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2007-04-15
Remembering Davey Moore
Some people know of Davey Moore only because Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs wrote songs about him. Dylan's more famous "Who Killed Davey Moore" and Ochs' "Davey Moore" were both moving indictments of all those involved in Moore's tragic death.



Who was Davey Moore? He was a great boxer-puncher who reigned as the world featherweight champion from March 1959 to March 1963. He was also a loving husband and the devoted father of 5 children.



Moore, nicknamed "The Springfield Rifle," was born in Lexington, Kentucky on November 11, 1933 but lived much of his life in Springfield, Ohio. He represented the United States in the 1952 Olympics and was a teammate of middleweight gold medalist and future heavyweght champion Floyd Patterson.



The following year, Moore turned professional. He won his first six bouts before dropping a decision to the much more experienced Russell Tague. A no-contest and 2 more victories led to a bout with 101-bout veteran Jackie Blair. Moore lost on points but gained a "world of knowledge." Over the next 5 years, Moore fought 31 times, going 27-3-1 with wins over Gil Cadilli, Isidro Martinez (reversing an earlier loss), Victor Quijano, former world lightweight champion Lauro Salas, Kid Anahuac, and Ricardo Moreno. His accomplishments earned him a shot a the world featherweight championship held by Nigeria's Hogan "Kid" Bassey.



Bassey and Moore fought for the first time on March 18, 1959 at the famous Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, the scene of many of Moore's important wins on the way up. Moore battered the defending champion and Bassey's corner stopped the bout after the 13th round.



Davey Moore Vs. Hogan Bassey





Five months later, Davey gave Bassey a rematch and proceeded to administer a second beating. This time, Bassey failed to answer the bell for the 11th round. The loss convinced the 59-13-2 Bassey to retire.



Moore engaged in 6 non-title bouts before defending the title for the second time. He fought in Wembley England, where he knocked out British featherweight champion Bobby Neill in one round, in San Francisco, where he easily outpointed Hilario Morales, in Caracas, Venezula twice, stopping highly ranked former European featherweight champion Sergio Caprari in 8 rounds and being stopped in 7 by future junior welterweight champion Carlos Hernandez, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he knocked out Frank Valdez, and in Tijuana, Mexico, where he decisioned Kid Irapuato.



On October 29, 1960, Moore made his second defense, fighting Japanese champion Kazuo Takayama at a baseball stadium in Tokyo. Moore retained his title by winning a unanimous decision after 15 rounds.



Davey stayed active and continued his world travels. He fought 5 non-title bouts between November 1960 and February 1961, winning them all. He returned to Mexico where he knocked out David Camacho and Rudy Corona, then did a European tour- outpointing European featherweight kingpin Gracieux Lamperti in Paris, stopping Spanish lightweigt champion Fred Galiana in Madrid, and decisioning previously undefeated Italian champion Raimondo Nobile in Rome.



On April 8, 1961, Moore was back at the Olympic Auditorium for his 3rd title defense, a much-anticipated showdown with two-time California State featherweight champion Danny Valdez. Valdez held wins over Dwight Hawkins and Argentinian Ricardo Osvaldo Gonzalez and was coming in off a first round knockout of Boots Monroe. Moore knocked Valdez out at 2:48 of the 1st round.



Three months later, Moore outpointed old foe Gil Cadilli over 10 rounds in a non-title bout in Las Vegas. On July 16, 1961, 10 days after beating Cadilli, Davey outpointed Felix Cervantes, who owned wins over Valdez, Gonzalez, Ike Chestnut, and Billy Peacock, in Mexicali. He then would beat Kid Irapuato on points in Ciudad Juarez and Cervantes by TKO-5 at the Olympic in non-title rematches.



Moore then ventured back to Tokyo to give Kazuo Takayama a second crack at the title. The still reigning Japanese champion had won 9 straight since their first bout. On November 13, 1961, Moore won their rematch, again by unanimous decision.



Davey fought two more non-title bouts before making his 5th defense. On March 9, 1962, he fought at the Olympic in Los Angeles against the "Compton Comet," former lightweight title challenger Cisco Andrade. Moore stopped the popular veteran in the 7th round. Exactly 4 months later at L. A. 's Sports Arena, he added upcoming prospect Mario Diaz to his victims list, knocking out the future Mexican national champion in the 2nd round.



The Diaz fight served as a tune-up for Moore's defense against Ollie Maeki. Again, making good use of his passport, Moore went to Helsinki, Finland and, on August 17, 1962, he stopped Maeki in the 2nd round. Maeki fell to 8-2-1 with the loss but he had earned his shot with wins over future British Empire featherweight champion Floyd Robertson, Billy Calvert, and former British Empire champ Percy Lewis, and a draw with German champion Willi Quatuor.



Before 1962 ended, Moore outpointed tough southpaw Fili Nava, whom he had also defeated in 1958, in a non-title bout held in San Antonio, Texas. Then, tuning up for his defense against Ultiminio "Sugar" Ramos, Moore fought Cadilli for the third time and stopped him in the 5th round in San Jose, California.



On March 21, 1963, Moore and Ramos fought at Dodger Stadium as part of a world title tripleheader. In the opener, Roberto Cruz upset Battling Torres, knocking out the heavily-favored "Reynosa Rattlesnake" in the 1st round to win the vacant junior welterweight championship and in the finale, in a battle between future Hall of Famers, Luis Rodriguez upset defending welterweight champion Emile Griffith, taking the title with a unanimous decision. It was the 2nd of 4 times Rodriguez and Griffith would fight and the only time the Cuban-born Rodriguez would win.



Sandwiched between Torres-Cruz and Griffith-Rodriguez II was Moore's defense against the Mexico-based Cuban Sugar Ramos. Moore started off well but Ramos took over in the 3rd round. The bout could have been stopped as early as te 8th round but it continued throught the 10th. Ramos floored Moore in that round with the champion's head slamming off the bottom rope. When the round ended, it was obvious Moore could not continue and his corner finally called it off. Davey left the ring on his own power but collapsed in his dressing room. He died two days later.



Davey Moore's final record was 59-7-1-1 NC with 30 victories by knockout. He had gone 23-2 after winning the title, 5-1 in title contests, 18-1 in non-title bouts. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1986. Sugar Ramos followed him into the WBHOF in 1993 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. Gil Cadilli, who Moore beat three times, was inducted into the WBHOF in 2006. Another fighter Moore defeated, Lauro Salas, is also a WBHOF enshrinee.



It's been over 44 years since Davey Moore passed away.



Continue to rest in peace, champ. You're fondly remembered.



 
Article By: Ken "Kstat" Pollitt