Lee Oma heavyweight contender had a career stretching for 1939 until 1951 He was inactive in1942,suspended for inept performances. Mr Inconsistency ,on his night he could give anyone trouble ,on another night he could be beaten by a ham and egger. 1939. 4 fights 3 wins 1 loss by ko 1940. 6 fights 3 wins 2 losses 1 draw 1941. 10 fights 2 wins 8 losses 7 by ko. 1942. SUSPENDED 1943. 17 fights 14 wins 9 by ko, 3 losses 2 by ko to Big Boy Brown and Buddy Walker. 1944. 15 fights 13 wins including wins over Nova and Mauriello 2 losses including 1 to Mauriello. 1945. 6 fights 5 wins including one over Joe Baksi ,1 loss ,to Mauriello. 1946. 7 fights 4 wins 2 losses ,to Walcott and Lesnevich ,1 draw. 1947. 3 fights 0 wins 3 losses I by ko to Pat Comiskey. 1948. 7 fights 4 wins ,one a ko over Tommy Gomez in the 1st round, 3 losses,1 a very dubious ko to Bruce Woodcock 1949. 10 fights ,10 wins including over Beshore.Agramonte,Weiden,Flynn. 1950. 6 fights 4 wins including over Barone,Beshore,Satterfield. 1 loss ako by Satterfield, 1 no contest,he and his opponent thrown out for clowning. 1951 1 fight a ko loss to Champion Ezzard Charles RETIRED Booze & Broads is the story apparently, you just have to wonder what he might have achieved had he been focused on his career.
I like Oma. He was actually an elite talent. Very clever, skilled boxer who when he trained and showed up sober, was a very tough man to beat. Most of all, he never drew the color line and took on some of the better black contenders of the 40s unlike Tami Mauriello who hid behind the color line.
In 41 he went 2-8? KOd 7 times. Amazing how the sport has changed. So was it a matter of his discipline? And or drinking? Tell me about him as a boxer. Was he talented?
These are excerpts from the article "Boxing Playboys" by Ted Carroll in the September, 1950 issue of The Ring: "For natural skill, Oma has been compared favorably with the likes of Tunney and Johnson" "Right now . . . enthusiasts see him as a probably winner over any heavyweight active today." "The same sort of talk swept through the boxing world as far back as 1944 when he handed tough Tami Mauriello as nifty a boxing lesson as anybody ever received." "Shortly afterwards, Lee decided it was a lot more fun being a Broadway playboy and that took care of him. Oma's basic skill is so great, he has boxed his way back into the heavyweight contention in spite of himself." "it seems a pity that such artistry as Oma is capable of should be so lightly tossed away." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Possibly this is a bit overdone, but Carroll certainly saw Oma a lot more than we can. Oma doesn't look quite THAT awesome on the one film I have seen, against Charles. But he was 34. Even though Charles was smaller and so there was no reason for Oma to carry weight, he seems to have a spare tire around his middle. A really erratic fighter who beat some good men, but came up short against the best, and suffered a really dubious 17 KO defeats in his career. Whatever else, Oma doesn't seem to have had a top chin.
Yeah, he was very talented at his best. He wasn’t at his best often His record also aged well because he had good longevity, He fought anybody and everybody black or white, never avoided anyone and he wasn’t protected.
Yeah oma was past his prime when he took on Charles. Wonder if there’s any film of Lee in the mid 40s?
