Bennie Briscoe wobbled the crazy Carlos Monzon in the ninth round of their almost mythical world title encounter in Argentina in 1972. Monzon recovered on the way to a 15-round decision but that was it, no more Briscoe - even a crazy man has his limits. Briscoe had previously held him to a 10-round draw in Buenos Aires in 1967.
"Bad" Bennie died yesterday, a middleweight boxing legend who fought everybody in a 96-fight career spanning 20 years, when nobody really wanted to fight him. Briscoe ruled the roost in the meanest, toughest, fiercest fight corner in the entire history of boxing, that of Philadelphia in the 1970s, the place where Marvin Hagler proved he could really fight, where Matthew Saad Muhammad proved inhuman, where Rocky proved immortal and where Briscoe proved the biggest draw.
Briscoe's 10-rounders with Eugene "Cycone" Hart, Stanley "Kitten" Hayward, Tom "The Bomb" Bethea, Billy "Dynamite" Douglas, Luis Rodriguez, Georgie Benton, Eddie Gregory and that man Hagler, "The Battle of the Baldies", drew huge crowds in his home city, but Briscoe also travelled well as he showed against Monzon and the likes of Rodrigo Valdez, Emile Griffiths, Tony Mundine and Vicente Rondon.
Big and strong-looking, Bennie was so much more than just strength, than physical toughness. His jab was a thing of beauty, his body shots clearly hurt Hagler, whom he was literally running after at times, his chin let him down just once, in the second of three wars with the vastly underrated Valdez, the only time he was stopped, and his stamina always held out.
Oh yes, Briscoe the fighter was hard-headed, clever, aggressive and heavy handed. He stopped 53 of his 66 victims, an incredible number when you consider whom he fought, and took Hagler the full 10 rounds in 1978 when he was way past his best. Bennie trudged on for a few more years, eventually retiring in 1982 to his day job as a santitation worker. Years after his retirement he could be seen pounding the Philly streets in the early morning, a ghostly figure training for the fight that never was.
Bennie Briscoe will be there tomorrow, in the twilight, winning the fight on the road.
Last edited by bennie on 29 Dec 2010, 09:27, edited 1 time in total.
From my friend Henry Hascup, Pres. New jersey Boxing HOF,
Bad news: Philadelphia's great "Mr. Blue Collar", "Bad" Bennie Briscoe - age 67 - passes. February 8, 1943 to December 28, 2010.
Bennie Briscoe was a top-rated Middleweight contender during the 1970s, unsuccessfully challenging for the World Title on three different occasions. In his first fight with Carlos Monzon in Argentina, Briscoe walked away with a draw. He said getting a draw in Argentina is getting a victory in the United States. In his rematch with Monzon for the title, Briscoe badly stunned the champion in the 9th round, but failed to score a knockout and lost by decision after 15 rounds in Buenos Aires. Monzon always respected Briscoe, and when the champion was in New York one year later for the Boxing Writers dinner, he gave Briscoe a warm greeting.
Briscoe always wore a Jewish "Star of David" on his boxing trunks. Boxing magazines and news reports in the early 1970s said he was practicing the "Jewish faith." In reality, it was because two of his managers, Jimmy Iselin and Arnold Weiss, were Jewish.
Regarded as one of the best never to win a world title, Briscoe scored wins over Charley Scott, George Benton, Vicente Rondon, Kitten Hayward, Tom Bethea, Juarez DeLima, Carlos Marks, Rafael Gutierrez, Art Hernandez (for the NABF title), Billy "Dynamite" Douglas, Tony Mundine, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Eugene "Cyclone" Hart, Jean Mateo and Tony Chiaverini. He also lost and drew with Emile Griffith in two fights.
Briscoe finished with 66 wins (53 knockouts), 24 losses, five draws and one No Contest.
'Bad' Bennie Briscoe was such an enigma to me back in the early '70s. I just couldn't get enough to read on him. When I finally got a chance to see him work he could be frightening. The bald countenance, the methodical trudging after an opponent, the ripping jab and ohhhh, those body punches!! I recall letting out a resounding, "Yesssss!", when he took out Tony Mundine in 5. I recall all the mags, especially Ring, really hyping and favoring Mundine at this time. Eventually, thanks to Youtube I got to see that fight. I strongly recommend watching it to everyone if they want to see what Bad Bennie was all about. When he started to unoad on Tony in that corner in the 5th, you just knew he was not getting out. The rain of heavy ordnance he unloaded is really scary. RIP Bennie.
Interesting that Bennie Briscoe wore a Star of David on his trunks, as he wasn't Jewish, but his management was.
Same with Max Baer, many are under the impression Baer was Jewish, not true. Max was German-Irish.
Baer's manager, Ansel Hoffman, was Jewish and convinced Baer that the best way to get news coverage was to wear the star on his trunks, as all the major media was controlled by Jews.
kikibalt wrote:Art Aragon once married a Jewish woman and he converted to Judaism, what he did after the marriage was over I don't know.....
Art Aragon & Cocker Spaniel . . .
Frank, I was speaking with Don Fraser about Aragon's marriages recently.
I posted what we discussed about Georgia, or Georgette (?) the mother of my friend, Audie.
Many years ago, back in the 60's when I was working out at Johnny Flores Gym, I recall Johnny mentioning that Art had converted his religeon after marrying a Jewish gal.
Art Aragon's name really was synonymous with both boxing and the film world.
It was Hap Navarro, while calling the shots at the Hollywood Legion Stadium, the came up with a brilliant PR stunt involving Columbia Studios, Aragon and actor William Holden. Hap called Columbia's publicity department, informed them that Aragon would be featured in an upcoming main event. Columbia had produced Holden's boxing film, "The Golden Boy". Hap suggested the studio send the actor to "bequeath" the Golden Boy title to Art Aragon. Columbia loved the idea, and that's exactly what happened. Hap said William Holden came to the star-studded Legion that night and passed on the title to the new "Golden Boy" just before the main event.
Such great pictures of Aragon have been painted in my mind thru the words of Hap Navarro. And Don Fraser, as well.
I'm lucky to have grown up when he was fighting, although before I came to boxing.
In 1977, when I was working as a young lighting tech at Universal Studios, I'd meet both Art's sons, Audie and Art Jr.
I'd occasionally work on the "Baretta" TV series and Art had a reoccuring roll as an ex-pug who worked at a new stand.
Occasionally he'd work as a technical advisor for films that had boxing scenes. He always had something funny to say in response to a question or remark.
I remember a friend of mine needed a bail bond, to bring to court for a bench warrant, or something like that? I took him over to Art's Bail Bond office in Van Nuys. My friend was actor Reb Brown, who in those days was Bob Brown a former USC football player and amateur heavyweight. Brown had 4 amateur bouts for Johnny Flores in the '70-'71 L.A. Diamond Belt tourney. Brown and I were close friends and he wanted to meet Aragon, as well as retrieve the bond.
When we walk in, Brown meets the Golden Boy and mentions, "I was a boxer, too . . ."
The Golden Boy looks up from the papers he was filling out and says to Brown, "Really? You look more like a cocker spaniel."
Brown turned red and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.
After we walked out, Brown whimpers . . . "He said I looked like a cocker spaniel."
I laughed again and told him, "You dumb bastid, Aragon is a boxing legend, you have no common ground. Ask him about something he did."
Brown started to laugh, "Your right, but I don't look like a cocker spaniel, do I?"
kikibalt wrote:Art Aragon once married a Jewish woman and he converted to Judaism, what he did after the marriage was over I don't know.....
Art Aragon & Cocker Spaniel . . .
Frank, I was speaking with Don Fraser about Aragon's marriages recently.
I posted what we discussed about Georgia, or Georgette (?) the mother of my friend, Audie.
Many years ago, back in the 60's when I was working out at Johnny Flores Gym, I recall Johnny mentioning that Art had converted his religeon after marrying a Jewish gal.
Art Aragon's name really was synonymous with both boxing and the film world.
It was Hap Navarro, while calling the shots at the Hollywood Legion Stadium, the came up with a brilliant PR stunt involving Columbia Studios, Aragon and actor William Holden. Hap called Columbia's publicity department, informed them that Aragon would be featured in an upcoming main event. Columbia had produced Holden's boxing film, "The Golden Boy". Hap suggested the studio send the actor to "bequeath" the Golden Boy title to Art Aragon. Columbia loved the idea, and that's exactly what happened. Hap said William Holden came to the star-studded Legion that night and passed on the title to the new "Golden Boy" just before the main event.
Such great pictures of Aragon have been painted in my mind thru the words of Hap Navarro. And Don Fraser, as well.
I'm lucky to have grown up when he was fighting, although before I came to boxing.
In 1977, when I was working as a young lighting tech at Universal Studios, I'd meet both Art's sons, Audie and Art Jr.
I'd occasionally work on the "Baretta" TV series and Art had a reoccuring roll as an ex-pug who worked at a new stand.
Occasionally he'd work as a technical advisor for films that had boxing scenes. He always had something funny to say in response to a question or remark.
I remember a friend of mine needed a bail bond, to bring to court for a bench warrant, or something like that? I took him over to Art's Bail Bond office in Van Nuys. My friend was actor Reb Brown, who in those days was Bob Brown a former USC football player and amateur heavyweight. Brown had 4 amateur bouts for Johnny Flores in the '70-'71 L.A. Diamond Belt tourney. Brown and I were close friends and he wanted to meet Aragon, as well as retrieve the bond.
When we walk in, Brown meets the Golden Boy and mentions, "I was a boxer, too . . ."
The Golden Boy looks up from the papers he was filling out and says to Brown, "Really? You look more like a cocker spaniel."
Brown turned red and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.
After we walked out, Brown whimpers . . . "He said I looked like a cocker spaniel."
I laughed again and told him, "You dumb bastid, Aragon is a boxing legend, you have no common ground. Ask him about something he did."
Brown started to laugh, "Your right, but I don't look like a cocker spaniel, do I?"
raylawpc wrote:Today, Linda and I celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary.
If it were not for boxing, I might never have met Linda. In January 1975, my friend and former light-heavyweight contender Brian Kelly had retired, and was working as a substitute PE teacher at Council Grove Elementary School in Oklahoma City. My parents lived just two blocks away from Council, and I happened to be living with them at that time. One day, I decided to visit Kelly, so I walked over to the school. When I was preparing to leave the school, this cute little teacher came to the gym with her fourth grade class for PE. So, I naturally went over to talk to her. She was pretty, smart and very easy to talk to. After she left, I told Kelly, “She’s a doll. Does she have a boyfriend?” Kelly didn’t think so, and I made sure to remember the time so that I would “just happen to be there” in the future when she brought her kids to PE.
Kelly and I were scheduled to referee at a Golden Gloves Tournament in Blackwell, Oklahoma just a week or so after this. A few days before the tournament, Kelly told me that his wife, Juanita, was going to the tournament with us. Kelly and Juanita were newlyweds. “Sh*t, Kelly, I don’t want to go with you and Juanita,” I said. “I’ll feel like a third wheel.” “Bring a date,” he said. “I don’t know any girls who would go on a date to watch me referee amateur boxing . . .” “Why don’t you ask Linda – that cute teacher you liked?” he said. “You ask her for me,” was my reply.
The next day, Kelly told me, “She said she doesn’t make dates like that. You need to call her.” So I did, and, lo and behold, I had a date. (Later, she told me that she misunderstood and thought I had asked her to a high school wrestling tournament - NOT a boxing tournament in a cattle barn!)
So, Linda and my first date was to watch me referee at an amateur boxing tournament in a cattle barn at the fairgrounds in Blackwell, Oklahoma! Did I know how to show a good time to a gal, or what!?!?
Believe it or not, Linda and I continued to date, and 12 months later, on December 27, 1975, Linda and I were married. Kelly was best man.
Linda’s view of boxing is similar to Monica’s. She doesn’t like it, and was glad our boys didn’t go into it. She has only gone to one other boxing card with me (right after we started dating). She told me she didn’t want to go back because it gave her a stomach ache. “A stomach ache?” I asked. “How did you get a stomach ache from boxing?”
“It hurt my stomach watching those boys hitting each other in the belly!”
Clearly, we don’t share an interest in boxing, but we share just about everything else. We’ve been together for 35 years, have two wonderful sons, a beautiful granddaughter, and Linda and I worked together in my office for 15 years. She’s more than my wife – she’s my best friend.
And if it hadn't been for boxing . . . who knows, I might have missed out on all those blessings over the last 35 years.
kikibalt wrote:Art Aragon once married a Jewish woman and he converted to Judaism, what he did after the marriage was over I don't know.....
Ironically, Aragon, is a Sephardic Jew surname. Since Art Aragon was from New Mexico and many Sephardic Jews from Spain eventually settled in New Mexico centuries ago. it makes sense. Almost all the Sephardic Jews outwardly converted to Catholicism to escape persecution and blend in with the general population. Covertly, they continued to practice Judaism. I believe I share, at least in part, a similar background as Art Aragon.
kikibalt wrote:Art Aragon once married a Jewish woman and he converted to Judaism, what he did after the marriage was over I don't know.....
Ironically, Aragon, is a Sephardic Jew surname. Since Art Aragon was from New Mexico and many Sephardic Jews from Spain eventually settled in New Mexico centuries ago. it makes sense. Almost all the Sephardic Jews outwardly converted to Catholicism to escape persecution and blend in with the general population. Covertly, they continued to practice Judaism. I believe I share, at least in part, a similar background as Art Aragon.
Randy
Randy maybe you can shed some light on why many Mexican people seem to have disdain for Spaniards,which doesn't make any sense, aren't Mexicans, Indian and Spaniard ?
kikibalt wrote:Art Aragon once married a Jewish woman and he converted to Judaism, what he did after the marriage was over I don't know.....
Ironically, Aragon, is a Sephardic Jew surname. Since Art Aragon was from New Mexico and many Sephardic Jews from Spain eventually settled in New Mexico centuries ago. it makes sense. Almost all the Sephardic Jews outwardly converted to Catholicism to escape persecution and blend in with the general population. Covertly, they continued to practice Judaism. I believe I share, at least in part, a similar background as Art Aragon.
Randy
Randy maybe you can shed some light on why many Mexican people seem to have disdain for Spaniards,which doesn't make any sense, aren't Mexicans, Indian and Spaniard ?
It's a strange and complicated thing Paulie, and one that has piqued my interest for years. Several years ago, maybe 10 or 12 years ago, Jeri and I were at an El Torito or Acapulco restaurant when I noticed a server or busboy wearing a name tag with the same last name as mine, De La O. His English was limited and my Spanish is just as poor, so Jeri translated for us. I asked him about his name and found he was from some state in Mexico, I can't remember which one. He was very friendly until I told him that my family was from New Mexico, then I made the mistake during the conversation of saying that De la O, like all Spanish surnames was originally from Spain. He said in an angry voice "No, from Mexico". I replied (through Jeri's translation) Yes, I know, but before that it was from Spain. He became agitated and started getting argumentative. I was starting to get a little pissed off myself but all I wanted to do was eat my meal. So I asked him to leave.
It has to do with the Spanish conquest and I understand that but there's no point in denying half of your ancestry, it is what it is. There are also Mexicans of pure Indian blood, they probably carry the most resentment.
The whole issue of Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, Mexican-American, Indian, Mexican and Spanish is a convoluted one and I wouldn't be able to answer it in this post. I've thought about writing about it before, maybe I should.
Randy I came across this issue about five years ago on a trip to Disneyland, as we drove through the entrance, a bunch of people were holding up picket signs, one which said '' would you have Brad Pitt play the part of Malcolm X'' they were reffering to Antonio Banderas a Spaniard starring in a the movie Zapata, about the Mexican revolutionary, I thought that comparison was about as moronic as possible, first off if you didn't know Antonio Banderas and you saw him walking down the street could you determine he wasn't Mexican ? where as Brad Pitt could never be confused with Malcolm X ! .
THEHAMMER321 wrote:Randy I came across this issue about five years ago on a trip to Disneyland, as we drove through the entrance, a bunch of people were holding up picket signs, one which said '' would you have Brad Pitt play the part of Malcolm X'' they were reffering to Antonio Banderas a Spaniard starring in a the movie Zapata, about the Mexican revolutionary, I thought that comparison was about as moronic as possible, first off if you didn't know Antonio Banderas and you saw him walking down the street could you determine he wasn't Mexican ? where as Brad Pitt could never be confused with Malcolm X ! .
I don't think Antonio Banderas could play Malcolm X, either.
Maybe Matt Damon?
Last edited by Rick Farris on 30 Dec 2010, 02:02, edited 1 time in total.
THEHAMMER321 wrote:Randy I came across this issue about five years ago on a trip to Disneyland, as we drove through the entrance, a bunch of people were holding up picket signs, one which said '' would you have Brad Pitt play the part of Malcolm X'' they were reffering to Antonio Banderas a Spaniard starring in a the movie Zapata, about the Mexican revolutionary, I thought that comparison was about as moronic as possible, first off if you didn't know Antonio Banderas and you saw him walking down the street could you determine he wasn't Mexican ? where as Brad Pitt could never be confused with Malcolm X ! .
Nobody would ever cast Brad Pitt as Malcolm X. Matt Damon would be my first choice.
I always figured Brad Pitt better suited to play Martin Luther King.
THEHAMMER321 wrote:Randy I came across this issue about five years ago on a trip to Disneyland, as we drove through the entrance, a bunch of people were holding up picket signs, one which said '' would you have Brad Pitt play the part of Malcolm X'' they were reffering to Antonio Banderas a Spaniard starring in a the movie Zapata, about the Mexican revolutionary, I thought that comparison was about as moronic as possible, first off if you didn't know Antonio Banderas and you saw him walking down the street could you determine he wasn't Mexican ? where as Brad Pitt could never be confused with Malcolm X ! .
Nobody would ever cast Brad Pitt as Malcolm X. Matt Damon would be my first choice.
I always figured Brad Pitt better suited to play Martin Luther King.
kikibalt wrote:Art Aragon once married a Jewish woman and he converted to Judaism, what he did after the marriage was over I don't know.....
Art Aragon & Cocker Spaniel . . .
Frank, I was speaking with Don Fraser about Aragon's marriages recently.
I posted what we discussed about Georgia, or Georgette (?) the mother of my friend, Audie.
Many years ago, back in the 60's when I was working out at Johnny Flores Gym, I recall Johnny mentioning that Art had converted his religeon after marrying a Jewish gal.
Art Aragon's name really was synonymous with both boxing and the film world.
It was Hap Navarro, while calling the shots at the Hollywood Legion Stadium, the came up with a brilliant PR stunt involving Columbia Studios, Aragon and actor William Holden. Hap called Columbia's publicity department, informed them that Aragon would be featured in an upcoming main event. Columbia had produced Holden's boxing film, "The Golden Boy". Hap suggested the studio send the actor to "bequeath" the Golden Boy title to Art Aragon. Columbia loved the idea, and that's exactly what happened. Hap said William Holden came to the star-studded Legion that night and passed on the title to the new "Golden Boy" just before the main event.
Such great pictures of Aragon have been painted in my mind thru the words of Hap Navarro. And Don Fraser, as well.
I'm lucky to have grown up when he was fighting, although before I came to boxing.
In 1977, when I was working as a young lighting tech at Universal Studios, I'd meet both Art's sons, Audie and Art Jr.
I'd occasionally work on the "Baretta" TV series and Art had a reoccuring roll as an ex-pug who worked at a new stand.
Occasionally he'd work as a technical advisor for films that had boxing scenes. He always had something funny to say in response to a question or remark.
I remember a friend of mine needed a bail bond, to bring to court for a bench warrant, or something like that? I took him over to Art's Bail Bond office in Van Nuys. My friend was actor Reb Brown, who in those days was Bob Brown a former USC football player and amateur heavyweight. Brown had 4 amateur bouts for Johnny Flores in the '70-'71 L.A. Diamond Belt tourney. Brown and I were close friends and he wanted to meet Aragon, as well as retrieve the bond.
When we walk in, Brown meets the Golden Boy and mentions, "I was a boxer, too . . ."
The Golden Boy looks up from the papers he was filling out and says to Brown, "Really? You look more like a cocker spaniel."
Brown turned red and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.
After we walked out, Brown whimpers . . . "He said I looked like a cocker spaniel."
I laughed again and told him, "You dumb bastid, Aragon is a boxing legend, you have no common ground. Ask him about something he did."
Brown started to laugh, "Your right, but I don't look like a cocker spaniel, do I?"
Great post Rick....
CHOICE STUFF.....Rick. Artie never commented one way or another about that Golden Boy stunt, but his manager, Jimmy Roche thanked me a dozen times for the idea. The PR man that set the thing up for us at Columbia was head man Jimmy O"Toole. Nicely done stunt both ways back then.
Bennie Briscoe turned pro as a 19-year-old welterweight in 1962 and quicky established himself as a tough, determined, intimidating fighter from Philadelphia with real ability. Briscoe hooked off the jab, ripped in the body punches, racked up the knockouts, filled out to middleweight and picked up a nickname. "Bad" Bennie was well into world class by the time Philadelphia emerged as the fight capital of the world for a few years in the 1970s. So it is that Briscoe epitomises the Philly fighter. He was there at the start, and he was there at the end, still standing.
Bennie died on December 28 at the age of 67, having never won a world title in a career that took in 96 fights across 20 years. Briscoe found himself trapped at light-middleweight in his early pro years, when nobody gave a damn about the division, and two losses to former world champion Luis Rodriguez held him back initially at middleweight, and it was the gifted Rodriguez who challenged Italy's Nino Benvenuti in 1969.
Briscoe was almost 30 when he got his own shot in 1972 against Carlos Monzon at the historic Luna Park in Buenos Aires, where he went the full 15 rounds. Briscoe had previously held Monzon to a 10-round draw in the same stadium, which meant he was robbed, and he ploughed into the champion and shook him up in the ninth with a big right. Otherwise, Monzon controlled the fight on the way to a unanimous decision, but there are those who will tell you Briscoe was one punch away from victory in that ninth round, that the ropes held Monzon up, that the referee allowed Monzon to hang on far too long, that Briscoe was robbed a second time.
It is true that Briscoe did better in rematches, as he showed in two memorable fights with Eugene "Cyclone" Hart (and in countless other rematches), but the same applied to the brilliant Monzon, probably the greatest pure middleweight of all time, unless you plump for Marvin Hagler, and Briscoe fought them both. Bennie would fight three times for the world middleweight title. He pounded on Rodrigo Valdez in Monte Carlo in 1974 for the WBC belt stripped from Monzon and was on the verge of a stoppage win when the Colombian, bloodied and battered, unloaded a frightening barrage in the seventh round to finish Briscoe. Then, after Monzon walked away from boxing, sucking on his cigarettes and beating on his stunning blonde actress of a girlfriend, Briscoe and Valdez met again in 1977 in Italy. Both men were through, but Valdez had enough left to take the undisputed title on a narrow 15-round decision.
It was this spent version of Briscoe that Hagler outboxed a year later in a 10-rounder in Philly, by which time Briscoe was 35. The old stager hurt Hagler to the body but lacked his usual snap. Nigel Collins, editor of Ring magazine and a ringside reporter throughout the Philly golden era, says of the fight: "The only time I ever saw Hagler back up most of a fight was against Bennie, but even Hagler wasn't going to stand toe-to-toe with Bennie."
He continues: "We're talking about someone who was never pretentious, who never went Hollywood. Bennie preferred being out on the street with the boys. He was a no-nonsense fighter, a real badass in the ring, but he was charismatic, even if he wasn't into shooting his mouth off. His philosophy of boxing was, 'I come in shape, and I come to knock my man out.' That struck a chord with Philadelphia fight fans."
Briscoe retired in 1982 after dropping a 10-round decision to Jimmie Sykes at the Blue Horizon, leaving with a record of 66-24-5 (53). He was only ever stopped by Valdez.
Last edited by bennie on 30 Dec 2010, 11:45, edited 1 time in total.
TO HEAR SOME people tell it, former middleweight contender "Bad" Bennie Briscoe, who was 67 when he died Tuesday, had the misfortune of coming along too soon.
Then again, maybe he didn't. It just might be that the much younger, much richer and much more widely exposed fighters, those select few pay-per-view attractions that the public is familiar with today, came along too late.
"Bennie's best work was done between the two eras of television, the end of the 'Friday Night Fights' in 1964 and the start of ESPN, HBO and the cable revolution of the 1980s," said J Russell Peltz, who was Briscoe's promoter from 1969 to '82, the last 13 years of a remarkable 21-year professional career that isn't nearly as celebrated now as it should be. "He never got the kind of purses and attention that fighters like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather get today.
"The most money Bennie ever made was the $50,000 he got for each of the last two [Rodrigo] Valdez fights and the one with [Marvin] Hagler. That was pretty good money for 30 years ago, but, with what's around today, he'd probably have made seven figures at least a couple of times."
It can be argued, however, that what Briscoe (66-24-5, 53 KOs) lost out on financially was more than compensated for by his towering stature as a local legend. During the last golden era of Philadelphia boxing, a halcyon period that featured the celebrated likes of Eugene "Cyclone" Hart, Willie "The Worm" Monroe, Bobby "Boogaloo" Watts, Stanley "Kitten" Hayward, "Joltin' " Jeff Chandler and Matthew Saad Muhammad - it was, obviously, also a golden era for sports heroes' nicknames - Briscoe was revered on or near the same level as the top players on the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and 76ers. He routinely drew enthusiastic, sizable crowds to the Spectrum, where he was never booed, even when he lost. Most of Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins' biggest fights, on the other hand, were staged outside of his hometown.
"We drew big crowds for fights involving all those other guys, but Bennie was the most beloved fighter of that time," Peltz continued. "He fought everybody, and he always gave the fans their money's worth. He was never in a bad fight. Put it this way: Bennie was the man."
Now the Spectrum is almost history and so, too, is the tough guy with the shaved head, menacing stare, fiercely competitive nature and the kind of punching power that could put even the most granite-chinned opponent down and out. But while the Spectrum, which is in the process of being demolished, isn't likely to be forgotten any time soon, the same can't be said with certainty of Briscoe, a very private man whose postboxing life included few public appearances and a refusal to trade on what remained of his celebrity.
Nor is the boxing community outside of Philadelphia apt to buff and restore Briscoe's reputation as the quintessential Philly fighter. Ask any current fight fan, here or around the world, who he is more familiar with, Bennie Briscoe or Hopkins, and the unanimous decision will go to B-Hop, whose legend is merited but has been helped along by the international media overload that Briscoe never got to experience.
Although Briscoe last year was voted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in California, he has never even appeared on the ballot of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y., which is to the sweet science what Cooperstown, N.Y., is to baseball.
"If the best Bennie fought the best Hopkins, I don't know," Peltz, who is extremely loyal to the fighters he promoted, said when asked who would win if the two men somehow could be paired prime-on-prime. "But Hopkins will go into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on the first ballot. He'll be regarded as one of the 10 greatest middleweights of all time, and rightfully so. For him to still be doing what he's doing at his age [45], Hopkins is a freak of nature. But Bennie probably will never make it to Canastota, and that's a shame."
John DiSanto, who in 2007 conceived the Briscoe Awards, which then were created by sculptor Carl LeVotch, agrees. The Briscoes - which are presented annually through the auspices of Ring One of the Veterans Boxers Association to the year's top Philadelphia fighter and the two men who engaged in the best local fight of the year - was meant to keep alive the memory of an underappreciated icon.
"I could have named the awards after a lot of really good fighters, but Bennie, to me, was the prototype," DiSanto said. "The legacies of guys like Joey Giardello [a LeVotch-fashioned bronze statue of whom is to be placed in South Philly in the spring] and Joe Frazier are set. They became world champions and they're in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Bernard Hopkins is going in someday, too. Bennie probably never will be considered, which I don't necessarily agree with. I named the awards the Briscoes as a way to help people remember just how important he was to the city and to boxing."
Nigel Collins, editor of The Ring magazine, said Briscoe was so determined, so intimidating, he could still hold his own with some of the best 160-pound fighters in the world when his skills were clearly in decline. He cites Briscoe's 10-round, unanimous-decision loss to Marvin Hagler on Aug. 24, 1978, at the Spectrum as an example.
"The only time I ever saw Hagler back up most of a fight was against Bennie," Collins recalled. "Bennie was pretty much over the hill then [at 35], and Marvin [then 24] was just coming into greatness. But even Hagler wasn't going to stand toe-to-toe with Bennie.
"We're talking about someone who was never pretentious, who never went Hollywood. Bennie preferred being out on the street with the boys. He was a no-nonsense fighter, a real badass in the ring, but he was charismatic, even if he wasn't into shooting his mouth off. His philosophy of boxing was, 'I come in shape, and I come to knock my man out.' That struck a chord with Philadelphia fight fans."
