MUSTAFA HAMSHO; If Not For Marv...
He
may have been the second
best middleweight in the
world in the late 1970's
through the mid 80's. The " Hagler Era ". he was twice
defeated by the
Marvelous one in title
fights but no one other then
Hagler could seem to handle
him.
Mustafa Hamsho was born in Syria in 1953. He turned professional in 1975 sometimes fighting under the moniker of Rocky Estafire. He lost his first pro fight in Binghampton, N.Y. to Pat Cuillo. After eight bouts it would have been hard to foresee Hamsho as a future contender as his ledger stood at 4-2-2. Mustafa would go on to win his next 27 bouts and firmly establish himself as a legitimate title threat.
Contenders Rocky Mosley Jr., Bobby " Boogaloo " Watts, Irish Pat Murphy, Leo Saenz, the talented Wilfred Scypion, Rudy Robles, rugged Curtis Parker and former champion Alan Minter were among Hamsho's victims during the streak.
Finally on October 3, 1981 faced Marvin Hagler for the middleweight championship. Marvin was a sharpshooter on this night and he sliced up the well muscled, southpaw Hamsho. Only Mustafa's grit and gameness kept him in the fight until the eleventh round. Marvin had cut him to ribbons and the bout was stopped.
Mustafa would regroup and win six in a row. He would again defeat the dangerous Curtis Parker. He would also pull off two minor upsets that put him back to the top of the division. In 1982 he would dominate the upcoming " bright, white and polite " Bobby Czyz. In 1983 he would manhandle former welterweight and junior middleweight king Wilfred Benitez. Those victories would put Mustafa back in the ring with Hagler.
On October 19th, 1984, three years after their first meeting Hagler and Hamsho traded leather again. This turned out to be one of Marvin's career best performances as he blasted out the usually durable Hamsho in three rounds.
Over the next few years Hamsho would win four straight over average opposition. In 1987 he met future light heavyweight champion Don LaLonde and was clearly outpointed. Two fights later he lost in the first round to future champion Graziano Rocchingiani. In 1989 he survived a first round scare to stop Wesley Reid in five rounds. That was his final bout.
Hamsho retired with a very formidable record of 43-6-2. He was strong and awkwardly effective from his left handed stance. He was not a big puncher but he was always in terrific condition. He was able to score twenty seven knockouts throughout his career. A solid case can be made that Mustafa Hamsho was keeper of the gate to Marvin Hagler's throne and that is meant as the highest compliment.
Jim Amato
ALEXIS ARGUELLO ; " Talk Softly But Carry A Big Stick " By Jim Amato
Note; I wrote this article several years ago. Alexis was one of my all time favorites. I'm shocked and deeply sad at the news of his passing. He was a true gentleman and a credit to the sport. May he rest in peace.
ARGUELLO ; One of the best pure punchers of my generation was Alexis Arguello. He was aptly nicknamed " The Explosive Thin Man ". He was tall and rail thin but his punch could stop an opponent dead in his tracks.
It's hard to believe that Alexis was stopped in the very first round of his pro debut in his native Managua, Nicaragua. He would rally to win three straight then lose again. Hardly the makings of a legend.
Alexis would reel off twenty straight wins before his next loss. Then came thirteen more victories including knockouts over Octavio Gomez and Jose Legra. This led to a shot at the WBA featherweight title in 1974. The champion was the talented Ernesto Marcel of Panama. Alexis lost a fifteen round decision.
Alexis would rebound to win four in a row including a stoppage win over rugged Art Hafey of Canada. He again challenged for the WBA featherweight title in 1974. His opponent this time would be legendary Ruben Olivares. In a see saw battle Alexis took Ruben out in round thirteen and also took his title.
In 1978 Alexis moved up to 130 pounds to take on WBC junior lightweight champion Alfredo Escalera. In a great, great fight Alexis finally halted Escalera in the thirteenth round to annex that title. Alexis may go down as the best 130 champion in history. He would beat Escalera in a classic rematch. He would then go on to beat Bobby Chacon, Rolando Navarette, Bazooka Limon and Boza Edwards. All would win a piece of the junior lightweight title after Alexis left the division.
Alexis would move up again and defeat Jim Watt to win the WBC lightweight title in 1981. He would defend that title four times. Among those defenses was his victory over future champion Ray " Boom Boom " Mancini. He also nearly decapitated the future trainer of Mike Tyson, Kevin Rooney in a non title fight.
Alexis seemed unbeatable and decided to move up in weight again to challenge WBA junior welterweight champion Aaron Pryor. Their November 12, 1982 bout in Miami was one of the most action packed bouts of all time. The fiery Pryor absorbed the bombs of Arguello and finally overwhelmed Alexis to score a brutal knockout in the fourteenth round. What a fight it was ! They would meet again and this time Pryor took Alexis out in ten.
It seemed like the end for Arguello but he fought on. Over a year later he would cold cock former champion Billy Costello in the fourth round. Alexis would not fight again for eight years. He would win one and then lose one. Realizing it was no longer there, he retired for good. He ended his 90 bout career with an 82-8 record.
Alexis was a class act. He did not verbally assault his opponents. He was a true gentleman. He did what he had to do to win and he did it well. Very well...
In the words of former President Teddy Roosevelt he " Talked softly but carried a big stick " . I think the stick was called his right hand.
JA
THE TOP TEN DOMINANT RULERS SINCE 1965
Greatness, like beauty is
really in the eye of the beholder. Since 1965 I've followed the careers of
so many wonderful fighters. Over the past couple of decades it has become
increasingly more difficult to judge a fighters true worth. With so many
titles and weight classes involved sometimes we as fans never really know
who is the best fighter in their weight division. At times when a fighter
does emerge who looks like he is the cream of his division, he promptly
moves up a weight class. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a good example. Manny
Pacquaio too.
This piece is on who I feel were the ten best boxers since 1965 to
dominate a single weight class. Those who proudly held the title for an
extended reign and ruled it with an iron fist. Coming up with the top ten
was not an easy task. Believe it or not there were quite a few fighters
that had to be considered. There were some greats who just fell short of
making the list but in their day they made their mark. Men like Michael
Spinks, Aaron Pryor and Eder Jofre. Others like Julio Cesar Chavez, Marco
Antonio Barrera, Pernell Whitaker and Miguel Canto were also passed over.
It was pretty difficult to keep Sugar Ray Leonard, Tito Trinidad and Shane
Mosley off the list. What about Roy Jones Jr., Carlos Zarate, Khaosai
Galaxy, Salvador Sanchez and Jose Napoles. There was no room for them
either. By now you must have concluded that the ten boxers I picked must
be very special. They are, all ten of them. I'm sure many will disagree
with me and there will be many a strong argument for other candidates. I
do hope you agree with me that my top ten and also the fighters I've
mentioned above were pretty special indeed.
NUMBER TEN - JOE CALZAGHE - 168 - Joe actually put some color and
pzazz in a division that never had it since its inception. He never
received his due recognition because he was based outside of the US but
caused quite a stir when Americans saw him dominate Jeff Lacy. Although
Joe's recognition was long overdue it was well earned.
NUMBER NINE - MARVIN HAGLER - 160 - The Marvelous One WAS the
middleweight division in the 1980's. He turned back all challengers
including his demolition of Tommy Hearns. Only his disputed loss to Sugar
Ray Leonard kept him from being rated higher.
NUMBER EIGHT - EVANDER HOLYFIELD - 190 - Talk about cleaning out
the division. Vander beat his chief rival Dwight Muhammad Qawi to win a
portion of the title. Then he made an exclamation point by stopping Qawi
in a rematch. Then he he defeated Carlos DeLeon and Rickey Parkey to unify
the titles before invading the heavyweight division.
NUMBER SEVEN - VINCENTE SALDIVAR - 126 - This magnificent little
southpaw ruled the featherweight division for most of the 1960's. When he
ran out of competition he retired. He then came back and promptly regained
his lost laurels.
NUMBER SIX - RICARDO LOPEZ - 105 - He very may well be the best
little man who ever laced on the gloves. It is too bad that a lot of fans
didn't get to see him in action. He was a complete fighter who
was...unbeatable.
NUMBER FIVE - WILFREDO GOMEZ - 122 - The junior featherweight
division is truly a bastard weight class with only four pounds separating
it from bantamweight and featherweight divisions. Nevertheless Gomez was
the division's first star and to this day its brightest. He owned that
weight class and its challengers.
NUMBER FOUR - CARLOS MONZON - 160 - King Carlos ruled the
middleweight division throughout most of the 1970's. He met and turned
back some serious opposition in Emile Griffith, Bennie Briscoe, Jose
Napoles and Rodrigo Valdez. He was the best middleweight I have seen since
I started following the sport.
NUMBER THREE - BOB FOSTER - 175 - Pound for pound he gets my vote
as the most devastating puncher I've seen in my time. When someone says
that a boxer could " take somebodys head off ", they may have been
describing Foster. His power was in a word, scary ! Many of his
challengers tasted the power.
NUMBER TWO - ALEXIS ARGUELLO - 130 - He may arguably be the best
junior lightweight of all time. He so dominated this division that four
men he defeated while champion claimed the crown after he relinquished it.
Bobby Chacon, Rafael Limon, Boza Edwards and Rolando Navarette all lost
the " Explosive Thin Man. "
NUMBER ONE - ROBERTO DURAN - 135 - To me this was a no brainer.
Roberto won the title from an excellent champion in Ken Buchanan. From
there he literally ruled the division with an iron fist. His only loss at
lightweight was to a tremendous little fighting machine named Esteban De
Jesus. Duran would twice halt De Jesus in championship rematches. I truly
feel that if Duran had not been around, De Jesus would be in the Hall Of
Fame today. Roberto was so dominant that all you had to say was DURAN, and
boxing fans knew who you were talking about. Yes, he was that good !
Jim Amato
ERBITO SALAVARRIA : THE PHILIPPINES FORGOTTEN CHAMPION
The Philippines have been
getting a lot of boxing press lately through the success of favorite son
Manny Pacquiao and deservedly so. The Philippines have produced many
great fighters like Flash Elorde and Ceferino Garcia. One such fine
fighter and former two time world champion from the Philippines has been
largely forgotten through the passages of time. His name was Erbito
Salavarria.
Salavarria turned professional in 1963 and won seventeen of his first
twenty bouts. In 1966 he lost a decision to Ric Magrano for the
Philippine flyweight title. Salavarria and Magrano would split a four
fight series with the Philippine crown on the line each time. In 1967
Erbito made his first journey away from the Philippines and lost to
Tsuyoshi Nakamura in Tokyo for the Orient - Pacific flyweight title. In
1969 Salavarria would stop Nakamura in a rematch to win that crown.
In 1970 Salavarria won an upset ten round non title decision over
reigning WBA flyweight titleholder Berkrerk Chartvanchai. The victory
earned Erbito a title shot against WBC flyweight champion Chartchai
Chionoi. Salavarria shocked the boxing world as he flattened the great
Chionoi in the second round. In 1971 Salavarria defended against Susumu
Hanagata ( W-15 ) and Venezuela's Betulio Gonzalez ( D-15 ). He also
lost a non title verdict to Lorenzo " Halimi " Gutierrez. In 1973 he
lost his title to the fabulous Thai southpaw Venice Borkhorsor.
Salavarria stayed in contention winning four of five fights losing only
to Panama's Alfonso Lopez. In 1975 Salvarria won the WBA version of the
flyweight title with a decision over old rival Hanagata. He then
defeated Hanagata in a title defense. In 1976 Erbito again met Panama's
Lopez who stripped Salavarria of the title via a fifteenth round
stoppage. Erbito would have one more contest being halted by former
light flyweight king Netmoi Sor Vorasingh.
Salavarria ended his career with 54 fights, 40 of which he won. He lost
eleven and drew three times. He was a major player in the flyweight
division through most of the 1970's.
Jim Amato
"King Of The Canebrakes"
YOUNG STRIBLING: MAGIC, CHARISMA, AND TRAGEDY
When you talk about Young Stribling, one can envy the career of this very unique boxer of the early twentieth century - 256 wins and 128 by knockout, which was a record until Archie Moore broke it many years after. Considering that Stribling was a boxer that didn't possess the "killer instinct" it is even more of a surprise that his KO mark was so much, especially as a light heavyweight who fought many heavyweights that outweighed him by more than thirty pounds!
Stribling on cover of Ring Magazine November 1928
A boxer like Stribling could not exist today - the industry and economics of sport are different and remember it was a depression era. The fighters had to fight, and Stribling, a gentlemen from Georgia, possessed many skills that many of his opponents could not match. Also Stribling modeled the sport that entails clean living and commitment, and brought boxing to a higher level as he grew and toured the United States in the mid to late 1920's.
Starting professionally as a bantamweight at 16, Stribling lost his sixth bout but was more victorious in his first 4 years, compiling a record of 111 -8 -14!
Stribling came into his own with his famous battle with Mike McTigue in New Jersey on March 31st, 1924. According to newspaper reports Stribling dominated the match and knocked down McTigue in the 10th Round.
More and more of the public demanded to see Stribling in action and in 1925 he was most active, touring the USA and modeling skills that would lead to bigger and better paydays. By the end of 1926, Stribling's career had earned him over a million dollars, a high standard for its time.
There were more challenges to come. A win over Maxie Rosenbloom in 1927 and a loss to top light heavyweight Tommy Loughran at Ebbetts Field two months later was as close as Stribling came to a title, however both did not have the crown in possession at the time.
. . . again in November 1930.
Stribling disliked promoters and didn't adhere to the politics of the sport - so titles, it seemed, did not mean much to him. He had offers from others outside of the industry, but kept his squeaky clean image by staying with his roots in Macon, Georgia.
CRACK AT THE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
In 1931, Max Schmeling was looking for an opponent and picked Stribling to defend his title. In a tremendous bout where both fighters had their moments, Schmeling got the better in the end with a 14th Round KO. It was the only time Stribling was KO'd in over 300 fights. It was also, as Ring Magazine proclaimed, "1931 Fight Of The Year."
The next two years Stribling was busy on the circuit, boxing at venues across the globe. A points loss to popular heavyweight Ernie Schaaf in February '32 and a disputed DQ against Pierre Charles in France (March '33) were the only losses Stribling had in 21 bouts over this period. A September 1933 points win over Maxie Rosenbloom was the last bout in Stribling's fabulous career.
OCTOBER TRAGEDY OUTSIDE THE RING
On October 3, 1933, while riding his motorcycle to see his wife and baby son in the local hospital, Stribling was struck by an oncoming vehicle, severing his left foot and fracturing his pelvis. He was rushed to, ironically, the same hospital as his wife and son where he passed away a short time later.
During his life, Stribling seemed to savor every moment -- in 28 years and over 270 bouts later, Stribling had seen the world and had a family . He also was a small town farm boy who liked to pilot and ride his cars and cycles. He grew physically with the sport he loved.
In a flash, after many of life's obstacles conquered, while riding on a casual moment on a sunny day, it was over.
More on Stribling -
STRIBLING - SCHMELING BOUT 1931
Stribling "A People's Champion" by Bryant
FIGHTERS OF THE 20th Century
FIGHTERS OF THE 20th Century
FIGHTERS OF THE 20th Century
FIGHTERS OF THE 20th Century