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“If There's A Rematch, Bradley Will Dominate Pacquiao”
There's no doubting its impact within the boxing fraternity. The recent showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley is the most talked about boxing event of recent times. “The decision,” as it's been aptly named, is well on its way to becoming the most infamous decision announced by three judges since Pernell Whitaker was declared to have been the equal of Julio Cesar Chavez back in 1993. Heck, it may have even eclipsed that, placing it on a pedestal alongside the decision that was Leonard versus Hagler of 1987…..I think you get the idea.
Having only touched on the subject very briefly in my last two short pieces for TSS, and as a result of many of our regular readers -and some new-taking the time to comment on some of my recent statements -which I feel were not in any way outlandish-I thought I'd take this time to go into a little more detail explaining myself regarding my views on the fight that was, and also in the event of a possible rematch between our two men of the hour.
Allow me to make one thing perfectly clear. In a crowded house on fight night, surrounded by a talkative family and blessed with a Primetime feed that just so happened to glorify everything Pacquiao did {I'm English remember, so no slick HBO for me!} I initially felt Pacquiao won the fight, by a margin of around eight rounds to four. The following day however, with a clear head and no sound to diminish or enhance an opinion, I re-watched the fight and found it to be of a close nature. Eventually, having obtained a high definition version of the fight, I decided to score it for myself.After yet another viewing, again minus the sound, I scored the fight 6 rounds apiece…even… a draw. It's a score that I've now settled on after achieving the same result multiple times after repeated viewings {I must have watched it five or six times now…. I need to get out more, I know}. The point being, at no time did I ever declare that Timothy Bradley won the fight. In all honesty, I don't have a problem with those who think Bradley won the fight, nor do I have a problem with the vast majority of people who felt Pacquiao did. What I do have a problem with though, is those who saw it as a one-sided massacre in Pacquiao's favour. Scores of 119-109 for Pacquiao are, quite frankly, absurd to say the least. To suggest Bradley only won a single round in this fight is ridiculous. It was close and it was competitive.
Here is my round by round breakdown:
Round 1: Bradley
Round 2: Bradley
Round 3: Pacquiao
Round 4: Pacquiao
Round 5: Pacqiuao
Round 6: Pacquiao
Round 7: Bradley
Round 8: Pacquiao
Round 9: Pacquiao
Round 10: Bradley
Round 11: Bradley
Round 12: Bradley
As you can see, I viewed it as an extremely close fight where the decision could have gone one way or the other. Of the twelve rounds I scored, I felt only two of them were decisive. I believe only two rounds out of the twelve could have been scored by a boxing novice, those being round four for Pacquiao and round ten for Bradley.Apart from round seven,which was close and could very well have been reversed, I considerd the rest of the rounds to have been closely contested in which there was a winner, but not by a huge margin.
Now, moving onto the comments that seemed to have ignited hellfire and brimstone, namely Pacquiao being figured out and Bradley being able to dominate the rematch.By looking at my scorecard, you will see a pattern that does not frequently occur -Bradley won the first two rounds on my scorecard, then did not win consecutive rounds until the tenth round of the fight. In my eyes, this is a clear indication of something out of the ordinary that took place during the fight, which was Bradley's early foot injury. Here's why:
Rounds 1-2~
During the first two rounds -unlike some of Pacquiao's more stationary welterweight opponents- we saw Bradley utilising a lot of movement. As Pacquiao was advancing, Bradley clearly made a point of moving to his left. Pacquiao's offense in the first two rounds -his right hand followed by his left straight, or his straight left lead- was met with Bradley sliding off to Manny's right, and away from the left hand. Regardless of what many think {yes I'm talking to “three big booms” Lampley here}Pacquiao only landed his straight left hand once in the first round. At least cleanly. To sum up, I thought Bradley isolated Pacquiao's ambushes in the first two rounds using his feet. The blueprint looked to be set in stone for him -a counterpunching strategy that used Pacquiao's aggression against him.
Rounds 3-9~
Disaster struck for Bradley. With the injury to his foot {or feet} Bradley could no longer replicate what he was able to achieve in rounds one and two. Instead, we saw Bradley having to stand in range with Pacquiao, where he was forced to exchange with some of the fastest hands in all of boxing. Bradley, due to the pain which was evident on his face, was no longer able to use his legs to motor himself out of Pacquiao's range. Apart from the seventh, Pacquiao swept rounds three through nine.
Rounds 10-12:
With the pain seemingly under control, Bradley began neutralizing Pacquiao's lunges again with his feet. Using his jab -which seemed to go completely unnoticed- and his footwork, Bradley kept Pacquiao off balance by pivoting off of his front foot in a clockwise motion, away from Manny's back hand.
Because I felt Bradley won rounds one, two, ten, eleven and twelve -rounds where he was not in pain and could use his footwork- I think barring his injury in the second round, Bradley may have won this fight decisively. I had my doubts over Bernard Hopkins' shoulder injury against Chad Dawson,as did I with David Haye's broken toe and the alleged pain he was under during his twelve rounds with Wladimir Klitschko. There is no doubt in my mind however, as to how legitimate Tim Bradley's injuries were, nor is there any doubt as to how much pain he was in. There he was, in the biggest fight of his life, unable to use his legs for seven rounds against a fighter in which footwork and mobility is the key to unlocking him. Bradley was clearly suffering from the third to the ninth round.However, it was during those seven rounds,where Bradley had to go to plan B and plan C -you could clearly see it, and because of that, we got an idea of just how versatile Bradley is. Something, I believe, that does not bode well for Manny in the rematch.
I'm a firm believer that Bradley is one of boxing's finest technicians, even though many seem to disagree with the notion. Agreed, his punches do not flow like that of Juan Manuel Marquez' nor do his opponent's deflect off of him like Floyd Mayweather. Bradley's best asset in my eyes though, his boxing brain, is vastly underrated. Lets just forget about Bradley's injuries for a moment and ask yourself this. After the fourth round, did Pacquiao's left hand land with any regularity, if at all? I don't think it did. And it's because of the subtle adjustments Bradley made. After the fourth round {a round in which Bradley admitted to being hurt in} Pacquiao's left hand -regardless of what Primetime or HBO said- did not land clean again for the remainder of the fight -that's eight rounds where Pacquiao was unable to land his primary weapon -his only fight ending weapon- and five rounds in which Bradley was a wounded animal yet Pacquiao still couldn't hunt him down to a finish.If you look at the film again, you will see four adjustments Bradley made to negate Pacquiao's left handed attack throughout the fight.
Pre Injury: Initially, Bradley's footwork was his primary evasive action. Moving to his left, thus eliminating any left hand threat.
Foot injury: Unable to move, Bradley went to plan B, which was to use his blocking skills. Pacquiao throws two types of left hands at two different ranges. The first, in close, is swept around the guard and aimed towards the right side of an opponent's head, and the second, thrown at mid-range, is thrown straight down the middle, towards the centre of an opponent's chin. Bradley negated the first by getting inside and covering the side of his head with the outside of his right glove, and the second by bending at the waist and covering his chin with an open glove which he used to parry Pacquiao's left hand. Bradley adjusted his guard depending on Pacquiao's angle and range. Another look at the film, and you will see Bradley continually catching Pacquiao's left hand with an open mitt.
Bradley also negated the left hand through head movement. As Pacquiao lunged in, Bradley simply dipped low enough, so that Pacquiao's momentum would allow him to land on top of Bradley's back, thus forcing the official to call break.
Post foot injury: Moving again, Bradley was able to use a counter left hook as he slid off to his left. This -along with his jab- was Bradley's most effective evasive action. As Pacquiao leaned in with the straight left hand, Bradley was off to the side, throwing a well timed left hook over Manny's right shoulder. Don't be fooled by Bradley's aesthetics, only a technician learns and adapts during a fight.
Within the last batch of comments at the end of my last article, one of our TSS readers made a good analogy when he suggested the rematch could go like Lewis-Rahman. Suggesting that Pacquiao, like Lewis did, may have learned his lesson, and will be able to adapt and win a rematch in spectacular fashion. I have to respectfully disagree with that analogy. And here's why. Lennox Lewis, unlike Pacquiao, was the technician between him and Rahman. In their first fight, an underprepared Lewis was brutally stopped by a heavyweight puncher. In the rematch, Lewis did his home work. He knew that Rahman, a one-dimensional slugger, blocked a jab by flailing his arms out and moving to his left. knowing this, Lewis walked Rahman onto a right hand, and the rest was history. Lewis, an astute student of boxing, knew how to tailor his style to suit an opponent.As I've said before, I consider Pacquiao to have one of the best A games in boxing. His “in and out” offensive attack is usually enough to get the job done against most opponents and in particular, those who opt to stand right in front of him within punching range. Nevertheless, I believe Pacquiao struggles to adapt and adjust if things are not going his way.I question Pacquiaio's -and Freddie Roach's for that matter- ability to come up with a plan B or C during a fight.
In my last piece, I referenced the Lewis-Holyfield scenario {their first fight was a disputed draw, in which Lewis clearly won and the second was closer but Lewis was awarded the decision} as how the Bradley-Pacquiao rematch may go down. Point being, Bradley may actually dominate the rematch, but judges, feeling Pacquiao was harshly treated last time, may actually award Pacquiao the decision {I believe we are in for another twelve rounder, more on that in a moment}.
A better analogy however, is the Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins fights. During their first fight, Hopkins, a technician, was stunned and hurt early by Pascal, who is a superior offensive fighter, with better athleticism. Pascal though, can be considered one dimensional. After Hopkins figured him out during the fifth round, he never lost a round for the rest of the fight. This carried into the rematch as Hopkins was able to neutralize Pascal from the get go. Despite the first fight being a draw, Hopkins dominated the rematch. I consider Bradley to be in a similar situation to Bradley. In my eyes, Pacquiao won the first half of the fight, but Bradley, after recuperating from his leg injury and making subtle adjustments, won the second half of the fight. This to me, suggests that Bradley has figured something out -remember,Pacquiao barely landed his left hand after the fourth round.
One of the most common perceptions I've heard and read is that Pacquiao will be able to get the knockout in the rematch. Look, I don't mean to rain on Manny's parade or anything like that, truth is I'm a bigger fan of Pacquiao's than I am of Bradley's, but I just don't see him being able to get the knockout in the rematch. Pacquiao's last six fights, in case you've forgotten, have all gone the full twelve rounds. Pacquiao's vaunted power at welterweight,I'm afraid to say,is vastly overrated. Pacquiao hit Bradley flush in the fourth round. Bradley was able to recover and claim Kendal Holt hit harder. I also don't buy into Shane Mosley saying Pacquiao's power is something else. If Pacquiao's power really was something else, then Mosley wouldn't have been there mythologizing fables. Did Thomas Hearns' opponents stand there at the end of the fight telling the world how hard he hit? No, they were being scraped off the canvas. That's how we knew Hearns was a hitter at welterweight. With Pacquiao not having scored a stoppage in his last half dozen fights and with his primary fight ending weapon not landing with any regularity since the Antonio Margarito fight, I think the Rubik's cube that was Pacquiao, is now something far less complicated, especially since he's started his inevitable decline.
Pacquiao, like Roy Jones, Naseem Hamed and Muhammad Ali did, relies heavily on his physical gifts like speed, athleticism and explosiveness. Look at Pacquiao against Oscar De la Hoya. You will see a fighter who has clearly lost a step in speed, reflexes and most notably, stamina. When was the last time Pacquiao was ever outworked throughout a twelve round fight before Bradley threw more punches than him last time out? Try never. It's obvious to me, that Pacquiao was performing that old Ray Leonard trick of trying to catch the the judges eye by turning it on for the last minute of every round. A clear indication that he is no longer capable of re-producing his frenetic pace of his featherweight days. Without volume, Pacquiao just isn't the same fighter. It's why haven't seen vintage Pacquiao since 2009.
Consequently, I think a rematch with Bradley would be a bad decision for Pacquiao. Bradley, to me, looked to have figured out Pacquiao's attack pattern -namely his side to side head movement, followed by a right hand….right, straight left combination. It became a case of rinse and repeat as the fight went on as Pacquiao seemed to lack any variation in his attack. One thing I did notice during the last fight, was the rare occasions when he threw it, Pacquiao seemed to have some success with the uppercut. Maybe that's something Pacquiao and Roach could pick up on if there's a rematch. On the other hand, it's not hard to imagine Bradley, just as he eventually did with Pacquiao's straight left, to figure the shot out and adjust accordingly. Again, I consider Bradley to be a boxing chameleon. Only a technician can adapt and re-adjust to the situation at hand.
I stand by my belief that if there's to be a rematch, Timothy Bradley will dominate. Pacquiao, who does not seem to be able to adjust during a fight, struggles against moving targets. The direction of Pacquiao's attack becomes lineal against fighters who are not overly aggressive and who counter movement with movement, fire with fire. Look at Pacquiao's attack angles against David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto, then contrast his angles against Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley and Timothy Bradley -you will notice Pacquiao becomes a pressurizing stalker against the latter group, yet against the former, Pacquiao was like a wasp, moving in, out and around his stationary targets.
A fully fit Bradley will be moving off at angles, not allowing Pacquiao to launch his four-five-six punch combinations that we've become accustomed to seeing him throw against his more stationary opponents {whom Pacquiao is a killer against}. I'm of the opinion, just as Bernard Hopkins did with Jean Pascal, that Timothy Bradley has a clear understanding on how to neutralize Manny's best weapons -his left hand, movement and angles-heading into the rematch.
And yet, having said all this,I would not be at all suprised if Pacquiao was given the decision, as a result of how the first fight was deemed a robbery. I hope I'm proved wrong, but the recent re-judging by the WBO has, I feel, only but enhanced my logic.
I look foward to hearing your response, TSS Universe. Thanks for reading.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More
Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More
Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.
Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.
Hopefully the worst is over.
Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.
“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.
Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.
“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.
He knows talent.
Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.
Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.
Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.
Can Trinidad reach world title status?
Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.
It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.
Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.
Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
Boxing and the Media
The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.
Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.
Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.
Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.
MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.
Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.
Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.
It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.
Photos credit: Lina Baker
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Boxing Trainer Bob Santos Paid his Dues and is Reaping the Rewards
Bob Santos, the 2022 Sports Illustrated and The Ring magazine Trainer of the Year, is a busy fellow. On Feb. 1, fighters under his tutelage will open and close the show on the four-bout main portion of the Prime Video PPV event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Jeison Rosario continues his comeback in the lid-lifter, opposing Jesus Ramos. In the finale, former Cuban amateur standout David Morrell will attempt to saddle David Benavidez with his first defeat. Both combatants in the main event have been chasing 168-pound kingpin Canelo Alvarez, but this bout will be contested for a piece of the light heavyweight title.
When the show is over, Santos will barely have time to exhale. Before the month is over, one will likely find him working the corner of Dainier Pero, Brian Mendoza, Elijah Garcia, and perhaps others.
Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) turned 28 last month. He is in the prime of his career. However, a lot of folk rate Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) a very live dog. At last look, Benavidez was a consensus 7/4 (minus-175) favorite, a price that betokens a very competitive fight.
Bob Santos, needless to say, is confident that his guy can upset the odds. “I have worked with both,” he says. “It’s a tough fight for David Morrell, but he has more ways to victory because he’s less one-dimensional. He can go forward or fight going back and his foot speed is superior.”
Benavidez’s big edge, in the eyes of many, is his greater experience. He captured the vacant WBC 168-pound title at age 20, becoming the youngest super middleweight champion in history. As a pro, Benavidez has answered the bell for 148 rounds compared with only 54 for Morrell, but Bob Santos thinks this angle is largely irrelevant.
“Sure, I’d rather have pro experience than amateur experience,” he says, “but if you look at Benavidez’s record, he fought a lot of soft opponents when he was climbing the ladder.”
True. Benavidez, who turned pro at age 16, had his first seven fights in Mexico against a motley assortment of opponents. His first bout on U.S. soil occurred in his native Pheonix against an opponent with a 1-6-2 record.
While it’s certainly true that Morrell, 26, has yet to fight an opponent the caliber of Caleb Plant, he took up boxing at roughly the same tender age as Benavidez and earned his spurs in the vaunted Cuban amateur system, eventually defeating elite amateurs in international tournaments.
“If you look at his [pro] record, you will notice that [Morrell] has hardly lost a round,” says Santos of the fighter who captured an interim title in only his third professional bout with a 12-round decision over Guyanese veteran Lennox Allen.
Bob Santos is something of a late bloomer. He was around boxing for a long time, assisting such notables as Joe Goossen, Emanuel Steward, and Ronnie Shields before becoming recognized as one of the sport’s top trainers.
A native of San Jose, he grew up in a Hispanic neighborhood but not in a household where Spanish was spoken. “I know enough now to get by,” he says modestly. He attended James Lick High School whose most famous alumnus is Heisman winning and Super Bowl winning quarterback Jim Plunkett. “We worked in the same apricot orchard when we were kids,” says Santos. “Not at the same time, but in the same field.”
After graduation, he followed his father’s footsteps into construction work, but boxing was always beckoning. A cousin, the late Luis Molina, represented the U.S. as a lightweight in the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, and was good enough as a pro to appear in a main event at Madison Square Garden where he lost a narrow decision to the notorious Puerto Rican hothead Frankie Narvaez, a future world title challenger.
Santos’ cousin was a big draw in San Jose in an era when the San Jose / Sacramento territory was the bailiwick of Don Chargin. “Don was a beautiful man and his wife Lorraine was even nicer,” says Santos of the husband/wife promotion team who are enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Don Chargin was inducted in 2001 and Lorraine posthumously in 2018.
Chargin promoted Fresno-based featherweight Hector Lizarraga who captured the IBF title in 1997. Lizarraga turned his career around after a 5-7-3 start when he hooked up with San Jose gym operator Miguel Jara. It was one of the most successful reclamation projects in boxing history and Bob Santos played a part in it.
Bob hopes to accomplish the same turnaround with Jeison Rosario whose career was on the skids when Santos got involved. In his most recent start, Rosario held heavily favored Jarrett Hurd to a draw in a battle between former IBF 154-pound champions on a ProBox card in Florida.
“I consider that one of my greatest achievements,” says Santos, noting that Rosario was stopped four times and effectively out of action for two years before resuming his career and is now on the cusp of earning another title shot.
The boxer with whom Santos is most closely identified is former four-division world title-holder Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero. The slick southpaw, the pride of Gilroy, California, the self-proclaimed “Garlic Capital of the World,” retired following a bad loss to Omar Figueroa Jr, but had second thoughts and is currently riding a six-fight winning streak. “I’ve known him since he was 15 years old,” notes Santos.
Years from now, Santos may be more closely identified with the Pero brothers, Dainier and Lenier, who aspire to be the Cuban-American version of the Klitschko brothers.
Santos describes Dainier, one of the youngest members of Cuba’s Olympic Team in Tokyo, as a bigger version of Oleksandr Usyk. That may be stretching it, but Dainier (10-0, 8 KOs as a pro), certainly hits harder.
This reporter was a fly on the wall as Santos put Dainier Pero through his paces on Tuesday (Jan. 14) at Bones Adams gym in Las Vegas. Santos held tight to a punch shield, in the boxing vernacular a donut, as the Cuban practiced his punches. On several occasions the trainer was knocked off-balance and the expression on his face as his body absorbed some of the after-shocks, plainly said, “My goodness, what the hell am I doing here? There has to be an easier way to make a living.” It was an assignment that Santos would have undoubtedly preferred handing off to his young assistant, his son Joe Santos, but Joe was preoccupied coordinating David Morrell’s camp.
Dainer’s brother Lenier is also an ex-Olympian, and like Dainier was a super heavyweight by trade as an amateur. With an 11-0 (8 KOs) record, Lenier Pero’s pro career was on a parallel path until stalled by a managerial dispute. Lenier last fought in March of last year and Santos says he will soon join his brother in Las Vegas.
There’s little to choose between the Pero brothers, but Dainier is considered to have the bigger upside because at age 25 he is the younger sibling by seven years.
Bob Santos was in the running again this year for The Ring magazine’s Trainer of the Year, one of six nominees for the honor that was bestowed upon his good friend Robert Garcia. Considering the way that Santos’ career is going, it’s a safe bet that he will be showered with many more accolades in the years to come.
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Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
There’s not much happening on the boxing front this month. That’s consistent with the historical pattern.
Fight promoters of yesteryear tended to pull back after the Christmas and New Year holidays on the assumption that fight fans had less discretionary income at their disposal. Weather was a contributing factor. In olden days, more boxing cards were staged outdoors and the most attractive match-ups tended to be summertime events.
There were exceptions, of course. On Jan. 17, 1941, an SRO crowd of 23,180 filled Madison Square Garden to the rafters to witness the welterweight title fight between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. (This was the third Madison Square Garden, situated at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue, roughly 17 blocks north of the current Garden which sits atop Pennsylvania Station. The first two arenas to take this name were situated farther south adjacent to Madison Square Park).
This was a rematch. They had fought here in October of the previous year. In a shocker, Zivic won a 15-round decision. The fight was close on the scorecards. Referee Arthur Donovan and one of the judges had it even after 14 rounds, but Zivic had won his rounds more decisively and he punctuated his well-earned triumph by knocking Armstrong face-first to the canvas as the final bell sounded.
This was a huge upset.
Armstrong had a rocky beginning to his pro career, but he came on like gangbusters after trainer/manager Eddie Mead acquired his contract with backing from Broadway and Hollywood star Al Jolson. Heading into his first match with Zivic – the nineteenth defense of the title he won from Barney Ross – Hammerin’ Henry had suffered only one defeat in his previous 60 fights, that coming in his second meeting with Lou Ambers, a controversial decision.
Shirley Povich, the nationally-known sports columnist for the Washington Post, conducted an informal survey of boxing insiders and found only person who gave Zivic a chance. The dissident was Chris Dundee (then far more well-known than his younger brother Angelo). “Zivic knows all the tricks,” said Dundee. “He’ll butt Armstrong with his head, gouge him with his thumbs and hit him just as low as Armstrong [who had five points deducted for low blows in his bout with Ambers].”
Indeed, Pittsburgh’s Ferdinand “Fritzie” Zivic, the youngest and best of five fighting sons of a Croatian immigrant steelworker (Fritzie’s two oldest brothers represented the U.S. at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics) would attract a cult following because of his facility for bending the rules. It would be said that no one was more adept at using his thumbs to blind an opponent or using the laces of his gloves as an anti-coagulant, undoing the work of a fighter’s cut man.
Although it was generally understood that at age 28 his best days were behind him, Henry Armstrong was chalked the favorite in the rematch (albeit a very short favorite) a tribute to his body of work. Although he had mastered Armstrong in their first encounter, most boxing insiders considered Fritzie little more than a high-class journeyman and he hadn’t looked sharp in his most recent fight, a 10-round non-title affair with lightweight champion Lew Jenkins who had the best of it in the eyes of most observers although the match was declared a draw.
The Jan. 17 rematch was a one-sided affair. Veteran New York Times scribe James P. Dawson gave Armstrong only two rounds before referee Donovan pulled the plug at the 52-second mark of the twelfth round. Armstrong, boxing’s great perpetual motion machine, a world title-holder in three weight classes, repaired to his dressing room bleeding from his nose and his mouth and with both eyes swollen nearly shut. But his effort could not have been more courageous.
At the conclusion of the 10th frame, Donovan went to Armstrong’s corner and said something to the effect, “you will have to show me something, Henry, or I will have to stop it.” What followed was Armstrong’s best round.
“[Armstrong] pulled the crowd to its feet in as glorious a rally as this observer has seen in twenty-five years of attendance at these ring battles,” wrote Dawson. But Armstrong, who had been stopped only once previously, that coming in his pro debut, had punched himself out and had nothing left.
Armstrong retired after this fight, siting his worsening eyesight, but he returned in the summer of the following year, soldiering on for 46 more fights, winning 37 to finish 149-21-10. During this run, he was reacquainted with Fritzie Zivic. Their third encounter was fought in San Francisco before a near-capacity crowd of 8,000 at the Civic Auditorium and Armstrong got his revenge, setting the pace and working the body effectively to win a 10-round decision. By then the welterweight title had passed into the hands of Freddie Cochran.
Hammerin’ Henry (aka Homicide Hank) Armstrong was named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the inaugural class of 1990. Fritzie Zivic followed him into the Hall three years later.
Active from 1931 to 1949, Zivic lost 65 of his 231 fights – the most of anyone in the Hall of Fame, a dubious distinction – but there was yet little controversy when he was named to the Canastota shrine because one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who had fought a tougher schedule. Aside from Armstrong and Jenkins, he had four fights with Jake LaMotta, four with Kid Azteca, three with Charley Burley, two with Sugar Ray Robinson, two with Beau Jack, and singles with the likes of Billy Conn, Lou Ambers, and Bob Montgomery. Of the aforementioned, only Azteca, in their final meeting in Mexico City, and Sugar Ray, in their second encounter, were able to win inside the distance.
By the way, it has been written that no event of any kind at any of the four Madison Square Gardens ever drew a larger crowd than the crowd that turned out on Jan. 17, 1941, to see the rematch between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. Needless to say, prizefighting was big in those days.
A recognized authority on the history of prizefighting and the history of American sports gambling, TSS editor-in-chief Arne K. Lang is the author of five books including “Prizefighting: An American History,” released by McFarland in 2008 and re-released in a paperback edition in 2020.
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