What/Whom Are You Studying Now?

I'm currently reading and writing about Papke's rematch with Ketchel.

 

A couple of years ago two lads from my area actually fought for the IBF Super Bantamweight Title.
Stuey Hall was the champion,Martin Ward from my hometown the challenger.
Two honest and genuine fighters, but were they even in the top twenty super bantams in the world?
They both could have walked down the street of our home town and nobody would know them.
I should have been thrilled about two local lads fighting for the "world title" but while I was pleased for them, I couldn't get overly enthused.
It's just that I can still remember a time when an excellent little bantamweight from Liverpool, who in all fairness would have dealt with both of those lads with ease, had to go away from from home to fight for THE world title against Fighting Harada, Lionel Rose and Ruben Olivares.
It's a world of difference.

 

I was blessed and spoiled at the same time by being a boxing fan in that decade....think about it....free home tv, 15 round limit to title bouts...the best in every division...champions like Ali, Frazier. Foreman, Foster, Monzon, Valdez, Griffith, Benvenuti, Napoles, Buchanan, Duran, Arguello, Gomez, Zarate, Olivares, Canto...greats that never won a title like my man Jimmy Young, the dulcet(?) tones of the melodramatic Howard Cosell intoning the sound track, calling the action...what are the succeeding decades compared to this? Even quality decades like the 80's and 90's suffered in comparison to the 70's....so today's scene, to me...utterly sucks.

 

Sal,

You can see quite a few. Jofre vs. Aoki and Caldwell are on youtube.

There is a DVD from Brasil which has some rare footage by North American Standards.

Jofre to me makes lower weight boxing exciting. A smooth operator with a lot of power who engages his man. For some reason, Bantamweights champions can have very high KO ratios.

Other reasons why I'm watching Jofre.

One of the best boxing guys I know raves about him and thinks Jofre could be #2 all time pound for pound. I think this is a bit of a stretch, but worth exploring.

Nat Fleischer, editor and founder of the ring often partial to old timers said Jofre was as good as any bantamweight he saw.


https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...-adk-adk_sbyhp&hspart=adk&hsimp=yhs-adk_sbyhp

 

There is a new Jess Willard book.

Jess Willard

Heavyweight Champion of the World (1915-1919)

by Arly Allen

Foreword by Tracy Callis

This content is protected

BOOK DETAILS: Jess Willard, the “Pottawatomie Giant,” won the heavyweight title in 1915 with his defeat of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion. At 6 feet 6 inches and 240 pounds, Willard was considered unbeatable in his day. He nonetheless lost to Jack Dempsey in 1919 in one of the most brutally one-sided contests in fistic history. Willard later made an initially successful comeback but was defeated by Luis Firpo in 1923 and retired from the ring. He died in 1968, largely forgotten by the boxing public. Featuring photos from the Willard family archives, this first full-length biography provides a detailed portrait of one of America’s boxing greats.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Arly Allen has written and published a number of articles on Willard and others of his time in the IBRO Journal, as well as in other historical journals. He holds a MA in history. He is currently working on a history of Wrestling in Medieval England and also the history of The Beginning of Boxing in Britain. The book was written with the assistance of James Willard Mace, a grandson of Jess Willard.

 

If I had access to this book, I'd not put it down till I was finished...fascinating...I'd love to know more about big Jess.

 

Study George Benton alot.
McCallum
Kalambay
Holmes
Harold Weston jr
Conteh
Napoles
Hedgemon Lewis

 

I think this book might have some uncharted territory.

Willard is a little underrated. Surviving films show him very competitive and winning rounds with Johnson 10+ rounds before the knockout.

Willard also had an easier time with Moran than Johnson did, judging by surviving films.

Willard was a big man, durable and with a decent punch, but slow, lacking in defense, and not very active as champion.

Much is made of the loaded gloves story with Dempsey, interestingly enough Willard found a metal bolt in the ring after the fight and kept it for his entire life.

 

Alan's son comes on here on occasion, he lives in Spain,lovely guy,he sent me some dvds of his Dad.Alan was unfortunate to share an era with greats like Olivares ,Rose ,and Harada,today he would have definitely won a world title.

 

I agree, I think he would have definitely been a belt holder today, if they would fight him he probably would have unified!
The Rose fight I believe was controversial, I think quite a few thought he won.
There wasn't much in the Harada fight also. As for Olivares he was unfortunate to run into a wrecking machine right in his prime.
Which poster was Alan's son it's slipped my mind?

 

Johnny Kid Alberts. Shuffling through Packey McFarland's opponents.

 

Cool! Just preordered.

 

This looks really good! Sullivan may have to wait.

 

I had a free preview of Corbett vs Fitz book, the fight that made the movies. You might want to check that one out too.

 

Totally with you, Leeds. The staged press conferences where handbags break out. Rubbiish, fat heavyweights. The constant need for a schtick to sell a fighter. The sponsorship all over garish trunks. Horribly busy ring aprons which take your eyes off the action. No proper rivalries. And the fact that p4p contests are staged between guys who are in their mid to late 30s and fighting at 5 or 6 weights above where they started.

Thankyou youtube for making the 50s to the 90s so readily available. If boxing were only available to view from 2000 on to the present, I honestly don't think I'd have watched a single fight.