Spider Webb career retrospective - Very Rare Footage

Here's a few fights from the very underrated and overlooked Spider Webb, probably one of the best middleweights never to win the title.

Many thanks to our own Raging B(_)ll for providing most of this footage.

Webb was one of the top MW contenders of the mid and late '50s. Over the course of his career, he scored decisive wins over future champs Dick Tiger, Joey Giardello, and Terry Downes, the last two coming by stoppage, and also beat other notable contenders like Bobby Boyd, Rory Calhoun, and Holly Mims. He was a quick, aggressive technician, a solid two-fisted puncher, who could fight from a distance or mix it up at close quarters. He regularly featured in fast paced action fights.

Here was one of his first big wins on the way up, against respectable contender Charley Cotton, who had twice beaten Giardello prior to this:

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Webb's record reads like a who's who of top '50s MWs. He campaigned long and hard for a title shot at Ray Robinson, but Ray was bogged down with rivalries with Fullmer and Basilio. In the most impressive streak of his career, Webb stopped Giardello, Downes, and Boyd in quick succession.

Here's the fight with Giardello:

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Webb succeeded in suckering Giardello into a toe-to-toe battle, and although Joey rocked him a few times, Webb was able to bust up his face and force a stoppage.

Here's the win over Boyd, a 1st round KO:

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This was the second time Webb had fought Boyd and stopped him in 1 round. Boyd was another of the top MW contenders of the day, but despite scoring some big wins in his career (ie: Gene Fullmer, Eduardo Lausse), it always seemed his chin let him down every time he was on the verge of something big.

Eventually, after Robinson was partially stripped of his title, Webb got the only title shot of his career against NBA champ Fullmer, who had previously beaten Webb. It's a shame to think that with all the success Webb had in his career, his chances of winning a title all boiled down to beating the only fighter he ever fought that simply had his number. Just as in their first fight, Webb turned in a very un-Webb like performance, allowing Fullmer to get off first and dictate the pace with his awkward, unpredictable style. Although Webb did appear to floor Fullmer in the fight (it was ruled a slip), Fullmer was a clear winner on points.

Webb elected to retire not long afterward, still only in his late '20s and the #1 rated contender, following a hard win over Rory Calhoun. A year later, however, he returned to the ring to make one last go at the big time. For his opponent, he chose Dick Tiger, who had had decisively outpointed only a couple years earlier. However, he was to find that Tiger was a much improved fighter from the first time they fought, with more polished skills and better placement on his punches. The venture turned out to be a colossal misjudgment on Webb's part, somewhat comparable to Larry Holmes' comeback against Tyson.

Here was the outcome of that fight:

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This was the only time in his career that Webb was stopped, and it instantly propelled Tiger toward the top of the rankings. Probably wisely, Webb retired for good afterward.