Footage of Kid Chocolate, vs. Fidel LaBarba & Bat Battalino
Posted: 19 Apr 2009, 00:16
Here is footage of two fights with Kid Chocolate from 1930, against fellow HOFers Fidel LaBarba and Battling Battalino.
vs. LaBarba:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEh3IBo_RIg
vs. Battalino:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rZcIJrvyBY
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijAecF4aPCQ
At this time, Chocolate was one of the most heavily hyped fighters in history. Almost from the moment he stepped off the boat from Cuba, he was labeled as a surefire champion in the making. He was reportedly unbeaten in his first 160 fights, combined amateur and pro. His people thought so highly of him that only a couple of years into his pro career, they put him in with jr. welterweight champ Jackie Berg, who outweighed him by roughly ten pounds. Berg managed to use his size, strength, and bodypunching to hustle his way to a close split decision win. Nevertheless, Chocolate still figured to be a "lock" to win the feathweight title very shortly. However, he encountered unexpected opposition in these two fights, which also appeared to expose some of his limitations.
LaBarba had unified the flyweight title several years earlier, but vacated it to attend university for a year. He returned as a bantamweight, then moved up to featherweight, where he quickly reestablished himself as a top tier competitor. He was renown for his toughness and all-around speed and defensive skill. He had previously lost a very close decision to Chocolate in one of Chocolate's early fights in America, but this time he turned the tables on him. Perhaps inspired by Berg's successful pressure strategy, LaBarba fought much more aggressively than usual, mugged and wrestled Chocolate on the inside, and shut him down to win a clear decision. Chocolate seemed to have no answers for his surprising strategy.
Despite the upset loss to LaBarba, Chocolate's stock was still high enough to earn him a title shot that same year against Battling Battalino. Battalino was a very underrated/unappreciated champion in his time, and most experts made Chocolate the favorite to beat him. But Battalino, following in the footsteps of Berg and LaBarba, took the fight to Chocolate and hustled him non-stop at close quarters, never allowing him to make use of his classy boxing skills. Chocolate wailed away with rapid-fire combinations throughout, but Battalino was not fazed by anything he did, and kept ploughing forward and bombing away. His aggression and harder punching earned him a very close decision.
Chocolate would eventually win a title - two, in fact - but like other promising talents like Meldrick Taylor, John Conteh, or Wilfred Benitez, it seemed that what success he had somehow still fell short of his potential. He did lose a hotly debated decision to Tony Canzoneri in 1931, which would've given him a third title had he gotten the win; but after being shockingly KO'd in the rematch just two years later, his career went sharply downhill. He was KO'd again by Frankie Klick right after that, which cost him whatever title claims he still had, and he spent the remainder of his career fighting in relative obscurity against clubfighters.
As for LaBarba, that second world title would forever elude him. He would get a shot at Battalino's title right after Chocolate, and was heavily favored to win, but Battalino surprised his critics once again by hustling his way to a clear decision win. Later, LaBarba fought a rubber match with Chocolate, but suffered a detached retina in training. He went through with the fight anyway, and amazingly made it very close, losing what many people thought was a very questionable split decision. He retired not long after, and later lost the eye. However, he returned to university and got his degree in journalism.
Battalino continued to be a very formidable champion, and won several other defenses against top contenders, including one against future longtime champion and HOFer Freddie Miller. Then he forever marred his reputation by attempting to throw his title in a rematch with Miller. (Battalino was planning to move up in weight and vacate the title anyway, so he and his manager bought Miller's contract and figured to cash in by "giving" him the title.) The attempt was foiled when the referee caught on to the fix and disqualified both fighters, making it a no-contest. Battalino then moved up to lightweight to campaign for a title shot at Canzoneri, but he was foiled by perennial contender Billy Petrolle, losing two hard-fought battles to him. Although he remained a contender for some time, he never positioned himself for a title shot again, and he eventually retired in 1940.
vs. LaBarba:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEh3IBo_RIg
vs. Battalino:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rZcIJrvyBY
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijAecF4aPCQ
At this time, Chocolate was one of the most heavily hyped fighters in history. Almost from the moment he stepped off the boat from Cuba, he was labeled as a surefire champion in the making. He was reportedly unbeaten in his first 160 fights, combined amateur and pro. His people thought so highly of him that only a couple of years into his pro career, they put him in with jr. welterweight champ Jackie Berg, who outweighed him by roughly ten pounds. Berg managed to use his size, strength, and bodypunching to hustle his way to a close split decision win. Nevertheless, Chocolate still figured to be a "lock" to win the feathweight title very shortly. However, he encountered unexpected opposition in these two fights, which also appeared to expose some of his limitations.
LaBarba had unified the flyweight title several years earlier, but vacated it to attend university for a year. He returned as a bantamweight, then moved up to featherweight, where he quickly reestablished himself as a top tier competitor. He was renown for his toughness and all-around speed and defensive skill. He had previously lost a very close decision to Chocolate in one of Chocolate's early fights in America, but this time he turned the tables on him. Perhaps inspired by Berg's successful pressure strategy, LaBarba fought much more aggressively than usual, mugged and wrestled Chocolate on the inside, and shut him down to win a clear decision. Chocolate seemed to have no answers for his surprising strategy.
Despite the upset loss to LaBarba, Chocolate's stock was still high enough to earn him a title shot that same year against Battling Battalino. Battalino was a very underrated/unappreciated champion in his time, and most experts made Chocolate the favorite to beat him. But Battalino, following in the footsteps of Berg and LaBarba, took the fight to Chocolate and hustled him non-stop at close quarters, never allowing him to make use of his classy boxing skills. Chocolate wailed away with rapid-fire combinations throughout, but Battalino was not fazed by anything he did, and kept ploughing forward and bombing away. His aggression and harder punching earned him a very close decision.
Chocolate would eventually win a title - two, in fact - but like other promising talents like Meldrick Taylor, John Conteh, or Wilfred Benitez, it seemed that what success he had somehow still fell short of his potential. He did lose a hotly debated decision to Tony Canzoneri in 1931, which would've given him a third title had he gotten the win; but after being shockingly KO'd in the rematch just two years later, his career went sharply downhill. He was KO'd again by Frankie Klick right after that, which cost him whatever title claims he still had, and he spent the remainder of his career fighting in relative obscurity against clubfighters.
As for LaBarba, that second world title would forever elude him. He would get a shot at Battalino's title right after Chocolate, and was heavily favored to win, but Battalino surprised his critics once again by hustling his way to a clear decision win. Later, LaBarba fought a rubber match with Chocolate, but suffered a detached retina in training. He went through with the fight anyway, and amazingly made it very close, losing what many people thought was a very questionable split decision. He retired not long after, and later lost the eye. However, he returned to university and got his degree in journalism.
Battalino continued to be a very formidable champion, and won several other defenses against top contenders, including one against future longtime champion and HOFer Freddie Miller. Then he forever marred his reputation by attempting to throw his title in a rematch with Miller. (Battalino was planning to move up in weight and vacate the title anyway, so he and his manager bought Miller's contract and figured to cash in by "giving" him the title.) The attempt was foiled when the referee caught on to the fix and disqualified both fighters, making it a no-contest. Battalino then moved up to lightweight to campaign for a title shot at Canzoneri, but he was foiled by perennial contender Billy Petrolle, losing two hard-fought battles to him. Although he remained a contender for some time, he never positioned himself for a title shot again, and he eventually retired in 1940.