Lastarza v Henry,Satterfield,Valdes,Baker?

Baker and Henry were rated in the top 5 1950-1952....well above Lastarza who didn't even crack the top 5 until 1953. One win over an erratic shopworn Layne suddenly promotes him into the 1 spot despite a recent bad loss to a 14-9 fighter? Smells fishy to me. Especially when baker and Henry spent 3 years in a row comfortably in the top 5 then 2 losses for Henry to hall of famers Johnson and Moore suddenly remove him from the rankings, while a satterfield loss removes baker? What about that bad rocky jones loss? Doesn't effect lastarzas ranking right? Looks like IBC pulled a lot of strings to manufacture Roland that number 1 rating and no doubt that Lastarza jones rematch is as shady as any fight I've ever seen or read about!


Lastarza ducking top black men like Louis Charles Walcott Moore and Johnson did wonders for his career.

Henry was rated number 2 in the world when Harold Johnson beat him. I have an article by the RING where baker was Being compared to a young joe Louis. He was rated number 4, undefeated in 1951. Henry knocked him out at Madison square garden then destroyed satterfield in 1 round. Henry going into 1953 had no bad losses in the previous year like Layne did with 11-2 Willie James and Kid Matthews. you might say Frank Buford in 1950, but Buford defeated Turkey Thompson in his previous fight who came into the year with a number 3 rating in the world.

The group viewed lastarzas win over Layne better but ignored lastarzas recent loss to a 14-9 fighter, and laynes recent loss to an 11-2 fighter!

"Later stature"

Ahhh you wanna bring up harolds loss to Walcott in 50 but not laynes losses to Mathews and James in 52 ? You constantly ignore laynes horrendous losses every time we discuss him. What did beating Layne do for Willie James rating? I didn't see him rated in the next set of rankings.

You bring up

"Moore not lobbying for crown"

Except he was, calling out Marciano in various articles in 1953

"Charles"

He also beat Layne, easily by brutal knockout, while Lastarza barely won a split decision. In April of 53 Charles easily won the rubber match vs Layne. Charles also beat much more top 10 fighters in 52 and 53 while Lastarza lost to 14-9 Rocky Jones. Charles work as a whole, as much better.

Charles 6-1 vs Layne, but beat Harrison, Brion, Bivins, bascom

Lastarza 3-2 vs Layne jones and bucceroni

Charles should have been the number 1.

"Unfinished business"

Ahh you finally nailed it. Lastarza knew he could get Marciano to rematch him and milked that loss for all his marbles. He admitted as such in an interview. Lastarza was a short, light hitting, vulnerable contender with average speed, slow feet, and questionable chin...his management coddled him his entire career and drew the color line against top black men.

 

Rocky Jones was a no hoper. And it does work like that. You suffer a bad loss, your ranking suffers. Unless you're a white fighter with great management in the 50s

 

Im not arguing against Marciano needing to fight Lastarza to clear his record, I'm arguing at Lastarza being promoted to number 1 was undeserving and was definitely an inside job where powerful men manufactured his number 1 rating


February 1953 RING

Rocky Marciano, Champion

1. Jersey Joe Walcott
2. Rex Layne
3. Ezzard Charles
4. Bob Dunlap
5. Clarence Henry
6. Johnny Williams
7. Roland LaStarza
8. Heinz Neuhaus
9. Karel Sys
10. Jimmy Bivins

Lastarza here was only number 7. He loses in his next fight to 14-9 club fighter Rocky Jones and then 1 win over Layne jumps Lastarza several spots over the likes of Walcott, Charles and Henry to number 1 status! What a joke!

 

That KO in 1951 by Charles is being brought up again and again, but I don't see it as very relevant. Charles GOT his losing shot at the title after that victory. He then lost a re-match to Layne. I don't see why Charles should constantly be first in line because he once beat Layne by KO. He had also lost to Layne before LaStarza defeated Layne.

Here are the actual rankings going leading up to the Marciano-Walcott fight.

Champion--Jersey Joe Walcott
1-----Rocky Marciano
2-----Rex Layne
3-----Ezzard Charles
4-----Roland LaStarza
5-----Coley Wallace
6-----Clarence Henry
7-----Bob Dunlap
8-----Johnny Williams
9-----Heinz Neuhaus
10----Karel Sys

The Jones defeat dropped LaStarza down to 8th in the ratings.

The ratings the first month after Marciano KO's Walcott.

Champion--Rocky Marciano
1-----Jersey Joe Walcott
2-----Rex Layne
3-----Ezzard Charles
4-----Clarence Henry
5-----Bob Dunlap
6-----Jimmy Bivins
7-----Johnny Williams
8-----Roland LaStarza
9-----Heinz Neuhaus
10----Karel Sys

The changes are due to Marciano KO'ing Walcott and Bivins KO'ing Wallace, plus Jones outpointing LaStarza. Henry w/o fighting jumps up two positions.

 

Wow....


Lastarza losing to a 14-9 steamboat captain only drops him 1 spot in the ranking while Clarence Henry losing to hall of famer Archie Moore dropped him out of the ratings!!!

Thanks for proving how corrupt the RING was back then!

 

Also Charles beat Layne a SECOND time in April of 1953 and they STILL left Lastarza above Charles despite the horrendous rocky Jones loss

 

How Lastarza stayed rated above Charles after Charles beat Layne a 2nd time in April of 1953 and Lastarza had that loss to rocky Jones is mind boggling

Charles got screwed completely...

 

No. He had already lost to Jones, which is why he dropped from #4 to #8. He moved back up to #7 by beating Jones in a re-match.

The guys ahead of him start falling. Dunlap is KO'd by Wallace. Williams by Neuhaus. Walcott is KO'd by Marciano in a title fight and retires. Henry is inactive and so drops out of the ratings. LaStarza defeats Layne who was rated ahead of Charles going into the fight and so moves way up. Charles blowing a decision to Valdes, who had lost 4 of his previous 5 fights, leaves LaStarza all alone as the unquestioned #1 contender.

I don't think there is anything to explain here. LaStarza was carefully managed but by playing his cards right his manager got him to the legit #1 spot.

LaStarza was also helped by both Bucceroni and Harrison doing well in 1953. Harrison beat Bivins and Bascom twice, and beat Norkus, getting up to #5. Harrison had been beaten by both Bucceroni and Jones, so this made them look better. Bucceroni and Harrison would later beat and draw with Slade who defeated Henry and Jackson. Bucceroni was rated #3 when LaStarza fought Marciano.

As for fighting top black contenders, did Billy Conn? Gene Tunney? Tommy Loughran? Does any of that exactly prove these men weren't good fighters? I empathize with your view about fighting black opponents (although in fairness LaStarza drew more of a quality line than a color line. He fought quite a few black fighters.), but it isn't the whole story.

 

Charles got title shots both before and after LaStarza did. i can't see that he was screwed that badly.

 

LaStarza had reversed the Rocky Jones loss. And the folks at the time apparently didn't consider Jones quite as inept a fighter as you do, nor did they question LaStarza's victory. It should be pointed out most of the other contenders also came a cropper here or there.

There is no question that the first Marciano fight played a key role, but is that hard to understand? Rocky wanted to erase that question mark from his record.

 

"Charles 6-1 vs Layne, but beat Harrison, Brion, Bivins, Bascom"

"LaStarza 3-2 vs Layne, Jones, Bucceroni"

Well, this proves how weak your case is. Bucceroni and Jones both beat Harrison. Harrison beat Bivins and Bascom twice each. Bucceroni also beat Bascom. And LaStarza beat Layne and Brion.

Who was Charles beating here to prove himself better than LaStarza? No one.

and remember Charles had already gotten his re-match for the title. He was working his way up to yet another title shot over contenders who had never even gotten one chance.

 

Actually it proves quite the opposite...

Lastarza lost twice to unrated fighters Bucceroni and Jones!!!

Charles only lost to Layne which he reversed twice in dominating fashion!

 

So if you were a white heavyweight in the 1950s all you had to do to earn a number 1 rating was

1. Barely edge out Cesar Brion

2. Split 1-1 with 14-9 rocky Jones

3. Split 1-1 with unrated Dan Bucceroni

4. Beat a shopworn erratic Layne in 1953

Boom...you’re number 1!

 

He reserved the victory after Jones was ordered to be on the handcuffs when he was about to kick Lastarzas ass again!!!

It is one of the most corrupt and shady fights I have seen and read about in boxing history. Jones knocked down and cut Lastarza then stopped throwing punches rounds 3-10 and Lastarza looked equally dreadful in the process...

Yet Lastarza moves up a spot in the ratings??? Laughable. Had it been Clarence Henry who lost to Jones then reversed it you would have never seen Clarence in the top 10 ever again!

Haha I got to give the IBC and the mob some credit here, they really knew how to work the system

“Inept”



Actually he was. I have an article before the first fight that states they didn’t expect Jones to make it out of the first round against Lastarza. He was a tune up. Huge underdog. And he whipped lastara

 

Just to give a little insight to what kind of ham n egger Lastarza lost too...

Rocky Jones right around the time he kicked Lastarzas ass, he lost to

7-2 Polly Smith
14-3 waddall Hanna
30-35 chubby wright


And Lastarza losing to this guy only dropped him 1 spot then beating him in a possible fixed fight moved him back up a spot!!!