|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Philly Boxing History |
||||
|
FEBRUARY 24, 1954 |
||||
|
|
Newark, NJ welterweight, Johnny Saxton fought Johnny Bratton, the experienced Chicago-based pro, on this day in 1954. Bratton was coming off his second failed title challenge of Kid Gavilan, while Saxton was looking to land his first championship shot when this match up of Blinky Palermo protégées was staged at the Philadelphia Arena. Saxton's 43-2-1 record included wins over Joey Giardello, Tiger Jones and Tony Pellone. Bratton had fought everyone by that point and his 59-21-3 record showed it. In the fight, Saxton cruised to a unanimous decision win over Bratton. The official scorecards gave Bratton just one round. He would fight only two more times before retiring. The victory set Saxton up for a world title match against Gavilan, which took place in October 1954 at Philadelphia's Convention Hall. Saxton made good, winning a unanimous decision over 15 rounds to take the crown. But most observers thought Gavilan had the edge in the boring title waltz. |
|||
| OTHER FIGHT RESULTS ON THIS DATE: | ||||
|
1944 - Billy Arnold KO1 Buck Streator at the Olympia in South Philly |
||||
| 1951 - Joey Giardello KO3 Tony Wolfe at Philadelphia, PA | ||||
| 1954 - Jimmy Soo KO2 Charley Drexler at the Arena in West Philly | ||||
| 1954 - Henry 'Toothpick' Brown W6 Tommy Martin at the Arena in West Philly | ||||
| 1954 - Charley Scott W4 Billy Walker at the Arena in West Philly | ||||
| 1955 - Garnet 'Sugar' Hart KO1 Roosevelt Coward at Philadelphia, PA | ||||
| 1977 - Ray Villanueva KO4 Lil' Abner (Perry Abney) at the Spectrum in South Philly | ||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
SAXTON
TOPS BRATTON IN 10