BoxRec

Carlos Monzon vs. Tony Mundine - October 5th 1974

http://www.boxing.com/carlos_monzon_vs_ ... ndine.html



On October 5, 1974 at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina, middleweight champion Carlos Monzon, aka Escopeta, from San Javier, Santa Fe, Argentina, defended his WBA middleweight crown against Tony Mundine, from Sydney, Australia. Monzon was 83-3-9 going in. Escopeta had fought the best of the best, but Mundine, as his 47-3-1 record indicates, was no slouch. But the Aussie had never fought a fighter the caliber of Monzon, and would never fight a fighter of that caliber again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2&v=nedmpE8Piq8

Brute wrote:

Grant wrote:Reading about Dave Sands in theain ro gote thinking. Who was the best Aussie fighter NOT to win a world title?
Hector Thompson for me I think. Interested in other opinions though.

Dave Sands did beat Bobo Olsen twice. Olsen went on to be World Middleweight Champion after Sugar Ray Robinson's first retirement and said Sands should have won the title. Unfortunately Sands had been killed in a traffic accident.

Many old timers reckoned the only reason Jack Carroll never became World Welterweight Champion was that none of the champions of his time were silly enough to fight him.

Jack Carroll would have had to travel to the United States to get a world welterweight title shot during the 1930s. A world champion was not likely to make a very long trip to Australia unless he received a huge guarantee at the time. It appears that the 1930s Australian gate receipts weren't large enough to make a guarantee offer worthwhile to promoters. According to his record, Carroll never fought outside of Australia.

- Chuck Johnston

According to a boxing column in March 27, 1947 edition of the Telegraph (Brisbane, Queensland), Jimmy Starr, a one-time Melbourne light-heavyweight, passed away recently due to a heart ailment at the age of 35 (?, the print was almost illegible). Starr had been a prisoner-of-war in a Japanese P.O.W. camp for more than three years during World War II.

- Chuck Johnston

A guy at work recently mentioned Barry being bashed (with one K Ellis also being a perpetrator that night) due to not following the script and taking a dive as he was allegedly supposed to. The idea of Michael even being involved in discussions regarding taking a dive, still seems absurd

Chuck1052 wrote:

Brute wrote:

Grant wrote:Reading about Dave Sands in theain ro gote thinking. Who was the best Aussie fighter NOT to win a world title?
Hector Thompson for me I think. Interested in other opinions though.

Dave Sands did beat Bobo Olsen twice. Olsen went on to be World Middleweight Champion after Sugar Ray Robinson's first retirement and said Sands should have won the title. Unfortunately Sands had been killed in a traffic accident.

Many old timers reckoned the only reason Jack Carroll never became World Welterweight Champion was that none of the champions of his time were silly enough to fight him.

Jack Carroll would have had to travel to the United States to get a world welterweight title shot during the 1930s. A world champion was not likely to make a very long trip to Australia unless he received a huge guarantee at the time. It appears that the 1930s Australian gate receipts weren't large enough to make a guarantee offer worthwhile to promoters. According to his record, Carroll never fought outside of Australia.

- Chuck Johnston

Carroll had no desire to travel... which is easy to understand in some ways.... it was hardly just a 16 hour flight. Apparently Ross was willing to come to Australia, he demanded a certain sum of money before he even left US shores, which Carroll's manager promised but ultimately couldnt deliver and the deal fell through.

It was a very long voyage by ship between the mainland of the United States and Australia during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. After World War I as the legal restrictions on boxing were giving way in the United States, top American fighters with lots of drawing card power generally fought in the U.S. because there was an incredible boxing boom there at the time, especially during the 1920s. Also keep in mind that the U.S. population was about twenty times as large as that of Australia, which the latter couldn't possibly come close to having as much boxing activity as the former. In other words, top American fighters was likely to have more difficulty lining up bouts in Australia than in the U.S. during the 1920s and 1930s.

I noticed that a gate of two thousand pounds was regarded as a good one in Australia during the 1920s and 1930s. Two thousand Australian pounds was the equivalent of about ten thousand American dollars during that period. When a gate of more than one hundred thousand dollars for a boxing show was fairly common in the United States during the period from 1919 to 1941, it generally was more lucrative for top American fighters to have bouts in the U.S. than in Australia during that period of time.

- Chuck Johnston

Jack Carroll, one of the best Australian boxers of his day, compiled a fine record while active during the 1920s and 1930s. He apparently didn't want to fight outside of Australia, which was a reason why he didn't get a world welterweight title shot. In addition, it would have been interesting to see how he would have fared against the best fighters of his weight, notably Henry Armstrong, Barney Ross and Jimmy McLarnin. The fact that Carroll didn't face the very best fighters during his career makes it very difficult to rate him. As an American, I myself did not know about him until I started reading old editions of Australian newspapers which are found on the Trove website within the last month or two.

Why did Carroll retire as a professional boxer during 1938? After all, he seemed to have plenty left in the tank when he beat Jimmy Leto, a tough American fighter, in his last two bouts.

- Chuck Johnston

A bit about Jack

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hardwic ... rnest-6560

bollox wrote:A bit about Jack

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hardwic ... rnest-6560

Thanks for the link to Jack Carroll's biography. In regards to a possible trip by Carroll to fight top welterweights in the United States during the 1930s, it would have been a risky financial move for him, especially if a world title bout wasn't in the works. At the time, professional boxing took a tremendous hit in the United States due to the Great Depression. As a result, the total gate receipts for professional boxing shows decreased dramatically in the United States during the 1930s.

If Carroll retired with a substantial nest egg and a home, that is great. While Carroll may have retired as a professional boxer while having plenty left in the tank, it is better to do that than retire too late.

- Chuck Johnston

Brute wrote:

bobmac wrote:Hi, this is my first entry.
Great to see so much written about great Oz boxers of the past. The mention of Ron Richards brings back memories. In 1946-47 my Dad was Overseer on Foleyvale Aboriginal Settlement, he having established it out of virgin bush. He stayed on after floods (Mum and kids moved to Yeppoon) and Ron Richards was living at Woorabinda. Dad was asked if he would mind if Ron came to live with him for awhile until Ron was rehabilitated. Ron was down on his luck at the time. Dad welcomed the opportunity as he was a great boxing fan. Ron was around 34 at the time and Dad found him to be great company. Many a conversation they had about the boxing game. Dad asked Ron who was his hardest opponent and Ron said Fred Henneberry without a doubt. He said when Fred came out of his corner he seemed ready to kill you. Their many wild fights certainly attest to that. Ron said that Ambrose Palmer was a great fighter and very clever. Ron was never able to beat Palmer in their 4 bouts.
Ron went from there to Palm Island where he lived out his remaining years. Dad could not speak highly enough of him.
We moved to Brisbane in 1948 and there I had a wonderful time watching fights at the old Brisbane Stadium but I'll talk about that another time.

Ron Richards was living in the Sydney suburb of Dulwich Hill when he died in 1967. I read a story about him in one of the afternoon papers not long before that. From memory he moved back to Sydney to help out a young relative. Spent far too much times in pubs though.

Ron Richards was a virtuoso of the sweet science when he was at his best. The year was 1938 and Richards had piled up some substantial wins in the prize ring. Visiting fighters such as Atilio Sabatino and Ray Actis saw the best of Richards that year, as did Claude Nichol, a man who outweighed Ron by more than twenty pounds, but it was his dismantling of future light heavyweight champion and hall of famer Gus Lesnevich that impressed most.

Richards was superb in defeating a man of Lesnevich’s class, and the savagery of his fists was none more apparent than in the third round of the bout. Sydney’s leading boxing publication of the time, The Referee, detailed the ferocity and speed with which the Australian delivered the blows that led to Lesnevich’s trip to the canvas......article continues.........http://www.boxing.com/ron_richards_what ... _been.html?

Great article.

I watched a few of those clips it links to; what a powerful uppercut Richards often threw.

Tinnie wrote:Ambrose Palmer Boxing drills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlHjnp19yS0

Boxing trainer Ambrose Palmer’s system of fighting - “The Method”

http://www.insidesport.com.au/features/the-method/

Ambrose Palmer’s unique one-handed technique set tongues wagging and helped legendary Australian Johnny Famechon to world championship glory.Boxing trainer Ambrose Palmer’s system of fighting was dubbed “The Method” by Johnny Famechon’s biographer, Frank Quill, who collaborated with “Fammo” on a book about this amazingly effective boxing style. Palmer himself had been an elusive and solid-punching fighter; a world-rated light-heavyweight. He’d also played Australian rules football for Footscray and won several professional sprints. He was a gentleman sportsman, and a thinker.Famechon, born of great French boxing stock, was a skinny kid when he first entered Palmer’s gym, but, conscious of the tradition in his blood, he was a keen learner. So faithful was Famechon to Palmer’s ways that when he took up dancing lessons to impress the girls, he couldn’t bust a move. Ambrose had taught him to dance, and it was the only dance that mattered.Anyone who saw “Fammo” had never seen anything like him. We’ve never seen his like since. He beat the seemingly unbeatable Jose Legra for the world featherweight title in 1969, and lost it, controversially, in 1970 to the undefeated, comebacking ex-champion Vicente Saldivar.

As a trainer, Palmer’s method was based on a non-negotiable bottom line. To “hit and not be hit” was, to Palmer, the entire point of boxing. The style he developed was based on the left jab, which was to be fast, relentless, accurate, always in the face and body of onrushing opponents and endlessly piling up points. That jab was often conveyed with an unconventional upright fist for machine gun delivery. Lateral movement, founded on leg stamina and hip and waist strength, was to be swift, its choreography practised endlessly in the gym.Palmer would use a frame to keep his fighters’ feet together as they lay on their backs doing leg raises and rotations, strengthening their midriffs – vital for the twists and low ducking evasions of Palmer’s way. Famechon would duck so low he could sniff the canvas, and perform this manoeuvre in the same time it would take for another fighter to slip a punch with a small head movement.The right hand (for an orthodox fighter) was considered a high-risk punch by Ambrose – a last resort. Throughout the duration of a fight, that glove was be glued to the chin, and rather than closed into a fist, it was to be open, the last line of defence if an opponent happened to catch The Method’s mercurial exponent.

At times, Palmer’s fighters would spar with the right hand fixed in this position – via a tie he’d slip over their heads and around their wrist – and rendered useless as an attacking weapon. But the left would become so deft and nuanced, one could imagine Famechon picking a lock wearing eight-ounce boxing gloves in the same instant it took him to throw one of those jabs. According to Fammo, Palmer’s gruelling gym workouts were characterised by “speed and more speed”. Fammo was an all-action fighter, his elusive style something other fighters could only aspire to.

The Method was based on scoring, and if Fammo wasn’t striking, he was waiting for them to strike so he could counter.That right glove, always open, always stuck to the left jaw, was the most unusual thing about the style. Of course, it had its pay-off. In his last few fights, it was felt Fammo’s seldom-thrown right shocked opponents, but he never threw it enough.Fammo was an almost hyperactive practitioner who never stopped moving and never once abandoned his method, even when in trouble. Palmer made his fighters fit enough to carry out his technique under any conditions.

In fact, Famechon demonstrated a very important sporting principle: no matter what technique you choose, master it in all circumstances, and if you conquer your own system, you’ll be well-nigh unconquerable. Fammo’s victory over Legra was a triumph of technique over dash. In his first fight against Fighting Harada, Fammo was dropped brutally. His head hit the canvas hard. He broke his ankle. Yet, when he staggered to his feet, his main concern was not to survive, but to resume his technique as quickly as possible. Immediately he had Harada chasing him. Fammo’s head cleared, and he won.In 1976, Rocky Mattioli became world light-middleweight champ long after he’d left Ambrose to take up residence in Italy. Today, the “Rock” realises that the tight defence he carried throughout his career (even with his “slugger” reputation), the ability to throw a winning left jab and the desire to prevail with superior technique were all Ambrose’s doing. “He was”, the Rock growls now in his Milanese accent, “the man who made me a world champion.”

Many used Palmer’s way to win Australian, Commonwealth and world championships: Australia’s Jack Johnson, Max Carlos, Foster Bibron, Paul Ferreri, Mattioli. But Famechon became the exemplar of The Method. He retired unmarked, the only world featherweight champ to retire without the blemish of a knockout or stoppage loss on his record.

'Big' Jim West has passed away.

Former Commonwealth flyweight champion Big Jim West passed away in Sydney, aged 61. Big Jim made his professional debut in February 1971, defeating Billy Pearce over 4 rounds. In March 1974 Big Jim stopped Henry Nissen in four rounds to capture the Commonwealth flyweight crown.

Big Jim would clash with the best Australian flyweights, bantamweights, featherweights and lightweights of his time - including Paul Ferreri, Brian Roberts, Wayne Wallace, Steve Gossen, Larry Valesini, Billy Moeller, Billy Mulholland, Mat Ropis, Blakeney Mathews, Andy Broome and future IBF super featherweight champion Barry Michael.

He hung up the gloves in 1983.

Big Jim West will be sadly missed.

RIP Champ.

Grantlee Kieza has named his list of top performances by Australian boxers and I think it's worth sharing here >>>


Lionel Rose vs Fighting Harada (Feb 27, 1968): Won on points, 15 rounds, Budokan Hall, Tokyo.

Jimmy Carruthers vs Vic Toweel (Nov 15, 1952): Won KO1, Rand Stadium, Johannesburg.

Kostya Tszyu vs Zab Judah (Nov 3, 2001): Won TKO2, MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

Jeff Harding vs Dennis Andries (Jun 24, 1989): Won TKO12 , Convention Centre, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Danny Green vs Roy Jones Jnr, (Dec 2, 2009): Won TKO1, Acer Arena, Sydney.

Johnny Famechon vs José Legrá (Jan 21, 1969): Won on points over 15 rounds, Royal Albert Hall, London.

Jeff Fenech vs Azumah Nelson (Jun 28, 1991): Draw over 12 rounds, Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.

Sam Soliman vs Felix Sturm (May 31, 2014): Won on points over 12 rounds, König Palast, Krefeld, Germany.

Daniel Geale vs Felix Sturm (Sep 1, 2002): Won on points over 12 rounds, König-Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany.

Ron Richards vs Gus Lesnevich (Oct 27, 1938): Won on points over 15 rounds, Sydney Sports Ground.

Dave Sands vs Carl “Bobo” Olson (Mar 20, 1950): Won on points over 12 rounds, Sydney Stadium.

Redback Rasta wrote:Grantlee Kieza has named his list of top performances by Australian boxers and I think it's worth sharing here >>>


Lionel Rose vs Fighting Harada (Feb 27, 1968): Won on points, 15 rounds, Budokan Hall, Tokyo.

Jimmy Carruthers vs Vic Toweel (Nov 15, 1952): Won KO1, Rand Stadium, Johannesburg.

Kostya Tszyu vs Zab Judah (Nov 3, 2001): Won TKO2, MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

Jeff Harding vs Dennis Andries (Jun 24, 1989): Won TKO12 , Convention Centre, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Danny Green vs Roy Jones Jnr, (Dec 2, 2009): Won TKO1, Acer Arena, Sydney.

Johnny Famechon vs José Legrá (Jan 21, 1969): Won on points over 15 rounds, Royal Albert Hall, London.

Jeff Fenech vs Azumah Nelson (Jun 28, 1991): Draw over 12 rounds, Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.

Sam Soliman vs Felix Sturm (May 31, 2014): Won on points over 12 rounds, König Palast, Krefeld, Germany.

Daniel Geale vs Felix Sturm (Sep 1, 2002): Won on points over 12 rounds, König-Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany.

Ron Richards vs Gus Lesnevich (Oct 27, 1938): Won on points over 15 rounds, Sydney Sports Ground.

Dave Sands vs Carl “Bobo” Olson (Mar 20, 1950): Won on points over 12 rounds, Sydney Stadium.

Christ, doesn't Kieza have a thing for Green! I wouldn't even have KT vs Judah as a "top" performance. Let alone Green vs RJJ. Yes, they were big wins, but 3 rounds between them...

Lairdy wrote:

Redback Rasta wrote:Grantlee Kieza has named his list of top performances by Australian boxers and I think it's worth sharing here >>>


Lionel Rose vs Fighting Harada (Feb 27, 1968): Won on points, 15 rounds, Budokan Hall, Tokyo.

Jimmy Carruthers vs Vic Toweel (Nov 15, 1952): Won KO1, Rand Stadium, Johannesburg.

Kostya Tszyu vs Zab Judah (Nov 3, 2001): Won TKO2, MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

Jeff Harding vs Dennis Andries (Jun 24, 1989): Won TKO12 , Convention Centre, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Danny Green vs Roy Jones Jnr, (Dec 2, 2009): Won TKO1, Acer Arena, Sydney.

Johnny Famechon vs José Legrá (Jan 21, 1969): Won on points over 15 rounds, Royal Albert Hall, London.

Jeff Fenech vs Azumah Nelson (Jun 28, 1991): Draw over 12 rounds, Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.

Sam Soliman vs Felix Sturm (May 31, 2014): Won on points over 12 rounds, König Palast, Krefeld, Germany.

Daniel Geale vs Felix Sturm (Sep 1, 2002): Won on points over 12 rounds, König-Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany.

Ron Richards vs Gus Lesnevich (Oct 27, 1938): Won on points over 15 rounds, Sydney Sports Ground.

Dave Sands vs Carl “Bobo” Olson (Mar 20, 1950): Won on points over 12 rounds, Sydney Stadium.

Christ, doesn't Kieza have a thing for Green! I wouldn't even have KT vs Judah as a "top" performance. Let alone Green vs RJJ. Yes, they were big wins, but 3 rounds between them...

There no more comprehensive a way of winning than stopping your opponent.

By stopping the undefeated Zab Judah on Judah's home turf in the US, Kostya unified WBC, WBA and IBF titles. Truly a significant win by any measure.

Redback Rasta wrote:

Lairdy wrote:

Redback Rasta wrote:Grantlee Kieza has named his list of top performances by Australian boxers and I think it's worth sharing here >>>


Lionel Rose vs Fighting Harada (Feb 27, 1968): Won on points, 15 rounds, Budokan Hall, Tokyo.

Jimmy Carruthers vs Vic Toweel (Nov 15, 1952): Won KO1, Rand Stadium, Johannesburg.

Kostya Tszyu vs Zab Judah (Nov 3, 2001): Won TKO2, MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

Jeff Harding vs Dennis Andries (Jun 24, 1989): Won TKO12 , Convention Centre, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Danny Green vs Roy Jones Jnr, (Dec 2, 2009): Won TKO1, Acer Arena, Sydney.

Johnny Famechon vs José Legrá (Jan 21, 1969): Won on points over 15 rounds, Royal Albert Hall, London.

Jeff Fenech vs Azumah Nelson (Jun 28, 1991): Draw over 12 rounds, Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.

Sam Soliman vs Felix Sturm (May 31, 2014): Won on points over 12 rounds, König Palast, Krefeld, Germany.

Daniel Geale vs Felix Sturm (Sep 1, 2002): Won on points over 12 rounds, König-Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany.

Ron Richards vs Gus Lesnevich (Oct 27, 1938): Won on points over 15 rounds, Sydney Sports Ground.

Dave Sands vs Carl “Bobo” Olson (Mar 20, 1950): Won on points over 12 rounds, Sydney Stadium.

Christ, doesn't Kieza have a thing for Green! I wouldn't even have KT vs Judah as a "top" performance. Let alone Green vs RJJ. Yes, they were big wins, but 3 rounds between them...

There no more comprehensive a way of winning than stopping your opponent.

By stopping the undefeated Zab Judah on Judah's home turf in the US, Kostya unified WBC, WBA and IBF titles. Truly a significant win by any measure.

No doubt it was a huge victory for KT. He was the underdog and that KO will always put a smile on my face. It just ended too early for me to put it in my "top performances" catergory. Each to their own. Regardless, it was awesome, just like KT was.

Lairdy wrote:

Redback Rasta wrote:

Lairdy wrote: Christ, doesn't Kieza have a thing for Green! I wouldn't even have KT vs Judah as a "top" performance. Let alone Green vs RJJ. Yes, they were big wins, but 3 rounds between them...

There no more comprehensive a way of winning than stopping your opponent.

By stopping the undefeated Zab Judah on Judah's home turf in the US, Kostya unified WBC, WBA and IBF titles. Truly a significant win by any measure.

No doubt it was a huge victory for KT. He was the underdog and that KO will always put a smile on my face. It just ended too early for me to put it in my "top performances" catergory. Each to their own. Regardless, it was awesome, just like KT was.

Kostya's win ticked all the boxes for me and most others, and I'm sure that's why Kieza has included it.

The inclusion of the Roy Jones / Danny Green bout over Johnny Famechon's 14th round KO of Fighting Harda in Tokyo on 6th January 1970 is a bit suss!

Kieza probably doesn't to have any of our boxers doubling up in his list.

Beltane wrote:The inclusion of the Roy Jones / Danny Green bout over Johnny Famechon's 14th round KO of Fighting Harda in Tokyo on 6th January 1970 is a bit suss!

Kieza probably doesn't to have any of our boxers doubling up in his list.

I wondered about the no doubling up thing too. As multiple wins by Lionel, Fammo, Kostya and perhaps Fenech would have been pushing for inclusion.

Troy Waters not doing too well apparently.



I'm sure everyone's thoughts are with Troy and his family.

Fight on Troy

Like a Boss wrote:

Tinnie wrote:Ambrose Palmer Boxing drills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlHjnp19yS0

Boxing trainer Ambrose Palmer’s system of fighting - “The Method”

http://www.insidesport.com.au/features/the-method/

Thank you sir i enjoyed that read

Tinnie wrote:

Like a Boss wrote:

Tinnie wrote:Ambrose Palmer Boxing drills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlHjnp19yS0

Boxing trainer Ambrose Palmer’s system of fighting - “The Method”

http://www.insidesport.com.au/features/the-method/

Thank you sir i enjoyed that read

An Australian fighter named Spike Simpkins was convicted of murder and sentenced to death ca. 1940. Simpkins got a reprieve, but I can't find when and where he passed away.

- Chuck Johnston

Horrible case by all accounts. Seems Simpkins may have been stitched up for it too, which is very unfortunate if true.

His death has been registered https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/li ... h/result?5

His mother and father are both buried in Kurri Kurri Cemetary along with a couple of other Simpkins that could very likely be siblings.

No sign of Spike though. He was a busy bugger though to rack up nearly 120 fights before he was 25.