The Black Murderers’ Row, White Fighters and the Truth

the idea about less white fighters after the war is interesting and while I think it holds some truth i'd need numbers.

at the end of the day thiat era wasn't exclusive in that matchmaking was more about management and behind the scenes people.

 

I knew WWII was a pretty huge catalyst in the decline of white American and European immigrant boxers, but to see the difference of what the 'Row fought pre- and post-war is pretty insane.

 

Yeah Inever considered that ccorrelation...but think about it it, its not just in boxing

Post ww2 and post Great Depression era saw the rise of white collar jobs , more wealth, things of that nature

Whites didn'thave to turn to boxing like year sprevius

 

Actually a very well thought out article. Historically accurate. An example that to truely understand the history surrounding any micro occur acne one must ****yze the macro picture.

 

The WWII point could hold water.

I'd be really interested to see a rebuttal from Springs.

 

More white collar jobs and wealth are only one part of the puzzle in regards to fewer American white men becoming professional boxers after World War II. Other factors include the advent of television, the dramatic decrease in boxing clubs and boxing shows at professional level over a fifteen-year period in the United States up to 1960 and the diminishing boxing culture in American society. Yes, the boxing culture remained fairly strong in minority and less affluent American communities, but even in that case the presence was diminished as football and basketball became more popular.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Good article.

Not sure how much I agree with it though. The row were certainly a group of avoided fighters, although maybe it wasn't racially motivated.

 

I think the avoidance was real, but stemmed more from the lack of connections and view that they weren't draws (probably more of the former than the latter) than race. Maybe that's oversimplifying things on my part, but boxing was (and is) pretty insular and deserving a shot doesn't mean you're going to get one. Deserving fighters not getting their crack until too late, or not at all, is a recurring theme throughout boxing history that no particular ethnic group was immune to.

Heck, you can fast forward to today and see "outsiders" that are, to an extent, getting shunned in a similar way to what the Row was. HBO was notorious for screwing the guy who wasn't the house fighter.

Martinez when he made his first appearances on the network, for example. Kotelnik got his career ended for showing up Alexander when they were already trying to build up hype for Bradley-Alexander. Pirog got blackballed off the network for KO'ing the Jacobs hype train and wasn't invited back until a regime change at HBO years later, only for his back to get shredded.

Fast forward to today, and GGG and Kovalev still haven't gotten the chance to win lineal titles. Lomachenko can't get fights made despite willingly giving up advantages ever since he beat Russell. 3 of the brightest talents in the sport, 3 different promoters, and they can't get the fights made. The common thread is that they are from Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine instead of Mexico, Puerto Rico, or the U.S.

Sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

Thanks, and good points. Spot on on the bolded :good

 

I went to the Ring Magazine Yearly ratings for heavyweights and broke them down over decades

1940's
white Americans-----25
black Americans-----17
non-Americans-------4

(the non-Americans-Godoy, London, Wood****, Agramonte)

in 1940-6 white Americans, 4 black Americans, 1 non-American
-----------------------------------------------------------

1950's
white Americans-----13
black Americans-----23
non-Americans------13

of the white Americans, 10 appeared in the ratings in 1955 & earlier.
Marciano, Layne, LaStarza, Bucceroni, and Pastrano were in the top five. Only Harris of the after 1955 group made top five.

in 1950--5 white Americans, 5 black Americans, 1 non-American
------------------------------------------------------------------------

1960's
white Americans-----3
black Americans-----21
non-Americans------14

white Americans rated--Mike DeJohn, George Logan, and Jerry Quarry. Only Quarry ever makes the top five.

in 1960--1 white American, 4 black Americans, 6 non-Americans
-------------------------------------------------------------------

1970's
white Americans-----6
black Americans-----22
non-Americans------14

only Quarry and Duane Bobick made the top five

1970--1 white American, 5 black Americans, 5 non-Americans
------------------------------------------------------------------

*1940's show how WWII crippled European boxing

**white American fighters are still important in the 1946 to 1955 era, but then rapidly vanish as top contenders.

***only Jerry Quarry was a serious white American contender in the 1960's or 1970's

****Euro and foreign heavies bounced back in the fifties.