Jimmy Ellis

For the rockabilly singer, see Jimmy "Orion" Ellis. For the soul singer, see The Trammps.

Jimmy Ellis
Statistics
Real name	James Albert Ellis
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Reach	76 in (193 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1940-02-24) February 24, 1940 Louisville, Kentucky
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	53
Wins	40
Wins by KO	24
Losses	12
Draws	1
No contests	0

James Albert "Jimmy" Ellis (born February 24, 1940) is a retired boxer from Louisville, Kentucky. He fought in what some consider to be the greatest heavyweight era of all-time. The top heavyweights of the time included Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Floyd Patterson, Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, George Chuvalo, Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, Buster Mathis, Ken Norton, Cleveland Williams, and Earnie Shavers, among others. Ellis held the WBA World Heavyweight Championship from 1968 to 1970. He was a skilled boxer, with a good chin and, as Angelo Dundee always stated, much better punching power than many expected.

Amateur career

Ellis got into boxing as a youngster after watching fellow Louisville native Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, fight on a local amateur boxing television show called Tomorrow's Champions. "I had a friend of mine named Donnie Hall, and he fought Ali," Ellis said. "Donnie lost, and I thought I could maybe be a fighter then." Ellis went with Hall to Louisville's Columbia Gym, where the coach was a police officer named Joe Martin.

Ellis won 59 of 66 amateur bouts and was a Golden Gloves champion. He boxed Ali twice as an amateur, with Ali winning the first bout and Ellis winning the second.

Early professional career

Ellis turned professional in 1961. Early in his pro career, he was trained and managed by Bud Bruner. With Bruner, he compiled a record of 15-5 (6 KOs) as a middleweight. His five losses were decisions to top middleweight contenders Holly Mims (whom he defeated in a rematch), Henry Hank, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Don Fullmer, and George Benton.

At the end of 1964, after losing three out of four fights, Ellis decided to leave Bruner. He later recalled Bruner fondly. "I liked him, and I fought a lot of top-rated fighters when I was with him, but eventually I had to move on," Ellis said. "He did me justice, and we always remained friends."

Ellis wrote a letter to Angelo Dundee, the trainer of Ali, and asked him to handle his career. Dundee agreed to be his manager and trainer. Ellis became a sparring partner for Ali and started to fight on his undercards. Six of his first eight fights with Dundee were on an Ali undercard.

WBA elimination tournament

By 1966, Ellis was fighting as a heavyweight. When Ali was stripped of the world title for refusing to enter the military, the World Boxing Association staged an eight-man tournament that featured most of the top heavyweight contenders. Ellis, with eight consecutive wins, was invited to be in the tournament. Joe Frazier, the widely accepted #1 contender, chose not to participate in the tournament. Instead, Frazier fought and knocked out Buster Mathis for the vacant New York State Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Championship.

In his first WBA elimintor, Ellis impressively stopped Leotis Martin in nine rounds on cuts. The fight was about even at the time of the stoppage, but Ellis' sneaky and fast right hand had been a continual danger to Martin throughout. In his next fight, Ellis dropped iron-jawed Oscar Bonavena twice on his way to an easy fifteen-round unanimous decision to reach the WBA tournament final.

On April 27, 1968, Ellis defeated Jerry Quarry by a fifteen-round majority decision to win the vacant WBA World Heavyweight Championship. The referee scored the fight 7-6-2 for Ellis, while the two judges at ringside scored it 10-5 for Ellis and 6-6-3, respectively. Sports Illustrated called Ellis' performance "a tactical masterpiece." Quarry said, "If they'd given me the decision, I'd have given it back. I didn't deserve it.".

Title reign

In his only successful title defense, Ellis defeated Floyd Patterson by a controversial fifteen-round decision on September 14, 1968 in Stockholm, Sweden. Many in the crowd of 30,000 disagreed with the decision and started chanting, "Floyd champ!" The New York Times scored the fight seven rounds to six for Ellis, with two even. Ellis left the match bloodied with a broken nose.

Following the defeat of Patterson, Ellis was out of the ring for seventeen months. He was going to fight Henry Cooper in the United Kingdom, but Cooper was injured and pulled out of the fight. In his biography, Cooper alleges the British Boxing Board of Control blocked the match but the reason is unclear. Ellis then planned to fight Bob Cleroux in Montreal, but Cleroux lost what was supposed to be a tune-up fight against the lightly regarded Billy Joiner. Finally, Ellis was going to fight Gregorio Peralta in Argentina, but promoters canceled the fight 24 hours before it was to take place because of poor ticket sales.

On February 16, 1970, Ellis fought Frazier to unify the World Heavyweight Championship. Predictions were split, but Frazier proved too strong and powerful. The undefeated Frazier knocked Ellis down twice in the fourth round, and Dundee stopped the fight before the start of the fifth round. It was the first knockout loss for Ellis.

Fighting Ali

After winning his next three fights, Ellis fought Ali in the Houston Astrodome on July 26, 1971. Being the manager and trainer of Ellis, but only Ali's trainer, Dundee chose to work with Ellis for the fight. It was one of the few fights in Ali's career in which Dundee was not in his corner. Ellis fought well over the first three rounds, but the fight turned after Ellis was hurt by a right hand in the fourth round. The right hand "hurt me so bad I couldn't really fight my best after that," Ellis said. "It ruined me." Ali went on to stop Ellis in the twelfth round.

Diminishing skills

Ellis won his next eight fights by knockout and then fought Earnie Shavers, who was 44-2 (43 KOs). The fight took place on June 18, 1973 at Madison Square Garden. Ellis stunned Shavers with a chopping right to the jaw and backed him into a corner. Then, with a single right uppercut, Shavers put Ellis down for the count. The time was 2:39 in the first round. It was a stunning win for Shavers.

Ellis came back with a knockout of Memphis Al Jones, but with his skills in decline, he went winless in his next five fights. He lost a split decision to Boone Kirkman, fought a draw with contender Larry Middleton, dropped decisions to Ron Lyle and Joe Bugner, and was stopped in nine rounds in a rematch with Joe Frazier.

The rematch with Frazier took place in Australia on March 2, 1975. Ellis won the first three rounds, but Frazier then picked up the intensity and took control. With Ellis bloody and battered, Angelo Dundee signaled for referee Bob Foster to stop the fight in the ninth round.

On May 6, 1975, in what would be his last fight, Ellis knocked out a Carl Baker in the first round. He retired after suffering a training injury that left him partially blind in his left eye. Ellis finished with a record of 40-12-1 (24 KOs).

After retiring from boxing, Ellis trained boxers and worked for the Louisville Parks Department. He now suffers from dementia pugilistica. It has been reported that Ellis' condition is so bad that he believes his deceased wife is still alive.

Professional boxing record

40 Wins (24 knockouts, 16 decisions), 12 Losses (4 knockouts, 8 decisions), 1 Draw [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	21-22-1	Carl "The Tank" Baker	KO	1	06/05/1975	Orlando, Florida
Loss	31-2	Joe Frazier	TKO	9	02/03/1975	St. Kilda Junction Oval, Melbourne, Victoria	Referee stopped the bout at 0:59 of the ninth round.
Loss	48-6-1	Joe Bugner	PTS	10	12/11/1974	Empire Pool, Wembley, London	0-8.
Loss	27-1-1	Ron Lyle	UD	12	16/07/1974	Denver, Colorado	55-59, 52-58, 52-59.
Draw	21-4-1	Larry Middleton	PTS	10	04/03/1974	Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Loss	30-2	Boone Kirkman	SD	10	12/12/1973	Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington
Win	5-20-2	"Memphis" Al Jones	KO	7	23/10/1973	Atlanta Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia
Loss	44-2	Earnie Shavers	KO	1	18/06/1973	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Ellis knocked out at 2:39 of the first round.
Win	10-13-2	Rico Brooks	KO	5	05/05/1973	Phoenix, Arizona	Brooks knocked out at 0:48 of the fifth round.
Win	4-5-1	Joe Tiger Harris	KO	2	14/04/1973	Huntington, West Virginia
Win	8-16-1	Charlie "Emperor" Harris	TKO	1	06/03/1973	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida	Referee stopped the bout at 1:48 of the first round.
Win	16-11-1	Bob Felstein	KO	2	21/02/1973	Orlando, Florida	Felstein knocked out at 0:48 of the second round.
Win	13-21-2	Harold "70's Version" Carter	TKO	7	26/10/1972	Raleigh County Armory, Beckley, West Virginia	Referee stopped the bout at 0:37 of the seventh round.
Win	21-41	Ollie Wilson	TKO	6	21/09/1972	St. Josaphat Auditorium, Parma, Ohio
Win	10-11-1	Rico Brooks	KO	2	13/06/1972	Miami Marine Stadium, Key Biscayne, Florida
Win	10-13	Dick Gosha	TKO	6	16/05/1972	Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington	Referee stopped the bout at 2:55 of the sixth round.
Loss	31-1	Muhammad Ali	TKO	12	26/07/1971	Astrodome, Houston, Texas	WBC NABF Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:10 of the 12th round.
Win	63-16-2	George Chuvalo	UD	10	10/05/1971	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario	48-46, 48-44, 49-43.
Win	36-8-1	"Irish" Tony Doyle	KO	10	02/03/1971	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida	Doyle knocked out at 2:42 of the tenth round.
Win	21-20	Roberto Davila	TKO	7	10/11/1970	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida	Referee stopped the bout at 2:26 of the seventh round.
Loss	24-0	Joe Frazier	TKO	5	16/02/1970	Madison Square Garden, New York City	WBC/WBA/NYSAC World Heavyweight Titles.
Win	46-6-1	Floyd Patterson	PTS	15	14/09/1968	Solna Stadion, Stockholm	WBA World Heavyweight Title. 9-6.
Win	26-1-4	Jerry Quarry	MD	15	27/04/1968	Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California	WBA World Heavyweight Title. 10-5, 7-5, 6-6.
Win	31-3	Oscar Bonavena	UD	12	02/12/1967	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	WBA Heavyweight Elimination Tournament. 56-53, 59-53, 55-54.
Win	24-1	Leotis Martin	TKO	9	05/08/1967	Astrodome, Houston, Texas	WBA Heavyweight Elimination Tournament. Referee stopped the bout at 1:43 of the ninth round.
Win	17-3-1	Johnny Persol	KO	1	22/03/1967	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Persol knocked out at 2:44 of the first round.
Win	35-29-4	Tommy "Hurricane" Sims	KO	1	14/11/1966	Astrodome, Houston, Texas	Sims knocked out at 2:38 of the first round.
Win	10-2	Eddie Dembry	KO	1	27/10/1966	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	20-14-1	Billy "The Barber" Daniels	PTS	6	10/09/1966	Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Hesse
Win	19-4-1	Leweni Waqa	KO	1	21/05/1966	Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London
Win	13-3-2	Hubert Hilton	PTS	8	29/03/1966	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario	WBA World Heavyweight Title. 10-5, 7-5, 6-6.
Win	11-7-1	Chuck Leslie	UD	10	15/11/1965	The Hacienda, Las Vegas, Nevada	49-43, 48-43, 48-43.
Win	66-23-9	Joe Blackwood	KO	1	25/05/1965	Saint-Dominic Academy, Lewiston, Maine
Loss	52-9-1	George Benton	MD	10	30/11/1964	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	45-46, 45-46, 46-46.
Loss	32-11-2	Don Fullmer	SD	10	21/10/1964	Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	5-2	Joe Spencer	KO	1	21/04/1964	Lexington, Kentucky
Loss	18-4	Rubin Carter	UD	10	28/02/1964	Madison Square Garden, New York City	2-7, 3-6, 3-7.
Win	54-5-5	Lou Gutierrez	PTS	10	27/09/1963	Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	31-11-5	Johnny Halafihi	KO	1	18/06/1963	Empire Exhibition Stadium, Wembley, London
Win	20-15-2	LeRoy Green	UD	10	03/12/1962	Columbia Gymnasium Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Loss	52-16-3	Henry Hank	UD	10	01/09/1962	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	45-47, 46-47, 44-47.
Win	2-2	Sammy Poe	PTS	4	13/06/1962	Phoenix Hotel Ballroom, Lexington, Kentucky
Win	14-10-1	Charlie Glover	PTS	4	13/06/1962	Phoenix Hotel Ballroom, Lexington, Kentucky
Win	34-27-4	Rudolph Bent	TKO	2	07/06/1962	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	Referee stopped the bout at 1:17 of the second round.
Win	57-22-6	Holly Mims	UD	10	04/05/1962	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	14-3-3	Johnny Alford	MD	6	17/02/1962	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	45-14-2	Herman Calhoun	KO	1	11/01/1962	Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Loss	56-22-6	Holly Mims	UD	10	29/11/1961	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	18-24-5	Clarence Riley	TKO	2	07/10/1961	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	34-19-1	Wilf Greaves	MD	10	22/08/1961	Fairgrounds Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	21-4	Johnny Morris	SD	6	22/07/1961	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	11-3-1	Gene Leslie	PTS	8	06/05/1961	Louisville, Kentucky
Win	15-12-1	Arley Seifer	TKO	3	19/04/1961	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky

External links

• Professional boxing record for Jimmy Ellis from BoxRec

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Muhammad Ali	WBA World Heavyweight Champion 1968 – February 16, 1970	Succeeded by Joe Frazier