From The Phillyboxing Site

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KITTEN HAYWARD IN ACTION

On this day Stanley Kitten Hayward saw ring action in two different years. First in 1963, Kitten suffered a loss in an important bout. In his second trip to Madison Square Garden, Kitten blew a high profile match up by dropping a 10-rounder to Jose Stable. His trademark overconfidence played a role. But it was all business afterward as Kitten next reeled off some of his best-ever wins. Then in 1967, on this same date, Hayward KO'd Pete Toro at Convention Hall in 9 rounds. Stanley was one of Philly's most colorful battlers.

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WILLIAMS CLAIMS WORLD TITLE AFTER ONE-PUNCH KO

On this day in 1947 (60 years ago!) Ike Williams & Bob Montgomery clashed for the second time in their legendary careers. A crowd of 30,501 came out to Municipal Stadium to watch Bob Mont-gomery build a lead through the first 5 rounds only to fall after being hit with a perfect punch in the 6th. With the win Ike, unified his claim to the lightweight crown & avenged his 1944 KO loss to Bob. He would hold the title until 1951. For Montgomery, it was the beginning of the end - he never won another fight.

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GRIFFITH BEATS HARRIS
IN GYPSY JOE'S LAST FIGHT

On this day in 1968, Gypsy Joe Harris was dished his first-ever pro loss by the great Emile Griffith via 12-round decision before 13,875 at the Spectrum. Griffith was just too big, strong, and skilled for Gypsy, who took the loss in stride, feeling that he had done better than many of those who had faced Griffith. However, this fight would prove to be Gypsy's last. A few months later Harris would lose his boxing license when it was discovered that he was blind in his right eye. He ended with a log of 24-1.

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BRAXTON SLAUGHTERS SAAD

On this day in 1982, Dwight Qawi (then Braxton) defended the light heavyweight title that he lifted from Matthew Saad Muhammad the prior December. This rematch saw the champion easily defeat Matthew in six brutal rounds. Saad's return to the Spectrum, sight of so many of his amazing comeback wins, was a rude home-coming, as there was no miracle this time. He appeared to have nothing left, yet Saad continued to fight on & off for another nine years. Qawi made two more defenses & eventually won the cruiserweight championship

[B.U.]

Great Stuff !!!!

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TOOTHPICK BROWN SCORES CAREER HIGHLIGHT WIN

On this day in 1956, Henry Toothpick Brown faced L. C. Morgan, the 9th ranked lightweight in the world, in a nationally televised 10-rounder. Brown entered the ring with a solid 23-3-2 (13 KO) record but it was Morgan who was expected to take the contest. However, as soon as the first bell rang, Toothpick was all over his foe. He followed a hard body shot with a ripping left hook and that's all it took. The bout was over at 1:54 of the 1st. It was his best-ever win but he never won another bout!

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GOSS TAKES NORTH AMERICAN TITLE

On this day in 1971, Trenton's Sammy Goss (shown above as an amateur) stopped Lloyd Marshall, Newark, after 6 rounds to win the NABF jr. lightweight title. Almost 9,000 Spectrum fans watched Goss outclass his opponent, winning every round before Marshall's corner ended the bout before the bell for round seven. Other results from the star-studded card that night were Bennie Briscoe TKO 2 Juarez DeLima, Cyclone Hart KO 5 Fate Davis, and Bobby Boogaloo Watts TKO 5 Junius Hinton.

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MOORE TURNS BACK JOHNSON AT GARDEN

On this day in 1954, light heavy champ Archie Moore stormed back from a scorecard deficit to stop Harold Johnson in the 14th round at Madison Square Garden. Johnson was so close to winning the title, but came up short. He dropped Moore in round 10 and was leading on the scorecards until Archie nailed him with a right hand in the next to last round. Moore followed up with a barrage of punches as Johnson sunk to the canvas in his own corner. Harold got up, but was in no condition to go on.

[gregbeyer]

i remember this fight and thought nixon was out in mid air following a rossman connect . i was stunned, when later, an insider told me that nixon dumped this fight.....anyone ever hear that?

greg

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GEORGE GODFREY

Heavyweight George Godfrey died on this day in 1947, at the age of 50. Godfrey, known as the Leiperville Giant, began his pro boxing career in 1919 with a 1st round KO of Eddie Jamison. He became a "contender" in the mid-1920s, however he never stood a chance of actually getting a title shot. Rather, big George had to settle for becoming the "colored" heavyweight champ, which he did in 1926 with a TKO of Larry Gaines. His overall record was 96-20-3 with 79 KOs & 5 NCs. Godfrey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.

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JIMMY YOUNG WINS

On this day in 1973, Jimmy Young fought a preliminary bout at Philly's Convention Hall against Mike Boswell. Young won the fight by a decision in six rounds. The newspaper reports called the bout "uninspired". The win lifted Young's record to 8-4 (2 KO). The main event pitted Willie "The Worm" Monroe against Jose Gonzales. The result was a ten-round decision for Monroe. Mike Everett and Oscar Piton fought to a six-round draw. Willie Daniels knocked out Angel Lopez in the 1st. The card drew a gate of $10,879.

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CYCLONE BEATS SEALES IN UNLIKELY AC VICTORY

On this day in 1975, Eugene "Cyclone" Hart won a lopsided 10-round decision over Sugar Ray Seales at Atlantic City's Convention Hall. This was a very impressive & rather unusual win for Cyclone. Although he showed his power throughout the bout, it was not neces-sarily like Hart to maintain a steady & aggressive pace over a full 10 rounds. But maintain he did, & in doing so, captured one of his best wins. He upped his record to 28-5 with 26 KOs, & rode this win into his first bout with Briscoe.

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CELEBRATING JOE FRAZIER'S PROFESSIONAL DEBUT

On this day in 1965, Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Frazier made his pro-fessional boxing debut in a bout against Woody Goss at Philadelphia's Con-vention Hall. Frazier was coming off a long layoff due to the injured hand he suffered in the Olympic games of the summer before. But it was a successful debut as he drilled Goss in the first round for a KO win. The Convention Hall card was a good one. In addition to Frazier, Kitten Hayward beat Tito Marshall in ten and Gypsy Joe KO'd Ike Silk in two.

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HARRY BLITMAN GOES TO 21-0

On this day in 1927, nineteen year old featherweight prospect Harry Blitman pushed his undefeated record to 21-0 (7 KO) with an eight-round decision win over Tommy Liberto at Atlantic City. As an amateur the year before, Blitman won the Junior National AAU championship. So every eye in Philly was on him as a potential contender in the pro ranks. He did not disappoint. Blitman stretched his undefeated streak to 34 bouts, and along the way, topped 126-pound king Tony Canzoneri in a ten-round non-title match in 1928. His final record was 61-10-3.

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BRISCOE SURPRISES GREGORY

On this day in 1975, a slightly worn Bennie Briscoe showed the boxing world and highly regarded middleweight up and comer Eddie Gregory (Mustafa Muham-mad) that he still had plenty left in his boxing tank by winning an upset victory. Briscoe scored an exciting ten-round split decision over the New Yorker before 5,249 Spectrum fans. The fight played out with Eddie using his more skillful boxing to build slight leads only to see Briscoe rumble back with hard-punching aggressiveness. In the end, old man Briscoe took the razor thin verdict.

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BRISCOE WINS AT
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

On this day in 1968, Bennie Briscoe made his second MSG appearance and took a unanimous ten round decision over an experienced Jose Gonzalez who had already scored wins over Hurricane Carter, Isaac Logart, Don Fullmer & Vincente Rondon and lost to Dick Tiger, Emile Griffith & Luis Rodriguez. Briscoe was 24-6-1 going into the fight and left with his 25th career win. A little less than a year later, these two would face off once again at the Garden, with Briscoe managing a TKO in five rounds.

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GODFREY BEATS JOHNSON WITH TECHNICAL KO

On this day in 1928, George Godfrey rebounded from the loss of his "colored" heavyweight championship with a TKO of James "Tut" Jackson at Greensboro, North Carolina. Godfrey lost his title by DQ less than a week before when he hit Larry Gaines with a low blow in round three. Against Tut Jackson, Godfrey got back on the winning track with a 4th round stoppage. The win against Tut would start a six-fight winning streak (all KOs) that ran until he was DQ'd again, this time against Al Walker in 1929.

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HAGLER HALTS WORM
IN RUBBER MATCH

On this day in 1977, Marvelous Marvin Hagler returned to the Spectrum to take on old foe Willie "The Worm" Monroe. This pair had fought twice before with each winning one. In 1976, Monroe dished Hagler a surprising & thorough 10-round defeat. A year later, Monroe traveled to Boston for the rematch. Hagler won that bout by TKO in the 12th. The third match played out six months later, before 8,169 Philly spectators. Hagler jumped out early & flattened the Worm at 1:45 of round 2.

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GET WELL SOON
BENNIE BRISCOE

One of Philly's all-time greats, Bennie Briscoe, is feeling a little under the weather. Bennie had a brief stint in the hospital this past weekend. However, he was released Monday afternoon, & is now home, on the mend, & feeling much better. If anyone would like to send Bennie a card or note, please send it to this web site & we'll be sure he gets it.

Send it to: Bennie Briscoe, c/o Philly Boxing History, PO Box 428,
Sewell, NJ 08080

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BOB MONTGOMERY

Bobcat Bob Montgomery died on this day in 1998. Montgomery came to Philly as a teen from his hometown of Sumter, South Carolina. After befriending boxer Johnny Hutchinson, who convinced him to come to Johnny Madison's "Slaughterhouse" gym, Montgomery began a fighting career that led him to the lightweight championship twice. He split four great Madison Square Garden bouts with Beau Jack and split two classic battles with Ike WIlliams in Philly. In 1995 he entered the Hall of Fame with a record of of 75-19-3 (37 KO).

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GIARDELLO WINS
AT TOPPI STADIUM

On this day in 1951, Joey Giardello won an eight-round decision over Johnny Noel in the main event at Toppi Stadium in South Philadelphia. Joey was the aggressor throughout the fight and had an easy time with the tentative counter-puncher from Brooklyn. The win pushed Giardello's record to 38-5-2 with 19 KOs. Other bouts that evening included a six-round decision upset by Billy Whye over Jetson Arnold, Jimmy Carlini's KO of Ducky Willis, and a KO by Silent Billy Jones over Carlini's brother Tony.

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JOHNSON BEATS COTTON
IN SECOND DEFENSE

On this day in 1961, Harold Johnson won a close 15-round split decision over Eddie Cotton in the 2nd defense of his NBA 175 pound title. Cotton proved to be a tough opponent, especially for the first ten rounds, but he began to tire down the stretch. Cotton's left eye swelled badly as the fight wound down and Johnson's strong finish sealed the victory. The match was staged at Seattle's Sick's Stadium before a crowd of about 4,000. Harold followed this bout with his world title victory in 1962.

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BILLY ARNOLD REPEATS WIN OVER GEORGE DOTY

On this day in 1945, Billy Arnold continued to rebound from his loss to Rocky Graziano with a repeat victory over George Doty. A few weeks before, Arnold won a ho-hum decision over Doty. Although he knocked Doty down & seemed to have him on the brink of a KO several times, Arnold failed to put his foe away the first time. Perhaps the fresh memory of his shocking loss to Rocky made him too cautious. This was not the case in the 2nd bout. Billy took control & ended the affair in round 3.

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GYPSY JOE SQUEAKS OUT
WIN OVER BARETTO

On this day in 1967, Gypsy Joe Harris won a close - and unpopular - 10-round decision over tough Miguel Baretto at the Arena. The fight was Gypsy Joe's 21st win in a row, but it was one that brought boos from the crowd who felt the decision had gone the wrong way. Two fights and four months later, Harris would give Baretto another chance. The result of the rematch was the same - W10 - but it was a much easier fight for Harris the second time out, but the end of his career was just around the corner.

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VALDEZ-BRISCOE FIGHTS

On this day in 1973, Columbia's Rodrigo Valdez scored a 12-round decision over Bennie Briscoe to win the NABF middleweight championship. It was the first of three matches between the rivals. A year later, they met again, but with the vacant WBC 160-pound title on the line. Briscoe built a lead before Valdez roared back with a stunning punch that TKO'd Bennie for the only stoppage of Briscoe's career. Finally in 1977, the pair fought for Monzon's vacated world crown. Valdez won again - by 15-round decision - in Bennie's last try at the title.

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The great Ike Williams died on this day in 1994 at age 71. Williams turned pro in 1940 with a 4-round decision over Carmine Fotti at New Brunswick, NJ. In '43, Williams KO'd Johnny Hutchinson in 3 rounds. This set up a classic grudge fight with Hutchinson's friend Bob Montgomery in '44. Williams lost the high-profile bout by KO in the 12th, but then went on a 20-2 tear through the ranks before beating Juan Zurita for the NBA lightweight crown in '45. In 1947, he unified the title by avenging his loss to Montgomery, and held the title until '51 when he lost to Jimmy Carter. William's overall record was 125-24-5 (60 KO).

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FOX SCORES 25th STRAIGHT KO

On this day in 1944, Blackjack Billy Fox knocked out Rocky Luciano in 2 rounds at Shibe Park for his 25th consecutive career KO. Fox was a hot prospect who was the runner up in the amateur Phila. Diamond Belt championship tournament the year before. Once he turned pro, the KOs' started to pile up. Ultimately Fox's KO streak reached an incredible 43 straight stoppages between 1944 and 1947. KO #25 against Luciano was on the undercard of Ike Williams' 10-round decision over Sammy Angott and was attended by 15,500 Philly fight fans.

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LISTON DEFEATS MACHEN

On this day in 1960, Sonny Liston continued to close in on his title shot by defeating Eddie Machen by 12-round decision at Seattle's Sick Stadium. What was unusual about this one was that Sonny was able to land more than enough punches to secure the unanimous verdict, but was unable to land solidly enough to ever really hurt his foe. Over 12 rounds, he had plenty of chances, but his usual KO never came. Sonny said, "He was running. It takes two to make a fight." After two more matches, Liston stepped into the ring with Patterson.

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