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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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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TBG Book Review: From Boxing Ring to Battlefield: The Life Story of War Hero Lew Jenkins

The Boxing Glove Book Review

By Peter Silkov

"From Boxing Ring To Battlefield:The Life Of War Hero Lew Jenkins" 

By Gene Pantalone

The life of a boxer is seldom a dull one, but some fighters lives are more exciting than others. The life of Lew Jenkins reads more like a work of fiction than reality, yet as is often the case, when it comes to Jenkins’ life story, the truth is often stranger than fiction. Lew Jenkins lived a chaotic, rambunctious life, both in and out of the ring, which saw him become Lightweight champion of the world in 1940, only to lose it after just 18 months, as his life and boxing career imploded. He had a meteoric rise to the top, and an even faster fall into boxing oblivion. However, he found a redemption that often eludes ex-fighters and ended his life in a kind of respectable comfort which would have seemed impossible for him, given his lifestyle during most of his boxing career.

Gene Pantalone has done a marvelous job in bringing Lew Jenkins’ life to the written page. It is a biography that reads like a fast-moving movie, with Gene’s vivid writing painting a multitude of colourful scenes inside your head. Indeed the overwhelming feeling that you are left with after reading this biography is the question of why there wasn't a book written about Lew Jenkins earlier.

If ever a fighter had a fan-friendly life story, that man is Lew Jenkins. He was an inveterate smoker and drinker, who got into as many unscheduled fights outside of the ring as he did inside of it. He became a sensation with the journalists of the day, picking up such nicknames as 'The Living Death' 'The Sweetwater Swatter', 'The Texas Tarantula','The Texas Thumper', 'The Medical Freak' and in the latter part of his career, 'Looney Lew'.
Born on December 4, 1916, in Milburn, Texas, Lew grew up in Sweetwater, Texas, where he experienced the poverty of the 1930s depression first hand. As a child, Lew spent more time picking cotton with the rest of his family than he did attending school.

''I wore cardboard in my shoes'', Jenkins is quoted as saying by Gene Pantalone; ''I had one pair of patched overalls. I don't know how we survived''.
Growing up at such a time, it should be no surprise that Jenkins, like so many other young men of his age, would seek to escape the poverty of the cotton fields by using his hands in the boxing ring.

Part of the charm of Jenkins is that he never looked much like a fighter (at least not to the trained eye.) He was lanky and scrawny, even when he was well-fed. Yet inside the ring he was the stereotypical 'hungry fighter', who fought every round as if his life depended on it. He was also one of the most devastating punchers ever seen in the lightweight division. Referee Arthur Donovan is quoted by Gene Pantalone upon the subject of Lew's punching prowess:
''That Jenkins, what a puncher he was. He was skinny, and he looked half-starved all the time, but he'd hit you a hook, and you'd just cave in, crumble to your knees. I think he was the hardest of all the punchers''.
Jenkins’ freakish physique was also possessed of uncanny speed, that allowed him in his short prime to fight like a wildcat.

Although Lew's official boxing record has him beginning his boxing career in 1935, at the age of 18, his introduction to the ring actually took place years earlier when he became a carnival fighter. Like many fighters of his era, Lew had many more fights than appear on his 'official' boxing record.

Jenkins won the World Lightweight championship at New York's Madison Square Garden, on May 10, 1940, with a violent 3rd round stoppage of Lou Ambers. At the age of 23, he had fought his way from poverty to the top of the boxing world and found himself a celebrity in the process. Unfortunately, like many other fighters from similar backgrounds, Jenkins found success overwhelming. The hunger that had previously exerted some control over his wild ways evaporated seemingly overnight, and life for Jenkins became one long unending party, which became ever more chaotic.

Many other fighters have seen their careers derail in the wake of 'the good life', yet few have derailed their careers as spectacularly as Jenkins. More interested in drinking, chasing women and racing motorbikes, Jenkins boxing career fell into free-fall almost from the moment he won the world championship. It was a decline that only accelerated after he lost the title eighteen months after winning it. Jenkins alcoholism became such, that he was barely sober for a fight after his world title victory.

With his life out of control, Jenkins found salvation in perhaps the most unlikely arenas of all, World War 2. With his boxing career and personal life in tatters, Jenkins signed up to join the Coast Guard. Jenkins had actually enlisted in the army years earlier when he was just a fledgling fighter, and he would find that his re-enlistment would be the saving of him.

Jenkins would carry on fighting in the ring, on and off, until 1950. But his fighting spark in the ring was burnt out. It was on the battlefield that Lew would mark himself out now. Lew Jenkins became a teetotal, career soldier, and a full-fledged War Hero.

As he did in his previous book “Madame Bey's Home To Boxing Legends” Gene Pantalone weaves a vivid and entertaining narrative in this biography of Lew Jenkins (who himself was one of the many legendary fighters who used Madame Bey's training camp.)

“Boxing Ring To Battlefield” is meticulously researched, with excellent use of historical interviews and quotes. As well as featuring many quotes of Jenkins himself, there are also quotes from his son and many others who knew him personally during his life. This book also contains very useful ‘notes’ and ‘Bibliography’ sections, which further informs the reader.

While Jenkins is perhaps the ultimate 'colourful character' himself, he is hardly alone in this book, which is just about overflowing with interesting characters. From his fellow fighters to the managers and promoters of the day, perhaps the most intriguing character of this biography, aside from Jenkins himself, is his first wife, Katie, who at one point was Lew's manager, trainer, and promoter, and had much to do with his spectacular climb to the top.

Like his previous work, Gene Pantalone instills the atmosphere of the time in “From Boxing Ring To Battlefield”. You can almost smell the sweat and the smoke of the gyms and the area's, and hear the thump of the leather upon flesh. You can most certainly hear the clink of glasses and bottles as Lew drinks himself into a stupor between fights.

This is a book that shows why boxers are without a doubt the most 'fan-friendly' of all sports stars when it comes to interesting life stories. Yet even a good story can come over poorly if it is not told well, however, the story of Lew Jenkins is in great hands here with Gene Pantalone.

“From Boxing Ring To Battlefield” is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the 'Golden Age' of boxing that existed between 1920 and 1950. It is also a great read even for those who might not class themselves as a boxing 'fan', but still enjoy a good story. The most impressive thing perhaps about Lew Jenkins’ life story is that it really did happen. What a tale it is indeed.

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

https://www.amazon.com/Boxing-Ring-Battlefield-Life-Jenkins/dp/153811674X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1545964982&sr=8-1&keywords=From+Boxing+Ring+To+Battlefield%3AThe+Life+Of+War+Hero+Lew+Jenkins%22

 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/from-boxing-ring-to-battlefield-gene-pantalone/1128622511

"Madame Bey’S: Home to Boxing Legends

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0794R61C4/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1

Follow us on Twitter: @TheBoxingGlove and  

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The Boxing Glove Big Fight Report: Tyson Fury Rocks the World

Photo: NZ Herald

By Peter Silkov

Sometimes you don't need to win to really 'win', but it’s nice all the same not to be robbed of a victory earned through blood, sweat, and tears, in the hardest 'sport' that exists. Anyone who watched Saturday's fight between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury with an unbiased eye and a fair amount of boxing knowledge would be hard pressed to explain how Fury ended the night walking away with just a draw. For most of the match, Fury dominated the fight. He out-boxed Wilder with his unique mix of speed, herky-jerky skill and some of the most audacious moves you will ever see in the boxing ring. Even Muhammad Ali never boxed with his hands held behind his back!

This isn't to say that Fury is as good as Ali, he doesn't need to be. On Saturday night Fury showed that being himself is good enough. He has the athletic ability in abundance along with a strong dash of that something extra that takes what he is beyond just being an outstanding athlete. Fury's story, like the man himself, is complicated, he is not a media creation, far from it. Media creations are two-dimensional objects, that fit into a nice standard box so that the media at large can package and distribute them. Often the most interesting aspects of media creations are hidden from the public, in favour of a predictable, rather bland story that engages on certain levels but never challenges or outrages.

Photo: BBC

To compare any fighter with Muhammad Ali is always a risky project, prone to attracting reactions ranging from ridicule to outrage. Yet despite there being some obvious differences between Ali and Tyson, which don't doesnt need explaining, there remain some tantalizing parallels, both in the ring and outside of it.

Tyson Fury, like Ali before him, has always been anything, except bland and predictable. Over the 10 years of his professional career, Tyson has never fit into a simple box. His outrageous freedom of spirit has, until recently, made members of the media, and indeed the public at large, suspicious of him. Subsequently, Tyson has often been portrayed in the media as either a clown or a madman.

After his brilliant out-boxing of Wladimir Klitschko just a little over three years ago, to win the World heavyweight championship, Tyson was rewarded with a hostility in some areas of the media and the public which remains shocking. It was as if the wrong son had struck it rich, and his reward was a rejection so abject and unforgiving, that its weight hit Tyson harder than any punch he has ever felt inside the boxing ring. Including the one that he took from Deontay Wilder in the 12th round on Saturday night.

Tyson Parties After Win Over Klitschko Photo: fightcity.com

Fury's physical and spiritual collapse following what should have been his career-defining win over Wladimir Klitschko is well known. The colourful history of boxing is overflowing with the tales of prodigiously talented fighters, who have burned away their talent and careers by going off the rails into a life of self-destructive indulgence. Yet, Tyson Fury's self-implosion has been unusual by its suddenness and seeming finality.

As his depression deepened, and the months of inactivity grew into years, Tyson's once athletic frame grew and bloated. At the same time, the chances of him ever entering the ring again seemed to grow smaller with every month that passed. Tyson became a caricature of himself. Even some of those who had previously lambasted him without mercy felt some sympathy as Tyson's life descended into the kind of chaos that never ends happily. Fury seemed set on a not so long trip into the abyss.

Just as it seemed that all was lost for Fury, some spark of self-survival made him step back from the edge. Perhaps it was the realization that he had already been written off by so many people. In another parallel to Ali, Tyson Fury is a man who loves to prove his doubters wrong. Tyson Fury is at his happiest when he is the underdog.

In just 12 months of constant training, Tyson Fury has lost over 100 pounds, transforming himself back into almost the exact image of the fighter he was three years ago against Wladimir Klitschko. As comebacks go, that's pretty impressive for a start.

However, to also make a return to the highest level of the most dangerous sport in the world is something else altogether. When Tyson Fury entered the ring on Saturday against Deontay Wilder, he was, in essence, taking part in his first real competitive match in over three years, against the man who is generally accepted to be the heaviest puncher in the division.

Photo: Belfast Telegraph

Perhaps it was a consequence of the measly 20-foot ring that they were cramped together into, but despite his fleet-footed boxing skills, Tyson chose to spend much of the fight standing right in front of Wilder. Instead of constantly using the whole ring, Tyson instead relied upon his head and upper-body movement, and catlike reflexes to duck block, and make Wilder miss repeatedly. As the rounds unfolded Fury walked a tightrope of repeatedly making Wilder miss by a hair’s breath with wild yet, powerful shots, that looked like they could bring down walls if they connected.

Wilder's technique or rather lack of it has often been seen to be one of his major flaws, yet he knows how to turn this deficit into a credit. Wilder's 'wild' technique gives him an unpredictability that no opponent likes to face in the ring. With his long arms and underrated hand-speed, one can never quite know when or where 'The Bronze Bomber's’ next hay-maker is going to land.

As the rounds passed Fury fought like a man with a mission. A giant relying on the kind of speed and ring guile that seems barely possible in such a big man. Despite being confined to such a relatively small ring, Fury showed a knack of knowing just when to duck or step back that little bit so that the incoming bomb would fly harmlessly by him. Sometimes you had to look closely to make sure that the punch had indeed missed.

Wilder began the fight with the intensity and confidence of a man who has knocked out 39 of his previous 40 opponents and knows that it is just a matter of time before he brings an end to the proceedings. By the 6th round, Wilder's eyes had started to fill up with the anxious look of a fighter who knows that a knockout is his only chance of victory or rather should be.

The purpose of boxing is to hit and not get hit and to display a technical superiority over your opponent. As this fight progressed Fury carried out these missions to the tee. His jab nullified Wilder's from the start. Unable to land his own jab Wilder was reduced to simply trying to land one of his dynamite hay-makers upon Fury.

Between making Wilder miss, Fury landed his own shots regularly, at times knocking Wilder back with the force of his own blows. Time and again Fury ducked beneath Wilder's punches, often making him miss by mere fractions. Fury was giving Wilder a boxing lesson, while for the most part standing right in front of him and also pushing him back with the force of his own punches.

Tyson wasn't just out-boxing Wilder; he was out-fighting him as well.

Add to this Fury's frequent clowning, which consists of pulling various expressions on his face, sticking his tongue out, and putting his hands behind his back, raising his arms in an early victory celebration, and you have an extraordinary performance taking place round after round.
As with Ali before him, Tyson's antics in the ring are not simply self-indulgent clowning. They are apart of the whole chess match. An integral part of Tyson assuming his mental superiority over his opponent in the ring.

It has been said that Tyson Fury's life story would make a good movie, perhaps he thought that his fight with Wilder needed a little more drama.

Wilder Connects In The 9th Photo:New York Post

In the ninth round, one of Wilder's bombs finally connected cleanly, hitting Tyson on the back of the head, and knocking him down. Tyson had finally miscalculated one of his ducks. Still, after regaining his feet, Tyson carried on pretty much as if nothing had happened. By the rounds end, he was back to raising his arms, holding his hands behind his back, and sticking out his tongue. Wilder's audacity at knocking him down seemed to provoke Fury to release his whole repertoire.

With a strong point’s lead, despite the knock-down, Fury could have gone onto the back foot after the 9th but instead, he chose to fight in 'the pocket' and even take the fight to Wilder. Rounds 10 and 11 were good rounds for Fury. His recovery from the 9th round knock-down had added a further splash of drama and colour to a fight that didn't really need it. Fury's performance after 3 years in the abyss was drama enough to make this a special fight.

In the 12th round, something happened that took this fight out of the usual and placed it upon that revered mantelpiece of boxing history, which is reserved only for the true classics. These are the fights where either one or both participants seem to reach somewhere deep into themselves and produce something physically miraculous. Something that defies the innate fragility of the human body.

Fury Hits the Canvas in the 12th  Photo:mmafighting.com

By out-boxing Deontay Wilder for the vast majority of their bout, despite being knocked down, Tyson Fury had already seemingly defied the laws of athletics in general and logic itself. Yet in the 12th and final round of their fight, Tyson performed a feat that will most likely prove to define both his life and his boxing career. For the first time in the whole fight Wilder connected with two punches, one after the other. Fury, his catlike reflexes finally dimmed a little from fatigue, took a right hand to the side of the head, and as he tried to ride the punch, a left hook struck him full on the right side of his jaw. Fury's own movement meant that he actually ducked into Wilder's punch, which added to the potency of Wilder's punch.

Fury seemed to fall to the canvas in slow motion, like an actor in some western who had just been shot. His body shook upon its impact with the canvas, and his eyes stared vacantly ahead unblinking

as his mouth gasped for air. It was as violent a knock-down as you could wish to see in this most violent of sports. Many watching will have been overwhelmed by adrenalin powered excitement at such legalized violence, at the same time feel that conscious pang of guilt for taking pleasure in seeing another human being's physical destruction.

The first thought that I felt after seeing this knock-down was the hope that Tyson was not seriously hurt, and would in the end, get up smiling and unscathed. The question of him beating the count at that point didn't enter my head in those first few seconds.

Although Tyson's eyes were wide open, he seemed to be very much 'out', like Thomas Hearns against Marvin Hagler at the end of their 3-round epic encounter of 1985. It was as if everything that Tyson had built over the past 12 rounds had come crashing down with him under the weight of those two punches from Deontay Wilder.

Fury Get Up After Knockdown by Wilder  Photo: BTSport

At the count of five Tyson blinked. At six, he started to rise again. As the referee counted nine, Tyson was back on his feet. Who knows how Fury was able to regain his feet after such a knock-down. Perhaps the same strength of spirit and mental attitude that allowed him to conquer his demons and get himself into good enough shape to fight Wilder in the first place.

As if beating the count wasn't enough after a couple of seconds, Fury started taking the fight to Wilder, whose astonishment at being unable to keep his challenger down was written throughout his body language for the rest of the round. Suddenly it was Fury on the charge, like a wounded animal, while Wilder swung his arms desperately then held. A Fury punch actually shook Wilder, and if not for the knock-down this was another round that Fury should have won.

Wilder Reaction to Fury Getting Up Photo: Unilad

When the bell rang to end the fight the crowd erupted into the kind of roar that you only hear at the end of the special fights. And while it would be churlish to ignore the part that Wilder played in this match, the truth is that it was Fury's fight, and fury's performance that made the match what it became. In the end, Wilder was almost a bit player. He was the supporting actor in a fight, which had it been choreographed for a 'Rocky' movie, would have been labeled too far-fetched.

Then came the point’s decision. Despite the two knock-downs, Tyson looked to have clearly won the fight. Even the 12th round, without the knock-down, could have clearly been given to Tyson. Usually, a fighter will win a round by 10-08, in points, when he knocks own an opponent, but Tyson's spirited fight back, including having Wilder visibly hurt at one point, could arguably render the round 10-9 to Wilder rather than 10-08.

Ref Talking to Fury After KD  Photo: givemesport.com

The last round knock-down also held an eerie echo of Muhammad Ali's 'fight of the century' with Joe Frazier in March 1971, when Ali, like Tyson against Wilder, was trying to regain his world title after three years out of the ring. Ali, like Tyson, was floored in the fight’s final round (which was the 15th for Ali vs Frazier) and despite looking out to the world regained his feet and finished the fight strongly.

Special praise should go to referee Jack Reiss, who gave an exemplary performance throughout the fight showing no bias, and a willingness to simply just let the fighters get on and fight. In the 12th when Fury was dropped, Reiss showed excellent judgment in allowing the fight to go on when some referees would have stopped the fight, there and then, due to the violence of the knock-down. For those who have tried to say that Tyson got a 'long count', he hit the canvas at 2.23 of the round and was back on his feet at Reiss's count of 'nine' at 2.13. The only reason for the slight delay in the count being picked up was the failure of Wilder to go straight to a neutral corner after Fury had gone down, such was his confidence that Fury would not get up.

After Fight Ended  Photo: Evening Standard

The scorecards when they were announced caused an uproar. Robert Tapper had it 114-112 to Fury. Phil Edwards had it 113-113 (a draw) and Alejandro Rochin scored it 115 to 111 for Wilder, rendering the match a draw, and robbing Fury of the chance of taking home Wilder's WBC world heavyweight title. The knock-downs aside, this was a fight which Tyson Fury dominated and should have won clearly. Some rounds were close, but still clearly Fury's. A fighter should have to dominate 3.00 of a whole round to be sure of winning it. If we are dealing with judges who know the art and intent of boxing, then even a close round should not be a problem to score fairly.

Unfortunately, this is yet one more in a long line of big fights staged in the USA that has ended with dubious point’s decisions.

The problems seem to be either incompetence on the part of the judges or else something a little darker and more sinister. The truth is that bias judging is one of the oldest scourges of the sport and lately seems to be dominating the results of the big fights in America, especially in fights that pit an American champion against a foreign opponent.

Robert Tapper's score is the only acceptable one out of the three. Watch the fight. All three judges had Tyson losing the first round, which I had him winning clearly. Rochin had Tyson losing the first 4 rounds of the fight, something that I find incredible. Tyson’s fellow countryman, Phil Edwards, gave the 6th and 7th rounds to Wilder, despite Tyson visibly having two of his best rounds in the fight in those stanzas.

The Boxing Glove scored the fight 115 to 112 for Fury. Aside from the rounds in which he scored a knock-down, the only other round that I gave Wilder was the 5th, while the 3rd I made a drawn round. And this was watching the fight with the attitude that the judges would be at least partially biased towards the 'home-town' fighter. How right I was!

Wilder-Fury Scorecards  Photo" Fox Sports

In the end, the judges (well two of them) were overly biased towards Wilder, but the crowd certainly weren't and voiced their displeasure with the drawn verdict loud and clear.
In fact, if Tyson Fury had not been so calm and sporting straight after the fight, the situation could really have become ugly, as the 17,000 crowds had a good proportion of travelling fans who were there to support Tyson Fury.

Had Tyson not been so professional, the evening could have ended in a riot.

Tyson's post-fight behaviour has been as impressive as his performance in the ring. While voicing his displeasure with the decision, he has remained magnanimous and philosophical.

Tyson Fury has been reborn as a fighter and is now a very able spokesman for those who struggle with addiction and mental health. In a sport where fighters are usually unwilling to admit to any physical weakness let alone mental weakness, Tyson's openness about his struggles has been even more courageous and inspiring than his performances in the boxing ring.

Perhaps it is because he has found himself appreciated now. Opening up about his struggles with mental health and addiction, as well as his physical transformation over the last 12 months, has finally won over the public at large. And if there were any doubters going into that final round all but a handful of them would have been won over by Tyson's recovery from that knock-down.

The match might go down into the record books as a draw, but those who watched it with a knowledgeable and unbiased eye, know who truly won.

Indeed being robbed of his rightful victory may even help Fury in a perverse way. It keeps him the underdog and gives him something extra to fight for in the future. Now he will want to avenge the injustice that was metered out to him on Saturday night.

Photo:  Irish Central

If Tyson keeps his focus from here, things will only get better for him. He is now the biggest name in heavyweight boxing. The titles have almost become incidental. Tyson Fury should be the man everyone wants to beat. He may have been robbed of the WBC belt on Saturday, but he is still the lineal heavyweight champion of the world. Perhaps more importantly, he seems to have become the champion of the people. From being ridiculed and even despised, Tyson has won over the public at large and the press and media have in turn changed their attitude to him.

As a fighter, he should still get better after Saturday's match. Brilliant though he was at times against Wilder he was not 100% the Tyson who beat Wladimir Klitschko three years previously. Be it as it may, 80% of his best was enough to beat Wilder or should have been.

Tyson Fury now has the chance to make his mark upon the world in a way that will transcend his accomplishments as a boxer. He can become a role model and spokesperson who can really make a positive difference and impact. Tyson Fury's 'Rocky' story has hopefully only just begun.

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