FEBRUARY 11TH

[RASTA666]

Today in 1949 Willie Pep regains the World Featherweight Championship with a 15 round unanimous decision over Sandy Saddler.

Also on this day in 1990 the impossible took place. The largest upset in boxing history.
Buster Douglas ko's Mike Tyson for the Undisputed Heavyweight championship of the world.

[scappoosejohn]

Also on this day in 1990 the impossible took place. The largest upset in boxing history.
Buster Douglas ko's Mike Tyson for the Undisputed Heavyweight championship of the world.

Here is a little more on the subject from thesweetscience.com:

On this day in 1990, James “Buster” Douglas won the undisputed heavyweight title with a 10th-round knockout of Mike Tyson in Tokyo, Japan. It was, and may always be, the biggest upset in boxing history.

Tyson had won the WBC portion of the title in 1986, with a second-round stoppage of Trevor Berbick. He then dominated the heavyweight division in a manner that only a few fighters ever have. Tyson unified the championship and defended his belts nine times, cleaning out the heavyweight ranks in the process. The only logical contender left for Tyson was Evander Holyfield, and a match was in the works for the fall of 1990. In the meantime, Tyson chose to travel to Japan for what he thought would be any easy payday against Douglas.

Considered an underachiever by the boxing community, the physically-blessed Douglas had challenged Tony Tucker for the vacant IBF Heavyweight title in 1987, and given a good showing before tiring and being stopped in the 10th round. Following that loss, he reeled of six straight wins, including back-to-back decisions over Berbick and Oliver McCall, and earned a shot at a Tyson.

Saying that Douglas was not given much of a chance is an understatement. He was 40-1 underdog coming into the bout. However, Douglas showed up in shape and unfazed by Tyson’s presence. From the opening bell, he used his tremendous size and reach to jab Tyson at will and keep him at bay. By the middle rounds, Tyson eyes were swelling.

Late in the eighth round, Tyson finally landed one his blockbuster bombs, an uppercut that sent his opponent to the canvas. Douglas made it up before the ten-count and the round ended before Tyson was able to inflict any more damage.

In the 10th, it was Douglas’ turn. He nailed Tyson with an uppercut and then sent him to the canvas for the first time in his career with a one-two. Tyson’s mouthpiece flew out in the process. He found it midway through the count and put back in his mouth sideways. The ten-count ended with a dazed Tyson standing with his mouthpiece hanging out. Douglas was the new heavyweight champion. In an interview after the bout, he dedicated the win to his mother, who had died of a stroke shortly before the fight.

Eight months later, an out of shape Douglas was knocked out in the third round by Holyfield. Tyson and Holyfield were then scheduled to fight for the title but that fight was cancelled when Tyson was charged with rape in 1991. He was convicted in 1992. While he returned to the ring upon his release in 1995, won a piece of the heavyweight title, and remained a force in boxing until 2002, the loss to Douglas marked the end of his dominance over the heavyweight division.

[Astor]

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1909-Max Baer Born On This Day

Maximilian Adelbert "Madcap Maxie" Baer (February 11, 1909 – November 21, 1959) was an American boxer of the 1930s, one-time Heavyweight Champion of the World, actor, entertainer, professional wrestler and referee.

One of the most colorful figures of his day, Baer enjoyed life in the limelight, often at the expense of his training. He was the brother of two-time World Champion boxing contender Buddy Baer and father of actor Max Baer, Jr., known to two generations as Jethro Bodine of the Beverly Hillbillies.

Fun-loving, entertaining, hard-hitting, and charismatic, Max Baer was the fighter most responsible for maintaining the public's interest in the heavyweight division during early years of the Great Depression. Realizing that character and image were as important to creating boxing spectacles as was fighting prowess, Baer was a character unlike any other for his time. He substituted his contagious smile and clown-like ring antics for his lack of true boxing technique. Combined with his literally lethal punching power, Baer's personality made him perhaps the most popular boxer in the era between the retirement of Jack Dempsey and the rise of Joe Louis. Unfortunately, because of his uncomplimentary portrayal in the film "Cinderella Man". Baer is wrongly perceived by many as an arrogant, bloodthirsty brat. Those who knew him describe a happy-go-lucky man, always looking for the lighter side of a brutal sport. It was precisely this perspective and behavior that made him so likable for those suffering the miseries of Depression era.

1931-Born On This Day Larry Merchant, author/boxing commentator

Larry Merchant born February 11, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York is an American former sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO Sports presentations of HBO World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, and is considered "the greatest television boxing analyst of all time" by ESPN Boxing analyst Dan Rafael.

In 1978, Merchant joined HBO Sports as an analyst. Prior to joining HBO Sports, Merchant was a well-regarded sports columnist with The Philadelphia Daily News and a general reporter for The New York Post.

The current HBO Boxing team consists of Merchant, Jim Lampley, and Emanuel Steward for championship and pay-per-view fights. Previous lineups have included Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman and Roy Jones Jr., with the latter two having clashed with Merchant. Merchant has also clashed with the unofficial judge Harold Lederman.

Among the fighters who have clashed with Merchant include Mike Tyson, Oscar de la Hoya and, more recently, Floyd Mayweather Jr. The de la Hoya incident came during his fight with Pernell Whitaker. When De la Hoya entered to the ring to Mariachi music, Merchant stated that while he loved Mariachi music, he felt that it "stunk" in this particular situation. Merchant would later apologize on the air after De La Hoya tried to have him removed from HBO.

Merchant is well known for his post fight interviews which feature his hard hitting, blunt questions and confrontational interview style. These have drawn both praise and ire in the past. Fans have claimed them to be candid and honest while detractors consider them to be purposely agitational and insensitive at times. An example of this occurred when Vernon Forrest won a controversial decision in 2006 over Ike Quartey. When Forrest thanked those close to him, Merchant quipped, "Would you also like to thank the judges?".

In 1985, Merchant received the Sam Taub Award for Boxing Broadcast Journalism presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is also the author of three books. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma.

In October 2002, he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles.

[USMILMAN]

Damn Larry is old! And people were pissed they were pushing him out to get Kellerman?

[straycat]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing ... id=4903834

Busting the myths of Tyson-Douglas

By Jeremy Schaap

Tyson-Douglas 20 Years Later

Throughout history, man has struggled to make sense of the world around him, to explain phenomena that are beyond his capacity for understanding. Full eclipses, Halley's comet, plagues, droughts, floods -- you name it -- inspired legends and myths that, at their root, reduced the unfathomable to man's level.



Such has been the case with Buster Douglas' epic victory against Mike Tyson since the fighters met in the ring Feb. 11, 1990, in Tokyo. To account for an upset of that magnitude -- the sports equivalent of an act of God -- a catalogue of myths was created, nurtured and popularized. But now, 20 years after Tyson was counted out, the public needs to be disabused of its misimpressions. The myths must be dispelled.



Myth No. 1: Douglas was a no-talent bum



On the contrary, James "Buster" Douglas was a fighter of immense natural ability who had been undermined throughout his career only by a chronic lack of dedication. His ample gifts included great size (his hands are enormous), a devastating jab, quickness and power. He defeated four men who were heavyweight champions at some point in their careers: Mike Tyson, Trevor Berbick, Oliver McCall and Greg Page.



Fighting Tony Tucker, who at the time was 34-0, for the vacant IBF heavyweight title in 1987, Douglas was winning the fight through nine rounds before Tucker knocked him out in the 10th. In Tucker's next fight, he went the distance in losing to Tyson.




Myth No. 2: Tyson was out of shape



At the time, some experts thought Tyson had trained not too lightly but too hard. Watch the fight. Tyson's muscles are bulging, and there is no fat anywhere on his frame. He weighed in at 220½ pounds -- just 1¼ pounds more than he had weighed seven months earlier when he knocked out Carl Williams in 93 seconds and only two pounds more than he had weighed 20 months earlier when he had knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds. If Tyson had been in poor shape, he could not have lasted 10 rounds against an opponent who was pummeling him. Mentally, there's no question Tyson was unprepared; it was inconceivable to him that Douglas might win. But that's a different issue, and a champion must always expect an inspired challenger.



Myth No. 3: Douglas got lucky



Luck had nothing to do with Douglas' victory. Sometimes a fighter wins a championship with one random punch (see: Oliver McCall versus Lennox Lewis). But Douglas dominated Tyson. He was better offensively and defensively. He threw and landed more punches. His punches packed more wallop. He battered Tyson with his jab. His height and reach advantage kept Tyson frustrated. Tyson didn't land a punch that hurt Douglas until he knocked him down in the eighth round. Douglas also executed a brilliant plan to perfection. From the opening bell, he refused to allow Tyson to intimidate him. He bullied the bully. Strategically, tactically and physically, Douglas outperformed Tyson.



Myth No. 4: Tyson knocked out Douglas first



When Douglas got knocked down at the end of the eighth round, he appeared to be clearheadedly following the referee's count. The count was about two seconds behind the timekeeper's, but that's not very unusual, and Tyson was late retreating to a neutral corner. The fighter's sole responsibility is to beat the referee's count -- which Douglas did with ease, deliberately. When the WBA and WBC -- mostly at the behest of Don King -- attempted to deny Douglas his victory because of the count, public outcry forced them to back down.



Myth No. 5: Evander Holyfield proved Douglas' victory against Tyson was a fluke by knocking him out in three rounds



Holyfield's victory proved only that Douglas had reverted to his former, undisciplined self. If Douglas had trained as diligently to fight Holyfield as he had trained to fight Tyson, he might have won. Instead, after Steve Wynn paid him more than $20 million to fight Holyfield, Douglas stopped caring.



He weighed 15 pounds more against Holyfield than he had against Tyson. In the months leading up to the bout, he spent more time boozing, partying and eating than working out. He turned against the manager and trainers who had helped make his victory against Tyson possible, disempowering them. He had no choice, but he also spent too much time in courtrooms fighting King. Douglas' win in Tokyo was a fluke only in the sense that it was the first and last time he performed up to his ability.



ESPN anchor and national correspondent Jeremy Schaap is a host of "Outside The Lines" and "SportsCentury."

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1916- Sam Langford KO 19 Harry Wills, New Orleans. Wills loses his World 'colored' heavyweight title claim
"Sam Langford knocked out Harry Wills in the 19th round of a scheduled twenty-round go at a local arena last night. Until the knockout blow neither fighter seemed to have the advantage." (Reno Evening Gazette) "Sam finally stopped his rival in the 19th round with a left hook to the jaw. It was the fourth knockdown Wills received." (The Gleaner)

1949- Willie Pep W 15 Sandy Saddler, NYC. Regains World Featherweight Title. Pep wins by scores of 10-5, 9-6, 9-5-1 in this the “Fight of the Year.”

1953- Kid Gavilan KO 10 Chuck Davey, Chicago. Retains World Welterweight Title. The previously undefeated Davey falls to 37-1-2.

1959- Joe "Old Bones" Brown W 15 Johnny Busso, Houston. Retains World Lightweight Title.

1978- Carlos Palomino KO 7 Ryu Sorimachi, Las Vegas. Retains Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine World Welterweight Titles.

1983- Marvelous Marvin Hagler KO 6 Tony Sibson, Worcestor, MA. Retains Lineal, WBA, WBC, and Ring Magazine World Middleweight Titles.

1984- Thomas "Hitman" Hearns W 12 Luigi Minchillo, Detroit. Retains WBC World Super Welterweight Title.

1989- Rene Jacquot W 12 Donald Curry, Grenoble. Wins WBC World Super Welterweight Title. Upset of the Year candidate.

1989- Brian Mitchell KO 8 Salvatore Bottiglieri, Capo D’ Orlando, Italy. Retains WBA World Super Featherweight Title.

1989- Napa Kiatwanchai W 12 John Arief, Korat, Thailand. Retains WBC World Strawweight Title.

1990- James "Buster" Douglas KO 10 Mike Tyson, Tokyo. Wins Lineal, WBA, WBC, and IBF World Heavyweight Titles. Douglas, a 43-1 underdog, scores the greatest upset in sports history.

1995- Henry Maske W 12 Egerton Marcus, Frankfurt, Germany. Retains IBF World Light Heavyweight Title.

1996- Carlos Salazar KO 6 Antonello Melis, Rome. Retains IBF World Junior Bantamweight Title.

1998- Paulie Ayala KO 4 Elias Paulin, Fort Worth, TX. Bantamweight Bout.

2000- Jorge Vaca W 12 Juan Carlos Barreto, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Retains WBC Mundo Hispano Super Lightweight Title.

2000- Manuel Calvo Draw 12 Juan Polo Perez, Barcelona, Cataluna, Spain. Calvo retains TWBA Featherweight Title.

2000- Juan Antonio Aguirre W 12 Wandee Chor Chareon (later known as Wandee Singwancha), Samut Sakhon, Thailand. Wins WBC Worlsd Strawweight Title.

2001- Tito Mendoza W 12 Julio Garcia, Elgin. IL. Retains NABF Middleweight Title.

2001- Ray Mercer KO 7 Jeff Pegues, Elgin, IL. Heavyweight Bout.

2001- Juan Manuel Marquez KO 7 Sen Fletcher, Reno, NV. Super Featherweight Bout.

2002- Ratanachai Sor Vorapin (later known as Ratanachai Singwancha) KO 3 Gun Tinular, Bangkok, Thailand. Wins Vacant WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight Title.

2002- Sod Looknongyangtoy (later known as Sod Kokietgym) W 12 Thomas Mashaba, Bangkok, Thailand. Retains WBO Asia Pacific Junior Featherweight Title.

2005- Gilberto Reyes W 12 Carlos "Bolillo" Gonzalez, Miami, FL. Wins Vacant WBA Fedecentro Welterweight Title.

2005- Javier Osvaldo Alvarez KO 6 Michael Gomez, Manchester, Lancashire, England. Wins WBU Super Featherweight Title.

2005- Stephen Foster KO 10 Livinson Ruiz, Manchester, Lancashire, England. Wins Vacant WBU Featherweight Title.

2005- Jackson Osei Bonsu KO 5 Mikhail Krivolapov, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Wins Vacant International Boxing Council Welterweight Title.

2005- Eric Harding W 12 David Telesco, Uncasville, CT. Wins Vacant USBA Light Heavyweight Title.

2006- Alejandro Valdez W 12 Mauricio Pastrana, Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. Wins Vacant NABF Bantamweight Title.

2006- Marcos Maidana KO 3 Sergio Javier Benitez, Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. Super Lightweight Bout.

2006- Joachim Alcine W 12 Anderson Clayton, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Retains NABA Super Welterweight Title.

2009- Anthony Mundine W 12 Shannan Taylor, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Wins Vacant WBA International Middleweight Title.

2011- Kazuto Ioka KO 5 Oleydong Sithsamerchai, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. Wins WBC World Strawweight Title.

2011- Eddie Chambers W 12 Derric Rossy, Atlantic City, NJ. Wins IBF Heavyweight Title Eliminator.

2011- Rico Ramos W 10 Alejandro Valdez, Atlantic City, NJ. Super Bantamweight Bout.

2011- Donovan George KO 1 Cornelius White, Atlantic City, NJ. Super Middleweight Bout.

2011- Ionut Dan Ion (AKA Jo Jo Dan) Tech. Dec. 6 Steve Forbes, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Welterweight Bout.



Born On This Day

1909- Max Baer (born Maximilian Adelbert Baer in Omaha Nebraska)
American boxer of the 1930s, one-time Heavyweight Champion of the World, actor, entertainer, professional wrestler and referee.
One of the most colorful figures of his day, Baer enjoyed life in the limelight, often at the expense of his training. He was the brother of twice World Champion boxing contender Buddy Baer and father of actor Max Baer, Jr., known to two generations as Jethro Bodine of the Beverly Hillbillies.
He is rated #22 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
Maximilian Adelbert Baer was born on February 11, 1909 in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Jacob Baer (1875–1938), who was Jewish, and Dora Bales (1877–1938), who was of Scots-Irish ancestry. His eldest sister was Frances May Baer (1905–1991), his younger sister was Bernice Jeanette Baer (1911–1987), his younger brother was boxer-turned-actor Jacob Henry Baer, better known as Buddy Baer (1915–1986), and his adopted brother was August "Augie" Baer.
In May 1922, tired of the Durango, Colorado winters, which aggravated Frances's rheumatic fever and Jacob's high blood pressure, the Baers piled into a just-purchased automobile and began the long drive to the milder climes of the West Coast, where Dora's sister lived in Alameda, California, across the Bay from San Francisco. They drove more than 1,000 miles along unpaved roads. Jacob's expertise in the butcher business led to numerous job offers around the San Francisco Bay Area. While living in Hayward, Max took his first job as a delivery boy for John Lee Wilbur. Wilbur ran a grocery store on B Street and bought meat from Jacob.
The Baers lived in the Northern Californian towns of Hayward, San Leandro and Galt. before moving to Livermore in 1926. Livermore was true cowboy country, surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of rolling hills and rangeland which supported large cattle herds that provided fresh meat to the rapidly burgeoning towns nearby. In 1928, Jacob bought the Twin Oaks Ranch in Murray Township where he raised over 2,000 hogs, and which he worked with daughter Frances's husband, Louis Santucci. Baer often credited working as a butcher boy, carrying heavy carcasses of meat, sledge-hammering cattle with one blow, and working at a gravel pit, for developing his powerful shoulders.
Baer turned professional in 1929, progressing steadily through the Pacific Coast ranks. A ring tragedy little more than a year later almost caused Baer to drop out of boxing for good
Baer fought Frankie Campbell (real name Francisco Camilli, whose brother was Brooklyn Dodgers star Dolph Camilli) on August 25, 1930, in San Francisco in a ring built over home plate at San Francisco's Recreation Park to fight for the unofficial title of Pacific Coast champion. In the 2nd round of the fight, Campbell clipped Baer and Baer slipped to the canvas. Campbell went toward his corner and waved to the crowd. He thought Baer was getting the count. Baer got up and flew at Campbell, landing a cheap-shot right at Campbell's turned head which sent him to the canvas.
After the round, Campbell said to his trainer "something feels like it snapped in my head." But Campbell went on to handily win rounds 3 and 4. As Baer rose for the 5th round, Tillie "Kid" Herman, Baer's former friend and trainer, who had switched camps overnight and was now in Campbell's corner, savagely taunted and jeered Baer. In a rage and determined to end the bout with a knockout, Baer soon had Campbell against the ropes. As he hammered him with punch after punch, the ropes were the only thing to hold Campbell up. Tillie Herman, as Campbell's chief second, had the privilege of throwing in the towel, but did not. Referee Toby Irwin seemed oblivious to what was occurring. When Irwin finally stopped the fight, Campbell collapsed to the canvas.
It is reported that Baer's own seconds administered to Campbell, and that Baer was by his side until an ambulance arrived 30 minutes later. Baer "visited the stricken fighter's bedside," where he offered Frankie's wife Ellie the hand that hit her husband. She took that hand and the two stood speechless for a moment. "It was unfortunate, I'm awfully sorry.", said Baer. "It even might have been you, mightn't it?", Ellie replied.
At noon the next day, with a lit candle laced between his crossed fingers, and his wife and mother beside him, Frankie Campbell was pronounced dead. Upon the surgeon's announcement of Campbell's death, Baer broke down and sobbed inconsolably. Brain specialist Dr. Tilton E. Tillman "declared death had been caused by a succession of blows on the jaw and not by any struck on the rear of the head," and that Campbell's brain had been "knocked completely loose from his skull" by Baer's devastating blows.
The Campbell incident earned Max the reputation as a "killer" in the ring. This publicity was further sensationalized by Baer's return bout with Ernie Schaaf, who had bested Baer in a decision during Max's Eastern debut bout at Madison Square Garden on September 19, 1930.
An Associated Press article in the September 9, 1932 Sports section of the New York Times describes the end of the return bout as follows:
"Two seconds before the fight ended Schaaf was knocked flat on his face, completely knocked out. He was dragged to his corner and his seconds worked over for him for three minutes before restoring him to his senses...Baer smashed a heavy right to the jaw that shook Schaaf to his heels, to start the last round, then walked into the Boston fighter, throwing both hands to the head and body. Baer drove three hard rights to the jaw that staggered Schaaf. Baer beat Schaaf around the ring and into the ropes with a savage attack to the head and body. Just before the round ended Baer dropped Schaaf to the canvas, but the bell sounded as Schaaf hit the floor."
Schaaf was never quite the same after that bout. He complained frequently of headaches, and his ring performance was mercurial in succeeding bouts. Five months after the Baer fight, on February 11, 1933, Schaaf died in the ring after taking a left jab from the Italian behemoth Primo Carnera. Carnera was vilified as a "man killer", and two sports writers (Grantland Rice and Jimmy Cannon) claimed that Schaaf had died as a result of damage previously inflicted by Baer.
The majority of sports editors noted, however, that an autopsy later revealed Schaaf had meningitis, a swelling of the brain, and was still recovering from a severe case of influenza when he touched gloves with Carnera. Schaaf's obituary stated that "just before his bout with Carnera, Schaaf went into reclusion in a religious retreat near Boston to recuperate from an attack of influenza" which produced the meningitis.
The death of Campbell and accusations over Schaaf's demise profoundly affected Baer, even though he was ostensibly indestructible and remained a devastating force in the ring. According to his son, actor/director Max Baer Jr. (who was born seven years after the incident):
My father cried about what happened to Frankie Campbell. He had nightmares. In reality, my father was one of the kindest, gentlest men you would ever hope to meet. He treated boxing the way today's professional wrestlers do wrestling: part sport, mostly showmanship. He never deliberately hurt anyone.
In the case of Frankie Campbell, Baer was charged with manslaughter. Baer was eventually acquitted of all charges, but the California State Boxing Commission still banned him from any in-ring activity within the state for the next year. Baer gave purses from succeeding bouts to Campbell's family, but lost four of his next six fights. He fared better when Jack Dempsey took him under his wing.
In June 1933, Baer fought and defeated (by a technical knock out) the German heavyweight Max Schmeling at Yankee Stadium. Baer's trunks displayed an embroidered Star of David, which Baer swore to wear in every bout thereafter. He dominated the rugged fighter from Germany into the tenth round when the referee stopped the match. Because Baer defeated Schmeling, German dictator Adolf Hitler's favorite, and because Baer had a Jewish father, he became popular among Jews, those who identified with Jews, and those who despised the Nazis.
On June 14, 1934, Baer knocked out the massive, 275-pound (125-kg) Primo Carnera, Heavyweight Champion of the World, to win the world title, which he would hold for 364 days.
On June 13, 1935, one of the greatest upsets in boxing history transpired in Long Island City, New York, as Baer fought down-and-out boxer James J. Braddock in the so-called Cinderella Man bout. Baer hardly trained for the bout. Braddock, on the other hand, was training hard. "I'm training for a fight. Not a boxing contest or a clownin' contest or a dance." he said. "Whether it goes one round or three rounds or 10 rounds, it will be a fight and a fight all the way. When you've been through what I've had to face in the last two years, a Max Baer or a Bengal tiger looks like a house pet. He might come at me with a cannon and a blackjack and he would still be a picnic compared to what I've had to face."
Baer, ever the showman "brought gales of laughter from the crowd with his antics" the night he stepped between the ropes to meet Braddock. As Braddock "slipped the blue bathrobe from his pink back, he was the sentimental favorite of a Bowl crowd of 30,000, most of whom had bet their money 8-to-1 against him." Max "undoubtedly paid the penalty for underestimating his challenger beforehand and wasting too much time clowning." At the end of 15 rounds Braddock emerged the victor in a unanimous decision, outpointing Baer 8 rounds to 6 in the "most astounding upset since John L. Sullivan went down before the thrusts of Gentleman Jim Corbett back in the nineties." Braddock took heavy hits from Baer, but kept coming at Baer until he wore Max down. The fight has since become a boxing legend.
Baer and his brother, Buddy, both lost fights to Joe Louis. In the second round of Max's September 1935 match, Joe knocked Baer down to one knee, the first time he had ever been knocked to the canvas in his career. A sizzling left hook in the fourth round brought Max to his knee again, and the referee called the bout soon after.
In the first televised heavyweight prizefight, Baer lost to Lou Nova on June 1, 1939, on WNBT-TV in New York. His last match, in 1941, was another loss to Nova.
Max Baer boxed in 84 professional fights from 1929 to 1941. In all, his record was 71-13-0. 53 of those fights were knockouts, making him a member of the exclusive group of boxers to have won 50 or more bouts by knockout. Baer defeated the likes of Ernie Schaaf, Walter Cobb, Kingfish Levinsky, Max Schmeling, Tony Galento, Ben Foord and Tommy Farr. He was Heavyweight Champion of the World from June 14, 1934 to June 13, 1935.
Baer was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1968, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1984, the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995 and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. The 1998 Holiday Issue of Ring ranked Baer #20 in "The 50 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time." In Ring Magazine's 100 Greatest Punchers (published in 2003), Baer is ranked number 22.
Baer's motion picture debut was in The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) opposite Myrna Loy and Walter Huston. In this MGM movie he played Steven "Steve" Morgan, a bartender that the Professor, played by Huston, begins training for the ring. Steve wins a fight, then marries Belle Mercer, played by Loy. He starts seriously training, but it turns out he has a huge ego and an eye for women. Featured were Baer's upcoming opponent, Primo Carnera, as himself, whom Steve challenges for the championship, and Jack Dempsey, as himself, former heavyweight champion, acting as the referee.
On March 29, 1934, The Prizefighter and the Lady was officially banned from playing in Germany at the behest of Joseph Goebbels, then Adolf Hitler's Minister of Propaganda and Public Entertainment, even though it received favorable reviews in local newspapers as well as in Nazi publications. When contacted for comment at Lake Tahoe, Baer said, "They didn't ban the picture because I have Jewish blood. They banned it because I knocked out Max Schmeling."
Baer acted in almost 20 movies, including Africa Screams (1949) with Abbott and Costello, and made several TV guest appearances. A clown in and out of the ring, Baer also appeared in a vaudeville act and on his own TV variety show. Baer appeared in Humphrey Bogart's final movie, The Harder They Fall (1956), opposite Mike Lane as Toro Moreno, a Hollywood version of Primo Carnera, whom Baer defeated for his heavyweight title. Budd Schulberg, who wrote the book from which the movie was made, portrayed the Baer character, "Buddy Brannen", as blood thirsty, and the unfounded characterization was reprised in the movie Cinderella Man.
Baer additionally worked as a disc jockey for a Sacramento radio station, and for a while he was a wrestler. He also served as public relations director for a Sacramento automobile dealership and referee for boxing and wrestling matches.
Baer married twice, actress Dorothy Dunbar (married July 8, 1931-divorced October 6, 1933) and Mary Ellen Sullivan (married June 29, 1935-his death 1959). With Sullivan, he had three children, actor Max Adelbert Baer Jr. (born 1937), James Manny Baer (born 1942) and Maudie Marian Baer (born 1944). During a separation from his first wife, Max had affairs with movie stars Jean Harlow, Mae West and Greta Garbo.
In spite of such on-screen success, Baer never enjoyed the TV onscreen reward of his son, Max Baer Jr. (who played Jethro Bodine in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies). At the time of his death on November 21, 1959, Baer was scheduled to appear in some TV commercials, which he had planned to do in Los Angeles before returning to his home in Sacramento.
Since Max Baer Sr. was unable to defend himself from Ron Howard's unflattering portrayal in Cinderella Man, the task of rehabilitating his father's reputation has fallen to Max Baer Jr.
On Wednesday, November 18, 1959, Baer refereed a nationally televised 10-round boxing match in Phoenix. At the end of the match, to the applause of the crowd "Baer grasped the ropes and vaulted out of the ring." and "joined fight fans in a cocktail bar." The next day he was scheduled to appear in several television commercials in Hollywood, California. On his way, he stopped in Garden Grove, California, to keep a promise he had made thirteen years earlier to the then five-year old son of his ex-sparring partner, Curly Owens (who was later affiliated with the Robert Kennedy assassination conspiracy). Baer presented the now 18-year-old with a foreign sports car on his birthday, as he had said he would.
Baer checked into the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel upon his arrival on the 19th of November. "Hotel employees said he looked fit but complained of a cold." As he was shaving, the morning of November 21, he experienced chest pains. He called the front desk and asked for a doctor. The desk clerk said "a house doctor would be right up." "A house doctor?" he replied jokingly, "No, dummy, I need a people doctor".
Dr. Edward S. Koziol gave Max medication and a fire department rescue squad administered oxygen. Baer's chest pains subsided and he was showing signs of recovery when the mere 50-year old fighter was stricken with a second attack. Just a moment before, he was joking with the doctor, declaring he had come through two similar but lighter attacks earlier in Sacramento, California. Then he slumped on his left side, turned blue and died within a matter of minutes. His last words were, 'Oh God, here I go.'
Max Baer's funeral was one of the largest ever attended in Sacramento, where he had made his home for almost 30 years. "A crowd of more than 1,500 - many with scarred eyebrows and smashed noses bade farewell. Among his mourners were four former world champions, politicians, people in wheelchairs and Cub Scouts. There were 'men of wealth and distinction' - and bums shuffling off skid row. There were women in mink stoles and diamonds - and women in cotton house dresses, and in slacks. There were babies in the arms of their young mothers - and elderly couples, helping each other's halting steps. Hundreds of others, unable to get into the funeral home, crowded around the outside. Some chose vantage points on car roofs and nearby scaffolding. Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey were among his pallbearers. There were tears in the eyes of 'Curly' Owens, his one-time sparring partner, as he took down Max's gloves from a big white floral arrangement." The cemetery service was concluded by an American Legion firing squad, recognizing Baer's service in World War II.
Baer's obituary made the front page of the New York Times. He was laid to rest in a garden crypt in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Sacramento.
There is a park named for Max Baer in Livermore, California, which he considered his hometown, even though he was born in Omaha. There is also a park in Sacramento named after him. He was honored by the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Max Baer was an active member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Known for his big heart and colorful sense of humor, Max was well loved by his fellow Eagles. When Max died of a heart attack in 1959, the Eagles created a charity fund as a tribute to his memory and as a means of combating the disease that killed him. Max Baer Heart Fund’s primary purpose is to aid in heart research and education. Since the fund started in 1959, millions of dollars have been donated to universities, medical centers and hospitals across the United States and Canada for heart research and education.
Selected filmography
* "The Prizefighter and the Lady" (1933)
* Over She Goes (1938)
* "Africa Screams" (1949) - with his brother, Buddy
* "The Harder They Fall" (1956)
Alluded to in:
* "The Tortoise and the Hare" (1934) Disney. In this cartoon short, a tortoise is pitted against a hare in a famous race. The first time the hare appears on screen, he exits his home with much bravado and is wearing a robe similar to a boxer's robe. On the back of the robe his name is emblazoned, "Max Hare". While there is no specific mention of the connection in the cartoon, since this cartoon came out the year that Max first won his Heavyweight title, it is possible that this character's name is a pun for "Max Baer".
Portrayed In:
* "Cinderella Man" (2005) - portrayed by Craig Bierko
TV guest appearances
* Playhouse 90 (1957) (Screen Gems TV, CBS) ... Mike ... episode: Requiem for a Heavyweight

* Abbott and Costello Show (1953) ... Killer ... episode: Killer's Wife

[KSTAT124]

FORTY-FIVE YEARS AGO-

February 11, 1967-

Cagliari, Sardegna, Italy-

Former world flyweight champion Salvatore Burruni won an eight-round decision over Tony Lopez.

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico-

Future WBC world lightweight champion Chango Carmona stopped Eduardo Moreno in the 4th round of a scheduled ten-rounder.

San Juan, Puerto Rico-

In a bout between perennial middleweight contenders, Jose Gonzalez outpointed Rocky Rivero over 10 rounds.

Missoula, Montana, USA-

Future two-time world light heavyweight title challenger Roger Rouse knocked out journeyman Dave Russell in the 10th and final round.

[DBO]

2005- Eric Harding W 12 David Telesco, Uncasville, CT. Wins Vacant USBA Light Heavyweight Title.

Harding is an oft forgotten CT fighter, who handed Tarver his first loss. He also gave RJJ a nice tussle before Roy took over. Very solid 175 pounder. I was a little nervous when Dawson took him on on his way up.

[straycat]

[youtubefullurl]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8z0xoMze8U[/youtubefullurl]

[KSTAT124]

SIXTY YEARS AGO TODAY:

February 11, 1956-

Tunis, Tunisia-

Former European middleweight champion Tiberio Mitri of Italy knocked out Tunisia's Laid Ben Younes in the 3rd round of a scheduled 10-rounder. Mitri improved to 81-6-6. Ben Younes fell to 10-3-1 and retired after the bout.

Trenton, New Jersey-

Future World middleweight champion and future Hall of Famer (IBHOF, WBHF) Joey Giardello (59-12-6) stopped Tim Jones (14-7-4) in the 10th and final round. Giardello floored Jones six times.