TBG Sunday Night Book Review: Johnny Risko: The Cleveland Rubber Man

The Boxing Glove Book Review: By Peter Silkov

"Johnny Risko: The Cleveland Rubber Man" By Jerry Fitch

There is a misconception in some modern boxing fans minds that the value of a fighters ability can be weighed up simply by a quick check of the number of wins and losses upon his record. Many fighters today tread carefully around their most talented and dangerous rivals for fear of what a defeat might do to their record. Of course, there are still exceptions to the rule, for instance recently crowned World lightweight champion, Tevin Farmer, was 7-4-1 in his first 12 professional contests, yet has developed into a genuine world-class champion. Yet the fact that Farmer is such a rarity in today's era, serves to prove the point that for modern day boxing keeping that undefeated '0' is all important to most fighter's managers and promoters.

The examples of fighters learning their trade as much through defeats, as they do victories, have become rarer and rarer in the modern boxing landscape.

It was very different in the past when there were far more fighters, far fewer titles, and the best fighters invariably fought their toughest rivals on a regular basis. Indeed in those days, most fighters wanted to fight the toughest opposition available, as they knew that this was the only route for reaching the top of the sport.

The name of Johnny Risko might not be familiar to many of today's fans, but back in what is often now referred to as boxing's 'golden age', 1920 to 1950, Risko was a great example of a fighter who fought regularly and almost exclusively against top-notch rivals. A look at Johnny Risko's final career tally of 68-46-6 (22koes) might provoke some to dismiss Risko as a mediocre also ran in the annals of boxing history. Like many fighters of his era, the bare numbers of Risko's boxing record fail to tell the story of his career, or his ability as a fighter.

However, for the intrepid boxing fan who likes his boxing history, Johnny Risko has now been brought back to life by boxing writer and historian, Jerry Fitch.

Jerry Fitch does a great job of telling the story of Johnny Risko's life and boxing career in his book "Johnny Risko: The Cleveland Rubber Man."

Born Mesto Bohunico, on December 18, 1902, in what is now part of Slovakia, but was then the Austria-Hungarian empire, Johnny and his family immigrated to America in 1908 when he was just 6 years old.

After settling in Cleveland, Ohio, Johnny's parents opened a bakery, where Johnny himself would work. Johnny was soon finding that he had a talent with his hands beyond using them in the bakery when he started using them in the ring and regularly knocking out his opponents as an amateur. As an amateur boxer, Bohunico, with his new Americanized name, won 39 of 59 contests via a knockout and became something of a sensation in his adopted home town of Ohio.

Risko turned professional in 1922, not long after the overturning of a ban on professional boxing in Cleveland. In a career which lasted until 1940, Risko would fight the cream of the light-heavyweights and heavyweights of the '20s and '30s. Short and stocky, at 5' 11" and between 190 and 210 pounds, Risko was to gain notoriety for his toughness and heart inside the ring.

Originally nicknamed 'The Baker Boy' Risko was soon being called 'The Cleveland Rubber Man' due to the impression he made of having punches simply bounce off him. Risko was an aggressive infighter, who relied very much upon his left-hand after an injury to his right shoulder early in his professional career rendered him almost a one-armed fighter. Indeed, when you learn about Risko's early career injury, that robbed him of the knockout punch in his right hand, the fact that he went on to achieve what he did in his career becomes even more impressive. Shorn of his powerful right-hand punch, Risko became a relentlessly aggressive infighter, who relied upon his work rate and toughness to outwork and outlast his opponents.

The list of Risko's opponents is impressive indeed, including, Young Stribling, Mike Mctigue, Gene Tunney, Jack Renault, Jack Sharkey, Jack Delaney, Tommy Loughran, Jimmy Slattery, Lou Scozza, Paulino Uzcudun, George Godfrey, Tuff Griffiths, Mickey Walker, Max Baer, King Levinsky, Bob Olin, Max Schmeling, and John Henry Lewis. Looking at the names on Risko's record, it becomes hardly surprising that he experienced a number of reverses. Yet, he also scored his fair share of impressive victories and was world rated amongst the top heavyweights for several years.

Jerry Fitch has done a meticulous job in bringing Johnny Risko's life and career alive. This book is nicely equipped with quotes from newspaper articles of the time, as well as a number of round-by-round commentaries upon some of Risko's most important fights. These commentaries, which have been taken from the newspaper archives of "The Cleveland Plain Dealer", give the reader the impression that he is going back in time and witnessing the fight himself. It is a unique way to appreciate Risko as a fighter and indeed appreciate his opponents.

'The Cleveland Rubber Man' never fought for a world title, yet this shortfall says more about the intensity of competition in his era rather than any shortcomings in his ability.

"Johnny Risko: The Cleveland Rubber Man" doesn't just shed light upon the life and career of Risko himself, it also gives the reader a nice insight into the era in which he fought and his many outstanding opponents. There are also a good helping of classic photos throughout the book, and Risko's boxing record is provided in the back of this biography.

Jerry Fitch has devoted himself to highlighting the boxing history of Cleveland Ohio, and after a previous book on Jimmy Bivins, he has highlighted yet another fighter whose life and boxing career deserves to be told and remembered.

If you would like to purchase this book it is available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Risko-Cleveland-Rubber-Man/dp/0954392485

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The Boxing Glove Remembers Joe Louis

By Peter Silkov

The name Joe Louis conjures up certain nostalgia for a time when boxing ruled the world of sports, and when the heavyweight champion of the world was not only the most widely known face in boxing, but in the general world of sport. In Joe Louis boxing had a champion who was able to transcend the sport, and become one of the most famous in the world, to an extent that few boxing champions, before or after him, would ever come close to achieving. The fact that Louis was the second black man to win the world heavyweight crown had much to do with it.  While Jack Johnson was the first black man to wear the heavyweight crown, he found himself mired in controversy and racial hatred.  Louis, with his quiet and gentlemanly demeanor, was able to win over the public at large, and in time, become one of the most popular and enduring champions that the ring has ever seen.

Joe Louis was born Joseph Louis Barrow on May 13, 1914, in Lafayette, Alabama, the son of sharecroppers. When he was two years old, Joe’s father was committed to a state hospital, where he would spend the rest of his life. Louis would grow up in stark poverty and with little schooling. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Detroit, and where the young Louis would do odd jobs to help financially. As Joe entered his teenage years, his mother bought him a violin and paid for music lessons, believing that this would offer Joe a chance of a better life. Unknown to his mother, Joe began going to the boxing gym, rather than the music lessons, after being encouraged by a friend Thurston McKinney, who was an amateur boxer himself.

After losing his first amateur fight, Barrow soon started to make progress, fighting under the name of Joe Louis, so that he could keep his new activity a secret from his mother.

In 1934, Louis’ amateur career culminated in his winning the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in the light-heavyweight division and the AAU light-heavyweight championship. After compiling an amateur record of 53-3, Louis turned professional on July 4, 1934.

From the beginning of his professional career, Louis was nurtured to win the World heavyweight title. He was taken under the wing of manager John Roxborough, an African American businessman, who would, with the help of promoter Mike Jacobs and trainer Jack Blackburn, guide Louis to the top. 

Roxborough was determined that Louis would avoid the problems and controversies, which befell Jack Johnson, and helped Louis construct his public image. Louis was not allowed to celebrate after beating an opponent in the ring, especially if he was white.  He was also never to be photographed with white women or to flaunt his growing wealth as his career progressed. In other words, Louis was coached in how to become an antithesis of what Jack Johnson had been, at least in public.

It was Louis’ exploits in the ring and his aura as “The Brown Bomber” that generated much of the love and admiration, which Louis would enjoy throughout his career.

Louis’ progress as a professional was meteoric. There was never any doubt that he was a very special fighter. He fought like a smooth-running fighting machine; eliminating opponents with a fearsome ease. Louis had a great jab, which he would use like a battering ram upon an opponent. Jack Blackburn taught The Brown Bomber how the jab could be used as an offensive weapon, rather than just a defensive weapon. Louis’ jab would pave the way for his two-fisted attacks, which were powerful, and accurate.  Louis wasn’t fast on his feet, but he had a way of manouvouring himself to cut off his opponent, as he advanced with a catlike smoothness. Once he had someone hurt, they rarely got away. Louis was probably the best finisher that the heavyweight division has ever seen.

Incredibly, just after a year, Louis was already a ranked contender. On June 19, 1936, however, Louis’ progress came to a shuddering halt when he was knocked out in the 12th round by former World heavyweight champion Max Schmeling. The defeat by Schmeling seemed to threaten Louis’ whole future at first, but he was back inside the ring two months later, knocking out another former world champion Jack Sharkey in 4 rounds.

Although he had been beaten by Schmeling, it was Louis, not Schmeling, who received a shot at Jim Braddock’s World heavyweight title on June 22, 1937. Louis had won 6 fights since his defeat to Schmeling and was primed to fight for the World heavyweight title.

Despite all of his stubborn bravery, and an early knockdown against Louis, the champion Braddock took a fearful beating from The Brown Bomber, before eventually being counted out in the 8th round.

Joe Louis proved to be every bit the champion that he had been trained to be, and more.  He was the most active and enduring of any World heavyweight champion and his record of 25 successful defences over 12 years still stands today. Never before, nor since, has a heavyweight champion cleared out his division with such clinical devastation. Indeed, Louis’ reputation was such that many of his opponents were beaten before the first bell sounded. Included in Louis’ 25 defences were many classic fights, such as his contests with Tommy Farr, Tony Galento, Buddy Baer, Billy Conn and Jersey Joe Walcott, but perhaps his greatest performance as world champion was the night of June 22, 1938, when Louis gained his revenge over Max Schemeling, with a crushing 1st round knockout.

During WW2, Louis’ reputation grew even higher, due to his enlistment in the Armed Forces and his involvement in the war effort. The champion became a physical instructor and boxed exhibitions for both the American and English troops. Louis enlisted in the US army in January 1942. He defended his title twice that year, against Buddy Baer and Abe Simon, with most of his purses going towards the war effort.  After the Simon bout, Louis would not have another official fight for over 4 years, with his ring activity confined to training, and dozens of exhibition bouts.  

When he did finally return to the ring to defend his world title in 1946, it was an older and heavier Louis, who now lacked the timing and catlike reflexes of the past. Louis also returned to the ring without his father figure, advisor, and trainer, Jack Blackburn, who died in April 1942.

Tragically, Louis was also heavily in debt by the end of WW2, after years of being unable to earn anything from his championship. Furthermore, the world champion was being taxed by the IRS for the fights where he had donated his purse to the war effort.  Louis had kept going financially during the war years by borrowing heavily from his promoter and managers, and by 1946, was heavily in debt to them as well as the IRS.

Remembering Joe Louis...the Quiet Patriot

The Brown Bomber’s chaotic finances saw him make four further defences of his world title following the end of the war, even though it was plain to see that the champion was a faded force.

After defending his title against Jersey Joe Walcott for the second time, Louis announced his retirement on March 1, 1949. Retiring undefeated champion, after an amazing reign of 12 years, and 25 defences. Louis was a beloved figure by now amongst all boxing fans and beyond. Alas, the IRS were making ever-increasing demands for money from Louis, who could not even pay the interest upon his ever-escalating debts.

On September 27, 1950, Louis returned to try to regain the world title, which he had never lost inside the ring, from Ezzard Charles, a brilliant boxer-puncher who had acceded to the vacant throne. Louis still had some of his old power and strength, but he had lost his speed and reflexes, and was beaten clearly on points.

Despite the conclusive nature of this defeat, Louis would continue to fight on, having 8 fights in the next year, and winning them all. Louis was then matched with a young rising contender called Rocky Marciano. The two met on October 26, 1951, and despite Joe putting up a brave and stubborn fight, “The Rock” proved to be too young and strong for the old Bomber, and Louis was worn down, and then knocked out in the 8th round. 

Louis never fought again.  Retiring for good with a final record of 63(49koes)-4.

Retirement was not easy for Louis.  He was still in demand from the public, but the jobs he could do now, such as commentating on fights, or training young fighters, and working as a referee, just did not pull in the money that Louis had become accustomed to earning. Even when the IRS finally wrote off much of the debt that Louis owed them in the 1960s, Louis would still struggle to make ends meet.

Ironically, one of the greatest fighters of his generation would end his days living on the kindness and charity of friends and admirers.

Yet, for all his failings outside of the ring, Joe Louis remained and still remains one of the most loved and respected of all the champions in boxing history. He was a man who brought together fans, both white and black, and who raised the status of the coloured fighter to a level of acceptance, which had never before been attained.

Copyright © 2015 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com

Max Schmeling: The Black Uhlan of the Rhine

 

By Peter Silkov

Max “The Black Uhlan” Schmeling was one of the outstanding heavyweights of the 1930s, and one of the best heavyweights ever to come out of Europe. Born in Klein Luckow Meckleburg-Vorpommen, Germany, on September 28, 1905, Schmeling turned professional in 1924, at age 19, and developed into a good technical boxer, with a knockout punch. During his career, Schmeling would face top heavyweights such as Johnny Risko, Paulino Uzcudun, Jack Sharkey, Young Stribling, Mickey Walker, Max Baer, Steve Hamas, Ben foord, Walter Neusel, and Joe Louis.

Schmeling was a thinking fighter who would work our his training and fight tactics meticulously, and in many ways, he was ahead of his time training wise. Schmeling did not believe in road work, and instead opted to do most of his training on the golf course, and build his endurance up that way. On June 12, 1930, Schmeling won the World heavyweight title when he was awarded a victory via a disqualification in the 4th round after Jack Sharkey had hit him low. Although he was now world champion Schmeling cried in his dressing room afterwards, saying that this was not the way he wanted to win the title.

Schmeling held the world title for two years, making two defences, and on June 21, 1932, in his second defence, Schmeling lost his title to old foe Jack Sharkey on points.

After losing his world title, Schmeling continued to fight top contenders in an effort to gain another shot at the world title. On June 19, 1936. Schmeling scored one of the most spectacular upsets in heavyweight history when he defeated Joe Louis, knocking out “The Brown Bomber” in the 12th round. Although the victory over Louis should have gained him a shot at his old world title, which was now held by Jimmy Braddock, instead, Schmeling was frozen out, and had to wait until 1938 before he finally got a chance to regain the world title. By this time, Joe Louis was world champion, and he gained a terrible revenge for his earlier defeat to Schmeling by annihilating the German in the 1st round, with one of the most ruthless and clinical assaults ever seen.

The defeat to Louis, along with the outbreak of WW2, really signaled the end of Schmeling’s career as a top flight fighter. The war put Schmeling in a very difficult position, as he was never able to totally denounce Hitler due to his fears for the safety of his family.

After the end of the War, Schmeling made a brief comeback to the ring before retiring in 1948 at age 43. In his post boxing life he became a wealthy businessman, and one of his closest friends was Joe Louis.

Max Schmeling died on February 2, 2005, at 99 years of age. Schmeling’s final record was 56(40koes)-10-4.

Copyright © 2015 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com