JOE BROWN--A Real Champion

[granberry]

JOE BROWN


Orlando Zulueta was stopped only ONCE in 126 bouts.

That was by Joe Brown in their title fight.

In the FIVE years and 8 months Joe Brown held the lightweight title,

Brown successfully defended his title ELEVEN times,

including KO's over

Bud Smith,

Orlando Zulueta,

Joey Lopes,

Ralph Dupas,

Paoli Rosi,

and Dave Charnley,

and 15 round decisions over Kenny Lane, Johnny Busso, Cisco Andrade, Dave Charnley and Bert Somodio

until he suddenly ran out of strength and punching power all at once against Carlos Ortiz, who fought a careful fight and won the title from Brown on a 15 round decision.

What a pity Ortiz and Brown did not meet when both were in their primes.




IN HIS OLD AGE

Brown died in 1997 at the age of 71.

[BO Selecta]

Excellent thread.

Nice to see some appreciation for a sort of forgotten boxing great.

Not that much gets written about Joe Brown, but he is definitely one of boxing's finest.

[granberry]

I always thought of him as a real example of a champion.

He won the title, gave all the top challengers their chance to win the title over a period of FIVE YEARS,
stopping many of them and outpointing the rest.

He really occupied the lightweight throne during that period.

None of them could get him off of it.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Just another wannabe who was no match for Roberto Duran, if you believe most people

[TheGreatA]

He was a classy all-around boxer with real power in his right hand. Brown at his best would give just about any lightweight trouble.

Joe Brown at his best against Bud Smith:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD0ve7J2nvA
First fight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTZr8szY8Rg
Third fight.

A young Joe Brown makes short work of Don Bowman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKA2disAQHc

Title defense against Joey Lopes:

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=34989

[granberry]

Thanks for those, A.

I just watched Brown's loss of his title to Carlos Ortiz for the first time since I saw it originally.

I remember it as the single most disappointing fight I ever saw, compared with what I expected with these two in the same ring.

Watching it again now, I can see the following:

Ortiz was young, very strong, had a very good chin.

Strength and punching power suddenly deserted Brown all at once in this fight. [compare to his KO win over Bud Smith in his first title defense].

Brown still was a master boxer. Ortiz never landed a significant heavy punch--right hand or left hook--in the entire 15 rounds.

Neither did Brown.

Ortiz had a heavy jab, the type that probably feels like a piece of pipe hitting you.

Brown had a different type of jab, more to set you up for a right hand or left hook and not damaging in itself.
Brown wanted to work his way in against his younger oppponent and land one of his KO punches.

Ortiz jab was so good it kept Brown away and annoyed Brown. Once Ortiz discovered that was working for him he decided to play safety first and not leave himself open by trying much in the way of a heavier right hand or left hook.

Brown was never hurt, but he was inaccurate when he tried a big right hand since Ortiz was playing it so carefully and would not do anything that might leave him exposed in the slightest.

Brown also discovered he couldn't hurt Ortiz.

His plan was to counter with a heavy punch when Ortiz jabbed. But he found he couldn't hurt Ortiz even the few times he was partially successful.

Brown discovered he could hit Ortiz at will with a counter left hook/uppercut to the solar plexus as a counter to Ortiz' jab. But it just bounced off Ortiz' stomach each time and didn't hurt him.

Brown boxed beautifully for the entire fight. He never got nailed except by jabs.

At the end Brown was not tired afterr 15 rounds, but he lost close to every round.

After the bell ending a fairly early round Brown hit Ortiz with his best right. Ortiz just hit him back.

They touched gloves at the beginning of the next round. So that didn't work.

It was a very odd 15 round championship fight with neither fighter ever really hurt and one fighter winning by clamming up and only jabbing.

Youth (and a very good all around fighter in Ortiz) won over a champion who suddenly had no zip and power.

There is no other fight Ortiz fought where he fought in such a careful, safety first manner--which shows the level of Joe Brown, even as old age suddenly hit him.

[granberry]

A young Joe Brown makes short work of Don Bowman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKA2disAQHc

Brown was a killer at that stage of his career.

Every punch he threw was a knockout punch.

Bowman got caught near the ropes. It would have been better for him if he stayed there and tried to clinch.

Instead he tried to step to his left while Brown watched and then caught him with a right hand right in the middle of his step while his feet weren't planted.

The best fighters NEVER allow themselves to get caught at such a moment.

You can lean your hip the direction you want to go while keeping that foot solidly on the ground, slide the other foot over to it and then slide the lead foot again under the leaning hip without ever losing a secure stance.

Joe Louis liked to catch opponents at such a moment.
That's why he scored knockdowns and KO's over so many fighters who had never been down.

Dempsey created such an situation by pushing an opponent slightly off balance with his open right hand and hitting him with his payoff left hook at the exact moment they lost their fully secure stance.

Watch Joe Louis wait for such a moment in his 2nd fight with Arturo Godoy.