**This Day In Boxing History Thread**

I would've been almost 9 at the time, don't recall seeing that one 'live' but I do remember watching Holyfield vs Bowe I at the tail end of the previous year. Still the best HW fight during my time as an avid boxing fan. I've seen the full Jones vs Hopkins fight since of course: a fantastic display from Jones who would've beaten any version of Hopkins handily IMO. My fave fight from '93 was the Pea vs Chavez showdown: rarely in any weight class have I ever witnessed a great fighter get schooled so comprehensively as in that fight. Amazing stuff.

Good thread. I'm sure this'll be bumped up regularly with classic fights and fervent discussion and debate. Look foward very much in participating in it.

 

Yeah, watched that one. Not much of a contest. Jones, the runaway winner without breaking sweat. Reg and Jim were amazed at how 'close' the scorecards were. I think they gave Hopkins two at best.

 

Someones got the Boxing Monthly calendar!!!

May 23rd Happy Birthday Marvin Hagler

 

Ah, fancy that. Happy birthday Marv.

 

This was years before Roy hit his peak. Roy still an awesome force in the sport with his blinding speed and was all but unhittable. But I hadn't seen the body punching that could take out opponents in a split second. When was the last time you even saw Ali throw to the body?

 

86 years ago Harry Greb put the only official blemish on the record of Gene Tunney, winning the American light heavyweight title in the process. The only sign that Greb was just out of the ring was his heavy breathing. Tunney took a terrible beating.

 

Interesting one, Senya.

 

1904-05-23
Former welterweight champion Joe Walcott met Sandy Ferguson in Portland. It was agreed that if both men are on their feet after 10 rounds, it'd be called a draw. Which is exactly what happened, and the decision was justified. Walcott did more leading, and got the best of the 1st, 4th and 9th rounds. Ferguson won rounds 5-7, the other four rounds were even. Walcott began going to the body, with Ferguson using left jab to the head regularly. During the last 4 rounds Walcott shifted his attack upstairs, landing frequently.


1908-05-23
Future welterweight champion Harry Lewis meets Unk Russell for the 4th time. There was a dispute about the winner after their previous meeting, so the men agreed to fight once more. Russell was trying too hard to land a KO punch, allowing Lewis to outbox him in most rounds, even go in to trade punches at times. Philadelphia Item and Philadelphia Inquirer both gave victory to Lewis.


1912-05-23
Luther McCarthy and Arthur Pelkey both scored knockout wins. Only 1 year and 1 day is left until they meet in the ring, in a fight that will be fatal for one of them.

 

1907-05-24
Featherweight champion Abe Attell defends his title against Benny Solomon. A couple of days before the fight, the betting was 10 to 6 and 2 to 1 in favor of the champion, with few takers. Solomon - tall, rangy fighter with good left hand. He had no chance in the fight though. In fact, it'd be more humane, if he were knocked out, but Attell acted like a maniac, playing with his victim, torturing it as long as he could, without killing. After the final bell Solomon stumbled towards his corner, bloodied and weary, while Attell started complaining to his seconds, that his hands were sore from the punishment he dished out to his opponent. During the fight, Abe allowed himself be pressed against the ropes, and then bounced toward the center of the ring as if he were groggy, but his sparkling eyes showed it was wicked fake, and like a demon he jumped on his victim once again. Even his seconds pleaded to him to finish the fight, but he didn't listen, enjoying his dominance thoroughly.

1909-05-24
Sam Langford meets in London with British heavyweight champion Ian (distorted 'Iron') Hague. Even British fans didn't believe in their champion, proclaiming the fight a fiasco, and would prefer Hague to meet somebody less experienced and dangerous than Langford, for instance Joe Jeannette, who scored another victory two days prior to this bout, in Paris, and whom Langford himself was intending to meet later. The betting was 5 to 2 and 2 to 1 in favour of Langford, with few takers, even despite his disadvantage in size and weight (Sam was expected to weigh about 165lbs). At the beginning of the 4th round a right hand to the jaw won Sam the British title. Nevertheless, it wasn't qite a walk in the park, Hague was better in the 2nd round, and almost closed Langford's eye with a right swing in the 3rd.

1910-05-24
Joe Jeannette knocked out Andy Morris in the 3rd round. It was expected, that he'd give Joe no troubles whatsoever, although the witnesses of Morris' fight with Al Kubiak still thought he had a chance. They were proven wrong though. Joe against showed excellent work with left jab, and after three knockdowns in the 3rd round, Morris' seconds threw in the towel.

1913-05-24
A meeting of two "white hopes" ended for white heavyweight champion tragically. After only 2 minutes of fight, a blow under the heart left Arthur McCarty unconscious, and 8 minutes later he was proclaimed dead. It was thought at first, that the death was the result of a punch rupturing an artery, that pumps blood to the heart, but an autopsy disclosed it was caused by dislocation of neck, which ruptured the spine cord. This, most probably, happened half a minute before the knockout, when McCarty's head jerked backwards violently from a hard punch, but the effect was visible only after another 30 seconds.

1917-05-24
A meeting between Ted Kid Lewis and Mike O'Dowd didn't reveal a clear winner. NY Times thought that Lewis was better, with his effective counter-punching of O'Dowd's rushes. The wire journalist, on the contrary, gave verdict to O'Dowd, giving Lewis only rounds 1, 2 and 10, with 6 and 8 even.

1918-05-24
A boxing show, the money from which went to 'Red Cross', gathered at Madison Square Garden world-class fighters. The hall was filled with spectators, and as the result more than 150 thousands dollars were collected. Before the bouts there was an auction, where a Kaiser's Cup (given to 1905 intenrnational yacht competition winner) was sold for 17.5 thousands, which happened in unusual manner. Several bidders, after winning it and paying the money for it, donated it back, and the acution was repeated several times. On the ring, such masters as Johnny Dundee, Harry Greb and Gunboat Smith, Lew Tendler, Battling Levisnky, Augie Ratner, and the "sweet couple", Jack Britton and Ted Kid Lewis, displayed their skills. As Ted Lewis recalled, the hall was decorated with flags, around the ring were sitting hundreds of women in beautiful dresses, almost all Broadway celebrities attended the show. Tens of girls, dressed as nurses, were walking around the hall, collecting donations. Despite the character of the show, the meeting between Britton and Lewis was very exciting, with lots of fierce fighting. In the 4th round a left hook to the jaw knocked Britton down, for the first time since his KO loss in 1905 in one of his first fights, and during this timespan Britton participated in close to 200 matches without being knocked down once.

 

Not for a good 27 years or so.