Ketchel Fights Light Heavy Champ

1909 saw Stanley Ketchel continue his torrid pace through all the top fighters around the middleweight limit.  In March 1909, Ketchel faced a rare challenge, when he fought reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion Philadelphia Jack O’Brien.

O’Brien was a slick boxer, who used his speed and elusiveness to pummel Ketchel in the early rounds.  Despite O’Brien’s size advantage, Ketchel was the harder puncher.  By the later rounds, Ketchel began to damage O’Brien.

O’Brien finished the fight in an insensible condition with his head resting in his corner’s resin box.  However, the bell rang to end the fight before the referee counted ten.  The match was declared a draw infuriating Ketchel.

Ketchel received a rematch and his chance at revenge on June 9, 1909 in O’Brien’s hometown.  The men met at the National Athletic Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The fight was scheduled for 6 rounds, an unusually short fight between champions, instead of the customary 10 rounds it had been in March..

O’Brien’s handlers may have wanted less rounds based on their previous fight.  With fewer rounds to work, they probably figured O’Brien could easily last the distance.  They were wrong.

Ketchel swarmed O’Brien from the opening bell.  Concentrating mainly on the body, Ketchel punished O’Brien relentlessly.  While fighters can recover from head shots during a fight, they struggle to recover from body shots, which drain energy from the whole body.

As the second round progressed, O’Brien staggered from a body blow.  Seeing his opening, Ketchel cracked O’Brien on the jaw with a strong right hand.  O’Brien struggled back to his feet at the referee’s count of six.  O’Brien was clearly struggling at the end of the second round.

Ketchel smelled blood in the water.  Rushing from his stool to begin the third round, Ketchel was determined to end the fight.  Ketchel threw wild blows from every angle to both the body and head.

O’Brien did his best to block the blows but a left hook got around his guard.  O’Brien slumped to the ropes nearly helpless.

Realizing his predicament, O’Brien tried one last time to clinch Ketchel.  Undeterred, Ketchel pushed O’Brien back to the ropes as he struck him with both a right cross and left hook to the head.  The referee jumped in to rescue O’Brien declaring Ketchel the winner by TKO.

With his dominant victory, pundits began promoting Ketchel as a possible contender for the seemingly unbeatable heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.   Probably the biggest money match available to both men, they would agree to a fight in October 1909.

Initially, the bout was supposed to be an exhibition, where they would work with each other and fight to a draw.  Ketchel tried double-crossing Johnson with disastrous results.

Little did anyone know, the young middleweight champion would be dead in a year.

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Source: Tonopah Daily Bonanza (Tonopah, Nevada), June 10, 1909 edition, p. 1

 

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