This one is especially for Bert. Thoughts, insights? May 28, 1942. Supposedly Robinson faded down the stretch and there was some controversy regarding the decision. The ref gave it Servo but the judges disagreed. Was this bout really that close? Was the first bout also very close?
Hya S...Growing up I never saw Marty Servo fight, but I heard a lot about him...Servo built like Ray Mancini , but a much better fighter was a terrific amateur fighter who won 94 fights losing only 4 times...He turned pro and won his first 40 bouts,and won the WW title... He then fought the much taller great young Welterweight Ray Robinson two tough bouts in which Servo forced the action and was never dropped by Robinson. He lost 2 majority decisions to the Welterweight immortal Robby... I saw THIS version of Ray Robinson a few times, and I still marvel that a WW could last the distance with Ray... Then his "BRAVE" manager Al Weill who later managed Rocky Marciano, FOOLISHLY put Servo against an 8 pound young middleweight grenade thrower Rocky Graziano for an over the weight money bout...Graziano gave Servo a terrible beating severely damaging Servo's nose in the second round...This injury forced Marty Servo into retirement...What a dumb move by Al Weill, ruining a terrific young welterweight...That's life I guess...
Burt, Do you think it would have been foolish to put a young Ray Robinson in a fight with an overweight fight with Rocky Graziano? (or lamotta for that matter) I tend to think the foolishness of this move is often overstated due to hindsight. If Servo wins his career turns out differently. In fact, one must wonder whether or not it would have been a massive learning experience, had he have lost, but not been wrecked. The norm nowadays is to take no chances and handpick fights. But that wasnt always the case. Langford, Walker, Greb, Walcott, the list goes on on fighters who were prepared to fight outside their weight division, and whose career benefited from it. Sadly, Servo's didnt.
B, of course hindsight is just knowing an outcome after it happened...But in the case of Marty Servo it was a stupid move because there were many welterweight fighters to fight those talent laden days and Servo had nothing to win fighting a MW like Rocky...There is a vast difference between an almost 6ft tall deadly punching Robinson challenging a Graziano or Jake LaMotta,though heavier than Ray had no OTHER advantage over Robinson...Whilst a short, average punching Marty Servo had virtually no advantage physically over Graziano, who is mocked today but was a non stop missle thrower who before Tony Zale took everything out of Rocky, was no easy picnic for ANY WW ever...Most Exciting street fighter I ever saw in the Ring...Cheers. Harry Greb, was the most amazing cotradiction to the "a big man beats a small man"theory ever...His amazing handspeed and footspeed, coupled with stamina over 15 rounds nullified the strength advantage bigger men held over him, cause you can't hurt what you can't hit...Servo had toughness for his weight division only...
