In a recent article about Alan Richardson, I commented that “he is another of the masters from the 70s who are threatened with forgetting.” I do not know the exact reason why the seventies, considered by so many to be a golden age, produced so many good scruples, which rarely receive a memory today, but I suspect that it may be because so little from what they achieved in the ring is easily accessible in the film.

The BBC and ITV destroyed a significant part of their archive in the early 1980s. It looks like they have preserved many top -shelf competitions that were broadcast on Sports Night with David Coleman the day after duels, but the fight against Karda, which were shown on the stand next Saturday, I undertook that the victim of great purge. That is why it is possible to see Alan Minter versus Kevin Finnegan on YouTube, but you will not find Mark Blush vs Tommy Wright, almost certainly shot and undoubtedly television on the stand. I tremble to think how many scraps with Jimmy Flint, so exhilarating a man to watch, was destroyed, or when it comes to, Jimmy Batten, Vernon Sollas and Gary Davidson.

Nowadays, boxers are spoiling with the number of materials that exist in their competitions. However, this is not for Tim Wood and Phil Martin’s families. Unfortunately, none of these great fighters is still with us because they both died youthful. They were not world, but they both went to the top of the British lithe unit, when he was crowded with very difficult people, including Johnny Frankham, Johnny Wall, Phil Matthews, Pat McCann, Roy John and Rab Affleck. I can’t find material for many attacks that took place between these warriors.

Tim Wood was born and bred in London, but moved to Midlands as a teenager. He joined Keystone ABC based in Kettering, almost as he arrived. After moving to the Leicester club in Belgrave, he became a heavyweight champion of ABA in 1972 by Hammeling Les McGowan from Speke in one round. Then he defeated him again, two months later, in the Olympic trial, but he was not elected to the GB Olympic team, because with a compact 13 stone it was too lithe to face powerful Eastern Europeans and Americans, not to mention the final gold medalist – Cuban Teofilo Stevenson.

After this Snubu, he began a professional and after non -toning in the ninth he suffered three elementary defeats, including a bad knockout at Eddi Neilson. This proves that the Olympic selectors were probably correct and Tim quickly returned to weighty weight.

Phil Martinwho boxed John Conteh in the final of the East Lancashire championships in 1971, he became a professional at the end of 1974 and won 10 of 11, when he was adjusted with Wood to question the British lithe title at the World Sporting Club, in Mayfair, in April 1976. Two competed for a free title, which took place in such a hondon by Chris Finnegan.

At that time, Conteh was the world champion, and neither Wood nor Martin were near the Finnegan or Conteh class. Roy John, a pretender at number one, was to fight Martin for an empty title, but he withdrew with an eye injury, so Wood, who was beaten by John in the eliminator of the title only five months earlier, was lucky.

Wood took the opportunity with both hands, exceeding a man from Manchester in 15 difficult rounds. Tim lost the crown at the beginning of the following year after flattening in one round by Bunny Johnson. It is a pity that it is now largely forgotten. Martin’s memory, however, remains crystal clear, after excellent work, which he then did with the “Champions camp”. But try to find a recording in the ring – it won’t be straightforward.

“You can’t overcome this-ruthless, frosty, dark-haired blows, both respected masters who will give and sacrificed everything to win. This 12-round one has key ingredients to produce the match as a fiery and passionate, like every past showdown all-maxicus.”

He said so Bn Before the Super Bantam Union of Kolids between the ruler of WBC Tijuany Erika Morales and the head of WBO Mexico Marco Antonio Barrera. And how right this description turned out to be when the two proud warriors went to the fingers on 12 brutal, unfettered and electrifying rounds. Even a warmly questioned application could not receive a captivating slaughter that was at the show.

During the accumulation, Moralees claimed that many years earlier he made Barrera aware of the sparring session. “The killer about the child’s face” said it was a slip and he was knocked out “only in Erik’s dreams”. The hostility between the couple was observable before the first bell, without touching the gloves to the last round.

Barrera won a lively opening session, and also took the next Stanza, his combination of left left -wing hook turned out to be particularly effective. The third and four rounds turned out to be peaceful before the storm, because from the fifth it was a war.

While Morales was always more busy, more explosive blows came from his rival. Barrera reacted to the bombing of the rights to excessive rank in the fifth, retreating spectacularly and trembling Erik, which led to a stunning roar of recognition from the boisterous crowd.

Barrera fought in the six and seventh rounds, while the tiring Morales shook the stabs and fixed laws. “El Freible” found himself in trouble on the ropes at eight, and Barrera is bursting with the left hooks in the enemy ribs. Bn He commented: “Like Morales, such a slim man, remained straight, testifies to his incomprehensible strength.”

The uncontrollable cruelty lasted until nine, when two Marco Antonio hooks crashed against the jaw of his opponent. Amazingly, Morales fired with a series of crushing rights that opened the wound on Barrera’s swollen left cheek.

A man from the Mexican capital went through the powerful right left with Morales in 10^th And I had to send many penalties to the last minute of the round, when the counterattack attack caused Erik’s shaking. The bloody and bruised Morales hit with laws and mountains when the rivals mentioned the blows.

Barrera’s inner work was extremely impressive in 11^th But Morales refused to give the land. In the final session, knocking was incorrectly caused when Erik slipped on one knee, throwing a hook. To fix balance, Morales threw himself at Barrera, and the couple went to her until the last bell.

Although Erik turned around The fight on the blows landed (319-299), Fortuna had continuous swings, with both boxers repeatedly marked. The general consensus in the ring was that Barrera did enough to report the verdict. But Morales made a controversial decision.

More on this day articles here

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February 25, 1964, Miami Beach, Florida

From time to time comes the world champion in bulky weight, who scares Bejesus of all. Not only opponents, but the whole world. Charles “Sonny” Poston – like George Foreman and Mike Tyson after him – was one of the gigantic. Built as if it was cut off from concrete, the poston rarely smiled. Instead, Missouri’s former prisoner snarled. And its coronation, although behind schedule, was just as clear as any in the history of boxing. Floyd Patterson was a talented and popular king, but the poston was eliminated in the round. They had a rematch, and the result was – give or sacrifice six seconds – exactly the same. Many experts believed that the fresh master was unbeatable, even if you placed him in a time machine and adapts him to the best of every era. It wasn’t just his power, it was his style. He was more than just a indolent. Poston intelligently persecuted his victim, cutting off the ring and setting traps. When the fight with Muhammad Ali or Cassiusz Clay, who was known, the soul gave the newborn man a chance. In the end he barely survived against the relatively circumscribed Henry Cooper. Clay was installed as 7-1 weaker-a long chance in a race with two ends.

Palpitations

Clay was an wise man. He knew that Poston had all the physical advantages and usually came to fight the 19-release of an extremely confident novice. The pretender’s task was to remove part of this faith before even a blow was hit. Clay appeared at home Listona in the middle of the night and spat out abuse in the speaker. Liston was understandable that he would be furious.

Later, Ali remembered: “The poston jumped his head through the window, cursing, saw us and growled so deeply that it sounded like a roar of a lion:” Hey! Get out of my yard, black bastard! “

Initially, Sonny wanted to break Clay’s head. But this anger slowly dull the mind of the “great ugly bear.”

During the weighing in the morning of struggle, led by the Congress Center in Miami Beach, Clay increased madness. When Poston hit his Hercule frame on the scales, Challenger shouted at him. Even those whose abuse was not for purposes recognized by annoying tactics. Clay spread his mouth wide, stretching his mouth to the maximum capacity, while raising eight fingers to indicate how many bullets the master will last. Liston, never before about the forecast, declared his intention to win on two.

The Kentuckin was so manic in his approach that officials briefly considering dismissal of the fight. Doctor, Alexander Robbins, took Clay’s pulse and discovered that his heart was beating for over 120 minutes.
“It was so, although he was terrified to death,” Robbins said.

Go lubricated lightning

When Battle began, before the disappointing crowd of 8000, Clay was a revelation. Poston Dardał forward, throwing muscular arms at the pretender. But Clay circled around the ring, easily moving away from any danger before she pierced the postman with playful combinations. The predatory master was accustomed to turning the hunt and punish them to surrender, but it was quickly clear that this rival was different. Undoubtedly, after three tempting minutes, Clay fought for a monster and won the opening session.

“The first round was exactly as I planned,” Clay later thought. “I saw my strategy pays off. Poston approaches me like a bull, he throws wild blows … When this round was over, I knew I had him.”

But the poston would improve in the next two verses. He was successful, registering clay to the body and switching to the top. But everyone present sensed that nervousness was turned on. The master, previously not ailments, was bleeding from his nose and near the left eye – macabre souvenirs from the Underdog jumped weapon.

At the end of the fourth, however, Clay’s fortune fell. His majestic dance became clumsy. His eyes, once shiny concentration, blinked chaotically. He did not see, and after the end of the round he begged his coach Angelo Dundee to remove the gloves so that he could prove that “offenses”. There were suggestions that the ointment used to serene the sore arm Listona was on his gloves and was in the eye of the 22-year-old.

Dundee shouted at his charge to fight, collecting him from the stool and throwing back to the fight when the fifth began. Judge Barney Felix, who checked Sonny’s gloves, but found nothing, considered stopping the fight, this was Clay’s confusion.

“I shaken the world”

Cassius survived the crisis, his eyes cleaned up, and closed the next round in promotion. Teenage Clay regained his role as a teacher, showing a more experienced postman how to make fights. The master sensed that his title slipped when the skin around his eyes was bubbling with pain. He was now a desperate man. And when he sat on the stool before the seventh, his corner stopped the fight. Listona’s left arm was numb.

“I was the one who made the decision,” said Jack Nilson, manager of Lawnson. “Sonny was not tired, believe me. He just lost all the feeling in his left hand after hitting his left shoulder at the end of the first round.”

After hearing he won, Clay lost control. He climbed the ropes, a gesture with a gesture, and shouted with its size. Euphoria did not disappear quickly.

Assessment of the greatest performances of Muhammad Ali

After returning to his wardrobe, the fresh king turned to the reporters, distinguishing these – the enormous majority – who predicted the postman, will easily win.

“I am the greatest, I shook the world. I told you that I would do it. What will you say now? He will go in one? He will go for two? Well, I take him so much that I put him in the hospital and looked at Cassius – I’m still pretty.

“I burned more energy, thanks to which it is intriguing in brew this morning than I used to beat this huge, ugly bear.
“Oh, I’m great,” he continued, looking at the ceiling. “And no,” he frowned, “call it to be corrected. If he wants a rematch, he may have it.”

The story of Muhammad Ali, Sonny Poston and Phantom Punch