Category Archives: Jim Amato

Jose Luis Garcia

FLASHBACK, Heavyweights, Jim Amato

FLASHBACK / This article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on June 14, 2014

By Jim Amato / Senior Boxing Writer / World Renowned Boxing Historian and Sports Collector / Contributor to dmboxing.com since 2008 – Thank You Jimbo!

There may have never been a more talent rich period in the heavyweight division then from 1968 to 1978. With Muhammad Ali (a.k.a. Cassius Clay) on the sidelines due to his draft case other big men emerged. They would compete with each other on an almost equal basis for the next decade. Joe Frazier had risen to the top of the heap but the level below him would remain as mainstays in the ratings for years to come.

Jimmy Ellis, Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonevena, Floyd Patterson, George Chuvalo and Henry Cooper would eventually give way to Ron Lyle, Joe Bugner, Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers and Jimmy Young. All time great champions like George Foreman and Larry Holmes also made their mark and Ali re-emerged to reclaim his throne.

Lost among the giants of that time period was a fine heavyweight from Venezuela named Jose Luis Garcia.

Although Jose never challenged for the world championship he did meet three who did. He also met three world champions in a career that never seemed to reach its full potential.

Jose turned pro in his native country in 1968. He would go undefeated in his first nine bouts before losing a decision to future light heavyweight champion Vincente Rondon. Three fights later Jose was halted by tough Allen Thomas in his first U.S. appearance. The lean Garcia was beginning to grow into a full fledged heavyweight.

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Bob Stallings – Tough Guy Tested Contenders

Heavyweights, Jim Amato

By Jim Amato / Senior Boxing Writer / World Renowned Boxing Historian / Contributor of 130 outstanding article pieces to dmboxing.com since 2008

During this era there were also heavyweights who were not quite good enough to be ranked contenders but they were good enough to test boxers wanting to go to the next level. George Scrap Iron Johnson comes to mind. Also rugged Leroy Caldwell. Out of New York was a boxer named Bob Stallings. Although Stallings won only one bout more then he lost in his career, he met quality opposition. In fact he was able to spring an occasional upset now and then.

Stallings was born on July 7, 1944 in South Carolina. He fought out of New York and turned professional in 1964. Bob was always matched tough. In his pro debut he met a prospect who was 15-1. Bob lost that bout. He continued and in 1965 he dropped bouts to Mel Turbow and Buster Mathis. He then defeated Chuck Wepner. In 1966 he again lost to Mathis but in 1967 he beat highly regarded Alvin “Blue” Lewis. 

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Boxing and Ohio

FLASHBACK, History, Jim Amato

* FLASHBACK * this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on October 22, 2012

By Jim Amato / Senior Boxing Writer / Contributor to dmboxing.com since 2008 with outstanding input and expertise – thank you Jimbo!             

The history of great boxers to come out of the fine state of Ohio is rich and glorious. Many came well before my time. Jimmy Bivins and Johnny Risko. Joey Maxim, Paul Pirrone and the great Ezzard Charles. Need I go on?

In my time that stretches back some forty years, this state has produced a fine array of talent in several weight classes.

Let’s start with James “Buster” Douglas who re-wrote the definition of “upset” when he creamed Mike Tyson. Michael Dokes and Tony Tubbs will forever be in the record books as heavyweight titleholders. The most popular big guy of my era was the thunderous punching Earnie Shavers. Ted Gullick and Mike Koranicki were better then average leather swappers.

Bernard Benton was a top flight cruiserweight as was hard punching Jeff Lampkin. The outstanding Prince Charles Williams was one of the best light heavyweights of his time. Go ask the astute Bobby Czyz for references. Doyle Baird of Akron met the likes of Nino Benvenuti, Emile Griffith, Don Fullmer and Jean Claude Bouttier as a middleweight. He had to go up to 175 to secure a title shot. At that weight he was outclassed by the capable Vincente Rondon. Roy Dale lost to the great “King” Carlos Monzon in a non-title encounter.

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Book Review

Book Reviews, FLASHBACK, Jim Amato

By Jim Amato / Senior Boxing Writer

** FLASHBACK ** This article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on January 18, 2013

The Art of Boxing; Your Guide to the Sweet Science

Author: Bobby Mayne

Let me say that this is the best boxing training manual I have ever read. I have read many in the past including Nat Fleischer’s fine series. In my humble opinion, this tops them all. The author Bobby Mayne is a former boxer and now a trainer. This book must have taken hours and hours to put together. The end result is over 200 pages of instructions and photos. A truly priceless volume of knowledge.

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Frankie Duarte – Tough as Nails

FLASHBACK, Jim Amato

FLASHBACK *** this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on November 17, 2011

By Jim Amato / Senior Boxing Writer / a contributor to dmboxing.com since 2008 with outstanding expertise and loyalty – thank you, Jimbo!

In the 1970’s and 80’s the bantamweight division was loaded with talent. Great champions like Ruben Olivares, Carlos Zarate, Daniel Zaragoza and Jeff Chandler forged their Hall Of Fame careers in that era. So did Lupe Pintor who should be in the Hall Of Fame. There were also fine champions like Rafael Herrera, Chucho Castillo, Rodolfo Martinez, Romeo Anaya and Alberto Davila.

One tough hombre from that era just missed being crowned a world champion. Nevertheless his all out action style repeatedly drew big crowds to the Olympic Auditorium and the Inglewood Forum. His name was Frankie Duarte.

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For Some, The Sun Did Not Shine

FLASHBACK, Jerry Quarry, Jim Amato

*** FLASHBACK – this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on August 27, 2015

By Jim Amato / Senior Boxing Writer / contributed to dmboxing.com since 2008 with much appreciated outstanding expertise

We have all heard of Ali, Frazier and Foreman.  Of Tyson and Holyfield. The lighter weight classes have produced the likes of Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard.  Who will ever forget Duran, Pryor and Arguello? What about the “near misses”? The ones who in this day of multi- fractured titles would almost surely have garnered a piece of championship pie.

Let’s start with the big boys. Jerry Quarry failed in his first title try losing a debatable decision to underrated Jimmy Ellis.  In his final title shot he was out gunned by “Smokin” Joe Frazier.  He would later lose a rematch to Frazier as well as two bouts to Muhammad Ali.  What if there were four titles available back then?  The wins on Jerry’s resume are impressive to say the least.  Floyd Patterson, Thad Spencer, Buster Mathis, Jack Bodell, Larry Middleton, Mac Foster, Ron Lyle and a one round blow out of Earnie Shavers.  It would be very safe to say that Jerry was among the top four or five heavyweights of that era.  Then it is also safe to assume that he would have copped at least a portion of title recognition.

It is very hard for me to believe that John Ruiz could have defeated Jerry.

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What if (?) … Ken Buchanan vs. Mando Ramos

Dream Fights, FLASHBACK, Jim Amato, Lightweights

*** FLASHBACK –  this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on October 11, 2013

By Jim Amato / Senior Boxing Writer

Ken Buchanan-crop

In the time that I have followed boxing there are many matches that could have happened and should have happened. Some, like Archie Moore-Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta-Rocky Graziano, were before my era. They might have been thrilling matches, but for one reason or another they just never came off.

One from “my era,” the early 1970’s, was Ken Buchanan against Mando Ramos. Mr. Ramos was one of my early favorites. He was just a few years older than me when he won the lightweight title in his second try versus the talented Carlos Teo Cruz, when he was barely 20 years old. He lost the title soon after to Panama’s slick former world champion Ismael Laguna. Mando was cut up by the jabs and quick hands of Laguna. He also had trouble with Laguna’s fast feet and shifty style. Soon after Ismael Laguna handed the crown to another crafty boxer, the gritty Ken Buchanan of Scotland.

(Photo taken courtesy David Martinez at World Boxing Hall of Fame Banquet of Champions, October 20, 2001,  Westin Bonaventure, Los Angeles, California)

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Bad Bennie

Jim Amato, Middleweights

By Jim Amato / Senior Boxing Writer

There are certain boxers from my past that in retrospect would be champions today. One such boxer was tough enough to be nicknamed “Bad.”  He was Bennie Briscoe from Philadelphia and brother you better bet he was just that, “Bad.” He was probably the most feared middleweight of his era and it was a tough time just be a middleweight in Philly. If you were bad there, you were bad everywhere.

Briscoe turned pro in 1962 and would win his first fifteen contests. Among his victims were Charley Scott and Percy Manning.  In a return with Manning in 1965, Bennie would suffer his first setback.  That year he would also lose to Tito Marshall and Stanley “Kitten” Hayward.  In 1966 Bennie would halt the highly respected George Benton.

Bennie was now among the middleweight elite.  The year 1967 would see him lose two decisions to the great Luis Rodriguez. Sandwiched in between those losses was a draw in Argentina with a fella named Carlos Monzon. In 1968, he would lose to future light heavyweight titleholder Vincente Rondon.  He would knock out Rondon in a 1969 rematch.

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Champions Wasteland; Shozo Saijo

FLASHBACK, Jim Amato

*** FLASHBACK – this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on April 30, 2008

By Jim Amato / Senior Boxing Writer

Today with so many governing bodies and organizations around it has become very hard to take someones claim of ” world champion ” seriously.  I mean there is the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBA and God knows how many more will pop up in the future.  Split titles are not anything new to boxing but in days gone by it was a lot less complicated.  As much as I hated it when either the WBA or the WBC ” stripped ” a champion of his crown for some bogus reason and then “made” their own champion, at least it kept the rift between just two claimants.

In some cases there were much needed unification fights like Bob Foster and Vincente Rondon or Carlos Monzon against Rodrigo Valdez.  There were also cases where a unification bout would have generated a lot of fan interest and cleared up the situation but they never came off.  Some bouts that come to mind are Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza, John Conteh vs Victor Galindez and Carlos Palomino vs Pipino Cuevas.  There is one bout that could have taken place in 1971 pitting two champions from Japan who each claimed a portion of the featherweight title.  They were WBC title holder Kuniaki Shibata and his WBA rival, Shozo Saijo.   Alas the fight never materialized.  It seems that today Shibata is still remembered as the man who made great Vincente Saldivar surrender.  What about poor Shozo Saijo ?  He has been long forgotten outside of Japan and somehow that just does not seem quite fair.

Saijo was born in 1947 and turned pro in 1964.  Shozo was not an instant sensation and over his first twenty fights he compiled a less then earth shaking 14-4-2 record. In 1968 he lost a decision to the highly regarded Jose Luis Pimentel.  In a rematch Saijo turned the tables and he got the verdict.  That led to a fight with the rugged Raul Rojas.  After the retirement of Saldivar, Rojas defeated Enrique Higgins to claim the vacant WBA featherweight title. Rojas was matched with Saijo in a non title battle and Saijo copped the decision.  On September 27th, 1968 in a rematch with the title on the line Saijo became the new WBA champion.

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