
Originally Posted by
Dino1
Hi Ron, I would welcome your opinion, comments on this. Back around 1980 or so I was lucky enought to meet former champ Sandy Saddler at an amateur boxing show in Queens, NY. He was a real gentleman. I already mentioned on this board that he shocked me when he said that he thought Marciano would have beaten Foreman ("Both men would have gone down, but Rocky would be the one who got up"). Remember, he and Archie Moore were hired by Dick Sadler (Foreman's manage) to advise/teach George.
R. I met Sandy while I was hired to give a speech at the Rocky Marciano Foundation for Children in Mass. We were also filming a segment for Muhammad Ali, the Whole Story a project I was working on. Both times I was there they honored two different boxers, Lamotta and Ken Norton. Traveling on the hired bus I sat next to Sandy and Jake, and on those occasions I was also with Ali all of which I have on film.
Sandy and I talked for hours and I spent time there alone with Archie Moore also interviewing him for our project at great length asking all of the legends questions no one usually would ask. In any event Sandy was such a gentleman, so polite, refined and kind. He was ailing very much and his daughter was with him.
Sandy and Archie were tight and remember the Mongoose went 9 hard ones with the Rock so he would know. He trained big George and he felt the Rock would get him.
Anyway, I also asked him who he thought was the most underrated champ and he immediately said "Walcott, he was very underrated as a puncher. He put Marciano and Louis on the floor.". At the end of the conversation he also said something to the effect of "Walcott would have given Foreman fits". I am ashamed to say, I know little about Walcott other than he was on the receiving end of one of Rocky's best SuzieQs. Was Walcott the puncher Saddler said he was?
R. Yes and then some. He was a tremendous puncher that was once run out of Joe Louis's camp at Pompton Lakes by Blackburn after Walcott gave Joe Louis a lot of trouble prior to their bouts. This is a man who knocked out Harold Johnson and his father too. I spent many days with Joe Walcott at the Concord Hotel having dinner with him and Mike Spinks and Dwight Qawi in 1988. I have some nice pictures of me and Joe. I grilled him about those bouts no one asks about.
We all know he had both hands a right hand that dropped Joe Louis about 4 times and that beautiful left hook that dropped Rocky.
He was mobbed controlled so who knows what anymore about the behind the scenes machinations in those days.
Sandy was a class act, a terrific warrior and always ripped and ready. He went through hell with his eye and his bouts with Pep say it all. A featherweight giant.
Also, just as an FYI, Saddler said that for many of Georgle's early fights, the only training he did was roadwork, hitting the heavy bag for 1/2 hour, and sparring four to six, 4-minute rounds. He said George never did ab work, etc. but he did chop wood very much. By the way, I can't overstate what a gentleman Mr. Saddler was and how polite and respectfull he was to my wife.
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