Randy Turpin

Thanks for sharing ! Great post !! at the legendary Polo Grounds AND seeing the P4P king !!

 

Yes I can well believe that. He took all sorts of women on by all accounts. Knocked nothing back regardless of the consequences. Policeman's wives too...
I read a very good book written by Jack Turpin, the smallest of the brothers, who appeared to be a real character himself even though he was by far the more stable one of the brothers. What came across more than anything was what a wild family they must have all been. Tough with a real erratic streak. The money they came into by the standards of the day was a real fortune...and it just went.

 

it was jackie who trained us when I did a bit of amateur boxing in the 80s....lovely man..and great book that

 

Turpin was not winning the rematch. He was behind on two cards and one card was even. A poll of ringside reporters was overwhelming that Robinson was ahead at the time of the stoppage.

John Carmichael: Chicago Daily News Robinson was winning by a round or two
Al Abrams: Pittsburgh Post Gazette R6 T3
Red Smith: New York Herald Tribune R5 T3 E1
Al Buck: New York Post R6 T2 E1

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Gayle Talbot: AP R4 T4 E1
Jack Hand: AP R4 T3 E2
Whitey Lewis: Cleveland Press R6 T3
Jesse Abrahamson: New York Herald Tribune R5 T2 E2
Andre Radeche: Agence France Presse Robinson was ahead
James Dawson: New York Times R7 T2
Sec Taylor: DesMoines Register and Trib R4 T3 E2

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George Barton: Minneapolis Star Tribune R4 T3 E2
Shirley Povich: Washington Post R4 T3 E2

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R5 T4
Jimmy Cannon: New York Post Robinson ahead
John Webster: Philadelphia Inquirer R5 T4
Tom Webster: Freelance British cartoonist R7 T1 E1

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Harold Mayes: Empire News R7 E2
Geoffrey Simpson: London Daily Mail Robinson was ahead
Tommy Holmes: Brooklyn Daily Eagle Robinson was ahead by a wider score than the three judges had it
Joe Lee: Brooklyn Daily Eagle Robinson was slightly ahead

Thats 20 votes for Robinson and 5 for Turpin and 1 even.

 

that is true Klompton,

I have seen the fight many times and Randy was losing every step of the way, only a cut stoppage would have got him a 'saved' victory. I have commented on this many times over the years on the other two former big sites but there is still an element of people out there that think this account of the return fight is fact, when it is clearly visible Turpin was losing.

In fact the commentator at one point even states that Turpin hasn't done much or thrown enough or something to the effect and that is a British commentary as well. No it was a clear win by Robinson, sealed with the eventual stoppage...

on a side note I do think the fight could have gone on a bit longer in Turpin's favour and maybe a Turpin punch 'might' have worsened the cut on Robinson, but at that stage the Sugarman would have probably KO'd him a few seconds or so later anyway.

take nothing away from Turpin though, an excellent fighter none-the-less!

 

An old steel erector I worked with 4 decades ago was in the Navy, he went to the fight,he surprised me by saying it wasnt that exciting until the last couple of rounds.

 

I've only seen highlights of each round. Robinson landed the best attacks in three of the clearest to score rounds but if Randy won only half of the remaining compleated rounds (and he must have) it would be close in anyone's book. Myself, it looks like Randy was more steady and that Ray was only looking for counter attacks. Without full rounds it looks like the fight should be even at the point of the stoppage from what I have seen. There is a case Randy could have been up.

Perhaps it is another example where artistic licence among the press got carried away but the long established opinion that has gone down in history is that Randy was ahead and Robinson was close to being stopped because of the cut.

 

Choklab that was more a British bias/blind hope.

This was once so desperate among the heavier fighters for Britain, because Britain NEEDED had to get those Crowning Titles above all else!

 

Yes, talk about blind patrism! However I am sure the "Turpin was ahead" line was used in Sam Andre Nat Fleischer "pictorial book of boxing history" I grew up reading as a kid and also on American commentary of highlights of the film, perhaps only for dramatic purpose, the announcer also said Robinson was behind. It has become boxing folk law.