Fought into his 40s and went 35-196-3 fighting out of the Memphis area. He was a staple on the southern circuit for decades, and was a very entertaining survivor type who livened up a lot of club shows. One of his favorite tricks was to get a guy in a clinch under one arm and whip the other around his back to hit the guy -- drawing a big cheer for the crowd and a stern warning from the ref. I'm pretty sure he fought on ESPN once, in a 4-round undercard bout. Lost to Sean O'Grady, Bones Adams, Marty Jakubowski, Jackie Beard, Antony Stephens, Buck Smith, Sylvester Kennon, Frank Newton, James "Bubba" Busceme and a cast of dozens. If you attended boxing shows from the 1970s through the 1990s in the Deep South, you probably saw Simmie Black. And almost certainly you remembered him. Anyone have any memories or stories about this lovable loser?
I remember when Simmie Black was featured in a humorous Stiff of the Month-type profile in Malcolm "Flash" Gordon's publication, Tonight's Boxing Program. It was a time when Blackie Ramon and Jimmy Montoya had stables of mostly incompetent fighters who provided extremely soft opposition for up-and-coming fighters to pad their records or established fighters looking to stay busy and getting an easy payday. - Chuck Johnston
Never heard this. Link, or details (of an arrest, trial or whatever)? During his active career he was, indeed, considered a loveable loser -- always popular on any card he appeared.
