Kid Gavilan vs Billy Graham: why is this fight controversial?

Boxing is littered with controversial "robbery" fights that are actually a lot closer than their reputation implies.

It's just the nature of many heavy-handed biased fans, who can't view anything involving their fighter objectively.

And people who can't score fights

 

I made a thread about this before, I had it even clearer for Gavilan than you did. Didn't find it controversial in the slightest, even though Graham started to come on at the end.

 

I think one of the judges supposedly confessed years later that he was paid off. Of course, this could be true and Gavilan still won on merit.

 

I have the quote from the judge in question, Artie Schwartz, which was supposedly said to Graham's manager, Irving Cohen, while Schwartz lay in the hospital and on his death bed;

"You know, Irving, I've got to get this off my mind because you are a very decent fellow. When I voted for Gavilan against Graham, I had to do it. The boys ordered me to do it. I couldn't help myself, and it's bothered me ever since. I'm sorry, Irving, for what I did to you and Graham."

The story surrounding that fight also says that Frankie Carbo tried to get a 20% piece of Graham before the fight happened, and if Carbo could have gained that chunk of Graham's contract, he was pretty much guaranteeing Graham the welterweight title. Cohen originally turned him down, and when Carbo insisted Cohen talk to Graham, Billy was also said to have also turned the deal down because of Graham having another manager and friend by the name of Pete Reilly who he didn't want to part ways with;

"If I have to turn on my friend Pete Reilly, I'd rather not have the title. I may want to be the champ, but I don't have to be a louse to get it." - quote attributed to Billy Graham on that occasion

After Graham's refusal of offer were returned to Carbo by Cohen, Carbo supposedly told Cohen outright that Graham wasn't going to win that particular fight against Gavilan.

A footnote to the story was, a couple of years after the Jose Torres-led NYSAC got word of Schwartz' admittance to Cohen (which was 30+ years after the fight), they opened an enquiry in regards to the verdict and were considering reversing the verdict if any other shady dealings could be proved to have happened. Unfortunately for Graham, they couldn't find the neccessary proof beyond Schwartz' admittance, so the official decision stood as is.

 

If you google,say,'Controversy in Billy Graham-kid Gavilan fight' and lclick on link to 100 greatest days in New York Sports-you find that there is controversy where the judge died(Grand Central Station vs. his bed)...anyway,I think it's close and I gave it to Graham.A lot of people believe this was close and that makes it controversial.

 

My thoughts almost exactly. :thumbsup

 

Actually, they didn't take any action because it was proven that Cohen's story - which in reality, was Teddy Brenner's story of a story that Cohen had supposedly told him - turned out to be a complete crock. Schwartz died from his heart attack at Grand Central Station and didn't live to make it to the hospital. Schwartz's own son was present at the NYSAC hearing on the matter, and presented a death certificate as proof.

From the NY Times, December 25, 1985:

The New York State Athletic Commission yesterday upheld Kid Gavilan's disputed split-decision victory over Billy Graham in their 1951 welterweight title bout. The commission was persuaded to investigate the bout after a reported ''deathbed'' confession by Arthur Schwartz, one of the judges, who scored the fight 9-6 for Gavilan.

In his book ''Only the Ring Was Square,'' Teddy Brenner, the former Madison Square Garden matchmaker, said that Schwartz had admitted to Graham's agent, Irving Cohen, that his decision had not been honest. Jose Torres, the commission chairman, said, ''I'm ruling out fraud because the evidence eliminates the issue of the deathbed confession.'' According to Schwartz's son, newspaper reports and a death certificate, Schwartz died of cardiac arrest in Grand Central Terminal, not at a hospital, as Brenner's book stated. Frank Forbes, the other judge, had the fight even in rounds at 7-7-1, with Graham ahead on points, 11-10. Mark Conn, the referee, had the rounds even but with Gavilan ahead, 10-7. Some fans at Madison Square Garden pelted the ring with debris when the decision was announced. Graham, a liquor salesman living in Syosset, L.I., did not attend the news conference. Gavilan's whereabouts could not be determined.

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Personally, I think even if corruption were to have been discovered on the part of one judge, that wouldn't have justified outright reversing the decision. There still was one other judge (or in this case, referee) who scored the fight for Gavvy, and who's to presume that even an "uncorrupted" judge woundn't have cast a deciding vote for Gavvy anyway? I think the most that the NYSAC should've/could've been able to do with this decision was change it to a NC.

 

Lots of people thought that Graham was robbed that night...I remember the story about the death bed confession too...

 

RJ, I did not see that fight between Gavilan and billy Graham...But the name Billy Graham evokes memory's in me. In the early 1940s my dad took me,a young boy, to St Nick's Arena in NYC. Waiting to give my ticket to the ticket taker, i noticed a young baby faced guy in front of me holding a little gym bag going past the ticket taker without showing his ticket..What a surprise to me and my dad later on when this young fellow fought a 4 rd prelim under the name of Billy Graham ! I, saw him fight many times after at local fight clubs and later on in main events in MSG. Billy was a master boxer with an iron chin...In 126 bouts against top fighters light hitting Billy Graham was NEVER kod or even dropped...He became a liquor salesman after he retired...Ah memory's...

 

When you match Gavilan's film against his record, he seemed to get the rough end of the stick on many occasions, even int eh scorecards where he ended up winning the fight. Thankfully, this is one the judges got right: - close, but Gavilan edged it.

Graham was simply out-athelticised by Gavilan here, and whilst he put up a clever, technical display, Kid simply had the answers.

 

Billy da kid was simply robbed!!!

 

From boxrec

1951-08-29 : Kid Gavilan 145¼ lbs beat Billy Graham 145 lbs by SD in round 15 of 15

Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
Referee: Mark Conn

Regarded as one of the most controversial decisions of all time. The crowd violently protested the decision. Referee Conn, who had cast the deciding vote in favor of Gavilan, had to leave the ring under police protection. Among critics, opinions were divided sharply over who deserved the decision. Some had Graham a clear winner, while others thought the decision was close enough to go either way.

"The writer scored the battle, nine rounds to six, for Gavilan. The champion was entitled to the first four, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh and the thirteenth. Graham won the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds, the twelfth and, in a closing burst of brillant [sic] boxing, the fourteenth and fifteenth. ...Graham's superior boxing skill carried him through the rounds he won. In these sessions he outboxed the champion. After taking a drubbing through the first four rounds, Graham stung Gavilan to aimless fury with his clever boxing and sharp hitting through the three succeeding rounds. Repeatedly Graham reached the jaw over this span with sharp right-hand drives. He made Gavilan miss awkwardly with long lefts and rights while getting under the fire with solid rights to the heart or left hooks to the head. With the eighth round the tide of battle turned Gavilan's way. He forced the fighting, swarmed all over Graham, charging in against Billy's best blows and raked the East Sider about the head with rights and lefts. In the twelfth Graham's punches were cleaner and sharper and he grazed the jaw several times with rights. Through the fourteenth and fifteenth rounds Graham, throwing all caution to the winds, reached the champion's jaw repeatedly with grazing rights and left hooks. He frequently beat Gavilan to a left jab to the face. However, the earlier lead accumulated by Gavilan could not be overcome by this closing rush of the challenger." (James P. Dawson, New York Times)

Attendance: 8,137; Gate: $34,419;
Gavilan received universal recognition as champion after this fight.
Unofficial scorecards:
AP - 7-5-3 Graham
UP - 8-6-1 Graham
Ringside poll conducted by the UP of 15 boxing writers had 12 favoring Graham and 3 favoring Gavilan

 

I scored it 8-4-3 for Graham. I don't normally have that many even rounds, but it was obviously the nature of a well-contested fight. I think the only other time I had 3 even rounds was the Cervantes-Benitez fight. Anyways, I gave rounds 2, 4, 5 & 7 to Gavilan. Rounds 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 & 15 to Graham with rounds 1, 8 & 13 even. Looking at James Dawson of the NY Times card - not counting the swing rounds that I scored even - we disagreed completely on rounds 3, 9, 10 & 11. Again, the nature of a well-contested bout.

Scartissue

 

I had rounds 1-10 for Gavilan, and the last five for Graham. Some of the scores among those 12 are ridiculous, such as Gene Ward of NY Daily News giving it to Graham by 10-3-2 or Bill Lee of Hartford Courant scoring it 12-2-1 for Graham.