James Scott, the Behind Bars Contender

[Ben Bolt]

The Ring Magazine February issue ran this story about James Scott, the convicted murderer who in the late 1970s became the #1 contender for the World light heavyweight title, by fights inside the mean Rahway prison.
(Though, WBA dropped him from its ratings, saying it didn’t realize he was doing time. For the same reason, WBC never rated him.)

I found this piece rather amusing:
Scott, eager to get a title shot, repetitively contacted boxing magazines – on both sides of the Atlantic – to make sure his voice was heard.

Steve Farhood tells the story:
“We were putting out World Boxing and International Boxing, and James would occasionally call collect and speak to us. We accepted the charges because, let’s face it, how many fighters were calling us from prison? It was pretty unique access to a top guy.

What stands out most about those phone calls, and I’m not exaggerating this, is he would literally send us to the dictionary – he would use language and vocabulary that we wouldn’t understand – and we were trained journalists.

Looking back, in retrospect, I find that fascinating that this man was so intelligent and so learned along with probably being the No. 1 light heavyweight in the world.”

[Ben Bolt]

Farhood on covering Scott vs Yaqui Lopez in Rahway prison 1979:

"It was certainly the most unique venue I ever worked in in 42 years.
I lived driving distance from Rahway and I had a vision of what Rahway
was like because it was not just a prison, it was maximum-security prison.
Television doesn't do it justice. It was like nothing else I'd ever been at,
and it was very eerie and very scary."

[Eff Pandas]

The James Scott story would be a great doc.

Or regular ass movie. Have Daniel Kaluuya (from Get Out) play James.

[The Old LefHook]

I don't believe he ever became a mozzie.

[clemenza]

I remember seeing him fight on TV obviously, I never graduated to Rahway State, but I did see his bout with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad,
I think it was on HBO , but I’m not sure.

[Ben Bolt]

I remember seeing him fight on TV obviously, I never graduated to Rahway State, but I did see his bout with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad,
I think it was on HBO , but I’m not sure.

The Ring:
Murad Muhammad (Scott's promoter) got Eddie Gregory, then ranked No. 3 by the WBC and No. 1 by the WBA, to fight behind the walls at Rahway. Not only that, he got HBO - then a fledgling network - to come in and film it.

"I didn't have to take it, but since I'm a fighter, I wasn't going to back down or run from anybody," recalled Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. "He had fought and beat a lot of good guys. I wasn't going to turn my back. If he says he wants to fight me and I accept the challenge, let's fight. For James, the whole key was condition. That was the key, because all he could do was train. He didn't have to do anything else; we all had distractions."

Eddie was referring to wine, women and song. Scott didn't have to concern himself with any of those. Conversely, he built a reputation as "Superman" by doing 2,000 sit-ups and 1,000 push-ups a day and running laps for the full hour he was allowed in the yard.

[JAB5239]

Good stuff thanks for posting!

[Ben Bolt]

Good stuff thanks for posting!

Thx. In hindsight – as WBC and WBA didn’t want anything to do with Scott - I’m rather impressed by Eddie, who risked his high ratings in a fight he never had to take. Some other household names turned Scott down, as they had little to gain fighting him.

Most likely, Eddie underestimated Scott. The loss did delay his world title shot.

[JAB5239]

Thx. In hindsight – as WBC and WBA didn’t want anything to do with Scott - I’m rather impressed by Eddie, who risked his high ratings in a fight he never had to take. Some other household names turned Scott down, as they had little to gain fighting him.

Most likely, Eddie underestimated Scott. The loss did delay his world title shot.

He made a good point about Scott having nothing else to do besides train. But most likely he did underestimate him. At point Scott hadn't fought any high profile fighters.

[QueensburyRules]

The Ring Magazine February issue ran this story about James Scott, the convicted murderer who in the late 1970s became the #1 contender for the World light heavyweight title, by fights inside the mean Rahway prison.
(Though, WBA dropped him from its ratings, saying it didn’t realize he was doing time. For the same reason, WBC never rated him.)

I found this piece rather amusing:
Scott, eager to get a title shot, repetitively contacted boxing magazines – on both sides of the Atlantic – to make sure his voice was heard.

Steve Farhood tells the story:
“We were putting out World Boxing and International Boxing, and James would occasionally call collect and speak to us. We accepted the charges because, let’s face it, how many fighters were calling us from prison? It was pretty unique access to a top guy.

What stands out most about those phone calls, and I’m not exaggerating this, is he would literally send us to the dictionary – he would use language and vocabulary that we wouldn’t understand – and we were trained journalists.

Looking back, in retrospect, I find that fascinating that this man was so intelligent and so learned along with probably being the No. 1 light heavyweight in the world.”

- -Not unusual that anyone including a convicted criminal would be smarter than Farhood who can't even credibly call a fight.

Saw a Scott fight, maybe the Gregory on on the Tube, but it was pretty forgettable. Any WOKE Scott movies or bios in the queue?