After holding Jack Sharkey to a draw, which is bat$hit insane, a welterweight holding a man that was a world heavyweight champion to a draw, next Walker goes at King Levinsky, a respectable heavyweight contender, and beats him, surviving an early knockdown to battle his way to a 10-round split decision win over Levinsky, who outweighed him by 23 pounds, at Chicago Stadium.
After taking down Levinsky, Walker goes after Paulino Uzcudun, "The Basque Woodchopper", a tough as nails heavyweight with a granite chin, and Walker beats him by decision.
Here's where it all comes to an end for Mickey Walker heavyweight ambitions, he decides to go after the all-time great German fighter Max Schmeling, it was a bridge too far. Schmeling was the only man in history to beat the great Joe Louis in his prime, he knocked Louis out in 1936. That should tell you all you need to know about Max Schmeling. Here's a photo of Max Schmeling (on the left) with Mickey Walker.
Regardless of the outcome of the Walker-Schmeling fight, you have to hand it to Mickey Walker, he was one of the ballsiest fighters in boxing history, he'd take on anyone, any size, any time, he just genuinely loved to fight.
Max Schmeling ended the heavyweight campaign of "The Toy Bulldog" Mickey Walker with a crunching 8th round TKO at the Madison Square Garden in 1932.
Schmeling caught Walker with a hard right hand that rocked him in round 1, then followed up for a knockdown. Walker tried to corner Schmeling and do damage but continually got caught by counters and eventually beaten up. After two hard knockdowns in round 8, Walker's corner signaled to end the fight at the bell to end the round.
The end came after eight rounds when Walker’s manager, Jack Kearns, singled to referee Jack Denning that his man had had enough. Walker, floored three times by the 26-year-old German, once in the first and twice in the eighth, was battered, bleeding and helpless in his corner.
“If it were not for my left eye, I feeI could’ve gone the limit,” said the beaten 31-year-old Walker. “Schmeling hits hard, much harder than Jack Sharkey, but needs more than one punch to score a knockout. I was as strong as he was at the end.”
Mickey Walker was truly one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in boxing history, just look at his resume at heavyweight, it's insane. Now keep in mind, he was a natural welterweight. His wins over bigger men are just astounding. He was a beast.
Wins against Heavyweights and (weight discrepancy) and result of fight:
Armand Emanuel (12 lbs) KO7
Paul Swiderski (11 lbs) PTS 10
Charley Belanger (11 lbs) PTS10
Paul Swiderski (21 lbs) NWS10
Mike Mandell (13 lbs) TKO1
Johnny Risko (27 lbs) PTS10
KO Christner (36 lbs) KO1
Herman Weiner (29 lbs) KO1
Joe Lohman (14 lbs) TKO6
Johnny Risko (19 lbs) UD10
Bearcat Wright (42 lbs) PTS 10
King Levinsky (23 lbs) SD10
Paulino Uzcudun (27 lbs) PTS10
Salvatore Ruggirello (36 lbs) KO1
Arthur De Kuh (48 lbs) KO 1
Jack Sharkey (28 lbs) DRAW
Les Kennedy (26 lbs) KO2
Tom Patrick (15 lbs) PTS10
Maxie Maxwell (5 lbs) TKO5
Maxie Rosenbloom (2 lbs) PTS10
Lou Poster (10 lbs) KO2
Mickey McAvoy (16 lbs) KO2
*Knocked out 12 heavyweights (9 in the first two rounds)
Bobby "Schoolboy" Chacon and Rafael "Bazooka" Limón fought a truly hellish 15 round fight for the WBC junior lightweight title on December 11th, 1982, at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento California. Think round 1 of Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns, except there were exchanges like that in nearly every round for 15 rounds. It was the their fourth and final encounter and it is the greatest fight in boxing history in my opinion.
Jack Dempsey,"The Manassa Mauler", sharing a meal with Babe Ruth, "The Sultan of Swat." They were two of the biggest celebrities of the roaring twenties.
Alexis Arguello, "El Flaco Exposivo", or "The Explosive Thin Man." One of the greatest fighters in this sports history, also one of the greatest punchers. I'll let boxing analyst Matt McGrain break it down, McGrain is such a brilliant writer
"I believe more in precision. Like when you see a mosquito and you hit it with a couple of short sharp shots. That’s beautiful.”—Alexis Arguello
Precision, he had.
“Once he’d measured the distance,” says CheckHookBoxing scribe and Arguello disciple Kyle McLachlan, “he could hit you with any punch from any range.”
This is an accurate a surmise of what made Arguello dangerous as it is possible to make. Allowing him into a fight was an invitation to your own destruction. Against Royal Kobayashi, a sprawling puncher of note in his own right, it took Arguello exactly three rounds to box his way into the fight. The fourth through the fifth saw him miss only a handful of punches as “El Flaco Exposivo” (62 of 77 victims stopped) speared the bull he shared the ring over and over again with perhaps the most hurtful one-two the ring has ever seen. Often compared to Joe Louis, Arguello shared none of the Brown Bomber’s apparent difficulty with the awkward, crowding fighters said to trouble him. Once he had found you, he had found you for all time.
As consummate a punching technician as appears on this list, Arguello wasted almost nothing, and mastered the art of variety in terms of both punch selection and target areas. The dual left-right combinations that set Kobayashi out to sea in the fifth were typical in that their brutality was matched by their precision. “A combination so good that you Americans know that combination!” is how Arguello explained it to American television—as well as countless opponents this dual-tipped spear had pierced the US consciousness. That they served, against Kobayashi, as blows that opened up an opponent for equally devastating left hooks to the midsection spoke of Arguello’s deep well of offense.
“One of the last fighters you would want to get into a fire-fight with” is Kyle’s last word on the subject.
Jimmy Young, 1970s and 80s heavyweight contender. He was a slick, slick boxer, defensive wizard, great counterpuncher. To look at his record is very deceiving, Jimmy Young could fight. He beat George Foreman, Ron Lyle twice, drew with Earnie Shavers, and gave Ali and Norton all they could handle, a lot of people think Young should have gotten the decisions against both Ali and Norton. He had a good run in his career up until the Norton fight, and that's when it came unglued, Young thought he should have gotten the decision and he lost motivation after that, hung around until 1982 but was never really the same fighter again. I just finished watching his fight with George Foreman in 1977, a masterclass by Young against one of the most dangerous fighters in boxing history. This is an article that was written by a friend of his in 2005 shortly after Young passed away. It is a great up-close look at the world of boxing and at a fighter that had all the tools but lost the desire.
On February 20, 2005, after a six day stay at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, former heavyweight title challenger and contender Jimmy Young, 56, passed away. The cause of Young's untimely death was heart failure. The passing of Young caught me by surprise and hit me hard. He was more than a fighter I saw on television. I knew Jimmy Young. We weren't friends, but from about mid-1977 through early 1982, Jimmy and I worked out at the same gym and I got to know him.
It was about six months before he challenged Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight title that I began to follow his boxing career. In October of 1975 my family moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey. With the exception of rush hour, Cherry Hill is roughly 20-25 minutes outside the city of Philadelphia.
Shortly after moving into the new house, workmen came to hang the drapes my mother ordered. Since the workmen were from Philadelphia, I asked them if they ever saw Joe Frazier around town. One of the guys said he was a huge boxing fan and often went to Frazier's gym on Broad Street to watch the fighters train.
During the conversation he asked me if I ever heard of a Philly heavyweight named Jimmy Young. I told him that I knew he upset Ron Lyle, but never saw him fight. I remember him specifically telling me to remember the name Jimmy Young. He said Young was a slick boxer that nobody wanted to fight. After they left, I found Jimmy Young's record in a recent issue of Ring Magazine. Being young and dumb, I wrote him off after seeing he had four loses on his record. Years later when I knew how to interpret a fighter’s record, I understood how mismanagement led to those early defeats and how insignificant they were.
On April 30, 1976, six months after being told to remember the name Jimmy Young, he fought Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight title on ABC. Young wasn't given much of a chance to take the title from Ali, despite Ali weighing a career high 230 pounds for the fight. Ali retained the title by winning a 15-round unanimous decision over Young, a fight many who saw it thought Ali lost.
Less than a year after the Ali-Young bout, I started boxing at the Cherry Hill Police Athletic League (PAL), under the tutelage of former middleweight champ Joey Giardello. I had such passion for boxing that I quickly picked up everything he taught me. After training for about five months, despite being a middleweight, I was too advanced for even the heavyweights training at the PAL.
One day Mr. Giardello said to me that I was getting a little too happy with myself and wasn't being challenged when sparring with the other fighters at the PAL. He said, “If you want to be the champ of Cherry Hill, fine, stay here. But Frank, if you're serious about boxing, you'll never get any better then you are now unless you go to the city and train. Tomorrow morning be at Frazier's Gym around 10:30 and ask for Georgie Benton. Tell him that I suggested you start training in the city, and ask him if he would be willing to work with you.”
The following day I did exactly as he suggested. This is where I first met Jimmy Young. Young had just defeated top ranked and former heavyweight champ George Foreman in his last fight, and was getting ready to fight Jody Ballard in Vegas.
I remember Jimmy drove a turquoise Lincoln Mark V. On the trunk the words “Jimmy Young” were en-scripted with a boxing glove hanging down on each side. One of the first memories I have of Jimmy is him coming into the gym with Ted and Slim, and a big boom box playing the song “You Know I Love You” by Breakwater. Within a few weeks Jimmy and I began talking on a regular basis. When Jimmy got back after beating Jody Ballard, we started talking more frequently. Our topics were usually music, cars and boxing, in that order.
A month after returning from his fight with Ballard in September, he left for Vegas again for his next fight scheduled for November 5th. His opponent was number one ranked Ken Norton. Since Jimmy was ranked second, the fight between them was billed as a title elimination bout. The winner of Norton-Young was penciled in to fight Ali for the title in early 1978. Jimmy was in great shape for Norton and fought a terrific fight against him. The fight turned out to be more action packed than anticipated and went the scheduled 15 round distance. When the decision was announced, Norton won a controversial split decision. And as Jimmy has been quoted saying over the years, “He (Norton) didn't think he won it, and was as surprised as I was when it was announced.”
Since his passing, it has been widely reported that he lost his desire after losing the decision to Norton. Jimmy told the story more than once about how he ran into Norton in Vegas, while he was out there to fight Ossie Ocasio on the Norton-Holmes undercard. Young said Norton told him that he thought the decision was going to Young before it was announced.
In my opinion, Jimmy never put his all into training and getting in shape as a result of his disappointment over the decision in the Norton fight. A year and a half after fighting Norton, as he was getting ready to fight Don King's latest protégé, Michael Dokes (14-0), somebody brought up his fight with Norton. He reflected back and said that the decision to Norton was worse than the decision to Ali. He said because Ali was the champ and bigger than boxing, to get a decision against him a fighter had to really beat him beyond a doubt. Young thought by him beating Foreman, Ali-Norton IV became the big fight in the division, and that worked against him when he fought Norton.
During the summer of 2001, Ken Norton was a guest on my ESPN radio show “Toe To Toe.” He was in the midst of his book tour promoting his autobiography “Going The Distance.” Ken was very candid and talked openly about his career and the opponents he faced. With one exception, he wouldn't tell me when I asked him: Who hit harder, George Foreman or Earnie Shavers? He just said “next question.” I mentioned his three 15-round fights that ended in controversial decisions. He responded by saying that the one he won against Jimmy Young was the one he felt, before the decision was announced, was going to go against him. And the two he lost to Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes, he felt he won.
The fight I think Jimmy put the most into post-Norton was his May 1980 fight with Gerry Cooney. While training for Cooney, his trainer George Benton was always reminding Jimmy that Cooney's management agreed to the fight because Jimmy wasn't a knockout puncher, and still had a name. Jimmy did a lot of sparring while getting ready for Cooney, but struggled to get his weight down. For the undefeated Cooney, Jimmy weighed 223 pounds, which was 10-14 pounds more than what was considered his best fighting weight.
Despite the extra weight, Jimmy fought well against Cooney until getting cut. He was finding Gerry with his jab and actually moved him back a few times with right hands. When Cooney went to his body, Jimmy caught him with counter rights and short hooks to the head. Gil Clancy, who was doing the color commentary on CBS with Tim Ryan, said that Young was exposing Cooney's lack of experience.
The fight came to an abrupt end after Cooney caught Jimmy with a half left uppercut/hook that opened a nasty gash over his eye. Cooney then began unloading his best uppercuts and hooks on a stationary Young. Although Jimmy was never staggered or close to being hurt, he couldn't answer Cooney with his own assault because his vision was severely impaired from all the blood flowing into his eyes. The fight ended in the fourth round, and, along with it, so did his hopes of ever getting back into title contention again in his career.
Although it hasn't been reported, his loss to Cooney frustrated him and I think took whatever remaining spirit he had for boxing. Losing to Cooney cost Jimmy what he felt was his last shot at the title, which was something he badly wanted. Through different conversations between Jimmy, Randall “Tex” Cobb and me, Jimmy gave the impression that Don King thought if he beat Cooney, he could make a fight between Young and Holmes. Implying a win over Cooney would make him a more marketable opponent for Holmes, than was his last opponent Leroy Jones.
Losing to Cooney because of a cut, something that never happened to him in his career, was the final straw. I still remember George Benton saying in words that cannot be repeated in this writing, leading up to his fight with Cooney, that if he ever wanted another shot at the title and big money, he had to win. Jimmy nodded in agreement.
In the years after Norton, Jimmy talked openly about his career whenever he was asked a pointed question. He tired of always being asked about Ali and why he ducked in between the ropes during the fight; although he did say he did it to frustrate Ali. He further stated that the referee never once took a point from him or even threatened to penalize him. He loved talking about his two fights with Ron Lyle. Young said Lyle told him during their second fight that he fought like a girl, hoping to con him into fighting his fight because he was so flustered by his style.
I always used to ask him to rank Foreman, Lyle, Shavers and Norton as punchers. Only I would do it in different ways to try and trick him, but he never fell for it. One day I would ask him to rank the four of them. A week later I'd say “Jimmy, Ali said Lyle hit harder than Shavers. What do you think?” He'd laugh and ask “What's changed in the last week?” Sometimes he'd clown and say that Joe “King” Roman and Richard Dunn hit harder than either Shavers or Foreman, only he couldn't keep a straight face. For those who must know, as I did, Jimmy rated the big punchers he fought in the following order: Shavers-1, Foreman-2, Lyle-3 and Norton-4.
One of my favorite stories, circa mid March 1981, involved Jimmy Young and Randall “Tex” Cobb. George Benton was the trainer for both Jimmy and Randall at the time. Cobb was ranked among the top ten heavyweight contenders due to his upset of Earnie Shavers in his last fight. Jimmy and Randall worked with each other a lot preparing for their fights in the early eighties. On this day they were sparring for the final time before Cobb was to leave for Las Vegas for his upcoming fight with Michael Dokes (19-0-1) on ABC.
During the second round while they were sparring, Jimmy nailed Randall with a couple of clean uppercuts to the face. This worried Benton, and he began saying loudly: “Be careful, Tex. I don't want to chance you getting cut this close to the fight.” All of the sudden Benton screamed “TIME!” He jumped into the ring and said, “Jimmy, stop throwing Fing Uppercuts. We're leaving for Vegas later and I don't want Tex getting cut.” With that, Randall turned to Benton and said “F it, George! Throw 'em Jimmy, Dokes sure as hell will.” With that, Benton began lecturing Cobb about how he had to be extra careful with the fight being so close. Benton said the last thing they needed was for Cobb to get cut while sparring, causing the fight to be cancelled.
After Jimmy and Randall yes'd Benton a few times, assuring him they were on the same page, they resumed sparring. The first punch Jimmy hit Randall with was another uppercut to the face. For the rest of the round Jimmy threw nothing but uppercuts at Randall.
What I'll never forget are the funny faces Jimmy was making at George behind his back while he was lecturing Randall, trying to cause him to break up. Cobb was the type of guy who could ignore things like that if he wanted to. But Jimmy had this goofy look on his face while holding his glove up and moving it as to imitate Benton going on and on. Randall literally had to look away from Jimmy to keep from breaking up in George's face in the middle of his rant.
I remember Jimmy Young. He was always friendly and greeted everyone with a smile. When people would come up to him and talk, he would always ask about their family and if they had kids. If there was ever something bothering him, you couldn't tell by his demeanor. I never heard him once speak badly about anyone. What I respect about him is, despite being cheated out of the two most important decisions of his career, he never whined and felt sorry for himself.
I don't know if Jimmy Young will be elected to the boxing hall of fame. What I do know is, if there was a people hall of fame, the Jimmy Young I knew would be first ballot. Rest in Peace Jimmy.
Jimmy Young’s victory over George Foreman on March 17, 1977, was undoubtedly the defining performance of Young's career. While he had already proven his skill and ring IQ in a highly controversial loss to Muhammad Ali the previous year, his win over Foreman solidified his reputation as one of the most elusive and technically brilliant heavyweights of his era.
Against Foreman, Young executed a near-perfect game plan. He used his superior footwork, head movement, and counterpunching ability to frustrate the bigger, stronger Foreman. Young stayed on the outside, made Foreman miss, and landed sharp counters, much like Ali had done to Foreman in Zaire. However, unlike Ali, Young didn't rely on rope-a-dope tactics he was more elusive, making Foreman chase him all night.
The fight had a dramatic moment in the seventh round when Foreman unleashed a vicious assault that nearly ended the contest. Young later admitted that he was out on his feet and barely survived. But instead of folding, he regained control in the later rounds, using his slick movement to keep Foreman off balance. The most shocking moment came in the 12th and final round when Young dropped Foreman with a clean counterpunch, something almost unheard of against the Foreman.
Foreman’s post-fight experience, where he claimed to have spoken to God, led to his retirement and transformation into a preacher, which added to the legendary aura of this fight. It was a career-defining moment for both men Foreman found a new purpose in life, while Young, despite never winning the heavyweight title, secured his legacy as one of the most skilled and underrated boxers of his time.
While Young had other great performances, such as his masterclass against Ron Lyle and his controversial fight with Ali, his victory over Foreman was his greatest triumph, showcasing his ability to outthink and outmaneuver one of the most feared punchers in boxing history.
Comments
After holding Jack Sharkey to a draw, which is bat$hit insane, a welterweight holding a man that was a world heavyweight champion to a draw, next Walker goes at King Levinsky, a respectable heavyweight contender, and beats him, surviving an early knockdown to battle his way to a 10-round split decision win over Levinsky, who outweighed him by 23 pounds, at Chicago Stadium.
After taking down Levinsky, Walker goes after Paulino Uzcudun, "The Basque Woodchopper", a tough as nails heavyweight with a granite chin, and Walker beats him by decision.
Here's where it all comes to an end for Mickey Walker heavyweight ambitions, he decides to go after the all-time great German fighter Max Schmeling, it was a bridge too far. Schmeling was the only man in history to beat the great Joe Louis in his prime, he knocked Louis out in 1936. That should tell you all you need to know about Max Schmeling. Here's a photo of Max Schmeling (on the left) with Mickey Walker.
Regardless of the outcome of the Walker-Schmeling fight, you have to hand it to Mickey Walker, he was one of the ballsiest fighters in boxing history, he'd take on anyone, any size, any time, he just genuinely loved to fight.
Max Schmeling ended the heavyweight campaign of "The Toy Bulldog" Mickey Walker with a crunching 8th round TKO at the Madison Square Garden in 1932.
Schmeling caught Walker with a hard right hand that rocked him in round 1, then followed up for a knockdown. Walker tried to corner Schmeling and do damage but continually got caught by counters and eventually beaten up. After two hard knockdowns in round 8, Walker's corner signaled to end the fight at the bell to end the round.
The end came after eight rounds when Walker’s manager, Jack Kearns, singled to referee Jack Denning that his man had had enough. Walker, floored three times by the 26-year-old German, once in the first and twice in the eighth, was battered, bleeding and helpless in his corner.
“If it were not for my left eye, I feeI could’ve gone the limit,” said the beaten 31-year-old Walker. “Schmeling hits hard, much harder than Jack Sharkey, but needs more than one punch to score a knockout. I was as strong as he was at the end.”
Mickey Walker was truly one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in boxing history, just look at his resume at heavyweight, it's insane. Now keep in mind, he was a natural welterweight. His wins over bigger men are just astounding. He was a beast.
Wins against Heavyweights and (weight discrepancy) and result of fight:
Armand Emanuel (12 lbs) KO7
Paul Swiderski (11 lbs) PTS 10
Charley Belanger (11 lbs) PTS10
Paul Swiderski (21 lbs) NWS10
Mike Mandell (13 lbs) TKO1
Johnny Risko (27 lbs) PTS10
KO Christner (36 lbs) KO1
Herman Weiner (29 lbs) KO1
Joe Lohman (14 lbs) TKO6
Johnny Risko (19 lbs) UD10
Bearcat Wright (42 lbs) PTS 10
King Levinsky (23 lbs) SD10
Paulino Uzcudun (27 lbs) PTS10
Salvatore Ruggirello (36 lbs) KO1
Arthur De Kuh (48 lbs) KO 1
Jack Sharkey (28 lbs) DRAW
Les Kennedy (26 lbs) KO2
Tom Patrick (15 lbs) PTS10
Maxie Maxwell (5 lbs) TKO5
Maxie Rosenbloom (2 lbs) PTS10
Lou Poster (10 lbs) KO2
Mickey McAvoy (16 lbs) KO2
*Knocked out 12 heavyweights (9 in the first two rounds)
One of my favorite photos of Mickey Walker, after knocking out Tommy Milligan in 1927.
Mickey Walker hitting the speed bag.
Mickey Walker setting up a heavy bag.
Mickey Walker became an artist after he retired from the ring, a damn good one at that.
Here Walker is painting a portrait of himself from his boxing days.
I love this photo of Mickey Walker in his prime, posing in a bathroom.
Up close profile shot of Mickey Walker.
Mickey Walker, "The Toy Bulldog."
Bobby "Schoolboy" Chacon and Rafael "Bazooka" Limón fought a truly hellish 15 round fight for the WBC junior lightweight title on December 11th, 1982, at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento California. Think round 1 of Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns, except there were exchanges like that in nearly every round for 15 rounds. It was the their fourth and final encounter and it is the greatest fight in boxing history in my opinion.
The highlights from Chacon vs Limon IV.
Jack Dempsey,"The Manassa Mauler", sharing a meal with Babe Ruth, "The Sultan of Swat." They were two of the biggest celebrities of the roaring twenties.
Alexis Arguello, "El Flaco Exposivo", or "The Explosive Thin Man." One of the greatest fighters in this sports history, also one of the greatest punchers. I'll let boxing analyst Matt McGrain break it down, McGrain is such a brilliant writer
"I believe more in precision. Like when you see a mosquito and you hit it with a couple of short sharp shots. That’s beautiful.”—Alexis Arguello
Precision, he had.
“Once he’d measured the distance,” says CheckHookBoxing scribe and Arguello disciple Kyle McLachlan, “he could hit you with any punch from any range.”
This is an accurate a surmise of what made Arguello dangerous as it is possible to make. Allowing him into a fight was an invitation to your own destruction. Against Royal Kobayashi, a sprawling puncher of note in his own right, it took Arguello exactly three rounds to box his way into the fight. The fourth through the fifth saw him miss only a handful of punches as “El Flaco Exposivo” (62 of 77 victims stopped) speared the bull he shared the ring over and over again with perhaps the most hurtful one-two the ring has ever seen. Often compared to Joe Louis, Arguello shared none of the Brown Bomber’s apparent difficulty with the awkward, crowding fighters said to trouble him. Once he had found you, he had found you for all time.
As consummate a punching technician as appears on this list, Arguello wasted almost nothing, and mastered the art of variety in terms of both punch selection and target areas. The dual left-right combinations that set Kobayashi out to sea in the fifth were typical in that their brutality was matched by their precision. “A combination so good that you Americans know that combination!” is how Arguello explained it to American television—as well as countless opponents this dual-tipped spear had pierced the US consciousness. That they served, against Kobayashi, as blows that opened up an opponent for equally devastating left hooks to the midsection spoke of Arguello’s deep well of offense.
“One of the last fighters you would want to get into a fire-fight with” is Kyle’s last word on the subject.
Good enough.
Jimmy Young, 1970s and 80s heavyweight contender. He was a slick, slick boxer, defensive wizard, great counterpuncher. To look at his record is very deceiving, Jimmy Young could fight. He beat George Foreman, Ron Lyle twice, drew with Earnie Shavers, and gave Ali and Norton all they could handle, a lot of people think Young should have gotten the decisions against both Ali and Norton. He had a good run in his career up until the Norton fight, and that's when it came unglued, Young thought he should have gotten the decision and he lost motivation after that, hung around until 1982 but was never really the same fighter again. I just finished watching his fight with George Foreman in 1977, a masterclass by Young against one of the most dangerous fighters in boxing history. This is an article that was written by a friend of his in 2005 shortly after Young passed away. It is a great up-close look at the world of boxing and at a fighter that had all the tools but lost the desire.
On February 20, 2005, after a six day stay at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, former heavyweight title challenger and contender Jimmy Young, 56, passed away. The cause of Young's untimely death was heart failure. The passing of Young caught me by surprise and hit me hard. He was more than a fighter I saw on television. I knew Jimmy Young. We weren't friends, but from about mid-1977 through early 1982, Jimmy and I worked out at the same gym and I got to know him.
It was about six months before he challenged Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight title that I began to follow his boxing career. In October of 1975 my family moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey. With the exception of rush hour, Cherry Hill is roughly 20-25 minutes outside the city of Philadelphia.
Shortly after moving into the new house, workmen came to hang the drapes my mother ordered. Since the workmen were from Philadelphia, I asked them if they ever saw Joe Frazier around town. One of the guys said he was a huge boxing fan and often went to Frazier's gym on Broad Street to watch the fighters train.
During the conversation he asked me if I ever heard of a Philly heavyweight named Jimmy Young. I told him that I knew he upset Ron Lyle, but never saw him fight. I remember him specifically telling me to remember the name Jimmy Young. He said Young was a slick boxer that nobody wanted to fight. After they left, I found Jimmy Young's record in a recent issue of Ring Magazine. Being young and dumb, I wrote him off after seeing he had four loses on his record. Years later when I knew how to interpret a fighter’s record, I understood how mismanagement led to those early defeats and how insignificant they were.
On April 30, 1976, six months after being told to remember the name Jimmy Young, he fought Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight title on ABC. Young wasn't given much of a chance to take the title from Ali, despite Ali weighing a career high 230 pounds for the fight. Ali retained the title by winning a 15-round unanimous decision over Young, a fight many who saw it thought Ali lost.
Less than a year after the Ali-Young bout, I started boxing at the Cherry Hill Police Athletic League (PAL), under the tutelage of former middleweight champ Joey Giardello. I had such passion for boxing that I quickly picked up everything he taught me. After training for about five months, despite being a middleweight, I was too advanced for even the heavyweights training at the PAL.
One day Mr. Giardello said to me that I was getting a little too happy with myself and wasn't being challenged when sparring with the other fighters at the PAL. He said, “If you want to be the champ of Cherry Hill, fine, stay here. But Frank, if you're serious about boxing, you'll never get any better then you are now unless you go to the city and train. Tomorrow morning be at Frazier's Gym around 10:30 and ask for Georgie Benton. Tell him that I suggested you start training in the city, and ask him if he would be willing to work with you.”
The following day I did exactly as he suggested. This is where I first met Jimmy Young. Young had just defeated top ranked and former heavyweight champ George Foreman in his last fight, and was getting ready to fight Jody Ballard in Vegas.
I remember Jimmy drove a turquoise Lincoln Mark V. On the trunk the words “Jimmy Young” were en-scripted with a boxing glove hanging down on each side. One of the first memories I have of Jimmy is him coming into the gym with Ted and Slim, and a big boom box playing the song “You Know I Love You” by Breakwater. Within a few weeks Jimmy and I began talking on a regular basis. When Jimmy got back after beating Jody Ballard, we started talking more frequently. Our topics were usually music, cars and boxing, in that order.
A month after returning from his fight with Ballard in September, he left for Vegas again for his next fight scheduled for November 5th. His opponent was number one ranked Ken Norton. Since Jimmy was ranked second, the fight between them was billed as a title elimination bout. The winner of Norton-Young was penciled in to fight Ali for the title in early 1978. Jimmy was in great shape for Norton and fought a terrific fight against him. The fight turned out to be more action packed than anticipated and went the scheduled 15 round distance. When the decision was announced, Norton won a controversial split decision. And as Jimmy has been quoted saying over the years, “He (Norton) didn't think he won it, and was as surprised as I was when it was announced.”
Since his passing, it has been widely reported that he lost his desire after losing the decision to Norton. Jimmy told the story more than once about how he ran into Norton in Vegas, while he was out there to fight Ossie Ocasio on the Norton-Holmes undercard. Young said Norton told him that he thought the decision was going to Young before it was announced.
In my opinion, Jimmy never put his all into training and getting in shape as a result of his disappointment over the decision in the Norton fight. A year and a half after fighting Norton, as he was getting ready to fight Don King's latest protégé, Michael Dokes (14-0), somebody brought up his fight with Norton. He reflected back and said that the decision to Norton was worse than the decision to Ali. He said because Ali was the champ and bigger than boxing, to get a decision against him a fighter had to really beat him beyond a doubt. Young thought by him beating Foreman, Ali-Norton IV became the big fight in the division, and that worked against him when he fought Norton.
During the summer of 2001, Ken Norton was a guest on my ESPN radio show “Toe To Toe.” He was in the midst of his book tour promoting his autobiography “Going The Distance.” Ken was very candid and talked openly about his career and the opponents he faced. With one exception, he wouldn't tell me when I asked him: Who hit harder, George Foreman or Earnie Shavers? He just said “next question.” I mentioned his three 15-round fights that ended in controversial decisions. He responded by saying that the one he won against Jimmy Young was the one he felt, before the decision was announced, was going to go against him. And the two he lost to Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes, he felt he won.
The fight I think Jimmy put the most into post-Norton was his May 1980 fight with Gerry Cooney. While training for Cooney, his trainer George Benton was always reminding Jimmy that Cooney's management agreed to the fight because Jimmy wasn't a knockout puncher, and still had a name. Jimmy did a lot of sparring while getting ready for Cooney, but struggled to get his weight down. For the undefeated Cooney, Jimmy weighed 223 pounds, which was 10-14 pounds more than what was considered his best fighting weight.
Despite the extra weight, Jimmy fought well against Cooney until getting cut. He was finding Gerry with his jab and actually moved him back a few times with right hands. When Cooney went to his body, Jimmy caught him with counter rights and short hooks to the head. Gil Clancy, who was doing the color commentary on CBS with Tim Ryan, said that Young was exposing Cooney's lack of experience.
The fight came to an abrupt end after Cooney caught Jimmy with a half left uppercut/hook that opened a nasty gash over his eye. Cooney then began unloading his best uppercuts and hooks on a stationary Young. Although Jimmy was never staggered or close to being hurt, he couldn't answer Cooney with his own assault because his vision was severely impaired from all the blood flowing into his eyes. The fight ended in the fourth round, and, along with it, so did his hopes of ever getting back into title contention again in his career.
Although it hasn't been reported, his loss to Cooney frustrated him and I think took whatever remaining spirit he had for boxing. Losing to Cooney cost Jimmy what he felt was his last shot at the title, which was something he badly wanted. Through different conversations between Jimmy, Randall “Tex” Cobb and me, Jimmy gave the impression that Don King thought if he beat Cooney, he could make a fight between Young and Holmes. Implying a win over Cooney would make him a more marketable opponent for Holmes, than was his last opponent Leroy Jones.
Losing to Cooney because of a cut, something that never happened to him in his career, was the final straw. I still remember George Benton saying in words that cannot be repeated in this writing, leading up to his fight with Cooney, that if he ever wanted another shot at the title and big money, he had to win. Jimmy nodded in agreement.
In the years after Norton, Jimmy talked openly about his career whenever he was asked a pointed question. He tired of always being asked about Ali and why he ducked in between the ropes during the fight; although he did say he did it to frustrate Ali. He further stated that the referee never once took a point from him or even threatened to penalize him. He loved talking about his two fights with Ron Lyle. Young said Lyle told him during their second fight that he fought like a girl, hoping to con him into fighting his fight because he was so flustered by his style.
I always used to ask him to rank Foreman, Lyle, Shavers and Norton as punchers. Only I would do it in different ways to try and trick him, but he never fell for it. One day I would ask him to rank the four of them. A week later I'd say “Jimmy, Ali said Lyle hit harder than Shavers. What do you think?” He'd laugh and ask “What's changed in the last week?” Sometimes he'd clown and say that Joe “King” Roman and Richard Dunn hit harder than either Shavers or Foreman, only he couldn't keep a straight face. For those who must know, as I did, Jimmy rated the big punchers he fought in the following order: Shavers-1, Foreman-2, Lyle-3 and Norton-4.
One of my favorite stories, circa mid March 1981, involved Jimmy Young and Randall “Tex” Cobb. George Benton was the trainer for both Jimmy and Randall at the time. Cobb was ranked among the top ten heavyweight contenders due to his upset of Earnie Shavers in his last fight. Jimmy and Randall worked with each other a lot preparing for their fights in the early eighties. On this day they were sparring for the final time before Cobb was to leave for Las Vegas for his upcoming fight with Michael Dokes (19-0-1) on ABC.
During the second round while they were sparring, Jimmy nailed Randall with a couple of clean uppercuts to the face. This worried Benton, and he began saying loudly: “Be careful, Tex. I don't want to chance you getting cut this close to the fight.” All of the sudden Benton screamed “TIME!” He jumped into the ring and said, “Jimmy, stop throwing Fing Uppercuts. We're leaving for Vegas later and I don't want Tex getting cut.” With that, Randall turned to Benton and said “F it, George! Throw 'em Jimmy, Dokes sure as hell will.” With that, Benton began lecturing Cobb about how he had to be extra careful with the fight being so close. Benton said the last thing they needed was for Cobb to get cut while sparring, causing the fight to be cancelled.
After Jimmy and Randall yes'd Benton a few times, assuring him they were on the same page, they resumed sparring. The first punch Jimmy hit Randall with was another uppercut to the face. For the rest of the round Jimmy threw nothing but uppercuts at Randall.
What I'll never forget are the funny faces Jimmy was making at George behind his back while he was lecturing Randall, trying to cause him to break up. Cobb was the type of guy who could ignore things like that if he wanted to. But Jimmy had this goofy look on his face while holding his glove up and moving it as to imitate Benton going on and on. Randall literally had to look away from Jimmy to keep from breaking up in George's face in the middle of his rant.
I remember Jimmy Young. He was always friendly and greeted everyone with a smile. When people would come up to him and talk, he would always ask about their family and if they had kids. If there was ever something bothering him, you couldn't tell by his demeanor. I never heard him once speak badly about anyone. What I respect about him is, despite being cheated out of the two most important decisions of his career, he never whined and felt sorry for himself.
I don't know if Jimmy Young will be elected to the boxing hall of fame. What I do know is, if there was a people hall of fame, the Jimmy Young I knew would be first ballot. Rest in Peace Jimmy.
Jimmy Young’s victory over George Foreman on March 17, 1977, was undoubtedly the defining performance of Young's career. While he had already proven his skill and ring IQ in a highly controversial loss to Muhammad Ali the previous year, his win over Foreman solidified his reputation as one of the most elusive and technically brilliant heavyweights of his era.
Against Foreman, Young executed a near-perfect game plan. He used his superior footwork, head movement, and counterpunching ability to frustrate the bigger, stronger Foreman. Young stayed on the outside, made Foreman miss, and landed sharp counters, much like Ali had done to Foreman in Zaire. However, unlike Ali, Young didn't rely on rope-a-dope tactics he was more elusive, making Foreman chase him all night.
The fight had a dramatic moment in the seventh round when Foreman unleashed a vicious assault that nearly ended the contest. Young later admitted that he was out on his feet and barely survived. But instead of folding, he regained control in the later rounds, using his slick movement to keep Foreman off balance. The most shocking moment came in the 12th and final round when Young dropped Foreman with a clean counterpunch, something almost unheard of against the Foreman.
Foreman’s post-fight experience, where he claimed to have spoken to God, led to his retirement and transformation into a preacher, which added to the legendary aura of this fight. It was a career-defining moment for both men Foreman found a new purpose in life, while Young, despite never winning the heavyweight title, secured his legacy as one of the most skilled and underrated boxers of his time.
While Young had other great performances, such as his masterclass against Ron Lyle and his controversial fight with Ali, his victory over Foreman was his greatest triumph, showcasing his ability to outthink and outmaneuver one of the most feared punchers in boxing history.
Young puts Foreman on the deck in round 12.