The Boxing Glove Book Review: In The Ring with Jack Johnson

The Boxing Glove Book Review By Peter Silkov

"In the Ring with Jack Johnson, Part 1: The Rise"  Written By Adam J. Pollack

There is probably no figure in boxing history as controversial as Jack Johnson. While Muhammad Ali comes a close second, due to the tumultuous times that he lived through, his proximity in time makes him an easier book to read than Johnson. Ali lived much of his life in front of TV cameras and with a dozen or so pressmen constantly on his tail.  Johnson on the other hand, because of the time in which he lived, is still very much more of a mystery to us than Ali is. Certainly, Johnson, like Ali after him, lived much of his life pursued by the media, but there are still many questions regarding his character and the characters of those around him. It has often been said that much of the trouble that came Johnson’s way during his life was his own doing. He has been called a braggart and a self-centered bore, who when he won the World heavyweight title let his success go to his head and became a spoiled megalomaniac. Yet, this was a man who was as sinned against as sinning.

It is difficult for us today to have any real appreciation of the social pressures and conflicts that Johnson faced during his lifetime and boxing career. While it is true that racial inequality and stigmatization exists to this day, the social landscape of Johnson’s time was even more dangerous and unforgiving. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Jack Johnson took on the whole social establishment during his boxing career, and he did so with a rare mixture of talent, courage, intelligence, and sheer determination, that must be admired.  No man of lesser strength of character and will power, along with self-belief, could ever have accomplished Johnson’s feats. When he finally got his fight with Tommy Burns for Burns’ World Heavyweight title, it took a huge amount of work and will power on Johnson’s part. In the end, it was his strength of character, as much as his performances in the boxing ring, that made it impossible for Burns to ignore Johnson. In many ways, Johnson’s greatest feat was gaining his shot at Burns’ World heavyweight championship, and becoming the first colored world champion.  By doing so, he opened the way for later greats such as Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali.  If there had not been a Jack Johnson, then there would not have been either a Louis or an Ali.

“In the Ring With Jack Johnson: Part 1 The Rise”  by Adam J. Pollack is different from the many other books on Jack Johnson as it focuses upon his rise to the world championship, and ends with Johnson’s famous bout with Burns. This is the moment when he finally cornered the World heavyweight champion into the same ring as him in Sydney, Australia, and duly won sports greatest prize. 

Author Adam Pollack has spent the best part of the past decade writing a series of highly detailed biographies of the World heavyweight champions, beginning with John L. Sullivan, and later including, James J. Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, James J. Jeffries, Marvin Hart, Tommy Burns, and now Jack Johnson. Each book goes into an amount of detail seldom seen before; each book is not so much a biography, but a study of the men, their boxing careers, and the times in which they lived. Great use is made of newspaper reports and interviews of the day; we hear these fighters in their own words as never before. We are also given round-by-round reports of their fights, taken from first hand reports of the time. In addition to this, there are numerous photos, many never seen before in publications. These are weighty books of 500+ pages each, but they have been constructed with such care and skill that they do not weigh heavily when read.

Given his tumultuous life and career, and his multifaceted character, it is fitting that Pollock has decided to dedicate two books to the life and boxing career of Jack Johnson. It says much about Johnson that this is one of Pollock’s longest biographies so far, coming in at approximately 700 pages, despite the fact that it only follows Johnson up to the point where he wins the Heavyweight crown from Tommy Burns.  Yet, as we see, so much happened to Johnson, just in this early part of his life, and his journey to his title winning triumph against Burns proves fully worth the attention given to it by one whole book. We are shown Johnson’s development as a fighter step-by-step, and fight-by-fight. His fights are portrayed in minute detail, with attention given to pre and post fight interviews and anecdotes, as well as blow-by- blow, round-by-round reports of the fights. It is possible now to analyze Johnson’s fights with his great coloured rivals Joe Jeannette, Sam McVey, and Sam Langford, and see just whom he struggled with the most.

The portrayal of all Johnson’s early fights gives us a fascinating insight into Johnson’s fighting style and his development from a talented, yet, raw and inexperienced youth, into the best heavyweight in the world, and one of the greatest of all time. There is also great insight into Johnson’s character, with numerous interviews, and eyewitness reports allowing us some rare glimpses into his character and feelings at certain moments of his life. It is hard to imagine a more detailed biography of this period of Johnson’s life, both inside the ring, and outside of it. We are also given an in-depth portrait of the times in which Johnson was living and the various social frictions that existed between the races. The racist attitudes of the era, including many of the top white fighters of that time as well, are both enlightening and in many cases quite shocking. It becomes clear that Johnson had to be the character that he was in order to survive his times, and most importantly, to break through the barriers like he did.

This book is a fantastic portrait of a man who is still considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight champion ever. For what he had to overcome just in order to get reasonable fights, Jack Johnson was a very unique man indeed. Throughout this book, there are some great insights into the other fighters of this period, Sullivan, Corbett, Jeffries, Burns, Langford, McVey, Jeannette and Choynski, amongst others. Some of them do not come out of this book too well. While it is true that these men were all formed by the times in which they lived, it’s fair to say that some of them were formed rather more rigidly than others.

“In the Ring With Jack Johnson” is a must have for anyone who is interested in the life and boxing career of the first coloured man to perform the incredible feat of becoming the first black Heavyweight Champion of the world.  It was an achievement that sent shock waves through the sporting and social world, both for good and bad.

While there are other books on Johnson that give a good focus on his life in general and his character outside the ring, no other book on Johnson goes as deeply into the fighting side of Johnson’s life as this volume. This, along with the many detailed interviews with Johnson taken from newspapers of the time, gives us a view of Johnson that is both informative and refreshing. You will end this book wanting to read volume 2, which will focus upon Johnson’s life while he was world champion. It is sure to be another engrossing read.

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

 

Eladio Valdes: The Story of "Black Bill"

By Peter Silkov

Eladio Valdes was a highly talented fighter, who combined tremendous hand and foot speed with a furious and seemingly inexhaustible whirlwind attack. “Black Bill” (as Valdes became known) was not a big puncher, but he threw punches with both fists, from all angles, and was constantly moving on his feet, keeping his opponents off balance. Wherever he fought, Valdes’s aggressive style delighted the crowds. Eladio also picked up the name “The Man of Rubber” due to his quirky trick of throwing himself into the ropes during contests and bouncing of from them towards his often perplexed and alarmed opponents. 

Valdes was born in May 1905, in Havana, Cuba.  Born into great poverty in Havana, Valdes was soon fighting in the many clubs dotted around Havana, turning professional while still a mere 15-year-old. Standing around 5’ feet 3” inches, Valdes weighed only about 100 pounds when he began his professional fighting career in 1920. He would become one of the top flyweights in the world at a time when the division was overflowing with talented boxers of all descriptions. During his career, Black Bill would face such top men as Genaro Pino, Angel Kid White, Izzy Schwartz, Ernie Jarvis, Willie Davis, Happy Atherton, Pinky Silverberg, Eugene Huat, Marty Gold, and Midget Wolgast.

For the first four years of his career Valdes fought exclusively in his native Cuba, with Havana being a hot bed of boxing activity during the 1920s. On May 7, 1923, Valdes out-pointed Genaro Pino over 12 rounds to win the Cuban light-flyweight championship, and by 1924 Black Bill was running out of opposition in Havana, and he and his manager Luis “Pincho” Gutierrez began looking towards conquering America. 

In 1925, Black Bill invaded New York and proved to be a sensation with the American fight fans. Valdes fought some of the top contenders in the Flyweight division, losing just 3 out of 18 contests, and proving himself a genuine contender for the world flyweight title. Amongst Valdes’ best scalps were his two victories over Izzy Schwartz, whom he beat twice in three fights during 1925.

Over the next five years, Valdes alternated his time between America and return trips to his homeland Cuba. On his trips back to Havana Valdes was feted wherever he went, like the star he had become, he was living like a star, and enjoying his money with the reckless abandon like so many fighters both before and after him also displayed. Black Bill grew to like the nightlife, the fine clothes, and the glamorous women who always seemed to be around him. He also liked to gamble and this was a habit in which he was almost always the loser. 

Fast living usually catches up with even the best fighters and in 1927, Valdes had a dip in form and defeats, which delayed any hopes he had held about fighting for the world flyweight title. However, over the next 2 years, Valdes put together a string of 25 victories in 26 contests, including victories over some of the most talented fighters in the division, such as Marty Gold, Happy Atherton, and Willie Davis. These victories took Valdes back into top contention for a world title shot himself.  Remarkably, by this time Valdes was already experiencing problems with his eyesight. It was a condition that worsened with every fight he had.

When he finally gained his shot at the world flyweight championship, on March 21, 1930, against Midget Wolgast, it was already too late for Black Bill; he was now totally blind in his right eye, and his left eye was damaged too.

The two men fought for the vacant New York State version of the world flyweight championship, and Wolgast, a whiz kid of just 20, had an easy time out-boxing the struggling Black Bill, who spent most of the fight chasing shadows.

Following this heartbreaking defeat, Valdes only fought eight more times, going 3-5, until at the end of 1930 he was finally forced to retire from boxing, having now been rendered almost completely blind in both eyes.

At the age of just 25 Valdes saw his world crumble and all his dreams of continued fame and fortune quite literally disappear.  He stayed in America, living in Harlem, New York, with his wife, but his money had gone and was isolated in a world of darkness. Valdes fell into a deep depression, and on April 8, 1933, the fighter who had thrilled so many crowds, and enjoyed fame throughout Cuba and America, shot himself in the stomach. Five days later, Eladio Valdes was dead, at the age of just 27.

Eladio Valdes’s final boxing record was 125(22koes)-24-13. He was never stopped or knocked out during his career. 

Valdes was also a stablemate and mentor to the great Kid Chocolate, whom he took with him to America in the late 1920s. Both men were managed by Felipe Gutierrez and trained by Moe Fleischer. Kid Chocolate would himself go on to enjoy the kind of success, which Valdes may have achieved had his career not been so cruelly cut short, when he should really have been in his prime.  

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

Ad Wolgast: The Michigan Wild Cat

 By Peter Silkov

Ad Wolgast stands in boxing history as one of the bravest and toughest individuals to ever lace on a glove.  Nicknamed the “Michigan Wild Cat,” Wolgast lived up to his name as one of the wildest and ferocious of fighters, during an era when life was hard and boxers were altogether a harder and tougher breed when compared to the fighters of today. 

Born Adolphus Wolgast, on February 8, 1882, in Cadillac Michigan, Wolgast turned professional in 1906, and almost immediately began mowing through the lightweight class with an almost frightening violence. Wolgast quickly earned himself the reputation of an ultra-tough man of the ring at a time when boxing was over flowing with hard bitten tough guys.  However, Wolgast  took his toughness to almost hitherto unparalleled levels.  He seemed impervious to both pain and punishment, while at the same time, being able to dish out a devastating amount of punishment himself.  Wolgast had a good punch in both fists, and his body attacks alone could wreck a man. 

There was just one man in his division who could rival Wolgast in toughness and ferocity, and that was Battling Nelson.  It was fitting then that after fighting his way up the ranks of contenders, and leaving few standing in his wake, Wolgast eventually came face-to-face with Nelson in 1910 to battle for Nelson’s World lightweight crown.  The two men had actually fought a non-title 10-rounder the previous year, which Wolgast had won on points, but that fight was just a preliminary warm up compared to their world title fight on February 22, 1910.  The fight has been described as the most savage battle ever fought in modern times, and its mixture of violence and endurance is unrivalled in modern boxing history.  Both men did their best to tear each other to shreds for 40 rounds, before the referee finally stopped the contest in favour of Wolgast, with Nelson having been rendered helpless and blind by the beating he had endured, but still defiantly on his feet. 

Wolgast was to hold onto his world title for a little over two years, but there is little doubt that the war with Nelson left a permanent mark on him, and it is interesting to note that he would lose 3 of his next 5 fights, albeit in non-title bouts.

On November 28, 1912, Wolgast lost his World lightweight title to Willie Richie, when he was disqualified in the 16th round for a foul blow. It would be the beginning of a long slide downhill. During his peak years Wolgast had earned £240,000 from his fights and vaudeville appearances on stage, but as he stubbornly continued to fight on, despite an obvious slippage in form, Wolgast’s life began to fall apart.

After losing his title to Richie, Wolgast went a sad 19-25-10 in his final fights. 
The terrific punishment which he had absorbed in so many of his fights had taken a terrible toll, and in 1917 he was admitted to a sanatorium having suffered a mental breakdown.  Eventually he was discharged, but by then his wife was taking steps to divorce him and he soon found himself stripped of most of his assets.  Ad returned to the only thing he knew and continued fighting until September 6, 1920, when he was held to a 4-round draw by Lee Morrissey. 

By this time Ad’s mental decline had become so acute that he was put into the care of boxing promoter Jack Doyle, who housed Wolgast in a cottage on the  grounds of his house and allowed him to spend his days training in the gym that was just a few steps away from the little cottage.  Ad trained diligently everyday believing that he was getting ready for a comeback which would make him champion of the world once more.  Everyday Ad asked Doyle when was he going to get his fight, and every day Doyle answered ‘Tomorrow.’  Eventually in 1927, Wolgast became too much for Doyle to handle and was committed to the first of a number of mental institutions where he would spend the rest of his life.  The stories of Ad Wolgast’s final years are not pretty, he spent his final years still training for the fights that now existed only inside his battered mind, yet, his behaviour and illness apparently made him a easy target for many of the orderlies who were supposed to take care of him, and he is said to have endured frequent beatings. Ad Wolgast  passed away on April 14, 1955, leaving behind a story of triumph and glory won at a terrible price. Wolgast's final record was 59(40koes)-13-17 and newspaper decisiom record 22-21-6.

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

Book Review: Tony Zale: The Man of Steel

The Boxing Glove Sunday Night Book Review By Peter Silkov

"You receive far more from life by what you give, rather than what you get."

~Tony Zale 

 

 Most boxing fans are familiar with the life stories of Rocky Graziano and Jake Lamotta. Both boxers were World middleweight champions during the late 1940s at a time when the middleweight division was enjoying a golden era of great fighters and great fights. After their fighting days were over, each man would have successful autobiographies and films released about their lives and boxing careers. Graziano only had to wait until the mid-1950s to see both come to fruition. Yet, there was one man who missed out on the post-career acclaim afforded to both Graziano and Lamotta, and his name was Tony Zale. Zale was also a World middleweight champion during the 1940s, winning the title twice, being the first man to regain the title since the legendary Stanley Ketchel.  Despite this achievement, and a record that speaks for itself, Zale would not receive the same attention afforded to both Graziano and Lamotta.

Zale and Graziano are indelibly linked together by the three wars that they waged for the World middleweight title between the years 1946 to 1948. While Zale emerged from the trilogy the winner, with two victories out of the three fights, it was Graziano who would go on to enjoy a profitable post-fight career, being a regular fixture on tv, while Zale was to slip into the background, almost unnoticed, and forgotten.

Graziano was a loud, colourful and controversial character, whereas, Zale was a quiet, and reserved person outside of the ring; a man who preferred to do his talking with his fists inside a boxing ring, rather than try to gain attention for himself outside of it. As a result, while the legends of both Graziano and Lamotta have grown through the years, Tony Zale has in many ways become a forgotten champion, and when he is remembered, it is primarily because of his connection to Rocky, and their classic fights together, rather than his own individual boxing career, aside from his battles with Graziano.

However, after many years of anticipation, a new book, “Tony Zale: The Man of Steel” looks to redress the balance and finally bring back some long deserved recognition to “The Man of Steel.”

Written by Zale’s nephew, Thad Zale, and Clay Moyle, “Tony Zale: the Man of Steel” looks closely at the man behind the boxing gloves, resulting in an intimate biography that varies between recounting Zale’s exciting career within the ropes, to his personal life outside of the ring. This includes some moving, and at times, startling revelations about Tony’s private life which reveals the strength and integrity of his character as a man, not just a fighter.

The subtitle of this biography is “His toughest battles weren’t fought inside the ring” and as one delves into its pages, the reasons for such a subtitle becomes clear. 

Zale was born Anthony Zalezkie on May 29, 1913, in Gary, Indiana, of Polish stock. It is almost a cliché to say that a fighter had a hard upbringing, but Zale’s life was marked by tragedy early on when his father Josef died in a traffic accident when Tony was still an infant. The loss was made even more acute for Zale as his father died while riding his bike to the local pharmacy to buy medicine for a two-year old Tony, who was sick with measles and chicken pox. 

Losing his father at such a young age, and under such circumstances, might have been enough to push someone with less character off the rails and into a troubled childhood and adolescence. Yet, the Zale family was a strong unit, with a deeply held religious foundation, and led by Tony’s mother, Catherine, Zale and his six siblings pulled together in the coming years to keep the family together and put food on the table. It was the kind of attitude that was needed to survive, especially during the darkening years of the depression.

Instead of rebelling, or becoming a juvenile delinquent, Tony would play his part to help his family survive, and this search to improve the lives of his mother and siblings eventually led Tony to follow his older brothers and take up boxing, first as an amateur, then as a professional. Despite an impressive amateur mark of  over 200 fights, Zale's professional career started off with a false start, as from 1934 to 1935 he was mismanaged to a 17-9-1 record, and promptly retired for a time, and chose to earn his money in the hot hell of the Gary Indiana’s steel mills instead. Perhaps some of the steel of Gary’s infamous mills seeped into Tony’s skin, but the story of his return to the ring, and how he built himself up from just another struggling young fighter, into one of the world’s premier fighting machines, and eventually the Middleweight champion of the world, is one of the most fascinating aspects of this biography.

At his peak, Zale was a box-fighter, with one of the most deadly body attacks in the business. He was also a lionhearted fighter who was at his most dangerous when he was hurt. It says much for Zale’s pugilistic ability that he participated in his classic trilogy with the much younger Graziano when he was in his early 30s, having lost four of his peak years due to WW2. Zale’s fights with Graziano are only a part of his ring story. The battles that he went through in order to win the world title just before WW2 intervened upon his career are fully explored in this book.

The details of Zale’s fights are well recounted, and at times, you can almost feel his crunching left hooks to the body, and his right hooks to the head. Indeed, it is one of the almost typically perverse ironies of boxing that the first two Zale vs. Graziano contests were not filmed, although rumours of clandestinely filmed footage existing somewhere still surfaces every now and then. With this in mind, the detailed descriptions of all three fights between Zale and Graziano, and their build-ups and aftermaths, are especially welcome.

In addition to his fighting career, we also see how Zale’s private life with his first wife was disintegrating, even as he was thriving as world champion. The eventual demise of Zale’s first marriage, including the loss of custody of his two daughters, straight after the end of his boxing career, is a devastating blow from which the proud champion never fully recovered.  True to his character, Zale simply takes the blows and gets on with life the best he can, and furthermore, spends much of his time giving back to others. He spent much of his post-boxing life training youngsters, but would not only encourage their physical development, but also their mental development. He encouraged those that he encountered to complete their academic education at all costs, believing as he did, that a full education was a fundamental basis of success in life, and regretting his own abbreviated time at school.

As well as its detailed narrative, this biography is filled with numerous photos, most of them rare. In fact, the last 109 pages of “Tony Zale: the Man of Steel” are a collection of hundreds of photos from the Zale family collection, in addition to an index and Zale’s full fight-by-fight boxing record.

Both Thad Zale and Clay Moyle have lovingly put this book together, and the respect and affection, that the authors hold for their subject, is clear, at the same time,  does not overshadow the end product.

During my own journey as a lifelong follower and fan of boxing, I can remember first reading about Tony Zale at the age of about 8, and reading about how he emerged the overall winner from his three bloody wars with Rocky Graziano.  I would go on to read as much as I could about both of these fighters, and remember my puzzlement when I found so little literature on Zale, in comparison to that upon Graziano. In many ways, this is a boxing biography that I have been waiting for ever since I first read the name Tony Zale, as a wide-eyed eight-year old. Having finally read it almost 40 years later, I am happy to say that the wait has been worthwhile. This is a biography which I feel positive that the champion himself would have been proud. Much of it is bittersweet, Zale did not have an easy life, and there are some episodes within this book when you feel moved and disturbed upon Zale’s behalf.  However, what shines through the pages of this biography, most strongly, is the constant strength of character, which Zale exhibited, even in his lowest times. This man truly had a steely resolve not to give in to the blows of misfortune and fate, and faced the many ups and downs of life with the stoical determination with which he faced his opponents inside the boxing ring.

Despite this steeliness, Zale comes across as having a warm and gentler character beneath the external toughness. Tony Zale emerges from “Tony Zale: The Man Of Steel” as a champion in life, not just in the ring, which is perhaps the greatest compliment that can be bestowed upon anyone. Just like Zale himself, this biography packs a hefty punch, and I would regard it as a must read for anyone who is a serious boxing fan, and especially those who are fascinated by the great champions of Tony’s era, when the top fighters thought nothing of fighting on a monthly basis, and every weight division had just one world champion.  “Tony Zale: The Man Of Steel” not only portrays the life and fighting career of Tony Zale, but it also brings the reader back to an era in boxing that will probably never be seen within the sport again.






“Tony Zale: The Man of Steel” is out now, and can be purchased by either of the authors, or from Amazon.  Hopefully this biography will bring Zale back into the minds of today’s modern boxing fans, and he will be granted the kind of respect and recognition that for so long seemed to elude this iron man of years gone by.

You can order from the authors directly and also read more about Tony Zale's life on the website www.TonyZale.org.

Email the authors at: CHAMPTONYZALE@AOL.COM to ORDER A COPY, OR VISIT OUR PURCHASE NOW PAGE.http://www.tonyzale.org/purchase-now.html

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

Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Geale: The GGG Man Guns Down Geale

Photo:Getty Images

By Peter Silkov

There was something beautifully brutal about Gennady Golovkin’s (30-0, 27koes) three round demolition of Daniel Geale (30-3, 16koes) on Saturday, in defence of his WBA world middleweight title, at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden.  Although this was Golovkin’s third appearance at ’the Garden,’ it was his first in the ‘main room,’ and he delivered a performance worthy of the historic venue.

Daniel Geale arrived with the credentials that made him the champion’s most formidable challenger so far. He was a former world champion himself, who had never been stopped during his career, and had not been so much as floored, for many years. However, in the end, Geale fell like all of the rest. Indeed, when faced with what was on paper, his greatest challenge so far, Golovkin gave one of his most comprehensively destructive performances to date. It was a performance, which surely took Golovkin one-step closer to the super fights that he craves. After this victory, the excuses of the divisions other ’world champions’ (specifically WBC, and lineal champion Miguel Cotto) for not facing the ‘GGG’ man, are becoming ever weaker.

The challenger entered the ring seemingly unnoticed by the crowd, but when Golovkin entered, the buzz around the historic hall became palpable. Golovkin approached the ring to the rocking strains of The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” which is a fitting track for the hard-edged fighting style of the champion. The entrance music aside, Gennady was all business as he approached the ring like a man in a hurry. As he would later say in the post fight interview, ’This is no joke’. Golovkin’s business is destruction. 

Daniel Geale came to fight. That much was evident from the start of the first round, when the challenger looked to make use of his herky-jerky style by moving about on the outside of the ring, and firing off some jabs and uppercuts at the already stalking champion. Despite his ferocious reputation, Golovkin tends to use the first round or two of his contests to feel out his opponent, before committing himself totally to his decisive attacks. Even so, such is the destructive power in his hands that Golovkin usually manages to hand out some crucial damage, even while studying his competitor. While Geale tried to circle around him and landed some determined looking jabs, the champion stalked, taking centre ring, and fired some early jabs of his own, which were finding the challenger’s face already.

Golovkin’s punches are understated at first sight; they are not dramatic or flashy, his shots are short and precise, and delivered with perfect balance.  It is this mixture of precision, balance, timing, and speed, allied with a strength that seems to belie his almost slight frame, which merges together to create such impressive effects.

Perhaps the timekeeper was especially engrossed in this opening round, as it ran on for close to five minutes, before finally being brought to a halt. 

As the over long round moved on, Geale continued to stay on the outside of the ring, while stopping his movement every now and then to fire his sporadic attacks.  The challenger’s strategy seemed to be to move in and out, scoring with jabs and flurries, then getting back on the move, and providing as slippery a target as possible for his heavy-handed antagonist.  As strategies go, it made sense, and seemed the perfect fit for a durable, all-round boxer such as Geale.  Yet, as the fight unfolded, it would become evident that it will take much more than simply a good strategy to derail the fighting machine from Kazakhstan. 

Golovkin was already beginning to land his jab with more regularity the further the first round travelled. In the last minute of the round (which was actually its 4th minute), Geale slipped to the floor after getting his foot caught upon an over zealous camera operator’s camera.  No harm was done, but it was a portent of things to come. 
When the round was finally called to its conclusion, Geale was already cut over the right eye, by virtue of the champion’s pinpoint jabs.

Geale began the second round fast, landing some multiple jabs, and a good right hand. The GGG man responded with a scything left hook, and a series of left jabs that drove his challenger back onto the ropes, where a body shot, followed by a right-left-right combination, dropped Geale to the canvas by the ropes. No slip this time.

On regaining his feet, Geale was wearing the expression of surprise and bemusement previously seen on the faces of past Golovkin opponent’s.  For all of the talk surrounding his punching prowess, Golovkin’s challengers still seem genuinely shocked when they experience the full force of a GGG attack. Perhaps it is the speed and subtlety with which it strikes. Who can forget Curtis Stevens’ almost comical expression when he was floored in the second round in his fight with Golovkin last year. Certainly the impression Golovkin’s attacks have on his challengers is a lasting one, from beginning to end.

Showing admirable spirit, Geale returned to the fray, with a look of grim determination, although perhaps knowing deep down, that this fight was heading towards only one conclusion. With his cut right eye reopened, what had been a bright start to the fight by the challenger just minutes earlier was swiftly falling apart. 

Despite this disintegration, Geale continued to fight back, but there was a tinge of desperation in his work now, as his punches were mostly being deftly blocked, by the muscular arms of the champion. All the while Golovkin continued to take his time over his work, like a surgeon performing an operation, or an artist putting the finishing touches to his latest work. Nothing is wasted by Golovkin, every punch, and every step is measured, and has a reason and a purpose.

In the closing moments of the second round, Golovkin landed some thudding body shots that were all of the better to soften up his prey. While Geale’s punches seemed to simply bounce off the world champion, if they were not blocked or deflected by his long muscular arms, every punch that the champion lands seemed to have an ever-more debilitating effect upon the challenger.

The challenger’s spirit was unbowed, as he came out for the third round defiantly throwing leather, a left jab, then two right hands, first to the head, then to the body.  Once more, they seemed to simply bounce off the champion, who resumed his forward march behind a probing, pole-like left jab.  Geale grabbed onto a brief moment of glory, when after skilfully slipping some Golovkin punches, with a nifty bob-and-weave, he allowed himself some celebratory showboating. Geale’s mischievous display produced not a flicker of emotion on the champion’s visage, and yet, this is the point where Golovkin chose to step up his attack. Geale was shaken by a left hook to the head, which backed him up into a corner, where Golovkin landed thudding lefts and rights to his body. After gingerly escaping from the corner, Geale skirted around the edge of the ring, with the GGG man in cool pursuit, picking and probing, looking for that final opening. Geale’s movement, which at the first bell of the contest was part of his strategy to try and win, became his only method of survival. 

Geale couldn’t avoid the GGG man’s pinpoint shots for long, as the ring became smaller and smaller for him.  Golovkin fired a right, then a left hook, which momentarily froze Geale, and then a straight right to the chin dropped the challenger onto his back by the ropes. Geale got up quickly, but he staggered backwards, his balance gone, his eyes bleary. When referee Mike Ortega asked him if he was all right to continue, Geale gave a brief disconsolate shake of the head and the fight was over.  

This was Gennady Golovkin’s 10th defence of the WBA world middleweight championship that he won in late 2010 and his 17th straight stoppage victory.  Some critics have questioned the quality of some of Golovkin’s challengers, but since the beginning of his career, the GGG man has impressed not so much by who he has beaten, but how he has beaten them. There can be no denying that Golovkin is one of the most efficient and destructive fighters, pound-for-pound, currently on the planet. 
Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that the other ‘world champions’, at 160 pounds, are not beating down any doors to take on the GGG man. 

In his post-fight interview, Golovkin called out (politely of course) all of the other ’world champions’, but especially Miguel Cotto, the WBC and linerel champion.  While some would use trash talk and profanity to go with their challenges, Golovkin seeks to appeal to the fighting pride of his fellow champions.  Golovkin wants to give the fans what they desire, the best fighting, and the best in unification fights.  It is an almost quaint desire on the part of the Kazakhstan fighter.  He is a throwback to the time when the best really did fight the best, and this is another reason for the GGG man’s growing appeal amongst the boxing public. 

Gennady Golovkin may be running out of willing opponents, but those who are trying to avoid him are also running out of credible excuses.

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

Matthew Saad Muhammad: The Hard Road of a Warrior

By Peter Silkov

Matthew Saad Muhammad: The Hard Road of a Warrior


When Matthew Saad Muhammad passed away on May 25, 2014, at the young age of 59 years old, it brought an end to a life that would seem to have been written by an over imaginative Hollywood scriptwriter. Saad’s life was one of incredible highs and just as devastating lows, in a world where the tribute of ’warrior’ is bestowed all too often, Matthew Saad Muhammad was one of life’s true warriors, both in and out of the ring. Unfortunately, fate often didn’t give him much of a choice. 

Born Maxwell Antonio Loach on June 16, 1954, in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, life was a battle from the start for Maxwell. When his mother passed away, Maxwell and his older brother were placed in the care of an aunt, who soon decided that she couldn’t support both children, and had the older brother take Maxwell into the city and then abandon him there. In later years, Saad would remember this incident vividly, ‘He took me out in the city, where I wouldn’t know where I was or how to find my way home, and ran away from me. I tried to run after him. I ran as fast as I could. I was five years old, and I was running for my life.  But I couldn’t keep up.’  

Maxwell was discovered by a policeman on the Ben Franklin Parkway and handed over into the care of Catholic Services. Unable to recall his name, Maxwell was renamed Matthew Franklin, and was adopted by a Portuguese family in South Philadelphia, after he had been in numerous foster homes.  Matthew found himself the victim of constant school bullying, at the hands of tormenters who would call him ’the orphan’.  Matthew decided to take up boxing as a teenager in order to defend himself against those who persecuted him because he was an orphan. It was to be another huge turning point in his life. After everything he had already been through in his short life, Matthew discovered that taking pain and punishment inside a boxing ring was almost second nature to him.

Matthew Franklin turned professional on January 14, 1974, scoring a 2nd round stoppage over Billy Early. In the true tradition of the Philadelphia fighter, Matthew was matched tough from the beginning of his career, fighting a mixture of fellow prospects with winning records, and some battle-worn old pros with vastly more experience than him. 

The 1970s and early 1980s saw something of a talent explosion in the often maligned and under appreciated light-heavyweight division. Perhaps at no time since the 1940s had the division been so filled with such a collection of crafty counter-punchers, speedy boxers, iron-chinned sluggers, explosive punchers, and some fighters who could do a good bit of everything. It was a time in which a fighter had to be a little bit special just to make it as a top-ten contender. 

In early 1976, in his thirteenth and fourteenth professional contests, Matthew scored point’s wins over two future world champions, Mate Parlov and Marvin Camel, but was out-pointed by Camel and held to a draw by Parlov, in rematches later that same year. At this point in his career, Matthew was an athletic and strong box-fighter, with a good punch, who concentrated more on his boxing skills, than his big punch; his next fight in early 1977 would change all of that.

On March 11, 1977, Matthew took on another future world champion, Eddie Gregory (who later changed his name to Eddie Mustapha Muhammad.)  After having Gregory on the floor in the first round, Matthew saw his opponent recover, and go on to win a close and disputed point’s decision. After this defeat, Matthew consciously changed his style to that of a far more aggressive fighter, rather than a counter-punching boxer.  This change of style would deepen as his career went on, and would be the source of both his greatest successes, and his eventual decline.

Four months after the defeat to Eddie Gregory,

Matthew faced the unbeaten Marvin Johnson (another future world champion) for the NABF Light-heavyweight championship, and a place near the top of the 175-pound rankings. Against Johnson, Matthew engaged in the kind of sizzling slugfest that would become his trademark over the next few years. After falling behind early, to the fast starting and aggressive Indianapolis man, Matthew came back seemingly from the brink of defeat to wear down and eventually overwhelm Johnson in the 12th round. It was a preview of things to come from Matthew. In his next fight, Matthew defended the NABF title against the dangerous Billy Douglas, and overcame being floored in the 5th round, to knockout Douglas in the 6th.

Photo: eastsideboxing.com

In his next defence of his NABF light-heavyweight title,

Matthew faced the big- punching Richie Kates, who had only recently given Victor Galindez two tough fights for Galindez’s WBA world light-heavyweight title.  Matthew seemed to be on the point of certain defeat, when Kates dropped him face-first to the canvas near the end of the 4th round. In a show of his amazing recuperative powers, he stormed back in the 5th and dropped Kates flat onto his face at the round’s end.  When the 6th round got underway, Kates was at Matthew’s mercy and staggering around under a hail of fists, until the referee stopped the fight. It was victories like this, where triumph was snatched from the jaws of defeat that gained Matthew the nickname ‘Miracle Matthew.’

Following the Kates fight, Matthew had two non-title fight wins, stopping Dale Grant in the 5th and Freddie Bright in 8 rounds, before taking on the tough Yaqui Lopez, in defence of his NABF title.  Lopez was a teak-tough box-fighter, who had already made three challenges for the World light-heavyweight championship; going the distance with WBA champion Victor Galindez in two very close fights, (the first of which many felt he should have won) and had also losing a close decision to John Conteh for the WBC light-heavyweight title.
 
 The fight was the kind of fistic war that was

Photo: http://ringtv.craveonline.com

becoming a trademark for Matthew, as the action went back and forth, at a terrific pace and intensity, with Lopez pressuring and Matthew using his jab to counter the Mexican’s scything attacks. In the 8th round, a Lopez punch drove Matthew reeling into the ropes; at that point, Lopez launched a tremendous two-fisted attack of about 30 plus punches. Matthew laid on the ropes and tried to dodge or duck some of the punches coming his way, but took many of them.  When it seemed that Matthew would surely crumble, he fought his way off the ropes, laughing at Lopez, and then launched a two-fisted attack of his own that shook up the Mexican.  Another trademark of Matthew Franklin’s warrior spirit would be his penchant for laughing when under the most severe of attacks. The round ended with Matthew on the attack and Lopez having to give ground. From the 9th round onwards, the momentum of the fight slowly shifted to Franklin. Although it was still tough and tightly competitive, Lopez had shot his bolt in the 8th round and by the 9th, his right eye was closing.  In the 11th round, a furious attack from Franklin worsened a cut over the left eye of Lopez, who by now could see nothing out of his closed right eye, and the referee Frank Cappuccino waved a halt to the carnage. It was just another day in the office for Matthew Franklin, from now on; every fight would be a war. 

Six months later, Matthew would face Marvin Johnson again, and this time it would be for the WBC world light-heavyweight championship. Since their first fight, Johnson had rebounded from his loss to put together a useful string of victories, which had culminated with him travelling to Italy, and winning the WBC world light-heavyweight championship from Mate Parlov, on a 10th round stoppage.
Four months later, on April 22, 1979, Johnson was going to make the first defence of his world title against the man that had beaten him previously in such a spectacular and exciting fashion. When asked in the run-up to this fight why he had chosen to pick such a hard opponent for his first defence, Johnson replied “Because he beat me.” 

This was the era when almost, without exception; world champions felt compelled to put their titles on the line against the very best and most dangerous challengers available. On the night, the crowd at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana, saw Matthew Franklin and Marvin Johnson, serve up one of the most savage and intensely fought world championship contests seen in modern times. This was a fight in which both men stood toe-to-toe and exchanged fistic bombs, in a fight where the momentum seemed to shift with every explosive exchange. The finish came in the 8th round, when both men stood head-to-head, throwing bombs at each other, something had to give, and two cuts opened up over Franklin’s eyes, sending blood coursing down his face. Instead of retreating, or looking for a breather by holding, Matthew launched a two-fisted attack at Johnson, which verged on the maniacal, as if all the anger and fear of his youth was being released in those punches. Johnson wavered under the assault, like a drunken man trying desperately to keep his feet, then he finally fell to the canvas, and although he regained his feet and beat the count, he could hardly stand, and the referee wisely ended the fight. Matthew Franklin was now world champion. 

One of the first things that Franklin did after winning the WBC title was to announce that he had become a Muslim and was changing his name to Matthew Saad Muhammad. The man, who had been abandoned by his family, and left with nothing at the age of 5 years old, was now on top of the world.  Now, everyone wanted to be Saad’s friend, or part of his new ‘family.’ After he won the world title, Matthew decided to search for his blood relatives. He offered a reward for any information that would lead to their whereabouts. It didn’t take long for the aunt who had abandoned him when he was five years old to come forward and reveal herself; unfortunately, she seemed more interested in claiming the reward, than renewing her relationship with her nephew.  Muhammad soon discovered that, even though he had realized his dream of winning the world championship, there are not always happy endings, especially when human nature is involved.

Over the next two and a half years Saad would defend his world championship successfully eight times. His defences were mostly exercises in Saad’s extraordinary heart, punch, and endurance over coming challengers who often seemed poised to overcome ‘Miracle Matthew.’  Saad was turning his slow starts into an art now, almost as if he needed to feel his own blood, or to be rocked and punished by his opponent’s blows before he could get properly started himself.

Photo: http://ringtv.craveonline.com

Saad’s first challenger was John Conteh on August 18, 1979. The talented Conteh was a former WBC world light heavyweight champion and used his slick boxing and artful jab to take an early point’s lead, and cut up Saad badly over the left eye.  However, Saad roared back in the later rounds, flooring Conteh twice in the 14th round and pulling out a close point’s decision. Conteh was granted an immediate rematch, partly due to his first showing against Saad, and partly due to the fact that during the first fight Saad’s corner men had used an illegal substance on his badly cut eye to stop the bleeding. The rematch, seven months later, was a disaster for Conteh, as a fired up Saad dominated him from the start, then overwhelmed him in the 4th round, flooring him five times, before the referee stopped the action. Two months after the Conteh fight, on May 11, 1980, Sad had one of his easier defences when he dismantled Louis Perjured for a 5th round stoppage. 

On July 13, 1980, Saad engaged in possibly the most savage, thrilling, and sapping fights of his career.  Saad met Yaqui Lopez for the second time, in a fight, which mirrored their first classic. Once more, Muhammad came close to defeat, never more so than in the 8th round, which was an almost eerie carbon copy of the 8th round of their first fight. Saad was hurt, then cornered into the ropes, and almost stopped, as Lopez unloaded a huge blitz of over 30 unanswered punches. Yet, just as in their first fight, Saad weathered the almost disturbing amount of punishment he was receiving, to fight his way off the ropes, and have Lopez in trouble at the end of the round. One of the most amazing sights of the whole fight was Saad literally laughing as he came back at Lopez. Perhaps it is not so surprising that after this round Saad slowly gained the upper hand in the fight. Lopez exhausted himself and perhaps Saad’s inhuman resistance to his punches, had broken something inside of him. Lopez did not win another round after the 8th and was finally stopped in the 14th round after being floored four times. 

Saad’s next defence was a much more straightforward performance against Lotte Mwale, with Saad winning by a 4th round knockout. Three months later, on February 28, 1981, Saad made his eighth defence of his title against the lanky Vonzell Johnson.  Johnson proved to be another troublesome challenger, landing often, and having the temerity to out-box Saad at times. The champion’s big punches eventually took their toll, as Saad walked through everything his challenger had to throw, until he finally caught up with Johnson in the 11th round. 

Despite the punishing nature of his contests, Saad remained a busy fighter and champion.  Just two months after disposing of Vonzell Johnson, the champion found himself defending his title against the canny and rugged Scot, Murray Sutherland.   Early on, Saad looked slow and sluggish and Sutherland started confidently. Things got even worse for Saad when a Sutherland punch split open his lip. Saad’s title seemed to be slipping away from him, until one of his patented right hands dropped Sutherland heavily in the 9th round. Although Sutherland seemed to just beat the count, controversially, the referee counted him out. 

Saad had what constituted as a short rest (presumably to let the cut lip heal) before re-entering the ring again five months later, against the short and dangerous Jerry ’The Bull’ Martin.  Saad again started slowly, he seemed to have made the slow start an art form all his own. Sure enough, by the mid-rounds, Saad was countering Martin’s rushes, and replying to ’The Bulls’ body attacks with wide lefts and rights to the head.    In the 11th round, two right hands from Saad staggered the exhausted Martin, and the referee Larry Hazzard stepped in and stopped the fight. It seemed as if Saad was truly invincible, it didn’t matter how slow he started a fight or how far behind he went in rounds; he always came back to win. The constant wars had become almost predictable. Saad must have felt it too, surrounded by the ever-growing number of admirers and hangers-on. Did Saad feel invincible?  Or did he always know deep down that one day the wave he was riding would come crashing down?

Photo: eastsideboxing.com

On December 19, 1981, Saad made the 9th defence of his world title against a sawed- off shotgun of a man (at five foot 6 and a half) named Dwight Braxton. Saad’s defence started even worse than usual when he was two pounds over the weight limit and had to go to the sauna to get off the excess poundage. Things didn’t improve once the fight started. Saad tried to jab and out-box Braxton, but the diminutive challenger was impossible to hold off. Within a few rounds, Saad’s face was bloodied from his challenger’s own brutal jabs, which were constantly tearing through his guard. Saad’s usual slow start had become a one-sided beating, only made competitive by Saad’s enormous courage, and refusal to quit.  Again and again he tried to mount attacks of his own and force the challenger back, but Braxton just grinned at him through his mouth guard and kept up his almost demonic assault. Saad’s brave, foolhardy resistance came to an end in the 10th round when a hook sent him down to the canvas. It wasn’t any harder than countless hooks he had already take in the rounds before, but it was that one punch too many that finally reduces even the toughest men to submission.  Saad beat the count, there was never anything wrong with his heart, but the well of miracle comebacks was over.  After Braxton landed just four more punches upon Saad, the referee stopped the fight.  Saad’s world title reign of thrills and brutality was over. Perhaps it was inevitable that the glorious victories would descend into a gory defeat. It seems there is a price that warriors like Saad have to pay. Sadly, it would get worse for Saad, much worse.

Blaming his weight problems for his defeat to Braxton, Saad tried to pull off another miracle eight months later, when he attempted to regain the title from Braxton. This time Saad could not be competitive. Pressed up against the ropes for most of the time, Saad took an unrelenting beating that was painful to watch. It was as if all of those miracle comebacks, in all those extraordinary fights, had finally taken their price from Saad. The referee mercifully ended the ‘fight’ in the 6th round. 

It should have been the end, but all too often is the case with many of boxing’s greatest warriors; it was just the beginning of the long slide down from fame and riches, and back to somewhere sadly reminiscent of where it had all started. 

The hangers-on and friends drifted away as Saad’s boxing career came off the rails.  The money soon went too, much of it with the departing entourage. Saad responded in the only way he really knew, by continuing to fight.  Saad was only 28 years old when he had his second fight with Braxton, an age where most fighters are at their peak, but Saad’s body had been through hell and back just too many times, and there was nothing left inside. Whatever made Saad the amazing fighter he had been at his thrilling peak was gone, burnt out. The next decade was a series of futile comebacks for Saad, fighting in obscure places against obscure opponents.  Always Saad said that his aim was to regain his world championship and that he just needed to put together some good wins in order to get himself back on track.  The good wins never came and Saad’s record for the final 10 years of his career was 16-11-2. Finally, when Saad retired, his troubles adjusting to life away from the ring continued mostly away from the public gaze.

Photo: http://osaphilly.com

In 2010, Saad walked into a homeless shelter in Philadelphia; it seemed to be the final fall for the proud champion. Once again, Saad displayed a kind of extraordinary courage that so few people are blessed with. Saad spoke out about his predicament, in the hope that it would bring attention to the plight of so many who have lived ordinary anonymous lives, only to find themselves cut adrift from society for a variety of reasons. In his last years of his all too short life, Saad emerged as a brave and articulate spokesperson on the plight of homeless, and joined forces with the Philadelphia ‘One Step Away’ street newspaper, to try and make a difference for the city’s homeless population.  Muhammad joined the “Knockout Homelessness” campaign, which brought publicity, awareness, and to benefit ‘One Step Away’ on their mission to end homelessness in the Philadelphia area.

It is hard to sum up the life of a man such as Matthew Saad Muhammad. He knew both great glory and terrible lows. He was a fantastic fighter with seemingly inhuman resources at one time, ultimately, he was simply a normal man who had the courage to go face to face with adversity all through his life and never quit. Perhaps the best epitaph for Saad is that he was an ordinary man who accomplished extraordinary things during his life and will never be forgotten by the countless people whom he inspired both in and out of the ring.

If you would also like to learn how to “Knockout Homelessness” please follow the link and read about the great things they are doing in the Philadelphia are!

http://osaphilly.com/index.php?page=knockouthomelessness

You can also follow them on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/OSAPhilly

http://osaphilly.com/index.php?page=knockouthomelessness

You can also follow them on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/OSAPhilly



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