Ten / Oddities in Boxing

David Martinez, FLASHBACK, History

FLASHBACK – This article feature was originally published on April 10, 2019 for viewing – www.dmboxing.com

By David Martinez / Boxing Historian

Boxing has certainly had its share of odd events. In no particular order of preference here are ten that have always stood out to me.

1 – November 6, 1993 / Las Vegas, Nevada … Holyfield vs. Bowe II, a fan James Miller lands by parachute into the ring during round 7 causing a 21 minute delay in their heavyweight championship fight.

2 – December 4, 1912 / Paris, France … Georges Bernard fell asleep at the end of the sixth round during his middleweight title fight with Billy Papke.

3 – September 13, 1975 / Caracas, Venezuela Luis Etaba defeated Rafael Lovera by 4th round knockout to win WBC junior flyweight title, only to learn afterwards Lovera had never fought a professional fight before and only fought that one fight in his career.

4 – December 13,  1887 … “Nonpareil” Jack Dempsey retained his middleweight title by knockout in the 45th round over John Reagan. The bout took place in two rings. It Started in Huntington, Long Island and after the ring was flooded by nearby river, in the 8th round, both fighters boarded a tug boat and continued their bout 20 miles away in another ring.

5 – January 15, 1977 /  Las Vegas, Nevada … Howard Smith wins a 10 round decision over Henry Clark. In round one, the original referee (Ferd Hernandez) suffered a epileptic seizure causing a fifteen minute delay before new referee (Richard Greene) was brought and the fight resumed. On a side note, prior to becoming a referee, Fred Hernandez boxed professionally and once scored a 10 round split decision win over an aging 44 year old Sugar Ray Robinson in 1965.

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P4P Rankings / dmboxing.com

David Martinez, P4P Rankings - Current

Top Dozen / August 20, 2026

NOTE – Previous Rankings listed here are from last posting on June 7, 2026

1 – Naoya Inoue (33-0 / 27 by KO) Previous Ranking #1

2 – Oleksandr Usyk (25-0 / 16 by KO) Previous Ranking #2

3 – Dimitry Bivol (25-1 / 12 by KO) Previous Ranking #3

4 – Jesse Rodriguez (24-0 / 17 by KO) Previous Ranking #4

5 – Shakur Stevenson (25-0 / 11 by KO Previous Ranking #5

6 – David Benavidez (32-0 / 26 by KO) Previous Ranking #6

7 – Jaron Ennis (36-0 / 1 NC / 32 by KO) Previous Ranking #12

8 – Devin Haney (33-0 / 1 NC / 15 by KO) Previous Ranking #8

9 – Oscar Collazo (15-0 / 12 by KO) Previous Ranking #9

10 – Junto Nakatani (32-1 / 24 by KO) Previous Ranking #7

11 – Canelo Alvarez (63-3-2 / 39 by KO) Previous Ranking #10

12 – Jai Opetaia (30-0 / 23 by KO) Previous Ranking (HM)

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Jack Dempsey / Museum / Manassa, Colorado

David Martinez, FLASHBACK, Heavyweights, History

***** FLASHBACK *****

This article was originally published on www.dmboxing.com / October 9, 2023

By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com

It was in August 1975, when traveling back to visit my relatives in various locations in the state of New Mexico, I ventured north for an unbelievable experience, a visit the birthplace of Jack Dempsey, Manassa, which is located in the southern part of Colorado, in the “San Luis” Valley.

Upon my arrival, I located a log cabin style house in the middle of town, that was actually moved to this city park location in July 1966, and was refurbished in honor of Jack Dempsey. The interior walls were lined with photos and mementos of Dempsey’s brilliant career.

The Curator there was so wonderfully nice and was amazed at my focus and interest, that he thinking I lived nearby, offered me a job there as a tour guide. Then he did something that was truly amazing, removing the actual gloves from a display case that Dempsey wore in the Luis Angel Firpo fight (September 14, 1923) so I could wear them while posing for a picture.

Unfortunately, I had a misfortune happen regarding these photos. In November 1983, while moving from my old house to my new house, it started to rain that day and the water got into the U-Haul trailer we were towing and into my nicely framed photos. I cried and was so upset and disappointed beyond belief. The photo of me wearing those gloves was the one most damaged.

Known as “Kid Blackie” and “The Manassa Mauler”, Jack Dempsey was certainly one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of boxing.

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California Boxing Hall of Fame – REVISITED

Boxing Events, California Boxing Hall of Fame, David Martinez, History

              By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / World Boxing Hall of Fame

On Saturday March 5, 2005 the Stevens Steak House in the city of Commerce was the sight for the annual California Hall of Fame Inductee ceremonies.

This year’s class includes: ( boxer category ) Oscar Muniz, Paul Gonzales, Monroe Brooks, Ruben Navarro, Stan Ward, Terry Norris, Joey Obillo, George “Scrap Iron” Johnson, Jose Luis Cotero, Frankie Duarte … ( non-boxer category ) Julian Eget , Bud Furillo, Lee Espinosa, Howard Bingham, Joe Chavez, Robert Byrd, Debbie Garcia, Mack Kurihara, Jerry Roth, Esq … ( posthumous category ) Jim Healy, Canto Robledo, Rudy Garcia, Bill Slayton, Jack Johnson … ( special lifetime achievement ) Lilly and William “Blinky” Rodriquez.

The program is well constructed and organized by Don Fraser ( president / Golden State Boxers Association) and Julian Eget ( vice president / Golden State Boxers Association ) and as a board member myself – I can honestly say that I sure didn’t think they could top last years show with the appearance of Ernie “Indian Red” Lopez … but this year they surpassed that with the “surprise” appearance of Muhammad Ali.

“Ali, Ali, Ali, Ali, Ali” … the 600 plus SRO crowd chanted as the former three time heavyweight champion entered the room and it was so electric,” “It was as if the Pope” himself had walked into the room … it was one of those moments in time that one just had to be there to witness and feel.

The look on people’s faces was priceless – that I just can’t remember the last time in my 44 years being involved in boxing that I had seen just ONE person generate so much excitement at a public forum.

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Boxing – New Mexico

David Martinez, FLASHBACK, History

*** FLASHBACK ***

This article was originally published for viewing February 26, 2024 on www.dmboxing.com

By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com

As my parents and many family members (uncles, aunts, and cousins) are from New Mexico, I have had people ask me which boxers are my favorites, or the best fighters, from that state.

As I rate them, my top three are Bob Foster, Johnny Tapia, and Art Aragon.

Also, Danny Romero and Austin Trout are the honorable mention picks that round out my top five; and I have certainly been blessed to have met them all.

BOB FOSTER

Ring Record: 56-8-1 / 46 by KO

Known as the Albuquerque, “Deputy Sheriff”, he was one of the greatest light heavyweight champions in boxing history. WBA / WBC world champion from 1968 to 1974.

Inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1983, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1984 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.

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Anthony Joshua survives early knockdowns, wins by 2nd round knockout … Tim Tszyu by decision over Errol Spence Jr.

Heavyweights, Middleweights, Recent Fights, Tom Donelson

By Tom Donelson / Member Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA)

Anthony Joshua needed to get a win over Kristian Prenga for a big payday against Tyson Fury.  Twenty seconds into the first round, the promoters of the Fury-Joshua feared the worst as Prenga landed a right hand followed by a right-hand uppercut sending Joshua down in the first twenty seconds.   Joshua got up but legs remained unsteady and was knocked down second time.  Prenga had his best chance, but Joshua recovered enough to start going after Prenga in the second round.  Joshua superior jab landed and he followed up with right hand that stunned Prenga.  Prenga could not escape his fate as two big rights send Prenga though the ropes.  The fight was waved off as Prenga did not recover.   Joshua managed to escape with a second-round knockout victory after nearly losing in the first round.

Tyson Fury upheld his side of the deal in Thailand as he easily outboxed Mariusz Wach before stopping Wach in the seventh round.

Fury used the fight as a training session as he looked for rounds as he dominated all seven rounds, forcing Wach’s corner to stop the fight. Fury stated, “I’ve had one fight in two years … This is my second fight in two years, of course I wanted to get the rounds in. I want to be active.”  

Joshua showed his main vulnerability, his chin as he got nailed with shots in the first round and nearly lost his big payday.  While Joshua has good boxing skills, so does Fury.   This fight has been talked about for years and may eventually come but after neither men have a title at stake. 

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James Toney vs. Samuel Peter – REVISITED

David Martinez, DMBoxing News, Hall Of Fame, Heavyweights, History, Rusty Rubin

RING SPORTS MAGAZINE

James Toney vs. Samuel Peter

By: David Martinez / Boxing Historian
World Boxing Hall of Fame

       It sure wasn’t the worst decision that I have seen in boxing, though the thousands in attendance at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Saturday night, September 2, 2006, and the millions watching on Showtime TV must have thought so after Samuel Peter was awarded a 12 round “split” decision over James Toney.

          When I think of the most unbelievable decisions that I have seen in boxing in my 45 years in the sport, the first two that come to mind  are: Floyd Patterson losing to Jimmy Ellis in 1968 and Carlos Zarate losing to Lupe Pintor in 1979. Both fights rank high on my list of the worst decisions.

          In the Toney vs Peter fight, I personally saw Toney as the clear cut winner 115 to 112 (7 to 5 in rounds) on my scorecard, and this was even with Peter having a point deducted by referee Raul Caiz, SR. in round nine after a double punch (using both hands at same time, also called “cuffing”) to Toney’s head, a punch that I haven’t seen since I was a kid at a carnival sideshow thrown by a kangaroo!

          This fight was billed as a WBC heavyweight title elimination, with the winner being awarded a guarantee to fight current WBC champion Oleg Maskaev.

The 38 year old Toney entered this fight with a title belt of his own – something called the IBA Heavyweight Championship – and he had not lost a fight since 1997.

The 25 year old Peter, who entered the fight as the third ranked heavyweight contender by the WBC, is one of the hardest hitting punchers in this division today. His style is very similar to another hard hitting heavyweight, Mac Foster, who fought back in the mid-sixties and seventies.

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