Jimmy Bivins appreciation thread

Unbelievable fighter. One of, if not the, most underrated of his era. His success was obviously massive, but he did have major weight advantage when he got the Charles win, and iirc the Marshall win too.

ATG résumé, should be considered apart of the Murderer's Row if he isn't already, shame the only footage we have (to my knowledge) is from past his prime. His fearlessness, and willingness to fight the best would've made for a great champion.

From what there is of him on film, he doesn't look all that good but what he did clearly worked for him! His style could be ugly, and he showed a decent amount of versatility. He had a nice, long jab when he cared to use it and a formidable inside game, lots of looping hooks. He had excellent positioning, his defence wasn't built around fancy blocking or head-movement, it was just being hard to hit! His arms offset what others did; lost art.

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Yup. Looks like no-one cares for this certified ATG....

 

People don't care about fighters, that's why they say that 1940s boxing sucked. They prefer acting that Tony Galento and Buddy Baer were the peak of 1940s boxing or that Marciano fought in an era without good boxers.

 

Very interesting fighter. The guys he beat are legendary. Only 5'9 in height makes it all the more interesting. His life after boxing was terrible the way he was abused by his own daughter until rescued.
Would like to see more contributed to this thread but wouldnt count on it. I've tried this a few times myself with somewhat forgotten fighters.

 

It's funny, 40% of my top 10 P4P is from the 40s (Charles, Robinson, Pep and Moore), are from the 40s yet people over generalise and assume that HW represents the mantel of the entire sport.

 

Great post.
Gonna dive into all the footage I can find on him tomorrow!

 

Props! Make what you will of these.
The Ezzard fight is in pristine quality on this channel, I knew I'd seen it. A rare, albeit ugly, fight in excellent quality. Lots of respect between them too.

Anton was a greek contender at LHW in the mid 40s, but he already split a series with Bivins and gone the distance with Marshall and Lesenvich. The guy was pretty tough, but the opponent honestly isn't important at all. Look at how grainy that footage is, know what that generally means? It's from the 40s, and that means it's a representation of a prime Jimmy! I'm assuming (I need to watch it myself, I'm simply tryna add context and share footage. ) that this the fight in '43, after Bivins had just beaten Charles.

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Edit: got the names wrong.

 

You've saved me some time and given me some context.

Not all heroes wear capes lol.

Thanks George

 

No problem, just check the edit coz I got one of the names wrong.

 

Also, I don't know if it's just the major Charles, and/or LHW, fan in me, but I find these guys fascinating. Bivins is particularly unsung and here's some reports of the fights I desperately wish we could watch.

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Ezzard Charles 165 lbs lost to Jimmy Bivins 175 lbs by UD over 10 rounds.

"Jimmy Bivins of Cleveland, ranked by the NBA as the logical contender for the light heavyweight title held by Gus Lesnevich blasted out a 10 round decision over Ezzard Charles of Cincinnati here Thursday night. Bivins was all business last night as he floored Charles three times for a count of nine. Charles also took a count of two in the 8th of the scrap. Charles had an edge in the first two rounds and had Bivins down on one knee for a no-count in the 2nd, but Bivins started unleashing his heavy guns in the 3rd. Charles was felled for a nine count by a terrific left hook just before the end of the round. Both fighters started the 4th with a furious exchange but Bivins shook his opponent with two rights. Charles took another nine count and arose just before the bell. Bivins continued his attack in the 5th and this time a hard left sent Ezzard to the canvas for the third count of nine. Charles started fighting again in the 8th and concentrated his attack on Bivins' body. Jimmy rallied toward the close of the round and had Charles down on one knee for a toll of two as the bell rang. The 174 lb. Bivins, who had a nine pound advantage over Charles, won the decision unanimously." -Associated Press

• Writer James E. Doyle of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, scored it as 6 rounds for Bivins, three for Charles, and one even.
• Attendance: 10,355
• This was one of the semi-finals of a tournament set up to crown a 'Duration light heavyweight champion' while Gus Lesnevich was in the service. Bivins was now scheduled to fight Anton Christoforidis on Feb. 23rd in the tournament finals.*

*This tournament is literally the only reason I know who Anton is. He was 1-0-1 vs an aging contender in Nate Bolden.

Who doesn't wanna see that???

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Jimmy Bivins 177 lbs beat Bob Pastor 185 lbs by SD over 10 rounds.

"Youth still had the call over age today as Jimmy Bivins demonstrated effectively last night when he hammered his way to a clear decision over aging Bob Pastor of NY in their 10 round heavyweight go before 11,000 howling fans. Bivins took a terrific pasting in the mid-section when Pastor finally headed in that direction in the 5th round, but by that time Bivins had piled up a lead. And from there out Pastor was trying to gain back his lost ground. Staying away from Pastor and moving in only when he had an opening in the 10th, Bivins led up enough points to come in ahead of the fading New Yorker and win himself the victory." -International News Service

• Pastor was penalized the 8th round for a low blow.

Scorecards
Referee Lou Parker - 7-2-1 Bivins
Judge Dibby Williams - 5-4-1 Pastor
Judge Jim Parker - 6-3-1 Bivins
Unofficial INS scorecard - 6-3-1 Bivins

Post fight comment:
"I won my last 14 fights and I didn't lose this one." -Bob Pastor

 

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Charley Burley 153 lbs lost to Jimmy Bivins 161 lbs by UD over 10 rounds

"Charley Burley, high-ranking Pittsburgh welterweight, ran into a tartar last night in the person of Jimmy Bivins and dropped a 10 round decision at Hickey Park. Bivins, reputed as a hard right-hand puncher, piled up an early lead and was given the unanimous decision despite a late rally by Burley. Bivins scored frequently during the early rounds and in the 3rd and 7th rounds he scored heavily, each time having Burley on uneasy street. Burley, however, took the offensive in the late rounds and although he hammered Bivins with rights and lefts in the last three rounds he never could make up for his poor start." -United Press

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(1st meeting)
Archie Moore 168 lbs lost to Jimmy Bivins 186 lbs by KO at 0:38 in round 6 of 10

"Jimmy Bivins' three year unbeaten streak was intact today after the Cleveland heavyweight performed the weird feat of kayoing Archie Moore of St. Louis twice in a wild battle. Bivins battered the reeling Moore to the canvas four times and knocked him out in the 2nd and 6th rounds last night as he snapped Archie's string of 27 straight victories. Moore was flattened officially in 38 seconds of the 6th round, but most of the fireworks exploded in an uproarious 2nd round. Bivins landed piston-like blows to Moore's midriff at the start of the 2nd round and uncorked a steaming right to the head to send Moore to the floor. When Moore staggered to his feet, Bivins threw another right to the chin and Archie's knees hit the canvas. At the count of one, Bivins brought up a vicious uppercut to the dazed battler's chin that knocked him cold. Referee Jackie Davis counted Moore out, but the judges and Boxing Commission Chairman Stan Cofall ruled that the fight should continue after a five minute intermission. Cofall said local boxing rules provided that the round be taken from Bivins on the foul." -Associated Press

• When the bout resumed in the 2nd round there were 29 seconds remaining and Bivins again dropped Moore for a count of nine.

 

https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Jimmy_Bivins_vs._Lloyd_Marshall

https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Gus_Lesnevich_vs._Jimmy_Bivins

https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Jersey_Joe_Walcott_vs._Jimmy_Bivins

 

Jimmy Bivins is a name I've been reading in articles and records for about 40 years. He must have been some Fighter. I'll definitely watch the footage you've posted. I'd formed the opinion that Bivins was similar to Eddie Machen in that he had everything it took to be a Champion but somehow things just didn't come together.