Classic Boxing Fights

Solid Gold Classics: The Saldivar-Winstone Trilogy
By Mike Casey

Clashed
The two fighters clashed three times over a two-year period, and had their bouts been ten-rounders, Howard would have won them all. On each occasion he had the beating of Saldivar in the early going, only to be overhauled in the later stages. To this day, traditionalists still regard the 15-round distance as being the true test of world championship quality, and Saldivar seemed to relish that crucial trio of closing rounds that mortal men of his era dreaded...

http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/casey/MC_Saldivar.htm

Between the eleventh and twelfth rounds, referee Art Donovan crouched in the champion's corner. He was going to have to end the beating—it would be the first technical knockout of Barney's career.

"Let me finish," Ross said.
"You can't protect yourself."
"I'll never fight again after this one. I promise you that, if you let me finish."

... After the fight, one writer calculated that Armstrong had thrown 1,200 punches. Perhaps Henry carried Barney the final four rounds out of respect - Armstrong later said he'd eased up on his power so that the once-great champion wouldn't suffer his first ever stoppage. If so, wrote sports columnist Milton Gross, "he carried Ross's body, not his heart." As Barney was led from the ring, his face a map of welts, Grantland Rice called out from press row: "Why didn't you quit? Did you want to get killed?"

"Champ's privilege. A champ's got the right to choose the way he goes out."

http://books.google.ca/books?id=E005rlzMFAgC&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=Between+the+eleventh+and+twelfth+rounds,+referee+Art+Donovan+crouched+in+the+champion's+corner.&source=bl&ots=Nw349AW0h-&sig=iK_GZlZBuEWek54eNmsZWzGPJFM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UiPKT-OAEbGL0QGnwPyMAQ&ved=0CFEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Between%20the%20eleventh%20and%20twelfth%20rounds%2C%20referee%20Art%20Donovan%20crouched%20in%20the%20champion's%20corner.&f=false

Wolfman wrote:^

Nicolino Locche. I remember him very well. hahaha Used to watch his fights a lot. He had an incredible defense. Unbelievable stuff.

The delay had done nothing to dull the crowds’ anticipation and so, sweating in the heat they fixed their gaze upon the two men under the glare of the ring lights. As the bell rang, the ringside thermometer read 105 degrees and the fighters closed on one another for the first round.

The delay had done nothing to dull the crowds’ anticipation and so, sweating in the heat they fixed their gaze upon the two men under the glare of the ring lights. As the bell rang, the ringside thermometer read 105 degrees and the fighters closed on one another for the first round.

In the first three minutes, a pattern was established that many believed would last the entire fight, Robinson dancing in and out and landing combinations with Maxim flicking out the jab and trying to close the distance, attempting to do most of his work on the inside and make the most of his weight advantage. For the first two rounds Robinson boxed brilliantly and kept a fast pace, outmanoeuvring the slower, heavier Maxim and landing hooks to the head and his trademark flurries to the body. Whilst on the inside he had managed to match Maxim and tie him up.

From the beginning of the third round, it was obvious that the heat and pace had already started to have their affect. Robinson though still dancing had noticeably slowed and wasn’t as eager to throw punches in such high numbers. He was still the busier of the two however and after a few good combinations in the first half of the round he threw a long looping right hand which crashed in to the side of Maxim’s jaw, stunned Joey tried desperately to cling on to Robinson, eventually tying him up.

For the next five rounds Ray stayed elusive, building up a wide points lead but by the end of seventh he’d become flat footed, his punches were having less affect and Maxim was finding the gap easier to close. For thirty six minutes, Robinson had been in complete control but now the fight was very slowly beginning to change.

By the tenth round even the referee was feeling the pace, his sweat soaked shirt sticking to his body as he separated the fighters with increasing regularity. Gone now were the snappy counters from Robinson, whose condition was rapidly deteriorating. Maxim who had fought most of the fight at a plod was taking over.

The two were unaware of the disturbances in the crowd as people, collapsing with heat exhaustion were carried out of the stadium. The referee was next to fall, unable to continue he was escorted away on shaky legs and replaced before the start of the eleventh round.

The fighters continued. Robinson’s efforts to avoid the bigger mans punches were now becoming desperate, stumbling around the ring but Maxim, despite clearly being the fresher of the two was failing to land cleanly. In the thirteenth round Robinson, gasping for air, threw a wild overhand right and fell to the mat in exhaustion. At the end of the round he held on to ropes to keep him upright as he staggered to his corner.

Before the beginning of the fourteenth, clearly ahead on all the scorecards but unable to support the weight of his blistered body Robinson was retired by his corner and said goodbye to his dream of a world title at a third weight.

http://www.theboxinghistorian.com/news/010/8043-robinson-maxim.php

"Ray ducked me. George Gainford (Ray's manager) admitted that much. But, I can't say I blame him. There wasn't no money in us fighting each other. All we would have done is knock each other off."

"You know, to me the most remarkable thing about Ray's career is that he didn't even get a shot at the welterweight title til he was 26- or the middleweight title til' he was 30! You think he was the greatest? What do you think he'd a been if he'd gotten his chances when he deserved them? You wanna know the truth? If I coulda' got my shot, I wouldn't have risked it fighting someone like Ray."

"Thailand's Chartchai Chionoi retained his world flyweight boxing championship in a blood-drenched duel Sunday. Chionoi stopped Torres in the 13th round. Both fighters were splashed with blood from the waist up, from a cut over Torres' left eye that took 15 stitches to close. Footing in the ring was sticky with blood. Chionoi opened the cut in the 2nd round and scientifically slashed away at it, sending blood down Torres' face. Torres, considered just about the hardest hitter in the flyweight ranks, closed Chionoi's left eye in the 10th round. Both fighters whaled away at each other half blind for the rest of the fight. In the 13th, referee Arthur Mercante of New York called in the ring doctor and stopped the fight." -United Press International

http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Chartchai_Chionoi_vs._Efren_Torres_(1st_meeting)