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Boxing’s Thrill Factory: Then and Now
Boxing’s Thrill Factory: Then and Now
Through the years — going back even before Jack Dempsey — some fighters included maximum aggression and violence in their repertoire. Max Baer’s contribution was manifested in his lethal right hand. Later, Chicagoan Bob Satterfield had a “get you or be gotten” style that tingled spines whenever he fought. It was chill-or-be-chilled and the fans loved it.
Charley Norkus and Danny Nardico possessed paralyzing power. When they met, they produced an incredible, although predictable, bloodbath—a ruthless, wild, pier six brawl yielding eight knockdowns and full-tilt boogie violence. Nardico went down six times and Norkus twice before the “Bayonne Bomber” was finally able to put away Nardico in the ninth with jackhammer blows. Only the first Moore vs Durelle fight could match this, though Foreman vs Lyle in 1976 came close.
Speaking of full-tilt boogie, Boom Boom Mancini and Art Frias gave the phrase new meaning when they engaged non-stop in less than one round in 1982. One would not give it up; the other wanted it, no matter what. David Tua and “The President” Ike Ibeabuchi did this for 12 amazing rounds in 1997. Holyfield and Bowe did it three times in the 90s.
Matthew Saad Muhammad and Indian Yaqui Lopez went to the brink, perhaps in a way that has yet to be matched. Danny “Little Red” Lopez was Saad before Saad and Gatti before Gatti.
Rocky Marciano, Tony Zale, Rocky Graziano, Carmen Basilio (pictured in his second fight with Sugar Ray Robinson), Gene Fullmer and Tony DeMarco were ultra-aggressive and later Jerry Quarry, Julio Gonzalez, Ricky Hatton, and Julian Letterlough picked up the mantle. Latinos Michael Carbajal, Humberto Gonzalez, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Miguel Cotto, Johnny Tapia and Juan Manuel Marquez ran with it.
God knows, “Iron” Mike Tyson became the poster child for this, but Tony Ayala Jr. also made his mark. He was not beyond spitting on an opponent he had decked. Tony was bad Ju Ju. If Tyson was the heavyweight version of someone who brought the heat, then most assuredly Arturo Gatti and Irish Micky Ward were the lower weight versions. Of course, Hearns and Hagler kept things very hot in the middleweight class as did Gerald McClellan who was pure aggression at its most violent level.
Sugar Ray Leonard’s baby face belied a ring assassin who, once he had his man stunned, would finish matters with stunning closure.
Nigel Benn, Michael Watson, Chris Eubank, Carl Froch in the UK and Michael Katsidis in Australia carried forth with this “Bring the Heat” style but it proved nearly fatal for Watson and cost Katsidis in the end. Earlier, it cost the relentless Bobby Chacon terribly. Julio Chavez Sr. and Roberto Duran were both savage stalk-and-destroy types. The excitement their battles produced was truly memorable.
‘It was a tough fight, but that’s the way I like to win them … I said I was going to introduce new blood to the sport, and I guess you saw a lot of new blood.” —Michael Katsidis
Female great Holly Holm, active from 2002 to 2013, was just vulnerable enough to provide plenty of thrills. Lucia Rijker, in contrast, was probably too good for her own good, and dominated during a boxing career that ran from 1996-2004. Christy Martin is considered to have legitimized women’s participation in the sport of boxing during her thrilling run between 1989 and 2012. All things considered, she was the ultimate thrill provider.
Something or some combination of things set these boxers apart from the rest. None refused to stay down; some had to be saved by their corner. None had quit in their DNA. All had doggedness, tenacity, and a persistent determination to beat their opponent no matter what it took. Unfortunately, for some it took too much, for they did this with a total disregard for their wellbeing.
“A Quarry never backs up.” —Jack Quarry
There were many, many others but space does not allow for their inclusion.
Today’s Thrill Factory
Deontay Wilder has gotten to the point where the outcome of his fights is predicated on “when,” not “if.” His KO power is such that the “when” can come at any time. While his style leaves much to be desired, the one-punch power is what thrills fans. The “Bronze Bomber” is dangerous until the last second of the fight.
Dillian Whyte enjoys his reputation as someone who brings the heat and his results back up his boasts. He says, “…this is my time now. Crack another skull and get closer to fighting for a world title… I come with maximum violence.”
Adam Kownacki keeps on winning with a no back-up style that has his Polish fans in Brooklyn up and roaring throughout his fights. He’s not pretty but he’s 20-0.
Andy Ruiz has always been a guy who breaks his opponent down, but his atypical and explosive ambush of Anthony Joshua suggests he could be another worthy spine-tingler. The rematch will tell us what we need to know.
Light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev brings a heavy-handed excitement with his bludgeon-like power and deceptive technical skills.
Gennady Golovkin continues to be pure excitement, but now that he’s on the downward slope of his great career, the “if” has become equal with the “when.” He arguably has become a more modern version of the great Kostya Tszyu.
Manny Pacquiao has always been super-thrilling but his loss of KO power in recent years has taken much of the edge off. Nevertheless, when he fights it’s an event that draws massive attention much like Canelo today and Oscar De La Hoya in the past.
Terence Crawford’s ability to adjust and then close the show makes him compelling, but not necessarily more thrilling than other welterweights. The division is a hot one—as is the junior welterweight division with Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis leading another bunch of exciting fighters.
Vasiliy Lomachenko provides thrills with the unique things he does in the ring, reflecting his legendary amateur career and his “Hi-Tech” training. Teófimo Lopez has the potential to be included in today’s thrill house.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis is a modern-day prototype of an aggressive and violent fighter. He likely will move up in weight, leaving rugged Miguel Berchelt to remain king of an exceptional division
Naoya “Monster” Inoue has the right nickname but his showing against an aroused Nonito Donaire showed that he is human after all and that makes him even more exciting. “Monster” is today’s best example for inclusion in the Thrill Factory.
Nicaragua’s Roman Gonzalez used to be one of the most exciting fighters, but Father Time caught up with him. Filipino Donnie Nietes is a superb technical fighter, but not an exciting one, while Japan’s Kazuto Ioka, Mexico’s Juan Francisco Estrada and Thailand’s Srisaket Sor Rungvisai are the opposite. The junior bantamweight division is loaded.
And lest we forget, the exciting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who has become boxing’s greatest attraction, continues to surge, finishing the decade with two grueling fights with Gennady Golovkin and a savage KO over Sergey Kovalev. His KOs of Baldomir, Kirkland, Khan, and Kovalev were frightening in their ferocity and finality.
While today’s boxing offers plenty of thrills, the facts suggest that the house of thrills and excitement is not nearly as full as it could be. There are plenty of potential occupants, particularly from Japan, Mexico and Eastern Europe, but they have yet to fully emerge.
Back in the day, you could throw a dart. It’s not like that today.
Or is it?
Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com
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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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Jai Opetaia Brutally KOs David Nyika, Cementing his Status as the World’s Top Cruiserweight
In his fifth title defense, lineal cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) successfully defended his belt with a brutal fourth-round stoppage of former sparring partner David Nyika. The bout was contested in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia where Opetaia won the IBF title in 2022 with a hard-earned decision over Maris Briedis with Nyika on the undercard. Both fighters reside in the general area although Nyika, a former Olympic bronze medalist, hails from New Zealand.
The six-foot-six Nyika, who was undefeated in 10 pro fights with nine KOs, wasn’t afraid to mix it up with Opetaia although had never fought beyond five rounds and took the fight on three weeks’ notice when obscure German campaigner Huseyin Cinkara suffered an ankle injury in training and had to pull out. He wobbled Opetaia in the second round in a fight that was an entertaining slugfest for as long as it lasted.
In round four, the champion but Nyika on the canvas with his patented right uppercut and then finished matters moments later with a combination climaxed with an explosive left hand. Nyika was unconscious before he hit the mat.
Opetaia’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants Opetaia to unify the title and then pursue a match with Oleksandr Usyk. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, a Golden Boy Promotions fighter, holds the WBA and WBO versions of the title and is expected to be Opetaia’s next opponent. The WBC diadem is in the hands of grizzled Badou Jack.
Other Fights of Note
Brisbane heavyweight Justis Huni (12-0, 7 KOs) wacked out overmatched South African import Shaun Potgieter (10-2), ending the contest at the 33-second mark of the second round. The 25-year-old, six-foot-four Huni turned pro in 2020 after losing a 3-round decision to two-time Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov. There’s talk of matching him with England’s 20-year-old sensation Moses Itauma which would be a delicious pairing.
Eddie Hearn’s newest signee Teremoana Junior won his match even quicker, needing less than a minute to dismiss Osasu Otobo, a German heavyweight of Nigerian descent.
The six-foot-six Teremoana, who akin to Huni hails from Brisbane and turned pro after losing to the formidable Jalolov, has won all six of his pro fights by knockout while answering the bell for only eight rounds. He has an interesting lineage; his father is from the Cook Islands.
Rising 20-year-old Max “Money” McIntyre, a six-foot-three super middleweight, scored three knockdowns en route to a sixth-round stoppage of Abdulselam Saman, advancing his record to 7-0 (6 KOs). As one can surmise, McIntyre is a big fan of Floyd Mayweather.
The Opetaia-Nyika fight card aired on DAZN pay-per-view (39.99) in the Antipodes and just plain DAZN elsewhere.
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R.I.P. Paul Bamba (1989-2024): The Story Behind the Story
Paul Bamba, a cruiserweight, passed away at age 35 on Dec. 27 six days after defeating Rogelio Medina before a few hundred fans on a boxing card at a performing arts center in Carteret, New Jersey. No cause of death has been forthcoming, leading to rampant speculation. Was it suicide, or perhaps a brain injury, and if the latter was it triggered by a pre-existing condition?
Fuel for the latter comes in the form of a letter that surfaced after his death. Dated July 25, 2023, it was written by Dr. Alina Sharinn, a board-certified neurologist licensed in New York and Florida.
“Mr. Bamba has suffered a concussion and an episode of traumatic diplopia within the past year and now presents with increasing headaches. His MRI of the brain revealed white matter changes in both frontal lobes,” wrote Bamba’s doctor.
Her recommendation was that he stop boxing temporarily while also avoiding any other activity at which he was at risk of head trauma.
Dr. Sherinn’s letter was written three months after Bamba was defeated by Chris Avila in a 4-round contest in New Orleans. He lost all four rounds on all three scorecards, reducing his record to 5-3.
Bamba took a break from boxing after fighting Avila. Eight months would elapse before he returned to the ring. His next four fights were in Santa Marta, Colombia, against opponents who were collectively 4-23 at the time that he fought them. The most experienced of the quartet, Victor Coronado, was 38 years old.
He won all four inside the distance and ten more knockouts would follow, the last against Medina in a bout sanctioned by the World Boxing Association for the WBA Gold title. As widely reported, the stoppage, his 14th, broke Mike Tyson’s record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year. That would have been a nice feather in his cap if only it were true.
Born in Puerto Rico, Paul Bamba was a former U.S. Marine who spent time in Iraq as an infantry machine gunner. In interviews on social media platforms, he is well-spoken and introspective without a trace of the boastfulness that many prizefighters exhibit when talking to an outsider. Interviewed in a corridor of the arena after stopping Medina, he was almost apologetic, acknowledging that he still had a lot to learn.
His life story is inspirational.
His early years were spent in foster homes. He was homeless for a time after returning to civilian life. Speaking with Boxing Scene’s Lucas Ketelle, Bamba said, “I didn’t have any direction after leaving the Marine corps. I hit rock bottom, couldn’t afford a place to stay…I was renting a mattress that was shoved behind someone’s sofa.”
He turned his life around when he ventured into the Morris Park Boxing Gym in the Bronx where he learned the rudiments of boxing under the tutelage of former WBA welterweight champion Aaron “Superman” Davis. “I love boxing,” he would say. “The confidence it gives you permeates into other aspects of your life.”
Bamba’s newfound confidence allowed him to carve out a successful career as a personal trainer. His most famous client was the Grammy Award winning R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo who signed Bamba to his new sports management company late in the boxer’s Knockout skein. Bamba was with Ne-Yo in Atlanta when he passed away. Ne-Yo broke the news on his Instagram platform.
Paul Bamba had been pursuing a fight with Jake Paul. Winning the WBA Gold belt opened up other potentially lucrative options. In theory, the holder of the belt is one step removed from a world title fight. Next comes an eliminator and, if he wins that one, a true title fight attached to a hefty purse will follow…in theory.
Rogelio “Porky” Medina, who brought a 42-10 record, had competed against some top-shelf guys, e.g., Zurdo Ramirez, Badou Jack, James DeGale, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant; going the distance with DeGale and Plant. However, only two of his 42 wins had come in fights outside Mexico, at age 36 he was over the hill, and his best work had come as a super middleweight.
Thirteen months ago, Medina carried 168 ½ pounds for a match in New Zealand in which he was knocked out in the first round. He came in more than 30 pounds heavier, specifically 202 ¼, for his match with Paul Bamba. In between, he knocked out a 54-year-old man in Guadalajara to infuse his ledger with a little brighter sheen.
Why did the WBA see fit to sanction the Bamba-Medina match as a title fight? That’s a rhetorical question. And for the record, the record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year wasn’t previously held by Mike Tyson. LaMar Clark, a heavyweight from Cedar City, Utah, scored 29 consecutive knockouts in 1958 after opening the year by winning a 6-round decision. (If you are inclined to believe that all or most of those knockouts were legitimate, then perhaps I can interest you in buying the Brooklyn Bridge.)
Clark was being primped for a fight with a good purse which came when he was dispatched to Louisville to fight a fellow who was fairly new to the professional boxing scene, a former U.S. Olympian then known as Cassius Clay who knocked him out in the second round in what proved to be Clark’s final fight.
Paul Bamba was a much better fighter than LaMar Clark, of that I am quite certain. However, if Paul Bamba had gone on to meet one of the world’s elite cruiserweights, a similar outcome would have undoubtedly ensued.
One can summon up the Bamba-Medina fight on the internet although the video isn’t great – it was obviously filmed on a smart phone – and pieces of it are missing. Bamba was winning with his higher workrate when Medina took his unexpected leave, but one doesn’t have to be a boxing savant to see that Paul’s hand and foot speed were slow and that there were big holes in his defense.
This isn’t meant to be a knock on the decedent. Being able to box even four rounds at a fast clip and still be fresh is one of the most underrated achievements in all of human endurance sports. Bamba’s life story is indeed inspirational. When he talked about the importance of “giving back,” he was sincere. In an early interview, he mentioned having helped out at a Harlem food pantry.
Paul Bamba had to die to become well-known within the fight fraternity, let alone in the larger society. One hopes that his death will inspire the sport’s regulators to be more vigilant in assaying a boxer’s medical history and, if somehow his untimely death leads to the dissolution of the fetid World Boxing Association, his legacy would be even greater.
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