Gotch nws Boxing

Ib cov lus nug muaj hnub nyoog laus nyob hauv txhua qhov kev ua si puas yog “Leej twg yuav yeej ib boxer thiab ib wrestler?” Lub speculation nyob ib ncig ntawm qhov lo lus nug mus rau ob peb boxer ntev wrestler qhov yuam kev ntawm paub keeb kwm, tus phem tshaj notably Muhammad Ali thiab Antonio Inoki hauv 1976. Qhov yuam kev ntawm cov saibxyuas no-win affairs tsuas yog nyob rau qhov chaw ua hauj lwm, Nws yog vim li cas cov promoters thiab combatants muaj tau xav nrog cov bouts txij ua ke mus ua ke.

Nyob rau hauv 1905, America tau ob hom heavyweights leej kev boxing thiab wrestling. James J. Jeffries, tus haib puncher, txawm yog unbeatable rau 1905 Txawm tias nws yuav surprise txhua tus neeg ntawm retiring nyob rau hauv tej 1905. Jeffries tseem tsis kam tiv thaiv nws lub npe rau lub African-American ntau contenders, thiaj li promoters, unaware uas nws npaj rau kev so num lawm, were looking for credible challengers.

Frank Gotch held the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. Nyob rau hauv 1908, Gotch would also win the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. Gotch was a dominant champion although he did have one serious challenger in Tom Jenkins. They would trade the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship a couple times before Gotch took it for good.

Gotch had also boxed previously in the Klondike, so he was considered a possible challenge for Jeffries. Gotch enjoyed money, so he was more than willing to take part in such a contest.

To build anticipation in a possible boxing contest between Jeffries and Gotch, which Gotch would almost surely lose, Gotch took part in a boxing match with his friend Sam Williams. Williams was a Canadian heavyweight boxer. Williams agreed to fight with Gotch in a 10-round boxing match. They boxed on Friday, Lub ob hlis ntuj 10, 1905 tav su.

While the match was probably a “friendly exhibition”, Sam Williams actually was injured during the bout. Gotch and Williams were evenly matched. Neither man dominated the boxing match. Txawm li cas los, Gotch seemed to be hitting harder. Purposely or on accident, Gotch caught Williams flush in the fifth round with a right hand to the head.

The force of the blow knocked Williams to the ground, where his right arm got twisted under his body. The fall caused Williams to suffer a sprained shoulder. Unable to continue, Williams conceded the bout to Gotch.

Gotch seemed concerned for his friend and regretted the injury to his shoulder. Gotch’s efforts also came to naught, when Jeffries retired three months later. The bout turned out to be a distraction for Gotch, who could have made more money wrestling.

It was not the first nor the last time a boxer versus wrestler match would be discussed until the birth of mixed martial arts. Combat sports fans have always been curious who would win between a pure boxer and pure wrestler.

Koj yuav tawm ib saib los nug cov lus nug txog qhov no los yog tej tsev xa rau kuv Facebook phab thiab Twitter profile.

Tau qhov twg los: Lub Saint-Louis tom qab Dispatch, Lub ob hlis ntuj 11, 1905 ib tsab, p. 3.

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