Old Time Boxing

[Chas]

Any other boxing fans out there?

This is one of my personal favorites, though Ali is my all time favorite fighter.

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[LocktownDog]

Brilliant. Its so sad how the sport has pretty much died in the past 2 decades. Such a mess now.

The most recent bio of John Sullivan was a great read. Really detailed not only the overall culture of the era but the unbelievable fanaticism toward the sport then. Can't think of the author's name though.

 

[dhermann1]

When I was a kid I used to watch the Friday Night Fights religiously ("The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports is On the Air!"). I saw the infamous bout when Emile Griffith ended the life of Benny Paret. We can easily forget that the sweet science is also a brutal business. I saw such stars as Sugar Ray Robinson, Carmen Basilio and Archie Moore many times.
The only live fight I've ever seen was the Golden Gloves finals in Madison Square Garden. maybe 20 years ago. I saw Mark Breland win his 4th GG title.
I still enjoy watching it, but agree that the sport has slid drastically from the days when Boxing, Baseball and Horse Racing were the three overwhelmingly dominant pastimes in America. When you think about it, maybe that's a good thing.

 

[zetwal]

Yes indeed! I'm a big boxing fan. JL had his moments (and almost turned it around with those wicked left hooks to the body midway through) but MS pretty much dominated the fight.

I don't myself share your enthusiasm for Ali. But I do acknowledge that yours is a very wide spread sentiment. Thanks for posting this brilliant and historic fight.

 

[Cricket]

I was just thinking yesterday how I wanted to drop by the library to check out a book on old boxing. The fights themselves fascinate me, but I am also extremely interested in the stories outside of the ring. For example, after watching Cinderella Man, I was obsessed with trying to find literature about James B. His life story interests me. I wonder what other older boxers had incredible stories?

 

[Tiller]

Every now and then you can watch a good old fashion boxing match on ESPN Classic. I myself enjoy watching the Rocky Marciano fights they show from time to time.

Question for all you boxing aficionado's out there when did bare knuckle stop, and why?

 

[dhermann1]

Here are a few links to stories that cover the topic. The end of the bare knuckle era is generally considered to be when Gentleman Jim Corbett beat the great John L. Sullivan for the Heavyweight title in 1892.
.Marquess of Queensberry rules came into effect around 1867.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess_of_Queensberry_rules
Bare knuckle era:
http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/1289/end-bare-knuckle-boxing/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76377/boxing/29782/The-bare-knuckle-era
There is SO much great historic boxing lore. Some of the greatest print journalists got their start as boxing reporters.
One of the early boxers who has always fascinated me is Stanley Ketchel. He was a middle weight, but once fought Jack Johnson. He knocked Johnson down, which was captured on film. This really annoyed Johnson, who proceeded to finish off Ketchel with dispatch.
Ketchel met an untimely end at the age of 24. He fooled around with the wrong guy's wife. Bullet beats fists almost every time.
One of the interesting points made in one of those articles is that the adoption of gloves really backfired in terms of long term damage to fighters. In the bare knuckle era fighters tended to hit the midsection more, to soften the impact on their knuckles. When the gloves came along they started going for the head more, inflicting greater brain damage on their opponents. This is why so many older boxers bacame "punch drunk" or "punchy". It was brain damage. And most of those injuries really occurred during the thousands of sparring rounds they undergo, rather than those few in the actual prize ring.

 

[stephen1965]

Not for the faint hearted -The Manassa Mauler

Jess Willard vs. Jack Dempsey in a so brutal it's almost unwatchable but nevertheless fascinating film of their fight.
I think Jack Dempsey once said 'What's a neutral corner?'

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj4OQi9Cg-w

 

[Tomasso]

Yet, no mention......

....that, historically, the results of the vast majority of professional bouts have been predetermined.

 

[Parallel Guy]

Some people have written that Johnson agreed to take it easy on Ketchel until Ketchel decided to test him. Not his most brilliant move. Johnson was a monster in the ring. Too bad the racism caught up to him. Ali was great, sure but when speaking of Johnson, Ali said, " I'm a bad man but he was a baaaaaad man." Amen to that.

 

[Chas]

Yes, Jack had a pair of cojones on him.

There is an old-school boxing club in Vcr, and am strongly considering getting into it; I gotta lose about 15 pounds. Unfortunately, I have just dropped about 7 grand on dental reconstruction surgery and sparring is DEFINITELY OUT. That is really too bad, 'cause nothing brings you "into the here and now" like a good, solid beating.

 

[Martinis at 8]

Yep, I love boxing. I boxed when I was in the US Army. I also grew up in downtown L.A. very close to the Olympic auditorium.

My favorite boxers were Sugar Ray Robinson, Floyd Patterson, and Ray "Boom-Boom" Mancini.

I used to like Roberto Duran, but I saw him fight Kenny Buchanan (on CCTV). He slugged Kenny's balls which took Kenny out of the fight (though he was losing already), and in one of the most controversial calls in boxing the fight was given to Duran. They should have disqualified Duran. I have hated Duran ever since.