Jerry Quarry documentary.

A really fabulous watch that was. We didn't see too much of Quarry on TV here in the UK but I read every word about him. Since the days of mail order videos and DVDs, I've built up a fair collection. I've certainly got all of his major fights.
I admire him immensely. Jerry was a one hundred percenter in the ring. He was crafty, clever and powerful but the glue that held his fighting style together was enormous courage which was often his advantage. Of course, all Boxers possess courage, plenty of it but few possessed more than Jerry Quarry.

 

Loaded, what was the UK's view towards Jack Bodell? I realize he needed one international name opponent on his ledger to make that leap to a title shot, but at the time, was Bodell given a realistic chance against Quarry?

 

That's a brilliant question Scar. In the Midlands of England, Jack was seen as a lion, a genuine giant slayer. Other than Henry Cooper, who Jack had out on his feet in their first fight, Bodell had systematically run through all the big names in British Heavyweight Boxing. Erskine, London, Walker, Johnny Prescott, mostly in wars and then he goes and schools Bugner !
The London based press and media hated Bodell. They saw him, perhaps not unreasonably, as crude, brutal and inelegant. Most of all, they hated him because he wasn't one of them and very much didn't wish to be.
Jack was always a fast starter, so if he was going to stand a chance against, let's face it, back then, a superstar, it had to be in the first three rounds.
At least I had dear old Jack ahead on points when the end came.

 

Jack Bodell was an awkward southpaw. He was far from world class.
His win over Bugner was good but Bugner wasn't near world class at that point either. Bugner became a much better boxer a couple of years later.

 

I believe Jerry taking on Bodell was a

This content is protected

Quarry Had received bomb threats and was rallied out of his hotel room by British police, Did not bother Jerry one bit, in fact he was excited about it, They gave Jack a big chance of giving Quarry trouble, that he was a southpaw, case in point Jerry was 1-0 1 knockout , vs southpaw NFL running back lookalike Milton Manley in Kansas City ( who lasted 30 seconds). so Quarry was 2-0 2 first round knockouts , a combined time of 1:34. So maybe Quarry did not have that much of a problem with southpaws afterall, Course Joe Frazier was a converted southpaw.

Jack Bodell was

This content is protected

,

This content is protected

,

This content is protected

, and held all three HW British, Commonwealth, and Europeon titles, at the time he mixed it with Quarry. Jack had a really decent record of 58-10 with 31 knockouts at the time.

 

Thank you BlackCloud for posting this documentary! I really enjoyed watching the footage that I had not seen before. Jerry Quarry was an excellent fighter but boxing is about levels and unfortunately for Jerry, Ali and Frazier were a level above. I think Jerry is competitive with any other heavyweight during his prime. In the earlier footage from the late 60's he certainly looked better conditioned than later in his career. I also think if he had some better footwork/quicker legs he would have been even better.

 

Reminds me of a quote attributed to Quarry after the fight. A British writer/commentator interviewing Quarry after the fight was trying to come up with anything to ask Quarry after the brief encounter and finally alighted on this:

Interviewer: "Jerry, did you find Bodell...awkward to fight?"

Quarry: "Well...he fell awkwardly."

 

I know us old timers are accused of having rose tinted glasses but having watched this oh how things have changed.Seeing Quarry taking on all comers not avoiding anyone and fighting Ali three months after facing the undefeated Mac Foster says it all.Compared to Jerry todays fighters are pussys

 

I've been watching Quarry fights when I have time. I also watched the news story below. I watched Ali 2, Frazier 1, Lyle, M.Foster, Ken Norton, Patterson 2, and Joe Alexander. Some things I noticed, Quarry gets hit with more solid punches than most fighters, the Ali and Frazier fights looked like they could have been stopped much earlier. Even in a "stay busy" fight, like the Joe Alexander fight, he got hit hard, came close to being stopped. In the Lyle fight I thought Quarry dominated the fight. Lyle either of his own choosing or because Quarry tricked him fought on the inside giving up all of his advantages.

I scored the last 8 rounds for Quarry and had him winning about 10-2 or similar, but, even though Quarry was winning, he was still getting hit hard by Lyle's right uppercut, left hook combination. Quarry never changed anything, to stop Lyle from landing the punches. Quarry probably landed many more punches than Lyle, he dominated most of every round, but Lyle was able to hit him with solid punches that probably did more lasting damage than the accumulation of punches Quarry landed.

People always mention Ali's early stage Parkinson's, but from watching Quarry, maybe he had early stage dementia or whatever he was diagnosed with later? In the video below they mention that Quarry had a voluntary brain study at 38 and his brain was badly damaged. Maybe it was damaged much earlier?

Quarry's last major fight was at age 29, against Ken Norton. He fought hard and landed some good punches on Norton, but his conditioning wasn't there. He looked like an insurance salesman fighting a conditioned boxer. In his early fights, he looks quicker, leaner and just better, by 27-28 he looked like something wasn't right. I've never seen a fighter get so far ahead in a fight and still take so much damage. His concentration or the way he reacted to punches just seems off. Have you heard anything about Quarry having those type problems earlier than they were made public? At about 2:32 of the video, Quarry, who can do little for himself, shows that he can still do some things surprisingly well.

This content is protected

 

No, but at one point in the early 90s, I think, I saw him sing the national anthem before the fights at the Forum. At the time I thought that he was very nervous. After watching the video, it is amazing that he was able to sing it at all.

 

Jerry was a good fighter but went on far to long .divorce payments bad decisions drink and drugs took a terrible toll.
Boxing is a serious business . Life and death.

 

That was his brother Mike.

 

Jesus I'm stupid tonight. It sucks getting old.