FINISHING SHOTS By Tom Gray
PATIENCE OF A HAWK: On May 18, 1951, the great Kid Gavilan was 72-12-3 and had been a professional for eight years when he entered the Madison Square Garden ring to face Johnny Bratton for the vacant welterweight championship. Two years earlier, Gavilan had dropped a decision to then-champion Sugar Ray Robinson, who had since relinquished the crown and moved on to middleweight. Against Bratton, “The Cuban Hawk” had things mostly his own way, claiming the championship with an impressive 15-round unanimous decision. This was the first fight of a trilogy. Bratton took Gavilan to a draw in a non-title bout six months later and lost another decision for the championship in 1953.
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