Little known facts about pro fighters

I don’t know if this is terribly obscure to the more traditional fight fans, but Gene Tunney’s daughter was a convicted murderer who at one point was found wandering through the Ardennes woodlands in France.

 

Carlos Monzon and recently deceased actor Alain Delon were good friends.

Nikola Tesla invited Fritzie Zivic to dinner after his successful title defense against Henry Armstrong. Photos of their encounter can be found online.

 

George Foreman Grill is named after Former 2x Heavyweight Champion of the World George Foreman

 

Ike Quartey has made millions of dollars since retiring from boxing. He has built multiple hospitals in his native Ghana and apparently has a great mind for business.

 

Archie Moore started a youth program in San Diego.

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Teenager Ken Norton once caught his girlfriend talking with another guy, Ken confronted him, and the guy hit him with his car as revenge.

 

George Foreman was actually not the first person the grill was pitched to. It was originally intended for hulk hogan but he refused, so it went to Foreman.

 

Thats pretty cool actually… never knew.

 

Who did she kill?

 

Julio Cesar Chavez’s favorite food, above all else, is the Jumbo Jack (from the fast food chain Jack in the Box for those unfamiliar).

 

I did some research, turns out she actually killed her own husband and was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. Some sites say she died at 69, but Google says she's still alive today at 85. Strange.

 

Here are some more details on the incidents for anyone who's interested:

From Time Magazine, Nov 7, 1969:
"The owner of a campground outside Marseille was surprised to see an emaciated woman, sunburned and unkempt, stagger toward him from a stand of fir trees. Joan Tunney Wilkinson, 30, daughter of former Heavyweight Champion Gene Tunney, identified herself and asked for a drink of water, thereby ending a massive two-month-long search that began after she left her husband and two small daughters in Norway. According to Paris' France-Soir, the couple had quarreled, then separated to cool off, after agreeing to meet in Hamburg 15 days later. Apparently suffering from amnesia, the attractive brunette never kept the date; instead, she wandered south through Europe—hitching rides, sleeping in fields, eating what she could find. She is now recuperating at Marseille's Sainte Marguerite Hospital."

NY Times articles from March 1970:
"LONDON, March 29—Gene Tunney's 30‐year‐old daughter, Joan, was charged in Amersham today with the murder of her husband, Lynn Carter Wilkinson.

She is in custody and will appear before the Magistrate's Court in nearby Chesham on Tuesday.

The Amersham police said that Mr. Wilkinson's body, showing head injuries, had been found about 9 A.M. at his home at Chenies, a village near Amersham, which is 24 miles north of London. A police officer said Mr. Wilkinson was 31 years old and that Mrs. Wilkinson had been cooperating with the police in their inquiries today.

Gene Tunney, who is now 72 years old, was world heavy weight boxing champion from 1926 to 1928. His daughter married Mr. Wilkinson in Riverside, Calif., in March, 1961.

According to neighbors, the Wilkinsons had lived at Chenies for only a few months with their children, Alexandra, 5, and Erin, 3."

"LONDON, March 31—A Chesham magistrate today ordered Mrs. Joan Wilkinson, daughter of Gene Tunney, former world heavyweight boxing champion, to be held in custody on a charge of murdering here 31‐ year‐old husband, Lynn Carter Wilkinson Jr. The next pre‐trial hearing will be on April 8.

In court at Chesham, which, is about 2) miles from London, were Mrs. Wilkinson's brothers Jay and Gene, who had flown to England from San Francisco.

Mrs. Wilkinson, who is 30 years old, was arrested on Sunday after her husband was) found dead, with head injuries, at their home in Chenies, a village near Amersham, 24 miles north of London.

Mrs. Wilkinson was represented at the four‐minute hearing by her solicitor, David Napley, who chose to have the procedings unreported in the press. He said later that he had not asked for bail."

The belief that she "died on 19 Sep 2008 in Omaha, Boone, Arkansas aged 69" is apparently predicated on the belief that she "later married John Henry Cook (1926 - 2021)." It's possible that this info is conflating 2 different women, though.

 

Did I stutter?