BoxRec - User contributions [en]

David Haye vs. John Ruiz

2010-04-04T02:01:19Z

Brett Dunbar:

<fight>1490889</fight>
'''Aired on:''' [[SKY Box Office]] (Main Event)
* '''[[World Boxing Association]] Heavyweight Title''' (1st defense by Haye)

== Bout Summary ==
WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-0, 22 KOs) scored a ninth round TKO over 38-year-old former champ John Ruiz (44-9-1, 30 KOs) on Saturday night at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England. Haye dropped Ruiz twice in round one, the first time with the right hand almost immediately, the second time with a rabbit punch. Haye was deducted a point for the rabbit punch, but Ruiz was still given a count and no time to recover from the foul. A determined Ruiz survived the round. Haye floored Ruiz again at the end of round five and again early in round six. Ruiz's corner finally threw in the towel in round nine. Time was 2:01.[http://www.fightnews.com/?p=41848]

Jack Dempsey

2010-03-25T18:52:55Z

Brett Dunbar:

[[file:Dempsey.Jack17.jpg|left|thumb|350px|]]
[[file:Ibhof-logo.jpg|thumb|right|Class of 1990 Old Timer Category Hall of Fame bio:[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/oldtimer/dempsey.html click]]]
<boxer>009009</boxer>
'''Trainer''': [[Teddy Hayes]] 
'''Managers''': [[Norman Weaver]], [[Billy Madden]], [[Fred Winsor]], [[Jack Kearns]] 
'''Officiating Record:''' [http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=401054&cat=referee Referee] 
'''[[:Category:Jack Dempsey Gallery|Jack Dempsey Gallery]]''' 

 
==Career Overview==
The most popular boxer of his generation and one of the most fabled athletes in history, '''Jack Dempsey''' changed the sport of boxing from a slow, defense-minded contest of single punches and frequent holding into an exciting, aggressive battle of furious combinations and blazing knockouts. A fearsome brawler, the likes of which the sport had never seen, Dempsey drew record attendances and live gate receipts, allowing his ascent from starving hobo to millionaire during his ground-breaking career. During the 1950s, a consensus of boxing sages voted Dempsey the "[[pound-for-pound]]" greatest fighter of all time. Even today, he is still routinely ranked by journalists, historians, and experts as one of the five greatest heavyweights in history. (According to a February 6, 1943 ''Tacoma News Tribune'' article by Dillon Graham--the Associated Press's Sports Editor, who had researched the AP's index cards to see which athletes had "grabbed" the most newspaper headlines the previous 30 years--Dempsey came in first, with [[Luis Angel Firpo]] being second, and baseball legend Babe Ruth coming in third place.) 
===Kid Blackie===
The man who would be known as Jack Dempsey was born William Harrison Dempsey on June 24, 1895 in Manassa, Colorado. His father, Hyrum Dempsey, was a poor farmer, prospector, and laborer who hailed from West Virginia. William and his brothers grew up idolizing famous prizefighters, especially heavyweight [[John L. Sullivan]] and middleweight [[Nonpareil Jack Dempsey|Jack Dempsey]] (a fighter known as "the Nonpareil"). Two older brothers, Bernie and Johnny, preceded him into professional boxing, both adopting the name of their idol, Jack Dempsey; neither was particularly successful. William left school at the age of sixteen and began working as a laborer at various Colorado railroad stations and mining camps. In his free time, he frequented saloons, challenging other patrons to fisticuffs for side bets. Though he weighed only 150 pounds, he routinely beat older, bigger men and the men who saw him fight began calling him "Kid Blackie" because of his jet black hair. Soon enough he was participating in organized prizefights, though the details of his record as Kid Blackie has been lost to history. 
According to Dempsey himself, his first organized bout for money took place in Montrose, Colorado, sometime around 1913 against a fellow named Freddy Woods. Dempsey claimed to have promoted the fight himself. During the fight itself, he survived a knockdown to put his Woods out in the fourth. There is, however, no newspaper account or hard evidence to confirm this fight. The earliest fight that researchers have uncovered took place on August 17, 1914 in Ramona, Colorado, a six round draw against the otherwise forgotten Young Herman. A few months later he had relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he won three consecutive bouts by first round knockout. He suffered his first recorded loss there in 1915, losing a decision to a more experienced fighter named Jack Downey. Less than a year later he knocked out Downey in two rounds. Kid Blackie continued taking bouts wherever he could find them in the West: Nevada, Colorado, Utah. In early 1916 he strung off seven consecutive wins and decided to try his hand in New York City. His brothers had retired by this point, and William looked to make his name as the new "Jack Dempsey." 
On June 24, in Manhattan, Jack survived two knockdowns against the bigger [[Andre Anderson]] to go the scheduled ten round distance in a no-decision bout. Official decisions in boxing were illegal in New York State at the time. A little over a week later, in need of cash and food, he fought [[Human:39995|Wild Bert Kenny]], again lasting ten rounds to a no-decision. These performances won him notice in the major New York newspapers and the attention of businessman John "the Barber" Reisler, who became his manager. Reiser matched Jack with [[John Lester Johnson]], an experienced New York native. In a hair-raising, closely-fought battle, Dempsey took what he later called "the hardest punch I ever took." A Johnson left to Dempsey's body shattered three ribs. Jack fought back and, though the fight was another no-decision, many in the press praised the newcomer's courage and endurance. After the fight, Reisler cheated Dempsey, who had been sleeping on benches in Central Park the previous night, out of most of his purse. Dejected, Jack stowed away on a train back to Salt Lake City, where he found work in various labor jobs and married a prostitute named Maxine Cates. 
His professional boxing career at a stand-still, Dempsey served for a few months as a sparring partner for heavyweight contender [[Carl Morris]]. Around the same time he found a new manager, Jack "Doc" Kearns. Kearns brought momentum back to Jack's boxing hopes. Between September and November 1916, Dempsey four successive victories against marginal (at best) competition in Utah and Colorado. Then Kearns got Dempsey a shot at his internationally known opponent, veteran heavyweight [[Fireman Jim Flynn]], a former title challenger known for his rugged fighting style and punching power. Days before the fight, Jack injured his right hand, but, in need of money, told no one. On February 13, 1917, in Murray, Utah, ten seconds into the match, Flynn landed a perfect right hand to Dempsey's jaw and put him on his back. Dempsey was unconscious on the floor long past the end of the referee's count. It would be the only knockout loss of his career. A little over a month later he lost a decision to [[Willie Meehan]], a pudgy Californian with nearly one hundred bouts under his belt. 
===The Road to the Title===
His career once again floundering, Dempsey was forced to continue toiling in obscurity. He beat Meehan in a second fight and then went undefeated in his next five to secure a match with hard-hitting [[Ed (Gunboat) Smith]], a perennial heavyweight contender on the downside of his career. A four round decision over Smith proved to be Dempsey's first win over a nationally recognized name opponent. Then came a win over Carl Morris, the bulky ex-contender for whom Dempsey once worked as a sparring partner. Morris could do little but hold and wrestle against Dempsey's rampaging onslaught. In rematch, the referee disqualified Morris in the sixth of ten scheduled rounds. Then a rematch with Jim Flynn, the Pueblo Fireman, who had knocked out Dempsey in one round back in 1917. On Valentine's Day, 1918, Dempsey returned the favor, flattening Flynn in one minute and ten seconds of the first. 
With four wins against name opponents inside of four months, Dempsey had made himself a viable heavyweight contender. Still more victories over quality opponents followed: [[Bill (KO) Brennan]] (knockout, six rounds); [[Arthur Pelkey]] (knockout, one round); [[Fred Fulton]] (knockout, one round); [[Battling Levinsky]] (knockout, three rounds); Carl Morris (knockout, one round); Ed (Gunboat) Smith (knockout, two rounds). In September of 1918, Dempsey lost another decision to Willie Meehan and ducked out of a 6-round war charity match at Madison Square Garden with Joe Jeannette, but it didn't matter. When he put together a streak of six consecutive first round knockout wins between January and April of 1919, the rampaging young heavyweight was the talk of fight circles and the leading contender to face the massive heavyweight champion of the world, [[Jess Willard]]. 

===World Champion===
[[file:Self Defense.jpg|right|225px|Dempsey on Self-Defense magazine]]
Willard stood more than six and a half feet tall and routinely weighed in excess of 240 pounds, monstrous dimensions for a man of the early twentieth century. Despite Dempsey's recent success, he was seen as too rough-edged and too small to stand a chance against Big Jess. Indeed many sportswriters expressed concern that Dempsey might lose his life in the ring, as had a previous Willard opponent, [[William (Bull) Young]]. When the July 4, 1919 bout began, however, their concerns immediately focused on the champion. Dempsey's fast hands and tremendous punching power made all the difference, sending Willard down and amazing seven times in the opening three minutes. He knocked out several of the champion's teeth, cracked his ribs and his skull, slashed his face to ribbons, and shattered his jaw and nose. When the round ended, Dempsey left the ring, confident--as were most in the crowd--that he had won by a knockout. But his manager, Kearns, called him back in. Incredibly, Willard wanted more. Willard fumbled around for another three rounds, unable to reverse his fortune. Though Dempsey proved unable to put him down again, Willard decided to retire from boxing while sitting on his stool awaiting the fourth round. Returning to his dressing room, the new champion learned that he would not be paid for the sweetest victory of his career. His manager had lost the purse on a bet that Dempsey would win in one round. The later accounts of some involved in the fight, including Willard and promoter Tex Rickard, proposed that Dempsey had loaded his gloves with either plaster-of-Paris or steel, but those allegations have never been proven. 
Dempsey's first challenger for the title was faded contender [[Billy Miske]]. A veteran of more than eighty bouts, Miske had supposedly never been down or out in his career. He had gone six rounds with Dempsey two years earlier, but by 1920 had already been diagnosed with Bright's Disease, a potentially fatal illness that attacks the kidneys. Ignoring the advice of doctors, Miske decided he needed the money and approached Dempsey and his handlers about securing a title fight. Dempsey pushed the match through and dominated his ailing friend. Dempsey later said he wanted to end the fight early to avoid dealing any prolonged punishment to the sick man. In the second, a body blow from the champion put Miske down for the first time in his seven years as a prizefighter. Miske made it to his feet but fell again in the third. If Dempsey was trying to end it early, the challenger seemed averse to the notion. Miske again made it to his feet, only to be dropped yet again in the same round. The referee counted ten and Dempsey helped his barely conscious challenger to his corner. 
Dempsey's debut at New York's legendary [[Madison Square Garden]] followed three months later, on December 14, 1920. His opponent was 'K.O.' Bill Brennan, an unpolished fringe contender who had put together a string of victories against no-hope opponents en route to securing a title shot. Rumors existed of Bill's connections to organized crime, including Chicago kingpin Al Capone. Rumours were just as prevalent that Dempsey was not taking Brennan seriously and that his training consisted more of women and booze than it did roadwork and heavy bags. Whatever the cause, Dempsey proved surprisingly vulnerable to Brennan's powers. In the second Jack was rocked by an uppercut to the jaw. Brennan failed to follow up on the advantage however and the champion survived the round. The rest of the fight was a competitive slugfest, with Dempsey digging into Brennan's body and Brennan landing hard shots to Dempsey's head. It was, said the ''New York Times'', "... one of the most vicious and closely-contested fights in history..." In the twelfth, a right-left combination from the champion dropped Bill for the count.

===Trial of the Century/Battle of the Century===
By this time, controversy began to surround the champion. During his early title reign, Dempsey was not a generally liked figure. His fighting style brought in crowds, but many regarded him as immoral, thuggish, and even cowardly as a man. The public considered Miske and Brennan to be push-overs for Dempsey, they demanded to see him in with a top flight fighter. Worse yet, information had surfaced that Dempsey had dodged the draft for the First World War, which had only just ended. His estranged wife, a prostitute, had publicly brought charges against him of neglect. Dempsey avoided a conviction for draft evasion by proving that he was the sole support for his large family back in Colorado, which precluded his eligibility for conscription. The divorce proceedings with Maxine Cates, meanwhile turned into what journalists of the times called the "Trial of the Century." In both the court and newspapers, Mrs. Dempsey spewed all sorts of scandalous intrigues about Dempsey's early years as a wandering hobo and frequenter of whorehouses. The public came to regard him as a far cry from the role model most expected from the heavyweight champion of the world. Eventually the trial faded from the headlines and the Dempseys were divorced. Still, all of the mud-slinging had left a bad taste in the mouth of the public for Jack. 
[[Tex Rickard]], the most successful and innovative boxing promoter of the day, sought to cash in on the public's "bad guy" perception of Dempsey by pitting him against a classic "good guy" in [[Georges Carpentier]], the reigning light heavyweight champion of the world. In direct contrast to Dempsey, Carpentier was known as a perfect gentleman and an intelligent, scientific fighter. Women adored the handsome European, while Jack was regarded at the time as a scarred brute. Even more importantly, Carpentier was a twice decorated war veteran, having served his native France as an observation pilot during the First World War. And he had not lost a bout in seven years. Rickard's publicizing of the disparate personalities and backgrounds of these men produced a mania in the sports world. The press anxiously labeled the proposed match-up as the "Battle of the Century." The result was the first million dollar gate as the sport's largest crowd yet, 80,183 people, packed into a specially built stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey and paid an unprecedented gate of nearly $1,800,000. 
The fight itself, though dramatic, failed to live up to its ballyhoo. Dempsey was obviously the bigger man in the ring and his shots took their toll. Carpentier's response was initially to box and move, but he eventually settled down into trading shots with the champion. In the opening round, the Frenchman landed a hard right onto Dempsey's head that clearly stunned the champion. Dempsey, after clearing his head, responded with a relentless body attack followed by a crisp left hook that broke Carpentier's nose. In the second, Georges went back to boxing and landed another terrific right, one that forced the dazed champion to take a rare backward step. Meanwhile, Carpentier stood frozen still, stunned himself by the pain of a thumb broken in two places. By the time he tried to force his advantage, Jack had recovered. With the challenger hurt and Dempsey determined not to have another frightening moment, the bout took a decided turn. No longer competitive, it became all Dempsey. He battered the European around the ring and put him face-down onto the canvas in the fourth with two consecutive hooks. Apparently unconscious at the start of the count, the brave challenger still made it to his feet by the count of nine. But Dempsey showed his terrific finishing ability by blasting him with another right hook that rendered Carpentier totally senseless. The challenger was not revived until long after the referee's count had concluded. 
===Gibbons & Firpo===
The Carpentier fight made Jack Dempsey the richest athlete to that point in history. He was now a first tier celebrity throughout the world and made friends among the rich and famous of Hollywood, journalism, literature, music, and sports. In the meantime, he avoided prizefighting for two years. As the champion relaxed, two top contenders emerged as potential challengers for his crown. The first was [[Harry Wills]], a fighter of supreme ability who had of late beaten [[Sam Langford]], Ed (Gunboat) Smith, and Fred Fulton. The press constantly hounded Dempsey over the issue of a bout with this latest sensation, but the only problem was that Wills was black. There had, to this point, been only one black heavyweight champion, [[Jack Johnson]]. Johnson's reign had been so controversial and shocking that many within the fight business had been determined that there would never been another "colored" man allowed within a fighting chance of the laurels. Among those were Doc Kearns and Tex Rickard, Dempsey's manager and promoter; they shot down any talk of a fight with Wills. This left only [[Tommy Gibbons]] as a viable opponent. Though his resume was somewhat less impressive than that of Wills, the talented and tough Gibbons was coming off of three consecutive knockout wins and had been in the ring with the likes of Billy Miske, [[Harry Greb]], and Battling Levinsky.
Thus Kearns began plans for what was supposed to be Dempsey's triumphant return, without Rickard's involvement. When officials from the small oil town of Shelby, Montana expressed interest in hosting the fight, Kearns accepted their offer of a guaranteed purse of $310,000. However, the remoteness of Shelby and the complications of long distance travel at the time deterred many fans from buying tickets. Shelby had helped finance the construction of a massive stadium that was roughly the size of the town itself to hold the expected spectators, but less than 8,000 ticket-buyers showed.
 The fight itself proved anti-climatic, with Gibbons doing little else but backing away and a rusty Dempsey content to do little else but follow. The fight lasted a boring fifteen rounds and brought boos from the crowd. Because the poor turnout failed to cover the expenses of putting on the fight, each of Shelby's three banks were forced to bankrupt themselves in order to come up with $300,000 ($10,000 short) for Dempsey. Gibbons, the town completely bled dry, received no pay for his efforts. This financial debacle which lost all the private people of Shelby their life's savings, is still considered one of the worst promotional disasters in the history of boxing. 
[[file:Dempsey.Jack.Back2.jpg|left|250px|Dempsey's back]]
Saying he wanted to remain more active, the champion next fought [[Luis Angel Firpo]] of Argentina. Firpo had recently knocked out former champion Jess Willard and had also toppled notables Ed (Gunboat) Smith. Bill Brennan, and [[Charley Weinert]]. A tall, broad-shouldered fellow, Firpo was nonetheless unschooled in the finer points of boxing and considered out of his element against Dempsey. When the pair finally fought on September 14, 1923 at the Polo Grounds in New York, before 80,000 people, they clashed in one of the wildest, most celebrated championship brawls of all time. In the first round, Jack floored his opponent seven times, just he had done to Willard four years earlier. But the young and game Firpo was determined to prove his worth and managed to drop Jack to his knees with a right hand to the body very early in the same round. Momentarily stunned but back on his feet in no time, Jack tore into the challenger without mercy. Later in the round, Firpo, after rising from his seventh knockdown, charged Dempsey, who did not have time to get away from the ropes. The challenger through a wild, looping right hand that struck Dempsey in the head and lifted his feet from the canvas. Falling backward into the ropes, Jack's body stiffened to balance itself and, with a little shove from Firpo, did a flip clear out of the ring onto the writers' table at ringside. The referee, from the ring, began his count as the champion floundered helplessly. With help from the writers he was able to get his bearings and pull himself up and into the ring by the count of four. Again the "Wild Bull of the Pampas" charged him and this time Jack clinched. Dempsey remained dazed for the remainder of the round. In his corner Dempsey slowly regained his senses and came out for the second blazing away with punches; this time it was Firpo's turn to hold. Jack shoved him to the canvas with a push, but the Argentinean made it back to his feet and came right back in. After some in-fighting, the champion threw a fast left-right combination of hooks that put the challenger down for the ninth time. He was still rolling around on the canvas when the referee counted him out. 
===Comeback & Later Life===
Having successfully made his sixth defense of the championship, Dempsey again avoided the ring, this time for more than three years. He now reigned in the public consciousness as one of the most famous men living and lived accordingly. He bought a mansion in Hollywood and began a romantic relationship with one of the more popular actresses of the era, Estelle Taylor. He signed a lucrative contract to appear in movie serials for Universal Studios. He bought his mother Celia a twenty-tow acre farm in Utah. He even underwent plastic surgery to reshape his battle-scarred features. In the meantime, he split with longtime manager Doc Kearns, after an argument about Taylor. The press, anxious to see the champion return, satisfied itself with covering the exploits of the division's leading contenders, men like Tommy Gibbons, Harry Wills, [[Gene Tunney]], and Charley Weinert. 
When Jack did finally return to the ring it would be against Tunney, the "Fighting Marine" from New York, a smart, tactical fighter who had once been the light heavyweight champion of America. Between 1922 and 1926, Tunney had proven himself a worthy challenger with wins over Weinert, Carpentier, Gibbons, [[Harry Greb]], and [[Johnny Risko]]. When the pair did battle on September 23, 1926 at the [[Sesquicentennial Stadium]] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a record 120,557 people braved a rainstorm in an open air arena to see the return of the heavyweight champion. What they and Dempsey got was a lesson in boxing technique from Tunney. Rusty and overconfident, Dempsey failed to connect with any big shots to his challenger. Tunney, meanwhile, boxed brilliantly, constantly circling the ring to keep the champion confused and off balance. He used his swift jab to keep Dempsey at bay, while Jack did little more than hopelessly pursue. The result was one of the biggest upsets the sport had experienced, a unanimous decision in favor of the New York fighter, the new heavyweight champion of the world. It was Dempsey's first loss in eight years. 
Suddenly, much of the public came to admire Jack. Though he had always been a draw because of his exciting fights, Dempsey had been regarded by many as a thug wallowing in immorality and brutality. He was the man audiences loved to hate. With the intellectual and strategic Tunney as the new champion however, fans found themselves bored and missing Dempsey's ultra-masculine charisma and slugger's brawn. When Dempsey began his comeback, in pursuit of a return match with Tunney, by facing rising contender (and future champion) [[Jack Sharkey]] on July 21, 1927 at [[Yankee Stadium]], suddenly crowds were cheering in favor of him rather than against him. Like Tunney, Boston's Sharkey was a technical boxer. He had recently won by disqualification over Harry Wills and was this regarded as the most likely contender, outside of Dempsey himself, to garner a championship bout. The winner of a Dempsey-Sharkey showdown was to determine who deserved a go at Tunney. Again Dempsey fell behind on the scorecards, staggered in the first round and out-punched by the younger man's faster punches as the fight progressed. Dempsey did manage to give the Bostonian a few tense moments and, in round seven, in the center of the ring, let loose with a vicious body attack that may or may not have strayed below the belt line. Sharkey, forgetting the rule to protect one's self at all times, immediately turned to the referee to complain of being fouled. As he did, Dempsey let loose with his trademark left hook which hit Sharkey square in the jaw. Sharkey collapsed to his knees and then on his face, still clutching his groin, and was counted out. While Sharkey continued to complain to the press that he had been fouled, despite the official knockout result. In earlier times the crowd would have believed him and complained about Dempsey's dirty tactics. But now, with Tunney as champion, they were just happy to see Dempsey win the fight and earn himself a rematch with the new titleholder. 
On September 22, 1927, 364 days after their initial encounter, Dempsey challenged Tunney at [[Soldiers Field]] in Chicago, Illinois. The 104,943 people turned out for the rematch paid receipts of $2,658,660, the highest gate for any sporting event yet and a record that would stand for more than a quarter century. The fight itself appeared to be a replay of the first in the beginning, with Tunney backing away and boxing and Dempsey pursuing without throwing punches. In the seventh, though, Dempsey landed a series of blows on the champion, who was pinned with his back against the ropes. Gene collapsed into the ropes and slowly slid down to the canvas. The excited Dempsey, forgetting the recently passed rule in Illinois that a man scoring a knockdown must go to the nearest neutral corner, stood over his fallen foe. Referee Dave Barry would not begin counting over Tunney until Dempsey obeyed the rule, but the confused challenger hesitated, giving Tunney precious time to regain his senses. By the time Dempsey had found his way to a neutral corner and Barry returned to begin his count, the champion had recovered his senses and was sitting upright on the canvas, smartly taking the remaining time to rest. Barry, who was supposed to pick up at the timekeeper's count, instead mistakenly started his count from the beginning, at "one." As a result, Tunney was able to rest a full fourteen seconds before rising at the count of nine. When Barry called for the two to fight and Dempsey charged out of his corner, Tunney bounced and danced along the ropes, making sure to stay out of Jack's way for the remainder of the seventh. In the eighth, a combination of hooks from Tunney put the pursuing challenger on his knees. Jack was up before the referee could begin his count, but was being thoroughly outboxed. When the fight drew to a close after ten rounds, the result was a unanimous decision for Tunney. 
On March 4, 1928, Jack Dempsey, the most successful athlete of the "Golden Age of Sports", announced his retirement from professional prizefighting. He did, however, continue to fight in short exhibitions, touring the country and giving highly attended performances. Among the notables he boxed in his post-professional career were [[Charley Retzlaff]], [[Art Lasky]], [[King Levinsky]], [[Max Schmeling]], [[Max Baer]], and [[Tony Galento]]. He often acted as a referee in popular boxing and wrestling matches. An increasingly popular figure in retirement, he often managed, promoted, and advised younger boxers. During World War II he served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1945, at age fourty-nine, he fought alongside his men on Okinawa Beach. In later life, he owned a very successful restaurant in New York City and became one of the few financial success stories of champion boxers in their post-boxing life. After several years of heart problems, he died in New York on May 31, 1983 at age eighty-seven. In 1990 he became part of the inaugural class of inductees into the [[International Boxing Hall of Fame]]. 

===Sources===
Kahn, Roger. [[A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring '20s]]. 
Roberts, James B. and Alexander G. Skutt. [[The Boxing Register]]. 4th ed. 
Fleischer, Nat. [[The Heavyweight Championship]]. 
[http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/dempsey.htm profile] at Cyber Boxing Zone 

== Factoids ==
* Early boxing [http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/cbzforum/showthread.php?t=1607 history]
*Reportedly went by the nickname "Kid Blackie" in his early days
*Former World Heavyweight Champion: 1919-1927
*One of the most popular boxers of all time. The Associated Press's mid-20th century poll of over 300 sports writers and radio sportscasters ranked Dempsey the best fighter of the past 50 years.
*Newspapers of October 18, 1924, reported that Dempsey's first manager, Norman (Buck) Weaver, 42, was accidentally shot dead while duck-hunting 19 miles southwest of Pueblo, Colorado. He and a companion, Howard Walker, 22, were sitting in separate boats, when Walker laid down his shotgun to pick up the oars to row when it discharged, the shots hitting Weaver in the face. He died several hours later.
* On Dec. 8, 1938, the Boxing Writers Association awarded Dempsey the first-ever [[Edward J. Neil Trophy|Edward J. Neil Trophy]] for being the boxer who had meant the most during the current year. The award was designed to perpetuate the memory of the Associated Press sports-writer and war correspondent who had been killed the year before in Spain.
*Dempsey was also a popular boxing referee.

== Notable Bouts ==
* July 25, 1917 vs. [[Willie Meehan]]: [[Jack Dempsey vs. Willie Meehan (2nd meeting)|Description]]
* July 4, 1919 vs. [[Jess Willard]], Dempsey wins the World Heavyweight Title: [[Jess Willard vs. Jack Dempsey|Description]]
* Sept. 14, 1923 vs. [[Luis Angel Firpo]]: [[Jack Dempsey vs. Luis Angel Firpo|Description]]
* Sept. 23, 1926 vs. [[Gene Tunney]], for the World Heavyweight Title: [[Jack Dempsey vs. Gene Tunney (1st meeting)|Description]]
* Sept. 22, 1927 vs. [[Gene Tunney]], for the World Heavyweight Title: [[Gene Tunney vs. Jack Dempsey (2nd meeting)|Description]]
 

==Reference Sources==
* [http://www.cmgww.com/sports/dempsey/ Official website]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=275 Find a Grave]
* [http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/dempsey2.htm Exhibition bouts]
* [http://www.genetunney.org/dempseyfights.html Many pictures of Dempsey in the ring]
* [http://www.genetunney.org/dempsey.html Many pictures of Dempsey out of the ring]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3259078 ... Jack Dempsey, Heavyweight Champion of the World, 1919-1926] - held and digitised as part of the [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3046935 Arnold Thomas boxing collection] by the National Library of Australia

== External Links ==
* [http://www.cmgww.com/sports/dempsey/index.html CMG Worldwide]: Official Property Rights Management Site
* [http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/box12-99.htm#tracy Tracy Callis CBZ Article]
* 1919 [http://youtube.com/watch?v=3wxHY3p9DiQ Film] of Dempsey sparring with [[Bill Tate|Big Bill Tate]] (shortly before Dempsey's title bout with [[Jess Willard]])
* One minute highlight [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D53mq30H6EI film]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJkBRggMp2g Slide show]

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Jess Willard]]|
title=[[World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Gene Tunney]]|
years=1919 Jul 4 – 1926 Sep 23
}}
{{Succession box|
before=Inaugural Champion|
title=[[NBA World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Gene Tunney]]|
years=1921 Jul 2 – 1926 Sep 23
}}
{{Succession box|
before=Inaugural Champion|
title=[[NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Gene Tunney]]|
years=1922 Jul 24 – 1926 Sep 23
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Jack}}
[[Category:Native American Boxers]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:World War II Veterans]]
[[Category:Referees]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category: Actors]]

Ingemar Johansson

2010-03-17T21:16:30Z

Brett Dunbar:

[[file:Ingo57.jpeg|left|thumb|250px|Ingemar Johansson]]
[[file:Ibhof-logo.jpg|thumb|right|Class of 2002 Modern Category Hall of Fame bio:[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/johansson.html click]]]
<boxer>012711</boxer>
'''Division:''' Heavyweight 
'''Trainers:''' [[Nils Blomberg]], [[Whitey Bimstein]], [[Al Silvani]] 
'''Manager:''' [[Edwin Ahlquist]] 
'''[[:Category:Ingemar Johansson Gallery|Ingemar Johansson Gallery]]

 
Ingemar Johansson won the Heavyweight Silver Medal for Sweden at the 1952 [[Olympics]] in Helsinki, Finland. In the final against [[Ed Sanders]] of the United States, he was disqualified after the second round by French referee [[Roger Vaisburg]] for "not giving of his best." Johansson was not actually awarded his medal until 30 years later.

Press coverage of the Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johansson match of 1959 focused on Johansson's training methods primarily because Patterson, the defending champion and prohibitive favorite, was often uncomfortable around the press and provided little in the way of exciting copy. And his training methods, when compared to the conventional wisdom of the time, were unorthodox. Eschewing the notion that a fighter ought to be miserable while preparing for a match, Johansson set up shop in the open air of Grossingers resort hotel. While Patterson, who trained in a barn, spent his evenings playing cards with his sparring partners, Ingemar could occasionally be seen at local night spots dancing the night away with his "secretary," Birgit. But the press erred when they characterized Johansson as less than a serious professional. They hadn't taken into account his impressive victories over [[Joe Erskine]], [[Henry Cooper]], and [[Joe Bygraves]]. And they hadn't taken into account his victory over number one ranked [[Eddie Machen]]. It was this match, held on September 14th, 1959, that showed what Johansson could really do.

Machen arrived in Sweden expecting easy money and some low-risk prep work for a shot at Patterson's title early the following year. He received neither. Early in the first round Johansson landed with a straight right, a punch he affectionately referred to as "Toonder and Lightning." Machen went down as if shot. He managed to beat the referee's count, but Johansson scored with "Toonder" a few more times and Machen took the full count his with his head resting on the ring apron. The victory should have won him instant acclaim, but it didn't. The location of the fight - Johansson's back yard - coupled with the bias typically shown against European boxers, caused the public to regard his victory as a fluke.

Another factor contributing to Johansson's slight reputation can be traced back to the 1952 [[Olympics]] at Helsinki. Matched in the semi-finals against the huge American, Ed Sanders, Johansson kept his distance and rarely threw a punch, prompting the referee to disqualify him for not trying. Denied the Silver Medal, Johansson was branded a coward in Sweden. Years later, in his autobiography ''Seconds Out of the Ring,'' Johansson wrote that it had all been a big mistake, that the referee hadn't understood his battle plan, which, according to Johansson, called for a strict defensive strategy over two rounds, and a surprise attack in the third. In light of future events, he may have been right. In any case, his performance at Helsinki seriously damaged his credibility. On the eve of his first fight with Patterson, Johansson was a five to one underdog.

The fight, held in New York's Yankee Stadium on June 27, 1959, began as expected, with Patterson the aggressor and Johansson on defense. Through the first two rounds Johansson was content to move around the ring and throw soft left jabs that annoyed Patterson more than anything else. The right hand that destroyed Machen was nowhere in sight. By the third round, Patterson, according to his memoirs, was convinced that Johansson's fabled right hand, his "Toonder," didn't exist, that it was just a myth manufactured by the press.

Patterson's downfall began with a simple shift in strategy. In the first two rounds the Champion avoided Johansson's jab by bobbing under it, but by the third, a complacent Patterson started picking off the jab with his right glove. About a minute into the round Johansson turned the jab into a wide left hook and Patterson moved his right glove out of position as Johansson hoped he would. Johansson then drove his own right hand straight down the middle, catching Patterson flush. The Champion crashed to the canvas. Glassy eyed, he staggered up at the count of nine, out on his feet. Referee [[Ruby Goldstein]] should have stopped it right there, but instead, wiped off Patterson's gloves and waved Johansson in. Trapped in a deep fog, Patterson turned his back on the charging Johansson and walked to the neutral corner believing that he had scored the knockdown. Johansson indicated to Patterson that this was not so by slamming a hook into the back of his head, dropping him a second time. Five more knockdowns followed before Ruby Goldstein stopped the fight, making Ingemar Johansson the first European since [[Primo Carnera]] to win the Heavyweight Championship the World.

He was a popular champion. Unlike the moody, introspective Patterson, Johansson enjoyed the limelight. He appeared on television, made a movie, and even cut a hit record in Sweden. Many critics believed that the charismatic Swede was the best thing to happen to boxing in years. While the victor cavorted in public, the vanquished lived in a self-imposed exile. Criticized in the past for a lack of killer instinct, Patterson became a man consumed by hate, a hate that served him well in the rematch staged at the [[Polo Grounds]].

[[file:Johansson.Ingemar.2.jpg|right|200px]]
Many predicted a rerun of their first fight, including Johansson. He was fond of telling anyone who would listen that the next time he hit Patterson with old "Toonder" the referee might as well count to a thousand. And history was on his side as well. Never had a heavyweight champion regained the title after losing it, though many had tried.

Unfortunately for Johansson, a different Patterson showed up on the night of June 20, 1960. Fighting with an intensity missing in the first match, Patterson negated Johansson's counter punching with tremendous pressure. Johansson's "Toonder" found the mark only once, in the second round, but Patterson took it well and Johansson couldn't follow up. When in close, Patterson worked the body furiously, and when on the outside he fired a hard left jab that had the dual effect of hurting Johansson and keeping his big right hand from exploding. Early in the fifth, Johansson was dropped to the canvas for the first time in his career. He made it up at the count of nine, but he was in bad shape. Patterson attacked in a frenzy; punches poured in from every angle. During the attack, Johansson lost his equilibrium and found himself turned around, vulnerable to the same back-of-the-head blow that he struck Patterson with a year earlier. Patterson passed on the cheap shot and whirled him around with his right hand and threw his trademark punch, a leaping left hook. It was a direct hit. Johansson crashed to the floor in much the same way Patterson had when hit by "Toonder" a year earlier. But unlike Patterson, Johansson didn't get up. Many at ringside feared for his life as blood trickled out of the left corner of his mouth and his right foot twitched in a manner that suggested brain damage. Floyd Patterson became the first man in history to regain the heavyweight title.

Johansson recovered from the beating and engaged Patterson in a third fight on March 13th, 1961, in Miami Beach, something promised to him by the new champion while unconscious on the floor. Around this time Johansson unwittingly became part of the early [[Muhammad Ali]] legend while training in Miami at the Fifth Street Gym. It came about when Johansson showed up for a sparring session and there was no one to spar with, except Ali, then known as Cassius Clay. Though nineteen and only four pro fights to his credit, young Clay treated Johansson as if he were the sparring partner. He jabbed, he danced, he made him miss. He taunted him throughout. He told him he was a no-talent bum, told him he ought to be fighting Patterson instead. Johansson tried to shut him up but it was no use. He never even came close. After two rounds Johansson's handlers called it off.

He had better luck connecting against Patterson, and for a brief moment it seemed Johansson would become the second man to regain the heavyweight championship. Twice in the first round Johansson found the mark with his right hand and twice Patterson went down. That Johansson believed he was repeating his performance of 1959 was evident by the broad smile on his face while waiting in the neutral corner following the second knockdown. But his moment of glory passed when Patterson scored a knockdown of his own near the close of the round, one of the wildest in heavyweight history. Both had their moments in rounds two through five, but in the sixth, weary from Patterson's ceaseless body attack, Johansson went down and out from a Patterson hook, thus ending the three bout series.

Johansson returned to Europe where he continued his career with knockout wins over Joe Bygraves, [[Wim Snoek]], and [[Dick Richardson]]. Talk of a challenge to [[Sonny Liston]], who had relieved Floyd Patterson of the championship in the fall of 1962, began circulating.

On April 21st, 1963, Johansson took on [[Brian London]] in a bout scheduled for twelve rounds. Near the close of the last round, London, who ranked in the top ten but was held in low esteem, flattened the former champ with a right hand. The bell rang at the count of four, saving Johansson from a knockout. The referee and sole judge of the fight awarded the decision to Johansson, a decision greeted with jeers and catcalls. Johansson had gotten lucky and he knew it. He never fought again.

In 1970, Johansson made international news when he starting training in a local Swedish gym. Photos of the former champion showed him with a beer belly. One of his sparring partners, an amateur Swedish heavyweight, said that Ingo still had power in his punch. Johansson's rumored return made the pages of the [[The Ring Magazine]], [[International Boxing]], [[Boxing Illustrated]], and just about every newspaper in the free world. However, whatever Johansson was planning never amounted to a ring return. The simple fact remained, that at 37 years old, he no longer had the drive and desire to get back into fighting shape.

The highlight of Johansson's post boxing career happened in 1982 when the International Olympic Committee forgave him for his tepid performance at the Helsinki Olympics, and presented him with the Silver Medal. For Johansson, it was a special moment. In that same year, Johansson took a break from his many business activities and entered the New York City Marathon along with his old nemeses, Floyd Patterson. Though severely overweight, he managed to finish the race. But, as in two of their three championship fights, he finished well behind Patterson.

Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1988.
Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame June 2002.

[[file:Johansson.Ingemar.3.jpg|center|200px]]

----

Amateur Record (By Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet/Johansson?s autobiography Sekonderna ''Seconds out of the Ring'' (Stanley Paul, 1960))

1948 (Feb. 17 - Dec. 30)
Uno Jacobsson (SW) G?teborg, Sweden W KO 1
Helge Olausson (SW) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
Hans Fredriksson (SW) G?teborg, Sweden W TKO 3
Stig Johansson (SW) G?tebotg, Sweden W KO 1
Carl Nilsson (SW) Malm?, Sweden L PTS 3
Gert Schyllert (SW) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
Lars Varg (SW) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
Einar Dragsten (SW) Stockholm, Sweden L PTS 3
(Swedish Junior championships)
1949 (Jan. 23 - Dec. 11)
Lars Johansson (SW) J?nk?ping, Sweden W PTS 3
Bengt ?kerman (SW) Bor?s, Sweden W KO 1
Sven Nordin (SW) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
Olle Bergstr?m (SW) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
Bror Andersson (SW) Halmstad, Sweden L PTS 3
Rolf Thorsrud (NO) Trollh?ttan, Sweden W TKO 3
Hugo Nystr?m (SW) Eskilstuna, Sweden W PTS 3
Bert Bergkvist (SW) Nyk?ping, Sweden W KO 2
Filip Karlsson (SW) Sk?vde, Sweden W TKO 2
Gert Schyllert (SW) Helsingborg, Sweden W PTS 3
Karl Frank (DK) G?teborg, Sweden W KO 3
Lasse M?rling (SW) Kalmar, Sweden W KO 2

1950 (Jan. 2 - Dec. 30)
Folke Sj?berg (SW) Stockholm, Sweden W KO 1
(Swedish Junior championships)
Lars Varg (SW) Stockholm, Sweden W KO 3
(Swedish Junior championships/Final)
Arne Holm (SW) G?teborg, Sweden W KO 3
Leo S?rensen (DK) Helsingborg, Sweden W KO 2
Knut Hwidsten (NO) V?ster?s, Sweden W TKO 2
(Sweden vs Norway Junior International)
Villy Hansen (DK) Lund, Sweden W KO 1
Ludvig Larsen (DK) G?teborg, Sweden W TKO 2
Arne Holm (SW) Stockholm, Sweden W PTS 3
(Swedish championships)
Bengt Modigh (SW) Stockholm, Sweden W PTS 3
(Swedish championships/Final)
Stig Frisk (SW) V?rnamo, Sweden W PTS 3
Bengt Modigh (SW) Stockholm, Sweden L PTS 3
John Bj?rnflatne (NO) G?teborg, Sweden W KO 2
Aldo Pellegrini (IT) Milano, Italy W PTS 3
(Italy vs Sweden International)
Aldo Pellegrini (IT) Roma, Italy W PTS 3
(Italy vs Sweden International
Laurent Touzard (FR) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
Leo Kroon (SW) Link?ping, Sweden W PTS 3
Henrik Bostr?m (FN) Stockholm, Sweden W KO 1
Olle Axelsson (SW) Lund, Sweden W KO 3
Bjarne Olsen (NO) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
(Sweden vs Norway International)
Lars Johansson (SW) J?nk?ping, Sweden W KO 2
Herluf Hansen (DK) K?benhavn, Denmark W PTS 3
(Denmark vs Sweden International)
Olle Axelsson (SW) Kinna, Sweden W TKO 2
Leo Kroon (SW) Helsingborg, Sweden W TKO 3
Uwe Jansen (GE) Hamburg, Germany L PTS 3
Horst Herold (GE) Wolfsburg, Germany W PTS 3

1951 /Jan. 12 - Oct. 10)
Peter Toch (UK) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
Ilkka Koski (FN) Helsingfors, Finland W PTS 3
Aljgirdas Schotsikas (USSR) G?tebeorg, Sweden L PTS 3
Uwe Jansen (GE) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
Uwe Jansen (GE) Kinna, Sweden W TKO 2
Th?rner ?hsman (SW) Stockholm, Sweden W PTS 3
(Swedish Championships)
Bror Sandgren (SW) Stockholm, Sweden W PTS 3
(Swedish Championships/Final)
Tommy Skovgaard (DK) Stockholm, Sweden W PTS 3
(Sweden vs Denmark International)
[[Ernest Fann]] (US) Chicago, IL, USA W KO 3
Norvel Lee (US) G?teborg, Sweden L PTS 3
Tommy Skovaard (DK) K?benhavn, Denmark W PTS 3
Bjarne Lingaas (NO) Oslo, Norway L PTS 3
(Norway vs Sweden International)
Th?rner ?hsman (SW) G?teborg, Sweden W KO 1
Laurent Touzard (FR) Paris, France W PTS 3
Aldo Pellegrini (IT) G?teborg, Sweden W PTS 3
(Sweden vs Italy International)
 
'''1952''' (Feb. 29 - Aug. 2)
*Owe Wahlfeldt (SW) Stockholm, Sweden W KO 1
**(Swedish Championships)
*Gerhard Lindblom (SW) Stockholm, Sweden W TKO 2
**(Swedish Championships)
*Gert Schyllert (SW) Stockholm, Sweden W KO 1
**(Swedish Championships/Final)
*Carl Frank (DK) Stockholm, Sweden W KO 1
**(Sweden vs Denmark International)
*Laurent Touzard (FR) Stockholm, Sweden W KO 1
**(Sweden vs France International)
*Tomo Krizmanic (JU) Stockholm, Sweden L PTS 3
*[[Walter Kuhnert]] (GE) Stockholm, Sweden W KO 2
*[[Horymir Netuka]] (CZ) Helsinki, Finland W PTS 3 (3-0) (Olympic Games)
*[[Tomo Krizmanic]] (JU) Helsinki, Finland W PTS 3 (3-0) (Olympic Games)
*[[Ilkka Koski]] (FI) Helsinki, Finland W PTS 3 (2-1) (Olympic semi-final)
*[[Ed Sanders]] (US) Helsinki, Finland L DQ 2 (Olympic final)

Total; 71 - Won 61 (31 KO/TKO) Lost 10 (9 PTS, 1 DQ
Palais 17.12.02/RSbg

----

== Miscellaneous ==
* Named [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year]] for 1958 and 1959.
* Appeared as a guest on an early 1959 episode of the American television series "What's My Line?" Panelist Martin Gable, although blind-folded, quickly guessed Johansson's professional boxing occupation.
* Had a brief acting career.
* [http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=30321&lid=puff_477115&lpos=lasMer Web site] of the Swedish Broadcast Corporation: (film of Johansson vs Hein ten Hoff, and vs Uber Bacilieri, etc.)

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Floyd Patterson]]|
title=[[World Heavyweight Champion]] [[NBA World Heavyweight Champion]] [[NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Floyd Patterson]]|
years=1959 Jun 26 – 1960 Jun 20
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johansson, Ingemar}}
[[Category:2009 Deaths]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:Swedish World Champions]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category:1952 Olympians]]
[[Category:Olympic Silver Medalists]]
[[Category:Swedish Olympians]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Paul Williams

2008-11-30T22:25:19Z

Brett Dunbar:

[[file:Williams2.jpg|left|thumb|Paul Williams]]
<boxer>020755</boxer>

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Antonio Margarito]]|
title=[[WBO Welterweight Champion]]|
after=[[Carlos Quintana]]|
years=2007 Jul 14 – 2008 Feb 9
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Carlos Quintana]]|
title=[[WBO Welterweight Champion]]|
after=Vacant|
years=2008 Jun 7 – 2008 Nov 12 '''Vacated'''|
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Verno Phillips]]|
title=[[WBO Interim Light Middleweight Champion]]|
after=Current|
years=2008 Nov 29 – Present |
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Paul}}
[[Category:African American Boxers]]
[[Category:World Welterweight Champions]]
[[Category:World Light Middleweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:Southpaw World Champions]]
[[Category: NABO Welterweight Champions]]

Steve Collins vs. Craig Cummings

2008-09-20T03:11:48Z

Brett Dunbar: Collins retired, Cummings did not.

<fight>11821</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Organization]] Super Middleweight Title''' (7th. defending of Collins) 
*Time: 1:17 
*Weights: 167.75 lbs, Cummings 161.25 lbs
 
== Comment(s): ==
- Both fighters down in the 1st round. 
- Collins retired after this fight.

Fernando Montiel vs. Luis Melendez

2007-10-06T18:37:08Z

Brett Dunbar: Typo

<Fight>1235055</fight>

*'''[[WBO]] Super Flyweight Title'''
*Time: 1:58
*Referee: [[Kenny Bayless]]
* Scores at time of stoppage: 107-100 | 107-100 | 107-101

Melendez down in round 6 from a combination punctuated by a hard right hand. 90 seconds later, in round seven, Montiel was hurt badly by a left cross from Melendez and he went down hard. At the end of round 11, Montiel hurt Melendez with a hard left hook to the body. About 30 seconds into round 12, Melendez was hurt badly by another left hook to the body, and he went down. He got up, but was stopped shortly afterwards when he was hit by another vicious combination from Montiel.

* Versus TV reported the blows totals as Montiel 218/696 31%, Melendez 122/515 24%. Data Boxing reported that Montiel controlled 57% of the 112 Events Per Round.

Ivan Calderon

2007-08-26T07:40:41Z

Brett Dunbar: Typo

[[file:Calderon.ivan.jpg|frame|left|Ivan Calderon (AP photo)]]<boxer>041357</boxer>
 
Calderon is known as a great pure boxer. He is currently 27-0 (6 KOs) and is a top strawweight. He was an amateur rival of [[Brian Viloria]], beating him in three out of their four bouts. He also defeated [[Miguel Angel Cotto]] during his amateur career.

=== Amateur Highlights ===
*1999 3rd place as a Light Flyweight at Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. Results were:
**Defeated [[Wilfrido Valez]] (Colombia) points
**Defeated [[Mendeo Winston]] (Dominican Republic) points
**Lost to [[Maikro Romaro]] (Cuba) points
*2000 represented Puerto Rico as a light flyweight at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Result was:
**Lost to [[Masara La Paene]] (Indonesia) points

{{start box}}
{{Incumbent succession box|
before=[[Eduardo Ray Marquez]]|
title=[[WBO Minimumweight Champion]]|
start=3 May 2003|
}}
{{Incumbent succession box|
before=[[Hugo Cazares]]|
title=[[WBO Light Flyweight Champion]]|
start=25 August 2007|
}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Puerto Rican Olympians|Calderon, Ivan]]
[[Category:2000 Olympians|Calderon, Ivan]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican World Champions|Calderon, Ivan]]
[[Category:World Minimumweight Champions|Calderon, Ivan]]

Ivan Calderon

2007-08-26T07:39:45Z

Brett Dunbar: Update to succesion box after Calderon beat Cazeres

[[file:Calderon.ivan.jpg|frame|left|Ivan Calderon (AP photo)]]<boxer>041357</boxer>
 
Calderon is known as a great pure boxer. He is currently 27-0 (6 KOs) and is a top strawweight. He was an amateur rival of [[Brian Viloria]], beating him in three out of their four bouts. He also defeated [[Miguel Angel Cotto]] during his amateur career.

=== Amateur Highlights ===
*1999 3rd place as a Light Flyweight at Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. Results were:
**Defeated [[Wilfrido Valez]] (Colombia) points
**Defeated [[Mendeo Winston]] (Dominican Republic) points
**Lost to [[Maikro Romaro]] (Cuba) points
*2000 represented Puerto Rico as a light flyweight at the 2000 Syndey Olympic Games. Result was:
**Lost to [[Masara La Paene]] (Indonesia) points

{{start box}}
{{Incumbent succession box|
before=[[Eduardo Ray Marquez]]|
title=[[WBO Minimumweight Champion]]|
start=3 May 2003|
}}
{{Incumbent succession box|
before=[[Hugo Cazares]]|
title=[[WBO Light Flyweight Champion]]|
start=25 August 2007|
}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Puerto Rican Olympians|Calderon, Ivan]]
[[Category:2000 Olympians|Calderon, Ivan]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican World Champions|Calderon, Ivan]]
[[Category:World Minimumweight Champions|Calderon, Ivan]]

Hugo Fidel Cazares

2007-08-26T07:37:04Z

Brett Dunbar: Update to succesion box after Calderon beat Cazeres

<boxer>017085</boxer>

{{start box}}
{{succession box|
before= [[Nelson Dieppa]]|
title= [[WBO Light Flyweight Champion]]|
start= 30 April 2005|
after=[[Ivan Calderon]]|
years=30 April 2005– 25 August 2007
}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:World Light Flyweight Champions|Cazares, Hugo]]
[[Category:Mexican World Champions|Cazares, Hugo]]

Pone Kingpetch

2007-08-25T15:43:57Z

Brett Dunbar: Obvious typo

[[file:Pone_kingpetch.jpg|right|thumb|Pone Kingpetch]]
<boxer>011494</boxer>
'''Trainers''': [[Niyom Tongchit]], [[Al Silvani]] 
'''Manager''': [[Tongtot Intaratat]]

The first world champion from Thailand.

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Pascual Perez]]|
title=[[World Flyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Fighting Harada]]|
years=16 Apr 1960– 10 Oct 1962
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Fighting Harada]]|
title=[[World Flyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Hiroyuki Ebihara]]|
years=12 Jan 1963– 18 Sep 1963
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Hiroyuki Ebihara]]|
title=[[WBC Flyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Salvatore Burruni]]|
years=23 Jan 1964– 23 Apr 1965
}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:World Flyweight Champions|Kingpetch, Pone]]
[[Category:Thailand World Champions|Kingpetch, Pone]]

Charlie Brown

2007-07-28T10:10:46Z

Brett Dunbar: Obviiously missing word

<boxer>008890</boxer>

*Known as Charlie "Choo-Choo" Brown
*Not to be confused with Charlie "Whitelightning" Brown, a world class Lightweight who boxed at the same time as this Brown.

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=Inaugural Champion|
title=[[IBF Lightweight Champion]]|
after=[[Harry Arroyo]]|
years=30 Jan 1984–15 Apr 1984
}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:World Lightweight Champions|Brown, Charlie]]
[[Category:American World Champions|Brown, Charlie]]

Marvin Camel

2007-07-28T10:06:29Z

Brett Dunbar: Corrected clearly wrong date for start of IBF reign, it was 1983 not 1985

[[file:Marvin camel 1.jpg|left|300px|Marvin Camel]]
[[file:Marvin camel.jpg|right|300px|Camel]]
<boxer>000854</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Eddie Futch]] 
'''Manager:''' [[Elmer Boyce]]
 
* In 2006 at the [[World Boxing Council]]'s 44th annual convention WBC President [[Jose Sulaiman]] awarded him honorary champion status.
== World Titles ==
*WBC Cruiserweight Champion (1980) (Camel was the first Cruiserweight champion)
*IBF Cruiserweight Champion (1983-84)

== Regional Titles ==
*NABF Light Heavyweight Champion (1979)
*Nevada State Cruiserweight Champion (1981)
*USBA Cruiserweight Champion (1981-82)

Member of the Flathead Tribe 
First southpaw World Champion in Cruiseweight Division

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=Inaugural champion|
title=[[WBC Cruiserweight Champion]]|
after=[[Carlos DeLeon]]|
years=31 Mar 1980–25 Nov 1980
}}
{{Succession box|
before=Inaugural champion|
title=[[IBF Cruiserweight Champion]]|
after=[[Lee Roy Murphy]]|
years=13 Dec 1983–6 Oct 1984
}}
{{end box}}
[[Category: World Cruiserweight Champions|Camel, Marvin]]
[[Category:American World Champions|Camel, Marvin]]
[[Category: Native American Boxers|Camel, Marvin]]
[[Category:Southpaw World Champions|Camel, Marvin]]

Glen Johnson

2007-07-28T03:20:23Z

Brett Dunbar: missing space

[[file:Johnson.glen.jpg|left|frame|Glen Johnson Photo: www.glencoffe.8k.com]]
<boxer>007361</boxer>
'''Trainer''': [[Orlando Cuellar]]

Also known as Glengoffe Johnson or Glencoffe Johnson. Johnson arrived in South Florida, from Jamaica, at the age of 15. He would not begin boxing until a few years later.
 
== Regional Titles ==
*WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Title (1999)
*IBF Intercontinental Super Middleweight Title (2000)
*WBO Intercontinental Light Heavyweight Title (2001)
*USBA Light Heavyweight Title (2003)

== World Titles ==
*Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Title vs. [[Boxer:Antonio Tarver:014043|Antonio Tarver]] on 12/18/04 W SD 12
*IBF Light Heayweight Title (2004, vacated to face Ring Magazine Champion [[Boxer:Antonio Tarver:014043|Antonio Tarver]], instead of IBF mandatory opponent and fringe contender [[Boxer:Rico Hoye:050314|Rico Hoye]].)

Before winning a world title, Johnson unsuccessfully challenged for a world title in the following instances:
*IBF Middleweight Title vs. [[Boxer:Bernard Hopkins:001414|Bernard Hopkins]] on 7/20/97 L TKO 11
*IBF Super Middleweight Title vs. [[Boxer:Sven Ottke:007203|Sven Ottke]] on 11/27/99 L UD 12
*Vacant IBF Light Heavyweight Title vs. [[Boxer:Clinton Woods:007831|Clinton Woods]] on 11/7/03 D 12

== Other World Title Recognition==
Johnson became recognized in most circles as the top Light Heavyweight in the world when he defeated [[Boxer:Antonio Tarver:014043|Antonio Tarver]] in December 2004. Even with the win over Tarver he was not recognized as Lineal Champion by some people such as the Cyber Boxing Zone, who recognized [[Zsolt Erdei]].

Tarver defeated Johnson by unanimous decision in their June 18, 2005 rematch, to end Johnson's claim as Light Heavyweight champion.

== Awards and Other Achievements ==
*2004 [[USA Today]] Fighter of the Year
*2004 [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year]]

[http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=007361 Fight Record]

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[James Toney]]|
title=[[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year]]|
after=[[Ricky Hatton]]|
years=2004 }}

{{Succession box|
before=[[Antonio Tarver]] Vacated|
title=[[IBF Light Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Clinton Woods]]|
years=6 February 2004–December 2004 Stripped
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Antonio Tarver]]||
title=[[IBO Light Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Antonio Tarver]]|
years=18 Dec 2004 – 18 June 2005
}}
{{end box}}
[[Category:World Light Heavyweight Champions|Johnson, Glen]]
[[Category:Jamaican World Champions|Johnson, Glen]]

Joe Calzaghe vs. Sakio Bika

2007-05-12T15:41:10Z

Brett Dunbar: Some spelling and grammer

<fight> 1119919 </fight>
*'''[[International Boxing Federation]] Super Middleweight Title''' (1st. defending of Calzaghe) 
*'''[[World Boxing Organization]] Super Middleweight Title''' (19th. defending of Calzaghe) 
*'''Referee:''' [[Mickey Vann]] 
*'''Judges scoring:''' [[Jose Rivera]] (117-110), [[John Lawson]] (117-110), [[Phil Edwards]] (116-111) 
*The [[Unified Rules of Boxing]] applied 
*Weights: 168 lbs (each) 
*Announcer: [[Michael Buffer]]
 
== Comment(s): ==
- [[The Ring Magazine]] Super Middleweight belt was at stake. 
- Calzaghe won a 12 round brawl against Bika. 
- Calzaghe was cut in the 4th round over the left eye by a headbutt. 
- Bika had one point deducted in the 5th round for a headbutt. 
- With this win, Calzaghe has made 19 defences of his Super Middleweight title. 
- This is the second highest in this division, [[Sven Ottke]] made 21 successful defences of the [[IBF]] title. 
- Broadcast on ITV and HBO (via tape delay)

[[Category:2006 Bouts|Calzaghe vs. Bika]]