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by John DiSanto |
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Eugene "Cyclone" Hart was one of Philly's greatest punchers and most exciting fighters ever. A murderous puncher and free-swinger in the ring, he scored 19 straight knockouts to start his career. Included in that streak were KO wins over Kitten Hayward, Leroy Roberts, Art Kettles, and Freddie Martinovich. Hart posted an overall career record of 30-9-1, with 28 KOs and 1 No Contest. That one draw was a Philly classic against Bennie Briscoe in their first match at the Spectrum. It was a fight that Cyclone once told me was his proudest moment and best fight of his career. He also faced Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Vito Antuofermo, Sugar Ray Seales, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, and Don Fullmer during his 13-year professional campaign (1969-1982). The Ring magazine once placed Hart on the all-time greatest punchers list, and he was inducted into the PA Boxing Hall of Fame in 2002. Cyclone also gave us Jesse Hart, his son, a two-time world title challenger, and three-time Briscoe Award winner.
Clearly, Cyclone Hart is one of the Philadelphia's best. He is also one of our most beloved former ring warriors. The Briscoe Awards were not around when he was fighting. If they were, we can only imagine how many "KO of the Year" awards he would have won. So, this year we will honor and celebrate Cyclone Hart for all his accomplishments and thank him for his great and memorable career. We have given several honorary Briscoe Awards throughout the 15 years we've been doing this. Past honorees include Bennie Briscoe, Harold Johnson, J Russell Peltz, Kennedy Cunningham, and Kitten Hayward. We look forward to adding Cyclone Hart to that list, and showing our appreciation for him at the Briscoe Awards later this year.
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