BoxRec

Champs
Freddie Steele
Al Hostak
Greg Haugen
Johnny Bumphus
Leo Randolph
Marvin Camel

Olympians
Jerry Armstrong
Sugar Ray Seales
Robert Shannon
Leo Randolph


...add to the list

Irish Bobby Woods

actjac wrote:Champs
Freddie Steele
Al Hostak
Greg Haugen
Johnny Bumphus
Leo Randolph
Marvin Camel
...add to the list

Tod Morgan, plus a bunch of guys who were not World Champs or Olympians, but "notable" non-heavies--such as Doc Snell, Wildcat Carter, Dode Bercot, and others I hope Matt would love to mention.

Here's a list of some other notable fighters:

Denny Moyer
Phil Moyer
Joe Kahut
Thad Spencer
Ray Lampkin
Chuck Hellman
Billy Mascott
Joe Gorman
Mysterious Billy Smith
Leo Lomski
Eddie Cotton
Henry Woods
Kirk Barrow
Young Firpo
Tiger Jack Fox
Fred Lenhart
Joey Velez
Joey Dolan
Pete Rademacher
Harry (Kid) Matthews
Pat McMurtry
Frank Farmer
Andy Kendall
Larry Buck
Richie Sue

Although he didn't become a great pro... Brett Summers who was a great amateur trading fights with Haugen and then went on to fight for Manny Steward at Kronk. It would have been huge for the Washington had the two of them fought.

Other great guys amateurs who didn't make it big as pros where Joey Leblinc (who arguably beat Sweet Pea Whitaker in all their amateur fights) and Andy Minsker (sp?).

And Bud Ridley, of course.

Guy Villegas- NABF 130 lb champ #4 world ranked
Dale Grant- national amateur champ from Tacoma
Jesse Lopez -Jr. national Golden Gloves champ--decent pro
Davey Armstrong---great amateur
Cleveland Corder
Kenny Keene
Laurie Mann -1980 Canadian Olympian from British Columbia
Harold Mann- great amateur, retired undefeated as a pro
Michael Arms- national GG heavyweight champ fought for USBA title
Jimmy Grow
John L. Sullivan (Olympia, WA.)
Tony Pep

If we're including B.C., which we should, then add Jimmy McLarnin to the "champ" category.

Of course Jimmy Mclarnin.
An interesting trivia bit...McLarnin fought a trilogy with Billy "The Fargo Express" Petrolle who was managed by a future legendary Northwest boxing figure Jack "Deacon" Hurley.

Ric and Matt know boxing history in this area of the country better than anyone. They have done some of the absolute best research in history on boxing in the Pacific Northwest down to California and anything they say on the issue in this part, though it may be their personal opinion, can be pretty much taken to the bank as they truly have put in heavy-duty research in the area.

In fact, most of the bouts that are in the database from that area are due to Ric and Matt and every one of us here in this forum should give a big shout out and thank you to all boxrec editors for all of the hard work and 1000s of hours that they have put into the database and encyclopedia section of the website and Ric and Matt are two of the most active editors that we have. I'm one of the first people to join boxrec back in either 1999, or 2000, but Matt was here even before I was and Ric joined not long after, but it is due to people like Matt and Ric that we all have such a wonderfully historic, ground-breaking boxing database to search through...so thanks Matt and thanks Ric...you guys help to make up the heart of Boxrec!

Thanks, Barry. I'd say, however, that John Ochs of Seattle knows PNW boxing the best. He joined BoxRec a year ago, and has contributed some material on Fargo ND boxing (which he also knows well). I wish he'd contribute more on Seattle boxing. (I stopped researching Seattle papers religiously when I found out that John had spent years going thru them, so I moved on to the Tacoma papers.) Both Matt and I have seen some of John's boxing archives. Wow! He gots book-shelves of newspaper print-outs, posters, tons of photos, 16mm film, you name it, and a great noggin-full of facts.

Most of my posts are off of the top of my head and I may have overlooked other Olympians, national amatuer champs, title contenders or even champions. If anyone can contribute regarding the names of non-heavyweights please do. (The heavyweights are fairly well known and recognized).

Remembered another one who fought a pretty tough schedule...

James "Sweet Baby" Manning who went on to a NABF title shot and faced at least four world champs that I can think of.

And, speaking of Northwest...

Shouldn't forget Todd Foster - US Olympian who made a decent run as a pro fighting Camacho. He and fellow Olympian Kelcie Banks fought a war won by Foster.

One of the best pure boxers of the 80's was Pat Jefferson a welterweigt who fought out of Oregon. He was textbook but he just couldn't win the important matches against Bumphus, Arguello and as the semi main underneath Hagler-Hearns. He was a national amateur champ as a kid in South Dakota.

Tommy Moyer, uncle of the better known Denny Moyer should be mentioned. He was national AAU champion in 1941. He had a brief pro career, before he realized he would make a better businessman than boxer. At 88 years old now he is one of the wealthiest people in Portland with his investments in movie theatres and real estate.

tegenm wrote:Tommy Moyer, uncle of the better known Denny Moyer should be mentioned. He was national AAU champion in 1941. He had a brief pro career, before he realized he would make a better businessman than boxer. At 88 years old now he is one of the wealthiest people in Portland with his investments in movie theatres and real estate.

Absolutely right! The Moyer family (Tommy, Phil, Denny, Harry, Steve) were to Portland, Oregon as the Fullmer's were to the Salt Lake Ciy area. Including Tommy's fight with him in the amateurs they were 2-2-2 aginst Sugar Ray Robinson.

tegenm wrote:Tommy Moyer, uncle of the better known Denny Moyer should be mentioned. He was national AAU champion in 1941. He had a brief pro career, before he realized he would make a better businessman than boxer. At 88 years old now he is one of the wealthiest people in Portland with his investments in movie theatres and real estate.

Any idea what Denny Moyer is doing lately?

granberry wrote:

tegenm wrote:Tommy Moyer, uncle of the better known Denny Moyer should be mentioned. He was national AAU champion in 1941. He had a brief pro career, before he realized he would make a better businessman than boxer. At 88 years old now he is one of the wealthiest people in Portland with his investments in movie theatres and real estate.

Any idea what Denny Moyer is doing lately?

Last info I heard on him, was in around 2004, and he was reported to be in a nursing home. I don't know why he was in a nursing home though.

granberry wrote:

tegenm wrote:Tommy Moyer, uncle of the better known Denny Moyer should be mentioned. He was national AAU champion in 1941. He had a brief pro career, before he realized he would make a better businessman than boxer. At 88 years old now he is one of the wealthiest people in Portland with his investments in movie theatres and real estate.

Any idea what Denny Moyer is doing lately?

Article on Eastside:

Denny Moyer in Rest Home

I had a little conversation last week with Fred Ryan of the famous Grand Ave Gym, he let me know that former Champion Denny Moyer is in a rest home in Oregon area and we wish him the best of health. For the second time in a month I heard a story about a nursing home staff member calling a gym or an organization to confirm that the info a fighter (not EX, I hate that crap, once a fighter always a fighter) was telling people was true. The guy that called Fred wanted to know if it was true that Denny had fought Sugar Ray Robinson, he must have soiled himself when he found out that Denny not only had fought him but beat him.

Moyer was the first Light Middleweight Champ and finished with a career record of 98-37-4 25 ko's
Battling from the 50's with the likes of Johnny Saxton, Vince Martinez, Paddy Demarco through the 60's against Kid Paret, Emile Griffith, Sugar Ray Robinson and other, into the 70's against Mundine, Monzon and Antuofermo, Moyer's record reads like a who's who of the Middleweight Division for three decades.

I don't need to make a call to remember Denny Moyer and it is a shame that anyone has to, our prayers are with the Moyer family, wishing for a healthy future for Denny.

Someone mentioned Tiger Jack Fox. Fox ended up in the PNW but unless Im mistaken he began boxing years earlier than his published record suggests in the midwest, Terre Haute, Indiana I believe.

Thanks for that, tegenm and actjac.

Although it is not what I wanted to hear.

The earliest recorded bouts of Fox are in Salt Lake City, where he pops up in main events at the start in 1928 reportedly out of Omaha. There was a mention in the Portland Oregonian in 1934, that someone had seem fighting on all-black shows in North Carolina in 1925.

I mentioned Fox with the other NW guys because he was far and away the greatest draw out of Spokane and basically lived there the last 20 years of his life.

Another very talented British Columbian was Michael Olajide. He was the Canadian Middleweight Champion and top 10 ranked but lost fights to Iran Barkley, Frank Tate and Thomas Hearns

May I offer:
Jack (Ginger) Snapp, record 36 W, 6 L, 3 D??

Fraser Scott.
The Seattle middleweight fought Nino Benvenuti in a televised fight for the title in '69. Then fought and beat former champion Denny Moyer and lost one to Carlos Monzon in 1971