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Originally posted by PBP.
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Jesus look at the horrible opposition he faced.... -
You need to read up on the early history of this sport. Boxing was illegal in many (make that most) jurisdictions. And in many of those it was legal only as an exhibition.Originally posted by DannyNL View Post
What does this mean? Fighters fought under assumed names; fighters fought with no recorded account of their fight (they were underground - think of the jean claude van damme movies like "Lionheart" or Michael Jai White in "Blood and Bone." These fighters had a reputation in the fight scene but there was no newspaper record of their fights. Why? Because the fight scene was illegal.
People paid to go to a fight, both to watch and to bet, that's how the fighters got paid - no TV rights, no PPV. They wouldn't go to watch (and bet) on a fight that was a crazy mis-match.
You may see that a fighter has no-record - that doesn't mean he hasn't been fighting for years and considered to be very good. Some of these 0-0 fighters might be a well-known fighter but is fighting under an assumed name. Why? Because the sport is illegal in many jurisdictions. Truly illegal. Going to jail illegal. Serious fines illegal. Hunted by State Police under the Governor's direct command illegal.
Jimmy Barry killed a man in the ring and was prosecuted for manslaughter. The same as you would be if you killed a man fighting in a bar. See a newspaper account below.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive...CF&oref=slogin
You need to take good care looking at the records of men who fought in the 1890s to 1920s. A lot of the people with 0-0 records were much, much better than the records indicate.Comment
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A draw can say a lot.. it could say the champion couldn't defend the belt decisively.Comment
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