Philly Boxing History

OCTOBER 11, 1963

On this day in 1963, ranked welterweight contenders Jose Stable, #3, of Cuba and Dick Turner, #9 of Southwest Philly, clashed in a memorable bout which was nationally televised from the Blue Horizon. Both fighters entered the ring with excellent records, a world ranking, and one eye on welterweight champion Emile Griffith. Although both were in the opening stages of their careers, back in a day when some real seasoning was required prior to a crack at the title, each fighter felt they were getting close to the big time.

Turner was the betting favorite (8:5) with his 19-0-1 (11 KO) record. Up to this point, Turner had impressed the boxing world by fighting and winning in deep water against numerous opponents who held decisive advantages in experience. He was a classy and talented boxer who had scored victories over Isaac Logart and Federico Thompson. Jose Stable held a slight experience edge with his 22-2-1 (6 KO) slate. But the Cuban also had a reputation as a "Philly Killer" with his recent wins over Kitten Hayward, Charley Scott, C.L. Lewis and Sidney "Sweet Pea" Adams.

The fight was promoted by Herman Taylor who sold 953 tickets which generated a live gate of $4,465. Once the bell rang, Stable jumped out to a solid lead. He threw combination after combination from his familiar crouch to pile up points over the first few rounds while Turner seemed to have trouble getting off. When Turner did throw punches, they came one at a time and just could not match the output of his chugging-forward foe. Still Turner did his best to keep the fight close through the seventh round.

Beginning with round eight, Turner finally found his groove in the fight. His punches began to land with authority and with greater frequency. In the ninth, a hard right hand from Turner hurt the Cuban fireplug, and after dominating the tenth round, the fight suddenly seemed close.

The official scorecards favored Stable by majority decision. Judge Nate Lopinson scored it 46-46, or 4-4-1 in rounds. Judge Lou Tress had it 49-44 for Stable (6-1-3 in rounds) while referee Zack Clayton agreed that Stable won it but with a score of 47-44 (6-3-1 in rounds).

So Dick Turner suffered his first loss as a pro and Stable continued his streak over Philadelphia fighters. Stable would get his title shot against Griffith in 1965, but lose the fight by 15-round decision. His dominance over Philly's best also ended with the Turner bout. Stable would eventually lose in his last two matches against Philadelphians. Percy Manning beat him on points in 1965 and in 1966, Gypsy Joe Harris also took a decision.

For Turner his career would suddenly end after his next fight, a loss to Kitten Hayward. Although the fight was close and Hayward's narrow points win was widely debated, Turner suffered a detached retina and never fought again.

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