ON SATURDAY, July 26, 1890, a challenge appeared in The Times Sports life “Harry Peter, of Islington, says he is surprised that Joe Caly is challenging him a third time, as he has already beaten him twice, once with raw-‘uns and once with two-ounce gloves. Peter will, however, have the great pleasure of meeting Caly at the Crooked Billet, Ponders End, to sign the papers for the match.”

This shows not only how matches were played in those days, when the sports press announced challenges daily and dates were arranged for matches in public houses, but also that professional boxers simultaneously fought fights with bare knuckles, according to the elderly rules, and with gloves, according to the Marquess of Queensberry’s rules.

Contemporary readers will be surprised by the utilize of two-ounce gloves. At that time, boxers often agreed to fight each other in “miniature gloves” weighing two ounces or “normal gloves” weighing four ounces. For the next 20 years, until the outbreak of World War I, four-disposable gloves were most commonly used.

The gloves would have been stuffed with horsehair and would have been deadly if they had protected the hands of a huge boxer. Even for miniature men who didn’t punch as tough, the cumulative effect of hundreds of punches in 15, often 20-round bouts was very damaging and contributed greatly to the numerous cases of punch-drunkness to which so many boxers of that era fell victim.

Before the Board and its rules and regulations came into being, negotiations as to the size of the gloves to be used were a matter for the boxers and their camps. I recently wrote about the great fight between Freddie Welsh and Jim Driscoll, which took place in Cardiff in 1910.

The articles of agreement for the match stated that the fight would be contested at 9st 6lbs, the boxers compromised with Welsh preferring 9st 7lbs and Driscoll 9st 5lbs. The argument over the gloves was more heated, the pair eventually agreeing to five ounces, after Welsh, who wanted four-ounce gloves, and Driscoll, who preferred a six-ounce pair, eventually compromised again.

In 1929, when the Council published its first rules, Rule 30 stated that matches would be held under the rules of the elderly National Sporting Club, and that boxers must fight in gloves “of at least six ounces each.” Therefore, boxers could agree to wear a heavier pair, without, it seems, restriction, but four-ounce gloves were prohibited.

At the inquest into Louis Hood, who died in 1916 during a fight with future British featherweight champion Charlie Hardcastle, Peggy Bettinson, general manager of the National Sporting Club, testified that the gloves used in the fatal duel weighed six ounces, “which is the usual weight in contests of all kinds, unless the competitors are very miniature, in which case they may be lighter.”

In 1916 it was very common for professional boxers to be vigorous at the age of 13 or 14, and it was these boys who were allowed to utilize miniature gloves. It also seems likely that some flyweight competitions were still allowed to utilize four-ounce gloves at this time.

In 1952 BN article, 1930s veteran Frank Moody recalled that when he fought Larry Gains in 1923, both men agreed to wear eight-ounce gloves because Larry’s hands would not fit into a smaller pair. Despite this, all of Larry’s essential fights in the 1930s were fought in six-ounce gloves.

Eight-ounce gloves became the standard for all men in the welterweight and above only in the 1970s. I have talked to many old-timers from the 1960s and 1970s who remember using six-ounce horsehair gloves. Today, eight-ounce gloves are used in all competitions below welterweight, and ten-ounce gloves in those above. Hopefully, this will make the game safer and less damaging.

Mike Weaver, one of the more underrated heavyweight champions, one of the so-called “lost generation” of heavyweights who held the world title on a rotating basis in the 1980s, contributed a lot to his weight class. Nicknamed “Hercules” for his ripped physique, Weaver served in Vietnam, and it was in the Marines that Weaver began boxing.

Weaver crushed the Marine Corps Heavyweight Champion, and it was all because the two men had an argument over a song on a jukebox, and everyone was telling Weaver how he should be a fighter. Weaver didn’t even know he had beaten the Marine Corps champion! After a fairly brief amateur career, Weaver turned professional in September 1972 at the age of 21.

After some early setbacks, including three losses in his first four fights, two by stoppage, Weaver began to, in his own words, “take boxing seriously.” Additional losses, including a pair of losses at the hands of the Bobick brothers, Duane and Rodney, followed before Weaver could get into his groove and become a contender, but by 1978 Weaver—with a record of 15-8(9)—was well on his way to becoming the unexpected world champion.

An October 1978 KO win over Bernardo Mercado sparked some discussion, and Weaver was given a chance to fight WBC heavyweight boss Larry Holmes. That happened in June 1979, and a huge fight ensued, with Weaver, now a nine-year pro, giving Holmes hell before being stopped too slow.

But would Weaver ever become champion? Fans got a dramatic answer in March 1980 when Weaver, trailing on points after 14 rounds in a fight with defending WBA heavyweight champion John Tate, sensationally turned Tate’s world upside down with a close-range left hook to the jaw that landed on Tate’s jaw with just: 45 clicks left on the clock.

Weaver’s reign would be quite short-lived, with his title controversially stripped from him by an itchy trigger finger from the referee who was working Weaver’s fight with Mike Dokes in December 1982.

Weaver, making his third defense, was caught early and taken to the ground, but he still got up and fought on the ropes, but Joey Curtis dove in and stopped the fight. It ended at 1:03. Thus, Weaver’s title reign began with a KO that came desperately slow in the fight and ended with a TKO that came prematurely, in a flash, early in the fight. Weaver got a rematch with Dokes – a fight that had taken place 40 years ago – but was again denied, this time by a highly controversial 15-round draw that allowed Dokes to retain the belt.

Here, Weaver kindly recalls some key moments from his ring career:

In its beginnings:

“Vietnam was a gigantic part of my life, and I got into boxing while I was in the service. But I don’t talk about that time, not even with my family. Not always. I was naturally gigantic, 6’1″ and 200 pounds. I got into a fight with another Marine over a fight I wanted to play on the jukebox. I knocked him out, and I found out later he was the Marine boxing champion!”

On the biggest punch he’s ever faced:

“[Bernardo] Mercado was the hardest boxer I ever faced. He knocked me down in our fight and he did it in sparring as well. He hit really challenging.”

On Holmes’ 1979 fight:

“I wasn’t afraid of Holmes. I told everyone I would beat him or at least give him the hardest fight of his life. Everyone just laughed. I pushed him really challenging and even scored a knockdown, but the referee called it a slip. Holmes showed his greatness by stopping me (in the 12th round).”

One of the sensational KO’s over Tate:

“I never took boxing seriously at first. But I was really grave about fighting Tate. I trained the hardest I’ve ever trained for that fight. I knocked him out with 45 seconds left in the 15th round. My team told me, ‘What are you waiting for?’ Go out there and knock him out now or don’t bother going back to that corner. It meant a lot to me to be a world champion. I was just an opponent and no one was really building me up.

On the controversial half-time loss to Dokes and the rematch that followed:

“Dokes never hurt me [in the first fight]. My friends told me that they (Las Vegas officials) would find any reason they could to stop the fight. They told me not to take the fight. After that, after what happened, I never trusted the authority in the sport again. My heart was never in the sport again, although I continued to fight for a long time. In the second fight, I beat Dokes, but I couldn’t beat the system and they called it a draw.”

Weaver retired in slow 2000 after losing a rematch to Holmes (“we were older guys, we just saw what we could do”) – and his record was a more than slightly misleading 41-18-1(28).

https://youtu.be/V3uu3jIhmHM?t=945

Ernie “Indian Red” Lopez

Born: September 23, 1945 at Fort Duchesne, Utah.

He died: October 3, 2009 in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Record: 61 fights, 49 wins (25 by KO/TKO), 11 losses, 1 draw.

I turned professional: June 1963.

Last fight: October 1974.

Weight distribution: Welterweight

Defeat: Armand Lourenco (twice), Pulga Serrano, Al Andrews, Johnny Brooks (three times), Jose Stable*, Tito Marshall, Musashi Nakano, Gabe Terronez, Hedgemon Lewis (twice), Raul Soriano, Chucho Garcia, Manuel Avitia, Ruben Rivera, Peter Cobblah, Manuel Fierro, Oscar Abalardo**, Sal Martinez, Manuel Gonzalez*,

Lost with: Don Minor, Johnny Brooks, Adolph Pruitt*, Raul Soriano, Hedgeman Lewis, Jose Napoles (twice)**, Emile Griffith (twice)**, Armando Muniz*, John H Stracey**.

I drew with:Armand Lourenco

** World Champion title holders

*World Champion Title Contenders

Lopez’s career

-1963/64 He won his first ten fights, then in December 1964 he was defeated on points by Don Minor to win the North American welterweight title.

-1965 It was a 3-0-1 draw with Armand Laouenco and his knockout

-1966 Ten fights and a record of 8-2, 2-1 in fights with Johnny Brooks, defeating Jose Stable and Tito Marshall, but losing to Adolph Pruitt.

-1967 Won all 9 of his fights, defeating Benito Juarez, Johnny Brooks, Musashi Nakano and Doug McLeod.

-1968 Improved to 6-0, defeating Raul Soriano and Gabe Terronez and stopping Hedgemon Lewis (22-0) in nine rounds.

-1969 Score 4-1: Stopped Serrano and defeated Chucho Garcia, then lost on points to Hedgemon Lewis in July and was stopped in the tenth round in October.

-1970 February was knocked down three times and defeated by Jose Napoles in a fight for the WBA and WBC titles. He defeated Manuel Avitia, Ruben Rivera and Cipriano Hernandez.

-1971 Lost by majority decision to Emile Griffith. Wins over Peter Cobblah, Danny Perez, Miguel Fierro and future WBA/WBC welterweight champion Oscar Albarado.

-1972 Lost again in a close decision to Emile Griffith. He scored wins over Sal Martinez, Manuel Gonzalez and Jose Luis Baltazar.

-1973 February was knocked out in the seventh round by Jose Napoles in a rematch for the WBA and WBC titles. It was a solemn knockout, Lopez was out of the fight for about three minutes. Lopez returned in July but was knocked down by Armando Muniz and retired at the end of the seventh round.

-1974 Lopez was stopped by John H. Stracey in seven rounds, with Lopez being cut above both eyes. Lopez retired after the fight with Stracey.

Ernie Lopez’s Life Story

Ernie Lopez was born on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Fort Duchesne, Utah. His mother was a Ute Indian and his father was from another Native American tribe, and Lopez was the third of their eight children.

His father taught him how to box, and he began boxing in high school. He and his older brothers, Leonard and Danny “Little Red” Lopez, moved to California and boxed on a YMCA team there.

Brother Danny won the WBC featherweight title. The nickname Indian Red came from Lopez’s red hair and Indian heritage. He was 21-1-1 in his first 23 fights, but then suffered back-to-back losses to Johnny Brooks and Adolph Pruitt.

He rebuilt himself, winning 10 of his next 11 fights, losing only to Raul Soriano, before crushing and stopping Hedgemon Lewis (22-0) in July 1968. He defeated Soriano in a rematch, but then lost on points to Lewis in July 1969, but regained form in October and stopped Lewis again.

This gave him a shot at the WBA and WBC welterweight titles. Unfortunately, the great Jose Napoles knocked Lopez down in the first, ninth and again in the fifteenth round, and the fight was stopped with twenty-two seconds remaining.

He bounced back, winning ten of his next twelve fights, with two of his losses coming to Emile Griffith – the first by majority decision, the second by unanimous decision, but by the narrowest of margins.

Two wins later that year earned him a comeback fight with Napoles in February 1973 in a fight that changed his life. Lopez was reportedly ahead after six rounds, and Napoles cut his eye and the bridge of his nose.

In the seventh round, Napoles exploded with a devastating punch that knocked Lopez down and left him unconscious for three minutes. The loss crushed Lopez’s spirit, and marital problems sent Lopez into a downward spiral.

He fought twice more, but lost both fights by distance. Then he slowly drifted away from his friends and family, who would appear unexpectedly from time to time, before losing contact with them for twelve years. He wandered from city to city and state to state, and was eventually reported missing.

When talk of Lopez being inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame began in 2004, his ex-wife and children decided to determine once and for all whether he was still alive.

He was eventually tracked down by Social Security number at the Presbyterian Night Shelter in Texas. Lopez’s former promoter and Californian Boxing Hall of Fame president Don Fraser arranged for Lopez to fly to Los Angeles, where he met his family, including 23 grandchildren. Lopez was inducted into the Californian Boxing Hall of Fame and died on October 3, 2009, at the age of 64.