Superman vs Archie Moore

HomicideHenry · Post by **HomicideHenry** » 23 Aug 2006, 00:48

No this isn't a joke [unlike Brocoli statements that Marciano is the worst HW champion of all time]

this was based in fact.

Actor George Reeves, who is most famous for his television role as SUPERMAN from 1952 to 1958, had become a professional wrestler and built some great status as a wrestler after the sindication of SUPERMAN was over with. Reeves was 37 years old when he first donned the cape and was 43 years old when the show was cancelled.

In 1959 Reeves was given the big news that SUPERMAN would go into two more seasons, and he was given numerous offers for more wrestling matches and even signed a 5 picture deal with Paramount pictures. He was making a huge comeback into cinema. His popularity was at it's peak.

But Reeves was also interested in the fight game. Boxing. As a young man Reeves was an accomplished athlete in both boxing and wrestling. Even so much as having an amatuer record of 31-0 and winning the Golden Gloves, he bowed out from boxing to pursue a movie career.

He was scheduled to face off with Light Heavyweight champion Archie Moore on June 17th, 1959.

But unfortunately George Reeves died the day before the big fight in what is still one of the most controversial deaths in Hollywood, originally deemed a suicide because of Reeve's 'failed career', though movie, wrestling and television offers were coming in like hot cakes, that and evidence at the crime scene proved differently---as there was no gun powder residue on his hands and the gun and shells were laying beneath him [pretty neat trick for a dead man].

I was wondering if anyone knew more information around the match that was supposed to happen between Reeves and Moore. I do know that it was supposed to be an exhibition match, with the two men fighting an actual fight, not some spoof with Reeves in a costume facing Moore.

Reeves had this to say of the event that was to, but didn't, happen:

"The Archie Moore fight will be the highlight of my life. Immediately after the fight I will be married to the most wonderful girl in the world. We'll fly to Spain, then Australia for six weeks."

Reeves was 44 at the time, 6'2" and 198 pounds. Moore was the LHW champion and was 5'11" and roughly 180 pounds around that time, and was 43 years old.

Ironically it wasn't the first time Moore had faced men associated with professional wrestling, nor was it his last, as his last opponent Mike DiBiase was the Southern Heavyweight Wrestling champion.

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 23 Aug 2006, 06:19

I was prepared for anything but a straight story when I opened this thread. Very good reading. I thought I knew most of the stories associcated with Archie but this is a new one on me. I did know many of the details regarding Reeves and his demise.

I have mentioned many times that I was present at Archies last fight in Phoenix. I have no reason to think that this fight would have gone much different. Moore dispensed with Dibiase who came in game and confident.

I'll pass on any attempts at humor in respect of Reeves, but this story is fascinating to me.

pundit · Post by **pundit** » 23 Aug 2006, 09:12

Hulk Hogan vs. Muhamad Ali.

Seamus · Post by **Seamus** » 23 Aug 2006, 11:00

Archie Moore really did fight Superman. It was in LA in 1962. Superman stopped him in the 4th round.

HomicideHenry · Post by **HomicideHenry** » 23 Aug 2006, 17:51

I have often read of George Reeves athleticism, and even in his 40's all the cast of the SUPERMAN series said that Reeves did all his own stunts, and even Gene LeBell, a famous wrestler known as 'The Man of 1,000 Holds", said that Reeves was exceptionally good in a wrestling ring and a general all around athlete.

I would think, considering he was undefeated as an amatuer boxer winning the Golden Gloves title at 31-0, and that he was also a great wrestler as a young man [real wrestling] and then made the leap to professional wrestling, that Reeves, despite being 44 years old, probably would have been a better opponent than what Mike DiBiase was.

Not to say that I think "Superman" George Reeves would have beaten Moore, but I do think he possibly would have given Moore a better fight, considering that when Moore faced DiBiase he was going up against a man with little or no experience with the gloves.

With that being said, exhibition or not, I think Moore would have stopped Reeves in about 4-5 rounds, depending how long the contest was going.

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 23 Aug 2006, 17:53

....but only if he wore his "krypto-gloves".

Collins2000 · Post by **Collins2000** » 23 Aug 2006, 20:31

BoxBuzz wrote:I was prepared for anything but a straight story when I opened this thread. Very good reading. I thought I knew most of the stories associcated with Archie but this is a new one on me. I did know many of the details regarding Reeves and his demise.

I have mentioned many times that I was present at Archies last fight in Phoenix. I have no reason to think that this fight would have gone much different. Moore dispensed with Dibiase who came in game and confident.

I'll pass on any attempts at humor in respect of Reeves, but this story is fascinating to me.

I believe Dibiase had the original "Iron Mike" monicker. I also read somewhere he was the father (step-father) of Ted Diabiase aka The Million Dollar Man from WWF in the 80's?

Of course, my favourite WWF entertainer was the original Doink. Plus those 2 old ladies who really enter into the spirit of things...

HomicideHenry · Post by **HomicideHenry** » 23 Aug 2006, 21:46

Yea, "Iron" Mike DiBiase was the step-father of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. After Mike DiBiase's run in with Moore, he went on to wrestle for a few more years, only to die during a wrestling match at the age of 45.

He was deemed almost a betting favorite over Archie Moore, despite his lack of experience as a boxer, as he was a finely tuned athlete, being a former AAU and almost won the NCAA Heavyweight wrestling title while in college. He was finely tuned and had superb conditioning and at 6' and 220 pounds, many thought his youth and strength, as well as his wrestling background, would have gave him a shot at Moore.

Unfortunately 'The Old Mongoose' beat DiBiase almost senseless for the first two rounds, before finishing him off in the third.

http://www.harleyrace.com/images/ebay/ironmikesm.jpg

HomicideHenry · Post by **HomicideHenry** » 23 Aug 2006, 23:02

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/fotos/moore37.jpg vs http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/images/george_reeves.jpg

George Reeves- 6'2" 198 pounds 31-0 as an amatuer 1x Golden Gloves champion. Professional Wrestler/Actor. 44yrs old in 1959.

Archie Moore- 5'11" 180 pounds 175-21-10 as a professional 1x Light Heavyweight champion. 43yrs old in 1959.

The above figures are based before the date of the fight that was to take place.

Moore had faced such professional wrestlers as Sterling Davis (KO3) and later on Mike DiBiase (KO3) in his career in legit boxing matches, though by research none of the 'wrestlers' Moore fought had any real experience in professional or even amatuer boxing. Moore was also a contender for both the Middleweight and Heavyweight crowns, and still holds the record for the most KO's in a career.

George Reeves was an undefeated amatuer boxer at HW going 31-0 and winning the Golden Gloves. His dream was to become a boxer, only to bow out and become an actor in Hollywood. Reeves was also a polished wrestler in college. He is known famously as tv's original SUPERMAN. Most actors on the set with Reeves would later go on to say that Reeves was an extremely athletic man who did his own stunts.

He was originally scheduled to face Archie Moore on June 17th, 1959. Moore had already faced professional wrestler Sterling Davis a few months prior [seems like Archie had a dislike in wrestlers] and Reeves was getting many offers to wrestle across the country, a 5 picture movie deal with Paramount and an agreed 2 more seasons of SUPERMAN.

Archie's career would fizzle out in the next few years after 1959, but that year Reeves career was going sky high with numerous possibilities. The fight never happened, as Reeves died in mysterious circumstances the night before the big fight.

I cannot give more emphasis as to how good Reeve's chances could have been if he fought Moore that day. Considering Reeves had long given up smoking and drinking when he took the role of SUPERMAN and that he had actual experience in the boxing game, unlike DiBiase and Sterling who might as well had a tattoo of 'LAMB LED TO SLAUGHTER' on their foreheads.

Depending on how long the fight was to be, since this was an exhibition [or so it has been said] if it was a four rounder, Reeves could have survived Moore since he did have that amatuer background and was a good all-around athlete even in his 40's, this of course is judging solely by the fact that wrestlers Sterling and DiBiase only managed to go for three rounds with 'The Ageless Wonder'.

Reeves also was disciplined in Judo and Fencing and those arts of combat is all about balance and timing and accuracy, so Reeves was very coordinated and nimble on his feet. With all these things in mind, SUPERMAN or not, Reeves would still be a huge underdog to beat Moore.

Surviving the four rounds [if it was scheduled for that] would be an impressive feat against a LHW champion, which would make Reeves damn near 'Superman' considering he hadn't wore the gloves since he was in his 20's. But I do think Reeves could have done it, though if it was scheduled for anything more than four rounds, Reeves would have no chance, unless Moore backed off him a bit.

Which I do think Moore would have, only for the fact that this wasn't just some actor, some wrestler or some opponent he was facing, but SUPERMAN, an idol to millions of boys and girls. If Moore went in with the attitude like he did with DiBiase and Sterling and whooped Reeves badly, Moore would be crucified and hated the world over as the man who beat up Superman.

Of course Moore was a the type of man who would never take a fall, let someone move him around or take anything lightly. So who knows what Moore's game plan was to be---though his message was loud and clear against the likes of professional wrestlers: "I FIGHT FOR REAL".

I am still searching for a picture of George Reeves either as a wrestler, or better yet, as an amatuer boxer, so we all could get an idea of what the original tv SUPERMAN looked like as a boxer.

delisa · Post by **delisa** » 24 Aug 2006, 00:49

Reeves was not an amateur boxer and did not win any gloves titles etc. This is all bogus. I investigated this story -- it stems from a publicity shoot the two were to do.

HomicideHenry · Post by **HomicideHenry** » 24 Aug 2006, 01:02

Have any proof of that Delisa? I have looked into almost every George Reeves bio of him and always says that as a young man he was an amatuer boxer and wrestled a bit, and quit for a chance at Hollywood.

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 24 Aug 2006, 07:23

uh oh....please don't say it.....just don't.......Superman was a fraud? What kind of cruel rumour mongering is this?

Expug · Post by **Expug** » 24 Aug 2006, 07:44

Lebell and Reeves were good friends. Gene has some nice things to say about him at http://www.GeneLebell.com.
Under stories.

delisa · Post by **delisa** » 24 Aug 2006, 15:47

IrishRufusMurphy wrote:Have any proof of that Delisa? I have looked into almost every George Reeves bio of him and always says that as a young man he was an amatuer boxer and wrestled a bit, and quit for a chance at Hollywood.

So are you saying that because you read an actor's bio that is proof? Ever here of a publicist taking license?

In any event, I scoured all of the local papers for the years Reeves would have been fihgting and came up with nothing. Through my contacts in the comic book field, I was placed in touch with several hardcore Reeves fans who had done more research than I -- they confirmend what I suspected -- no background for Reeves as a boxer at all, nor as a wrestler.

The Moore story was very definetely the work of an over-imaginative publicist as the only thing reeves was ever scheduled to do was meet Moore for a photo op.

HomicideHenry · Post by **HomicideHenry** » 24 Aug 2006, 16:12

From what I understand Reeves professional wrestling career circulated around the Superman scenario, where he would wrestle as Superman against various wrestlers, but would always 'win', because he was Superman. Gene LeBell wrote that he would often face Reeves under the alias of "Kryptonite" in a black costume with a big K on the front, kind of a mock of the Superman costume.

As far as the boxing goes, all I know is what biographies of him have said, that he was 31-0 as an amatuer and won the Golden Gloves, but quit for two reasons: his mother didn't want him to get hurt, and he went to pursue Hollywood.

Reeves was an accomplished athlete, irregardless if he didn't box or not, as he did judo, fencing and wrestled as a younger man, and did his own stunts on the SUPERMAN show.

If it was all some publicity gag why did Reeves quote that "the Moore fight will be the highlight of my life" and most stories on the subject say that it was to be an exhibition bout?

I am researching deeper into this, if I can I will try and contact the family of George Reeves and see if there is any truth to it at all.

Expug · Post by **Expug** » 24 Aug 2006, 16:57

I dont know about Reeves and Judo Irish.
Unless he trained some with Lebell. Im sure he knocked around with him learned a few moves etc.
Im a Judo black belt with United States judo inc.
Which is the Olympic Judo sponsor. Ill see if there is any info on him ,any ranking info. Maybe he has rank.
However, if Lebell said he was a good athlete / fighter etc. its a ringing endorsement.
I have tons of respect for Genes ability.

HomicideHenry · Post by **HomicideHenry** » 24 Aug 2006, 17:02

From what I understand he did Judo as a means to keep himself trim, along with the fencing. He did learn a bit from LeBell [LeBell was judo/wrestler]. But from what I understand the wrestling matches were mostly show, but LeBell did say that Reeves was a good athlete.