The Night Jersey Joe Walcott Made Arnold Raymond Cream Champion Of The World

The Night Jersey Joe Walcott Made Arnold Raymond Cream Champion Of The World

By Peter Silkov.
For The Boxing Glove

In the end, it took just one punch, a dynamite left-hook to the face of Ezzard Charles, and ten seconds later Jersey Joe Walcott was heavyweight champion of the world. One could argue that Walcott was champion as soon as the punch had landed. It was an irrepressible force upon impact, and the devastation produced was visible on the face of the reigning champion as he fell forward senseless onto his face. To those with a keen sense of boxing knowledge, it seemed clear that this was one of those blows that would render the receiver unable to beat the fatal count of ten seconds.

Just after impact, Charles fell onto his right knee, his head bowed, where he froze for a moment. Almost as if he were in prayer. Then he pitched down the rest of the way forwards, coming to rest with his face pressed into the canvas.  He looked like someone taking a long overdue slumber.

Jersey Joe had entered the ring that night in Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a 37-year-old 5-to-1 underdog, against a man who had already beaten him twice.  When he left the ring some thirty minutes or so later he held in his gloved hands the richest prize in sports. Such is the beauty of boxing.

Charles was 'out' even before the skin of his face stuck upon the ring canvas.  In fact, the connection between canvas and face may well have 'awakened' Charles and provoked his improbable attempt to regain his feet in time to continue the fight and the 9th defense of his world title.  Yet his senses were too widely scattered and although he made a courageous attempt to beat the count, he failed.  Even as he lay prone upon his face the courageous Charles tried to regain his feet by wearily pushing at the canvas with his arms.  At this point, it seemed almost as if his arms were working separately from the rest of his body as if they were the only conscious part of the fallen fighter. As the count reached six Charles managed to raise his head, and at the count of eight he had managed to get to his knees. The soon to be ex-heavyweight champion of the world then wobbled back drunkenly onto his feet, just as the count reached the fatal 10.  Yet no sooner had the soles of his boots regained their acquaintance with the canvas, then Charles was falling again, this time backward onto his back, where he lay glassy-eyed and confused as his cornermen rushed to the now ex-champions aid.

In victory, the victor was almost rendered unconscious himself with the shock of what he had just accomplished. The spectators, whom earlier had sat largely unmoved by the action unfolding before them during previous rounds, had themselves been energized into an excited frenzy by the sudden turn of events, with many of them taking to their feet and trying to get into the ring itself.  What ensued in the next minutes was a kind of jubilant frenzy which only sport at its best, and in particular boxing (although this writer is biased) can produce.

Surrounded by an ever-growing mass of spectators, who flooded into the ring and launched themselves at their new hero. Pulled upon by his cornermen, as they sought to protect him from the expanding throng of excited human beings who were filling the ring. Jersey Joe Walcott, the new heavyweight champion of the world, breathing heavily, fell to his knees and murmured in a voice that was all but totally drowned out by the tumult surrounding him, 'Thank God!'.

Later when he had composed himself enough to speak to reporters, Walcott had exclaimed about his victory “I felt 16 years old again!”

Up until the sudden conclusion, the fight seemed to be following the same unspectacular pattern of the previous two encounters between these two men. The night had exploded into life with the sudden match-ending punch that must go down as one of the most spectacular and clinical one punch finishes that have ever been seen in a heavyweight championship bout.

It had been just one left hook that had caused this explosion of excitement and uproar. It brought about one of the biggest upsets the division had seen, up until that time.  One punch had beaten the 5-to-1 odds laid against the challenger. One punch, but that punch had taken over 20 years to land. 20 years of blood, bruises, and heartbreak. Years filled with sweat, frustration, victories, and disappointments. At the age of 37 (although some sources made Walcott closer to 42 or 43 years in age) Jersey Joe had withstood more highs and lows than is probably in a single fighter's career. His resilience to the lows, and his ability to bounce back from each setback, again and again, was the reason why he had just become the oldest man to capture sport's greatest crown at the age of (at least) 37. Walcott also gained the distinction of becoming the first man to win the most prestigious title in boxing at his 5th attempt.

The crowd knew.  They had followed his journey from the first Louis match when he had appeared out of nowhere to give the great Joe Louis the hardest fight of his already legendary world title reign. Many of the spectators, who were on their feet after seeing Walcott land that dynamite punch upon Ezzard Charles, were the same people who booed and protested loudly three and a half years earlier when the judges failed to give the verdict to Walcott at the end of his first fight with Joe Louis. It seemed, to many that night, that Jersey Joe had been robbed by the judges of a famous and improbable, yet well-deserved victory.  Until that night Walcott had been unknown to the average fight fan, despite a career going back 17 years.  He had flummoxed, frustrated, bewildered and out-boxed the champion with his swift-footed, herky-jerky style of boxing. Not only that, but Walcott had hurt Louis several times, and floored him twice.  Jersey Joe was like a wasp in the ring, buzzing around and around, in and out, and he had a sting. 

21 out of 32 ringside boxing writers had Walcott the winner at the conclusion of his first fight with Louis, while Louis himself was so convinced of his defeat that he attempted to leave the ring before the verdict was announced.  Yet Walcott was not crowned champion that night against Louis, instead, in many peoples eyes, he was robbed of a historic against all odds victory, the kind of which only comes to a man once in a lifetime.

Six months later Walcott had another shot at immortality when Louis granted him a second shot at his world title. Once more Walcott gave 'The Brown Bomber' fits with his speed and style, but this time Louis caught up Jersey Joe in the 11th round and knocked him out.  Ironically this time Walcott had been leading on two of the three judges cards.  Walcott's dream, the dream he had held since he first pulled a pair of boxing gloves onto his hands over 17 years earlier seemed to be gone.

How many chances at greatness does one man get in life?

After Joe Louis announced his retirement from the ring following his 11th round knockout of Walcott, Jersey Joe and Ezzard Charles were matched together to fight for the now vacant World heavyweight crown.  On June 22, 1949, Charles out-pointed Walcott over 15 rather uninspired rounds to gain NBA recognition as the worlds heavyweight champion.  It had been Walcott's third shot at destiny and this time he had failed to sparkle.

Ezzard Charles was a brilliant boxer in his own right, who in many ways is only now gaining the accolades that he so deserved during the time he was active in the 40s and 50s.  Yet Charles and Walcott together seemed to nullify each other's abilities. When matched together, except for some sporadic outbursts of action and excitement, their fights were mainly underwhelming to most spectators.  Especially taking into account what people expected from a world heavyweight title fight at the time.

The fans wanted blood and guts, wild exchanges of powerful punches.  Not the kind of cerebral boxing matches that they got when Walcott and Charles were matched up together.

Despite the underwhelming nature of their first fight, Charles and Walcott faced eachother again on  March 7th, 1951, with Walcott entering the match on the back of an upset points defeat to the raw yet tough Rex Layne.  Charles, who was proving himself to be a fighting champion, despite the lack of recognition from the fight fans at large, was making the 7th defence of his world title. 

For the fourth time, Walcott found himself the bridesmaid rather than the bride, as he was once more out-pointed over 15 rounds by Charles. With Walcott the sentimental favourite, the crowd had booed the verdict, yet those boos didn't bring his dream any closer. After four shots at the greatest prize in sport, it seemed that Jersey Joe had missed his chance at immortality and would go down as one of boxing's nearly men. A man who could have been champion save for the scores upon one judge’s scorecard.

Yet fate is a funny thing, and sometimes immortality is a combination of being at the right place at the right time but also making sure you are at the right place at the right time.

With his advanced age and the years he had put into his career, Walcott could easily have accepted his fate as a runner up who had come so close and yet so far, and simply hung up his gloves. After years of struggle, he had earned enough from his losing attempts at the world championship so that he and his family now lived comfortably in the family home in Camden New Jersey. He was no-longer wondering where his next meal was coming from as he had so often earlier in his career. 

Yet Jersey Joe Walcott was still hungry. He still held onto that flickering dream of being heavyweight champion of the world. Perhaps if anything, after coming so close yet failing four times, the dream was even stronger now for Walcott. Even if few outside his immeadiate circle still believed it possible.  Perhaps Jersey Joe Walcott wouldn't let Arnold Raymond Cream quit before his dream had been fulfilled.

So Joe didn't hang up his gloves. He didn't quit after the Louis rematch. He didn't quit after the first bout with Ezzard Charles or even after the second defeat to Charles.  Jersey Joe wasn't a quitter and perhaps, more than anything else, this is the clue as to how in the end he managed to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Then came that stroke of luck which sometimes blesses the talented, but more often than not blesses those who show the kind of stubborn endurance, and belief, in the face of failure that  Jersey Joe displayed throughout his long career. With genuine challengers for his world title scant on the ground, Ezzard Charles found himself facing Walcott for the third time on that fateful night of July 18, 1951.

This time something was different, there was an extra spark in Walcott, the kind that he hadn't had perhaps since his two fights with Joe Louis. Maybe this time he knew that this 5th chance at his dream had to be his last chance.

The bout started out much like their previous two encounters, with both boxing cagily, and seemingly waiting for the other to make a move or a mistake. People had expected Charles to take more of the initiative in this bout in order to beat Walcott by a wider margin than previously and remove him from contention as a challenger. However, Charles was content to play the waiting game and let Walcott be the aggressor. For his part, instead of using his usual style of tricky movement and countering, Jersey Joe was more happy to hold his ground this time and deliver more telling punches than in their previous encounters. Although Charles edged the first two rounds with his more effective jab, Walcott's strategy began to bear fruit in the 3rd round when he seemed to hurt Charles with two left-hooks to the body. He also landed a left hook to the face which opened a cut underneath the champions right eye. From this point, Walcott the eternal challenger began to gain control of the fight, seemingly growing stronger as the match went on, perhaps with the growing belief that this time, this time, he would not finish second.

As the rounds progressed Charles continued to box smartly with his jab, but there was an ineffectiveness now in his work. Walcott had his own jab working, and furthermore, he was landing rights and lefts to the body that seemed to be draining Ezzard. While Charles punches looked to be bouncing harmlessly off Walcott when they landed, Jersey Joe's own blows seemed to be landing with a touch more weight. The two exchanged jabs in the 4th and 5th rounds, but Walcott's punches were becoming more telling. Ezzard was visibly shaken by a right hand in the 4th, while in the 5th round the defending champion seemed to be hurt twice, as his challenger switched from head to body in some of the best exchanges of the fight. Ezzard fought back but his punches lacked sting in comparison to Jersey Joe. In the 6th round, Walcott started looking to land the left hook more as he became visibly more confident, with the concentration and determination etched upon his face.

Then in the fateful 7th Walcott finally landed that left hook. The left hook that had taken 21 years to reach its destination. Back then he hadn't been Jersey Joe Walcott, but Arnold Raymond Cream, born in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, on  January 31, 1914, (although there were always whispers that the year of Arnold Cream's birth could be somewhat earlier than 1914). Officially Arnold Cream began his career on September 9, 1930, with a 1st round knockout of Eddie Wallace. Cream weighed 152 pounds in that early endeavor, with a long long road ahead of him before he would reach anything like the success that he dreamed about every-time he clenched his gloved hands.

It was not until some three years later on July 28, 1933, against a certain Henry Taylor, (whom he knocked out in the 1st round) that Arnold Cream became Jersey Joe Walcott. Arnold took the name of the old 'Barbados Demon' Joe Walcott, who had ruled the welterweights and been one of the most feared fighters pound-for-pound during the 1890s and early 1900s.  Perhaps he had hoped that some of the old Demons magic would rub off upon him.

There was little magic for the first decade of Jersey Joe Walcott's career. He struggled to find fights, and when he did get fights, he was seldom well-prepared for them as he often went into his early fights hungry. Jersey Joe's early career was so sporadic and full of ups and downs that he was forced to take work elsewhere, working in construction, as a porter, a janitor, and many other areas of menial employment in order to feed his growing family. At one point Walcott was forced to go on relief and provide for his family with 9 dollars 5 cents a week. Several times Jersey Joe retired from the ring and almost gave up on the dream that in his lowest moments seemed to have become just a memory.  But Walcott, a humble yet determined man, believed that God would help him achieve his goal if he just kept his faith in himself and continued to work hard to reach it despite all the hard years and the setbacks.

Walcott's career only really began to take off in 1945, when, after having just 2 fights in five years, he returned from another lay off of 7 months, with new management in the shape of Felix Bocchicchio. Under the guidance of Bocchicchio, who promoted fights in Walcott's adopted home town of Camden New Jersey, Jersey Joe finally began to get regular fights, and produced a streak of 18 wins in 21 matches.  These included victories over notable fighters such as Joe Baksi, Lee Q Murray, Curtis Sheppard, Jimmy Bivins, Lee Oma, Joey Maxim and Elmar Ray.  The wins over Maxim and Ray avenged two of the defeats that Walcott suffered during this time and qualified him for his first title shot against Joe Louis.

It would take a little longer for Jersey Joe to realize his dream after his controversial 1st defeat to Louis, but finally, after 21 years he achieved what he had dreamed about all those years earlier.

Eleven months after landing that historic left-hook Jersey Joe successfully defended his World Heavyweight title against the man he took it from, convincingly out-pointing Ezzard Charles over 15 rounds. After successfully defending his world crown Walcott declared “This proves that I'm really champion, this proves it wasn't any lucky punch in Pittsburgh. I had him all the way. This win meant more to me”.

The successful title defence against Charles made Walcott at 38 years of age, the oldest man to successfully defend the World heavyweight crown. That and his record of being the oldest man to win the heavyweight title would stand until 1995 when George Foreman regained a portion of the world heavyweight championship against Michael Moorer.  (Ironically with a spectacular one-punch knockout).

Perhaps some of Joe Walcott's old demon magic had rubbed off upon Arnold Raymond Cream after all.

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Andre Dirrell Title Fight Erupts In Explosive Punches and Disqualification

 

By Peter Silkov

Last night”s scenes at the MGM National Harbour, Oxon Hill, Maryland, during the aftermath of the Andre Dirrell vs Jose Uzcategui match, were a disgrace to the sport. Uzcaregui had just been disqualified after the 8th round for landing a punch after the bell, which sent Dirrell face-first to the canvas, and unable to continue the contest. Ironically, Dirrell was also involved in a similar incident in 2010, when Arthur Abraham also knocked him out with a blow after the bell. However, on that occasion, the aftermath was not quite as controversial and violent as it turned out to be on Saturday night. Uzcategui seemed to be very unlucky to be disqualified in a fight that he seemed to be winning clearly, for a late punch, which seemed purely accidental. Uzcategui already had Dirrell hurt and backed up into a corner, and was in the midst of a throwing a flurry of punches, when the bell sounded. In the past, fighters have got away with such incidences with point's deductions, or simple warnings, but with Dirrell seemingly rendered incapacitated by the late punch, the referee had little choice but to disqualify Uzcategui.

Yet, if Uzcategui was thinking that his night had just taken a bad turn things were about to get even darker. Moments later, with both boxers now in their corners, and Dirrell quickly recovering, Leon Lawson, Jr the uncle of Dirrell, and member of his coaching team, approached Jose Uzcategui, and sucker-punched him with a brutal left hand that snapped Uzcategui's head back alarmingly. Luckily, a second punch by Lawson only clipped Uzcategui's neck, and by then, his corner-men had rushed in front of their fighter to protect him from Lawson. It was a vicious, and to be blunt, cowardly attack by Lawson, who then fled the scene, and is now being sought by the Police. Hopefully Uzcategui is unhurt from the post-fight assault that he suffered at the hands of Lawson.

This incident recalls the case of the Richard Grant vs James Butler fight in November 2001, who incidentally were also super-middleweights, like Dirrell and Uzcategui. Richard Grant had caused a mild upset by out-pointing the fancied Butler over 10 rounds. After the decision had been announced, Butler had walked over to where Grant was stood, but instead of congratulating Grant on his win with the expected show of sportsmanship and respect, Grant (whose gloves had been removed, but not his hand-wraps) struck Grant in the face with a terrible punch, which sent Grant to the canvas with blood pouring from his mouth. Grant was later found to have suffered a broken jaw and concussion. For Butler, the repercussions of his spiteful blow were irreversible. He was charged with assault and jailed for 4 months, and barred form boxing for a time.

Eventually, Butler who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the aftermath of the Grant fight, was allowed to return to boxing, but he remained an outcast and had just 4 more fights, winning two. Then on March 2006, Butler was jailed for 29 years for the voluntary manslaughter of Sam Kellerman (younger brother of Max Kellerman) who had been allowing Butler to stay in his house. Richard Grant himself was never the same fighter after the Butler incident, and although he returned to the ring when his jaw had healed, he went 5-7-1 in the remainder of his career. Ultimately the tale of Grant vs Butler is far darker than Dirrell vs Uzcategui, but Leon Lawson should be severely reprimanded for his actions on Saturday night, which not only could have caused serious injury to Joe Uzcategui, but also came very close to sparking off a full scale riot in the arena. Dirrell is now in line to challenge James Degale who beat him on points two years ago, but anyone who saw last nights fight up to its controversial conclusion, would struggle to find a case for Dirrell being deserving of another fight with Degale. The fairest way to sort out this mess would be a rematch between Andre Dirrell and Jose Uzcategui. Hopefully without the presence of Leon Lawson. 

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Rocky Graziano: Hey, Ma, your bad boy did good!

By Peter Silkov

Rocky Graziano’s life story is the classic tale of a bad boy who makes good through boxing. Born Rocco Barbella in New York, on January 1, 1922, Graziano was a tearaway as a youngster and in constant trouble with the Police. He seemingly was on the road to a life of crime and jail, until he discovered that his inner anger and fire could be used successfully inside a boxing ring. After a short amateur career, Graziano turned professional in 1942. There was nothing subtle about Graziano’s fighting style, he was an embodiment of what any fighter named ‘Rocky’ is expected be; a crude and savage brawler with a huge heart and a knockout punch in each fist.

Graziano quickly became a huge favourite with the fans in the mid-1940s. When the World middleweight champion Tony Zale returned from duty in WW2, a contest between him and the division’s newest sensation, Graziano, was a natural. 
In all, the two men fought three times in what has been celebrated as one of boxing’s greatest ever rivalries. The first two fights between Graziano and Zale are considered two of the greatest and most savage title contests of modern times. In their first meeting on September 27, 1946,  Graziano rose from a 1st round knockdown, to floor Zale in the 2nd, and then savagely pummel him over the next few round before being overwhelmed in the 6th round by a vicious right to the body, and left hook to the jaw. 

The rematch took place ten months later on July 16, 1947, this time, it was Zale who had the upper hand early on, flooring Graziano in the 3rd, and looking at times to be only a punch or two from victory, only to be overcome by a desperate fight back from Graziano.  Despite being badly punished by Zale, with a bloody left eye, and a closing right eye, Graziano threw everything that he had left at Zale in the 5th and 6th rounds, in an astonishingly brutal and relentless attack, that ended with Zale draped exhausted and battered, through the middle ropes in the 6th round. At that point, the referee waved the fight off and declared Rocky Graziano the new World middleweight champion.  Graziano’s first words after his spectacular victory were ‘Mama, the bad boy done it!’

Rocky made the first defence of his Middleweight world championship 11 months later, on June 10, 1948, in what was his 3rd and last fight with Tony Zale. This time, it was more straightforward, as Zale overwhelmed Graziano from the start, flooring him in the first and then again in the third, before finally knocking out Rocky in the 3rd round, and regaining the middleweight crown from Graziano.

After losing his world title, Rocky came back with a string of twenty wins and one draw over the next four years, including exciting victories over Charlie Fusari, Gene Burton, and two wins and a draw over fellow crowd favourite Tony Janiro.  On April 16, 1952, Graziano tried to regain the World middleweight title against the great Sugar Ray Robinson, but after scoring a brief knockdown of Robinson, Graziano was then put down fro the full count in the 3rd round.

Rocky had one more fight after this, being out-pointed by the clever, but light fisted Chuck Davey. Graziano retired in 1952 with a final record of 67(52koes)-10-6.
In his retirement Graziano became a popular TV personality, actor, and his life story was made into a film starring Paul Newman.  As he often liked to say… somebody up there liked him. 

Jimmy Garcia: A Fallen Warrior Remembered

 

By Peter Silkov

Jimmy Garcia was born in Barranquilla Colombia, and like so many thousands of boxers through the years, he dreamed of escaping his modest beginnings by becoming a champion in the boxing ring. Turning professional at the age of 17 years old, Garcia wasn’t the most talented of fighters, but he was tough, with a big heart, and the will power to chase his dream.  After winning the Colombian Super-featherweight title, Garcia battled his way to the edge of realizing his dream, when he was granted a shot at the world championship.  In fact, Garcia was granted two consecutive shots at the World super-featherweight championship, but instead of achieving his dream, Garcia’s life took a fateful and tragic turn.

Garcia’s first world title shot took place on November 12, 1994 when he faced the skilful Genaro Hernandez, in a Mexican bullring, for the WBA world super-featherweight championship.  Despite showing a huge amount of heart, Garcia was widely out-pointed by the fast and clever Hernandez, who out-boxed him with ease, yet, couldn’t stop Garcia from coming forward constantly. After 12 rounds, Garcia was badly cut, battered, and had taken many punches, but he had fought like a warrior and lasted the distance.

It was Garcia’s toughness and bravery that got him his second chance at fulfilling a dream, when 6 months after his loss to Hernandez, he was handed a title shot at the dynamic box-fighter, Gabriel Ruelas, on May 19, 1995, for Ruelas’ WBC world super-featherweight title, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. In the build up to his title fight with Ruelas, Garcia, who had not fought since his loss to Hernandez had to lose 30 pounds, and struggled to make the weight, right up to the day of the fight. The fight was one-sided, with Ruelas, a young and hungry world champion for whom big things were expected, punished Garcia round after round. Garcia was outmatched by Ruelas in every department, except for his heart and his will power.  As the fight progressed, Garcia took what the champion Ruelas dished out, and kept trying to find the one punch that would turn it all around and turn the night into the stuff of dreams for him.

Yet the miracle punch that so many boxers dream of at night never came, instead, Garcia kept taking the punches of Ruelas, and as the rounds went on, under the harsh Vegas lights and the champion grew frustrated at his inability to stop his challenger, so his attacks upon Garcia intensified. 

Garcia’s battered, weight drained body, refused to fall. In the end, Jimmy was still on his feet when the referee belatedly stopped the fight in the 11th round, a testament to how bravely he had held onto his dream. With the fight over, Jimmy Garcia collapsed in his corner, and was taken from the ring on a stretcher. Within forty minutes of collapsing, Garcia was having surgery to remove blood clots from his brain. Thirteen days later Garcia’s life support machine was turned off, his fight was finally over. He was 23 years old. 

Gabriel Ruelas was never the same fighter again after the death of Jimmy Garcia, the talented champion lost his title in his next fight and struggled to regain his previous form for the remainder of his career.  Sometimes dreams come with a high price.

Jimmy Garcia’s final record was 35(25koes)-5.  He may not have achieved his dream of winning a world title, but he should always be remembered as one of boxing’s fallen warriors, who gave his life for the sport he loved. 

Martin Gethin vs. Derry Mathews: Winner Takes All

By Peter Silkov

This Saturday night, May 10, will see an intriguing clash for the British lightweight championship, between defending champion Martin Gethin and challenger Derry Mathews, at the atmospheric Olympia arena in Liverpool, Merseyside. In an era filled with far too many superfluous titles, the British championship still holds a special place in boxing. This title has a prestige that comes from a deep and storied history, and physically, it is by far the most aesthetically impressive of all the many championship belts in boxing today. Hardly surprising, contests for a British championship often turn out to be classics, and Saturday’s meeting between Gethin and Mathews promises to be no different.

Both boxers have good skill levels, but usually prefer to turn their fights into physical brawls, with this taken into account and looking at both fighters styles, it seems almost impossible for this clash to be anything other than exciting,

Each man goes into this fight with something to prove. With  the domestic lightweight division  busting at the seams and the amount of talent that there is in the division at the moment, a win for either man will catapult him into the upper ratings of the division, and the promise of bigger fights in the future.  However, the loser will be relegated to the back of the queue; regarding the domestic pecking order of the division.

The stakes are high for both men in this match, each coming into it off a loss, and know that two losses in a row will represent a significant career setback. Gethin’s most recent outing was on May 31, 2013, when he was knocked out in the 7th round by Ammeth Diaz, in an IBF World lightweight title eliminator, while Mathews’ last fight on December 7, 2013, saw him losing on points to Stephen Ormond, for the WBO European lightweight championship. 

Although he is the defending British champion, Gethin is in some ways the division’s forgotten man, as fighters such as Anthony Crolla, Tommy Coyle, Kevin Mitchell, John Murray, Gavin Rees, Ricky Burns, and Mathews, have all enjoyed higher profiles recently than the current British champion has. 

‘Dirty’ Derry Mathews is one of the most popular and familiar faces at lightweight, with a colourful, up and down career, that stretches back to 2003, and has seen him score wins over Rees, Crolla, and Coyle amongst others. Mathews is the kind of fighter who entertains the fans; win, lose or draw, his fights are never dull, even if he is having a bad night.  During 2008 to 2010, Mathews’ career seemed to be all but over, after he lost 5 out of 8 fights, but he came back with some of his career best performances, to revitalise his career, and become a firm favourite with the fans.  

2013 was a kind of year that sums up Derry’s career, highs and lows, amidst constant drama, and action.  Mathews fought a controversial draw with Anthony Crolla in March, for the Commonwealth title, he then won the vacant Commonwealth title in July, when he came from behind to knockout Tommy Coyle in the 10th round.  Mathews then defended the Commonwealth title in September, with an impressive 4rd round knockout of Curtis Woodhouse (who has since gone on to win the British light-welterweight title) then came the December defeat to Stephen Ormand, in which Mathews broke his hand, and looked to be suffering the effects of a busy and punishing year. In March, while he was still recovering from having his injured hand operated on, Mathews suffered the added setback of being stripped of his Commonwealth lightweight title, when it was deemed that he would not be ready in time to defend against mandatory challenger, Richard Commey.  Ironically, Mathews’contest against Gethin on Saturday is a week before Commey fights Benjamin Ashley for the now vacant Commonwealth lightweight championship on May 17.

2014 has already given us a number of ‘fights of the year’ candidates at lightweight, with Gavin Rees vs. Gary Buckland, Anthony Crolla vs. John Murray, and Tommy Coyle vs. Daniel Brizuela.  Come Saturday, the chances are that there will be another classic fight to add to this list.  Both Mathews and Gethin have similar boxer-fighter styles and like to mix it up whenever possible. Mathews has an edge in skills and experience at the highest level, and the fact that he will be fighting in front of his own Liverpool crowd, will also be a distinct bonus for Mathews.

While Gethin will be looking to gain some recognition of his own by beating Mathews tomorrow, Mathews in turn, will be aiming to get his career back on track with a win over Gethin, which will get him closer to his dream of fighting for the world title before he retires. 

Derry Mathews has said that if he loses to Martin Gethin tomorrow he will probably retire from the sport, but Mathews should have too much experience and overall ability for Gethin, and should find himself a winner on points, or via a late round stoppage, in what is likely to be another colourful chapter in Derry Mathews ring history.

         

Copyright © 2014 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com

Diego "Chico" Corrales: Born to Explode Loud and Fierce

By Peter Silkov

If ever a fighter earned himself the right to be called a warrior in the ring, that man was Diego ’Chico’ Corrales. During his eleven-year professional career Corrales was one of the most exciting, fan friendly fighters of his era. Corrales was a tall, rangy, box-fighter, who possessed underrated boxing skills, but often preferred to brawl, rather than box with his opponents, relying on his big punch, more than his boxing ability, to gain him victory.  Most of Corrales early opponents fell quickly underneath his blazing fists. Corrales gung-ho brand of fighting, along with his personable and emotional out-of-the-ring demeanor, soon made Corrales a favourite amongst the fans.

After turning pro in early 1996, at the age of 19 years old, Corrales ran up a record of 28-0 with 24 knockouts, before being granted a shot at Roberto Garcia/an IBF world Super-featherweight championship.  Corrales showed he belonged upon the big stage when he ripped the world title away from Garcia, with a 7th round stoppage on October 23, 1999.  After making four defences of his world title, Corrales took on Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the WBC World Super-featherweight championship, on January 20, 2001, and was stopped in the 10th round, after being floored five times.  It was Corrales’ first defeat as a professional and he took his loss, and the destructive nature of it, badly.  Behind his amiable persona, Corrales was a complex individual, with a dark side that went all the way back to a rough and dysfunctional youth in Sacramento. Corrales’ private life imploded after his loss to Mayweather Jr. and he ended up spending time in jail due to a domestic altercation with his ex-partner. 

From having the boxing world at his feet at one moment, Corrales found his reputation and his boxing career shattered.  Yet, he bounced back, emerging from prison focused upon redemption, both professionally and personally. Corrales returned to the ring in 2003, after two years out, and compiled a string of four comeback wins, before taking on the talented Cuban Joel Casamayor, on October 4, 2003, for the vacant International Boxing Association Super-Featherweight title. The two put on a spectacular and exciting fight, until Corrales was stopped in the 6th round, due to a severely cut mouth.  Despite the defeat, Corrales had re-established himself in the big time. Five months later, Corrales won a rematch with Casamayor, beating him on points, to win the vacant WBO world super-featherweight title. 

‘Chico’ had entered the peak of his career, which would last two years, and be filled with the most savage of pugilistic drama. Corrales moved up to lightweight and won the WBO World Lightweight championship from Acelino Freitas, winning by a 10th round stoppage after a savage fight.  In his next fight, on May 7, 2005, Corrales took on WBC World Lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo, in a unification battle, and the ensuring contest turned out to be one of the fights of the decade, and one of the most savage brawls seen for years, with ’Chico’ snatching victory from seemingly certain defeat.

Corrales paid a big price for victory; he never seemed to be the same fighter again. In a rematch with Castillo, five months after their first bout, and giving away weight, after Castillo had failed to make the weight limit, Corrales was knocked out in the 4th round; his former recuperative powers conspicuous in their absence. Corrales had two more fights, and lost both, being out-pointed by Joel Casamayor and Joshua Clottey.  In his last fight against Clottey on April 7, 2007, Corrales fighting at welterweight looked a pale shadow of the fighter he had been just a short time before; the brutal wars had taken their toll. 
Just a month after his final fight, on May 7, 2007, Diego Corrales was killed in a motorcycle accident near his home in Las Vegas.  His death came exactly two years to the day after his greatest victory in the ring, his 10th round stoppage of Jose Luis Castillo.

Some people are born to live quiet and die unknown, while others are born to explode loud and fierce, for all to see, and once seen are never forgotten.


Copyright © 2014 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com