April 2, 1954: Olson vs Gavilan

Child Gavilan, aka “The Cuban Hawk,” had been a prime ranked boxer for years earlier than he received the world welterweight title, having bested such tough clients as Tommy Bell, George Costner, Ike Williams, Tony Janiro and Beau Jack earlier than turning into champion. In actual fact, his first likelihood for a world title was in opposition to Sugar Ray Robinson, a rematch after their considerably controversial non-title conflict in 1948. On that event, the group in Yankee Stadium went berserk when Robinson was awarded a unanimous factors win. Whereas most at ringside felt the judges bought it proper, the followers had been received over by Gavilan’s aggressive surge within the late going.

Their showdown for the championship a yr later in Philadelphia was extra decisive. Everybody knew Robinson had an especially troublesome time making 147 kilos, so Gavilan tried to take benefit, setting a quick tempo and sweeping the primary 4 rounds. However after that, the champion asserted himself and dominated the Cuban within the latter levels of the bout. If Sugar Ray didn’t appear to be an all-time nice in his first battle with “The Keed,” he actually did within the second.

However then Robinson moved as much as middleweight, finally successful his second divisional crown when he stopped Jake LaMotta within the well-known “St. Valentine’s Day Bloodbath” in 1951, whereas Gavilan defeated Johnny “Honey Boy” Bratton to turn into the brand new king at 147. For the following few years “The Hawk” maintained a busy schedule, mixing in variety of non-title wins with championship defenses in opposition to Billy Graham, Gil Turner, Chuck Davey and Carmen Basilio.

By 1954, he had just about cleaned out the division, so naturally Gavilan’s sights turned to the middleweights; in spite of everything, Robinson had retired, hanging up the gloves after his traumatic defeat to Joey Maxim in June of 1952. Ray would return in 1955, however within the meantime Carl “Bobo” Olson had secured the vacant 160 pound title along with his win over Randy Turpin. Like Gavilan, Olson’s document additionally featured a pair of losses to Robinson. In 1950 he was knocked out in twelve rounds and in ’52 he shocked some by giving Ray a little bit of bother earlier than the champion rallied to safe a unanimous resolution. However since then Olson had put collectively a twelve battle win streak; he was a transparent favourite to retain his title in opposition to Gavilan.

The 2 champions had been a research in contrasts within the days main as much as the match. The smile by no means appeared to go away Gavilan’s face, whereas a perpetual grimace by no means left Olson’s. The press beloved the good-natured Gavilan and the papers had been full of pictures of the completely happy Cuban’s pearly-white grin.

“I really feel higher for this battle than ever earlier than,” mentioned the favored battler with the well-known “Bolo Punch.” “Prior to now I’ve been troubled by weight. Now I can eat and drink something I need. Individuals consider Olson’s weight benefit can be an excessive amount of. It received’t imply a factor. I’ll beat Olson on velocity and talent. ”

In the meantime “Bobo,” aka “The Kalihi Child,” wasn’t speaking a lot to reporters and his handlers admitted he was extra irritable than normal. “That’s an actual good signal,” mentioned his supervisor, Syd Flaherty. “When he will get crabby, I do know he’s within the temper to do some actual robust combating.”

As quickly because the match was signed, Olson vs Gavilan was a sizzling ticket. In spite of everything, again then there have been solely eight weight divisions in professional boxing and every one had a single champion. Bizarre, eh? So a match between a pair of legit world champs was robotically a significant attraction. A crowd of some twenty thousand stuffed Chicago Stadium for a showdown between two boxing kings and none left disillusioned. Gavilan and Olson each set a quick tempo and gave battle followers a tightly-contested and extremely entertaining battle.

Each spherical was shut, however the distinction was Olson’s pure edge in power as he utilized regular stress and persistently backed up the smaller man. The fighters took turns touchdown flurries of heavy blows and in spherical 9 Gavilan suffered a minimize over his proper eye. Within the following spherical they engaged in a chronic toe-to-toe change described by The New York Occasions as “one of the crucial livid and grueling in ring historical past.”

The vicious tempo of spherical ten might have sapped the challenger’s power as he coasted within the subsequent three stanzas and so Olson seized the initiative, driving dwelling thudding left hooks to physique and head. Gavilan fought again along with his well-known flurries but it surely was the champion doing the extra significant work. The challenger made a gallant stand within the closing spherical, gorgeous Olson along with his personal left hooks, but it surely was too little, too late. The referee and one decide gave it to Olson by six and eight factors, whereas the third official referred to as it a draw. There have been some who later swore they really noticed “Bobo” smile when the choice was introduced.

Afterwards, it was no shock to listen to Child Gavilan declare that he thought he had received the battle, however some had been startled when the Cuban and his supervisor claimed that “The Keed” had competed with an injured proper hand. He asserted that he had broken it in his tune-up match the month earlier than and it had bothered him all through coaching camp. When requested about that, Olson scowled some extra and identified that the challenger had handed his required medicals with no issue.

Gavilan misplaced his welterweight title to Johnny Saxton the next October in a extremely controversial bout, it being well-known that Saxton was managed by Blinky Palermo and the Philadelphia mob. Bookies suspended betting on that match weeks earlier than it occurred. The extremely robust Cuban continued boxing for an additional 4 years, however by no means once more fought for a world title.

In June of 1955 Olson took a cue from Gavilan and tried to maneuver up in weight; gentle heavyweight champion Archie Moore accommodated him and knocked him out in three. And by the tip of that yr he was again within the ring with a resurgent Sugar Ray Robinson, who relieved Olson of his middleweight title, scoring a clear KO over “Bobo” within the second spherical. Gavilan and Olson quickly pale away, however the Sugarman journeyed on.         — Michael Carbert