Archive for April, 2009
« Previous EntriesENGLAND’ S RUGGED JIMMY BATTEN
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009As rough and tumble Ricky Hatton of England gets set to enter into the ring with Manny Pacquiao this weekend. I am reminded of another tough battler from across the pond. He may not have reached the heights of Hatton but he was good enough to hold the British light middleweight title for a couple [...]
AMOS ” BIG TRAIN ” LINCOLN
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009He was born in 1936 and he embarked on a professional boxing career in 1954. He won twenty five of his first twenty nine fights on his way to establishing himself as a top prospect by 1962. The imposing 6′ 2″ Amos Lincoln was nicknamed ” Big Train ” and he looked like he was [...]
WHY DURAN WOULD HAVE DEFEATED PACMAN
Monday, April 20th, 2009With all due credit, Manny Pacquiao is on top of today’s boxing world. He is the “Man”. His destruction of Oscar De La Hoya drove the “Golden Boy” into retirement and put him as the #1 fighter pound for pound in the world today. I have no dispute with this but Floyd Mayweather Jr. and [...]
BRITAIN’S “GOLDEN BOY” ; BILLY WALKER
Saturday, April 18th, 2009Over the years the British Empire has tried to produce a legitimate heavyweight champion. During the 1960’s and 70’s several candidates appeared to give the Brits hope. Henry Cooper and Brian London quickly come to mind. Later on there was Joe Bugner and Richard Dunn.Of course Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis would eventually come along [...]
Almost A Champion; JORGE AHUMADA.
Friday, April 17th, 2009 In the early 1970’s he was the hottest light heavyweight in the world. He would eventually garner three shots at recognition as champion. All three would travel the true champiomship distance of fifteen rounds. In all three Jorge would come up short.
Jorge turned pro in 1968 in his native [...]
CURTIS COKES
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009He may have been one of the best pound for pound boxers of the 1960’s but he was over shadowed by the antics of one Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali. He may have been the best fighter in the welterweight division during the decade but he never had a chance to prove it against Emile [...]
MARVIN JOHNSON ; ASK NO QUARTER, GIVE NO QUARTER
Sunday, April 12th, 2009One of the most exciting fighters of the 1970’s and 80’s was three time light heavyweight king Marvin Johnson. If ever a fighter lived by the sword and died by the sword, it was Marvin. He was a rangy southpaw who was constantly shuffling toward his opponent. His give and take pressure style created several [...]
RAFAEL HERRERA ; A Fine Champion
Thursday, April 9th, 2009He was born to humble beginnings on January 7, 1945 in Jalisco, Mexico. He would become a professional boxer at the age of eighteen. For years he fought fellow novices, losing some but winning more. He was making a name for himself though. In 1966 he climbed up the ladder with a win over rugged [...]
Boxing: Almost Champions
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009The 1970’s spawned such great and dominant champions such as Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Bobby Foster, Monzon, Napoles, Cervantes, Duran, Olivares, Arguello and Zarate. In review of their fine accomplishments and the feats of some other fine champions of that era, several very capable boxers fell short of their dreams of becomining a champion. Let’s [...]
THE EIGHT MAN ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT
Sunday, April 5th, 2009 April 27th will mark the 41st anniversary of one of the World Boxing Association’s crowning achievements. The grand finale of their eight man elimination tournament to find a successor for the deposed Muhammad Ali.
Acting with the swiftness matched only by Mr. Dooley of the New York State Athletic Commission, the W.B.A. immediately stripped Ali [...]