Joe Frazier was born in Beaufort, South Carolina on January 12, 1944, and his family later moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He won a gold medal in the heavyweight division in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He moved up the ranks and won the New York State heavyweight championship on March 3, 1968. Joe knocked […]
The term ‘Super-fight’ was first coined to describe the incredibly huge matchup between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier that took place on March 8, 1971. It was also called the ‘Fight of the Century’ every time it was discussed. I was just a kid when the fight took place in Madison Square Garden, but I
George Foreman was born on January 10, 1949 in Marshall, Texas. He grew up as one of 7 children in the 5th ward of Houston, Texas. George would be the first to admit it was a rough part of town. He was a self admitted thug who beat up and robbed people and figured he
Angelo Dundee was born as Angelo Mirena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1921. He cut his teeth as a boxing trainer in the New York city gyms, and trained many world champions in his lifetime. He came to prominence however, as the trainer for 3 time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. He was Ali’s trainer from 1961
Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini was making a name for himself in the lightweight division as 1980 turned into 1981. The spirited 5’5″ brawler from Youngstown ,Ohio was the son of Lenny Mancini, a boxer whose career was cut short because of World War II. Ray fought in part to make his dad proud, and win
Gerrie Coetzee was a 6′ 3″ inch heavyweight boxer from south Africa who had won over 180 bouts as an amateur. He had turned pro in September of 1974, and campaigned successfully in the ranks for over 4 years. He came to prominence on June 24, 1979 when he took on ex-champion Leon Spinks in
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‘Big’ John Tate made the first title defense of his WBA heavyweight belt on March 30, 1980 in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. It was part of a 5 fight mega card broadcast live on ABC tv. I was glued to my tv as a rare late March blanket of snow covered south Jersey. Mike
‘Big’ John Tate won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division in Montreal in 1976, and had early success as a professional as well. The 6′ 4″ boxer fighting out of Knoxville, Tennessee earned a shot at the WBA heavyweight title in October of 1979 against south African Gerrie Coetzee. John boxed well enroute to
Mike Weaver was a 6 foot 1 inch heavyweight boxer from Gatesville, Texas who had a mediocre record in the late 70’s by the time he fought champ Larry Holmes in June of 1979. Weaver gave Holmes all he could handle before being stopped in the 12th round. The spirited effort showed that he had
Mike Rossman was a local light heavyweight fighter from Turnersville, New Jersey who had been climbing the ranks. He fought Victor Galindez on the undercard of Ali-Spinks 2 on September 15,1978 in New Orleans. Coming in as a underdog, Mike battled Galindez, and stopped him with a 13th round TKO, capturing the WBA version of
