How good was Dave Pearce?

KOJOE90 · Post by **KOJOE90** » 04 May 2004, 16:17

Just came across this, did anyone ever see him fight?

Any info?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/boxing/articl ... 05,00.html

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 04 May 2004, 16:45

KOJOE90 wrote:Just came across this, did anyone ever see him fight?

Any info?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/boxing/articl ... 05,00.html

Give him a target, and he'd take your head off. But he struggled when opponents boxed him. He truly loved fighting and it killed him when they took his licence away.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 04 May 2004, 16:59

Pearce was a good puncher but would probably have done better as a Cruiserweight. He was trained by Paddy Monaghan, who is best known as being a great friend and supporter of Muhammad Ali and who in his book about his life and freindship with Ali 'The Sunshine in my life' says that Pearce went into the Rodriguez fight with a badly sprained right hand and did no sparring or padwork in training for the fight (his father didn't want to ask for a postponement).
Bennie do you know whether Davids death was linked to the brain abnormality which caused his license to be revoked?....

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 04 May 2004, 17:08

silkov wrote:Bennie do you know whether Davids death was linked to the brain abnormality which caused his license to be revoked?....

As far as I'm aware, Pearce killed himself.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 04 May 2004, 18:05

I'm sure I remember reading in Boxing News that Pearce died after a illness... very sad.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 04 May 2004, 18:14

silkov wrote:I'm sure I remember reading in Boxing News that Pearce died after a illness... very sad.

You're probably right, Silkov. I'm kind of associating him with Rudi Pika, who hung himself.
I still remember watching Pearce's massacre of Gorden Ferris at the Albert Hall.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 04 May 2004, 18:15

Makes you wonder whether sometimes it does more harm than good to ban fighters because of some medical discrepancy, especially when the person really lives for boxing.... I remember reading about the quirky American welterweight contender Gypsy Joe Harris who had his license taken away when it was discovered that he'd been blind in one eye since childhood.... after he was banned Harris sank into drug and alcohol addiction and died prematurely at about 50.....
Incidentially has anyone else here heard the stories that Joe Frazier fought most of his career while being near blind in his right eye..... I read this on one of the other forums a while back.... seems Frazier memorized the eye charts and that a close circle of people knew about this throughout his career......

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 04 May 2004, 18:19

I remember Rudi Pika.... he had a lot of talent I think...resembled Joe Bugner physically and style wise a bit.... I think he fell into the drugs trap if I remember correctly.... he was only about 23 or 24 I think when he killed himself.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 04 May 2004, 18:22

Neville Meade who Pearce beat for the British title was a tremendous puncher.... he was in a lot of exciting up and down wars in the 70s... I've read a lot about him in my 70s Boxing News papers..... anyone know what he's up to these days?....

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 04 May 2004, 18:23

Both Marvis and Joe have lost the sight in one eye, sadly.
I recall reading about Joe's eye problems in his autobiography but can't remember the exact details now. Think the problems may have started from the Foreman destruction in '73.

lamphey · Post by **lamphey** » 04 May 2004, 18:31

Can't remember the cause of death but he didn't take his own life.

Eddie Thomas really believed in the teenage Pearce and thought he was going to be a future star in the Heavyweight division.

Didn't Pearce make a short lived comeback in the States against Percell Davis in the early 90's? Davis (I think) was that big roly-poly heavyweight in dreadful towelling shorts who got blasted out by a young Herbie Hide.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 04 May 2004, 18:36

It's so sad that David really struggled to cope after his boxing career petered out. I remember there were a whole load of Pearces boxing pro in the late 70's and early 80's, and I've never read that any of his brothers struggled.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 04 May 2004, 18:47

I remember seeing David on the early morning breakfast Tv SHOW on ITV I think, talking about his campaign to get his license back... he was so determined to get it back it was heartbreaking to watch because you knew there was little chance of him succeeding... this was when he'd already been banned for about 6 or 7 years.
In 'The sunshine of my life' Paddy Monaghn says that Pearce was still in training and hoping to get his license back...this was in 1993 (when the book was written) ...he doesn't say anything about Pearce being ill.
David was banned due to a brain abnormailty that he had had since childhood.... so I've read.

lamphey · Post by **lamphey** » 04 May 2004, 18:49

bennie wrote:It's so sad that David really struggled to cope after his boxing career petered out. I remember there were a whole load of Pearces boxing pro in the late 70's and early 80's, and I've never read that any of his brothers struggled.

That's right, there were around 4 or 5 brothers fighting, though I can only remember Gary and Ray.

I think their dad was an old bare-knuckler or something so i guess it ran in the family.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 04 May 2004, 18:53

I met Dave in 1983 at The Lyceum in the Strand, when he was boxing - and winning - for the Steene brothers. He was a lovely guy to talk to. Little did he know his life was to slowly unravel.
"The long road down," Jerry Quarry once called it.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 04 May 2004, 19:03

He came across as a really good guy, I remember watching his fight with an American called Jack Johnson and David really handled him quite easily ...but after the fight he was full of praise for Johnson and kept trying to gee him up and was telling him 'you really gave me a good fight mate!' he was more concerned with how his opponent felt than in celebrating his victory.... I remember thinking at the time how refreashing his attitude was.... sadly I think it was one of Davids last fights before he lost his license. You'd think that Boxers in such a position that David was put in would be offered some help... both occupational and financial but also counceling too.... I think many boxers go through an emotional hell when they stop fighting..... it must be like seeing part of yourself die..... and these are still comparatively young men in just their 30s or often 20s still.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 05 May 2004, 09:45

silkov wrote:He came across as a really good guy, I remember watching his fight with an American called Jack Johnson and David really handled him quite easily ...but after the fight he was full of praise for Johnson and kept trying to gee him up and was telling him 'you really gave me a good fight mate!' he was more concerned with how his opponent felt than in celebrating his victory.... I remember thinking at the time how refreashing his attitude was.... sadly I think it was one of Davids last fights before he lost his license. You'd think that Boxers in such a position that David was put in would be offered some help... both occupational and financial but also counceling too.... I think many boxers go through an emotional hell when they stop fighting..... it must be like seeing part of yourself die..... and these are still comparatively young men in just their 30s or often 20s still.

Yes, McGuigan talks a lot of waffle but he's spot on when he says there ought to be counselling for retired boxers. Not only has their way of life gone, but their meaning in life too. That's what really kills them.

KOJOE90 · Post by **KOJOE90** » 05 May 2004, 10:42

silkov wrote: Incidentially has anyone else here heard the stories that Joe Frazier fought most of his career while being near blind in his right eye..... I read this on one of the other forums a while back.... seems Frazier memorized the eye charts and that a close circle of people knew about this throughout his career......

Joe talks about this in his autobiography, if I recall right he said he sometimes used a contact lence!!! During many of his fights.

KOJOE90 · Post by **KOJOE90** » 05 May 2004, 10:44

silkov wrote:Neville Meade who Pearce beat for the British title was a tremendous puncher.... he was in a lot of exciting up and down wars in the 70s... I've read a lot about him in my 70s Boxing News papers..... anyone know what he's up to these days?....

I heard on another forum that Meade is coaching young amatuers in his local town, somewhere in Wales.

Don't know if anyone can confirm this?

KOJOE90 · Post by **KOJOE90** » 05 May 2004, 10:53

lamphey wrote:Didn't Pearce make a short lived comeback in the States against Percell Davis in the early 90's? Davis (I think) was that big roly-poly heavyweight in dreadful towelling shorts who got blasted out by a young Herbie Hide.

That's right Percell Davis knocked Pearce out in Pearces last fight in the USA, very sad. There was also talk of Pearce fighting Leon Spinks around that time.

Also there was whispers of Dave Pearce being offered money to fight on a UK unlicensed show against the also late Lenny 'The guvnur' McLean. I 'think' Reg Parker was going to promote it but I'm not too sure.

Another bizzare thing I remember seeing an old copy of The Ring when Percell 'Magic' Davis was about 9-0 and being mentioned as a bit of a prospect!!!

lukep · Post by **lukep** » 20 Feb 2017, 21:15

David fought Davis, after travelling to America via the Alantic Ocean and then a greyhound from Seattle to Ohio - his management were given money to fly and meet his training camp in Chicago 6 weeks before. It took David 5 weeks to arrive at the fight location - he never saw no money (Mr Alan Athay told me this as he had sponsored David) he was disgusted the way Pearce was treated, David looked a shadow of his former self and still won admirers for his bravery and toughness ..!! But giving away 5 st and not having a training camp was a recipe for disaster. (The RSF after Pearce, was too stubborn to go down or give in)

He would have been adored today in the Cruiserweight division, he was loved by the people and one of the most genuine men you could ever wish to meet.

He did beat John Tate, and Mary Konate, in 1994 in 1 round and 3 round KO's respectively in bouts in Beconsfield California, both bouts were unsanctioned - John Francis reported on this.

There is a statue being sculptured this year of the former heavyweight Champion of Great Britain.

How good was Dave Pearce?

How good was Dave Pearce?

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