elite fighter, and he was easy prey for WW contender Marty Servo, who took his title with a surprisingly quick 4th round stoppage. After that, Cochrane retired. Although Cochrane was never considered a great fighter by any means, he does appear to have been somewhat respected in his day for his grit and caginess.
