on this day in boxing history..

16th feb 1970

frazier v ellis

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA8kEbAmFfg[/ame]

 

20th feb 1976

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YZufsYcFEc[/ame]

 

Battling Nelson v Ad Wolgast
February 22, 1910

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the new york times report of the fight...

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F00F15FB3A5D16738DDDAA0A94DA405B808DF1D3


san fransisco newspaper report...

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1910-02-23/ed-1/seq-10/;words=/

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His face. battered to a pulp, his eyes closed, his lips cuffed, covered with blood and' staggering- helplessly about the ring, Battling Nelson, conquerer of Joe Gans, was saved from a knockout in the fortieth round of his fight with Ad Wolgast when Referee Eddie Smith humanely stopped a most unequal contest. Nelson, game to the last, stood In the center of the , ring and even though he was hardly able to raise his hands. Begged to be allowed to continue. He was led to his corner heartbroken.

In the opposite corner of the ring the new lightweight champion of the world, Ad. Wolgast of Cadillac, Mich was lifted to the shoulders of his trainers amid the cheers of the big crowd.

Nelson Had But One Chance


Only once in. the fight did Nelson have a chance In the twenty-second round when, with a stinging right cross to the jaw, he staggered his opponent. Before the round closed he Dropped Wolgast in the middle of the ring with a similar blow, and three seconds were tolled off before "Wolgast regained his feet.

The crowd prepared to leave the arena, and the word passed from bench to bench that another boy had fallen victim, to the wonderful Dane. But in the next round Wolgast recuperated, and slowly but surely wore Nelson down.

Twelve -rounds from the finish Nelson seemed bewildered and his blows were sent as though he had weights in his hands. From the thirtieth round Nelson could hardly see or hear, the left side/ of his face having lost all semblance of , its former contour. He staggered and hung on. In the thirty-seventh round he was all but out, but survived the round.

Manager tried To End Fight

In the thirty-eighth round, John Robinson, Nelson's manager, wanted to throw up the sponge into but Abdul, the Turk, one of the seconds, tore it from his hands and threw It into the bucket. From then on, in each round, Robinson protested, on the verge of tears, that his man was beaten. Referee Smith asked Nelson if he wanted to quit, and Nelson, -unable to talk, merely shook his head negatively. When thirty seconds of the fortieth round had gone and as darkness was beginning to creep over the scene of the fight, a full moon just beginning to peep through the clouds,. Referee Smlth raised Wolgast's glove into the Air and a new lightweight champion had come into fistiana,

Wolgast had out generalled. Outboxed and -all but outgamed the Great Battling Nelson. After the battle Wolgast scampered out of the ring Like a schoolboy and galloped through the mud .Nelson was taken out on the arms of his seconds. As he was carried through the crowd he was cheered For the remarkable grit and gameness displayed by him .Such as old ring followers had seldom been seen In a prize ring.

Referee Smith made the following statement to the Associated press

Referee makes statement

Wolgast fought Nelson at his own game and beat him Fairly and squarely. Nelson complained at times of Wolgast Butting, but I paid little heed as it was simply a case Of battler getting the worst of the game where both Were equally guilty .“Both men fought the same , but one had youth, the power to come back, vigor , life and all that goes with it, while the thirteen years of fighting through which Nelson had gone had sapped the strength out of him without The old snap, dash and stamina”

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and after the fight...

Wolgast was enjoying the adulation of the fans in San Francisco, and other than a slightly bruised left eye, showed little effect of having fought 40 rounds the previous day. Everywhere he went, the crowds gathered trying to have a look at the new champion. He was asked if he would give Nelson a return bout…

Quote:
"If it looks like a drawing card, why shouldn’t I? I have licked him twice and I can do it again. I am out for the money and if I get it whipping scrappers that are easy for me, I would be a fool not to jump at the chance.

"Nelson will have to wait awhile though and when we do sign articles – providing such a thing happens – he will have to come to my terms. He held me down pretty tight and I think it is my turn to return the compliment.

"So far as our personal difficulties are concerned, they are a thing of the past. I had my revenge yesterday."

- Ad Wolgast


Meanwhile, the beaten man was not looking to good...

Quote:
His face disfigured and discoloured, his cauliflower ear swollen to twice it’s normal size and his body a mass of bruises, the once invincible lightweight presents a pitiable appearance. Veterans of the game who have seen Nelson declare that they never, even in the days when bare knuckles were used in settling ring supremacy saw a fighter so battered up in fistic engagement.
Nelson had a few things to say on his defeat…

Quote:
"While I did not realize it at the time, I can see now that I was not right when I started to train for this battle. In the first few days of training I took off about five pounds. This is not natural for me but I did not worry about it, as I soon took on the weight again when I eased up on my training.

"I am frank also to admit that I underestimated the ability of Wolgast. True, he made a splendid showing against me in Los Angeles, but at that time I was clearly out of condition and I placed no importance on his so-called victory."

- Battling Nelson



Nelson went on to say that after he finishes his upcoming theatre engagement in Chicago, he plans on heading to his New Mexico ranch to relax. He reportedly already has a fight in the works for April against Cyclone Johnny Thompson, and plans to seek a return bout with Wolgast, in which he’ll states that he'll gladly put up a side bet of up to ten thousand dollars.

The Dane added…
Quote:

"In the meantime, I am willing to see him get all the glory he can out of his title. As far as our differences are concerned they are settled."
Despite the graphic nature of his injuries, Nelson was in reasonably good cheer and was reportedly walking about in a "lively manner" and by 9 p.m. had started off for Chicago. Before leaving San Francisco, he made a few jokes over his appearance, adding that he looked worse after losing to Joe Gans years earlier in Goldfield.

Wolgast decided to stick around town a little longer and it was reported he would be boxing exhibitions over the next couple days, before planning to head back east the following week.

 

also today...in 1933....a scheduled ten round world title fight...

young corbett III beats jackie fields on points to win the world welterweight title..

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23rd Feb 1906 : Marvin Hart 195lbs lost to Tommy Burns 175lbs by PTS in 20 rounds
World Heavyweight Title
Location: Pacific A.C., Los Angeles, California, USA
Referee: Charles Eyton

"As the fighters entered the ring Hart came over to Burns's corner to examine Tommy's hands. He complained that Burns had too much tape on his hands and ordered it removed. Burns just smiled and said, 'Why, Mr. Hart, I didn't think that a big champion like you would mind that a little man like me would wear a little tape.' Hart exploded and tried to punch Burns. Jeffries (acting as the referee) parted the men. He allowed the tape of Burns' hands. But the incident so upset Hart that he fought in a rage. Burns took advantage of this and easily outpointed Hart, winning 18 out of 20 rounds."
~ The Tommy Burns Story by Billy Mahoney.

 

24th February 1977

34 years ago today this man was born..

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywRJ5tnGNtI[/ame]

 

25th february 1964...ali (clay) v liston...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS8ReA1Syr4[/ame]

 

today, in 1936, freddie mills had his first pro bout...winning in one round...

here is a one hour, all contained in one youtube video, documentary on mills that is very worthwhile watching...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1QIgGgyUGY[/ame]

 

After the end of WW1, Bombardier Billy Wells resumed his boxing career. His fourteenth defence of his British heavyweight title, and of his British Empire title was against Joe Beckett, a boxer whom he had beaten on points two months previously. The bout was held on 27th February 1919, in Holborn, London, and Beckett won by a knockout in the fifth round to take Wells’ titles.
Wells had been British champion since 1911.

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28th feb 1918...Peter Kane was born.

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His bio reads...

Born Peter Cain in Heywood , Lancashire, 28 Feb 1918, his family moved to Golbourne, just outside Heydock when he was aged 3. As a schoolboy we worked as a blacksmith, a job he continued for most of his career. This gave him tremendous upper body strength, an asset that he used to good effect when he stopped all of his first 13 opponents.

He had his first paid fight at the Liverpool stadium when he was 16 and his all action non-stop style made him a great favourite wherever he appeared. He won his first title in 1937 – the Northern Area flyweight crown – before stopping the Irish champion Jim Warnock before a 35,000 crowd at the Anfield football ground – the home of Liverpool Football Club – in a World Title eliminator.

After 41 consecutive wins (33 of them stoppages) he lost for the first time to the champion Benny Lynch who stopped him in the 13th round at Shawfield Park Glasgow in October 1937 in front of a 40,000 crowd. His great performance earned him a return fight five months later, but Lynch failed to make the weight; the bout was reduced to 12 rounds and resulted in a draw. Lynch was 6 ½ lb over the limit.

The following year Lynch forfeited his crown, and Peter Kane defeated the American Jackie Jurich for the vacant crown. His manager Ted Denvir had readily agreed and the Liverpool Stadium manager Johnny Best joined forces with Belle Vue ( Manchester ) resulting in a 35,800 crowd – some estimates put it over 40,000 – at the Anfield ground. A record for any Mersey crowd.

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Nel Tarleton had joined Peter’s camp and was his chief sparring partner . Jurich was on the defensive for much of the fight in an attempt to keep the hard-hitting Kane at bay but to little success. Kane – a great favourite in France where he was known as Le Petite Forgeron – dropped Jurich in round two for a count of nine with a punch so hard it was to damage his knuckle. The damaged finger was later to be amputated .

However, before he could cash in on his laurels World War two intervened and he joined the RAF. The NBA proclaimed the Filipino, Little Dado, as champion in 1939 but nobody – including Dado – took the distinction very seriously. When some 5 years later after winning the title in his first defence he was knocked out in 61 seconds by the Scot Jackie Paterson at Hampden 19 June 1943.

Kane seemed finished but two years later surprised the boxing world when - after moving up to bantamweight - he won the European bantamweight title from Theo Medina of France. He defended it successfully against Belgian Joe Cornelis then lost it to Guido Ferracin of Italy. Following another loss to Ferracin and to Liverpool’s Stan Rowan in a British bantamweight title eliminator in Manchester, he announced his retirement aged 30.


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZzICuwizog[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogV0CtmCjmM[/ame]


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and here's an article - kane speaking in his own words about his early career....

http://nipperpatdaly.co.uk/peterkanearticle.htm


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