Talk about a highly hyped fighter who was completely and ruthlessly exposed. On this day in 1977, 26-year-old “Great White Hope” Duane Bobick, trained by the great Eddie Futch, put his storied 38-0(32) professional record on the line in the face of the fearsome more experienced (and simply much bigger) fighter, period) Ken Norton.

The two heavyweights met in Up-to-date York City at Madison Square Garden, and it was announced before the fight that the winner would sign a contract to fight current heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Norton, 32, with a record of 37-4 (31), was coming off a close, controversial and widely discussed decision loss to Ali – a September 1976 fight in which Ali retained his crown with the aid of all three judges.

Norton, who had a win over Ali and worked with top fighters like George Foreman (lost) and Jerry Quarry (won), proved to be lithe years ahead of Bobick in every way. Bobick, from Minnesota, had a great amateur career, defeating two true champions in Teofilo Stevenson and Larry Holmes. As a professional, however, Bobick was not as exceptional.

That said, before the Norton fight/blowout, Bobick had good wins over Manuel Ramos, Mike Weaver, Scott LeDoux, Bunny Johnson, and Chuck Wepner. However, against the former San Diego Marine, Bobick completely lost his balance, and it showed. In just: 58 seconds.

Throughout his career, Norton had been a fighter who could be caught quickly and taken down with a powerful punch. Kenny was the main puncher that night. Both men came out aggressively, but it was Norton who landed first. A challenging right hand hurt Bobick, his legs were shaking, and Norton was already running for the finish line. Bobick tried to fight back, but Norton punched him over and over, over and over. More rights hit Bobick in the head, then a crushing right hand to the jaw sent Bobick crashing down. Bobick tried to beat the count, but briefly fell flat on his face before getting counted on his feet. There was confusion as the referee initially allowed the fight to continue before realizing his mistake and diving in to stop the proceedings before Norton could land another punch. This was obviously good news for a severely dazed Bobick.

Norton returned, and his brutal KO victory allowed him to at least partially shake off the bad taste left by his controversial loss to Ali. But there was no rematch with Ali for Norton, no fourth fight. Instead, Norton was declared WBC heavyweight champion after a points victory over Jimmy Teenage later that year. Norton then played his part in a heavyweight classic in the form of a losing fight to Holmes.

As for Bobick, he fought for another two years after the Norton blow, winning ten and losing three. After back-to-back KO losses at the hands of John Tate and George Chaplin, Bobick retired with a final record of 48-4(42).

Boxing is all about levels, and on this day in 1977, two heavyweights who were at completely different levels met in a fight that turned out to be tiny and painful.

One of the sport’s truly good guys, former two-time WBA welterweight champion Mark Breland, turns 60 today. One of the greatest American amateur boxers in history – Breland, from Brooklyn, who compiled a remarkable amateur record of 110-1(73), won Olympic gold in 1984 and gold at the 1982 World Championships – the elegant fighter was widely expected to be the next superstar.

Although he had a good career, Breland ultimately suffered a setback, and his loss and draw in the fights with Marlon Starling could have been Breland’s defining fights. After hanging up his gloves in 1997, with a good record of 35-3-1(25), Breland became a trainer – a decent, truthful and caring trainer. We saw that in the work Breland did with Deontay Wilder; Breland was fired for doing the right thing and saving Wilder from further punishment in his second fight with Tyson Fury.

Breland was indeed unceremoniously fired by Wilder for saving his career, if not his life. Always an elegant man, Breland had almost nothing bad to say about Wilder. In a press release a while back, this writer was fortunate to have the affable and incredibly well-spoken Breland for a miniature interview.

Here’s what Breland had to say about the key moments of his ring career:

On his best night in the ring:

“The biggest thing for me is winning the Golden Gloves in 1980. When I was seven years elderly, I went to see Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight, and ever since then, it’s been my dream to fight in Madison Square Garden. When Ali and Frazier came out, a beam of airy followed them all the way to the ring, and that’s what happened to me in the Golden Gloves. I don’t even remember the name of the guy I beat that night.

On two tough fights with Marlon Starling:

“Before the first fight with Starling, I injured my ribs in training and I wanted to pull out – Starling was very good at hitting the body. But I was winning the first fight before I got so tired. In the second fight, the rematch, he was very defensive, but he still threw a lot of punches. I think I had the advantage then, but they called it a draw. It was a bad night for me because I think I won. When the scores were read out, I was like, ‘Wow.’

On Thomas Hearns’ sparring:

“Tommy Hearns is without a doubt the best fighter I’ve ever sparred with. I first sparred when I was 17 and Tommy taught me a lot about the jab and the right hand. When we first sparred I was a little embarrassed by Tommy; later on it was more technical sparring. Tommy was much more experienced than me at that time.”

On the hardest punch that ever broke the camel’s back in a ring, sparring or real fight:

“Aaron Davis was great, he was scratchy, but I was more exhausted than anything (when I was stopped in the ninth round of the war). But I think I would say Davis was the hardest puncher I’ve ever been in a fight. Marlon Starling hit difficult and had that awkward style. But I have to say the hardest puncher I’ve ever been in the ring with was Tommy Hearns. He was a killer puncher.”

On any regrets he may have about his ring career:

“I don’t regret the way my career has turned out. I wouldn’t do anything different because I’ve done everything I set out to do. I’m joyful. I’m joyful that I’m training fighters now. I left the ring at the right time and I’m joyful. I’ve seen what can happen to fighters who fight too long. I’ve done things that no one can take away from me.”

During the linear era, John Henry Lewis was one of the world’s greatest lithe heavyweight champions, dominating the division in the mid-1930s in much the same way that Bob Foster did in the early 1970s.

Like Foster, he defended his title regularly, and like Foster, he stumbled when he came up for the world heavyweight title. Joe Frazier cashed in on Bob in a two-round thrashing, and as we shall see, Lewis was unlucky enough to run into the great Joe Louis, who defeated him in one round.

Lewis grew up in Arizona and, like many black fighters of the era, had to learn his craft the difficult way, fighting in many diminutive arenas in and around Phoenix. One of those diminutive arenas was named after boxing’s most eminent venue, Madison Square Garden.

It took Lewis five years and nearly 50 fights to step foot inside the real Garden in Recent York, and when he did, he lost a 10-round decision to Jimmy Braddock, who was on Skid Row at the time. The following year, Braddock hit the jackpot, as did Lewis.

On October 31, 1935, Lewis defeated Bob Olin to win the world lithe heavyweight title. He then boxed eight times in three months in 10-round non-title fights, losing two of them. That was how champions made money in those days, especially in the unfashionable weight class. They traveled the country for good prizes and generally didn’t care whether they won or lost. Lewis defended his title twice in 1936, and each time he chose British fighters.

A week after winning a 10-round fight with Eddie Simms in St. Louis, Lewis returned to Madison Square Garden in Recent York to face Rochdale’s Jock McAvoy (both men pictured below) for the title. As I mentioned in my article last June, McAvoy had set the boxing world on fire in 1935 when he knocked out Babe Risko in one round in his second American fight, and this title fight was his just reward.

The height difference between the two men is clearly evident in the attached photo and proved to be a major factor on the night, with Lewis using his extra height and reach to do just enough to win most of the rounds by a slim margin. McAvoy was always in the fight, especially in the last few rounds when he knew he had to stop his man, but it wasn’t enough.

Eight months later Lewis arrived in Britain to defend his title against Len Harvey. The Cornishman held British middleweight, lithe heavyweight and heavyweight titles in a glittering professional career that began when he was just 12 and was at the peak of his powers in 1936. He lost the heavyweight title to Jack Petersen in January 1936 and did not fight again.

The fight with Lewis took place at the Empire Pool, Wembley, in front of a packed house of 11,800. Harvey came in at 12st 4lb, three pounds under the championship limit. In the 1930s there was far less concern about fighters coming in just ounces under the weight limit, as there is today. The boxer trained difficult and whatever weight he felt most comfortable at, he fought.

Once again Lewis was simply too good for his British opponent. Titled “Britisher’s Bold and Valiant Bid for the World’s Delicate-Heavyweight Crown” reported that Lewis had to put up a tough fight before he managed to win.

Lewis boxed until 1939, when, as the undefeated lithe heavyweight king, he entered the ring with Joe Louis for the main prize. He lasted only a few minutes, as the Brown Bomber knocked him out with murderous blows. This was John’s last fight. He immediately retired due to eye problems and died in 1974 at the age of just 59.