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I am a diehard boxing fan who prides himself on constantly learning as much as I can about the sport. Despite having previously known what I thought was nearly every elite level fighter and a large share of small-time fighters, I had never heard of Ronnie Delaney until yesterday. Looking over his record, I saw he went undefeated over forty-eight fights between 1948 and 1955 with wins over Charley Cotton (twice), Joe Blackwood (twice), Tommy Bell, Jimmy Welch (twice with one draw, part of a seven fight rivalry), Alvin Williams, Jimmy Beau, Holly Mims, Johnny Saxton, among others before losing to future welterweight champion Virgil Akins in a match that was supposedly rather even and dull prior to Akins scoring a fight-ending knockout blow. Why did he never get a title shot? Was he avoided or avoiding some elite level fighters? Does anybody know anything about his career and the details within? Finding information about him has been difficult and he seems to be a forgotten fighter. Finally, does anybody know what he is doing presently? The last information I saw about him said he was punched and robbed by a young man. Let me know as I would love to learn more about this fighter.
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I hadn't heard of the guy until today. As you say, not much info to be found. It seems he's just a part of Akins's history, because Akins ending his unbeaten streak is mentioned in every article summarizing Akins's career.Originally posted by KyroneDavisFan View Post
I was most curious of Delaney's victory over Saxton. It should have earned him a world top 10-rating, and maintained him there, despite the loss to Akins (unless the Saxton win was a hometown decision; Delaney's record reminds a lot of how Sean O'Grady's reputation was built - a majority of wins coming against lesser skilled fighters on home ground).
Another question after looking at Delaney's record: was the KO loss to Akins a devastating one, as Delaney, only 25, went into (a temporary) retirement afterwards?
Delaney remains a mystery man. -
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Yeah, it's weird. Especially given Johnny Saxton was the sitting champion when Delaney beat him in a non-title fight. Should have warranted a championship bout rematch as well. After doing some research, I found a few old articles from the Delaney-Saxton fight. One said: Ronnie Delaney, Akron, outpointed Johnny Saxton" in a ten round non-title fight. Another, from The Strait Times, headlined with the title "World Champ Outpointed." The text itself says "Ronnie Delaney, an Akron right hander who boxes from a southpaw stance, upset welterweight champion Johnny Saxton last night in a 10-round non-title bout.
Frankie Palermo, manager for the New York champ, said the bout was "close all the way, but I thought my boy won by a narrow decision." Referee Eddie Atlas and Judges Harold Minto and Sam Taormina decided it was close, but the other way around. All of them picked the unranked Delaney, Atlas by 100-92, Minto by 97-96, and Taormina by 98-93.
Just how the officials scored the bout round by round was not known immediately. The Akron Boxing Commission impounded the cards, saying it wanted to give Palermo the first chance to see them.
Neither boxer was marked and there was no knockdown.
Saxton admitted the bout was close and said he probably was a little rusty.
The champ weighed in at 148 pounds, a half-pound heavier than Delaney. Saxton's record now stands at 46 victories, three losses, and two draws.
Delaney has won 48, lost one, and tied three.
Neither boy has ever been knocked out."
So by the sounds of it, it does seem like Ronnie Delaney did win a close bout that doesn't seem to be due to Akron being his locality. Journalists seemed to think he won a narrow decision over the reigning champ, and Saxton seemed to have no real urge to grant Delaney a rematch. It really is strange. I am wondering if Frankie Palermo and other mobsters at the time had something to do with Delaney never becoming ranked or earning a rematch for the belt. They definenitely held a lot of power back then. Delaney is still alive, at 88 year's old, so I would be curious to hear what he has to say about this all.Comment
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Thank you so much for finding that. What a great find! Looking forward to listening to all of these and gain a better perspective.Comment
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