In an effort to link the past with the present, The Jewish Boxing Blog will offer monthly a short biography of notable former Jewish boxers.
Georgie Abrams was an underrated boxer who fought for the middleweight title in the 1940s. He had a pension for facing and, in some cases, defeating former and future world champions, including a controversial decision loss to Sugar Ray Robinson.
Born on the day World War I ended, November 11, 1918, his full name was Georgie Freedom Abrams. The middle name came from his mother's fit of patriotism upon hearing that the war had ended. It would cause Georgie some consternation as neighborhood boys picked on him throughout his childhood.
That childhood began in Roanoke, Virginia. The family moved to Alexandria, Virginia, and eventually settled in Washington, D.C. Abrams was a good athlete and a smart kid. He learned to box at the Washington Boys Club and won a local Golden Gloves tournament before turning pro in 1937.
During the first year of his pro career, Abrams won his first 17 fights. He mostly fought at Turner's Arena on 14th and W Northwest in the District and at Griffith Stadium, home of the Washington Senators, on U Street. A wild right landed by journeyman Jimmy Jones on Georgie's jaw in his 18th fight sent him down for the count. Abrams won the return bout less than a month later.
Sandwiching his second career loss were two big wins for Abrams. On June 6, 1938, he defeated former world champion Teddy Yarosz by split decision. On June 20, 1939, he outboxed future Hall of Famer Lou Brouillard. A year later, he drew with Charley Burley, an all time great.
Abrams donned thinning hair, a hairy chest, and a wizened air in the ring. He was a classy and intelligent boxer who wore a Star of David on the right leg of his trunks. His defense was legendary, particularly his purposeful head movement. But he cut easily and had trouble breaking an egg with a straight right. He stood 5'9" and had a steel chin.
On November 28, 1941, Abrams had a shot at the world middleweight championship against Tony Zale. Abrams nailed Zale in the first round and Zale barely beat the count. But Abrams took hellacious punishment to the body from that point onward and lost a decision. Georgie fought once more before taking four years off during World War II.
Abrams went 4-0-1 in his first five fights after the war. Then, he lost a bloody duel against future world champion and one of the greatest middleweights of all time, Marcel Cerdan. Two bouts later, on May 16, 1947, Georgie took on Sugar Ray Robinson, arguably the greater fighter who ever lived. Robinson was awarded a split decision win, much to the chagrin of the crowd at Madison Square Garden. The two men engaged in an action-packed chess match that took place in the center of the ring. Sugar came away from the battle with a renewed respect for Georgie's skills.
Abrams lost three more fights, including two of his three career knockouts. The lone decision loss was to former world champion, Fred Apostoli. Though Georgie Freedom's skills had eroded, he managed to make the fight competitive with Apostoli thanks to a crisp educated jab and accurate counters.
Abrams retired from the ring in 1948 with a record of 48-10-3 and 9 KOs. Afterward, he tried his hand at several different professions, including being a salesman, entrepreneur, and a barkeeper, but none stuck. He was married several times as well. But, bizarrely, life after boxing did not provide him with the same stability as life in the ring had.
On June 30, 1994, Georgie died at the age of 75 after suffering a stroke in Las Vegas and battling Alzheimer's Disease.
Bibliography
Acevedo, Carlos. "Detour Ahead: Georgie Abrams and the Middleweights of the 1940s." The Queensberry Rules. April 6, 2010.
Blady, Ken. The Jewish Boxers Hall of Fame. 1988.
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Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Chilemba and Bellew Fight to an Unsatisfying Draw
Each of the three judges of tonight's bout between Isaac Chilemba and Tony Bellew at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England had a different perspective on the result of the fight. Christophe Fernandez gave the bout to Chilemba by the score of 116-112, Eddie Pappoe saw Bellew winning 116-115, and Fabian Guggenheim scored it even, 114 apiece. Despite the wildly divergent marks, none of these scores were egregious because the fight witnessed a dearth of clean effective punching.
Chilemba, wearing red and gold trunks with Wildcat written on the belt, danced his way to the ring to DJ Khaled's "All I Do is Win," smiling as he rapped along with the song. After sirens incessantly blared for nearly a minute, Bellew, in blue trunks, entered to the theme of his favorite soccer team. He glared at Chilemba throughout his walk to the ring and the subsequent introduction. Chilemba paced as his name was announced to the hostile crowd.
The first half of the bout featured Bellew coming forward, jabbing and following up with looping shots. But Chilemba's defense was wiggly and slimy. Bellew could barely land a glove on the Malawian man due to Isaac's expert head movement. Chilemba, however, didn't throw enough punches to convincingly win those early rounds. That posed a problem for the judges; do they favor Bellew's aggression- ineffective as it was- or score for Chilemba despite his absence of punches?
The fight undeniably turned in the seventh round. At the urging of his trainer, Buddy McGirt, Isaac began coming forward. Bellew quickly began backing up. Chilemba countered effectively, particularly with straight rights. The Brit threw more in the eighth, but Chilemba's accurate shots carried the round.
Chilemba threw staggered combinations, landing a straight counter right, pausing, smashing a left hook on Bellew's face, contorting his body, hitting him with another right, and then moving out of the way. Chilemba won the ninth with quick and efficient right counters, though Bellew had his moments.
When Bellew was hit, he had the presence of mind to hit back. He came forward in the tenth and focused more on the body to carry the round, his first of the second half of the fight. Isaac turned the bout back in his favor in the eleventh. He fought on the front foot and controlled the center of the ring in that penultimate round. The final round was uneventful and the crowd treated it with quiet indifference.
The Jewish Boxing Blog scored the contest seven rounds to five in Chilemba's favor. Both fighters were crushed when the split draw was revealed. Tony Bellew believed he won nine rounds and asserted that McGirt told him he thought Bellew had won. About the decision, Chilemba said, "I'm not happy at all." He thought he lost two or three rounds at most.
The winner of this bout was supposed to get a shot at Chad Dawson, the light heavyweight champion of the world, but that has now been put on hold. Chilemba's record is 20-1-2 with 9 KOs and Bellew's is 19-1-1 with 12 KOs. There is early talk of a rematch.
Chilemba, wearing red and gold trunks with Wildcat written on the belt, danced his way to the ring to DJ Khaled's "All I Do is Win," smiling as he rapped along with the song. After sirens incessantly blared for nearly a minute, Bellew, in blue trunks, entered to the theme of his favorite soccer team. He glared at Chilemba throughout his walk to the ring and the subsequent introduction. Chilemba paced as his name was announced to the hostile crowd.
The first half of the bout featured Bellew coming forward, jabbing and following up with looping shots. But Chilemba's defense was wiggly and slimy. Bellew could barely land a glove on the Malawian man due to Isaac's expert head movement. Chilemba, however, didn't throw enough punches to convincingly win those early rounds. That posed a problem for the judges; do they favor Bellew's aggression- ineffective as it was- or score for Chilemba despite his absence of punches?
The fight undeniably turned in the seventh round. At the urging of his trainer, Buddy McGirt, Isaac began coming forward. Bellew quickly began backing up. Chilemba countered effectively, particularly with straight rights. The Brit threw more in the eighth, but Chilemba's accurate shots carried the round.
Chilemba threw staggered combinations, landing a straight counter right, pausing, smashing a left hook on Bellew's face, contorting his body, hitting him with another right, and then moving out of the way. Chilemba won the ninth with quick and efficient right counters, though Bellew had his moments.
When Bellew was hit, he had the presence of mind to hit back. He came forward in the tenth and focused more on the body to carry the round, his first of the second half of the fight. Isaac turned the bout back in his favor in the eleventh. He fought on the front foot and controlled the center of the ring in that penultimate round. The final round was uneventful and the crowd treated it with quiet indifference.
The Jewish Boxing Blog scored the contest seven rounds to five in Chilemba's favor. Both fighters were crushed when the split draw was revealed. Tony Bellew believed he won nine rounds and asserted that McGirt told him he thought Bellew had won. About the decision, Chilemba said, "I'm not happy at all." He thought he lost two or three rounds at most.
The winner of this bout was supposed to get a shot at Chad Dawson, the light heavyweight champion of the world, but that has now been put on hold. Chilemba's record is 20-1-2 with 9 KOs and Bellew's is 19-1-1 with 12 KOs. There is early talk of a rematch.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Weights for Chilemba-Bellew
Isaac Chilemba weighed in at 173 pounds ahead of his clash with fellow light heavyweight contender Tony Bellew. Bellew was 174 pounds.
Chilemba (20-1-1, 9 KOs) displayed mock tears at the hostility of the crowd as he strode up to the scale. Bellew (19-1, 12 KOs) drank water before shedding his tracksuit and something called the WBC silver belt. He then pounded his chest as the crowd roared, "Bellew! Bellew!"
During the stare down, Chilemba grinned and clowned while Bellew stared at his opponent stone-faced. The men had similar reactions during yesterday's press conference; Chilemba smiled and allowed his gaze to wander as Bellew glared with all the seriousness of a heart transplant.
The fight will take place at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England and is scheduled for twelve rounds. The winner is in line for a shot at the true light heavyweight champion of the world, Chad Dawson. The fight will air on WealthTV in the U.S. at 5pm EDT and on SkySports in the U.K.
Here's the video of the weigh-in:
Chilemba (20-1-1, 9 KOs) displayed mock tears at the hostility of the crowd as he strode up to the scale. Bellew (19-1, 12 KOs) drank water before shedding his tracksuit and something called the WBC silver belt. He then pounded his chest as the crowd roared, "Bellew! Bellew!"
During the stare down, Chilemba grinned and clowned while Bellew stared at his opponent stone-faced. The men had similar reactions during yesterday's press conference; Chilemba smiled and allowed his gaze to wander as Bellew glared with all the seriousness of a heart transplant.
The fight will take place at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England and is scheduled for twelve rounds. The winner is in line for a shot at the true light heavyweight champion of the world, Chad Dawson. The fight will air on WealthTV in the U.S. at 5pm EDT and on SkySports in the U.K.
Here's the video of the weigh-in:
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Chilemba-Bellew Preview
Isaac Chilemba and Tony Bellew will do battle on Saturday, March 30 at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. This bout is crucial to the futures of both light heavyweight contenders. The winner will be penciled in for a shot at Chad Dawson, the recognized light heavyweight champion of the world.
Chilemba (20-1-1, 9 KOs) is rated seventh in the light heavyweight division by The Ring and ninth according to the Transnational Boxing Rankings while Bellew (19-1, 12 KOs) is tenth according to both sources. Yet, the "Golden Boy" is considered an underdog, perhaps, because the bout is taking place in Bellew's backyard.
Chilemba is an intelligent and multifaceted boxer who has exhibited a ton of heart. No fight proves his courage more than when Isaac picked himself off the canvas twice against Maxim Vlasov on February 25, 2011 to earn a unanimous decision victory.
Born to Christian parents, Isaac grew up with his nine siblings impoverished in Malawi. According to an interview with ESPN's Brian Campbell, Chilemba raised his siblings when his mother was away looking for work. When his mother died, 16-year old Isaac took responsibility for his younger siblings.
The desire to help his family influenced his decision to enter into professional boxing at the age of 18. Chilemba has since been drawn to Judaism through his manager, Jodi Solomon. Isaac is a member of the Lemba people, who, DNA evidence suggests, have Jewish roots. For the fight against Bellew, Chilemba trained in a New Jersey Jewish Community Center.
Chilemba, who will have Buddy McGirt as his trainer for the second time, has thus far fought the slightly stiffer competition. In addition to Vlasov, he defeated Edison Miranda and drew with Thomas Oosthuizen. Including Vlasov, Chilemba is 4-0-1 against undefeated fighters with at least ten wins.
Bellew also defeated Miranda and lost.a majority decision to beltholder Nathan Cleverly, the only undefeated man with at least ten wins the "Bomber" has faced. He defeated an Argentine club fighter with a gaudy record, Roberto Bolonti, last November. Otherwise, Bellew has stuck to British opposition.
Bellew, who throws straight hard jabs and has no hesitation about attacking his opponent's body, is quite capable of adapting within a fight. One negative is his propensity to get knocked down, which is primarily caused by his poor defense. Jevgenijs Andrejevs, Bob Ajisafe, and Ovill Mackenzie have all put him down. If you've never heard of any of the three, you are not alone. What's worse, none of them have achieved even 50% of their wins by way of knockout. Bellew also suffered a horrendous cut on his nose in his last fight, which took place only four months ago.
To Bellew's credit, he came back to win all of those fights. When hurt, Bellew has the unusual desire to lower his defense and want to trade with his opponent rather than cover up and hide. That urge is a testament to his fortitude rather than his intelligence. But don't be fooled, he is also a smart fighter. In his step up against Cleverly, Bellew was on the receiving end of a number of hard overhand rights to the face in the first round. By using his jab from that point onward, Bellew was able to keep Cleverly off balance and avoid eating any more flashy rights.
Bellew's path to victory will likely come on the end of a busy jab. He's an inch and a half taller and has a longer reach than Chilemba. But Chilemba has a five year age advantage. The 25-year old has shown better stamina in his fights. He'll need to keep his hands, particular his own jab, moving towards the target throughout the bout to overcome Bellew's steady work rate and crowd support. If they both dispense with their jabs and begin to trade, Bellew has more power, but Chilemba will likely have the faster hands.
Dave Oakes of Bad Left Hook sees Bellew exiting the ring victorious. He envisions the Liverpool-native landing powerful right hands and possibly stopping Chilemba inside of eight rounds. Oakes curiously describes Chilemba as someone who swings when hurt and has poor defense (a rather apt description of Bellew, actually). This analysis is based on his fight with Vlasov and doesn't take into account more recent contests.
British pundit Wingy believes Chilemba will win by decision after frustrating Bellew with his awkwardness. He notes that Bellew can land one big knockout blow, but Wingy isn't willing to risk his prediction on that possibility.
The fight is scheduled for twelve rounds. It will air on WealthTV in the United States and SkySports in England.
Chilemba (20-1-1, 9 KOs) is rated seventh in the light heavyweight division by The Ring and ninth according to the Transnational Boxing Rankings while Bellew (19-1, 12 KOs) is tenth according to both sources. Yet, the "Golden Boy" is considered an underdog, perhaps, because the bout is taking place in Bellew's backyard.
Chilemba is an intelligent and multifaceted boxer who has exhibited a ton of heart. No fight proves his courage more than when Isaac picked himself off the canvas twice against Maxim Vlasov on February 25, 2011 to earn a unanimous decision victory.
Born to Christian parents, Isaac grew up with his nine siblings impoverished in Malawi. According to an interview with ESPN's Brian Campbell, Chilemba raised his siblings when his mother was away looking for work. When his mother died, 16-year old Isaac took responsibility for his younger siblings.
The desire to help his family influenced his decision to enter into professional boxing at the age of 18. Chilemba has since been drawn to Judaism through his manager, Jodi Solomon. Isaac is a member of the Lemba people, who, DNA evidence suggests, have Jewish roots. For the fight against Bellew, Chilemba trained in a New Jersey Jewish Community Center.
Chilemba, who will have Buddy McGirt as his trainer for the second time, has thus far fought the slightly stiffer competition. In addition to Vlasov, he defeated Edison Miranda and drew with Thomas Oosthuizen. Including Vlasov, Chilemba is 4-0-1 against undefeated fighters with at least ten wins.
Bellew also defeated Miranda and lost.a majority decision to beltholder Nathan Cleverly, the only undefeated man with at least ten wins the "Bomber" has faced. He defeated an Argentine club fighter with a gaudy record, Roberto Bolonti, last November. Otherwise, Bellew has stuck to British opposition.
Bellew, who throws straight hard jabs and has no hesitation about attacking his opponent's body, is quite capable of adapting within a fight. One negative is his propensity to get knocked down, which is primarily caused by his poor defense. Jevgenijs Andrejevs, Bob Ajisafe, and Ovill Mackenzie have all put him down. If you've never heard of any of the three, you are not alone. What's worse, none of them have achieved even 50% of their wins by way of knockout. Bellew also suffered a horrendous cut on his nose in his last fight, which took place only four months ago.
To Bellew's credit, he came back to win all of those fights. When hurt, Bellew has the unusual desire to lower his defense and want to trade with his opponent rather than cover up and hide. That urge is a testament to his fortitude rather than his intelligence. But don't be fooled, he is also a smart fighter. In his step up against Cleverly, Bellew was on the receiving end of a number of hard overhand rights to the face in the first round. By using his jab from that point onward, Bellew was able to keep Cleverly off balance and avoid eating any more flashy rights.
Bellew's path to victory will likely come on the end of a busy jab. He's an inch and a half taller and has a longer reach than Chilemba. But Chilemba has a five year age advantage. The 25-year old has shown better stamina in his fights. He'll need to keep his hands, particular his own jab, moving towards the target throughout the bout to overcome Bellew's steady work rate and crowd support. If they both dispense with their jabs and begin to trade, Bellew has more power, but Chilemba will likely have the faster hands.
Dave Oakes of Bad Left Hook sees Bellew exiting the ring victorious. He envisions the Liverpool-native landing powerful right hands and possibly stopping Chilemba inside of eight rounds. Oakes curiously describes Chilemba as someone who swings when hurt and has poor defense (a rather apt description of Bellew, actually). This analysis is based on his fight with Vlasov and doesn't take into account more recent contests.
British pundit Wingy believes Chilemba will win by decision after frustrating Bellew with his awkwardness. He notes that Bellew can land one big knockout blow, but Wingy isn't willing to risk his prediction on that possibility.
The fight is scheduled for twelve rounds. It will air on WealthTV in the United States and SkySports in England.
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