PHILLY BOXING HISTORY

  

 

Philly Boxing History

JANUARY 20, 1964

 
 

 

 

HAYWARD WINS BATTLE OF LOCAL WELTERS -  EDGES TURNER AT ARENA

Stanley 'Kitten' Hayward pulled out a close 10-round spilt decision against Dick Turner at the Philadelphia Arena on this day in 1964.

The bout, fittingly billed as "Philadelphia's Fistic Natural" by promoter Herman Taylor, had the makings of exactly that. It pitted two rising stars of the welterweight division with strikingly similar credentials. Hayward entered the ring with a record of 17-2-1 (8 KO), and was coming off his KO of Percy Manning. Turner, 19-1-1 (11 KO), was fighting for the first time since his only loss - a 10-round decision to Jose Stable at the Blue Horizon.  Turner had a KO of his own over Percy Manning, while Hayward's record also showed a 10-round blemish against Stable. Both fighters had scored decision wins over Gaylord Barnes, Hayward in six and Turner in eight. So only their bouts with Willie Davis produced different results. While Hayward was held to draw, Turner managed a sixth round TKO. Clearly their fight was a toss up going in. 

The bout itself was a squeaker and the result was disputed by some. But Kitten came away with the biggest win of his career, up to that point. He would continue to have a great run, beating Curtis Cokes, Vince Shomo, Tito Marshall & Bennie Briscoe over the next two years, bringing him to the brink of a title shot. 

After this fight, doctors discovered that Dick Turner had suffered a detached retina during the battle. To Turner's credit, he decided to step away from the game, showing grace and common sense - two qualities often lacking in boxing. But what a rematch it would have been! 

 
 
  OTHER FIGHT RESULTS ON THIS DATE:
  1927 - Harry Blitman W10 Eddie Covington at Philadelphia
  1930 - Benny Goldstein W8 Dick Welsh II at Baltimore
  1939 - Johnny Marcelline D10 Billy Passan at the Cambria A.C. in Kensington (NE Philly)

  1944 - Eddie Giosa W8 Rudy Garcia at the Olympia in South Philly

  1947 - Bob Montgomery KO5 Eddie Giosa in Philadelphia, PA
  1947 - Billy Arnold W10 Danny Rosati at Madison Square Garden in New York
  1953 - George Benton KO6 Bobby Lee at the Miami Beach Auditorium
  1956 - Gil Turner W10 Jackie LaBua in Syracuse, NY
  1964 - Bennie Briscoe W6 Johnny Clyde at the Arena in West Philly (Hayward-Turner undercard)
  1985 - Meldrick Taylor W6 Dwight Prachett at Atlantic City (Taylor's 2nd pro bout)
  1986 - Jimmy Young W10 Rocky Sekorski I at Marshall, TX
 

 

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