ARTUR BETERBIEV VS. ARCHIE MOORE
145 knockouts, which surpasses the 138 KOs by Billy Bird and would make him the all-time record holder. (BoxRec.com lists 132 KOs for Moore.) ® Notable wins: Beat Joey Maxim three times; beat Harold Johnson four times, knocking him out in Madison Square Garden in the fifth and final bout of their multi-fight series; beat Jimmy Bivins three times; middleweight champion Carl “Bobo” Olson (KO 3); Holman Williams (TKO 11), and Lloyd Marshall (TKO 10, UD 10). All are in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. ® Lightest weight in pro career was 145 pounds against Murray Allen on July 14, 1936; heaviest was 206½ pounds on May 15, 1960, against Willie Besmanoff. ® Moore trained in his gym, which he called the “Salt Mine,” in Ramona, California. He created a sign that christened his barn the “Bucket of Blood,” a name that was later copied by others. Strengths: Professional experience against boxing’s best, knockout punching power with every punch in the book, exquisite timing, accuracy, ring guile, defense and psychological warfare. Weaknesses: Waning punch resistance from so many do-or-die battles, fluctuating weight between fights, susceptible to knockdowns. ARTUR BETERBIEV In facing Artur Beterbiev, the modern- day undisputed light heavyweight champion, Moore will be up against an iron man of 21st-century training. Beterbiev is also known to have a friendly and humorous personality. So we have two of the nicest guys outside of the ring but two of the most merciless fighters with no quit in them matched in a championship fight. In my research on Beterbiev, I exchanged correspondence with his assistant trainer, John “Ice” Scully, a former light heavyweight contender and a longtime friend of mine. Beterbiev was shaped in the hard,
® Lost on points in the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Xiaoping Zhang. ® Won the 2009 World Championships and 2010 European Championship ® Fought Oleksandr Usyk three times in the amateurs: Won their first bout by decision in 2007, lost second bout in the 2011 World Championships but knocked Usyk down with a body shot, lost the third at the London Olympics by score of 13-17. Strengths: Rocky Marciano-style intense conditioning, powerful constitution, unyielding stamina. A ferociously sharp and accurate puncher; dispenses relentless, aggressive pressure in close or at long range with both hands while using a high-glove defense. Does not telegraph his punches. Weaknesses: Most experience is in the amateurs. Sometimes careless in close exchanges, leaving himself open for counter shots. Keeps head in “the center line” while on the attack. Can be knocked down, cut or outboxed from the outside during a bout. The possibility of overtraining with heavy weights is unknown at this time. PRE-FIGHT EVENTS: At 6 a.m., Archie Moore jogged up Salt Mine Road at the end of a difficult six- mile run. Arriving at his aptly named Salt Mine Training Camp, he approached the “Bucket of Blood” sign that served notice of what existed beyond his barn door and thought of the reporters who would arrive that afternoon to watch sparring and interview him about the upcoming fight against Artur Beterbiev. Always the showman, Moore had a lot to say and was eager to meet them. As he cooled down, he went to the computer and watched the highlights of Beterbiev’s last 10 knockouts. The Mongoose radiated the vast knowledge of a venerable, old-school boxing sage as he intensely watched each punch, riveted to the screen. It was deliciously akin to a
competitive world of Russian amateur boxing and is one of the most dangerous of that breed. His consistent dedication to arduous, spartan training while living a clean lifestyle outside the ring has contributed to him becoming an undefeated champion with 20 knockouts in 21 fights. ® Born January 21, 1985, in Khasavyurt, Russia; identifies strongly as Chechen; resides in Montreal as a Canadian citizen. ® Title held: Undisputed light heavyweight champion (Ring Magazine, IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO). First boxer to unify all of the major recognized world 175-pound titles since Roy Jones Jr. in 1999.
Both are nice guys, but Moore and Beterbiev are also savvy power-hitters in the ring.
Williams, Bert Lytell, Charley Burley and his earlier middleweight battles during the late 1930s and early ’40s. I had him demonstrate different punches for me and I made those two hours count. He was a brilliant, lovable rogue of a man with a great sense of humor. I also conducted interviews with Archie’s beloved daughter J’Marie and author Paul Gallender, who is writing a book on Moore. It is hard to make today’s younger boxing fans see the depth of Archie Moore’s greatness, because the caliber of the men he beat exists mostly in the memory of older, hardcore boxing fans of yesteryear. ARCHIE MOORE ® Born Archibald Lee Wright on December 13, 1913, in Benoit, Mississippi ® Died December 9, 1998, in San Diego, age 84 ® Pro fighter from 1935-1963 ® Ring record: 186-23-10 (132 KOs) ® Titles held: World light heavyweight title, The Ring championship, NBA light heavyweight title, NYSAC light heavyweight title. Reigned for nine years; beat nine world champions and seven hall of famers. ® Height: 5-foot-11; Reach: 75 inches ® Finally got his title shot in 1952 after 160 pro fights. ® Fighting moniker: “The Mongoose” ® Managers: Charlie Johnson, Jack “Doc” Kearns. Cornermen: James Norman, Hiawatha Gray, trainer Dick Sadler. ® Rated the second-hardest puncher in the last 100 years by The Ring Magazine. ® At nearly 42 years old, he punched hard enough to put heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano on the deck with a right hand in the second round of their fight on Sept. 21, 1955. ® According to daughter J’Marie Moore and Archie Moore himself, he scored
® Pro career: 2013-present ® Pro record: 21-0 (20 KOs)
® Height: 5-foot-11½; Reach: 73 inches ® Trainer is Marc Ramsay; Andre Kulesza is his strength coach; cutman is Luc-Vincent Ouellet; assistant trainer is Scully. ® A devout Muslim who maintains a strict halal diet, which has served him well in training. ® Has an intense training regimen and lifestyle, complete with powerlifting combined with lighter weight training. Has never smoked or consumed alcoholic beverages. He is put through every exercise imaginable by Kulesza, including calisthenics and plyometrics. ® His boxing workouts, supervised by Ramsay, involve strongly competitive sparring sessions. ® Acknowledged by the boxing community as one of the most powerful and disciplined fighters in the business. Superb mental attitude; pushes himself to never miss workouts or roadwork. ® Was cut severely by Marcus Browne but showed incredible resolve, seemingly impervious to pain or injury, in rallying to stop Browne in the ninth round. ® Holds wins over Dmitry Bivol (MD 12), Callum Johnson (KO 4; Beterbiev was knocked down in Round 2), Callum Smith (TKO 7), Joe Smith Jr. (TKO 2), Anthony Yarde (TKO 8), Oleksandr Gvozdyk (TKO 10). ® Amateur record: Estimated at 295-5
FIGHTER BACKGROUNDS We are dealing with two of the most dynamic light heavyweight champions in boxing history in a battle of old school vs. new school. This Mythical Matchup will be conducted on the best night either man ever had. Historical boxing figures from different eras will be placed in the fantasy fight for your entertainment. I am matching Moore and Beterbiev at a fictional moment in time when they both enter the ring with the sum total of their fistic knowledge from all their fights. They will both be 39 years old when they share the ring.
I had the honor and pleasure of spending several hours alone with Archie Moore, who was 77 at the time, in his Connecticut hotel room after I spoke at a dinner for the Rocky Marciano Foundation in 1991. I spent those hours play-shadowboxing with him while he graciously answered all my questions about boxing techniques and his old-time fights with the members of “Murderers’ Row.” I didn’t ask him one question about Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Ezzard Charles or Floyd Patterson. I didn’t bring up the usual stuff. He was delighted when I asked him about Curtis “Hatchetman” Sheppard, Lloyd Marshall, Holman
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