S.T. "The Killer From Pasco" Gordon: a curious boxing enigma

Alright kids, buckle up, because this is a wild ride.

So, this guy is born in April of 1959, to a family of 15. That's right - in addition to his parents and himself the young S.T. shared a cozy home with a dozen siblings. This is why he was given the first name that he was: eventually his mother after so many kids developed naming fatigue and just gave him the pair of letters. They don't stand for anything (much like the middle initial "S" in "Harry S. Truman" - where it's just the letter propter se).

Okay, so that's weird, but moving on.

Mr. Gordon turns pro in 1977, with zero amateur experience. No amateur bouts, no smokers, nothing. Just - one day, hello, I am now a professional boxer.

His coach is a mysterious figure named Chuck Harris, a man who claimed to have been a welterweight in the 1950s with nearly 200 bouts to his name, and to have fought the likes of middleweight fringe contender Walter Cartier and champion Jake LaMotta. Problem, is none of that is verified. There's no "Chuck Harris" in that weight range in that era listed on BoxRec, FightFax, CyberBoxingZone, anywhere. It was just Harris' own word, and one NYT article (probably with unvetted info that he fed the author).

Okay, weird, but whatever.

Six foot tall Gordon is stated to be a natural LHW, but he is taking bouts at HW as it's the only way to eke out a living. Mind you, there was a robust scene at 175lb in the mid-late seventies - maybe not as packed as it would be in the beginning of the following decade, but still... belonging at that weight and having to face men in the 190s and over 200 just to pay the bills seems a little overly dramatic.

(...the cruiserweight division is a couple of years away from being inaugurated at this point...)

The first notable televised bout of Gordon's career is versus a young rising prospect named Gerry Cooney. At this juncture only a single opponent had gone the distance with the future Great White Hope, putting him at 10-0 with 9 kayos. Gordon would become the second person to not get stopped by Cooney, but that doesn't mean he went the distance. He spent four rounds sprinting around the ring not engaging, before the ref had enough and disqualified him. Insanely, trainer Harris would boast that Gordon was on the verge of taking Cooney out and they got robbed while having the young KO artist right where they wanted him. (there's video showing what absolute bunkum that is)

So, heading into the "fight" with Cooney, the officially claimed record (and what got announced on TV) for Gordon was 11-2. As it turns out, he was only 6-2. Five bouts were literally just made up, and later stricken from his record. These wouldn't be the last fictional bouts claimed in his career.

By his sophomore year's end, Gordon was (in truth) just 8-5. Cooney remained his biggest step up in class, by far. So, you'd figure this is where he faded into Bolivian, right?

Nope. Gordon then goes on a tear, from '79 until mid-'83 going 12-0 with ten kayos. This includes avenging his last defeat before this run, to Earlous Tripp of Vegas, twice over, by knockout.

(Tripp is the man Cooney beat in the amateurs in '76, to become NY Golden Gloves champ)

You know what else he does in that run of 12-0? He defeats Carlos "Sugar" De León to become the fourth ever WBC cruiserweight world champion. He manages to even defend it once, against Jesse Burnett, ahead of dropping it back to De León.

But you want to know what he does before the De León rematch, while still champ in the brand new CW division? He just casually jumps up to heavyweight again to defeat one Trevor Berbick, just seventeen months after the Jamaican-Canadian retired the great Muhammad Ali, and three years before Berbick became heavyweight champion. Gordon outworked a lethargic Berbick to a comfortable UD, to solidify himself as 1-0 in his career at bouts where the combatants weighed over 200lbs.

Sugar De León reclaims his property in the summer of '83, two months after Gordon-Berbick, and that is the last we hear of him. Until the fall of 1987, that is, when he returns to face a Detroiter named Dwain Bonds with a .500 record of 13-13-2 - and loses via TKO1, his only stoppage defeat.

Then, he's never heard from again. (nor, to my knowledge, is "Chuck Harris")