Jimmy Ellis
| 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 | 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, which included Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Jerry Quarry, Floyd Patterson, Oscar Bonavena, Earnie Shavers and George Chuvalo among others.[1] 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 punch power than many expected. Ellis had 'Iron jawed' Bonavena down twice.
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[edit] 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.[2]
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.
[edit] 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) and was ranked #10 in the world 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."[3]
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.[4]
[edit] The WBA vacant Heavyweight Championship
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.
[edit] WBA Elimination bout series
In his first WBA elimintor, Ellis stopped Leotis Martin in nine rounds on cuts when the scoring was around evens. But his sneak fast and dangerous right hand had been a continual danger to Martin throughout. Perhaps, then the best win of his career was when he then easily outpointed Oscar Bonavena to reach the WBA tournament final.
[edit] Wins WBA World title
On April 27, 1968, Ellis defeated Jerry Quarry in a cautious fifteen-round split decision to win the vacant WBA World Heavyweight Championship.[5] In his only successful title defense, Ellis defeated Floyd Patterson in 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.[6] 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 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.[7][8]
[edit] Unification match against Frazier
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.
[edit] Ali match
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.[9]
[edit] Diminishing Skills, versus Shavers
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.[10]
Ellis came back with a knockout of Journeyman 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 Larry Middleton, dropped decisions to Ron Lyle and Joe Bugner, and was stopped in nine rounds in a rematch with Frazier.
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.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ George Chuvalo - The Right Place at The Wrong Time
- ^ Still On His Feet, But Ellis Pays The Price For Boxing Fame
- ^ The Courier-Journal February 23, 1996
- ^ Sports Illustrated December 11, 1967
- ^ Forty years ago: WBA launches heavyweight tourney
- ^ New York Times September 15, 1968
- ^ Modesto Bee September 30, 1969
- ^ The Age December 23, 1969
- ^ Sports Illustrated August 2, 1971
- ^ The Montreal Gazette June 19, 1973
- ^ Jimmy Ellis: From Ali Sparring Partner To Heavyweight Champion
[edit] External links
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Muhammad Ali |
WBA World Heavyweight Champion 1968–1970 |
Succeeded by Joe Frazier |
