Glimpses from the Past (Part Two)

The glimpses are not as sharp as they once were, but they still provide me with guilty pleasure. Now closing in on 85, I’m not about to walk away.

A Dip to the Left

 The Ring magazine 1951 “Fight of the Year” took place between Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott (real name Arnold Cream) and featured one of the greatest left hooks ever witnessed in a boxing ring. Hall of Fame boxing writer Bernard Fernandez ranked it #1 on his personal list of all-time one-punch knockouts.

Fernandez described the scene thusly: “Moving forward while rocking side to side, the 9-1 underdog dipped to his left and exploded upward with a thunderous hook that caught Charles flush on the jaw. The semi-conscious champion pitched forward onto his face.”

Having worked with Jersey Joe’s brother, Joe Cream, in the 60’s in New Jersey, I was able to hear first-hand his brother Arnold’s personal description of the hook and it was all about the dip to the left. What a fantastic glimpse into the past that was.

The Schoolteacher and Hercules

In November 1984, I watched in amazement as the “Fighting Schoolteacher” Tony Anthony (16-2), ran across the ring and inexplicably struck Mike “Hercules” Weaver with a malevolent left hook from behind after the bell ending the first round. Weaver was stunned and fell slowly to the canvas. Poor Mike had done nothing to deserve it. Anthony was DQ’d., This would be a precursor to what the terribly troubled “Harlem Hammer” James Butler, would do to Richard Grant some years later.

42-1 Odds

Probably everyone knows where they were when JFK was assassinated and the same goes for 9/11. I sure do, but I also know where I was when Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson at the Tokyo Dome on February 11, 1990. Most boxers have that one (or two) fights that define their careers. None can top Buster’s.

The Blue Horizon

On March 10, 1992, welterweight Tim Rabon out of Broussard, Louisiana, met Philadelphia’s William “The Hammer” Jones at the Blue Horizon in a scheduled 10-rounder that was televised on Tuesday Night Fights. The fight was a closet classic deluxe. Those who were fortunate enough to see it will never forget it.

Both fighters were tall and skinny and immediately teed off on each other with long and looping shots that had extreme malice written all over them. The punishment absorbed by both fighters was frightening, no, alarming. Those at ringside were sprayed by sweat as each heavy shot landed with pinpoint accuracy. Then, in the incredible third round, things heated up as “The Hammer” lived up to his nickname by decking and punishing Rabon in the early going and appeared to be on his way to a crunching finish. But miraculously, Rabon caught Jones with a solid hook coming in that had him hurt and hanging on.

Rabon then stalked Jones down like a tiger sensing fresh meat and decked him twice, but in so doing he had punched himself out and was soon helplessly gassed. Jones began his own stalk. The tables had turned and the fans were howling. A bleeding Rabon was ready to be hammered into submission as time was running out. With just seconds to go in the round, Jones backed Rabon into a corner and took him out with a single debilitating right to the liver. The bell had rung but Tim could not get up. He was counted out four seconds after the round was over. These nine minutes of unmitigated mayhem and Philly fury featured everything: give and take, ebb and flow, courage, determination, multiple knockdowns, and ferocity. And the third round had to be seen to be believed.

They call it the “Legendary Blue Horizon.” Fights like this contributed greatly to that moniker—-and to my memory bank.

The Look on Buddy’s Face

On January 4, 1994, “Jesse” James Hughes fought tough and savvy Buddy McGirt in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Even though he lost a ten-round decision, Hughes gained respect from those who witnessed the fight, but, more importantly, he gained self-confidence knowing he could hang with somebody as solid as McGirt. I recall the look on McGirt’s face toward the end of that fight, and it was one of extreme caution as he was being stalked until the final bell. Michael Dokes had the same look of caution when he fought and barely beat a stalking Tex Cobb in 1981. I sensed that here was someone to keep an eye on.

Specializing in come-from-behind KO wins against very tough competition, Hughes quickly became one of my very favorite fighters. I had found my Bobby Chacon, Danny Lopez, and Saad Muhammad all wrapped into one fighter. I couldn’t wait for Monday so I could rap about this fighter with my fellow boxing enthusiasts. But unfortunately, within a month after what would be his final fight, Hughes was murdered, his body ending up in a dank swamp.

The Fan Man

This was another amazing memory thanks to the “Fan Man,” James Miller (a complex and highly intelligent person). He endangered many fans during the 1993 heavyweight fight between Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield when he paraglided into the ring and landed in Riddick Bowe’s corner, the lines of his parachute getting tangled in the ropes. One of his legs got caught in the top rope of the ring. Aroused fans dragged him down and beat him unconscious. Charged with operating an aircraft in a reckless manner, was fined $4,000 by the FAA, pleaded guilty to trespassing and spent 10 days in the Clark County Detention Center. ”It was a heavyweight fight,” Miller would say later, ”and I was the only guy who got knocked out.”

Later and after many personal setbacks, Miller hanged himself in Alaska where he had moved in 1996.  ”He was one of those rare people…He dared to be his own man,” said Pat Lynn, owner of the Valdez Star newspaper. All in all, a sad story.

“Ding-A-Ling Man”

Darnell “The Ding-A-Ling-Man” Wilson starched hard-punching Emmanuel Nwodo on June 29, 2007 with a fully leveraged left hook from hell. ESPN announcer Teddy Atlas called it the most devastating knockout ever on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. As Teddy went bonkers, Joe Tessitore went full-tilt boogie and screamed, “ Ohhhhhhhhhh, a left hook like you cannot believe…Oh my! Oh my, this fight is over.”  For me, It ranked alongside Derrick Jefferson’s near decapitation of Maurice Harris and Samuel Peter’s wipe out of Jeremy Williams.

One Last One

On August 22, 2020, heavily favored Dillian Whyte met a shaky 41-year-old Alexander Povetkin at Matchroom HQ in Essex, U K. Povetkin was nearing the end of his admirable career, while Whyte was coming off a number of spectacular knockouts including KOs of Lucas Browne and Derek Chisora.

In this one, Whyte started off well and controlled the fight in the first four rounds. He decked Povetkin twice in the fourth round and most observers felt the end would come in the next round. They were right about the round but wrong about the winner. Thirty seconds into the following round, Povetkin landed a sneak left hook/uppercut that sent Whyte to dreamland and shocked everyone in the arena including this writer. An immediate rematch was won by Whyte and the popular Russian announced his retirement.

What are some of your best boxing memories?

Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com

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