Laszlo Papp: The Lost Years
 

The story of Laszlo Papp, the Hungarian middleweight, is known by all who are versed in boxing history. The first boxer to win three Olympic gold medals was in many respects a victim of the Cold War era.

Living under the repressive Hungarian communist regime, Papp's professional boxing career was truncated. After he won his third gold medal in 1956, the Hungarian government allowed Papp to compete professionally in a constrained manner.

At this point he was thirty-one and near the end of his peak period. His fights were limited to contests against European boxers. He did indeed distinguish himself and was in line for a title shot when the Hungarian government essentially ended his freedom travel. He hung up his gloves in 1964 at the age of thirty-eight.

Sadly, Papp never had the opportunity to fight the top middleweights of his era--Sugar Ray Robinson, Gene Fullmer, Carmen Basilio, and Joey Giardello.

This career simulation will begin in the fall of 1952 and deal with what might have been had Papp turned professional five years earlier and was allowed free range to pursue his career without the constraints of a totalitarian government.

I selected this particular point as a result of the near convergence of two important events in the summer of 1952. In June of that year, Robinson lost his bid for the light heavyweight crown to Joey Maxim. He then retired from boxing and didn't return to the ring until the beginning of 1955.

Six weeks later, the Helsinki Olympics concluded, and Papp picked up his second gold medal. With the middlweight title vacant due to Sugar Ray's retirement, this would have been an ideal time for a twenty-six year old Laszlo Papp to enter the professional ranks.

Thus, the simulation will present Papp at his peak. For those who followed my Teofilo Stevenson simulation last year, the approach will be somewhat familiar (at some point, you might even see Skip Bailey!). There's really no point of termination in a specific sense, although there will be several critical crossroads--the first being the return of Ray Robinson in 1955. So I pretty much plan to go with where the results of Papp's fights take me.

I expect to get the sim set up and running in early December but wanted to post this preview before I got too deeply into the project. With both the Stevenson career and my current Partial Eclipse of the Sonny, you have provided me with ideas, insight, and most importantly, inspiration. So expect nothing less from all of you on this project.:laugh:

This doesn't mean that the Partial Eclipse uni is going on the back burner far from it! I view it as a coninuing boxing soap opera, although it has taken on Wagnerian proportions. I'm in it for a long haul (at least the next two years).

BigBoyBrackey inspired me by demonstrating that you could run a career sim and a broad based uni at the same time and still maintain a hgih quality in both.

Quite frankly, for the past two years, I've been confined pretty much to the heavyweight division with my unis, and shifting to another division is appealing. Also, the Eclipse lumbers along with the end pretty far down the road. A career sim gives me something with a bit more focus and a faster pace.

In a number of respects, I think (at least hope:)) that by running two unis concurrently, ultimately they'll feed off of each other.

That said, please let me have you views and suggestions.

This is great! I'm looking forward to following along.

Looking forward to this.

Good subject.

I'm running an all time Flyweight tourney alongside my uni and enjoy both.

A Revision
 

After actually writing this idea out and posting it above, I began to reflect. Why not do the full monty and start Papp in 1948 after he wins his first gold medal at twenty-two? This would account for all of the "lost years". It would also allow me to incorporate Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano, and Dave Sands, among others, as potential opponents.

So 1948 it is!

This should be cool

Have you been reading my mind????:laugh:

Laszlo Papp has to be the greatest amateur fighter ever. If he was allowed to continue with his pro boxing career......he could have been an ATG.

Thanks for running this uni because i've recently have taken an interest in his career and am trying to learn more about his fighting days.

:laugh::laugh: Wish I could! I've gotten a lot of ideas from reading your posts. The Stevenson universe is still my favorite, with Partial Eclipse of the Sonny a close second and gaining.

Skip Bailey ROCKS!!

Prologue
 

The above is sort of the kickoff for this uni. I'm moving faster than I had anticipated. I've already stocked the uni with over fifty fighters as possible opponents.

My biggest challenge is to find/create a dozen or so middleweight bottom feeders for Papp to fight as he launches his career during the first two years of the simulation. I'm about halfway there!:)

Ooh. ooh, more TC's. I can't wait to see these.

Question
 

I remember there being a boxing trivia question about who was the only boxer to go undefeated as both an amateur and as a pro. I am thinking Papp may have been that fighter. Am I right?

I don't know who it is!:o Papp lost twelve bouts as an amateur:(

You might think they would have got this name right...

Papp vs Johnny Wright
1948 Olympic final

Papp-Herrera
1952 Olympic semi

Papp-Jose Torres 1956

Piggy, thanks for posting these pics!:)