By Gav Duthie: An old saying goes ideas are common, what’s uncommon are people who’ll work hard enough to bring them about. The WBSS has brought us some of the best fights over many divisions from cruiserweight down to bantamweight in boxing through the seemingly groundbreaking initiative by promoter Kalle Sauerland.
8 men fight in a knockout competition to be found the winner f the Muhammad Ali trophy. Like most ideas, however, they have been done before, and the important part is the execution. This article examines the original eight-man heavyweight tournament that most experts predict could not happen in the top division today.
Tournament origins
The brainchild of this tournament was the WBA who today are often heavily criticized for their handling of their regular heavyweight title not fought for since 2017. Back in 1967, however, they were on the ball to crown a new champion after the sudden exclusion of Muhammad Ali. Most know the story of Ali’s boxing license being suspended after refusing to be inducted in the military to fight in the Vietnam war. Back in the late 60s, there were two titles, the WBC and WBA. The WBC kept their title vacant while Ali fought the case while the WBA devised an eight-man tournament to crown their new champion.
The contestants
Leotis Martin 31-5 (19)
Jimmy Ellis 40-12-1 (24)
Thad Spencer 32-13-1 (14)
Ernie Terrell 46-9 (21)
Jerry Quarry 53-9-4 (32)
Floyd Patterson 55-8-1 (40)
Oscar Bonavena 58-9-1 (44)
Karl Mildenberger 53-6-3 (19)
The young 1964 Olympic champion Joe Frazier had been asked to join the tournament, but he declined to face his old amateur rival Buster Mathis for the then coveted NYSAC title, which Frazier won in the 11th round. The rest were the highest available competitors and some of the best in the division. The entire tournament was concluded in just over eight months with nobody pulling out and all fights taking place when originally scheduled, which would be a near-impossible feat today.
Quarter-Finals
Jimmy Ellis (23-5) TKO 9
V
Leotis Martin (24-1)
Thad Spencer (31-5) UD12
V
Ernie Terrell (39-5)
The first two bouts took place on the same evening on August 5, 1967, in Texas with Jimmy Ellis stopping Leotis Martin in 9 rounds with the winner receiving a $50,000 purse and Martin taking $22,500. On the other side, Thad Spencer surprised many by outpointing Ernie Terrell over 12 rounds, knocking him down in the second round on route to victory.
Jimmy Ellis was a bit of a surprise package coming into this tournament. He had campaigned most of his career as a middleweight and not a particularly great one. He had lost five fights and was no more than a B level contender. After losing to the likes of Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter, his trainer Angelo Dundee devised a plan to move him up the weights where his speed could be more effective. He had a few at light heavyweight and no more than a handful at heavyweight before entering the tournament. Had he been born in a different era, perhaps his achievements would be more widely recognized today.
Leotis Martin carried on to have a solid career, but the irony for him was that he later had to retire after his greatest win. In his 31st and final victory, he knocked formidable ex-champion Sonny Liston cleanout face-first on the canvas. There was certainly no phantom punch in this one. Unfortunately, Sonny had boxed well in the fight establishing lots of heavy jabs, and as a result, Martin had a detached retina, which was a lot more serious back then, and he was forced to call it a day on medical grounds.
Thad Spencer never won another boxing match after this great night. He was favorite for the semi-final, but his career ironically spiraled after his greatest win. Thad died in his sleep in 2013 when he was 70. His son Todd was a professional NFL footballer.
Ernie Terrell at 6ft 6 was a big heavyweight for the time. He was favorite to beat Spencer, considering he had only just lost the WBA heavyweight title to Ali earlier in the year before Ali’s license was revoked. Terrell continued to have a decent career afterward but was never again a serious contender. He worked in the music industry later, and his sister Jean Terrell was the original lead singer of the Supremes. Ernie died when he was 75 after suffering from dementia.
Oscar Bonavena (30-3) UD12
V
Karl Mildenberger (52-3-3)
The next month on September 16, 1967, Oscar Bonavena traveled to Germany to face former Ali foe, Karl Mildenberger. The rugged Argentian beat Mildenberger up, dropping him four times, although Mildenberger made it to the final bell 12 losing a lopsided UD.
Although they shared this big night in the ring, the future lives of these tough men couldn’t have been more different. Bonavena was shot and killed at the Mustang Ranch in Nevada by a security guard when he was only 33 in 1976. He had moved himself in with the owner’s wife, who was decades his senior. Bonavena was an interesting character who clearly made some bad choices and paid for them with his life. Mildenberger didn’t have much of a career afterward. He lost to Leotis Martin and then retired after defeat to Henry Cooper for his European title. Mildenberger allegedly worked as a lifeguard after retirement and died in Germany when he was 80 in 2018.
Jerry Quarry (24-1-4) MD12
V
Floyd Patterson (46-5-1)
The final fight of the quarter-finals and the closest was between Jerry Quarry and ex veteran champion Floyd Patterson. The bout took place in Los Angeles on October 28, 1967. The two men had just fought before to a majority draw, so it was a delight to see them drawn against each other. The fight was close once again. Patterson was down in rounds 2 and 4 but completely dominated the second half of the fight so much so that many at ringside felt he won. Quarry got the majority decision and advanced to the semi-final.
Quarry once said of himself, ‘always the bridesmaid never the bride.’ He was a serious contender and tough as nails, but he cut easily and took too many punches. Being a great white American hope Quarry was a popular character and had a good acting career post boxing appearing in the likes of Adam-12 and Knight Rider. He was only 53 years old when he died in 1999. He suffered from dementia and required his brother to care for him in his few remaining years.
Patterson’s day was before this. He was the youngest ever heavyweight champion at 21 before Mike Tyson broke this record, and he was also the first-ever to regain the heavyweight title. He almost became the first three-time champion, but he was robbed of a decision in Sweden against Jimmy Ellis. Floyd’s career finished after a second loss to Muhammad Ali, and afterward, he worked with boxers, and his adopted son Tracy Harris Patterson also became a two-time world champion. Floyd died at age 71 from dementia and prostate cancer.
Semi-Finals
Jimmy Ellis (24-5) UD 12
V
Oscar Bonavena (31-3)
Jerry Quarry (25-1-4) WTKO 12
V
Thad Spencer (32-5)
Near the end of 1967, the first of the semi-finals took place with Ellis scoring a unanimous decision victory of Bonavena. The bout took place on December 2 in Oakland. Ellis dropped Bonavena twice in rounds 3 and 10. Bonavena tried to use his size and strength advantage and hurt Ellis with a cut in round 8 and was strong near the end, but Ellis hung on for a deserved win.
On February 3rd in California, Jerry Quarry stopped Thad Spencer in the final round of their 12 round bout. Spencer was favorite after his QF win over Terrell but was never really in the bout. The tough Quarry was looking in fine form for the final, which took place only two months after this bout.
Final
27 April 1968, Coliseum Arena, Oakland
Jimmy Ellis (25-5) MD 15
V
Jerry Quarry (26-1-4)
Both fighters received $125,000 for reaching the final of the WBA tournament. Ellis performance was written up as a tactical masterclass by the press. It was an Ali Esq performance using his footwork and fast jab. He stuck to the basics of the 1-2, which kept Quarry at bay for the most part of the fight. It was revealed by a doctor a few months after that Quarry had actually broken his back just prior to the fight. He had been wrestling with his brothers (his brother Mike was also a good boxer). He didn’t use it as an excuse, though. In the end, Ellis was a worthy winner after tough wins over Leotis Martin, Oscar Bonavena, and Jerry Quarry and was crowned WBA champion less than nine months after the tournament started.
Aftermath
Ellis first defense was against Floyd Patterson in Sweden. Patterson was hugely popular there due to his trilogy with the native Ingemar Johansson. Only the referee scored the bout, which ironically worked against Floyd. He dominated the fight, but Ellis got the decision. This was the last heavyweight title fight to be scored only by a referee. Ellis reign didn’t last long, though. The WBC finally made their title vacant, so Joe Frazier fought Jimmy Ellis for both the WBC and WBA titles and stopped Ellis in five rounds.
After three years, Muhammad Ali returned to set up ‘the fight of the century’ against Joe Frazier, but that’s another story.
Jerry Quarry’s record is 53-9-4, 32 knockouts.