The Tomato Can of The Century Tournament

[HomicideHenry]

There are to be 50 of the "greatest" tomato cans in this tournament. Some were better than others, some were down right laughable. Nevertheless this sport has always been based upon the 'little man', the complete under dog story. These men are the antithesis of the blue collar working man, the never was's and never will be's.

Some are Heavweights, some in between weights, it doesn't really matter to us. This is an all out war among the best of the absoloute worst, and there is sure to be blood in the first minute of the first round in ALL of these fights. Some have glass jaws, some tough as steel, irregardless these men have come to fight.

Though this list compiled of 50 men hardly scratches the surface of some of the worst abortions the pain business ever created, this Doc Frankenstein belives he's created the most ungodly tournament you will ever bare witness to.

Considering this is a tomato-can journeyman tournament, I figured in honor of such, we should have this restricted to a four round series, much like the Toughman contests [minus the headgear and 16 ounce gloves of course] 3 minutes a round. And to give it all a 1970's nostalgic feel, we'll add former NFL great Jim Brown to do his 'nothing to do with boxing' form of commentary and Red Fox as his side kick!

Here are your matches:

Scott "The Fightin' Frenchman" LeDoux vs Randall "Tex" Cobb

Chuck "The Bayonne Bleeder" Wepner vs Joe "Indian Rubber Man" Grimm

Henry Cooper vs Tom McNeeley

Danny Wofford vs Reggie Strickland

Donnie Pendelton vs Johnny Davis

"Two Ton" Tony Galento vs Johnny Paycheck

Tami Mauriello vs Red Burman

Al McCoy vs Tony Musto

Jerry Evans vs Peter McNeeley

Gus Dorazio vs Jean Pierre Coopman

Jack Roper vs Marcus Rhode

Louis Monaco vs Don Steele

Scott Frank vs Alfredo Evangelista

Bobby Crabtree vs Kenneth Bentley

Eric "Butterbean" Esch vs Memphis Al Jones

Everett "Bigfoot" Martin vs Charles Atlas

Jerry "Wimpy" Halstead vs Ed "Too Tall" Jones

"Iron" Mike DiBiase vs Jim Cully

Ron Drinkwater vs Bruce "The Mouse" Strauss

"Neon" Leon Spinks vs Harry Funmaker

Brian Yates vs Brian Sargeant

Ron Draper vs Harvey McCullough

Mike "The Giant" White vs Henry Tillman

Claude "Humphrey" McBride vs Pete Riccitelli

Dan Kosmicki vs Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings

[Jaclem]

...mauriello and galento would cream most of the other guys on this list. they were less than great, but they weren't tomato cans. leon spinks....became a tomato can when he just couldn't control his life and fell totally apart. maybe he never would have done anything, but i do think his winning the title so soon, and over ali at put him in an environment he just couldn't cope with.

as for the rest...hey..sometimes bad fighters put on exciting..if not really good performances..against each other... as they lack defensive skills, for one thing...and some are pretty gutsy in going against fighters to whom they know...or knew...they had no chance

[HomicideHenry]

I agree Jaclem, its usually the guys who have "nothing to lose" who put on the best fights...but my list is assembled of guys who were either apart of Joe Louis's "Bum of The Month" club, perpetual losers or guys who indeed achieved greatness and slowly went to hell after reaching their "peak" as in Spinks's case.

Overall, their careers, for the most part, still are around the high D to low B level at best...they weren't "the best" or didn't even come close, but nonetheless they were either tomato cans or journeyman.

[Brute]

How could you call Johnny Paychek a tomato can? He was 41-4-1 with 26KOs going into his fight with Louis. Also, DiBiase cannot be counted as a boxer. He was an old, overweight professional wrestler who took Moore on as a stunt.

[HomicideHenry]

Johnny Paycheck....sighs....

You have to admit though, in all honesty, Paycheck never really beat a real fighter who was worth his salt...most his wins were over guys like Art Oliver and Charley Belanger...and they were all bums.

As far as Mike DiBiase...well, I didnt hear you complain about Ed Too Tall Jones, he's on this list as well...just because the man was from another "sport" doesnt exactly mean he's not qualified for "tomato can" boxer. And I dispute the "stunt" allegation, Moore fought two other professional wrestlers during his career, and besides DiBiase was all but a giant HW weighing roughly 240 pounds and much, much younger than Moore, he had as good a chance as any.

[KOJOE90]

I would not class many on this list as 'tomato cans' such as....

Chuck Wepner.
Henry Cooper.
Leon Spinks.
Tony Galento.
Jean Pierre Coopman.
Scott Frank.
Alfredo Evangelista.

[BoxBuzz]

I would not class many on this list as 'tomato cans' such as....

Chuck Wepner.
Henry Cooper.
Leon Spinks.
Tony Galento.
Jean Pierre Coopman.
Scott Frank.
Alfredo Evangelista.

It still could be interesting...because these are definately not the elite and most could brawl and were tough. If there are major discrepancies in talent...the lesser talented guy could hope for some odd and abnormal set of circumstances to manifest...... which appears to be a common denominator of nearly all these names.

[m1kee50]

Hnery Cooper was no mug.... Frankie Hines could swap for him...

[Ambling Alp]

I would not class many on this list as 'tomato cans' such as....

Chuck Wepner.
Henry Cooper.
Leon Spinks.
Tony Galento.
Jean Pierre Coopman.
Scott Frank.
Alfredo Evangelista.

With the possible exception of Coopman none of these are remotely close to being "tomato cans".
Interestingly, 5 of these guys fought Ali. What a shocker that Homocidehenry listed them as "tomato cans."

If they are, then so are Lee Savold and Don Cockell (both fought Marciano.) Interestingly enough, neither Savold or Cockell were listed.

How about Ted Lowry or Willis Applegate? (both opponents of Marciano) Neither seemed to be listed.
Are any of Marciano's opponents listed?

[dempseyfire]

I would not class many on this list as 'tomato cans' such as....

Chuck Wepner.
Henry Cooper.
Leon Spinks.
Tony Galento.
Jean Pierre Coopman.
Scott Frank.
Alfredo Evangelista.

Tami Mauriello was a very good fighter as well!

Coopman though I'm comfortable with being on that list.

[generic screen name]

Brian Sutherland vs _________

[Ambling Alp]

One thing to consider here is that people do use different jargon. When I use a certain term to characterize the level of someone, I have levels that go something this:

1. Champion
2. Contenders
3. Fringe Contenders (Some people may call them gatekeepers)
4. Journeyman
5. Tomato cans (Bad 10 round fighters)
6. Creampuffs (Fighters that shouldn't be involved in anthing more than 6 round fight. Most fighters would fall under this category)

Of course these are all relative terms. Anyone that steps into the ring has some guts.

[HomicideHenry]

As I said before, this list is not ALL "tomato cans", this is just 50 of some of the more less than successful fighters to ever step into the ring.

Henry Cooper was a good fighter, yes, but what is he best known for? Afterall, he is possibly pound for pound the king of the most god awful cuts in ring history. There was always the chance Cooper would cut, as was the same case with Chuck Wepner.

As far as Frank, Evangelista...I based their tomato can ranking as how terrible they done against Larry Holmes, who was champ in one of the more god awful eras in HW history; besides Evangelista was a novice when he fought Ali (16 fights I think) and went the full 15, a damned title shot for crying out loud.

Sure, I could have thrown in others like Marvis Frazier, Tod Lowery, and RED Applegate [not Willis Applegate], but had I done so, we would have had a 100 man tournament, because really, there is a helluva lot of fighters out there who could be deemed as such.

My definition of a tomato-can is one of three things: Never could quite get over that next 'slump' more or less being a journeyman/club fighter... or a guy who was easily knocked out or bled all over the damned place...or was a guy with limited skills and ability but was tough and game.

I think the majority on this list fits that criteria.

Btw, is anyone going to vote on these fights or what? We have a Tomato Can Champion to crown here

[Jaclem]

..well...i'm not going to bet on the match-ups....but i'll just say if a tournament would be held, tami mauriello ends up the winner. it looks as if only dempsey fire and myself think he's above the tomato can level....although , like galento....whom i don't think belongs here either....each of them DID have a lot of tomato cans in their win columns...

[Expug]

Well,Ive always had respect for the journeyman.
I say thats a name to be worn proudly.
Those guys would show up at the gym without the fuckin entourage and blaring music.
Treat everyone with respect,go a few rounds with novice pros or even amateurs.
They are cool to be around , they make the day in and day out druggery tolerable.
Not trying to get on a soapbox man but most of the guys on the list fit this bill.
To me , Im only gonna call a guy a tomato can if hes a tanker or a guy lookin to lay down .
That said, there are some interesting fights on the list.
I suppose the favorite would be Mauriello.

[HomicideHenry]

Well here's how I see it:

Scott "The Fightin' Frenchman" LeDoux vs Randall "Tex" Cobb

Chuck "The Bayonne Bleeder" Wepner vs Joe "Indian Rubber Man" Grimm

Henry Cooper vs Tom McNeeley

Danny Wofford vs Reggie Strickland

Donnie Pendelton vs Johnny Davis

"Two Ton" Tony Galento vs Johnny Paycheck

Tami Mauriello vs Red Burman

Al McCoy vs Tony Musto

Jerry Evans vs Peter McNeeley

Gus Dorazio vs Jean Pierre Coopman

Jack Roper vs Marcus Rhode

Louis Monaco vs Don Steele

Scott Frank vs Alfredo Evangelista

Bobby Crabtree vs Kenneth Bentley

Eric "Butterbean" Esch vs Memphis Al Jones

Everett "Bigfoot" Martin vs Charles Atlas

Jerry "Wimpy" Halstead vs Ed "Too Tall" Jones

"Iron" Mike DiBiase vs Jim Cully

Ron Drinkwater vs Bruce "The Mouse" Strauss

"Neon" Leon Spinks vs Harry Funmaker

Brian Yates vs Brian Sargeant

Ron Draper vs Harvey McCullough

Mike "The Giant" White vs Henry Tillman

Claude "Humphrey" McBride vs Pete Riccitelli

Dan Kosmicki vs Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings


Those in bold "won" their fights; the hardest fight for me to decide was Jim Cully vs Mike DiBiase, though Cully won one and lost one (?) I think DiBiase lasting three rounds with Archie Moore puts him over the 7'4" acromegalic who looked rather sickly.

[funso banjo baby]

dont diss the coops

splash it all over

[Brute]

Johnny Paycheck....sighs....

You have to admit though, in all honesty, Paycheck never really beat a real fighter who was worth his salt...most his wins were over guys like Art Oliver and Charley Belanger...and they were all bums.

As far as Mike DiBiase...well, I didnt hear you complain about Ed Too Tall Jones, he's on this list as well...just because the man was from another "sport" doesnt exactly mean he's not qualified for "tomato can" boxer. And I dispute the "stunt" allegation, Moore fought two other professional wrestlers during his career, and besides DiBiase was all but a giant HW weighing roughly 240 pounds and much, much younger than Moore, he had as good a chance as any.

For some reason I had heard of Di Biase. It may have been because I got home from an afternoon shift one night, nothing much being on TV I found myself watching Di Biase's idiot son offering some freak $100,000 for the (ha ha) World Heavyweight Wrestling belt. Around this time James Douglas was to receive $28,000,000 to defend his boxing title against Holyfield. I have never heard of Ed "Too Tall" Jones.

[Ambling Alp]

As I said before, this list is not ALL "tomato cans", this is just 50 of some of the more less than successful fighters to ever step into the ring.

Say what? at the beginning you said that this was a tournament of the great 50 tomato cans. If it's not what is the point? Why have guys who are clearly not tomato cans and are far better than some others? It makes no sense.

Henry Cooper was a good fighter, yes, but what is he best known for? Afterall, he is possibly pound for pound the king of the most god awful cuts in ring history. There was always the chance Cooper would cut, as was the same case with Chuck Wepner.

Cooper was only stopped on cuts a grand total of 4 times in his entire career. Two were against Ali. Besides being the British champion, he beat Folley and Mildenberger and at the end of his career barely lost to Bugner. He was a Top 10 contender for 5 years in a row. To call him a tomato can is simply ridiculaus.
Wepner wasn't as good as Cooper but he certainly wasn't a tomato can. He was a very game fighter who had a great chin and came to to fight. He beat several fringe contenders.


As far as Frank, Evangelista...I based their tomato can ranking as how terrible they done against Larry Holmes, who was champ in one of the more god awful eras in HW history; besides Evangelista was a novice when he fought Ali (16 fights I think) and went the full 15, a damned title shot for crying out loud.

Your basing their entire career on one fight against one the best heavyweights of all time? Frank lost one fight in career, which was to Holmes. He also had a draw with Snipes. He was nothing special, but certainly wasn't a tomato can.
Evangelista- You call him a tomoto can and then say he went 15 rounds with Ali, which is evidence that he wasn't a tomato can. That makes no sense. Are you arguing against yourself now?

Sure, I could have thrown in others like Marvis Frazier, Tod Lowery, and RED Applegate [not Willis Applegate], but had I done so, we would have had a 100 man tournament, because really, there is a helluva lot of fighters out there who could be deemed as such.

Marvis Frazier was in over his head against Holmes and Tyson (his only losses) but he was certainly not a tomato can. He was a skilled boxer who beat Broad ,Tillis, and Bonecrusher Smith.

Red Applegate and Willis Applegate are the same person.

There are literally thousands of guys that you have mentioned. Yet you managed to mention several guys that were pretty good fighters, some even contenders and throw them in the same group as fighters that aren't anywhere near as good.
What a coincidence that you managed to name several fighters that fought Ali yet over looked all the tomato cans that Marciano fought.

My definition of a tomato-can is one of three things: Never could quite get over that next 'slump' more or less being a journeyman/club fighter... or a guy who was easily knocked out or bled all over the damned place...or was a guy with limited skills and ability but was tough and game.

I think the majority on this list fits that criteria.

Obviously many don't and people have pointed them out.

Btw, is anyone going to vote on these fights or what? We have a Tomato Can Champion to crown here

Given that so many of these guys aren't tomato cans, this tournament is pointless.

[dempseyfire]

Well here's how I see it:

Scott "The Fightin' Frenchman" LeDoux vs Randall "Tex" Cobb

Chuck "The Bayonne Bleeder" Wepner vs Joe "Indian Rubber Man" Grimm

Henry Cooper vs Tom McNeeley

Danny Wofford vs Reggie Strickland

Donnie Pendelton vs Johnny Davis

"Two Ton" Tony Galento vs Johnny Paycheck

Tami Mauriello vs Red Burman

Al McCoy vs Tony Musto

Jerry Evans vs Peter McNeeley

Gus Dorazio vs Jean Pierre Coopman

Jack Roper vs Marcus Rhode

Louis Monaco vs Don Steele

Scott Frank vs Alfredo Evangelista

Bobby Crabtree vs Kenneth Bentley

Eric "Butterbean" Esch vs Memphis Al Jones

Everett "Bigfoot" Martin vs Charles Atlas

Jerry "Wimpy" Halstead vs Ed "Too Tall" Jones

"Iron" Mike DiBiase vs Jim Cully

Ron Drinkwater vs Bruce "The Mouse" Strauss

"Neon" Leon Spinks vs Harry Funmaker

Brian Yates vs Brian Sargeant

Ron Draper vs Harvey McCullough

Mike "The Giant" White vs Henry Tillman

Claude "Humphrey" McBride vs Pete Riccitelli

Dan Kosmicki vs Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings


Those in bold "won" their fights; the hardest fight for me to decide was Jim Cully vs Mike DiBiase, though Cully won one and lost one (?) I think DiBiase lasting three rounds with Archie Moore puts him over the 7'4" acromegalic who looked rather sickly.

I'd agree with all those picks except Frank over Evangelista and Cobb over LeDoux.

[KOJOE90]

Henry Cooper was a good fighter, yes, but what is he best known for? Afterall, he is possibly pound for pound the king of the most god awful cuts in ring history.

Cooper only lost about four fights due to cuts and two of them were against Ali.

[HomicideHenry]

As I said before, my opinion of a tomato can is one of three ways:

Never could quite get over that next 'slump' more or less being a journeyman/club fighter... or a guy who was easily knocked out or bled all over the damned place...or was a guy with limited skills and ability but was tough and game.

I already done said Cooper was a good fighter, easily one of Britain's best HW's of all time, but he is most remembered for his paper thin, worn down skin and getting cut; much like Wepner was. Cooper probably shouldn't be on this list, that is true, but I added him solely for the wide possibility of him getting cut.

Ed "Too Tall" Jones was an NFL football player who had a "option year" on his contract, and he chose to pursue boxing, having some 6-9 fights, and failed miserably to impress despite all hype of a Holmes-Jones showdown shortly before his pro debut. Maybe I should have throw in Alonzo Highsmith and some other cross over competitors into this? Would that fall into better "approval" for you all?

As for Frank and Evangelista, I still stand firm. They were decent in a time of terrible contenders, but were nothing remotely special.

[BoxBuzz]

McCoy over Musto KO 8.

[HomicideHenry]

Thanks for voting BoxBuzz, though it was one fight out of the 25 fights that were mentioned.

[ringsider]

I didnt hear you complain about Ed Too Tall Jones....blah,blah,blah....

Well then let me complain. He stunk. Heck he got beat his very first fight as a pro on CBS sports specatular, and was given a gift. He was the worst.....