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hey guys, this question is for the diehard boxing fans.
how come, Victor Galindez never try to unifyed the Light-heavyweight title. I knew he was the WBA champ for about 5 years, but never try to unify it.
I know there are some boxing historians on this site, who could answer my question.
Victor Galindez
Full Name: Victor Emilio GalindezBorn: November 2, 1948 Vedia, Argentina
Died: October 25, 1980, Dos Mayo, Argentina (Racing Accident)Amateur Record: 52-9-4
Professional Record: 55-9-4 (34 kayoes) 2 NC
1968 Olympic Games Mexico City: Light Middleweight (156 lbs.)
Opponent Country Result
Aldo Bentini Italy L Dec
Loses in first round
1969
May 10 Ramon Ruiz Buenos Aires KO 4
Jun 28 Ruperto Robledo Buenos Aires KO 3
Aug 16 Adolfo Cejas Azul, Argentina D 10
1970
Jan 17 Adolfo Cardoza Buenos Aires KO 5
Mar 13 Ramon Rocha Rosario, Argentina KO 9
Apr 8 Juan Aguilar Buenos Aires L 10
May 9 Ramon Cerrezuela Lujan, Argentina KO 6
May 20 Alfredo Segura Buenos Aires TKO 3
Jun 24 Juan Aguilar Buenos Aires D 10
Jul 22 Jorge Ahumada Buenos Aires KO 5
Aug 14 Juan Aguilar Mendoza, Argentina NC 1
Sep 18 Juan Aguilar Mendoza, Argentina L 10
Nov 28 Avenamar Peralta Buenos Aires L 12
(For Argentine Light Heavyweight Title)
1971
Jan 9 Avenemar Peralta Buenos Aires W 10
Apr 7 Pedro Rimovsky Buenos Aires NC 1
May 24 Jorge Ahumada Mendoza, Argentina L 10
Jun 12 Pedro Rimovsky Buenos Aires D 10
Jul 31 Jorge Ahumada Buenos Aires KO 9
Sep 11 Avenemar Peralta Buenos Aires TKO by 9
Oct 30 Jorge Ahumada Buenos Aires KO 6
Nov 20 Juan Aguilar Buenos Aires W 10
Dec 18 Avenemar Peralta Buenos Aires L 10
1972
Jan 22 Carlos Santagada 9 de Julio, Argentina KO 8
May 6 Eddie Jones Buenos Aires W 10
Jul 22 Juan Aguilar Buenos Aires W 12
(Wins Argentine Light Heavyweight Title)
Aug 19 Adolfo Cardoza Rosario, Argentina TKO 4
Sep 2 Avenemar Peralta Buenos Aires W 12
(Retains Argentine Light Heavyweight Title)
Oct 7 Avenemar Peralta Buenos Aires W 12
(Wins Vacant South American Light Heavyweight Title)
Nov 10 Oscar Wondryk Venado Tuerto, Arg. KO 7
Dec 15 Juan Aguilar Mendoza, Argentina D 10
1973
Jan 29 Ruben Gonzalez Salta, Argentina KO 3
Apr 14 Juan Aguilar Buenos Aires W 12
(Retains Argentine Light Heavyweight Title)
May 12 Eddie Owens Buenos Aires KO 3
Jul 14 Karl Zurheide Buenos Aires KO 2
Aug 10 Juan Aguilar Tucuman, Argentina KO 6
Sep 7 Raul Loyola Buenos Aires W 12
(Retains Argentine Light Heavyweight Title)
Nov 10 Raul Loyola Buenos Aires TKO 8
Dec 8 Eddie Duncan Buenos Aires KO 2
1974
Feb 16 Ray Anderson Balcarce, Argentina KO 2
Apr 5 Ruben Gonzalez Rio Cuarto, Argentina KO 3
Jun 8 Jose Gonzalez Buenos Aires W 10
Jul 12 Domingo Silveyra Jujuy, Argentina KO 4
Sep 1 Domingo Silveyra San Juan, Argentina KO 5
Sep 14 Angle Oquendo Buenos Aires W 10
Oct 5 Domingo Silveyra Parana, Argentina KO 4
Dec 7 Len Hutchins Buenos Aires TKO 13
(Wins Vacant WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
Feb 15 John Griffin Balacarce, Argentina KO 6
Apr 7 Pierre Fourie Johannesburg W 15
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
May 16 Ray J. Elson Las Vegas TKO 8
Jun 30 Jorge Ahumada NYC, MSG W 15
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
Sep 13 Pierre Fourie Johannesburg W 15
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
1976
Mar 28 Harald Skog Oslo, Norway KO 3
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
Apr 8 Jesse Burnett Copenhagen, Denmark W 10
May 15 Richie Kates Johannesburg KO 15
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
Aug 21 Bill Douglas Buenos Aires W 10
Oct 5 Kosie Smith Johannesburg W 15
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
1977
Apr 6 Guillermo Aquirrezabala Mendoza, Argentina KO 4
Jun 15 Richie Kates Rome W 15
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
Sep 17 Alvaro Lopez Rome W 15
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
Oct 19 Eddie Gregory Turin, Italy W 15
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
1978
Apr 8 Ramon Cerrezuela Buenos Aires W 10
May 6 Alvaro "Yaqui" Lopez Via Reggio, Italy W 15
(Retains WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
Jun 16 Antonio Musaldino Mendoza, Argentina KO 9
Jul 8 Waldemar de Oliveira Buenos Aires KO 9
Aug 19 Marcos A. Tostos General Pico, Argentina KO 6
Sep 15 Mike Rossman New Orleans TKO by 13
(Loses WBA Light Heavyweight Title)
1979
Mar 10 Roberto Aguilar San Miguel, Argentina TKO 6
Feb Mike Rossman Las Vegas SCH
Galindez refused to come out for the bout, citing
problems with the selection of officials
Apr 14 Mike Rossman New Orleans TKO 10 (Regains WBA Light Heavyweight Title) Nov 30 Marvin Johnson New Orleans KO by 11 (Loses WBA Light Heavyweight Title) 1980 Jun 14 Jesse Burnett Anaheim, CA L 12
Galindez was forced to retire after undergoing surgery to repair two detached retinas. In his brief retirement, Galindez decided that he would pursue one of his dreams of becoming a race car driver. While he was driving at the track on October 25, 1980 his car broke down. As he was waiting along the track for assistance, another car passing by lost control and ran over Galindez. He was killed instantly.
© 1998 The Cyber Boxing Zone. Thanks to Matt Tegen for supplying the record.
Unification showdowns were as much a rarity in the 70's as they are today. John Conteh could make plenty of dosh defending his WBC title, and Galindez the same with his WBA. I don't recall much pressure mounted for a showdown between the two, especially as Conteh had enough problems going on outside the ring. He split with his trainer for a while, and also his management, and basically messed up what should have been a glorious reign. Incidentally, I'm not one of those people who autmatically assume Galindez would have licked Conteh. The Liverpool man was ruthless in the ring, especially with the head (he butted Lonnie Bennett and Stinger Hutchins out of world title fights), and would have torn the cut-prone Galindez to shreds.
Beddows is correct.
John was an inactive Champion due to management and hand troubles.
The US sports fans were not familiar with the guy a whole lot as he seldom fought.
I liked both guys a lot; but John would have butted the scar tissue above Galindezs' eyes wide open-and fast.
Karldfswq
I think i would have to disargee with that. I think Galindez prove that he could beat the best, when he was up for it. I believe many don't give him the credit he truely earn. Galindez beat more top notch fighters then MOST of the Light-Heavyweights, that ever held the title. I always felt, the best of Galindez beats the best of John Conteh, and Mathew Saad Muhammad.
But; I agree with you that Galindez was the better fighter.
It wouldn't go to a decison or KO Death King.
Conteh would butt him and the fight would have been stopped.
Karl
It wouldn't get stopped if Stanley Christodoulou was the ref.
I think it would go the distance, he had only been stop i think maybe 2 or 3 times his whole carrer on cuts, and came back I KNOW ONE LESS ONE OF THOSE OCCUSIONS TO WIN. I think the only 5 fighters from the 50'sall the way tothe present day, i could see beating Galindez badly would be, Roy Jones Jr,
Michael Spinks,Dwight Qawi,Archie Moore, and Ezzard Charles
i forgot Bob Foster
qawi?.
I think Dwight has become way overestimated because of the beatings he gave a fading Saad.Other than his considerable inside skills, he brought little to the table.If you fight like qawi does, you have to be teak tough.Qawi was only willing to go all out once or twice his entire career.
I like Victor Big over Jones and Dwight.
Him and Michael Spinks would have been a tossup.
No; he couldn't have beaten Foster or Moore-I agree with you there.
Karl
The reason the light-heavy title wasn't unified in the 1975-1978 time period was due mainly to the instability of the WBC title situation. John Conteh was very inactive
in '75, '76, and '77 before having the title stripped. He boxed maybe once per year due to injuries in comparison to Galindez who fought 5 times in both '75 and '76. Then
Cuello has it and loses it to Parlov, then Parlov loses it to Johnson, then Marvin loses it to Saad in '79.
Had Conteh been more active I believe it would have happened and what a bloodbath/wing dinger it would have been..........
Galendez seems very overated to me. His early career is filled with loses and he was stopped a few times (I think). He came into his own for a few years but even then got a few gift decisions (Lopez) and last round wins. He was a mauler without a big punch.
Conteh is the type of guy who you think would have been a great if he was dedicated, motivated and injury free but I'm just not sure. He simply might have been a very good fighter. He got hit more than you think he should have. His power was decent but not great.
I think both guys are a lebel below the Spinks, Qwai, Saad prime level.
Conteh gave Saad a real scare when he was well past his prime, and one-handed, so your argument doesn't really hold up (Spinks apart). Galindez was a better light-heavyweight than Qawi in my opinion, who made only three or four defences compared to the 10 of Galindez's. Qawi was one of those "on top" fighters, who wasn't so effective - or so brave - when things weren't going his way. People cite his classic with Holyfield as an example of Qawi's ability, but Holyfield was just a two-year pro when he stood up to and licked Qawi.
Qawi didn't fancy another war in the rematch.
My late friend and I spent almost 2 self-medicated years of wasted afternoon and evenings talking about the proposed Conteh-Galindez matchup. I the Victor fan and Mike the Conteh supporter.
We could both see the bout going either way.
It was, plain and simple, a WBA/WBC doing it their way road block that doomed any chance of unification.
Had Conteh kept that busy head of his still and managed to avoid busting up his right hand seemingly every week, he would be getting a lot more credit today.
Likewise Galindez style led to a, IMO, rather short window of prime (say mid-75 to early mid-77?) and most remember the less than optimum Victor vs. Rossman 1 and Johnson scraps tho even in his prime he strangely let his championship bouts stay scorecard close with his "I'll just fight in spurts" type attack.
I never cease to be amazed at the characterization of Galindez as an over-rated fighter. He was what he was.... a strong guy with a good chin, and a lot of smarts. No he was not a great talent so to speak.
But....he had a 43 fight win streak and defeated in championship fights: Len Hutchins, Pierre Fourie, Jorge Ahumada, Richie Kates, Yaqui Lopez, and Eddie Gregory and then throw in the rematch with Mike Rossman. He also boxed Jesse Burnett, Bill Douglas and Ray Elson in nontitle bouts. All of these guys (except Douglas perhaps) were in their primes when he fought them and he boxed several of them twice. Yep he had a gift decision (or 2) along the way, but that record speaks for itself and the calibre of opposition tops what Saad, Johnson, Mustafa, Qawi, or even Spinks faced as champions.
I laugh at the references to Conteh as a washd up, one handed fighter against Saad ... the reason is that he was mostly a one handed fighter through out his entire career. In addition, he was not washed up when he fought Saad, he was inactive and highly underated, a reason he was able to put up such a good fight. Saad clearly believed the rumors and was not 100% for the fight. Look what happened in the rematch. It was a completely different fight a few months later, a blow out.
As far as Qwai vs Galendez, I think Qwai would have wrecked him. He was the stronger, better conditioned , more durable harder hitting man. Now tell me Virgil Hill and I'll say Galendez wrecks him. Just not Qwai.
Make your mind up, Mr Grant. One minute Conteh's a level below Saad, then he's highly underrated and capable of surprising him.
As for Qawi beating Galindez. Come on. Qawi was a bully, who Galindez would have stood up to and outgamed. Galindez was a great light-heavyweight. Qawi just a good one.
Conteh had been given a disgraceful gift decision against Burnett, who dropped him twice.He also looked terrible against Poison Ivy Brown.He wasn't inactive...just getting his arse kicked.
His balance looked to be completely gone, as did his punch resistance.Of course he should have been still in his prime at that point, but his out of the ring lifestyle had finished him as a fighter.It was obvious to anyone that was following the light heavy scene at the time that he was done.The performance against Saad came as a huge surprise and was a one-off.Look at the punches that put Conteh down in the second fight, they were pathetic.That fight should never have been made.
I don't have a great deal of sympathy for John.
He only has himself to blame for his career taking the path it did.However, watch his fights against Ahumada, finnegan etc, and compare it to the Conteh that fought Saad or any fight from Parlov on.The difference is huge.Especially in terms of punch resistance.
I suppose that's what makes it such a great era, though.You can argue the merits of so many fighters and fights.
My mind is clear. Perhaps I did not articulate my point well. I'll try again.
I feel Conteh was not on the same level as Saad, Spinks and Qwai. However, I still feel he was a very good fighter. By the time he fought Saad he was recovering from injuries, inactivity and a party lifestyle. Because of that , many in the boxing industry and the press gave him little chance against a prime, recently crowned Saad. However, Conteh got into the best cshape he had been in years, taking his title shot seriously, and gave one of his best efforts while Saad took him a bit light.
Does that help ?
good points from all angles, but I do believe that Galindez just make top 10 all time, Light-Heavyweight. I put him above Sadd, because I was never so impress with him. His best wins, were against Lopez(a fighter past his prime) and John(who I never saw as a fighter , but for the most part seems to be pretty good boxer).
This i how i see my top 20 Light-heavyweights.
1) Ezzard Charles
2) Archie Moore
3) Gene Tunnney
4) Tommy Loughren
5) Mike Spinks
6) Billy Conn
7) Bob Foster
8) Roy Jones
9)Dwight Qawi
10)Victor Galindez
11)Harry Greb(would be ranked higher but never fought at the 175 lbs limit)
12)Mathew Saad Muhammad
13)Maxie Rosenbloom
14) Jack Dillon
15)Battling Levinsky
16)Harold Johnson
17)John Conteh
18) John Henry Lewis
19)Virgil Hill
20) Dariusz Michalczewski
IMO, if Conteh were in shape and on his game, he would have beaten Galindez comfortably.
Rating the light-heavyweights from 1976 or so (i.e., post-Bob Foster) through the reign of Michael Spinks, I see 'em like this:
1-Michael Spinks
2-Dwight (Braxton) Muhammad Qawi
3-Eddie (Gregory) Mustafa Muhammad
4-Matthew (Franklin) Saad Muhammad
5-John Conteh
6-Marvin Johnson
7-Victor Galindez
8-Jerry Martin
9-James Scott
10-Yaqui Lopez
Hon. Mention (alphabetical order): Jesse Burnett; Bobby Cassidy; Miguel Angel Cuello; Eddie Davis; Len Hutchins; Richie Kates; Mate Parlov; Mike Rossman.
Guys, it's difficult rating a fighter through a decade because as one star fades another illuminates. However, if we are placing each Lt. Heavy in their respective prime, we would be talking the Galindez from '74-'76 and the Conteh from '73-'75. In late '75 Conteh broke his right hand in a non-title 10 rounder against Willie (the bull) Taylor, then re-broke it in sparring. He was inactive due to this ring accident from August of '75 until October of '76. When he returned against Yaqui Lopez, he won a one-sided decision against one of the top guys in the business, but was already flawed, because he fought almost the entire fight one handed. He would not throw a right. Meanwhile, Galindez on the WBA side was enjoying a lengthy reign against the best opposition going, but was slowly getting heavy in the scartissue dept., especially after the first fight with Kates. But IMO if you take both Conteh and Galindez at their absolute peak, I rate both above Spinks, Qawi and Saad. And just for posterity sake, Galindez on a close 15 round decision over Conteh in an absolute sizzler.
Dan
Conteh ! Victor had so many very Close Scrapes against fighters that could keep him working, Kates (x2) Gregory and Yaqui Lopez (x2) that the Pre-Hand Trouble/Managerial Trouble Conteh would i feel have to be Favoured,
A Good Jab and a bit of mobility could lull victor into Coasting and Conserving and looking to steal the Fight with some late pressure, many people actually only remember the faded, unaggressive, minus right hand Conteh - and that Conteh Still had the Boxing Ability to Jab Yaqui Lopez Silly and Win Very Clearly (when compared to the close/wars Yaqui Gave Galindez x2 and Saad x2, Spinks, Scott and the upset of Rossman - so no mean feat ! ) the Faded John was also Good Enough to Beat but get Robbed against Parlov in Belgrade, and Become Saad's only Title defense to go to points in a Hard fought and Classy Encounter ! - the point being This was a faded/distracted Conteh - the earlier two handed Conteh had a real spite and venom to accompany his classy moves, Wonderful Stamina and Power in each hand, Also Conteh was even better then Holyfield at er...having his head in the most advantageous Position when up close, as Messrs Drover, Finnegan, Bennett, Hutchins and Saad would attest, (and their faces did !)…not a good omen for a bleeder…
Style wise the nearest Victor got to Conteh was Richie Kates who took him to the Brink Twice, But Richie i'm afraid did not come anywhere near an (approaching peak) Conteh for spite, actually classily administered spite, as Conteh, Sadly for Victor, wouldnt just rush in and walk onto a Counter, but would use his usual cultured approach, until slipping up close, where i think his head, connecting whilst unloading slashing combo's, will certainly raise a cut or two, and John would set about exploiting it to the full, from long range for awhile if Conteh felt Victor was playing possum.. patient man was John on occasion …
for a man built like a bull it is rather interesting to see Victor Back off, from proctracted exchanges, seek to slow down the pace, and yet when he felt ready, unload hard, fast, withering Combo's which could suddenly swing the fight his way in an instant, Victor liked constants to work around, a constant mover he would usually track-to-whack, constant aggressors he was probably gratefull for not having to go looking, but someone like Conteh can do both, and change mode instantly,...
I can see Conteh feeling his way into the bout, with his Napoles smooth boxing ability, but as victor tries to assert himself with a few of his Sporadic Flurries Conteh will Lash Back, he will not be cautious and lack commitment Like Gregory ! Heads will bump up close so the initial damage may be done in a not altogether sporting manner, But John Stays ahead on the Scorecards and his Fitness allows him to deal with Victors more random and desperate charges, as we get to the Last third Conteh Raises the Pace still further, but as stated not foolishly, he knows Victor will be looking spring a late trap like he did on kates, but John's wonderful Jab and Double Jab would make a target Of Victors cut/s, i can see a cuts stoppage for John Approx 12th, if Conteh turns "Jungle Cat" as one paper described him going after a cut Finnegan, however John may be under strict corner instructions to stick with the safer winning formula of the points victory, certainly if Victor allows himself to be kept on the end of the Jab as he did against Rossman, John would be home and dry, but this is a Prime Victor, so it would never be that easy, even allowing for John being much better than Rossman, but whether Points or Late Stoppage for John, I cant help feeling that some controversy would abound concerning the cause of Victors cuts, and their ultimate effect on his gameplan going in…..with Victor and his camp shouting long and hard, perhaps with some hint of justification, but not to the degree of altering the result.
The Earlier Conteh who Cut Finnegan and Bennett to Pieces and Hammered Hutchins - this Conteh had the blend of Speed Power and a Menevolent Attitude the Later Conteh Didnt….i think this Conteh takes it….
Some Career Overview on Conteh for anyone interested....
CLASSY CONTEH...
i watched John Conteh's career unfold and in my humble opinion John Conteh was a fabulous fighter, I hesitate to say at his best, because just when he was approaching what should have been his best, and consolidation period on the world stage, he eroded his talent and focus with injuries to the right hand ( further aggravated through a Car accident after leaving a night club apparently,) managerial disputes that saw him stripped of his world title for refusing to go through with an apparent formality defence against Miguel Cuello at the 11th hour, Letting family get involved and dabble in the management side, and generally enjoying his superstar status ( yes, he even won the British Superstars Competition) to the detriment of his dedication which would probably, in my opinion have seen him emerge as the clear successor to Bob foster, he was that good
He looked like a Bronzed Errol Flynn so with those looks he was an instant hit with the Media, but in the ring he could certainly back it up, with class, think of a larger version of Jose Napoles, Conteh was smooth, Beautiful movement, Cobra-esque Head movement saw him slip punches beautifully, a wonderful Jab, which he often Doubled up on, a wicked left hook, and a Crunching right hand, but these shots were rarely displayed in isolation, he did drop Len Hucthins with a peach of a Left Hook, and he flattened Leonardo Rogers with a Stunning Right, but Generally when "Letting-Rip" Conteh would go from Boxing to Attack mode extremely quickly and with vicious combinations..
He started off trying to be a Heavyweight but could not beef up to any more the 14 stone region ( I don’t think pharmaceuticals were used in those days !? and certainly never in Conteh's camp) but he ran through an assortment of heavy's using his speed and skills against these naturally bigger, opponents, but some did prove harder to budge due to their size advantage, only Eddie Duncan notched a points win against Conteh, Much disputed, Conteh chased him the whole way and a more stern Ref would certainly have got on Duncan's case for his Hit (?) and Flit tactics, good quality trialhorses, Joe Gholston, Sam McGill, Bill Drover Johnny Mac were taken care of, Big Dave Matthews outfinessed, and Terry Danials impressively Hammered in six, not bad for a natural lightheavy, you could see that they really felt Contehs Shots, and it was interesting to speculate what would happen if an opponent Conteh's own size was on the receiving end…we didn’t have long to wait…
After Hammering Danials, on Ali - Bugner 1 undercard as I recall, Dundee and Ali voiced the wise opinion that Conteh would not be able to compete with the top
heavy's (- this was the golden 70's !) so a drop to Lightheavy followed, Streight away Conteh Classily Ripped the European Tiltle off of the Head of Rud Schimiker (?) who had taken that title off of Finnegan with a Cuts stoppage, the Natural match-up took place with Conteh beating the Tough Excellent Finnegan on Points in a classy encounter, Conteh often liked to see the whites of the eyes before taking the other person out so sometimes got criticised, Also on his roster, he Hammered Vicente Rondon in 9 after it appeared he could of done it several round earlier, beat Baby Boy Rolle and Stopped the durable and crafty Tom Bogs, and of course met up for the inevitable rematch with Finnegan, and Chris was boxing like a Dream and with Conteh in cautious mode Finnegan took an early Lead, when Contehs attack came in the six it led to Finnegans Swift and bloody dismissal, One daily newspaper referred to Contehs "Jungle Cat Ferocity" Finnegan was Covered in Blood and the cut was found to be Behind Chris's Ear, in amongst those vicious Combinations it seems Conteh's Head had made a nuisance of itself, there were examples in the past, and would be in the future of this classy champions ruthless streak….
With Bob Foster accepting the Gift against the rugged argentinian contender Jorge Ahumada and retiring, Conteh and Jorge met at Wembley England to settle Fosters successor, John was only 23 and still some way short of his prime, Ahumada was 28, bang in his prime and had physical strength and maturity on Conteh, and over 15 rounds many thought that this would tell. But in these days, with Task Master George francis at the training helm, and Conteh eager and fuelled with desire to succeed, alternately outboxed, outpunched, and outlasted Ahumada, withstanding Jorge's Last third Charge to outlast him in a thriller…
Conteh was on his way, Conteh turned back the Challenge of Lonnie "Magic Man" Bennett , similar to his second Finnegan Victory, first four rounds of cagy boxing the on goes the Sudden "Jungle Cat Ferocity" and Bennetts eyebrow was ripped open,after he had been badly staggered, Conteh's Head seemed a contributory factor once more. Certainly according to the Bennett Camp. But this fight did show what an intuitive thinker Could be in the Ring, in the first couple of rounds Conteh was being outjabbed by Bennetts Heavy Rakish Jab, Contehs remedy was to Jab Short, this made Bennett think he was out of range, Bennett would step forward then Bam..Bam
Conteh's second and third Jab would ram home leaving Lonnie looking somewhat bemused, Conteh knew he did not want a long Range snipeing war with this man,
Conteh was just biding his time until the 5th
A state-side non title Win over Willie the Bull Taylor was a bitter-sweet affair, good reviews for style and presentation, but also gained a busted right hand that would seem to haunt him in the future and make him a bit shy to pull the trigger on occasion,
After a layoff a Rusty John boxed / Jabbed Yaqui Lopez Silly over 15, considering the Hell Yaqui Gave Saad, Rossman, Scott and Galindez, a great result for an under-par Conteh, and Conteh did Away with Len Hutchins in 3 rounds, Contehs thunderous 3rd round left hook being preceded by a first round clash of heads which the Hutchins camp protested about ( it does seem conteh could of taught Holyfield a thing or two about er…Advantageous head placement ?)
And that’s where John should have consolidated and gone on to forfill his true potential, Sadly the disputes Highlife and lowlife all conspired to erode his talent
He walked out on the Cuello defence and was stripped , flattened Leo Rogers, tried to mend bridges, and was rewarded with a world title shot against the new champ
National Hero Mate Parlov - and the shot would be …in Belgrade…..Was someone doing Conteh a favour..or just trying to remove him from serious Contention ?
After 15 gruelling rounds many thought Conteh had done enough, as I recall the Ref had Conteh substantially in front, and the scores were NOT announced from the ring,
Conteh was being picked off to a degree early, in the last 5 rounds Conteh was fully the aggressor, and sank vicious shots to Parlov's body round after round, But at the End it seems Parlov's More Ametuer Fiddle - Faddle work was more appreciated (by Some) then the Pro Skills of Conteh, The british Trade Paper Boxing News Headlined its review ROBBERY ! But perhaps Conteh's Bodywork left Parlov a reminder, Parlov Next fought Marv Johnson who continued with the Body Attack and Parlov folded…
Conteh was now on the downside, depression over the deemed Belgrade heist perhaps, ? A few Fights highlighted that this precision fighter was losing his instinctual balance and timing and cohesion, and that Vicious rip-you-apart-in-a-classy-Manner Mentality, A lucky draw with Jesse Burnett ( who had also broken his hand on Wille the bull taylors head !) Conteh was floored twice, luckily near the end of rounds, again Floored also in a laboured Points win Over Poison Ivy Brown, and a laboured points win over Joe Cokes all sent the message to the worlds Lt Heavy Elite
- here was a good name for your record, a spectacular win going for the begging, New Champ powerhouse Saad Muhammed answered the call, and was licking his lips in expectation of a easy victory…
The Saad fight perhaps hints at what Conteh could have been like with the discipline and Focus his later career lacked, He tried to turn the clock back it was a valiant effort, with a mental block about letting the right hand go as freely as in his earlier career, Not having the old Aggressive attitude to punish opponents, and on the evidence of his last few fights little in the way of punch resistance, legs, or timing The fear was that this was simply a welcome to the throne offering to new king Saad
- but Conteh didn’t read the script, resurrecting his boxing skills if not his aggression, Conteh boxed superbly, Jabbed Saad silly on many occasions, and had the heavy handed champion fanning the air on many occasions with his cute moves, Saad was cut in the 9th, ( Conteh Head involved again) and his corner used banned monzel (?) solution to plaster the Gash, in most other locations Saad would have been stopped in a round or two more by the sharp-shooting Conteh, but the illegal pack held, Conteh was ahead after 12 rounds, but Saad was making his usual big Finish, he floored Conteh in the 14th but couldn’t quite line him up for the coup-de-grace in the 15th, Saad won the Close decision, the 14th being the clincher for Saad, in the only defence of the big hitting Saad to go the full route, and a remarkable Lazarus type display by the Much Faded Conteh.
The return match should never have taken place, but the controversy over the Illegal substence used on Saad's cut eye was as good reason as any to argue for a rematch, But Conteh really was an empty husk by this time, as soon as Saad Starts to apply Pressure Conteh Folded, Like Honeygan against Breland, there was no resistence left Physically or mentally, it was over, and Saad got a very Easy 4 round win…but this was not the real Conteh….he belonged in the past, Conteh apparently had something of a disturbing breakdown that night back at the hotel, perhaps the sudden stark realisation that there were no more tomorrows..
Conteh, to exercise these demons took a final fight at Cruiser, Dismissed James Dixon in 5 and retired, and as far as i know appears to enjoy a happy retirement.
Conteh could box like a dream, was well co-ordinated could Punch with either hand ( until the right hand troubles) was intelligent in the ring, had a good chin, had a mean attitude, and excellent 15 round stamina, he was careless with his head, but made sure he was not the recipient of any damage, and often the headwork was not apparent until after the fights stoppage, when slo-mo replays revealed the head following in Amongst combination punches..
That’s because he was also very fast !
could he have beaten Galindez..based on Victors struggles with Lopez, Kates and Gregory, neither of whom employed Contehs Venom or Zest, I think so, John would have kept Pace Rationer Victor Working, and I fear John may have inflicted some damage with his head against the sometimes cut victor, Not altogether sportingly, but I think Conteh could do it.. Rossman, ? His Straight Line work off the Jab routine worked with an out of sorts Galindez, I don’t think that upright stance will prevail with Conteh ( it didn’t against Lopez !) Marv Johnson ? Conteh beat him as an ametuer, and could handle most aggressors through his boxing ability and mobility Gregory/Muhammed ? Could be the hardest of the lot, two hard hitting cuties, Conteh certainly wouldn’t give Gregory the Menu of targets Johnson presented, perhaps home advantage may swing it Contehs way.? And we saw how close a faded Conteh ran SAAD himself. One can only speculate what a Prime Conteh may have achieved. For Me Conteh is a Woulda Shoulda Coulda been Great, if he could have kept it all together, I certainly think he would have gone on to confirm it on the world Stage,
but suspect that he will be destined to only be rated a " Pretty Good'un "...
SageBrush, you worte to much :lol but then again i can't argee with you because i haven't seen a prime Conteh fight. I want to ask you, which fight of Conteh, and Galindez would be consider in there prime, because i would like to buy them.
That was well written and John was one of my favorites of that time.
But I am going to disagree with Sagebrush about the Yaqui Lopez fight.
Many people thought Yaqui won that fight; and Conteh got a standing 8 count in that fight if memory serves me correct.
Too young to score it-=I was like 16 at the time; I recall Yaqui swarming Conteh and to me it appeared he pulled it out.
Regarding the Bennett and Hutchins fights; he blatantly butted and cheated in those two affairs and couldn't get away with that kind of stuff today.
He would have won both fights without the cheating anyway.
I also thought John beat Mate Parlov as he ran him out of the ring.
The officials were most likely ordered to get him back for his no show vs Cuello-by Senor Sulamain (John would have whipped Cuello also) and I think that was a bad decision.
Conteh was a wonderful boxer-puncher; and IMO one of the Greatest European Fighters Ever.
Now if he could only have put the bottle down and turned the pussy that was thrown at him away...................................
Karl
Although not the most graceful boxer in world,
Victor Galindez was a rugged fighter with alot of
ring savvy. I saw him a number of times on TV
during the 1970s.
On September 17, 1977 in Rome, I thought that
Alvaro "Yaqui" Lopez was robbed in a bout with
Galindez.
- Chuck Johnston
Death King: Conteh prior to his busted right hand was a two-fisted punching machine who took no prisoners. The wins over Ahumada, Bennett and Finnegan are well worth watching, as is his last great display, when he so nearly shocked Saad.
Karl: Yaqui wasn't robbed against Conteh. Even he conceded he was well beaten after the fight in Denmark, but claimed he was robbed in an article recently. I was disappointed with his comments when I read them. All fighters struggle to live with defeat, and have a stock excuse or two. But for Yaqui to claim he was robbed was insulting to European fans like myself who remember the fight well. Yaqui's comments are clearly aimed at US fans who possibly didn't see the fight.
As for this standing eight count, it just didn't happen and, in fact, couldn't happen in a world title fight.
Ok, I'll take you word for it as I was a kid when I saw it.
That was many, many, years ago.
From what I recall; and I haven't seen it since-Lopez was the one that forced the fight.
I'd liek to have a DVD of that if I can find one.
Karl
Conteh clearly outpointed Lopez. I have the fight on tape and watched it several times. It was competitive but John deserved the verdict. Lopez was robbed vs Galendez.
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