Legends who sparred but never fought

Didn't see the post above, anyway this is the quote from the article punchy posted.

I remember before my first pro fight in Atlanta I was sparring with Jimmy Young. For a while he had me looking foolish. I kept saying to myself: ‘You mean to tell me this man is in his 40s and you’re in your 20s and you can’t hit this guy?’ It was embarrassing. Plus, at the time he had a stomach and he’d sit there laughing. I’d go in their and try and kill him and keep missing. But then I learned. I used my brain. I knew he’d slip four punches, so I’d throw eight so that he’d get hit with the last four. And I learned not to throw everything I had behind every punch. You have to have balance. Otherwise, you leave yourself wide-open to be countered. Now I out-think the young guys. I play with their minds. You can’t beat knowledge” . . .

 

Didn't know that bit on Young and Holyfield sparring, good read...... i imagine it looks a bit like De La Hoya vs Whitaker.

 

John L. had exhibitions with Jeffries, Sharkey, Choynski and Fitz ... all post Corbett loss ..

Hearns/McCellum is on Youtube as well

 

Not necisarily legends but in the 30s/40s a lot of sparring sesions turned into wars when one guy decided to make it personal.

While Max Baer was champion he fought an exhibition with King Levinsky who decided to try to make a name for himself. Baer retaliated by knocking him out cold.

After Joe Louis retired he fought an exhibition against Elmer Ray who decided to try to make a name for himself. The retired Louis retaliated by knocking him sensless.

Joe Louis also knocked out Nino Valdez though I dont know the circumstances.

 

Jimmy Young is not a legend but, since he has been mentioned, according to Sports Illustrated in 1991 before Holy/Foreman, he also got in the ring to spar with Mike Tyson.

 

Interesting, does SI say anything on how it went about?

 

Jimmy Young was also working the corner for Tyrell Biggs for a while after Biggs had parted ways with the Duvas.

 

And he potentially has Jimmy Young to thank for starting him down that road? :happy

 

Jimmy Young most definitely is a legend. More then a few of the fighters that came out of the 70's are, and even if Young didn't shine the brightest for a variety of reasons he most definitively shined.

Details on the Tyson sparring, anyone?

 

Boxing writer Ken Hissner writes:

"I kept D'Amato up from 9 pm to 3 am talking boxing. I caught heck the next day from Oswald [Camile Oswald, who ran the house] and was told never to keep him up that late again. I felt like I was back in high school, but she was right. I found D'Amato to be the same genius that Jacobs was and just as nice. Then, I told him about my visit with Jacobs. I would meet Tyson who I also liked very much. We sat in his bedroom watching fights like Henry Armstrong vs. Ceferino Garcia and Billy Conn vs. Joe Louis I. Tyson loved the old timers like Jack Dempsey. I believe it was Dempsey that Tyson would imitate with no robe and no socks. He was very knowledgeable of the old time fighters.

D'Amato would ask me to send up someone to spar with this 16-year-old kid. I was able to get a hold of Jimmy Young who agreed to go up to Catskill for $500.00 a week. Only thing is I got a phone call three days after his arrival asking me, "What the hell are you doing to me?" I said, "What are you talking about?" He said, "This kid is beating the s--t out of me!" With Young being a jokester, I first thought he was kidding. "Beating the s--t out of you? He's a 16-year-old amateur," I replied. Young was gone the next day. I then knew Jacobs and D'Amato had a sure fire prospect in Tyson."

http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Ken/Hissner061708.htm

 

There was a very good Sports Illustrated article in another thread that told of Tommy Loughran sparring with Dempsey.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=113126&highlight=Loughran

FF

 

What a great link thank you for that.

 

Well they're not legends... but David Tua and Golota used to spar. This was in the mid-late 90's when both were in thier primes.

 

tommy Hearns boxed Malon Starling, with Starling getting the better of it until Tommy broke his jaw.

 

Nigel Benn vs. Roberto Duran.