Packey McFarland Vs Mike Gibbons

Packey McFarland was coming off a couple of years layoff .... and Mike Gibbons was coming off a fight with Soldier Bartfield which newspapers had Bartfield get the better of him .... so I wouldn't assume these two were exhibiting greatness right here.

They look like they can box a bit, to be fair though.
My subjective opinion.

 

Regardless of who won these are two guys I would like to know a whole lot more about. Another example of guys who deserve books written about them.

 

Newspaper decision for Bartfield from Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Citizen, Brooklyn Standard Union, Brooklyn Times (searched by Jack Kincaid), NY Globe, NY World.
Newspaper decision for Gibbons from NY Sun, George B. Underwood (NY Press), NY Tribune, NY American, International News Service.
A draw from NY Herald, NY Times, NY Evening World, Associated Press.

 

It appeared that Packey McFarland was clinching far too much or trying to smother Mike Gibbons' punches repeatedly. Meanwhile, Gibbons was throwing punches whenever he could. As a result, I am far more impressed with Gibbons.

- Chuck Johnston

 

I've watched this film and another film version of the fight with more footage and I am at a loss to figure out how McFarland could have been given the decision by knowledgeable boxing people. This has been discussed over and over again. For starters take a look at www.******.com/index.php?threads/packey-mcfarland-vs-mike-gibbons-1915-—-im-still-confused.13712/ .

It's true McFarland had been inactive for over a year, but it is also true that Gibbons suffered greatly to make the 147-lb weight limit the contract called for on the afternoon of the fight. He explains this in great detail in chapters 17 and 18 of the autobiography which he wrote for the Boxing Blade magazine. I know that Box Rec gives Gibbons weight as 152, but that may have been an estimate of what he weighed when he stepped into to the ring.

If anyone cares enough send me your email via the Conversatiions link and I will send you an attachment of Gibbons account in the Boxing Blade. It is too long to type out here.

 

Damon Runyon: Packey weighed 152 in full ring costume and Gibbons 153. This was ringside weight.

Grantland Rice: The men weighed in at 147 pounds at 3 o'clock, making the weight easily, and entered the ring, McFarland weighing 152 pounds, Mike 153.

Newark Sunday Call: The weights were announced McFarland 152, Gibbons 153. These were ringside figures in full fighting trim. Both men were under the stipulated weight of 147 at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

George R. Holmes: Ringside weights were announced as follows: MacFarland, 152; Gibbons, 153. ... Both men had weighed in late this afternoon at 147 pounds.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: . It was stated that McFarland weighed 152 in full ring costume at 10 p.m. He had made the required 147 at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Gibbons followed ... His ringside weight was 153 pounds. He also made 147 pounds at 3 p.m.

William H. Rocap: Two shots from Announcer Joe Humphrey's gun brought an almost deathlike silence as the ringside weights were announced as follows: McFarland, 152. Gibbons, 153.

P.T. Knox: When the boxers weighed in at three o'clock in the afternoon they were under 147 pounds, the weight agreed upon. When they entered the ring dressed in their fighting costumes Gibbons weighed 153 pounds and McFarland 152.

NY Times: In full costume, as Josephus Humphreys announced, McFarland weighed 152 pounds and Gibbons 153.

Brooklyn Standard Union: The ringside weights were announced, McFarland weighing 152 and Gibbons 153.

 

If the fighters or their managers gave their stated weight to the announcer and the announcer made that statement upon entering the ring (which wasnt unusual) then that would explain why there was unanimity about their ringside weights. This is apparently what was done, as evidenced by your own quotes above. Regardless, I continue to be mystified, beyond the fact that you are an obvious McFarland fanboy, as to why you reject their contracted, official weights in favor of the ringside weights. There was no official ringside weigh in. They were contracted to weigh 147 the afternoon of the fight. So why the slavish devotion to an unofficial weight that has no official provenance? You consistently try to minimize the role that the weight played in Gibbons performance and yet it is a matter of record that he suffered greatly trying to make weight. Reports even mention him immediately sipping on a Thermos of a beef broth after he stepped off the scale. To deny that is ridiculous and for Boxrec to use the unofficial weight is, again, akin to them rejecting the official weigh in of a modern fight and using the unofficial weigh in done in the dressing room by HBO. In fact its worse because HBO actually had a scale present and we have no idea where those unofficial weights came from for Gibbons-McFarland.

 

152 and 153 "in their fighting costumes" !
That's what ... trunks ? shoes ? robe ?
Whatever, they were welterweights. 147 in the afternoon, and 152 and 153 "in ring costume", "full fighting trim". That's consistent.

 

McFarland reminded me a lot of John Ruiz in the clip.

Gibbons seemed good.

 

I don't know, if McFarland reminds me of anyone in particular - but having seen the footage of his fights against both Gibbons and Welsh, I find it hard to believe, he would have much of a chance against Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard. I'm sorry, but I just can't imagine that!

 

Brooklyn Citizen scored for McFarland too, fight even up to 8th round, with Packey finishing strong in the last two rounds.

 

Len Wooster of Brooklyn Daily Times scored for Gibbons, Gibbons winning first 8 rounds, McFarland the last two.

 

I think many of the negative newspaper comments regarding this fight might still be a result of the priority of "action" and "aggression" over emerging skillsets that stick and ball writers might not have easily recognized or recognized and considered to be a contrivance born of a yellow streak.

I love watching this film. Two great practitioners, one smaller and at the end of his game, the other bigger, a true innovator and still close to his prime. It really goes to show what a phenom McFarland was to be able to hang so tough here.