04.11.2021
Tonight’s lesson focused on my all-time favourite boxer, “Ancient” Archie “The Ole Mongoose”, Moore. Ring Magazine list him as the third greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time and fourth greatest puncher of all time. It is contested that Moore might have the biggest string of knockouts in the history of the sport. Welterweight boxer, Billy Bird, whose career ended in 1948 and sadly we have no available footage of fighting, gets the official recognition with 138. Moore’s official record was set at 131 or 132 by some authorities but Ring have his full record of 199-26-8 to consist of 145 Kos. The Ring also ranked Moore as the No. 1 contender in three different weight divisions: middleweight in 1942, light heavyweight in 1950 and heavyweight in 1955. He stood at 5’11” with a reach of 191cm.
A boxer-puncher by style, Moore promoted various boxing techniques, tactic and strategies that would remain popular to the present day, including the cross-arm defence. He would also train world heavyweight champions such as Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, when the latter returned to the ring.
According to his mother, Archibald Lee Wright, was born in Benoit, Mississippi in 1913. Moore would later insist it was in Collinsville, Illinois in 1916, but he would become known for spinning a good yarn. According to BoxRec Moore joked, "I have given this a lot of thought and have decided that I must have been three when I was born." The U.S. Census record from 1920 seems to put an end to the mystery. "Archie L. Wright" is listed as a nephew in the household of Cleveland Moore and was three years and two months old on the date of the census — January 2, 1920.
What we know for sure about Archie is that his father was a farm labourer and drifter who left his family when Archie was just 18 months old. Archie and his elder sister, Rachel, were promptly sent to live with the aforementioned uncle and aunt. They gave him the Moore surname so that, to paraphrase Archie, fewer questions were asked.
He told a story his childhood where he rode on horseback down to the swimming hole in Mississippi to join his sister, Rachel. Archie said he was suddenly surprised by a white boy who ran out and struck his horse in the face with a switch. The horse reared and Archie jumped off, grabbed the boy by the collar and shook him. Once he released him he saw a group of kids fleeing off into the distance. Not being able to ride the horse now due it being stressed, Archie said he had to lead it back and calm it down. When he arrived back home he was greeted by his child friends who were all looking at him as if he had committed a terrible crime. Archie’s aunt came out of the house to admonish him for hitting a boy. Archie told his account of the story and insisted he didn’t hit the boy. The aunt said she believed him but explained that he would now have to leave this part of the country because black boys were killed for hitting white boys. This story was often offered by Archie as the point of boxing origin for it was at that moment, so he said, that he realised life was a fight.
He had a stable upbringing with uncle and aunt, attending segregated all-black schools. However, the sudden death of his uncle by a freak accident incurred during an initiation ritual for a fraternal organisation and the death soon after of his elder sister whilst she gave birth to twins, might have been a catalyst for the trouble that would follow. Moore began running with street gangs and stealing. This included stripping copper wiring from abandoned houses to sell to scrap metal dealers and steel cash boxes from street cars. He eventually was sentenced to three years at a reform school in Booneville, Missouri. He had long held a love for boxing, having first stole two oil lamps from his aunt in order to sell so he could buy a pair of boxing gloves. Of his experiences at the reform school Moore said:
"The reform school was my personal crossroads. I had burned the bridge of formal education behind me and I now had a choice of which way to go and what to do. The feeling of shame that came over me when I thought of how my auntie must feel made the good she had built into me come forth."
Learning how much money a professional boxer could make, he pursued the sport with vigour, taking 16 KOs in his first intramural year. Moore was released on good behaviour after serving 22 months.
Struggling to find work during the depths of the Great Depression, rather go back to crime and not being able to immediately turn pro, he worked at the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. He used a lot of his time working there to develop his own training. He would stand upright whilst travelling on the back of flat-bed trucks waiting for the last moment to duck under a branch. The captain of the camp allowed Moore to assemble a boxing team. Moore described how many of the places he fought had racially charged atmospheres that were particularly evident when he had to fight white opponents. He told Poplar Bluff about his experiences fighting white boxer Bill Richardson:
“I knocked him down with a volley of head punches about one minute into round one. His brother ... was the referee. He was furious at me and told me to keep my punches up. Since I had been hitting Bill in the head I would have missed him altogether if I threw my punches any higher. But the referee said I had fouled him. ... I got steamed at this and offered to fight , too. I resolved not to hit Bill any place but his head. ... In the second round I dropped him with a left hook that spun his head like a top. ... I heard a man at ringside say, "For two cents I'd shoot that n*****."
Interestingly, Moore would get penalised for low blows during his professional career, losing two matched in 1948 and 1949 to Lloyd Gibson in Washington and Clinton Bacon in Indiana respectively. He also drew in a match against Freddie Dixon in Arizona in 1939 for an undisclosed foul – the rules of that state were that a fight could not be won or lost on a foul.
Moore officially turned professional in 1935 or 1936 (there are conflicting accounts). After drawing in a match with Eddie Brooker in February 1941, Moore decided to retire from boxing with a record of 47–5–3 (1 N/C). He was being plagued by stomach ulcers, which was probably one of the incentives that led him to fashion a special diet later on. He was hospitalised with a perforated ulcer that required an operation, leaving him unconscious for five days and a long scar shaped like a hockey stick. Moore went from 163 to 108lbs.
He returned to boxing just under a year later in January 1942. This was the year he was given his first shot at any title. He drew with Eddie Brooker again for the California State Middleweight title. Moore then won it on a unanimous decision in 1943 against Jack Chase (who, for a while, went under the name “Young Joe Louis”). After two more victories via knockout, Moore lost the title to Jack Chase on a unanimous decision in their rematch. He would meet another aspiring middleweight who was climbing the light heavyweight division, Ezzard Charles, in 1946. Charles would beat him on the three occasions they fought it was tight with Charles just edging a majority decision the second time but knocking Moore out in eighth round of a 15 round match in 1948.
Back in 1946 Moore challenged for the Californian State Light Heavyweight Championship, drawing to Billy Smith. He would also draw with Jack Chase and then beat him in their fourth match. In 1947 he would win the California State Light Heavyweight Championship only to lose it the following year.
One week after the St Valentine’s Day Massacre that had ended the feud between Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta we get the first piece of footage I have found on Archie Moore’s fights. He had already fought twice that year, winning both matches. This was his fifth and final fight against Jimmy Bivins over a six year period.
Bivins is considered one of the great under-rated fighters that never got a shot at a world title. Growing up in Georgia he became an honour student as a teenager and the story goes he would get chased by bullies for showing off. One day he stood and fought one of his pursuers, beating him soundly. The bully turned out to be the golden gloves champion.
Bivins became a Boxing Hall of Famer and beat some the best fighters of his era, including eight world champions. For example, in 1943 Bivins beat future world heavyweight champion, Ezzard Charles, by knocking him down seven times. Bivens never got a shot at a world title despite being both the number one contender at light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. He did get the “duration” versions of these titles.
He lost to Jersey Joe Walcott in 1946 after having a string of victories for four years. At this point he only had lost five times and won 52 and drawn once. His career seems have peaked after the Walcott defeat and became less exceptional afterwards.
He beat Archie Moore when they first met in 1945, knocking him down in the second round and then knocking him out in the sixth. Bivins would lose to Moore by TKO in their 1947 rematch then by majority decision in ’48 and by KO in ’49.
Despite having excellent in-fighting skills, Bivins was known as the Cleveland Spider-Man due to his long arms and is probably best described as an out-boxer. He used his limbs to good effective as a defensive tool and they also gave him good knockout ability.
Archie Moore versus Jimmy Bivins 21.02.1951
Moore was 176½ lbs and Bivins was 180½ lbs, standing at 5’9½”. Moore’s record at the time was 114–18–7 (1) and Bivins’s was 75–18–1.
This was part of an elimination tournament to see who would fight Joey Maxim for the World Light Heavyweight Championship. Neither of these two fighters had been given an opportunity to fight for this title previously.
"Archie Moore, No. 1 light heavyweight contender, stopped Jimmy Bivins at the end of the 9th round last night when Dr. Vincent Nardiello told referee George Walsh that Bivins was unable to see out of his battered left eye. Moore dumped the 30 year old Bivins with a right uppercut just before the bell ended the 9th. The bell saved Bivins after the count reached only one. Helped to his corner Bivins was ruled 'unable to continue' by Dr. Nardiello of the NYSAC. Moore took an early lead with his slashing lefts but Bivins came back strong in the middle rounds to score with his overhand right. Both were cautious of each other’s punching ability from previous meetings." -Associated Press
Throughout 1951 Moore boxed 18 times, winning 16, losing one and drawing once. This included a tour of Argentina where he fought seven times, winning six and getting his one draw that year, and a fight in Uruguay where he knocked out Vicente Quiroz in the sixth round.
Archie Moore versus Embrel Davidson 05.09.1951
Embrel Davidson was more of a heavyweight fighter than a light-heavyweight. Born on 16th May 1929, he stood at 6’1” and his professional debut was on 16th November 1948, where he lost but then continued on a winning streak for 21 fights. These were nearly all stoppages, more often straight KOs. He lost a match just prior to his fight with Moore to Clarence Henry via a TKO. He appears to have been a journeyman slugger.
Notes from Boxing Hall of Fame:
“The ring announcer proclaimed Moore’s weight to be 174 3/4 lbs. At 209 3/4 lbs., as the announcers indicated, Davidson outweighed Moore by 35 pounds.
A right hand sent Davidson down in Round 1. He remained flat out on his chest until the count of eight and made it to all fours as the referee reached the count of ten.
Following the knockout, Moore went over and helped Davidson to his feet.”
This was Davidson’s first loss via a straight KO, but it wouldn’t be his last. He would retire in 1957 with a record of 36 wins (25 by KO) and six losses (5 by KO).
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