Archie Moore, A Critical Analysis of The 23 Losses of The Old Mongoose
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Correspondent
Between 1935 and 1963, The Old Mongoose, Archie Moore, won 185 fights, lost 23 bouts, and drew 10 bouts, with 131 knockouts. Archie was stopped only seven times.
The great light heavyweight champion finished his career with a third round stoppage of Mike DiBiase on March 15, 1963, a BeBop version of Methuselah. He could have been 50 or much older when he retired. Archie, like Sonny Liston, could have been much older than he claimed. Black Americans had to wait too long for opportunities at sports success, so Moore’s boxing career lasted longer than it should. Moore needed to wait 20 years for a shot at the white establishment. Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Archie Moore were lucky to even get a shot at a world boxing title. History is glad they did. Archie had the heart of a lion for sure.
Tribute to Archie Moore Part I on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ATaP2TyF9U
Tribute to Archie Moore Part II on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLvs0AvGK4Y
Archie Moore SportsCentury Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk-r0G1_zV8
Moore’s 28 year career spanned 208 bouts, covering three pages online on BoxRec. In June 1938, Archie lost a ten round decision to Johnny ‘Bandit’ Romero in San Diego, a southpaw with 144 bouts experience, who Moore knocked out in the eighth round of a rematch in San Diego three months later. In April 1939, Moore lost a ten round decision to the Ray Arcel trained Teddy Yarosz, who at 97-10-3 was too experienced for Archie to fight so soon.
In 1940 and 1941, Moore lost ten round decisions to Shorty Hogue in San Diego. Moore came back to stop Hogue in two rounds in San Diego in 1942. In 1942 and 1943, Moore won a 10 rounder and a 15 rounder over Jack Chase, who beat Archie by 15 round decision in the rubber match in 15 rounds in 1943. Moore won the fourth match by ten round decision over Chase in November 1943.
In 1945, Moore got knocked out in the sixth round by Jimmy Bivins in Cleveland, and lost a majority ten round decision to Holman Williams. However, Williams, a 164 bout fighter, lost to Archie in a rematch by eleventh round stoppage in November 1945. Future world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles won a ten round decision over Moore in Pittsburgh in 1946, and beat Moore again by ten round decision in Cincinnati in 1947. Moore won a rematch over Jimmy Bivins in September 1947 in Baltimore, Bivins not answering the bell for round nine. Ezzard Charles knocked out Moore in 1949 in Cleveland. Moore decisioned Jimmy Bivins over ten rounds in Baltimore in 1948. Leonard Morrow knocked out Archie in the first round in Oakland in 1948. Moore knocked out Morrow in the tenth round of a rematch in 1949 in Oakland.
Moore lost to Henry Hall by ten round decision in New Orleans in October 1948, then defeated Hall by ten round decision in a rematch in Baltimore in November 1948. Moore was disqualified in the fourth round of a bout with Lloyd Gibson in Washington, D.C. in November 1948. Moore decisioned Jimmy Bivins by ten round decision in 1949, knocked out Leonard morrow in ten rounds in 1949, but got disqualified in the sixth round of his bout with Clinton Bacon in Indianapolis. Moore stopped Jimmy Bivins in the ninth round of a bout in 1951, another rematch.
Moore, who defeated Harold Johnson twice, lost to Johnson in December 1951 over ten rounds, then won a ten round rematch over Johnson in January 1952. More stopped Clinton Baocn in the fourth round of a rematch in 1952, in the bout before he won the world light heavyweight championship from Joey Maxim. Moore won rematches over Maxim in 1953 and 1954, all fifteen rounders.
Less relevant were Moore’s defenses by stoppage win over Bobo Olson (TKO3) and Harold Johnson (TKO14). In May 1955, Moore won the world heavyweight title as recognized by Nevada by decisioning Nino Valdes over 15 rounds. Only The Ring record book recognizes this title fight. The recognized World Heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano knocked out Moore in Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York in November 1955 to settle the issue.
Despite continuing to defend the light heavyweight title, Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali knocked out old Archie in the heavyweight division to pretty much end his heavyweight aspirations. Archie most a ten round nontitle bout to Guilio RInaldi, then beat him in a 15 round title defense in 1961.
What’s probably of most interest on Archie’s record is the fact he took so many fights so many times, title or no title, and he was never hurt. Moore fought his career from 148 to 206 pounds. By today’s standards, Moore and the heavyweights he lost to would be considered cruiserweights or junior heavyweights, my response to this. Like Bob Foster who followed, Archie was a great light heavyweight. Archie just could not cut it fighting in the higher heavyweight weight class, no matter how hard he tried. Moore actually felt he could beat Marciano in a rematch. Moore simply had problems going up in weight too soon to make the heavyweight limit as it was in his time. In future historical articles, Moore versus Marciano, and Moore versus Yvon Durelle I and II will be discussed at length separately.
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