Boxing in America - Exam 2
Thomas Hearns vs. Roberto Duran
1984, Casesar's Palace, Las Vegas. Hearns knocks out Duran in the 2nd round.
Larry Holmes vs. Michael Spinks
1985, Las Vegas, Spinks wins by a split decision
Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes
1986, Atlanta City, promoted by Donald Trump, Tyson knocks out Holmes.
Jersey Joe Walcott
1914 - 1994, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1930 to 1953. He held the heavyweight title from 1951 to 1952, and broke the record for the oldest man to win the title, at the age of 37. That record would eventually be broken in 1994 by 45-year-old George Foreman. Despite holding the world heavyweight title for a relatively short period of time, Walcott was regarded among the best heavyweights in the world during the 1940s and 1950s.
Archie Moore
1916 - 1998, was an American professional boxer and the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time 1952 - 1962. He had one of the longest professional careers in the history of the sport, competing from 1935 to 1963. Moore was a highly strategic and defensive boxer and was also a trainer for a short time after retirement, training Muhammad Ali, George Foreman.
Rocky Marciano
1923 - 1969, American professional boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only heavyweight champion to have finished his career undefeated and was able to capture the imagination of America like Joe Louis. He was also an unlikely heavyweight at a height of 5'10 and 187 pounds who didn't start boxing until the age of 23 (but did baseball before and therefore had an extremely powerful punch). He also had the shortest reach of all of the heavyweight champions, but had a very intense training regimen. From Brockton, Massachusetts and was born Italian-American, but he eventually went to New York to train at Stillman's Gym. Marciano represented a shift in the view of Italian Americans, going from second-class citizens to being a part of the Judeo-Christian narrative in America.
Don King
1931 - present, American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups (promoter of the biggest fights). He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well as allegations of dishonest business practices by numerous boxers (killed 2 men and served time in prison). Could guarantee a payday of $10 million as dictators were happy to pay money to have American boxers put on a show in their countries. Promoted the "Thrilla in Manila".
Cassius Marcellus Clay
1942 - 2016, born in Louisville, Kentucky to a middle class African American family. When he was 12, his bike was stolen so the police suggested that he go to the gym to learn how to fight. Clay ended up becoming an Olympic Gold Champion in the 1960 Olympics as a light heavyweight, but he had his eyes set on heavyweight champion of the world. He was backed by 11 businessmen who supported him financially and managed his money to make investments. He followed around Liston, calling him the "ugly bear" until he could get a chance to fight him. Trainer was Angelo Dundee who would also train Sugar Ray Leonard.
Joe Frazier
1944 - 2011 was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was born in South Carolina to real poverty and moved to Philadelphia to work at a slaughterhouse. Later got into boxing and as an amateur won a gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He was the first boxer to defeat Muhammad Ali, and reigned as the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1970 to 1973. Best known for 3 fights with Ali.
Rocky Marciano vs. Joe Louis
1951, Madison Square Garden, NY. Joe Louis fought Rocky Marciano. Louis was 37-years-old and needed to beat Marciano in order to get one last shot at the title. For the 28-year-old Marciano, who was in his fourth year as a pro, Louis was his first big name opponent. Marciano wins even though Louis was the favorite, and Marciano actually came into the locker room after the fight weeping because Joe Louis was Marciano's hero. They fought for $94,000 with Marciano receiving $50,000 (this was during the Great Depression still, so purses weren't super high compared to the 20's). Marciano had much less skill compared to Louis who had been groomed from a young age through the boxing networks, but he was a knockout artist.
Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott
1952 in Philadelphia, Jersey Joe Walkcott was the world heavyweight champion, but Marciano took the title. The fight culminated in a 13th round knockout scored by Marciano, in a major comeback victory after Walcott stacked up a wide lead throughout the majority of the bout.
The Harder They Fall
1956 American boxing film noir directed by Mark Robson. The film follows the story of how a group of managers and promoters find a man named Toro Moreno who is a towering Argentinian. Unbeknownst to Toro, all of his fights are fixed to make the public believe that he is a talented boxer. They do everything they can to make him the next heavyweight champion of the world with the lure of a huge payday. The film highlights the corrupt side of American boxing and the exploitation of fighters.
Rocky
1976 American sports drama film directed by John Avildsen. It is the first installment in the Rocky franchise. In the film, Rocky Balboa, an uneducated, small-time club fighter and debt collector gets an unlikely shot at the world heavyweight championship held by Apollo Creed, the heavyweight boxing world champion. The title bout is held in Philadelphia to celebrate the upcoming United States Bicentennial. Rocky is an Italian American southpaw boxer. Creed wins by a split decision after an intense fight.
Larry Holmes vs. Ken Norton
1978, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas. Norton was past his prime, but for the first 14 rounds the two boxers were toe to toe. It wasn't until the 15th round that Holmes was able to outscore Norton, making him world heavyweight champion.
Raging Bull
1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler adapted from Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story. The film follows the life of Jake LaMotta who is an Italian-American middleweight boxer whose self-destructive and obsessive rage, jealousy and animalistic appetite destroyed his relationship with his wife and family.
Gerry Cooney vs. Ken Norton
1981, Madison Square Garden, NY. 54 second knockout thus defeating former world heavyweight champion, Ken Norton. Cooney played on his Irishness and identity as a Catholic, thus representing a look back into boxing's past.
Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns
1985, Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, "The War", world middleweight championship boxing match between undisputed champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler and challenger Thomas Hearns. The first round is considered one of the best rounds in boxing history and Hagler knocks Hearns out in the 3rd round. The fight is considered to be the three greatest rounds in boxing history, due to its constant action, drama, and violent back-and-forth exchanges.
Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks
1987, Atlanta City, Spinks is destroyed in 91 seconds for the championship bout.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns
1989 in Caesar's Palace, draw between Leonard and Hearns, thus the fighters retained their respective titles.
Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas
1990 in Japan. The then-undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson lost by knockout to the 42:1 underdog Douglas. The fight is widely regarded as the biggest upset in boxing history.
When We Were Kings
1996 American documentary film directed by Leon Gast about the heavyweight championship match that was held on October 30, 1974, in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) between world heavyweight champion George Foreman and Muhammad Ali.
Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield I
1996 in Nevada. Holyfield was seen as the opposite of Tyson as a devout Christian and Holyfield wins by technical knockout in 11 rounds.
Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield II
1997, Tyson claimed that Holyfield was head butting on purpose, and Tyson bit off parts of both of Holyfield's ears and was disqualified.
King of the World
1998 biography of Muhammad Ali written by David Remnick with a special focus on the period in Ali's life from his victory in the Olympics to his second fight with Sonny Liston. It has been described as "a book about a boxer, not a book about boxing."
Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali III
3 fights between these two fighters (Frazier won 1st, Ali won 2nd, and Ali wins 3rd - "Thrilla in Manila"). 3rd fight occurred on October 1, 1975 in the Philippines where it was 110 degrees. The fight lasted 14 rounds, ending with Frazier's Coach calling off the fight, thus Ali won by technical knockout. The bout is almost universally regarded as one of the best and most brutal fights in boxing history, and was the culmination of a three-bout rivalry between the two fighters that Ali won, 2 - 1. Some sources estimate the fight was watched by 1 billion viewers.
Gene Tunney
After ______ retired, there were no real good champions (the dark ages of boxing), only second-rate champions.
Floyd Patterson
American professional boxer who twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. He was born into a poor family in North Carolina but moved to Brooklyn, NY where he was a fighter as a kid, eventually being put into a reformatory where he became a boxer. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics at the age of 17. He was known to be a "gentlemanly" fighter and at the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. Had the support of JFK.
Muhammad Ali
Americans were divided, as older generations were more resistant to the idea of Muhammad Ali. Ali refused to serve in the Vietnam War due to religious reasons (Elijah Muhammad didn't want his followers to serve in a "white man's war"). He breached the law, got his boxing license suspended, and was stripped of his heavyweight title. However, Ali was a cultural icon of the left and black radicals because of his courage and willingness to give up his livelihood to go to jail for his beliefs. Finally in 1970 Ali was allowed to box once more, but he was never the fighter he was anymore due to a period of 3.5 years where he wasn't training.
Billy Con
Became World Light Heavyweight Champion in 1939 and famously fought Joe Louis for the World Heavyweight title in 1941 unsuccessfully in Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY. Attempted to become the first World Light Heavyweight Champion to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The fight became part of boxing's lore because Conn held a secure lead on the scorecards leading to round 13. In a move that Conn would regret for the rest of his life, he tried to go for the knockout in round 13, and instead wound up losing the fight by knockout in that same round himself. Ten minutes after the fight, Conn told reporters, "I lost my head and a million bucks." Irish American boxer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the steel city) which was part of the boxing network. Significant because he represented the power of industrial America in fostering boxing infrastructure b/c Pittsburgh was considered a melting pot and industrial powerhouse. He later moved to Ohio, then California thus developing a boxing system in the United States. People also were able to learn more about boxers from the newspaper during the Great Depression.
Jimmy Ray
Billy Con's manager who knew business and had connections to get Billy into the fight game.
The Great Depression and Boxing
Boxing became very popular in the Great Depression, acting as a metaphor for America's struggles and offering a story of redemption. FDR used the boxing metaphor a lot. Purses were down, but popularity was very high.
Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard
Caesar's Palace, Hagler is able to coax Sugar Ray Leonard out of retirement for money, thus they fight on April 6, 1987. Sugar Ray Leonard wins by a split decision and Marvelous Marvin retires. Divisive match with regards to who "truly won".
Roberto Duran vs. Sugar Ray Leonard
December 7, 1989 The Mirage, Las Vegas. Fight for the WBC super middleweight title between Duran and Leonard, Sugar Ray dominates the fight and wins, the fight was more about financial nostalgia.
Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks
February 15, 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight championship. Spinks became the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion after only eight professional bouts, and the only man ever to take a world title away from Ali in the ring, as Ali's other losses were either non-title bouts or world title fights where Ali was the challenger.
Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Liston I
February 25, 1964 in Miami Beach. During the weigh-in, Clay taunted Liston dubbing him "the big ugly bear" to which Liston responded, "kid, you talk too much". 22-year-old Cassius Clay shocked the odds-makers by dethroning the world heavyweight boxing champ in a seventh-round technical knockout. There would be a rematch, however.
Patterson and Johansson fights
Floyd Patterson fought Ingemar Johansson three times, Johansson winning the first fight, and Patterson winning the second and third.
Cus D'Amato
Floyd Patterson's trainer and Mike Tyson's trainer, was known for teaching a peek-a-boo fighting style (defensive technique) which required extreme fitness, fast movement, ambidextrous abilities, and explosive power.
Primo Carnera
Italian professional boxer and wrestler who reigned as the boxing World Heavyweight Champion from 1933 - 1934. He was the first son of a stone-cutter of Sequals, Italy and stood six feet seven inches in height, and weighed two hundred and sixty-eight pounds. He became the heavyweight champion, yet never in all his life was he ever anything more than a freak and a fourth-rater at prizefighting. He must have grossed more than two millions of dollars during the years that he was being exhibited, and he hasn't a cent to show for it today. Was significant because he represented how boxing has become corrupt with managers frequently exploiting boxers and paying their fighters to titles.
Jack Blackburn
Joe Louis Barrow's manager/trainer and told Louis if he wanted a shot at the heavyweight title he had to act like an angel outside of the ring which meant no consorting with women, especially white women, no trash talking opponents, no engaging in fixed fights, and simply living and fighting clean. Louis had to be seen as the paradigm of virtue. In the ring, however, Blackburn told Louis to fight like a devil.
Mike Tyson vs. Marvis Frazier
July 26, 1986. The fight took place in Glens Falls, New York, USA. and Tyson knocked out Frazier (Joe Frazier's son) in 30 seconds.
Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney
June 11, 1982, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. By 1982, promoter Don King and manager Dennis Rappaport began one of the most massive and racially toned campaigns in boxing history to raise public interest for a fight between Holmes and Cooney. There had not been a White world Heavyweight champion in 22 years and Cooney would try to change that, they referred to Gerry Cooney as "The Great White Hope". Cooney was getting a lot of media coverage and support making Holmes upset. At the fight, usually the challenger is announced first when they enter the ring, but Holmes was announced first which enraged Holmes. The announcement was considered shameful and intensely disrespectful toward the champion Holmes by the boxing community. Nevertheless, when the boxers touched gloves before the first round began, Holmes told Cooney, "Let's have a good fight." Cooney hadn't really been tested up until this point and it was 100 degrees. Cooney endured a lot of punishment during the fight, showing a strong sense of determination and grit. However, Holmes won. The fight was televised live on closed-circuit and pay-per-view television all over the world. A week after the bout, it was re-broadcast on HBO, and later still, on ABC-TV. This fight had the largest purse ever in America at $20 million and the purse was split equally.
Billy Conn vs. Joe Louis
June 18, 1941, Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY. Joe Louis was the heavyweight champion of the world when he took on Billy Conn, the light-heavyweight title holder. This would be known as one of the greatest heavyweight fights of all time, and Louis was pushed to his very limits, but won. Michael S. Jacobs was the promoter of the fight. Afterwards, both men were drafted to World War II.
Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling I
June 19, 1936, Yankee Stadium in New York. Schmeling had studied Louis significantly and found a flaw in Louis's technique (that being Louis had a habit of dropping his left hand low after a jab exposing his face), thus Schmeling won after the 12th round by knocking out Louis. This should have given Schmeling a chance at the title against Braddock, but politics got involved. Mike Jacobs thought that if Schmeling won the title, it would mean trouble for American boxing, and therefore decided to give the chance to Joe Louis.
James Braddock vs. Joe Louis
June 22, 1937 Heavyweight Championship in Chicago. Louis prevailed by knockout of Braddock in the eighth round making him heavyweight champion of the world. This created euphoria amongst African Americans in the United States in the 1930s as the heavyweight title was a symbol for manhood and this fight in particular represented a night of redemption and hope for African Americans. The color line had been broken once more and paved the way for Jackie Robinson.
Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling II
June 22, 1938 rematch in Yankee Stadium with a sellout crowd of 70,000. Louis had trained hard to fix his flaw and came at Schmeling with no mercy. The fight lasted two minutes and four seconds, with Louis breaking Schmeling's vertebrae and winning. This fight was significant as It was the first time that many white Americans openly cheered for a black man against a white opponent as Schmeling was, by choice, a representative of the super race and thus an extension of Adolf Hitler. Thus this meeting had a political importance never before or since associated with a prize fight, and Louis had his greatest night.
Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry II
June 27, 1972, second bout for Ali and Quarry where Quarry was considered the #1 contender for the heavyweight title, but Ali wins by technical knockout in the 7th round.
The Four Kings of the 80s (after Ali's downfall)
Leonard, Hagler, Duran, and Hearns. Created a wave of popularity in the lower weight classes that kept boxing relevant in the post-Muhammad Ali era, 3 out of the 4 met President Reagan (except Duran because of conflict regarding the Panama Canal).
New York City
Lots of working class, mecca of the boxing world, center of the global press, manufacturing, and more.
Joe Louis post draft to the war
Louis served as a technical sergeant and put on boxing exhibitions to entertain the troops. He also made sure that African Americans could become officers in WW2. After a while, Louis retires, but he has a lot of debt and problems with the IRS due to donations he made to the war which had been taxes as income, therefore he was forced to get back into the ring and lost to Ezzard Charles in 1950.
Muhammad Ali vs. Chuck Wepner
March 24, 1975 in Summit County, Ohio. This was Ali's first boxing bout after reclaiming the heavyweight championship from George Foreman in The Rumble in the Jungle. Ali won the fight after he knocked out Wepner in the fifteenth round. The fight is notable for being among the four fights in which Ali was officially knocked down in the ring, and for inspiring the 1976 film Rocky.
Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton
March 31, 1973 in San Diego, California. Ali was outmaneuvered by Norton's unorthodox fighting style. As the final bell rang, Norton won on a split decision, igniting a controversy in the boxing world. Soon after the fight, Ali was treated in hospital for a broken jaw, an injury sustained in the second round of the fight.
Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Liston II
May 25, 1965 in Lewiston, Maine. Clay won with a first-round knockout known as "The Phantom Punch". However, the ending of the second Ali-Liston fight remains one of the most controversial in boxing history. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner as Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" and "Nobody will believe this!". The moment was captured by ringside photographer Neil Leifer in what became one of the most iconic images in sport, chosen as the cover of the Sports Illustrated special issue, "The Century's Greatest Sports Photos." Ali then began prancing around the ring with his arms raised in victory. When the fight ended, numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!".
New York Commissioners
Muldoon and John L. Sullivan
Marvin Hagler vs. Roberto Duran
November 10, 1983 at the Caesar's Palace hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hagler wins in the 15th round decision.
Ray Mancini vs. Kim Duk-koo
November 13, 1982, Caesar's Palace, lightweight title fight. Kim Duk-koo was a South Korean boxer who died after fighting in a world championship boxing match against Ray Mancini. His death sparked reforms aimed at better protecting the health of fighters, including reducing the number of rounds in championship bouts from 15 to 12.
Muhammad Ali vs. Cleveland Williams
November 14, 1966 in Houston, Texas. Ali won the bout through a technical knockout in the 3rd round. Many experts and boxers regard Ali's performance in this fight to be the finest of his boxing career. This was also the fight in which Ali made famous the move he called the "Ali shuffle".
Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry I
October 26, 1970, Ali's first fight after his suspension from boxing. Ali won through a technical knockout in the third round. Viewers could tell that Ali could still fight, however he wasn't the fighter he once was.
Mike Tyson
Reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990. Claiming his first belt at 20 years, four months, and 22 days old, Tyson holds the record as the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, as well as the only heavyweight to unify them in succession. The following year, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds of the first round. Embodied the "perfect redemption narrative". Was a cultural artifact of America's failed cities. Grew up in Brownsville by himself and gained an interest in boxing in a correctional facility. Bobby Stewart taught him some boxing, then sent him off to Cuz D'Amato who became Tyson's legal guardian. Super intense training, Cuz D'Amato trained Tyson to be a champion, but not a good man like Patterson. Accused of rape and was an abusive husband (got divorced).
Thomas Hearns vs. Sugar Ray Leonard
September 16, 1981, Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, 14 rounds, Sugar Ray Leonard ends the fight by a technical knockout taking away the title from Thomas Hearns.
Rocky Marciano vs. Archie Moore
September 21, 1955, Yankee Stadium, NY. Marciano's last title bout. Marciano was knocked down for a four-count in the second round, but recovered and retained his title with a knockout in round nine. Marciano announced his retirement in April of 1956, finishing his career at 49-0.
Floyd Patterson vs. Sonny Liston
September 25, 1962, the "gentlemanly" champion (Patterson) vs. the violent and aggressive Liston. Patterson lost his title to Liston in Chicago on September 25, 1962, by a first-round knockout. JFK didn't want Patterson to take on Liston because Patterson represented a model citizen and therefore he would be a good example as heavyweight champion, but it didn't work out this way.
Stillman's Gym
a boxing gym in NYC across from The Neutral Corner (boxing bar) where people would go to look at and study the skill of boxers.
Madison Square Garden
an indoor venue where many flights occurred around the year.
ABC Sports
became very important in allowing everyone to watch boxing fights, expanded access to the wide world of sports. Howard Cosell 1918 - 1995 was an American sports journalist, broadcaster and author. Cosell became prominent and influential during his tenure with ABC Sports from 1953 until 1985.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran I
billed as The Brawl in Montreal, was a welterweight professional boxing match that took place on June 20, 1980 in Montreal, Canada. Duran defeated Leonard via unanimous decision in 15 rounds, this was the first blemish on Leonard's record.
Gerry Cooney
born August 24, 1956, 6 '6, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1990. Grew up in Long Island in a blue collar Irish-Catholic family with a drunken, oppressive, and terribly abusive father who wanted to make him tough enough to fight. He refused to go to the Olympic Trials out of fear of failure and planned on simply becoming a construction worker, but he needed money so he boxed. He represented "The Great White Hope" and a look back into boxing's past as a Catholic Irishman. Best known for his fight for the heavyweight title in 1982 against Holmes. Cooney spiraled down in addition after losing to Holmes and his last fight was against George Foreman in 1990 where he lost.
Lucia Rijker
born December 6, 1967, is a Dutch professional boxer, kickboxer, and actress. Rijker was sometimes dubbed by the press "The Most Dangerous Woman in the World".
Sugar Ray Leonard
born May 17, 1956 in the South, but moved to Washington DC when he was 4 years old. He was first an amateur boxer, going from competing in Golden Gloves to the 1976 Olympics where he received a light welterweight gold medal becoming an "American darling". He was an articulate, funny, clever, and skilled boxer. At first, Leonard didn't want to go professional as he had plans to go to law school, but he had to support his young son. He competed professionally between 1977 and 1997. He earned $40,000 for his first professional fight and got investors like Cassius Clay. Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee takes on Leonard. Therefore, his boxing style reflects parts of Ali's style, but he was also inspired by Bruce Lee in leveraging his body. Was known for his incredible sense of balance.
Larry Holmes
born November 3, 1949 is an African American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, thus becoming known as the "Easton Assassin". He came up the boxing ranks the hard way as he lost in the finals of the US Olympic trials on a technicality. He had sparred with Ali and became Ali's best sparring partner, and was also a sparring partner for Joe Frazier. Holmes was one of the best technical fighters ever and took inspiration from Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. He never really had any competitors that could challenge him except for 1 fight (against Ken Norton). Defeated Ali at one point.
Thomas Hearns
born in Memphis, Tennessee but moved to Detroit which was in a post-industrial state and was suffering. He trained at the Kronk Boxing Gym which has trained so many excellent fighters. Emanuel Steward took Hearns under his wing and turned Hearns from an amateur into a professional. He was an exceptionally tall middleweight at 6'4 and was a knockout artist. Best known for 2 famed boxing matches in the 80s (both of which he lost), 1981 Hearns lost his championship belt in a grueling 14-round fight to Sugar Ray Leonard, and 1985 three-round knockout at the hands of Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra, and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns was the first boxer in history to win world titles in five weight divisions.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran II
popularly known as the No Más Fight, was a boxing match which took place on November 25, 1980 in New Orleans, United States. Leonard started to verbally and physically taunt Duran and won when at the end of the 8th round Duran turned away from Leonard towards the referee and quit by apparently saying, "No más" (Spanish for "No more").
Machismo
strong or aggressive masculine pride
Muhammad Ali post Trevor Berbick 1978 fight
the 1978 fight (in the Bahamas) was Ali's last boxing match as his coordination was off, and began having slurred speech. He was later diagnosed with Parkinson's, and was asked to light the Olympic torch at the 1996 Olympics and also received a new medal after he had lost his original gold medal in 1960 as a light heavyweight.
8th Avenue
the center of national boxing networks where the New York Boxing Commission patrolled (usually every big fight happened in NY).
Roberto Duran
the oldest of The Four Kings, 1951 - present, is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001 (grew up in the worst slums of Panama by himself). Represented the globalization of boxing. Duran was known as a versatile, technical brawler and pressure fighter, which earned him the nickname of "Hands of Stone" for his formidable punching power and excellent defense.
Masochism
the tendency to derive pleasure, especially sexual gratification, from one's own pain or humiliation, playing off of dominance
1989
the year that marks the end of the four kings.
Owney Madden
was a British-born gangster of Irish ancestry who became a leading underworld figure in New York during Prohibition (1920s - early 1930s). Nicknamed "The Killer", he garnered a brutal reputation within street gangs and organized crime. He paid guys to lose against Primo Carnera and was a leading boxing promoter.
Max Schmeling
was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. Became champion in 1930 by beating American boxer Jack Sharkey by disqualification of Sharkey due to a low blow. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cultural events because of their national associations. Schmeling is the only boxer to win the world heavyweight championship on a foul. Adolf Hitler saw Schmeling as the epitome of the Aryan race. Following his defeat of Louis in 1936, Schmeling had become a national hero in Germany. Schmeling's victory over an African American was touted by Nazi officials as proof of their doctrine of Aryan superiority. However, he would be utterly defeated in their rematch in 1938.
Jack Sharkey
was a Lithuanian-American world heavyweight boxing champion from 1932 until 1933 when he was knocked out by Primo Carnera. He took an Irish name to get credit as a fighter. He loved Jack Dempsey, and he loved Sharkey, therefore he created his own name. However, he was said to lack "killer" instinct in the ring.
Mike Jacobs
was a boxing promoter and arguably the most powerful promoter in the sport from the mid-1930s until his effective retirement in 1946. The "king" of national infrastructure, patrolled 8th avenue. Exploited the boxing networks, if you wanted a shot at fighting in Madison Square, you had to go through "Uncle Mike" and he'd ask "what's in it for Uncle Mike?".
Trevor Berbick vs. Mike Tyson
was a professional boxing match contested on November 22, 1986 for the WBC heavyweight championship in Las Vegas. Tyson wins the championship stating to Ali "I will avenge your loss [to Berbick]".
Sonny Liston
was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. He was from Arkansas and was one of 26 children. He was known for his violence and aggression, was illiterate, and grew up in an abusive household. Learned to fight in prison and went from Arkansas, to St. Louis, to Philadelphia where he got involved with the mob as an enforcer and collector.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler
was an American professional boxer who reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight division from 1980 to 1987. Raised in Newark, New Jersey but later moved to Brockton, Massachusetts where the economy had collapsed (post-industrial). In 1969, Hagler took up boxing after being roughed up on the street by a local boxer—whom he later defeated—with his friends watching. Hagler became determined to become a boxer himself, and therefore walked into a gym owned by Italian American brothers Pat and Goody Petronelli, who became his trainers and managers. However, Hagler didn't think he got the respect he deserved for his abilities and complained that Sugar Ray Leonard had been "given everything" after winning the Olympic Gold. Hagler only earned $40 for his first professional fight and had to work his way up the ranks. In 1980 Hagler destroyed British boxer Alan Minter at the world middleweight championship.
Joe Louis Barrow
was an American professional boxer who was World Heavyweight Champion from 1937 to 1949. Had the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history. Born in Alabama and was African American. His family moved from the south to the north to Detroit where his brother worked at the Ford Motor Company. Joe dropped his last name so his mother wouldn't be disappointed that he had become a boxer instead of a violinist. He was finally a talented boxer after a line of second-rate champions. He had a Moses-like appeal to African Americans as they believed he could take boxing back to the promiseland. Jack Johnson asked to be Louis's manager, but he stayed loyal to Jack Blackburn as Blackburn hated Johnson. He was groomed from a young age through the boxing networks and developed a lot of technical skill. The rise of Joe Louis in the 1930s "lifted an entire race out of the slough of inferiority, and gave them a sense of self-importance." (symbol of freedom)
Max Baer
was an American professional boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1934 to 1935. Two of his fights (a 1933 win over Max Schmeling and a 1935 loss to James J. Braddock) were rated Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. However, he didn't really train and was not serious in the ring, he was more interested in the television stardom and being a celebrity. Jack Dempsey trained Baer.
Jake LaMotta
was an American professional boxer who was world middleweight champion between 1949 and 1951. Nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" or "Raging Bull", LaMotta was a rough fighter who would subject his opponents to vicious beatings in the ring. With the use of constant stalking, brawling and inside fighting, he developed a reputation for being a "bully"; he was what is often referred to today as a swarmer and a slugger.
James J. Braddock
was an Irish-American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937. He had lost several bouts due to chronic hand injuries and was forced to work on the docks and collect social assistance to feed his family during the Great Depression. He made a comeback, and in 1935 he fought Max Baer for the world heavyweight championship and won. For this unlikely feat he was given the nickname "Cinderella Man". Braddock was managed by Joe Gould. He epitomized the struggles of the Great Depression and won the favor of the country by representing a comeback story.
