Fighters We Never Talk About

[Zelley]

Eddie Perkins - former jr. Welterweight Champion.
Following boxing in the Sixties, I though Eddie Perkins was a good boxer,
but he was overshafowed by other champions such as Carlos Ortiz, Eder Jofre,
Emile Griffith, Dick Tiger and Muhammed Ali to name a few.

When he held the title in 1963, some of the interesting contenders were
Kenny Lane, Louis Molina and Roberto Cruz and some one by the
name of Jose Napoles. Meanwhile the middleweight division had a bunch of stars
such as Dick Tiger, Terry Downes, Joey Giardello, Gene Fullmer, Joey Archer, George Benton,
Denny Moyer and Rubin Carter.

[enrique]

I boxed amateur out of Chicago Johnny Coulon's Gym and the old timers all raved about Willie Joyce.

Eddie Perkins and Angel Robinson Garcia were the two greatest globe trotters in boxing history.

And from Baltimore, Holly Mims was a tough bone to chew.

[raylawpc]

Eddie Perkins - former jr. Welterweight Champion.
Following boxing in the Sixties, I though Eddie Perkins was a good boxer,
but he was overshafowed by other champions such as Carlos Ortiz, Eder Jofre,
Emile Griffith, Dick Tiger and Muhammed Ali to name a few.

When he held the title in 1963, some of the interesting contenders were
Kenny Lane, Louis Molina and Roberto Cruz and some one by the
name of Jose Napoles. Meanwhile the middleweight division had a bunch of stars
such as Dick Tiger, Terry Downes, Joey Giardello, Gene Fullmer, Joey Archer, George Benton,
Denny Moyer and Rubin Carter.

Eddie Perkins - excellent pick!

[Expug]

Eddie Perkins manager/trainer helped me in the gym a little.His name was Frank Tommasco .
He was a great guy.
Hed show me somethings here and there and of course, I couldnt do anything the way Eddie could.
He was a terrific fighter.
Frank never got frustrated with me though.
He was a real nice guy.
Man he loved Eddie. They had a great relationship. Frank would talk about him all the time.He used to say that Eddie would have kicked Ray Leonards ass if the two fought in the same era.
One day, Frank gave me a copy of a ring record book from 1976.The hardcover that looks like a bible.
He had torn out the numerous pages of Eddies record though before he gave it to me.He wanted to keep Eddies record.

[HomicideHenry]

I never hear anyone ever talk about the biggest bum in the history of boxing: Bruce "The Mouse" Strauss, who claimed he had more than 300 losses, if you counted the various aliases he fought under...theres been others who hold alot of losses, like Danny Wofford, Reggie Strickland, Frankie Hines, Peter Buckley and Donnie Pendelton, but even they had some redeeming qualities about them. Strauss would just straight up say he was an "opponent" and give it all he had for the first round, then just find a comfortable place to land and take the fall.

But then again, you could also say Eric "the anti-Marciano" Crumble, is the worst as well, with 31 of his 32 fights ending by kayos in the 1st or 2nd rounds, only a no-contest remains the sole fight that was "unblemished".

[Collins2000]

I never hear anyone ever talk about the biggest bum in the history of boxing: Bruce "The Mouse" Strauss, who claimed he had more than 300 losses, if you counted the various aliases he fought under...theres been others who hold alot of losses, like Danny Wofford, Reggie Strickland, Frankie Hines, Peter Buckley and Donnie Pendelton, but even they had some redeeming qualities about them. Strauss would just straight up say he was an "opponent" and give it all he had for the first round, then just find a comfortable place to land and take the fall.

But then again, you could also say Eric "the anti-Marciano" Crumble, is the worst as well, with 31 of his 32 fights ending by kayos in the 1st or 2nd rounds, only a no-contest remains the sole fight that was "unblemished".

How come you disappeared from the other page when that bloke said he had a spot for you on a card in your home state?

After all that talk about how you wanted to fight and would be too good for the trailer park gang, it didn't look too good...

[Zelley]

AL SPARKS (former Canadian Light-heavyweight champion).

I only met Al Sparks once, but that was enough to know that he was one of the nice guys in boxing. He was a class act and is now a member of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

It was in the Firefighters Boxing Club in 1969 in Vancouver, when I asked Al to spar with a
friend of mine who was just a novice heavyweight. It happened, when Al Sparks was fighting
professional bouts, he had a full time job for the CPR Railroad on the trains that crossed Canada. When he had time he would stop at various gyms for a workout.

Of course, Al knew this guy was just a novice, so he mainly sparred in a defensive manner.
Now the heavyweight never did have many amateur bouts, but for a few brief moments
he was able to spar a round with one of Canada's champions.

[raylawpc]

To go back in time, a couple of the old timers hardly ever discussed anymore (and barely remembered) are Mysterious Billy Smith and Kid Lavigne. Old timers who lived into the 30s and 40s frequently ranked these guys as all-time greats.

Mike Casey recently wrote a terrific retrospective on Lavigne a few months back. I doubt an article has been written recently on the colorful Smith, who was considered the dirtiest fighter of his era. Tommy Ryan, who fought him five times, was supposed to have said that the only thing "mysterious" about Billy was the number of different ways he could foul you in a fight.

[raylawpc]

One forgotten Japanese fighter is three-time champion Koichi Wajima.

I think its a real shame that Wajima isn't in the IBHOF or WBHOF. The guy was a 3-time WBA jr. middleweight champion, two-time undisputed champion, defended his undisputed title something like 8-times, and is a national hero in Japan. I've only seen short clips of him in action, but he looked impressive in those I've seen. Why isn't this guy in either HOF?

[HomicideHenry]

How come you disappeared from the other page when that bloke said he had a spot for you on a card in your home state?

After all that talk about how you wanted to fight and would be too good for the trailer park gang, it didn't look too good...

Not that it is much of anyone's business, I'll tell you what happened. I was staying at my gf's house, and really the only access I had to Mr. Marriott was through email, and she was without a home phone, cable and internet for a month. By the time I got to check my email, it was four-five days after Mr. Marriott offered me the fight, and when I emailed him back saying that I didnt know whether the offer was on the table or not, he emailed me back saying along the lines that he didnt know whether or not the fight was filled or not, but he would keep an eye out for me.

I havent heard nothing from Thomas Marriott yet about the fight that was offered to me, which was against Chris Fitzpatrick who was 2-0 (0), and it was to be in Akron at light heavyweight or super middleweight. So I am going to assume, because I wasnt able to get back to him on time, that I lost the deal.

Thats the story. I wasnt ducking anyone, or anything. If that was the case, why would I go out of my own way to bypass Stacy Goodson to look for another promoter or manager to make my dream happen faster than what SlugOut promotions could? That doesnt make much sense for me to do that, now does it?

[Collins2000]

How come you disappeared from the other page when that bloke said he had a spot for you on a card in your home state?

After all that talk about how you wanted to fight and would be too good for the trailer park gang, it didn't look too good...

Not that it is much of anyone's business, I'll tell you what happened. I was staying at my gf's house, and really the only access I had to Mr. Marriott was through email, and she was without a home phone, cable and internet for a month. By the time I got to check my email, it was four-five days after Mr. Marriott offered me the fight, and when I emailed him back saying that I didnt know whether the offer was on the table or not, he emailed me back saying along the lines that he didnt know whether or not the fight was filled or not, but he would keep an eye out for me.

I havent heard nothing from Thomas Marriott yet about the fight that was offered to me, which was against Chris Fitzpatrick who was 2-0 (0), and it was to be in Akron at light heavyweight or super middleweight. So I am going to assume, because I wasnt able to get back to him on time, that I lost the deal.

Thats the story. I wasnt ducking anyone, or anything. If that was the case, why would I go out of my own way to bypass Stacy Goodson to look for another promoter or manager to make my dream happen faster than what SlugOut promotions could? That doesnt make much sense for me to do that, now does it?

Right, you spend 6 months claiming you are a hot fighter and everyone is afraid to fight you and now it's not much of anyone's business?

I have never heard anyone talk so much trash as you did about being a great fighting man, mate.

That story you told about getting your nickname due to people saying "that guy fights like he wants to kill someone" was just icing on a big turd cake.

And the moment that dude offered you a fight you suddenly disappeared... Coincidence or what?

[HomicideHenry]

Was one hell of a coincidence I say. I dont and didnt back out of anything or run scared from anyone or any deal.....let me ask you this: Would you turn down a chance to box and get free medicals, possibly get a fight in New York and get licensed in ANY state afterward, and get 500 bucks for a debut?

I know I wouldn't.

[JCS]

Was one hell of a coincidence I say. I dont and didnt back out of anything or run scared from anyone or any deal.....let me ask you this: Would you turn down a chance to box and get free medicals, possibly get a fight in New York and get licensed in ANY state afterward, and get 500 bucks for a debut?

I know I wouldn't.

How about sticking to the topic and not hijacking the thread guys :)

[Seamus]

How bout this guy http://www.antekprizering.com/letojimmy4392.html

He beat 5 Hall of Famers, Battling Battalino, Fritzie Zivic, Benny Bass, Charley Burley and Chalky Wright, got a draw with another, Lou Ambers, and also beat the Cocoa Kid 3 times, Stanislaus Loayza, Steve Halaiko, and Johnny Jadick twice each, plus Frankie Klick, Cleto Locatelli, Izzy Janazzaro and several other contenders, and yet he isn't in the HOF.

[Knucklez]

Ruben Olivares gets very little play on here.

[Martin Sosa Cameron]

How bout this guy http://www.antekprizering.com/letojimmy4392.html

He beat 5 Hall of Famers, Battling Battalino, Fritzie Zivic, Benny Bass, Charley Burley and Chalky Wright, got a draw with another, Lou Ambers, and also beat the Cocoa Kid 3 times, Stanislaus Loayza, Steve Halaiko, and Johnny Jadick twice each, plus Frankie Klick, Cleto Locatelli, Izzy Janazzaro and several other contenders, and yet he isn't in the HOF.

You're right! Jimmy Leto was a very important fighter

[Expug]

Lets give this thread from Seamus a bump.
We'll see where it leads.

Heres another champ who needs a bit more attention: Johnny Bratton.
A sad story.

[mhagler91490]

Jung-Koo Chang is a guy who I'm suprised doesn't get mentioned more, a very skilled but all action fighter with an excellent resume and many great encounters in the ring. It would of been interesting to see how a fight between him and Ricardo Lopez would of gone, it wouldn't suprise me if he got Lopez off of his stride early and kept him back pedalling all night to win a decision.

Jesus Salud is another fighter I'm interested to know more about, very exciting puncher and good prospect in the mid to late 80's and early 90's and turned in some real exciting battles. Not to mention at a glance he looked like a clone of Andy Ganigan, especially with his hell for leather fighting style.

[Seamus]

Bratton had some real setbacks in his life. Even after his career was over. In 1977, his father, who was a minister was shot to death with a shotgun outside his church at 54th-Michigan.

Johnny graduated from DuSable HS and was living on 65th-Ingleside in Woodlawn when we won the title.

[Expug]

Johnny was written about in a real good book by John Schulian called "writers Fighters"
Later after his career he was staying in an old run down hotel on Chicagos Southside. Broke and with nothing going on he spent most of his days wandering around Rush Street. He may have suffered from the ring wars. For awhile, his name came up once in awhile in the news. But over the last couple decades, he doesnt get mentioned much.He had a sad plight.

[yancey]

Curtis Cokes
Joey Archer
Ralph Dupas

[Goodnight, Irene]

We should discuss Cokes more often.

[granberry]

Curtis Cokes
Joey Archer
Ralph Dupas

I thought Cokes was very good.
He was tall, skinny and bony.

I was surprised he lost to Napoles.

I have a boxing instruction book by Cokes:

The Complete Book of Boxing
by Curtis Cokes with Hugh Kayser
1980, ETC Publications, Palm Springs, Calif.

On page 45 Cokes writes:

"During the recent series of the United States Championship Boxing Matches on ABC, several of the ring announcers described looping right hand blows as right hooks. There are no such punches as right hooks for the right-handed fighter and those who really know boxing understand that those alleged right hooks are round house rights or sweeping right hands that usually leave the aggressor wide open and vulnerable to counter punches."

[BO Selecta]

Masahiko 'Fighting' Harada.

He beat the brilliant & underrated Eder Jofre TWICE in the late 1960s & that is some feat considering how good Jofre was.

I could also add Jofre I suppose, as I don't think he gets enough credit, despite being one of the best fighters in bantamweight history.

[granberry]

Masahiko 'Fighting' Harada.

He beat the brilliant & underrated Eder Jofre TWICE in the late 1960s & that is some feat considering how good Jofre was.

I could also add Jofre I suppose, as I don't think he gets enough credit, despite being one of the best fighters in bantamweight history.

All true.

Harada did the impossible in beating a great fighter bigger than he was.

Amazing accomplishment.