Veteran writer recalls first boxing show

By Jack Hirsch

AUGUST 18, 1969 will be the 55th anniversary of when I attended my first professional boxing show. Unfortunately, I have not kept an exact count of how many I went to since, but it is safe to say not many people have gone to more.

There have been legendary fights that this writer has viewed from the stands such as the Fight of the Century between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran lifting the world lightweight title from Ken Buchanan, and Diego Corrales’ miracle comeback in stopping Jose Luis Castillo. But it is the first show and the men who boxed on it which will always hold a special place in my heart.

The new Madison Square Garden had opened up a little over a year prior. It was still the Mecca of Boxing on that Monday evening in August. But not all shows in the hallowed arena were big. Many relied solely on the live gate, even some at MSG.

All of the men boxing that night had dreams. For some, fate would be kind. Others later went down the wrong path. But on that night, all had one thing in common, which was to allow them to go as far as their ring talents allowed. What would later become of some of the fighters on the show is fascinating when we look back on it.

There were 7,000 people in attendance at MSG that night, the upper balcony closed meaning even the cheap seats were not bad. Tickets ranged from $3-10. I sat in the $3 seats, a happy teenager who was just happy to be inside of the arena.

The main event featured George Foreman against Chuck Wepner. More on that later. But it is the first professional match I saw that stands out, between heavyweights Randy Neumann and Jeff Marx. It was won on a first-round knockout by Neumann who was making his debut that night. Neumann would go on to have a solid career, never quite achieving contender status, but mixing in good company. He lost two of three to Chuck Wepner, defeated Jimmy Young when he was on the way up, and was brutally stopped in four rounds by Duane Bobick.

Neumann’s career highlight was probably when he main evented in MSG against Jerry Quarry on Jan 5, 1973 and was stopped in seven rounds. He finished with a record of 31-7, 11 KOs. Neumann would go on to achieve notoriety as a referee, working some high-profile matches. Among my memorabilia is an autographed picture from Neumann of him standing over Marx with the words inscribed “You were there.”

As for Marx, he never boxed again, finishing up at 2-1, 2 KOs. Decades later I was engaging in conversation with author Ron Ross and learned he had managed Marx. Ross had a victory party planned for Marx after the fight that did not take place for obvious reasons.

I don’t remember the exact order of the bouts, but of the six on the show there is one I have absolutely no recollection of. It was a four rounder between welterweights Angel Jose Ortiz and Juan Rueda which ended in a draw. Being that I arrived at MSG on time, I have to assume it was the walkout bout after the main event, something common at the time. Perhaps I saw it, but don’t remember. In any event, neither went far in their careers.

New York light-heavyweights Angel Oquendo and Charley Devil Green engaged in a spirited eight-rounder which was a rematch from two years before. Oquendo won that one and appeared to win this one as well, but the judges’ thought otherwise. Green rocked Oquendo at one point, but looked to me like he was being outworked. Fights in New York were scored on the rounds basis at the time. I had it 5-2-1 for Oquendo, but Green escaped with a majority decision by margins of 4-3-1, 4-3-1, and 4-4.

As for Oquendo, he became a respected journeyman, boxing 19 times in the next seven years before calling it a career 27 -20-1, 6 KOs. Oquendo mixed in elite company against the likes of Victor Galindez, Vicente Rondon, and Marvin Camel, going the distance more times than not.

It is questionable whether Green should have been allowed to box Oquendo on the show. Just one month earlier he was knocked out in two rounds by Jose Torres under bizarre circumstances. Green was an emergency substitute for Jimmy Ralston that night who left the arena to head back to Buffalo while the show was in progress.

Green followed up on the Oquendo victory with a couple of more which propelled him into a main event at MSG against former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. Green was stopped with a body punch in 10 rounds. That began a disastrous slide in both his professional and personal life. He never won another match, losing his last nine.

The final one being against Larry Holmes who stopped Green in one. Green’s final ledger was a misleading 13-15, 8 KOs record, having lost his last nine bouts. Outside of the ring things were worse. A drug-crazed Green was convicted of a triple murder in 1983. He spent the rest of his life in jail, passing away at the age of 75 in 2014.

Unbeaten in 19 fights, Garden matchmaker Teddy Brenner had big plans for Puerto Rican heavyweight Pedro Agosto. Those plans evaporated to a large extent when one time prospect Forest Ward landed a short right to the side of Agosto’s jaw dropping him to a knee. Agosto got up very shakily, bounced up and down trying to get his legs in order.

But when the action resumed, he went down again the moment Forrest attacked. At that point, the referee Davey Feld stopped the match much to the chagrin of Brenner who felt he pulled the plug on it much too early. I remember thinking that it was stopped quicker than it should have been, but not outrageously so.

Brenner never forgave Feld. When he learned that the referee was assigned to work the Patterson-Green match, he used his influence with the commission to have him replaced. A livid Feld would have none of it and literally took matters into his own hands, walking toward the ring in his referee’s attire determined to work the fight. However, security intercepted Feld and carried him away from ringside. He never worked another fight. 

Ward never built on the result. Two months later he was stopped by Canadian Bill Dover and retired with an 8-2-2 record.

As for Agosto, he was never the same, losing to Wepner before the year was out, but he did get to mix in elite company being stopped by Foreman, Patterson, and Leon Spinks amongst others. Agosto’s final tally was 28-14-1, 22 KOs.

An eight-rounder of high quality saw Jeff Merritt outpoint Henry Clark over eight rounds by scores of 6-2, 6-2, and 5-3 (same as me). The year before Clark had been a contender who some were tipping to beat Sonny Liston when they fought, but he got dominated and was stopped in seven rounds.

From there, the California heavyweight became a gatekeeper-journeyman type, scoring some useful wins such as icing Merritt in 47 seconds of their rematch in 1974, but not being able to compete with the elite men in the division such as Ken Norton and Earnie Shavers. Clark retired with a 32-12-4, 9 KOs record.

Merritt’s career turned out to be a big tease. Promoted by Don King and serving as a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali, Merritt was a heavyweight with great potential who never quite broke through. Four years later he would stop Ernie Terrell in a round at Madison Square Garden, but substance abuse issues were his reported downfall. He never became a serious contender, ending his career with a 22-3-1, 17 KOs record. Merritt kind of just faded away, a true underachiever.

Which brings us to the main event of Foreman vs Wepner. It was Foreman’s fourth fight since he had turned pro just two months earlier. Wepner was already a seasoned pro having boxed 25 times, winning most, but being outclassed against the better opposition such as Buster Mathis who halted him in three. 

Predictably, both met head on from the opening bell of their scheduled eight-rounder. Foreman was very raw, but his talent level was clearly above Wepner’s who at the time was the prototype club fighter. Living up to his nickname as the ‘Bayonne Bleeder’, Wepner was stopped in three rounds. 

Foreman (76-5, 68 KOs) would, of course, go on to win the heavyweight twice in dramatic fashion. First knocking out Joe Frazier in 1973 in what was considered a big upset at the time. His loss of the title to Ali in Zaire in 1974 is considered one of the more legendary fights -events in boxing history.

And Foreman’s comeback after a 10-year absence from the ring, which culminated in him regaining the heavyweight title at age 45, is an inspiring story that is second to none. Who would have thought that the big, raw heavyweight only 20 at the time would enjoy the status and popularity that he eventually obtained. Ironically, Foreman would make more money outside the ring as a pitchman for his grilling machines than he ever made in it, selling his share in the company for a reported $137 million.

Wepner’s propensity to cut haunted him in succeeding fights where he was stopped by Sonny Liston and Joe Bugner. Chuck was still regarded as a club fighter when he was unexpectedly given a shot at the heavyweight crown against Ali in 1975. Rising to the occasion, Wepner fought the fight of his life, but came up short, being stopped with a mere 19 seconds to go in the 15th round.

Sitting in the stands was a young actor named Sylvester Stallone. He was so inspired by Wepner’s effort, that based on it he wrote a screenplay that turned into the academy award winning movie “Rocky.” If Wepner had not boxed Ali and come up with the effort that he did, then it is more likely than not the Rocky movies ever would have existed. That in itself makes Wepner’s contribution to boxing legendary.

There is something very special about the first boxing show any of us have attended. It stays with us for a lifetime.