In Appreciation of Labor Day, a Guide to Boxers Other Occupations

Published

4 years ago

August 31, 2019

In Appreciation of Labor Day, a Guide to Boxers Other Occupations

In 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed into law a bill making Labor Day a national holiday. Prior to then, Labor Day was celebrated at the local and state level in many jurisdictions.

There are few jobs that require as much dedication as that of a full-time prizefighter, but, needless to say, prizefighting alone doesn’t pay all the bills, save for a small minority. With another Labor Day upon us, let’s take this opportunity to look more closely at the jobs that well-known boxers had, both before and after and even during their careers in the squared circle.

During the bare-knuckle era in England, the occupation that spawned the most boxers was butchery. Whether working in a slaughterhouse or working with their fists, blood was a constant. In retirement, the most famous bare-knuckle boxers invariably became publicans (saloon-keepers).

As to be expected, America’s first prominent boxers, save for those that started in their mid-teens, worked in a blue-collar trade before taking up boxing. Lore has it that the original Jack Dempsey, the so-called Nonpareil, and Jack McAuliffe, the Napoleon of the Prize Ring, were co-workers in a Brooklyn cooperage. They were barrel-makers.

Big Jim Jeffries, who was considered invincible until he came out of retirement to fight Jack Johnson, worked with larger vats in his youth in Ohio. He was a boilermaker. Contemporaries Bob Fitzsimmons and Joe Choynski also worked with their hands. As a teenager in New Zealand, Fitzsimmons (pictured) was apprenticed to a blacksmith. Choynski reportedly developed the strength in his arms working as a taffy puller in a San Francisco candy factory.

Jim Jeffries was among many boxers whose former employment served as their nickname. Fireman Jim Flynn, who knocked out Jack Dempsey in their first meeting, was a fireman (i.e., coal heaver) on steam locomotives. Tony Zale had a similar job. Before finding fame in the prize ring, he tended a blast furnace in a Gary, Indiana, steel mill. Hence his nickname: Man of Steel.

Joe Glick, a leading lightweight contender during the 1920’s, didn’t work with a shovel, but with a needle and thread; he was a tailor by trade. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Glick was outfitted with one of boxing’s most outlandish nicknames. They called him the Brownsville Button Hole Maker. Others whose occupations were fused into their nicknames were Fred Apostoli, the Fighting Bell Hop, and Charlie Fusari, the Milkman. When he wasn’t training for a big fight, Fusari, who went 15 rounds in world title fights with Sugar Ray Robinson and Johnny Bratton, was up early in the morning servicing the customers on his Irvington, New Jersey milk route.

Most prizefighters were products of cities with large immigrant populations, but a few came off the farm. Carmen Basilio worked in the fields as an onion picker before boxing became his full-time gig.

A number of boxers were given nicknames that reflected the main occupation associated with the region in which they were raised. Scrolling through BoxRec, you will find several Michigan Lumberjacks, although whether they actually worked in the timber industry is open to debate. But Yvon Durelle, the Fighting Fisherman, was legit. He came from a small fishing village in New Brunswick, Canada, and as a teenager, like most of the locals, he worked on a fishing boat.

While we are on the subject of lumberjacks, Paulino Uzcudun, the Basque Woodchopper, was actually trained as a butcher. However, he competed in woodchopping tournaments which were popular in his region in Spain.

When they retired, most journeymen boxers returned to their original trade. The saddest example is that of Beau Jack who holds the record for having headlined 21 shows at Madison Square Garden. As a kid, Beau Jack shined shoes at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. In retirement, he ran a shoeshine stand at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami Beach.

It’s well known that James J. Braddock worked as a stevedore on the New Jersey docks – when work was available, this was the Depression. Less well known is that 25 years after losing his title to Joe Louis, the Cinderella Man, as he came to be known, was discovered working as a welder on the nascent Verrazano Bridge which connects Brooklyn with Staten Island. Braddock said he didn’t need the money, he just needed to get out of the house, but if he needed the money, he would have been too proud to admit it.

In Las Vegas, many former boxers, if they never graduated beyond the preliminary ranks, can be found working as security guards. Working in some sphere of law enforcement would seem to be a natural. In fact, in the Old West, ex-prizefighters had a leg up if they ran for Sheriff. The townsfolk wanted a man who was handy with his fists.

The great light heavyweight champion Bob Foster was a police officer in Albuquerque, his hometown, during and after his pro career. Tommy Gibbons, a Hall of Famer, was elected Sheriff of Ramsey County, Minnesota, home to St. Paul, and served in that post for 24 years.

An inordinate number of ex-boxers found work in Hollywood on studio lots and appearing as extras in movies. Mushy Callahan, a former junior welterweight champion, was in high demand as a teacher of actors appearing in fight scenes. Ace Hudkins, along with several of his brothers, formed a company that leased horses and buckboards to the makers of movie and TV westerns. Hudkins, the Nebraska Wildcat, reportedly died a millionaire.

This article barely scratches the surface. We invite you to go to our Forum and plug in some of the missing pieces. And Happy Labor Day.

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Arne K. Lang

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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

Published

3 days ago

March 19, 2023

David A. Avila

Mercito-Gesta-Victorious-Over-Jojo-Diaz-at-the-Long-Beach-Pyramid

LONG BEACH, CA.-Those in the know knew Mercito Gesta and Jojo Diaz would be a fight to watch and they delivered.

Gesta emerged the winner in a super lightweight clash between southpaws that saw the judges favor his busier style over Diaz’s body attack and bigger shots and win by split decision on Saturday.

Despite losing the main event because the star was overweight, Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) used an outside method of tactic to edge past former world champion Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Pyramid.

The speedy Gesta opened up the fight with combination punching up and down against the peek-a-boo style of Diaz. For the first two rounds the San Diego fighter overwhelmed Diaz though none of the blows were impactful.

In the third round Diaz finally began unloading his own combinations and displaying the fast hands that helped him win world titles in two divisions. Gesta seemed stunned by the blows, but his chin held up. The counter right hook was Diaz’s best weapon and snapped Gesta’s head back several times.

Gesta regained control in the fifth round after absorbing big blows from Diaz. He seemed to get angry that he was hurt and opened up with even more blows to send Diaz backpedaling.

Diaz targeted his attack to Gesta’s body and that seemed to slow down Gesta. But only for a round.

From the seventh until the 10^th each fighter tried to impose their style with Gesta opening up with fast flurries and Diaz using right hooks to connect with solid shots. They continued their method of attack until the final bell. All that mattered was what the judges preferred.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Diaz the winner 97-93 but two others saw Gesta the winner 99-91, 98-92. It was a close and interesting fight.

“I was expecting nothing. I was the victor in this fight and we gave a good fight,” said Gesta. “It’s not an easy fight and Jojo gave his best.”

Diaz was surprised by the outcome but accepted the verdict.

Everything was going good. I thought I was landing good body shots,” said Diaz. “I was pretty comfortable.”

Other Bouts

Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Chicago’s Alex Martin (18-5, 6 KOs) with a counter right hand after dropping him earlier in the fourth round. The super lightweight fight was stopped at 1:14 of the round.

A battle between undefeated super welterweights saw Florida’s Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) emerge the winner by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain.

The taller Tudor showed polished skill and was not bothered by a large cut on his forehead caused by an accidental clash of heads. He used his jab and lead rights to defuse the attacks of the quick-fisted southpaw Cato-Cain. The judges scored the fight 80-72 and 78-74 twice for Tudor.

San Diego’s Jorge Chavez (5-0, 4 KOs) needed less than one round to figure out Nicaragua’s Bryan Perez (12-17-1, 11 KOs) and send him into dreamland with a three-punch combination. No need to count as referee Ray Corona waved the fight over. Perez shot a vicious right followed by another right and then a see-you-later left hook at 3.00 of the first round of the super featherweight match.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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Jojo Diaz’s Slump Continues; Mercito Gesta Prevails on a Split Decision

Published

4 days ago

March 18, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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At age 30, Jojo Diaz’s career is on the skids. The 2012 U.S. Olympian, a former world title holder at 126 and 130 pounds and an interim title holder at 135, Diaz suffered his third straight loss tonight, upset by Mercito Gesta who won a split decision at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.. The scoring was strange with Gesta winning nine of the 10 rounds on one of the cards and only three rounds on another. The tie-breaker, as it were, was a 98-92 tally for Gesta and even that didn’t capture the flavor of what was a closely-contested fight.

Originally listed as a 12-rounder, the match was reduced to 10 and that, it turned out, did Diaz no favors. However, it’s hard to feel sorry for the former Olympian as he came in overweight once again, having lost his 130-pound title on the scales in February of 2021.

Diaz also has issues outside the ropes. Best elucidated by prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, they include a cluster of legal problems stemming from an arrest for drunk driving on Feb. 27 in the LA suburb of Claremont.

With the defeat, Diaz’s ledger declined to 32-4-1. His prior losses came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr, Devin Haney, and William Zepeda, boxers who are collectively 83-2. Mercito Gesta, a 35-year-old San Diego-based Filipino, improved to 34-3-3.

Co-Feature

Chihuahua, Mexico super lightweight Oscar Duarte has now won nine straight inside the distance after stopping 33-year-old Chicago southpaw Alex Martin in the eighth frame. Duarte, the busier fighter, had Martin on the deck twice in round eight before the fight was waived off.

Duarte improved to 25-1-1 (20). Martin, who reportedly won six national titles as an amateur and was once looked upon as a promising prospect, declined to 18-5.

Other Bouts of Note

New Golden Boy signee Eric Tudor, a 21-year-old super welterweight from Fort Lauderdale, overcame a bad laceration over his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads in round four, to stay unbeaten, advancing to 8-0 (6) with a hard-fought unanimous 8-round decision over Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain. The judges had it 80-72 and 78-74 twice. It was the first pro loss for Cato-Cain (7-1-1) who had his first five fights in Tijuana.

In the DAZN opener, lanky Hawaian lightweight Dalis Kaleiopu went the distance for the first time in his young career, improving to 4-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 36-year-old Colombian trial horse Jonathan Perez (40-35). The scores were 60-52 across the board. There were no knockdowns, but Perez, who gave up almost six inches in height, had a point deducted for a rabbit punch and another point for deducted for holding.

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‘Big Baby’ Wins the Battle of Behemoths; TKOs ‘Big Daddy’ in 6

Published

4 days ago

March 18, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Big-Baby-Wins-the-Battle-of-Behemoths-TKOs-Big-Daddy-in-6

Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne weighed in at a career-high 277 pounds for today’s battle in Dubai with Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, but he was the lighter man by 56 pounds. It figured that one or both would gas out if the bout lasted more than a few stanzas.

It was a war of attrition with both men looking exhausted at times, and when the end came it was Miller, at age 34 the younger man by nine years, who had his hand raised.

Browne was the busier man, but Miller, whose physique invites comparison with a rhinoceros, hardly blinked as he was tattooed with an assortment of punches. He hurt ‘Bid Daddy’ in round four, but the Aussie held his own in the next frame, perhaps even forging ahead on the cards, but only postponing the inevitable.

In round six, a succession of right hands knocked Browne on the seat of his pants. He beat the count, but another barrage from Miller impelled the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:33. It was the 21^st straight win for Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs). Browne declined to 31-4 and, for his own sake, ought not fight again. All four of his losses have come inside the distance, some brutally.

The consensus of those that caught the livestream was that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s commentary was an annoying distraction that marred what was otherwise an entertaining show.

As for what’s next for “Big Baby” Miller, that’s hard to decipher as he has burned his bridges with the sport’s most powerful promoters. One possibility is Mahmoud Charr who, like Miller, has a big gap in his boxing timeline. Now 38 years old, Charr – who has a tenuous claim on a WBA world title (don’t we all?) — has reportedly taken up residence in Dubai.

Other Bouts of Note

In a 10-round cruiserweight affair, Suslan Asbarov, a 30-year-old Russian, advanced to 4-0 (1) with a hard-fought majority decision over Brandon Glanton. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and a more reasonable 95-95.

Asbarov was 12-9 in documented amateur fights and 1-0 in a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, all in Moscow, entering this match. He bears watching, however, as Glanton (18-2) would be a tough out for almost anyone in his weight class. In his previous fight, at Plant City, Florida, Glanton lost a controversial decision to David Light, an undefeated Australian who challenges WBO world title-holder Lawrence Okolie at Manchester, England next week.

A 10-round super featherweight match between former world title challengers Jono Carroll and Miguel Marriaga preceded the semi-windup. Carroll, a 30-year-old Dublin southpaw, overcame a cut over his left eye suffered in the second round to win a wide unanimous decision in a fairly entertaining fight.

It was the sixth straight win for Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) who elevated his game after serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. Marriaga, a 36-year-old Colombian, lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, declining to 30-7.

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