BoxRec

Silkov, I would like to know how tall is Harry "Kid" Matthews standing in height and how good was this former heavyweight contender of the 1950s?

Mathews was a LIGHT-Heavy cum Heavyweight he was a very good boxer/fighter both 'technical' and 'rugged' he had an impressive record and he was comfortable and 'looked' like he belonged there no matter the opponent. His battles with Don Cockell at L-HW were good fights, showing how our own Cockell might have been World L-HW Champion if his health problems hadn't interferred with his weight!

Mathews just died last years I think.
Jim.

jimglen wrote:Mathews just died last years I think.

That's corrrect Matthews died on 11th March 2003 at the age of 80.

Matthews campaigned at both light heavyweight and heavyweight very successfully. He was undefeated for a streak of 8 years and 53 fights at one point before he was flattened by Marciano in 1951. Matthews was an excellent boxer-puncher type, a guy with a good jab, a murderous body puncher with a dangerous left hook, and good all-around fundamentals.

He was a ranked Middleweight before the war, after beating Al Hostak. He was a runner back then who relied on his jab to score points. It wasn't till Jack Hurley got his hands on him in 1949, that his style changed and he began to make noise at Light Heavyweight.

As for "Kid" Matthews, since he and I hail from the same state (Idaho) what a thrill it was for me to be near ringside at Portland on May 19, 1952 when he defeated Rex Layne of Utah. It was a double thrill as it was my 19th birthday and one of the stadium workers "comped" me when he met me wearing my Air Force uniform. By the way I had plugged in one or two of the Kid's Idaho fights in 1939 but now I notice some other guy has gotten credit for posting them. About the Portland fight--Matthews won despite the difference of 15 pounds in Layne's favor.