Duane Bobick

[Robinson]

I have only seen his amateur win over Larry Holmes, when he out pointed
Holmes to win a place on the 1972 Olympic team.

I have also seen his decimation at the hands of Ken Norton.

I have yet to see any more footage of him.

What was he like as a fighter ?

I know he was built up, and was touted as the next champion...
has any one got any memories of him or can describe what he was like
to watch..

who here had him to win over Norton before the figth?

[Robinson]

Also..

why did SNL show the Norton KO over and over again ?
How was that funny ?

[purple.obi]

I didn't know about the SNL thing, but yeah, I'd like to also know more about Duane Bobick. I vaguely remember seeing the Norton blowout. Shame.

[Goodnight, Irene]

I have a sketchy copy of his ams bout with Holmes. It was actually a DQ. Holmes was down fairly hard in the first.

[enrique]

A lot of fans put down Bobick because they remember the blowout by Norton, but he did have a career that a lot of fighters would envy. He won over Holmes and Stevenson in the amateurs, won all-navy titles and participated in Pan Am and Olympic games and as pro had a winning record and was considered a hot prospect until the Norton fight. He could box and punch but lacked speed.

[actjac]

He was probably a greater prospect than any American "White Hope" since the 50's until now given his impressive amateur credentials and long undefeated record but he is an example of how some fighters change once they are knocked out.The loss to Kallie Knoetzee probably did more to shake his confidence and he never recovered it after that.

[My2Sense]

I know he was built up, and was touted as the next champion...
has any one got any memories of him or can describe what he was like
to watch..

Burly, come-forward fellow with a big punch in both hands. Nothing particularly fast or flashy about him. I suppose you could compare him to a Jeff Lacy-type.

His power always made him considered dangerous even after Norton beat him, but there was always a bullseye on his chin after that.

[dempseyfire]

Lacy is a good comparison. Decent skills, no flash or much speed, questionable beard. Many proclaim he was 'rushed' into the Norton bout. I disagree. He beat the usual list of journeyman/fringe contenders like Ledoux, Wepner, the under-rated Middleton, and also a then-unknown Mike Weaver. Also, Bobick's trainer was ex-Norton chief seconds Eddie Futch, who thought Norton would 'freeze' vs Bobick's power. Norton sure turned the tables there.

[slakka]

I remember Dwight Braxton on his way to winning the ESPN Lt Heavy tournament being interviewed by Bobick and saying
"Hey Duane I usta watch you spar in Philly. I thought you was gonna be champ"

He meant it too, it was a touching little moment.

[clubberlang]

I’ve seen Bobick get his ass kicked in the Olympics, he looked rugged and strong but also slow and predictable.

I’ve never seen the Norton blow out, but I heard that it was a shot to the wind pipe that did him in.

He became a laughing stock after that fight, about a week later a famous American comedian was taking the piss out of him on TV, from their his confidence was shot and his career went up in flames.

[raylawpc]

I didn't see this thread earlier, and I wish I had.

I worked in Jimmy Cross' corner when he fought Duane Bobick in Oklahoma City back in 1974.

The thing that impressed me most about Bobick was his size. This was in the days before the mega-heavyweights we have today, but Bobick looked like a giant for those times. He weighed about 215 maybe 220, which was big in those days, and not an ounce of fat. I know that the BoxRec encyclopedia lists him at 6'3", but I think that's wrong. I'm 6'4" in my stocking feet and we were eyeball to eyeball AND I was in street shoes and he was in ring shoes, so he was probably a bit taller than me. I remember that he had the broadest shoulders of any heavyweight I'd ever seen. Very impressive wingspan. Physically, he looked awesome. I was very impressed with his physique.

However, I was not overly impressed in his boxing ability. He looked stiff in his movements, and everything looked forced. He looked tight in the three rounds the fight lasted and, believe me, he had no reason to be tight against Jimmy Cross. I came away from that performance with the belief that Duane would never be a top tier professional.

Nice guy, though, and I enjoyed chatting with him briefly after the fight.

[harrygreb]

i remember him getting blitzed in the 72 olympics after a ridiculous amount of hype. massive shoulders big frame big arms. its not surprising he couldnt move well. also glass beard. he wasnt going to make it was he!

the commentator said, as bobick lay sprawled on the canvas in the olympic defeat,
"...and as bobick looks around he'll see a million dollars being torn up in front of his eyes!"

[delisa]

Just to put Bobick's amateur "hype" in perspective -- he was on a roll, and had already BEATEN Stevenson! Bobick entered the Stevenson bout with an inured and swollen eye. Teofilo, great as he was, took advantage.

Duane was dominant -- here is the best efforts amateur record I compiled for him:

1968
Mar 21 Opponent Salt lake City, UT Win Natl. GG
Mar 21 Tony Land, NM Salt lake City, UT W 3 Natl. GG
Mar 22 Opponent Salt lake City, UT ? Natl. GG QF

1970
Jan 25 Louie Hall Little Falls, MN W 3
Mar Opponent Honululu WON HI Golden Gloves Championship
Mar 17 Larry Podesta, S. Fran Las Vegas, NV L 3 Natl. GG/Podesta down in 1st
Apr 8 John Hunter Florida W 3 All-Navy Championship
Apr Joe Thomas, Army Fort Dix, NJ KO 2 Interservice Semi-f
Apr Percy Price Fort Dix, NJ L 3 (2-3) Interservice Championship final
Jul 27 Oseni Young, Ghana Abidjan, Ivory Coast W 3 World Military games Champion semi
Jul 28 Opponent Abidjan, Ivory Coast Win World Military games Champion semi

1971
--- Opponent --- Win NC AAU
--- Opponent --- Win GA AAU
--- Opponent --- Win Camp Lejune, NC AAU
Mar 30 Ben Carr Richmond, VA W 3 VA AAU
Apr 8 Opponent Bainbridge, MD W w/o MD AAU
Apr 8 Salazor McGill Bainbridge, MD KO 1 MD AAU Final
APR Opponent San Francisco --- All-Navy Tournament
Apr 20 Ken Hassan, Air force Vallejo, CA KO 1 Interservice Championship (11th straight win)
Apr 22 Lou Slaughter, Army Vallejo, CA W 3 Interservice Championship final/Lou down 6x
Apr 29 Jim Anderson, KY New Orleans, LA KO 2 Natl. AAU (Anderson had beaten Mike Weaver)
Apr 29 Michael Anderson, Marines New Orleans, LA KO 2 Natl. AAU
Apr29 Jerry Nelson, CO New Orleans, LA KO 1 Natl. AAU
Apr 30 Fred Houpe, IL New Orleans, LA KO 2 Natl. AAU
May 1 Ron Draper New Orleans, LA [W] Natl. AAU Final
--- Don Nelson --- [W]
Jun 2 Jack Meda, Canada Albany, NY KO 2 North American AAU (USA-Canada)
Jun 2? Nick Wells Fort Bragg W 3 Pan Am Trials
Aug Opponent Cali, Colombia W 3 Pan Am
Aug 3 Wesley Zuleta, COL Cali, Colombia KO 1 Record is 56-9 (33 kayos at this point)
Aug 7 Teofilo Stevenson, Cub Cali, Colombia W 3 Pan Am Semi-F
Aug Manuel Joaquin Rocha, MEX Cali, Colombia KO 2 Pan Am GOLD
Aug 26 Fred Houpe, IL Minneapolis, MN W 3
Sep 1 Duane Bobick Day -- MN
Sep 4 Ion Alexe, ROMANIA Lake Geneva, WI W 3 USA-Romania


1972
Mar 19 Nick Wells Minneapolis TKO 3 Natl GG Semi-F
Mar 20 Steve Williams Minneapolis KO 2 Natl GG Final
Jul Dino Dennis Fort Worth, TX KO 2 Oly Trials
Jul 19 Clifford Stevens Fort Worth, TX KO 1 Oly Trials
Jul 21 Leroy Jones Fort Worth, TX KO 1 Oly Trials
Jul 22 Nick Wells Fort Worth, TX TKO 3 Oly Trials -- Wells had KO 1 Holmes
Bobick ran record to 91-9 (58 kayos) with Wells bout -- Bobick now 4-0 against Nick
Aug 5 -- Box off against Wells scheduled but Wells replaced by Holmes
Aug 5 Larry Holmes --- W DQ 3 Oly Box Offs
Sep 3 Yuri Nesterov, Russia Munich, GER W 3 Olympics -- 60th consec win for Bobick
Sep 5 Teofilo Stevenson, Cub Munich, GEr LK 3 Olympics QF

[Robinson]

Impressive bak ground

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

I have a sketchy copy of his ams bout with Holmes. It was actually a DQ. Holmes was down fairly hard in the first.

- Duane robbed of a KO. He knocked all the fight out of Holmes, he quit. Shut up Ali too who had been bigging up Holmes to Cosell before the KO. Never ever seen Ali clam up like that, funny stuff.

Never went near Duane as a pro either.

[dempseyfire]

I have a sketchy copy of his ams bout with Holmes. It was actually a DQ. Holmes was down fairly hard in the first.

- Duane robbed of a KO. He knocked all the fight out of Holmes, he quit. Shut up Ali too who had been bigging up Holmes to Cosell before the KO. Never ever seen Ali clam up like that, funny stuff.

Never went near Duane as a pro either.

Yes, Bobick sure had Ali quaking in his boots . . .

[Goodnight, Irene]

Yes, it did silence Ali.

[jaclem2]

ii saw duane bobick get up off the canvas against nick wells. to anyone who had seen ncik wells, that was an extraordinary acheivement. i's never seen a harder hitting amateur...and very few pros who could do that.

[harrygreb]

duane bobick was the greatest fighter in the history of the world.
having said that i dont recall any damage to bobicks eye before his whipping in munich. he didnt look too healthy after the fight though.

[HomicideHenry]

Duane Bobick was the long awaited white hope everyone was looking for. He came from out West, he was huge and he was a powerful hitter. He done defeated Stevenson in the amateurs, and as a pro he knocked out guys like Wepner with relative ease. I dont think too many people out there believed anyone could have beaten him, then came the one round loss to Norton. Had he won, he would have fought Ali for the championship. He never was the same after that, losing to John Tate and George Chaplin. The only time he ever became champ was in the long forgotten film 'Billy Bob'.

Ironically, after Norton stopped Bobick, Ali never did fight the winner like he said he would, he took on novice Leon Spinks instead, and later Neon Leon ducked Norton, giving Norton the WBC title automatically, he would lose it in his maiden defense to Larry Holmes in probably the best heavyweight fight of 1979.

[delisa]

Yuri Nesterov had tagged Bobick's eye in their fight, which Bobick won. It was slightly swollen two days later when Bobick fought
his second bout with Stevenson. Bobick beat Nesterov 5-0, dropping him twice, and winning all 20 points for each round on 4 of the scorecards even though he struggled with Nesterov in the third.

That day, several Americans lost in what they beleived were bad decisions based on anti-american sentiment. Coach Bobby Lewis announced to the press he was going to change bobick's tactics -- apparently an indication that he did not think bobick could win a decision against Stevenson.

Bobick for his part, although stating he knew Stevenson would be his toughest bout, did state: "I'm confident i can take him. He can't have improved that much in a year. No doubt about it Stevenson his my toughest fight. He jabs okay and moves well but didn't have any right hand at all.""

OOPS!

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

Duane Bobick was the long awaited white hope everyone was looking for. He came from out West, he was huge and he was a powerful hitter.

- Props for the mighty fine follow up details, but some context needed on the above.

First off Bobick would have only been seen as "western" to provincials living in the northeast corridor. He's from Minnesota, not Utah, Cali, Nevada, ect. In short, a Yankee by definition using traditional geographical delineation of the Mississippi River and the Mason/Dixon line.

2nd, nobody in the day made a big deal over him. His style was very basic as was his personality, and any great white hope stuff was mainly made up by the self-serving press to add some color. In comparison, Cooney had the big NYC-centric GWH hoopla and huge cache about his abilities and size. Bobick was just a blue collar lunch pail sorta guy which is how he built up to 38-0 going into the Norton fight without a title shot.

In otherwards, he was respected, but not touted as "The One."

[delisa]

2nd, nobody in the day made a big deal over him. His style was very basic as was his personality, and any great white hope stuff was mainly made up by the self-serving press to add some color. In comparison, Cooney had the big NYC-centric GWH hoopla and huge cache about his abilities and size. Bobick was just a blue collar lunch pail sorta guy which is how he built up to 38-0 going into the Norton fight without a title shot.

In otherwards, he was respected, but not touted as "The One."

Bobick had lots of people "making a big deal" over him up through the Olympics. He was seen often on television. His appearances on television and his appearances in international tournaments had made him well known.

Leading up to the Olympics national USA magazines did stories on him -- True magazine featured him on the cover (not even a sport magazine!) as did Sports illustrated, then one of the widest read sports magazines. Of course, the box mags also featured him.

With Bobick, who had a wonderful "story" and personality of his own, there was NOT much talk about Great White Hope sort of stuff -- at least in the pre-Olympic phase.

Duane's loss at the Olympics was devastating to his Olympic dream, obviously. From that point, he is a boxing story for the press, as opposed to a cross-over star.

For me, I liked him as an amateur, tried to follow his pro career (many, many fights were off-TV and no YOutube in those days!). He seemed to be progressing well through his bout with Wepner, which was a tough bout. I was ringside for his win over Cookie Wallace, which showed his punching power was first class.

But, as many know, he was not ready for Norton -- his camp was split, but Joe Frazier made the final decision.

[Brutu]

Does anyone have an annotated list of all of Duane Bobick's
amateur fights that were televised either live or on tape?
Were the 1971 Pan-American Games from Cali, Colombia
televised on National television in America?
I believe the CBC(Canadian Broadcasting Company)televised them in Canada.
In the finals August.9.1972,Duane Bobick TKO'd in the second round Joaquin Rocha of Mexico to win that title.
But since neither one was a Canadian,I dont know if the CBC televised that one.

[Brutu]

Just to put Bobick's amateur "hype" in perspective -- he was on a roll, and had already BEATEN Stevenson! Bobick entered the Stevenson bout with an inured and swollen eye. Teofilo, great as he was, took advantage.

Duane was dominant -- here is the best efforts amateur record I compiled for him:

1968
Mar 21 Opponent Salt lake City, UT Win Natl. GG
Mar 21 Tony Land, NM Salt lake City, UT W 3 Natl. GG
Mar 22 Opponent Salt lake City, UT ? Natl. GG QF

1970
Jan 25 Louie Hall Little Falls, MN W 3
Mar Opponent Honululu WON HI Golden Gloves Championship
Mar 17 Larry Podesta, S. Fran Las Vegas, NV L 3 Natl. GG/Podesta down in 1st
Apr 8 John Hunter Florida W 3 All-Navy Championship
Apr Joe Thomas, Army Fort Dix, NJ KO 2 Interservice Semi-f
Apr Percy Price Fort Dix, NJ L 3 (2-3) Interservice Championship final
Jul 27 Oseni Young, Ghana Abidjan, Ivory Coast W 3 World Military games Champion semi
Jul 28 Opponent Abidjan, Ivory Coast Win World Military games Champion semi

1971
--- Opponent --- Win NC AAU
--- Opponent --- Win GA AAU
--- Opponent --- Win Camp Lejune, NC AAU
Mar 30 Ben Carr Richmond, VA W 3 VA AAU
Apr 8 Opponent Bainbridge, MD W w/o MD AAU
Apr 8 Salazor McGill Bainbridge, MD KO 1 MD AAU Final
APR Opponent San Francisco --- All-Navy Tournament
Apr 20 Ken Hassan, Air force Vallejo, CA KO 1 Interservice Championship (11th straight win)
Apr 22 Lou Slaughter, Army Vallejo, CA W 3 Interservice Championship final/Lou down 6x
Apr 29 Jim Anderson, KY New Orleans, LA KO 2 Natl. AAU (Anderson had beaten Mike Weaver)
Apr 29 Michael Anderson, Marines New Orleans, LA KO 2 Natl. AAU
Apr29 Jerry Nelson, CO New Orleans, LA KO 1 Natl. AAU
Apr 30 Fred Houpe, IL New Orleans, LA KO 2 Natl. AAU
May 1 Ron Draper New Orleans, LA [W] Natl. AAU Final
--- Don Nelson --- [W]
Jun 2 Jack Meda, Canada Albany, NY KO 2 North American AAU (USA-Canada)
Jun 2? Nick Wells Fort Bragg W 3 Pan Am Trials
Aug Opponent Cali, Colombia W 3 Pan Am
Aug 3 Wesley Zuleta, COL Cali, Colombia KO 1 Record is 56-9 (33 kayos at this point)
Aug 7 Teofilo Stevenson, Cub Cali, Colombia W 3 Pan Am Semi-F
Aug Manuel Joaquin Rocha, MEX Cali, Colombia KO 2 Pan Am GOLD
Aug 26 Fred Houpe, IL Minneapolis, MN W 3
Sep 1 Duane Bobick Day -- MN
Sep 4 Ion Alexe, ROMANIA Lake Geneva, WI W 3 USA-Romania


1972
Mar 19 Nick Wells Minneapolis TKO 3 Natl GG Semi-F
Mar 20 Steve Williams Minneapolis KO 2 Natl GG Final
Jul Dino Dennis Fort Worth, TX KO 2 Oly Trials
Jul 19 Clifford Stevens Fort Worth, TX KO 1 Oly Trials
Jul 21 Leroy Jones Fort Worth, TX KO 1 Oly Trials
Jul 22 Nick Wells Fort Worth, TX TKO 3 Oly Trials -- Wells had KO 1 Holmes
Bobick ran record to 91-9 (58 kayos) with Wells bout -- Bobick now 4-0 against Nick
Aug 5 -- Box off against Wells scheduled but Wells replaced by Holmes
Aug 5 Larry Holmes --- W DQ 3 Oly Box Offs
Sep 3 Yuri Nesterov, Russia Munich, GER W 3 Olympics -- 60th consec win for Bobick
Sep 5 Teofilo Stevenson, Cub Munich, GEr LK 3 Olympics QF

I would imagine this list has been updated in the last few years.
There is one thing I think I can add to it offhand.
Duane Bobick won TKO over John Martin of Neopit,WS in the quarterfinals of the National Golden Gloves
in Minneapolis MN March.19.1972.
John Martin was the Wisc Golden Gloves champion and also the team captain I believe.
he defeated Bob Nelson of Omaha prior to boxing Bobick in that tournament.
There is a newspaper article noting this somewhere from March 1972 on-line.