Boxing in the 1960s

During the 1960s, boxing, like mostly everything else around the world, went through changing times. Boxers from the old guard of boxing gave way to a new movement filled with youth, controversy and enthusiasm.

The decade of the 1960s is best remembered by the insurgence of a young boxer named Cassius Clay, who would, in his own words shock the world, declare himself against war, and change his name to Muhammad Ali. Many sociologists, observers and critics now view Ali as a reflection of the changing society of that decade.

In the lower weights, there was much action too and world champions were active fighting each other. The Middleweights in particular had some famous fights, with Emile Griffith, Nino Benvenuti and Dick Tiger, among others, engaging in world championship fights. The Lightweights were also busy, with champions like Joe Brown, Carlos Ortiz and Ismael Laguna. The first world champions from Japan, Venezuela and Thailand, among other countries, were crowned during the 1960s, and the WBA and WBC started competing against each other, after the WBA changed its name from the National Boxing Association in 1962 and a group of people split from the WBA in 1963 to form the WBC.

A new division was created in the Jr. Middleweights, where a high school teacher, Freddie Little, was crowned world champion. Fights were seen on color television for the first time, and one of the most famous tragedies, Benny Kid Paret's, was also shown live on tv.

Table of contents

1 List of fights by year 2 1960 3 1961 4 1962 5 1963 6 1964

List of fights by year

1960

• January 22- In the first world title fight of the decade, Paul Pender defeats Sugar Ray Robinson by a fifteen round split decision, taking the New York and Massachusetts version of the world Middleweight title, in Boston.
• April 16- Pone Kingpetch becomes Thailand's first world champion, beating Pascual Perez by a fifteen round split decision for the world's Flyweight title in Bangkok, Thailand.
• April 20- Gene Fullmer draws in fifteen rounds with Joey Giardello to retain the more widely recognized, National Boxing Association world Middleweight title, Bozeman.
• June 20- Floyd Patterson becomes the first Heavyweight in history to win the world Heavyweight title twice, knocking out his former conqueror, Ingemar Johansson in five rounds at New York City.
• June 29- Gene Fullmer retains the NBA world Middleweight title with a twelfth round knockout of Carmen Basilio, at Salt Lake City.
• September 22- In a rematch for the world Flyweight title, Pone Kingpetch retains the crown by beating Pascual Perez by a knockout in round eight, Los Angeles.
• November 18- Eder Jofre becomes world champion for the first time, knocking out Eloy Sanchez in six rounds to claim the world Bantamweight title in Los Angeles.
• December 3- Gene Fullmer and Sugar Ray Robinson fight for the third time, and Fullmer retains the NBA's world Middleweight title with a fifteen round draw, Los Angeles.

1961

• March 4- Sugar Ray Robinson's last world title attempt, as he and Gene Fullmer close their rivalry with Fullmer retaining the National Boxing Association's world Middleweight title with a fifteen round unanimous decision at Las Vegas.
• March 13- Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson finish their trilogy of fights, with Patterson retaining the world Heavyweight title with a sixth round knockout in Miami Beach.
• April 1- Emile Griffith becomes world champion for the first time, and begins his trilogy of fights with Benny Kid Paret, defeating the Cuban boxer by a thirteenth round knockout to win the world's Welterweight title, Miami.
• September 30- In their second of three bouts, Benny Paret regains the world Welterweight title with a fifteen round split decision win over Emile Griffith, Madison Square Garden, New York.
• October 21- Duilio Loi retains his world Jr. Welterweight title with a fifteen round draw against Eddie Perkins. Referee Nello Barrovecchio decides to entertain the fight goers by bending down, picking some coins that had been thrown by the fight fans into the ring, and then bowing to the fans during round eight of the bout, in Milan, Italy.
• December 9- NBA world Middleweight champion Gene Fullmer retains the crown with a tenth round knockout of world Welterweight champion Benny Paret in Las Vegas.

1962

• February 10- Young Cassius Clay, fighting in his tenth professional bout, recovers from his first knockdown, a first round fall, to beat Sonny Banks by knockout in round four, Madison Square Garden, New York.
• March 24- One of boxing's most famous tragedies happens when Emile Griffith knocks out Benny Kid Paret in round twelve, to claim the world's Welterweight title. Paret is taken to the hospital, where he subsequently dies.
• April 3- Benny Paret dies.
• April 21- Carlos Ortiz becomes world Lightweight champion with a fifteen round unanimous decision win over Joe Brown in Las Vegas.
• July 13- In his first fight since the Benny Paret tragedy, Emile Griffith retains the world Welterweight title with a fifteen round unanimous decision of future world Jr. Middleweight champion Ralph Dupas in Las Vegas.
• September 25- Sonny Liston becomes world Heavyweight champion, knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, at Chicago.
• October 10- Fighting Harada becomes world Flyweight champion, knocking out Pone Kingpetch in eleven rounds, Tokyo, Japan.
• October 23- Dick Tiger becomes world Middleweight champion, defeating Gene Fullmer by a fifteen round unanimous decision in San Francisco.
• November 15- Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) knocks out former world Light Heavyweight champion Archie Moore in five rounds at Los Angeles.

1963

• February 23- Dick Tiger retains his world Middleweight title with a fifteen round draw (tie) against former world champion Gene Fullmer in their Las Vegas rematch.
• March 13- Cassius Clay defeats Doug Jones by a close (scores of 96-95, 96-95 and 99-92) but unanimous decision, Madison Square Garden, New York.
• March 21- A world title double header in Los Angeles: Luis Rodriguez wins the world Welterweight title by defeating Emile Griffith with a fifteen round decision. Then, the double header turns tragic when Sugar Ramos takes the world Featherweight title away from Davey Moore, who would later die of the injuries suffered in the bout.
• March 25- Davey Moore dies in Los Angeles. His death led to Pope John XXIII's describing of boxing as barbaric, and to Bob Dylan's song Who killed Davey Moore?.
• June 1- Willie Pastrano wins the world Light-Heavyweight title with a fifteen round decision over Harold Johnson, Las Vegas.
• June 8- Emile Griffith recovers the world Welterweight title by defeating Luis Rodriguez with a fifteen round decision in New York.
• June 18- Cassius Clay suffers a knockdown at the end of round four at the hands of Henry Cooper, and then , he rips off his glove in the corner before round five, making trainer Angelo Dundee go to the locker room to get a new glove, and giving him time to recover. He then knocks Cooper out in round five, London, England.
• July 22- Sonny Liston again defeats Floyd Patterson by a knockout in the first round, this time retaining the world Heavyweight title, Las Vegas.
• August 10- Gene Fullmer's last fight, as he gets knocked out in eight rounds by world Middleweight champion Dick Tiger in Ibadan, Nigeria. To Fullmer's surprise, about 1,000 of Tiger's fans greet him outside the stadium after the fight, to applaud him and express admiration.
• December 7- Joey Giardello becomes world Middleweight champion with a fifteen round decision win over Dick Tiger, Atlantic City.
• December 20- Rubin Carter produces one of Emile Griffith's two knockout defeats, knocking out the world Welterweight champion in round one of a non-title bout, Pittsburgh.

1964

• February 15- Carlos Ortiz retains the world Lightweight title with a fourteenth round knockout of world Jr. Lightweight champion Flash Elorde, Manila, Philippines.
• February 25- Cassius Clay, in his own words, shocks the world, with a seventh round knockout of Sonny Liston to win the world's Heavyweight title, in Miami.
• April 18- Eddie Perkins retains the world Jr. Welterweight title over Bunny Grant, who was attempting to be Jamaica's first boxing world champion, with a fifteen round decision, Kingston, Jamaica.
• May 9- Sugar Ramos retains the world Feathrweight title with a controversial fifteen round decision over Floyd Robertson, Accra, Ghana.
• June 12- Emile Griffith and Luis Rodriguez close their series of bouts, with Griffith retaining the world's Welterweight title with a fifteen round decision.
• September 26- Vicente Saldivar wins the world Featherweight title, knocking out Sugar Ramos in round twelve at Mexico City, Mexico.
• December 14- Joey Giardello defeats Rubin Carter by a fifteen round decision to retain the world Middleweight title, in Philadelphia. Giardello would later sue producers of The Hurricane for the way in which this fight was depicted in that film.