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Denis Buchanan's Been around boxing

One of Queensland’s better sport writers, Bernie Pramberg, in the Courier Mail in September, wrote a scathing article decrying the “appalling quality of boxers brought to Australia in recent years.”

He cited cases where the so- called Thai taxi-drivers, Filipino busboys and South American tango dancers have proven to be little more than prelim boys with a top heavy loss/win record- sometimes with a no-win /all loss record.
There are numerous examples of mismatched imports bearing meaningless titles providing pathetic opposition for good Australian fighters and this can’t be doing much to revitalize the fight game.

Time was when the very best in the world travelled to our shores and came to do battle with great Australian fighters and returned, mostly to the USA, with enhanced reputations.
One, Jimmy Carter, was given a boxing lesson by brilliant Melbourne lightweight, Norm Gent and promptly went back and won a world title. Norm, who was one of our most skilful boxers ever, fought a draw against a Mexican American import named Rudy Cruz in Melbourne in 1949. What a fight that must have been!
Cruz who had actually beaten Jimmy Carter and outpointed our own, hard punching Jack Hassen, had the most finely honed defensive skills that I have ever seen.

I watched Rudy box four rounds with one of Australia’s best amateurs at Spartels and I swear, this kid, himself a pretty smart boxer, could not have hit Cruz with a tennis racquet.
Rudy Cruz had the incredible ability to block a punch before it was thrown. He wouldn’t wait for it to come to him, rather he would block his opponent's glove just as he was about to get the punch off.

Nick Spartels was a colourful Turk who ran the city’s only Turkish bath where all the jockeys all went to “waste” and fighters went to “make weight.” Nick also had a fine boxing set up, ring, bags, showers. He trained a few professional fighters and a swag of amateurs.
He often seconded his boys wearing a fez and sporting the Turkish Red Crescent.

Speaking of tough Mexicans, I covered, for an earlier incarnation of FIGHTER Magazine, the Jeff Fenech v Daniel Zaragoza encounter at Perth Entertainment Centre on 11 April 1985.

Sceptics had been suggesting that Jeff had been fighting easybeats. This tough as nails southpaw was no pushover and he certainly turned up to fight. Jeff earned a unanimous victory over 10 through hand speed and volume, persistence and strength.
Can you imagine just how strong Jeff was at super bantam? Zaragoza fought Fenech right to the last bell, at one point he hit the Australian with the best southpaw left cross I have ever seen, right on the button. Jeff didn’t even blink.

Daniel Zaragoza resumed his long career in the USA and won and lost world titles, providing some of the most stirring, centre ring, bloody toe-to-toe battles ever seen on pay for view, until the great Eric Morales knocked him out in 1997.

STILL on Fenech, how about that great light heavyweight, Virgil Hill on the under card of Jeff’s ill fated encounter with Azumah Nelson. What an educated left hand!

On the some bill, right down the bottom of the under card, a little Russian bloke with a pig tail, still struggling with English, was asked by his corner to “win the first round.” He thought they said “win in the first round.”
He promptly went out and demolished his opponent in 45 seconds with the kind of power punching we have now come to expect from Kostya Tszu.

No older fight fan, when discussing great overseas fighters who campaigned in Australia, would overlook the great Freddie Dawson. I watched in awe, as a twelve your old, at Jack Carroll’s Bourke Street gym in Melbourne.

Dawson demolished his “one pound a-round” sparring partners with a combination of balance, speed and power like Shane Mosley at his peak. While in Australia Freddie knocked out Norm Gent, Vic Patrick, Len Dittmar, Jack Hassen and Dave Sands' young brother, Alfie.The best he could do against durable George Barnes was a points decision over fifteen.

In the USA Dawson fought Luther Rawlings and Virgil Akins and lost a world title tilt on points to the legendary Ike Williams over the championship fifteen rounds.
Freddie had 117 fights for a record of 100-14-3 (40).
He died in 1992, at the age of 68.

I realize pay-for- view has changed the boxing fan profile and determined how boxers are remunerated..
But with so many good Australian fighters raising our profile in the big money environment of the USA, perhaps it’s time to rebalance our exports with a few quality imports.
Perth and Danny Green might lead the renaissance.