Enigmajones wrote:

Shame that Jerry Cooney isn't listed, he's my cousins uncle.

I didn't spell his name the same as you did, but are you saying you're related to this Gerry Cooney that boxed in the 70s and 80s?



If so, that's cool!  He definitely fought some tough dudes back in the day (including 4 IBHOF members)!  If not, which Jerry Cooney were you referring to?  Definitely curious!
 

Last edited by Stickman (1/21/2022 6:12 pm)

@Enigmajones, I understand.  I'm sorry about hear about your cousin's father!  

Also, I just wanted to update everyone on the current status of the project.  It took me a few days, but I have a ranking chart I found for all the boxers, (it's nothing special, used BoxRec's rating list to determine the rankings).  It's not prefect, (which I'll go over in the next post) but I think it's pretty solid overall, and it helped me with determining the fight orders on the fight cards, which was the main purpose of it anyway.

Speaking of which, I'm working on the fight cards for Round 1 currently, throwing a few images together.   These won't be anything too crazy, (I determined long ago that any graphics I put together will be pretty simple) but I at least wanted to throw something decent together for you all, so hopefully my next post will be in the next day or two! 

Thanks for your patience in the meantime!

In the Middleweight, I'm rooting for Dempsey simply because I love the song that Scythian wrote about him.

I predict a St. Cloud Cyclone beats a regular Cyclone.

All-Time Boxing Classic 1

The energy at Estadio Azteca was electric, as excited fans were already cheering loudly in anticipation for the first All-Time Boxing Classic fight card!   Boxing Promoter Stickman briefly engaged the crowd, thanking them for coming, and hyped them up by asking if they were ready (a redundant question, really).  

Frank Klaus vs Jack "The Nonpareil" Dempsey
This fight was all Dempsey for the first two and a half rounds, as he pounded away at Klaus, who took quite a few heavy shots early, even getting cut on the lip in the very first round.  However, late in the third round, Klaus hit a vicious right cross that stunned Dempsey and put an immediate stop to his momentum, and seemingly getting Klaus ready to start his own bit of momentum.  Unfortunately, other than Round 6 (which Klaus easily outscored Dempsey in) the mid rounds were very boring, as both fighters were tentative and clinched a lot, making the match at times look more like a wrestling contest.   The crowd let them have them have it too, certainly causing Boxing Promoter Stickman to sweat in fear of losing the crowd in the very fight ever ABC fight.   Thankfully, the final four rounds were far more exciting.  After Klaus again easily won Round 9, Dempsey apparently got a second wind and started dominating Round 10... only to have a point deducted for a low blow (Dempsey had already drew the referee's ire by hitting while the ref was breaking them up at one point).  While Jack would finish the round strong, even rocking Klaus again with a big overhead right, the foul would be costly.  Round 11 was an exciting back and forth affair that Dempsey edged, and in the final round, Klaus finally returned to form, outboxing Dempsey to keep the fight close.   The 3 judged made their decision on scored the bout: 114-114, 114-113, and 114-113 for the winner......... Frank Klaus!   Dempsey's point deduction in Round 10 would indeed screw him over royally and Frank Klaus, looking to be wholly dominated early on, made a nice comeback in what was admittedly at times a terrible fight.

"Terrible" Terry Norris vs. Rocky "The Rock" Graziano
Graziano's approach to this fight was simple.  Ignore defense and just try to rip Terrible Terry's head off.   Norris, displaying a much more complete fighting approach, simply dominated this fight from the get go.   Being patient enough to wait until Graziano got reckless, Norris peppered Rocky all throughout the match, outlanding his opponent in strike by rates of 20-6 (Round 1), 27-6 (Round 3) and 20-2 (Round 4).   Terry was also landing plenty of good body shots and leaving Graziano with a horribly swollen right eye from so many clean shots (he also took a low blow from Norris that likely made him rethink having kids in the future).   It was so bad that the referee looked VERY close to stopping the fight late in Round 5.   During the break between rounds, Graziano's corner, knowing the end was near, gave Rocky the pep talk of his life, with his coach imploring that he fall on his sword and give it everything he had.  The message was clearly received, as coming out with new life, Graziano finally got some offense going after literally winging a vicious hook with his eyes closed.   Apparently punching blind was the trick, as he absolutely BLASTED Norris, sending sweat flying everywhere.  After another cross that seemed to rock Norris, Graziano threw a heated liver shot that sent Norris to the mat.  The crowd, absolutely shocked by the sudden turn of events, let out a fierce roar that shook the stadium!   The referee counted to ten, (Norris never come close to getting up in time) and Rocky Graziano had just pulled off a stunning miracle from nowhere that seemed fit for a Hollywood movie!   The audience was so loud, (clearly forgiving the ABC after the bad Klaus/Dempsey fight) that the ring announcer could barely be heard as he called out the results.  Boxing Promoter Stickman later commented that this was the point where he knew the ABC was gonna make it and that he wouldn't go broke after all!

Nino Benvenuti vs Julian "The Hawk" Jackson
Difficult as it may be to top the Graziano-Norris, Nino Benvenuti and Julian Jackson did everything in their power to top that with a classic of their own.  In Round 1, Julian "The Hawk" Jackson burst out the gate and landed heavy blows to Benvenuti, stunning him badly multiple times, (at one point, Nino's eye rolled back in his head!), yet the Italian wouldn't go down.  Round 2 didn't start out much better, as Jackson again landed heavy blows to Benvenuti, leading the broadcast team to wonder aloud how strong Nino's chin had to be to survive such an onslaught.  Rather than fade away, Nino got it together, and actually managed to slow things down and land some punches of his to keep the round close.  In Round 3, again, Jackson landed strong blows.   However this time, Benvenuti landed his first key blow, a sharp inside uppercase that opened a bad cut by Julian's left eye.   While this didn't stop Jackson immediately (he nearly sent Nino to the mat later that round with nearly fatal right cross), this would be the long term turning point in the fight. In Round 4, it was Benvenuti's turn to turn up the heat as he landed powerful blows that rocked Jackson and allowed him to outscore "The Hawk" 19-2 in strikes.   Jackson returned to form in Round 5 (dominating after a vicious body blow), but Nino would dominate him in Round 6.   It would be the most one sided round of the night, with Benvenuti outpointing Jackson 28-0, (yes you read that right, Jackson didn't get a single significant strike in that round)!  However, Nino seemed to wear out from the output, as after a very boring Round 7, (Round 9 wasn't great either) he once again felt victim to Julian's notoriously powerful strikes in Rounds 8 and 10 and seemed ready to collapse at last. However, by Round 11, Jackson was spent, having also dug deep and having used up all of his energy trying to knock Benvenuti out.  Nonetheless, both fighters, exhausted beyond belief, gave everything they had left trying to finish the fight.  After Julian threw a poweful body cross that clearly hurt, Benvenuti threw a right cross with great might.   Jackson, who's left eye was so damaged that he couldn't see the punch clearly, took the punch full force, staggered..... and fell face first to the mat!   Despite his best struggles, Julian couldn't get up in time and Nino Benvenuti had weathered the storm to come out victorious!   The crowd loved every moment of this epic back and forth battle.  Jackson, though the loss was a heartbreaker, came out looking like a real threat at Middleweight.   But Benvenuti was now looking like a real contender to win the Middleweight portion of the ABC (and the announcers were plenty quick to hype the possibility up!)

Gene "Cyclone" Fullmer vs Mike "St. Paul Cyclone" O'Dowd
Next up was "The Battle of the Cyclones".  After two exciting fights, this one started a bit more sluggishly, as Mike O'Dowd, known for his excellent boxing defense, had difficulty trying to figure out Gene Fullmer's awkward fight style.  Most of the first four rounds were relatively tame compared to the earlier fights (though O'Dowd threw a beauty of a right hand in Round 3 that blew sweat off Fullmer's face like trees in.... well, a cyclone).   Not helping matters was Mario Yamori, the referee, who seemed to spend lot of time nagging the fighters to watch minor offenses (even calling a foul on O'Dowd for a headbutt that everyone else in the building clearly could tell was accidental).  However, in Round 5, Fullmer, correctly sensing that he was behind on the scorecards, suddenly came alive like a tornado, wailing O'Dowd with thunderous punches that rocked him multiple times.  O'Dowd would weather that storm, however, and would dominate three of the next four rounds, landing flurries of strikes that hurt Fullmer and prevented him from gaining momentum.  However, by Round 9's end, O'Dowd was sucking wind, having spent nearly all his energy trying to end the fight.  Gene would capitalize by winning the last three rounds pretty easily and again rocked Mike during the tenth round.   Unfortunately, he too would run out of steam, and the fight would end undramatically, as both guys were so tired that a light breeze could have knocked either over.  The judges made their decision and this time, the scores weren't unanimous.  They scored the bout, 116-114 for O'Dowd, 115-113 for Fullmer, and with a 10-10 Round 12 score (because neither fight really did anything that round) the third judge scored the fight 115-114 for..... Mike O'Dowd, who was too exhausted to even celebrate much.  He is the first fighter to have won a big "upset" of sorts, (if upset can be a thing with all ABC fighters being Hall of Famers) having been the #36 ranked Middleweight going into this matchup against the #9 ranked Gene Fullmer.  Not a very eventful fight, (though at least still more entertaining than the weather channel)!

Carlos "Escopeta" Monzon vs James "Lights Out" Toney
While on paper, this should have been a blowout, with Monzon being the #1 ranked Middleweight and Toney only #33 ranked, this ended up being highly competitive, especially early on.  In Rounds 1 and 4, they ended up with the same amount of strikes, (and therefore should both have gotten 10-10 scores from the judges, which they did).  The story early on was Monzon hitting Toney with more power.  An uneventful second round caused the crowd to quickly throws some boos and the fighters' definitely got the message in Round 3.   Both men threw absolute bombs at each other, with Toney landing huge shots on Monzon multiple times.   However, Monzon also landed major shots, first a neat short hook that landed squarely on Toney's midsection, then a fierce head shot combination that sent James to the mat!   Toney would get up quickly after just a 1 count, but definitely was hurt.  Luckily for him, the bell rang immediately afterwards and he was saved from more punishment.  However, the knockout definitely appeared to affect Lights Out, since his strategy changed to a more pitter patter and clinch approach, designed to prevent Monzon from landing big shots while not offering any of his own.   This worked well in the mid rounds (aside from Round 6).  In Round 8, Toney, perhaps getting confident that he was out of danger, suddenly abandoned the safe plan and started throwing heavy shots again.   Surprised, Monzon took a few heavy shots and definitely got rocked, but Toney's new gameplan allowed Escopeta (Spanish for shotgun) the chance to reload and start firing his own shots, stunning Toney again with a vicious cross.  That lead to another momentum change as Monzon eaily won that round and the next 3 rounds as well.   However, he surprisingly had also changed his approach starting Round 9 and starting to fight to just win, rather than go for a knockout as he had been.   This was a good call, as it was widely believed that before this run of momentum, Toney had briefly taken the lead in the scorecards.  By the end of Round 11, it was believed that Monzon's more conservative approach had given him back the lead.  Before Round 12, Toney's corner (perhaps attempting to energize James the same way Rocky Graziano's corner had before his big knockout win) gave him a passionate motivational speak about leaving everything in the ring.   Receptive, Toney went all out with huge shots to the body.... and they were landing!  Monzon, reeling from the blows, had to start clitching with Toney to avoid having his lights turned out.   While not aesthetically pleasings to watch, it was effective, and Monzon was able to survive the final round with Toney being unable to get space to work with.   The judges rendered their verdict, with scores of 115-114, 116-113, and 116-114, all for Carlos Monzon by unanimous decision.   A very interesting fight, as both fighters, having both started out trying to get a quick knockout, had to adjust their strategies during the fight out of respect for each other's skills.  

Julio "J.C." Cesar Chavez vs. Lew Tendler
Finally, the main event had arrived!  As expected, Chavez, a hero in Mexico, received a massive ovation upon his arrival to the ring, no doubt expecting him to deliver in this main event a night to remember.  After referee Mario Yamori gave his directives, the fight would begin.   Within fifteen seconds, Yamori had already admonished Chavez for holding and hitting Tendler, which angered the crowd (and announcers).   Perhaps also angry at the scolding, J.C. came out with a fire in his eyes and started to dominate, rocking Tendler early and often.   If Lew had any sort of advantage being a southpaw, it never showed, as he quickly fell in the scorecards after two rounds.  However, Tendler was no slouch, as in addition to showing off his chin, he managed to score a tie in strikes in Round 3 (earning him and Julio a neat little 10-10 round).   However, for most of the fight, that'd be the only round he came close to winning.   Chavez's brute force style was proving to be overwhelming, as he continue to out-strike Tendler easily in each round, and was landing heavy blows while doing so.   By Round 5, the announcers expressed amazement that Tendler was even still standing, let alone still fighting competitively.  Round 6 started no better, as Chavez landed a crushing right to Tendler's jaw, leaving him wobbled.   Unfortunately for J.C., his next blow, intended for the liver, landed squarely on Lew's protective cup!   Yamori was ticked and removed a point from Chavez in a round he not only was dominating, but at a moment where the fight could have been finished.   The time Tendler was given to recover proved enough as he seemed recovered enough to not get knocked down.   In Round 7, it was Tendler's turn to punch below the belt.   As it was his first penalty, no point was deducted, though hewas warned.  However, Lew didn't fight any cleaner in Round 8, he got caught blatantly trying a rabbit punch (a punch to the back of the head, very dangerous as the spinal cord could get irreversibly damaged if struck wrong), yet no point was deducted.   Despite more heavy strikes by Chavez, Tendler finally managed to outstrike Chavez in this round and now seemed to be building momentum.   Round 9 would be a critical one for both fighters, as Chavez had build a large points lead to this point and merely needed to survive at this point, while Tendler was needing to keep his grove up (and also likely needing a knockout at this point to win).  It started well for Tendler, as he as finally starting to figure out how to avoid Chavez's striking and he would build and early strike difference lead.  But a minute in, Julio would land a gigantic shot to the head, turning the tables immediately and would start to pound away at the stunned Tendler!   Lew was forced to wrap his arms around Chavez to ry and slow him down.  But then, what happened next, nobody would have ever predicted.  In the clinch, Chavez headbutted Tendler, (unclear as to if it was intentional or not).  Mario Yamori immediately stepped in, decided the headbutt was indeed intentional, and rather than take another point off, disqualified Chavez from the fight!   The crowd, stunned to silence for just a moment, erupted with boos so loud, the stadium was rocking.  The announcers, while not defending Julio's tactics by any means, ripped at Yamori for the disqualification when Tendler hadn't yet even had points deducted for committing nearly the same amount of fouls!   Yamori and poor Lew Tendler (dirty fighting or not, the DQ wasn't his call) would have to be escorted away by security with the crowd throwing trash at them and seemingly being ready to riot.   A disastrous result to what had been a very good night of fighting and and the controversial DQ would be the most talked about moment in sports for weeks.   

Hoped everyone enjoyed the show, it certainly didn't end the way I expected to by any means (seriously, my jaw almost literally dropped at the end of Chavez-Tendler, I couldn't believe it ended that way).  C + C always welcomed, did you guys enjoy the fight breakdowns?  Any advice on what to do differently?   Let me know and I'll catch you all next as we get ready to talk about the next fight card, All-Time Boxing Classic 2!