BoxRec

Joe Walcott, the Barbados Demon, blew off his right thumb in a gun accident

and then tried to continue to fight even though he couldn't make a fist with his right hand.

A boiler explosion hurt Battling Nelson's left elbow when he was a child. As a result he couldn't straighten out his left arm completely, but used it for hooking punches and uppercuts,

Tony Canzoneri was hit in the head by a swinging overhead ring microphone just as his second fight with Jimmy McLarnin was about to start, which opened up a large, bleeding cut on his forehead.

He went on with the fight in that condition.

Tiger Jack Fox's stab wound started bleeding during his title fight with Melio Bettina, which was then stopped.

Cleveland Williams is a good example. He tried to fight for a while after he recovered partly from being shot in the stomach, even though he was basically a cripple as compared with what he had been.

Eugene Criqui had part of his jaw shot off in World War I but went on to win the featherweight title from Johnny Kilbane.

It is true (and amazing) that great puncher Cyclone Hart was a polio victim.

Jim Jeffries fought Tom Sharkey with badly torn muscles in his left shoulder which stopped him from throwing his main punch, his left hook.

Bob Fitzsimmons fought the later fights of his career with badly smashed up hands.

Carmen Basilio fought Paul Pender with an almost immobile left arm caused by injuries.

Sam Langford fought much of the later part of his career with increasing loss of sight.

Harry Greb fought much of his career with one eye.

Joe Gans fought his very last fights already strongly affected by TB, from which he died a year after his last fight.

Jimmy Braddock fought Joe Louis with severe arthritis in his left arm, so that he was unable to throw a straight left jab---the very punch he had relied on to beat Max Baer in winning the title.

Firpo had an injured left arm going into his fight with Dempsey. He relied on his right hand during the fight.

Jim Corbett and Tommy Loughran fought with bad hands for the major parts of their careers.

Floyd Patterson fought Ali in their title fight with severe bad back. He should not have been approved by the Las Vegas commission doctor for that fight.

Idiot Max Baer broke his right hand showing off for a girl when he punched the side of a milk truck, which affected the later part of his career.

John Henry Lewis went into his fight with Joe Louis with far advanced deterioration of his eyesight. Louis and his people knew that and gave Lewis the fight as a favor so he could make some money.

Many fighters fought their later fights with scar tissue that opened easily.

Gene Fullmer fought the last rounds of his title defense against Florentino Fernandez with a broken elbow.

That is probably a drop in the bucket.

What other examples come to mind?

The one that really stands out in my mind is Tyrell Biggs fighting the last 8 rounds of his fight with hard punching Jeff Sims after suffering a broken collar bone in the 2nd round.

Sonny Liston fought Marty Marshall for a number of rounds with a broken jaw.

And of course Ali fought a few rounds against Norton with a broken jaw.

.granberry...an excellent thread. george costner fought a few of his final fights virtually blind in one eye from a detached retina...and the retina was beginning to blur the vision in his other eye.

i have seen the film of the canzoneri mike bashing....even on a silent film you can almost hear it clang.

ezzard charles could barely breathe in the later rounds of his first fight with marciano due to a blow on his adam's apple. okay...not as dramatic or as injurious as some of the handicaps here, but i like to get ezzard in on any post i can work him into.
(the blow was a legal one. also, ezzard almost certainly would have won that fight if it hadn't happened.)

somebody here must remember the name of that fighter.. a light heavy, i think, and from chicago at that, who fought a few battles with a partially amputated foot. lots of consonants in his name, so i think he was polish.

andrew golata had a career even though he was legally insane.

Jaclem wrote:
i have seen the film of the canzoneri mike bashing....even on a silent film you can almost hear it clang.

Jaclem,

Anything more you can tell about that?

I wasn't aware there was a film of the 2nd Mclarnin-Canzoneri fight.

I have the first one, where Canzoneri gives McLarnin an awesome beating.
Only the fact that McLarnin was about a weight class bigger enabled him to stay upright through that.

Jaclem wrote:
ezzard charles could barely breathe in the later rounds of his first fight with marciano due to a blow on his adam's apple. okay...not as dramatic or as injurious as some of the handicaps here, but i like to get ezzard in on any post i can work him into.
(the blow was a legal one. also, ezzard almost certainly would have won that fight if it hadn't happened.)

"not as dramatic or as injurious as some of the handicaps here"

???????????????????

Getting hit on the throat by Marciano is about as "injurious" as it gets.

Did Ezzard ever tell you exactly how that happened?

What kind of punch was it?

Why was he exposed there?

Jaclem wrote:.granberry...an excellent thread. george costner fought a few of his final fights virtually blind in one eye from a detached retina...and the retina was beginning to blur the vision in his other eye.

i have seen the film of the canzoneri mike bashing....even on a silent film you can almost hear it clang.

ezzard charles could barely breathe in the later rounds of his first fight with marciano due to a blow on his adam's apple. okay...not as dramatic or as injurious as some of the handicaps here, but i like to get ezzard in on any post i can work him into.
(the blow was a legal one. also, ezzard almost certainly would have won that fight if it hadn't happened.)

somebody here must remember the name of that fighter.. a light heavy, i think, and from chicago at that, who fought a few battles with a partially amputated foot. lots of consonants in his name, so i think he was polish.
andrew golata had a career even though he was legally insane.

Craig Bodzianowski

Very similar to Battling Nelson, didnt Joe Frazier damage his left arm as a young man meaning he couldnt straighten it? This helped him get so much power into his left hook.

michael marrone 2 left feet

Wasn't Frazier blind in one eye, or had some kind of eyesight problem? I also heard that he couldn't straighten his arm.

Not a physical injury but Mike Spinks lost his wife/partner before his big fight with Qawi and apparently he and his daughter were in tears in the dressing room pre-fight.

Ezzard wrote:Wasn't Frazier blind in one eye, or had some kind of eyesight problem? I also heard that he couldn't straighten his arm.

Not a physical injury but Mike Spinks lost his wife/partner before his big fight with Qawi and apparently he and his daughter were in tears in the dressing room pre-fight.

Talking about distractions before a fight:

1---His former manager Doc Kearns tried to drive Jack Dempsey nuts before the Tunney fights, harrassing and attempting to distract Dempsey

by sending process servers at him constantly, filing lawsuits, etc.

When Tunney visited Dempsey in his hotel room the day after their first fight, Dempsey said when Tunney was leaving,

"Gene, in one way you're welcome to it. You'll never see so many lawyers and process servers in your life."

2---JUST BEFORE he was to go out to fight Virgil Akins for the vacant welterweight title,

the long estranged family of Vince Martinez visted Martinez in his dressing room and "made up."

This so distracted Martinez' attention from the most important fight of his career that he then went out to the ring

and was knocked down NINE times before being KO'd in the 4th round.

granberry wrote:

Ezzard wrote:Wasn't Frazier blind in one eye, or had some kind of eyesight problem? I also heard that he couldn't straighten his arm.

Not a physical injury but Mike Spinks lost his wife/partner before his big fight with Qawi and apparently he and his daughter were in tears in the dressing room pre-fight.

Talking about distractions before a fight:

1---His former manager Doc Kearns tried to drive Jack Dempsey nuts before the Tunney fights, harrassing and attempting to distract Dempsey

by sending process servers at him constantly, filing lawsuits, etc.

When Tunney visited Dempsey in his hotel room the day after their first fight, Dempsey said when Tunney was leaving,

"Gene, in one way you're welcome to it. You'll never see so many lawyers and process servers in your life."

2---JUST BEFORE he was to go out to fight Virgil Akins for the vacant welterweight title,

the long estranged family of Vince Martinez visted Martinez in his dressing room and "made up."

This so distracted Martinez' attention from the most important fight of his career that he then went out to the ring

and was knocked down NINE times before being KO'd in the 4th round.

That's a great story on Dempsey.

Jack's famous wager on himself before the fight with Willard must have really focused his agression.

granberry wrote:

Ezzard wrote:Wasn't Frazier blind in one eye, or had some kind of eyesight problem? I also heard that he couldn't straighten his arm.

Not a physical injury but Mike Spinks lost his wife/partner before his big fight with Qawi and apparently he and his daughter were in tears in the dressing room pre-fight.

Talking about distractions before a fight:

1---His former manager Doc Kearns tried to drive Jack Dempsey nuts before the Tunney fights, harrassing and attempting to distract Dempsey

by sending process servers at him constantly, filing lawsuits, etc.

When Tunney visited Dempsey in his hotel room the day after their first fight, Dempsey said when Tunney was leaving,

"Gene, in one way you're welcome to it. You'll never see so many lawyers and process servers in your life."

2---JUST BEFORE he was to go out to fight Virgil Akins for the vacant welterweight title,

the long estranged family of Vince Martinez visted Martinez in his dressing room and "made up."

This so distracted Martinez' attention from the most important fight of his career that he then went out to the ring

and was knocked down NINE times before being KO'd in the 4th round.

Speaking of distractions pre-fight didnt Tony Galento ring up Joe Louis before their fight and hurl racial abuse at him? I think they bacame friends after and all!

danny williams dislocated shoulder v Mark Potter one handed knockout

funso banjo baby wrote:danny williams dislocated shoulder v Mark Potter one handed knockout

Now thta was impressive from Danny!

Harry Greb fought the last few years of his career with only one good eye.

i think dodie penalosa had polio and won a world title.
i can't remember the name of the american who gave benn a good fight,he suffered from some horrendous burns.

...collins 2000...thanks for the quick answer! i recognized the name as soon as you posted it...and it was driving me nuts until you did.

there are several questions posed to me i want to answer here, but it will take me a little time.....and i do beleive in being prompt in thanking for favors.

Evander Holyfield fought Chris Byrd with a seperated left shoulder, which kept him from really being able to jab. At one point he turned left handed, just to get some punches off.

I think Ray Seales was legally blind in one eye for a part of his later career. Very sad indeed

Jeff Fenech was born with abnormally small and brittle hands and fought numerous fights with at least one hand broken (against the likes of Marcos Villasana and Victor Callejas no less). He also had a badly broken nose which hampered his breathing. Which opponent broke his nose you ask? The sister of a guy that Fenech hammered in a streetfight. She whacked him in the face with a shovel

bollox wrote:I think Ray Seales was legally blind in one eye for a part of his later career. Very sad indeed

Jeff Fenech was born with abnormally small and brittle hands and fought numerous fights with at least one hand broken (against the likes of Marcos Villasana and Victor Callejas no less). He also had a badly broken nose which hampered his breathing. Which opponent broke his nose you ask? The sister of a guy that Fenech hammered in a streetfight. She whacked him in the face with a shovel

Great story

Dodie Penalosa - lighter weight titleholder from the 80's that suffered polio as a child. As a result one leg was shorter than the other. Quite a handicap in a sport such as boxing

bollox wrote:
Jeff Fenech was born with abnormally small and brittle hands and fought numerous fights with at least one hand broken (against the likes of Marcos Villasana and Victor Callejas no less). He also had a badly broken nose which hampered his breathing. Which opponent broke his nose you ask? The sister of a guy that Fenech hammered in a streetfight. She whacked him in the face with a shovel

Fenech fought like a wolverine in his first fight against Azumah Nelson.

The decision was an outright robbery.

Jaclem wrote: ezzard charles could barely breathe in the later rounds of his first fight with marciano due to a blow on his adam's apple. okay...not as dramatic or as injurious as some of the handicaps here, but i like to get ezzard in on any post i can work him into.
(the blow was a legal one. also, ezzard almost certainly would have won that fight if it hadn't happened.)

Yeah, Charles was amazing. He almost beat Marciano twice. Speaking of which, you could use Marciano's split nose in the second fight as an example of a fighter fighting injured.