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By Thomas Hauser - Al Haymon has said that one of the factors that motivated him to get involved with boxing was the less-than-satisfactory experience that his brother, Bobby Haymon, had as a fighter.
Bobby Haymon lived in Cleveland and fought for most of his career as a welterweight. He turned pro on March 31, 1969, with a fourth-round knockout of Sam Ivory (whose record was 1-17-1).
Don Elbaum was the promoter, matchmaker, or booking agent for 19 of Haymon’s 31 professional fights.
“Bobby could fight,” Elbaum says. “He wasn’t much of a puncher. But he was a good boxer and he had a good chin. His manager, a guy named Dominick Polo, was also his trainer. Polo brought him to me, and I thought Bobby was a prospect. I promoted his fight against Sam Ivory. Then Dominick took him to the Washington DC area for three fights, which wasn’t too smart because Bobby lost two of them and got a draw in the third.”
Haymon returned to Elbaum for his fifth pro outing, a four-round decision over 1-and-9 Joey Blair. Then Polo took him back to Washington DC, where he lost again.
“Dominick was overmatching Bobby,” Elbaum says. “Bobby wasn’t ready for that level of competition. Finally, after three losses, Dominick realized it wasn’t working and put the choice of opponents in my hands.”
Under Elbaum’s guidance, Haymon won ten consecutive fights during an eighteen-month stretch, most of them against sub-500 competition.
“He was a good main event fighter for a club show and a good undercard fighter for a bigger show,” Elbaum recalls. “He wasn’t a runner. He made good fights. And he was a nice guy. He had a pleasant personality. I liked him.”
Then, on May 26, 1971, Elbaum matched Haymon against 11-6-3 Ralph Correa.
“Correa was a good tough club fighter, that’s all,” Elbaum remembers. “Before that fight, I thought that Bobby had a chance to become a legitimate contender. But Correa kept the pressure on all night, started nailing him, wore him down, and Bobby folded. I hadn’t expected that. When Bobby lost that one, I realized he wasn’t going to go as far as I thought he would.”
After losing to Correa, Haymon took nine months off from boxing. Then Elbaum brought him back for a sixth-round knockout of Jesus Alicia (who had 8 wins in 31 fights). Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler picks up the narrative from there.
“I saw a few of Haymon’s early fights because I was in college at Ohio University and went to as many fights as I could,” Trampler recounts. “I was at the Joey Blair fight, and Bobby’s wins over Gene Masters [1969] and Al Bashir [1970]. I also saw the Ralph Correa fight, althought that was after I graduated from college and moved to Miami to work with Chris and Angelo Dundee. It was on the undercard of Floyd Patterson against Terry Daniels. Haymon got massacred. Correa brutalized him.” [Click Here To Read More]
Bobby Haymon lived in Cleveland and fought for most of his career as a welterweight. He turned pro on March 31, 1969, with a fourth-round knockout of Sam Ivory (whose record was 1-17-1).
Don Elbaum was the promoter, matchmaker, or booking agent for 19 of Haymon’s 31 professional fights.
“Bobby could fight,” Elbaum says. “He wasn’t much of a puncher. But he was a good boxer and he had a good chin. His manager, a guy named Dominick Polo, was also his trainer. Polo brought him to me, and I thought Bobby was a prospect. I promoted his fight against Sam Ivory. Then Dominick took him to the Washington DC area for three fights, which wasn’t too smart because Bobby lost two of them and got a draw in the third.”
Haymon returned to Elbaum for his fifth pro outing, a four-round decision over 1-and-9 Joey Blair. Then Polo took him back to Washington DC, where he lost again.
“Dominick was overmatching Bobby,” Elbaum says. “Bobby wasn’t ready for that level of competition. Finally, after three losses, Dominick realized it wasn’t working and put the choice of opponents in my hands.”
Under Elbaum’s guidance, Haymon won ten consecutive fights during an eighteen-month stretch, most of them against sub-500 competition.
“He was a good main event fighter for a club show and a good undercard fighter for a bigger show,” Elbaum recalls. “He wasn’t a runner. He made good fights. And he was a nice guy. He had a pleasant personality. I liked him.”
Then, on May 26, 1971, Elbaum matched Haymon against 11-6-3 Ralph Correa.
“Correa was a good tough club fighter, that’s all,” Elbaum remembers. “Before that fight, I thought that Bobby had a chance to become a legitimate contender. But Correa kept the pressure on all night, started nailing him, wore him down, and Bobby folded. I hadn’t expected that. When Bobby lost that one, I realized he wasn’t going to go as far as I thought he would.”
After losing to Correa, Haymon took nine months off from boxing. Then Elbaum brought him back for a sixth-round knockout of Jesus Alicia (who had 8 wins in 31 fights). Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler picks up the narrative from there.
“I saw a few of Haymon’s early fights because I was in college at Ohio University and went to as many fights as I could,” Trampler recounts. “I was at the Joey Blair fight, and Bobby’s wins over Gene Masters [1969] and Al Bashir [1970]. I also saw the Ralph Correa fight, althought that was after I graduated from college and moved to Miami to work with Chris and Angelo Dundee. It was on the undercard of Floyd Patterson against Terry Daniels. Haymon got massacred. Correa brutalized him.” [Click Here To Read More]
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