Thoughts on Bill Miller, the trainer?

Tonto62 · Sep 26, 2019

reznick said: ↑

Bill Miller trained James Toney. Supposedly he taught him the shoulder roll and other slick techniques by showing Toney films of Ezzard Charles and other old school boxers.

He was supposedly trained himself by Whitey Bimstein.

Did Miller train any other champions? And what do you guys think of him as a trainer?
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I think he trained Johnny Saxton and Ricky Womack.

[url]https://www.boxinginsider.com/columns/jackie-kallen-bill-miller-another-great-loss-in-boxing/[/url]

reznick · Sep 27, 2019

jabber74 said: ↑

Back in 93' and 94', James Toney came to train more than once at the Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, PA, and after the workouts, Bill Miller came over to my dad and I, and spent quite a bit of time talking with us. He was such a down-to-earth person. My dad was close to him in age, so naturally there was a lot to talk about. I recall Bill saying he trained at Stillman's Gym around the same time my dad used to go there to watch the fighters in the 40's... When Toney's workout was over and everyone had left, we were standing there talking for quite awhile. He tolerated A LOT from James, (there is a lot I could say here, maybe that's another topic for another time!). I even ended up doing a painting for James Toney which he bought.... Anyway, I remember my dad and I asking Bill Miller how James was going to do against Roy Jones, (that was the big fight everyone wanted to see at that time). His response was exactly this, "James will beat him, because James is a better inside fighter than him".... Of course when we left, my dad turned to me and said "but Roy isn't going to fight him on the inside, he'll be fighting him from long range", I agreed.... In any case, he was a very humble man and very knowledgeable. James was young and hot headed at the time and I'm sure regrets getting rid of him.... Good times, I miss those days. Now Bill is gone, my dad is gone, and James' career is pretty much long over. I got the memories though.....
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Great post man, I appreciate you sharing.

jabber74 · Sep 27, 2019

reznick said: ↑

Great post man, I appreciate you sharing.
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You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it...

KasimirKid · Sep 27, 2019

Longhhorn71 said: ↑

Miller's possible mentor:
Bimstein, Whitey

Morris Bimstein

One of the greatest trainers in boxing history, Bimstein worked in the corner of approximately 25 world champions, including Gene Tunney, Harry Greb, Jake LaMotta, and [url]Barney Ross[/url]. In 1933, he sat in the royal box with Spain's King Alfonso at the San Sebastian bull fights after handling Spanish heavyweight Paolino Uzcudun in his fight with world champ Primo Carnera (Carnera retained his belt in a 15-round decision). Called Whitey by everyone but his family (who called him by his given name, Morris), Bimstein was constantly at Stillman's Gym in New York working with champions and challengers alike.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. 1897 - d. July 1969

Career Highlights:
Bimstein, who was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, hated school when he was young, and his formal education ended at the age of 12. Prior to World War I, he began his professional boxing career as a bantamweight and featherweight under manager Lou Brix. After 70 professional fights, Bimstein -- who served in the U.S. Navy during the Great War -- decided to switch to corner work because less physical harm was involved. He began as Brix's second trainer during fights.

By the early 1920s, Bimstein quickly became one of the best cut-men in the business. He worked with some of the greatest fighters in history, such as Harry Greb, Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey, Mickey Walker, and others, as well as helping such outstanding Jewish pugilists as [url]Ruby Goldstein[/url], [url]Abe Goldstein[/url], and [url]"Kid" Kaplan[/url]. In 1925, Bimstein began a partnership with the legendary trainer, [url]Ray Arcel[/url]. The two worked together for nine years and called themselves, "The Siamese Training Twins."

During his time with Arcel, Bimstein was sought out by top fighters in all weight classes. Among those that they worked for were Jewish champions [url]Jackie "Kid" Berg[/url], [url]Benny Leonard[/url], [url]Charley Phil R0senberg[/url], [url]Barney Ross[/url], and [url]Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom[/url]. Bimstein also worked with countless other champions and in 1937 at promoter [url]Mike Jacobs'[/url] "Carnival of Champions," Whitey was in the corner for four champs, Lou Ambers, [url]Ross[/url], Fred Apostoli, and Sixto Escobar.

Following World War II, Bimstein started another pairing with a legendary trainer, Freddie Brown. During this time, he also acted as cut man for some of [url]Charley Goldman's [/url] fighters, including Rocky Marciano -- Bimstein closed a split on Marciano's nose during the Ezzard Charles fight that helped Rocky retain his perfect record. He continued to fight in the 1950s and 1960s and estimated that he worked approximately 35,000-40,000 fights during his career!

Origin:
New York City
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Bimstein was also the American trainer of Ingemar Johannsson. I am not sure when he started with Ingo, but he was in Ingo's corner for the Eddie Machen fight, possibly as a special advisor who knew Eddie's style. I think Bimstein was important in that he was familiar with the American fighting culture and could assist in preparing Ingo with both Machen and Patterson. I believe he stayed with Ingo after the Patterson fights as well. My favorite Bimstein article was by W. C. Heinz. Unfortunately, I can't seem to be able to lay my hands on it right now.

W. C. Heinz wrote a wonderful profile of Bimstein

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