Fight:403307
Click on image for larger version
Dode Bercot 145 lbs beat Kid Thompson 158 lbs by KO in round 3
- Date: 1922-06-17
- Location: Monroe, Washington, USA
Often incorrectly reported by later local newspapers as Bercot's professional debut. At this time he was a Monroe, WA, USA, timber "high-rigger," who climbed high upon Evergreen trees to prepare them for cutting.
"Conceiving the idea that he would like to give his feet and hands an equal chance with courage, Dode, 19 years old, sought the opportunity of entering the ring. His chance came five months ago at Monroe when he was an interested spectator at a smoker headlined by Ned Dunlap and Eddie Keller in which [Seattle promoter Lonnie] Austin assisted in arranging. A Seattle newspaper says this about Bercott [sic]: 'At the conclusion of a rough, tough semifinal between Cline Harrison and Thompson, two 158 pound loggers, Bercott hesitatingly approached Austin and remarked that he would like to fight the winner. "When Dode told me that he weighed 145 pounds fully dressed, I suggested that he was offering too much of a handicap," said Lonnie. "But he was so insistent that I finally matched him with Thompson, the winner, whom he knocked out in the third round... Since Bercott started in June of this year, he has had eight fights, winning four by knockouts, two decisions, and two draws. His last battle was in Tacoma last week, when he won the decision from Art Sorento in a grueling match. The kid doesn't know a great deal yet, but he is learning fast, and I believe with his fighting instinct and puzzling style, I have a real champion. Whether or not he is, it's a cinch he will make a hit with any fight audience."'" Everett Daily Herald, November 17. ("Kid Thompson" per the Nov. 18 Tacoma News-Tribune. This June 17 date comes from the April 26, 1925 Spokane Spokesman Review.)