Boxing History recreated beginning in 1946

[Tiger Fan]

For anyone who doesn't venture to the OOTP dynasty portion of these boards I thought I would let you know I am recreating boxing history from 1946. It is in this thread

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ad.php?t=66754

which is actually a recreation of all major North American Sports from the era. I just recently purchased TBCB and am having a ball learning the game. I hope some of you find the boxing portion (and the other sports) of my sporting universe entertaining to read about. I just added the boxing reports beginning on page 3 of that dynasty. I am beginning the boxing under the premise that during WWII most boxing stopped so a qualifying tournament is being held to determine the top contenders. My middleweight and heavyweight top 10 have been determined. Other weight classes to follow.

Feel free to add any comments or suggestions.

thanks

[cubedrum]

Welcome to another great sports sim TF! I love your OOTP facepacks! I have a similar project going for this very boxing sim. Check out the facepack for Titlebout at http://www.angelfire.com/games4/cubedrum0/ . Over 2400 fighter photos conveniently packaged into executables that install them to the proper folder in the game. If you have any fighter photos not present just post on one of the appropriate threads or send to cubedrum@yahoo.com and I'll see they're in a future update. Thanks again for your hard work, and keep it up.

Cube

[Tiger Fan]

Thanks cubedrum. Your facepack was my first download immediately after purchasing TBCB.

[Rasmuth]

TigerFan is a legend in the Dynasty section. Always enjoyed his replays. Without him...most of us would have no idea who Cliff Markle was. Have fun with TBCB.

[crusadecat]

Welcome aboard Tiger Fan and looking forward to your replay. I think the premise is already interesting and will be great to follow.

[Tiger Fan]

Just thought I would post an update here. This is from the next issue of my 1947 allsports replay which will be dated January 15, 1947. Completed this week's boxing calendar and had a big upset in my title fight plus a very entertaining heavyweight tilt between top contenders.


Also a question for anyone who knew the era well. What should be my lead story? The NFL playoffs (semi-final games) or the middleweight title fight. If it was heavyweight champ Joe Louis losing I would figure it was a shoo-in for top billing but were the other divisions that highly thought of in the era. I am leaning towards making the fight my top story because I do not believe pro football was anywhere near as popular in 1947 as it is now.

ZALE WINS MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD
In what only can be described as a major upset Tony Zale beat Jake LaMotta for the middleweight championship of the world at Madison Square Garden on Friday. The referee stopped the fight with just over a minute to go in the 5th round because of an ugly gash over LaMotta's left eye.

Zale landed 3 huge uppercuts in the final round and LaMotta's legs were close to giving out when the ref stopped the bout. It marked the third straight round Zale had dominated the previously unbeaten champion.

The bout had started slowly, as both fighters were feeling each other out. In the second round Lamotta landed a couple of big body blows but Zale stunned the champ with a combination as the round came to a close. It seemed Lamotta was still hurting from that combination as the third began and it appeared to give Zale confidence as he came out swinging in the third and totally dominated the round. At one point the champ appeared close to going down but he hung on and escaped the third.

In the fourth Zale again took control and landed some dangerous blows to LaMotta's head while the champ tried to work the body. The fifth, just like the previous 2 rounds was all Zale.

With the win, the Chicago born Zale improves to 36-4 while LaMotta's record is now 14-1. The 32 year old Zale is unsure who his first title defense will be against but it is expected LaMotta will have to wait a while for a shot to regain the title as number one challenger Holman Williams is likely first in line.


LOUIS TO DEFEND TITLE FEBRUARY 9TH IN DETROIT
World Heavyweight champion Joe Louis has agreed to defend his title on February 9th against 4th ranked challenger Nathan Mann. The fight will take place at The Olympia Stadium in Louis' hometown of Detroit. The 35 year old champ is 8-0 since the postwar era of boxing began. All 8 of his victories were by knock out including an 8th round TKO of previously unbeaten Ezzard Charles in the final of the post-war title elimination tournament. That victory earned the Brown Bomber the title belt. Louis successfully defended his title in September against Tami Mauriello, knocking him out in the 4th round.

Mann, from Hamden, Connecticut, is 18-4-1 including a 3rd round TKO loss to Louis in the semi-finals of the post-war title tournament. Each of the other losses the 31 year old Mann suffered came in preliminary bouts to determine the postwar champ. After starting his career 2-3, Mann is 16-1-1 in his last 18 bouts.


CHARLES EYES REMATCH WITH LOUIS AFTER HOMETOWN VICTORY
Ezzard Charles, who's only loss of his career came to Joe Louis in the postwar tournament finale last fall, solidified his case for another title shot with an impressive 9th round knockout of Tommy Gomez. Charles improves to 19-1 with the victory over Gomez, who had been ranked the 5th best heavyweight in the world entering the bout. Before his hometown crowd the man known as the Cincinnati Cobra picked apart Gomez's defenses opening cuts above both eyes before knocking his opponent to the canvas with a vicious uppercut in the closing seconds of the ninth round. With the bell unable to save him, and his wits nowhere to be found, Gomez could not rise before the 10 count.

With the loss, the Tampa native Gomez sees his record fall to 24-6. He may also drop out of the top 10 heavyweight contenders. Charles remains the number 3 ranked heavyweight in the world behind Louis and Elmer Ray.

[Cap]

Easy call. Lead with the Middleweight title fight. A story like that would have made headlines in every major paper in the US. As you say, football was not big time.

Cap

[GForce]

Glad to see you in here TF...I'm getting something going here too, so it's nice to see another OOTP face in the boxing circle!

GH

[Tiger Fan]

Thanks, Cap. I figured that was the case so the fight got the front page.

GForce. Looking forward to reading about yours once you get it started.

[Tiger Fan]

For anyone not following the All-Sports dynasty report (link is in my signature) I wanted to share some of the boxing happenings in my universe.

It is now early February 1947 and there will be a regular stream of fights involving the title holders and top contenders in each of my weight divisions throughout the year.

The big event of the month is next week's title bout at The Olympia in Detroit as hometown hero Joe Louis puts his perfect record on the line and defends his heavyweight crown against Nathan Mann.

Here are other recent developments from my universe:

LOSS COSTS ELMER RAY TITLE SHOT
Roscoe Toles moved a step closer to a shot at Heavyweight champion Joe Louis by derailing Elmer Ray's title bid. Toles won a unanimous decision in a spirited battle with the 37 year old Ray in Miami on Friday. Ray would have likely got a title match with Joe Louis in the fall had he won the bout. Instead, it appears the Florida native's career is nearing it's conclusion. Ray is 23-5 in his career with two of his losses coming at the hands of Toles. Many questioned his decision to fight Toles but rumour is Louis promised Ray a title shot if he would fight and beat fellow Detroiter Toles.

Toles improves to 19-4 and being the fourth ranked contender in the heavyweight division may get a title matchup with his Detroit buddy Joe Louis a year from now.

CERDAN CLAIMS EUROPEAN TITLE - NOW A FORCE IN MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION
Marcel Cerdan is quickly become a force in the middleweight division. The Frenchman improved his record to 24-5 with a 12th round knockout of Randy Turpin in London, England over the weekend. The victory gives Cerdan the European Middleweight belt, a title Turpin held for just one bout. It is just the fourth loss of Turpin's career but it came as quite a shock. Turpin was intent on getting a shot at champion Tony Zale, who defeated Jake LaMotta last week. Turpin had beaten Zale during the post-war elimination tournament. Without the clout of a European belt it is unlikely Turpin will get another chance at Zale. Turpin does, however, still retain the British Middleweight title.

In boxing action over the weekend of Feb 4-6, 1947 Billy Smith upset up-and-coming lightheavyweight contender Jimmy Slade with a third round KO. Slade, who now has a 23-7-1 record, looked ill prepared and out of shape and as a result never had a chance against journeyman Smith. The 22 year old Slade was looking at this bout as a stepping stone towards getting a shot at one of the top 5 of 6 contenders in the division. Instead it is Atlantic City native Smith who may get that opportunity after delighting the hometown crowd with a win over the young New Yorker. Smith, nicknamed Boardwalk, improves to 14-9 with the win.

Jimmy Doyle scored a 15 round majority decision over Frankie Fernandez in the headliner of a Saturday fight card in San Francisco. The 23 year old Doyle improves to 14-4 and is ranked the 9th best welterweight fighter in the world. 28 year old Honolulu native Fernandez falls to 21-6. On the same card former Olympic medal winner Simon Vegara from Panama improved to 37-6-2 as a pro with a 15 round decision over Pedro Hernandez. Vegara is ranked 8th in the featherweight division worldwide.


In Britian, 21 year old bantamweight Jimmy Green fought to a 15-round draw in his first pro fight against veteran Sammy Reynolds. Reynolds is 13-26-2. Another debut of sorts was a little more successful. 36 year old heavyweight Alf Robinson, who last saw action prior to WWII, looked good in his postwar debut winning by a 9th round TKO over 35 year old James Wilde. Neither fought chose to participate in the post war elimination tournament but each had a change of heart recently.

Finally in Denmark Carl Nielsen dropped Pierre Van Deuren of the Netherlands with a 5th round KO. A newcomer to professional boxing at age 28, Nielson evens his record at 1-1 and his camp is eyeing a shot at Bruce Woodcock and the European Heavyweight title in the near future.

LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT SET FOR FEBRUARY 23 IN NEW YORK
World Lightweight champ Ike Williams will defend his title against Joe Brown Friday February 23rd at New York's Madison Square Garden. The 24 year old Williams is a perfect 18-0 including title defense wins over Ronnie James and Enrique Bolanos. The Trenton, New Jersey has 16 knockouts to his credit.

His 21 year old opponent hails from New Orleans and has a postwar record of 12-2 and has climbed to 3rd in the world rankings. The knock on Brown is that he has not faced top level opponents and many feel his weaknesses will be quickly exposed by the veteran Williams. Williams reportedly passed on a rematch with Enrique Bolanos to take an easier payday against Brown. Bolanos has 14 victories to go with his only loss against Williams in the final of the lightweight postwar title tourney. Bolanos has apparently settled on a bout with 5th ranked Rudy Cruz that will likely take place in March in either Los Angeles or perhaps Mexico City.