Could Jim Brown have become a Heavyweight Champion?

[Brutu]

The Syracuse New York Boxing Promoter Norman Rothschild thought Jim Brown could have been.
(he had promoted most of Carmen Basilio's major fights).

Newspaper article from January 1964.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1J ... ,856779&dq

[Brutu]

Jim Brown almost went for Boxing.
In this newspaper article from October 1965,Jim Brown goes into a little more detail about it.


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AQ ... 4261762&dq

[Nile4000]

He would kick John Wayne's ass, that's for sure.

[Brutu]

I wonder if Norman Rothschild and Marvin Jensen(manager of Ernie Burford) wanted Jim Brown to spar with Mike DeJohn or Carmen Basilio to test him out or maybe with Gene Fullmer in Utah?

[Brutu]

He would kick John Wayne's ass, that's for sure.

I dunno,Ive seen some of those Haymakers that "The DUKE"
had thrown in some of those movies he made.
They must have had a pre-mesmerizing effect,as a lot of the people he punched just stood there
when he was winding back to throw em.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3343LUHNb4

[Brutu]

John Wayne was 53 years old in 1960.
But check out this movie trailer from the 1974 action-movie McQ.
How many men at age 66 in your neighbourhood back then drove a
cool 1973 Pontiac Trans Am Firebird?
(at full throttle anyway)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyJJYKneIx8

[Brutu]

Back in the day at the Drive-In Ive seen Jim Brown himself throw a few haymakers in the movies too.

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

[Brutu]

Here is a version of the story as told by Bob Arum.
In 1966 when Ali was in London England to fight Henry Cooper
for the second time.
Jim Brown(who was in England filming THE DIRTY DOZEN)
said he wanted to fight Ali for the World Heavyweight title.
Ali then told Brown to meet him in Hyde Park so that he could test him out.
here is the story.


http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100000 ... ed-in1960s

[Brutu]

Never heard of that one.
But how about Jim Brown was to star in a proposed Bio-pic as George Foreman in 1980?
(scroll down to read article).


http://books.google.com/books?id=NrcDAA ... pg=PA56&dq

[HomicideHenry]

He would kick John Wayne's ass, that's for sure.

My ass.

[BoxBuzz]

He would kick John Wayne's ass, that's for sure.

My ass.

Well..yes he would kick "your ass" as well.

[Brutu]

"The Duke" even at age 67 was still opening up cans of whupp-ass .
Check out him throwing even more haymakers in this bar room(err pub)brawl scene
in the 1975 movie BRANNIGAN.

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

[dempseyfire]

It's impossible to know for sure, but it's hard for me to not think that if Brown had taken up boxing at a young age he could have gone very very far. He was that unique type of talent + toughness that I think could have excelled at boxing.

And let's remember, he would've DROPPED weight from football to boxing (probably would've weighed in the 210-220 range apart from the 230s+ he weighed in the NFL), as heavyweights put paramount importance on speed/agility and stamina; the opposite of what current heavyweights do. Charley Powell did the same thing' weighed around 240 while playing football but dropped to around 212 for boxing.

[bollox]

Here is a version of the story as told by Bob Arum.
In 1966 when Ali was in London England to fight Henry Cooper
for the second time.
Jim Brown(who was in England filming THE DIRTY DOZEN)
said he wanted to fight Ali for the World Heavyweight title.
Ali then told Brown to meet him in Hyde Park so that he could test him out.
here is the story.


http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100000 ... ed-in1960s

"ok, I get the point"

How many sports people (and actors) think they can get into boxing and it'd be easy. At least Brown had the common sense to fergedabbadit after getting a taste of leather

[Brutu]

Its unclear just how much a good of boxer Jim Brown was or if he ever even laced up a pair of gloves.
Actually it goes back to the 1950's ,Roy Simmons his lacrosse coach at Syracuse,and who was also the boxing coach there who had thought back then that Brown could have been the intercollegiate
Heavyweight Boxing champion if he had chosen to concentrate on that sport too.

[Brutu]

According to the bios on Jim Brown.
His father was a "small time professional boxer"
who fought mainly in Georgia.
His name was Swinton Brown and his nick name was "Sweet Sue".
He was 6 ft 2 and 225 lbs.
Im being to trying to see if he had any fights recorded on boxrec.
He was from St. Simons Island Georgia but he may have fought possibly
in Brusnswick Georgia were he also played football.

[Seamus]

Jim Brown wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the heavyweight title. Plain and simple he wasn't a SERIOUS boxer. Decathletes are the best athletes in the world, but if you put the top decathlete in the world who's over 200 lbs in with the fat and flabby James Toney from say 2006, do you really have any serious doubts regarding what the outcome would be. And as for, what if Brown had seriously taken up boxing in his early teens, well we could ask that question about any number of top athletes. In his bio Brown said he wrestled around with Ali and got the better of him, then added that he was under no allusions, in the ring Ali would have diced me up.

[The End]

Jim Brown wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the heavyweight title. Plain and simple he wasn't a SERIOUS boxer. Decathletes are the best athletes in the world, but if you put the top decathlete in the world who's over 200 lbs in with the fat and flabby James Toney from say 2006, do you really have any serious doubts regarding what the outcome would be. And as for, what if Brown had seriously taken up boxing in his early teens, well we could ask that question about any number of top athletes. In his bio Brown said he wrestled around with Ali and got the better of him, then added that he was under no allusions, in the ring Ali would have diced me up.

A jack of all trades but a master of none doesn't qualify for me

[BoxBuzz]

Jim must have been feeling pretty bad when that quote was given.

[Nile4000]

He would kick John Wayne's ass, that's for sure.

My ass.

He would take you, too.And Dennis Rodman could kick John Wayne's ass also.Afterwards, he would then grab John's ass !

[Brutu]

I remember in the HBO documentary,in it Jim Brown had said that he had never lost a fight.
He once flattened fellow Cleveland Browns team mate fullback John Wooten( 6-2,230 lbs),

and it was also reported he had beat up AFL Halfback Cookie Gilchrist( 6-3,251 lbs)


http://www.books.google.com/books?id=rT ... pg=PA59&dq

[tad]

As I recall the sleaze bag also was undefeated when beating on women.

[BoxBuzz]

Yeah but he went 0-1 with a big speeding truck.

[Brutu]

Here is a younger(but still mature) 35 year old John Wayne "Duke-ing It" out.
but with a little more zip in his punches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB3nJegtM0A

[The End]

He would kick John Wayne's ass, that's for sure.

My ass.

He would take you, too.And Dennis Rodman could kick John Wayne's ass also.Afterwards, he would then grab John's ass !

Dennis Rodman would kick John Wayne's ass . Fact