BoxRec

Has anyone here been able to locate any films or video tape of any of one time Heavyweight fighter
Jeff Merritt?He attracted a lot of attention in the early 1970's,because he was a tremendous puncher.
Even compared to George Foreman and Earnie Shavers as far as his punching power.
I had read that the Jeff Merritt-Ernie Terrell (along with Randy Neuman vrs Pedro Agosto) were the preliminary fights
on the second Muhammad Ali vrs Ken Norton fight card at MSG September.10.1973
The Ali/Norton fight was telecast closed circuit.
Has anyone seen video of Merritt-Terrell?
I had heard some years ago that video exists.

Jeff Merritt also fought on the undercard of the
Muhammad Ali vrs Jimmy Ellis fight on closed circuit.
July.26.1971 at the Houston Astro dome in Texas.
Jeff Merritt vrs Al Banks(KO2).
However I have not been able to find out if that fight was ever aired.
I think Terry Daniels vrs Manuel Ramos was aired on the closed circuit telecast.
(*according to a newspaper article from 1972,Chris Dundee offered the then number 2 ranked George Foreman
$50,000 dollars to fight Jeff Merritt on the Ali-Ellis under card,but reportly Foreman's camp declined.
Jeff Merritt later claimed that he only received $1,000 dollars to fight Al Banks,his biggest payday up till that point).

Jeff Merritt vrs Milton Torres(KO1) was on the same card as
Joe Frazier vrs Manuel Ramos,MSG June.24.1968.
However I doubt if Merritts fight was televised.
It was a scheduled 4 rounder and only his 4th professional fight.

I know one of the local Cleveland stations filmed his fight at the Cleveland Arena against Ron Stander, because I remember speaking to one of the camera men when he was setting up. He told me he was there to film so they could show highlights on the news. I don’t recall which station, but it was one of the major affiliates (NBC, ABC, CBS). It’s probably not likely that they would still have the footage, but you never know.

I have heard British poster Overhand Right looking for a sign of any film of "Candy Slim" since the early days of boxrec to no avail.

That and a copy of Whiterspoon-Jumbo Cummings. I am sure he'll drop by this thread soon.

I doubt if I'll have any luck, but I sent emails to the 3 local news departments to see if they have any footage of the Stander fight. Usually, the tapes used for things like that were re-used, but maybe I'll luck out.

The Great John L wrote:I know one of the local Cleveland stations filmed his fight at the Cleveland Arena against Ron Stander, because I remember speaking to one of the camera men when he was setting up. He told me he was there to film so they could show highlights on the news. I don’t recall which station, but it was one of the major affiliates (NBC, ABC, CBS). It’s probably not likely that they would still have the footage, but you never know.

Another avenue that may be possible would be to find out who were the local news sports casters for the Cleveland tv stations back then in ca. 1973.Perhaps one may have been a boxing fan and kept a copy of any local fights over the years for themselves.
They would know how valuable
any video-taped footage of fights not covered nationally may have been,especially if they collected fight films.

I also wonder if there may exist any footage of Jeff Merritt and Muhammad Ali sparring together?
Since they both trained at the Fifth Street Gym in Miami Beach under Angleo Dundee 1970-1971.
Jeff Merritt had been one of Ali's sparring partners in Houston TX when Ali was there preparing to fight Jimmy Ellis in July 1971.
But reportly Merritt missed several days of training claiming not to feel very well.

The Great John L wrote:I know one of the local Cleveland stations filmed his fight at the Cleveland Arena against Ron Stander, because I remember speaking to one of the camera men when he was setting up. He told me he was there to film so they could show highlights on the news. I don’t recall which station, but it was one of the major affiliates (NBC, ABC, CBS). It’s probably not likely that they would still have the footage, but you never know.

Wasnt Larry Holmes vrs Kevin Isaac on the same card at the Cleveland arena that evening?
Isaac knocked Holmes down and almost out in the second round,but Holmes regained his composure to tko Isaac in the third round(scheduled for six).
If you can find footage of that fight,it would be real valuable.
(another of Don King's fighters, lighthwy Ray Anderson vrs Jimmy Dupree(D 10)is listed as also on the fight card that evening.

Brutu wrote:

The Great John L wrote:I know one of the local Cleveland stations filmed his fight at the Cleveland Arena against Ron Stander, because I remember speaking to one of the camera men when he was setting up. He told me he was there to film so they could show highlights on the news. I don’t recall which station, but it was one of the major affiliates (NBC, ABC, CBS). It’s probably not likely that they would still have the footage, but you never know.

Wasnt Larry Holmes vrs Kevin Isaac on the same card at the Cleveland arena that evening?
Isaac knocked Holmes down and almost out in the second round,but Holmes regained his composure to tko Isaac in the third round(scheduled for six).
If you can find footage of that fight,it would be real valuable.
(another of Don King's fighters, lighthwy Ray Anderson vrs Jimmy Dupree(D 10)is listed as also on the fight card that evening.

Yep, I remember there was a lot of press about Holmes leading up to the card and then after he got decked all I could think was that he was just another over rated prospect. I was pretty young then.

I also thought that Merritt was going to be the next great HW. He certainly looked like it that night. He didn't just stop Stander, he decapitated him.

Although this probably wouldnt be the ideal Jeff Merritt fight to find video-tape of if located.
I was searching the dates and locations for any of Jeff Merritts fights and on which cards and compared them with known filmed/televised fights.
Jeff Merritt vrs Stan Ward August,.14.1976 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium,New York.
(Merritt was TKO'd in the third round)

That was on the same card as George Foreman vrs Scott LeDoux.
The Foreman-LeDoux fight was televised on CBS Sports Spectacular.
Was the Merritt-Ward fight also televised?
Perhaps taped earlier by the CBS television crew if not aired live?

According to boxrec,
Jeff Merritt fought Roger Russell on this particular fight card at MSG June.23.1969.
Merritt's fight preceeded this particular fight,

George Foreman-Don Waldheim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0nPsABxedA

and the main event of that evening was of course,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqGZIYpOF9M

Brutu wrote:Although this probably wouldnt be the ideal Jeff Merritt fight to find video-tape of if located.
I was searching the dates and locations for any of Jeff Merritts fights and on which cards and compared them with known filmed/televised fights.
Jeff Merritt vrs Stan Ward August,.14.1976 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium,New York.
(Merritt was knocked out in the first round)

That was on the same card as George Foreman vrs Scott LeDoux.
The Foreman-LeDoux fight was televised on CBS Sports Spectacular.
Was the Merritt-Ward fight also televised?
Perhaps taped earlier by the CBS television crew if not aired live?

I don't recall seeing the Ward fight, so I don't think it got televised. That result absolutely crushed me because I had Merritt pegged as the next great thing in the division. What the hell... I was young.

I've spoken with one local station (NBC affiliate) and they turned me over to John Carroll University. They told me thta all of their really old videos were turned over to the university archive. So far I haven't found anyone there that's been able to help.

With all business down sizing over the past few decades, it sure is hard to find people that know anything about something that happened a few decades back.

Brutu wrote:According to boxrec,
Jeff Merritt fought Roger Russell on this particular fight card at MSG June.23.1969.
Merritt's fight preceeded this particular fight,

George Foreman-Don Waldheim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0nPsABxedA

and the main event of that evening was of course,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqGZIYpOF9M

Some trivia regarding the June 1969 MSG,Frazier-Quarry NY State title fight.
It was shown closed circuit to about 150 theaters and arenas in the U.S.A and Canada.
Don Waldheim was the 1964 New York Golden Gloves champion.
Jerry's 18 year old brother Mike Quarry fought Ruben Fegueroa on same card(I dont know,but that may have been shown on the original closed circuit telecast).

Jeff Merritt vrs Henry Clark I(UD8))
was also on the same fight card as
George Foreman vrs Chuck Wepner,
which was the main event at MSG August.18.1969.
That was only Foreman's 4th pro fight,scheduled 8 rounder(TKO3)from a bad cut over Wepner's eye..
On same fight card was Forest Ward-Pedro Agosto(TKO1)
and Randy Nueman-Jeff Marx.
But since I have never heard of any video or film of Foreman-Wepner,I doubt if any of the first Merritt-Clark fight
is around either,but who knows?
maybe more then one person brought a super 8mm camera to that event.

bump

The Great John L wrote:

Brutu wrote:Although this probably wouldnt be the ideal Jeff Merritt fight to find video-tape of if located.
I was searching the dates and locations for any of Jeff Merritts fights and on which cards and compared them with known filmed/televised fights.
Jeff Merritt vrs Stan Ward August,.14.1976 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium,New York.
(Merritt was knocked out in the first round)

That was on the same card as George Foreman vrs Scott LeDoux.
The Foreman-LeDoux fight was televised on CBS Sports Spectacular.
Was the Merritt-Ward fight also televised?
Perhaps taped earlier by the CBS television crew if not aired live?

I don't recall seeing the Ward fight, so I don't think it got televised. That result absolutely crushed me because I had Merritt pegged as the next great thing in the division. What the hell... I was young.

I've spoken with one local station (NBC affiliate) and they turned me over to John Carroll University. They told me thta all of their really old videos were turned over to the university archive. So far I haven't found anyone there that's been able to help.

With all business down sizing over the past few decades, it sure is hard to find people that know anything about something that happened a few decades back.

Ward was a good fighter, a late starter with little amateur experience who had massive tree-trunk legs (he didn't look particularly big overall but weighed in the 230s without an ounce of fat on him) and who developed to be a sound counter-puncher with good handspeed. Was thrown to the wolves very early. In his first 12 fights, he fought 14-0 Johnny Boudreaux (in only his 3rd pro fight), Mac Foster, Jody Ballard, Mike Weaver, Jeff Merritt and Ron Lyle, only losing to Lyle in a fight which really could've gone either way. With better management and a little break from fighting such dangerous opponents all the time he would've gotten a deserved title shot.

As for film of Merritt, I wouldn't hold my breath. Guys have been on here searching for any lost film of him and the other big 70s feared HW Roy Tiger Williams for years. One thing I don't understand is who has the Tiger Williams-Larry Holmes film and why are they just sitting on it? I've heard of a few collectors having it but why are they being selfish? Do they hope to make big bucks before they croak by selling it? They can keep their master copy and let the fans see copies of their master. Seems kind of selfish to just sit on it and not even produce copie to put on youtube, the community interested in old fight films is fairly small.

Not only does there appear to be a lack of video or film of Merritt ,but there is also few photographs of him that I can recall.
Here is one photo of him from 1970(and article).

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dZ ... 1448142&dq

I think a good source to try and find out if there had been any film or video-tapes of any of his early fights would be to try and contact
any of his former managers.
Jules Freeman had been Jeff Merritt's manager in Florida in 1972,
his unofficial co-manager was his son Neil D.Freeman,who is still a businessman in South Florida .
I think Jules Freeman is in his nineties now,but perhaps someone here can contact Neil D. Freeman?
or his younger brother Paul Freeman to ask about any film/tape or even photographs of Jeff Merritt.

Here is a link to a newspaper article from THE MIAMI NEWS April.19.1972,
about the problems Jeff Merritt had had back then.
(you'll have to scroll a few pages to the left to see the beginning of the article).


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f7 ... 4226450&dq

Here is a link to an action photograph of Jeff Merritt(looks like Roy"tiger"Williams on the canvas?
plus check out the rest of the chapter on him.pp48-51.

http://books.google.com/books?id=sWYN6c ... pg=PA48&dq

Brutu wrote:Although this probably wouldnt be the ideal Jeff Merritt fight to find video-tape of if located.
I was searching the dates and locations for any of Jeff Merritts fights and on which cards and compared them with known filmed/televised fights.
Jeff Merritt vrs Stan Ward August,.14.1976 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium,New York.
(Merritt was knocked out in the first round)

That was on the same card as George Foreman vrs Scott LeDoux.
The Foreman-LeDoux fight was televised on CBS Sports Spectacular.
Was the Merritt-Ward fight also televised?
Perhaps taped earlier by the CBS television crew if not aired live?

Someone over at cyberzone in 2007 said that he(Stingerkarl) had on video-tape the Merritt vs Stan Ward fight,
which he said aired on CBS as a preliminary to the Foreman vs LeDoux fight.

Merritt was living in Cleveland Ohio in 1977-1978.

http://www.news.google.com/newspapers?i ... 3514200&dq

this is another yearly roundup question.
Any new info turn up this year as to whatever became of Jeff Merrit?

I met Jeff Merritt 6 years ago in Las Vegas. He was living there and said he was in financial difficulty. He also was in a wheelchair