BoxRec

..and let us not forget that defense light heavy champion battling siki made against mike mctigue in dublin..on st. patrick's day...and lost.

that fight is always referred to as one of the dumbest defenses ever made....the assumption being that of course mctigue would win the decision. i don't remember, though reading about the decision and if the it was a fair one. maybe it was. anyone here who can write about this one?

jaclem2 wrote:..and let us not forget that defense light heavy champion battling siki made against mike mctigue in dublin..on st. patrick's day...and lost.

that fight is always referred to as one of the dumbest defenses ever made....the assumption being that of course mctigue would win the decision. i don't remember, though reading about the decision and if the it was a fair one. maybe it was. anyone here who can write about this one?

McTigue used a very odd stance for this fight, standing sideways and leaning away strongly from the waist.

Siki was very strong and the aggressor at the start.

McTigue came on well at the end.

After Siki died (he was shot in the back walking down the street in New York City)

Westbrook Pegler wrote a viciously sarcastic column about how Siki had traveled all the way from the wilds of Africa to be shot in the back in the middle of 'civilization' in New York City.

I have the most complete film of that fight missing only a few rounds. Siki was robbed. McTigue did nothing until the final couple rounds and even then he wasnt greatly effective. McTigue was an awful excuse for a champion.

Mike McTigue fought a great, brave fight against Jack Sharkey.

Sharkey, with his excellent boxing ability, was the wrong opponent for lightheavyweights trying to move up into the heavyweight division.
The one advantage they might hope to have, that of better boxing ability than their stronger, heavier hitting, more rugged heavyweight opponents was negated when they met Sharkey because of his excellent boxing skills.

Jack Delaney and Tommy Loughran both found that out.

Jack Sharkey knocked out Loughran in three rounds.

Sharkey knocked out Jack Delaney in one round.

In contrast, Mike McTigue gave Sharkey a real fight. McTique's right hand shots were dangerous to the bigger Sharkey throughout, and Sharkey was unable to hurt McTigue like he did Loughran and Delaney in knocking them out.

The fight went into the twelth and final round, and had a doubtful ending where the referee stopped the fight with little time left because a bad cut suffered by the brave McTigue.

McTigue did himself proud in that fight.

McTigue's showing against the bigger Sharkey was light years superior to that of his fellow lightheavyweight champions Loughran and Delaney, who were both knocked out early by Sharkey.

..thanks for the replies.

granberry...i remember that peglar column. he was one nasty s.o.b..

1 fight out of 100 and suddenly McTigue is something more than a paper champ...

can't comment much on these two past fighters except that I know the story of Siki's demise and though by most accounts McTigue was a capable champion, I was left with the impression that Siki was the stronger fighter overall. I don't know not my Era of focus!

Klompton you've got some amount of fight footage by the sounds of it, and I understand you've got McAvoy vs Thil, can you put it on youtube...

do you put any of your collection on youtube?

Jim.

I dont put my collection on Youtube but wouldnt know how even if I did.

One more thing to add since Granberry seems perpetually confused: 1. The fight was not a twelve rounder, it was stopped in the 12th of fifteen rounds. 2. McTigue did not rely on his boxing ability, in fact he was applauded by the audience for going right after Sharkey and trying to score a KO (highly unusual for the generally timid/defensive McTigue. 3. The fight was not in question in when it was stopped. In fact McTigue shot his bolt in the first three rounds and after that Sharkey pulled ahead and was in control and ahead on points at the stoppage.

McTigue had a good showing hart to be sure. He also showed durability and his pluck won over the audience. But to pretend that he was somehow a better fighter than Loughran based on one fight is ridiculous. Lets not forget Loughran managed to beat Sharkey as well. He also beat McTigue several times both to a decision and newspaper decisions. Delaney beat McTigue head to head as well. I dont think there is any question, at least not in my mind, that both Loughran, and Delaney and whole host of lesser fighters that arent remembered from that era were better than McTigue.

klompton wrote:I dont put my collection on Youtube but wouldnt know how even if I did.

One more thing to add since Granberry seems perpetually confused: 1. The fight was not a twelve rounder, it was stopped in the 12th of fifteen rounds. 2. McTigue did not rely on his boxing ability, in fact he was applauded by the audience for going right after Sharkey and trying to score a KO (highly unusual for the generally timid/defensive McTigue. 3. The fight was not in question in when it was stopped. In fact McTigue shot his bolt in the first three rounds and after that Sharkey pulled ahead and was in control and ahead on points at the stoppage.

McTigue had a good showing hart to be sure. He also showed durability and his pluck won over the audience. But to pretend that he was somehow a better fighter than Loughran based on one fight is ridiculous. Lets not forget Loughran managed to beat Sharkey as well. He also beat McTigue several times both to a decision and newspaper decisions. Delaney beat McTigue head to head as well. I dont think there is any question, at least not in my mind, that both Loughran, and Delaney and whole host of lesser fighters that arent remembered from that era were better than McTigue.

An AP story I have in my files confirms what you wrote in your second paragraph (except the "perpetually confused" part - it doesn't say anything about Granberry). The article confirms that Sharkey gave McTigue a sound beating in the rounds following the third and had him in trouble during both the 10th and 11th rounds.

Those of us who know what boxing is

are not dependent on Associated Press hacks's writeups

when we can see films of such fights for ourselves.

Here is the boxrec quote on Loughran's later "win" over Sharkey:

After a "drab fight" one judge had it 7-4-4 for Loughran, the other 7-6-2 for Sharkey while the referee had it a draw (6-6-3) but, as the rules then allowed, gave his decision for Loughran.

Yes, which means Loughran beat Sharkey and McTigue didnt. What is your point?

klompton wrote:Yes, which means Loughran beat Sharkey and McTigue didnt. What is your point?

My point is that McTigue was a great fighter the night he took on the bigger Sharkey.
His right hand was a continuous danger to Sharkey, his boxing ability was excellent, and his guts and stamina were top level.

He was not KNOCKED OUT IN THE FIRST ROUND by Sharkey like Jack Delaney was.

He was not KNOCKED OUT IN THE THIRD ROUND by Sharkey like Tommy Loughran was.

That is my 'point.'

Klompton's only 'point' is to exhibit his raging emotional reactions.

So because he came out of his defensive shell and for three rounds gave Sharkey a good fight before finally getting stopped he was a great fighter? Wow, you set the bar low dont you? Or did you just read that in an old Dan Daniel article?

klompton wrote:So because he came out of his defensive shell and for three rounds gave Sharkey a good fight before finally getting stopped he was a great fighter? Wow, you set the bar low dont you? Or did you just read that in an old Dan Daniel article?

The fight was filmed.

Your description of it is false.

Your obvious bile against McTigue, who you never met, is peculiar, to say the least.

I know its filmed. I have the entire thing. McTigue gets beat. Its there for all to see.

klompton wrote:I know its filmed. I have the entire thing. McTigue gets beat. Its there for all to see.

One who knows what boxing is can see McTigue fought a great fight.

And he didn't GET KNOCKED OUT IN THE FIRST ROUND like Jack Delaney.

And he didn't GET KNOCKED OUT IN THE THIRD ROUND like Tommy Loughran.

Klompton's pathetic hatred for Mike McTigue can't change the fact that McTigue fought a great fight that night.

Live with it, Klompton.

He gave one brave performance and 50 or 60 that are absolutely putrid. Yet you choose define his career based on one performance and I dont know the sport?

klompton wrote:He gave one brave performance and 50 or 60 that are absolutely putrid. Yet you choose define his career based on one performance and I dont know the sport?

How about that.

Klompton saw Mike McTigue fight "50 or 60" times.

LOL

Klompton "chooses to define" himself by his posts here as one who has an irrational dislike of Mike McTigue.