Daniel Cann

During his amazing twenty seven years in the boxing ring Archie Moore acquired more than thirty nicknames most of which referred to his age. The two that became the most popular were ‘The Old Mongoose’ and ‘Ageless Archie.’ His actual age ironically would prove to be something of an enigma with no one being able to provide evidence of his actual birth date. Moore himself gave it as 13 December 1916 whereas his mother who should have been a better authority on the subject gave the date as 13 December 1913, whatever his actual age his achievements in the ring were, to say the least phenomenal.

Moore’s mother Lorena was just seventeen when her famous son was born in Benoit, Mississippi, USA. She already had a daughter, Rachel and she and her husband separated only eighteen months after young Archie was born. The two children were sent to St Louis Missouri to be brought up by their Aunt and Uncle. Moore appreciated the dire situation his mother was in at the time, a very young woman with two mouths to feed on her own and he remained on good terms with her throughout his life. Taking his adoptive parents surname of Moore he never changed it back to his original surname of Wright.

When Moore was only fifteen years old his Uncle died, shortly after that his sister died in childbirth, giving birth to twins. Her baby son died a few months later. The girl survived and lived with Moore, his half brother Sammy and their Auntie Willie Pearl. It had been an unimaginably tragic time and understandably poor Moore went off the rails. With no strong male presence in his life he frequently got involved in street fights, joined gangs and became a petty thief. Then something happened which would change his life.

Moore was caught attempting to steal a box holding the change on a streetcar (tram) and was sentenced to three years in a reform school (borstal). It was during this time that Moore realized that there was no future in petty crime and he was released on parole for good behaviour after serving twenty two months. During those crucial months Moore had around fifteen boxing matches and with no distractions developed into an accomplished but still raw boxer.

One of the conditions of parole was Moore had to find a job. His mother and the parole officer found him one with a coal merchant but when Moore was paid less than the agreed wage he obtained permission to work for the Civilian Conservation Corps, a body formed to relieve hardship in depressed areas.

Moore found himself stationed at Poplar Bluff, Missouri, in the Forestry Division, where he cleared sites for roads to be built. He worked harder than anybody else as he wanted to build up his muscles for a boxing career that he was planning. All the chopping, digging and shovelling helped to build enormous strength in his legs, arms and shoulders and he soon developed an impressively muscled physique. On top of all of this he was allowed to start a boxing squad and he taught his co workers how to box, his team becoming quite successful.

Interestingly all of these formative experiences would have a profound effect on Moore and much later on in his professional career and as a trainer he extolled the virtues of training and preparing in the great outdoors. His influence would have an effect on one time pupil Muhammad Ali who would go on to model his famous Deer Lake training camp along the same lines as Moore’s woodland training camps.

After several amateur contests Moore eventually swapped the vest for the pro ranks on 14 July 1936, although his pro debut is shrouded in mystery and conjecture, some saying his actual debut was in December of that year and Moore himself contending that he fought earlier than July ’36. Whatever the truth he began boxing for pay in the late 1930s. Moore became the ultimate journeyman fighter, he spent much of his ring career boxing all over the United States meeting all comers and learning from a wide variety of styles. He would go through many managers in his career but he was always learning and gathering knowledge despite some bumps in the road.

In 1940 Moore travelled to Australia, training at a station (ranch) in the Megalong Valley about 70 miles outside of Sydney. It was here that Moore befriended some local Aborigines. He admired them for their fitness and endurance and vowed to learn as much about nutrition and fitness from them as he could. He later claimed that what he learned helped him to monitor his weight and condition helping him to have a long and lucrative career. Whether this was a publicity stunt or real did not matter, Moore was a master self publicist as he proved when at the top of the game, but he was also a very studious man and it is not too far fetched to imagine him picking up hints and tips from the Aborigines.

Fighting as a middleweight Moore had a warm-up fight at Melbourne knocking out Jack McNamee. After the contest McNamee said ‘Getting hit by Moore is like having hot steel poured on your ribs!’ He then stopped Ron Richards a highly ranked Australian in ten rounds in front of a big crowd of 15,000 fans. Moore showed his tenacity by having to get off the floor in the first round to grind his man down into submission. The conditioning with the Aborigines had obviously helped!

In the next six months he had five more fights ‘Down Under’ all of them wins, including a rematch with Richards. He returned to America with an enhanced reputation and standing among the world middleweights as well as decent experience. The big money and rewards still eluded him however.

Basing himself in San Diego Moore had five fights until one day he collapsed from acute abdominal pains. He was operated on and it was discovered that he had peritonitis which was still potentially fatal in those days. He made a full recovery but when he left hospital after 38 tense days his weight had plummeted from 161 pounds (11 and a half stone) to 108 pounds (a puny 7 stone 10 pounds!) Soon afterwards the pain struck Moore again and this time had an operation for acute appendicitis. This was yet another case of a series of misfortunes to hit Moore all at once as his marriage also failed.

He rallied back and managed to build himself up again, regaining weight and strength and looking like the excellently conditioned middleweight he was before. He needed money and found work as a night watchman and as a gardener. He also married for the second time. Moore returned to the ring after an eleven month absence in January 1942. All of the bad experiences to mind and body did not extinguish the flames of desire and ambition and Moore knocked out his opponent Bobby Britton in the third round of a fight in Phoenix, Arizona.

In November of that year he outpointed the top ten middleweight contender Jack Chase, helping his cause for world title contention. Despite being ranked number five by ‘Ring’ Magazine a world title shot mysteriously eluded the talented and worthy Moore. Undeterred he continued to base himself in San Diego boxing in the local arenas there. He won the Californian title by beating Jack Chase, but lost it to Chase three months later. He also lost to Charley Burley, which was no disgrace as Burley is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of the 1940s, in fact often described as ‘the greatest boxer never to win a world title’ (sadly Burley was never given a shot, had he fought today he would have been a champion, but that is another story).

Like protégé and friend George Foreman who has had huge success with his ‘Lean Mean Grilling Machine’ Moore enjoyed similar success with a culinary business venture himself when he opened ‘Archie Moore’s Chicken Shack.’ He drummed (no pun intended) up publicity for this by claiming to sell ‘the world’s greatest fried chicken.’ The venture proved to be a huge success for the astute Moore so much so that he had to choose between a career as a successful businessman or pursue his ambition of becoming a world boxing champion. Boxing won.

In 1945 Moore relocated to New York, the other side of America to pursue his dream. He hoped the East Coast would prove more fruitful than the West Coast. It was here that Moore trained at the renowned ‘Stillman’s Gym.’ Moore had outgrown the middleweight division and was now campaigning at light heavyweight. During the late 40’s Moore amassed an impressive record, defeating top ranked contenders: Nate Bolden, Lloyd Marshall and Holman Williams. He lost to Jimmy Bivins, a top light heavyweight and heavyweight contender.

In a run of twenty contests up to January 1948, Moore had lost just three times all to Ezzard Charles on points. Moore never avenged his defeats against Charles and described Charles as ‘one of the most underrated fighters of all time.’ Charles went on to win the world heavyweight title, sadly he was in Joe Louis’s shadow and gave Rocky Marciano two torrid world title fights. Fans and experts have judged Charles kindly with many agreeing that he was perhaps the greatest ever light heavyweight and one of the best heavyweights of all time, so Moore losing to him was no disgrace.

Moore kept up a busy schedule. He knew politics were keeping him from getting a shot at the title. With the mob controlling the sport and many talented black American boxers being denied rightful shots at the titles at various weights it was a dark time for boxing. Yes it produced Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and some unforgettable middleweight contests, but many talented (non mob affiliated) fighters were denied their moment to shine because of the widespread corruption reaching to the very top.

Moore fought in Baltimore Washington, Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. During this period of the late 1940s up to 1950 he engaged in 27 fights with men ranked in the top ten, winning 18, losing 7 and drawing 2. If he had been campaigning today Moore would undoubtedly have already held a version of one of the titles and made several defences. But this was over half a century ago where the self interest of a few were jealously protected at the expense of the many.

In 1950 Moore’s then managers were unable to find him many meaningful contests and he only fought twice that year. He supplemented his income by hustling in pool halls across the country. He was a fierce competitor at the tables and an adept player, his super competitive nature extended not just to food franchises, businesses and the ring but to anything he tried his hand at.

In 1951 Moore joined stable mate and world featherweight champion Sandy Saddler on a tour of South America. The two became friends and would later be involved in the career of world heavyweight champion George Foreman along with Saddler’s brother Dick. On this tour as second billed attraction and chief support, Moore was unbeaten in eight much needed contests, proving a big hit with the Argentine President and Eva Peron.

Moore returned to the States desperate to arrange a world title fight with champion Joey Maxim who was managed by Jack Doc Kearns who had famously managed the ‘Manassa Mauler’ Jack Dempsey around thirty years earlier. It took a lot of effort and Moore had to sit frustrated on the sidelines as middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson gained first shot at Maxim. Fortunately thanks to unbelievable heat Robinson had to retire in the fourteenth round of a fight he looked like winning up until then and Moore’s chance to arrange a contest with Maxim was back on.

It took a year or so of running his own publicity campaign, writing to newspaper sports editors across the country complaining that he was being denied his rightful chance at winning the world light heavyweight title. He even lobbied New York State boxing commissioners, but his impassioned pleas fell on deaf ears. The deal was finally clinched thanks to the wily Kearns. He forced Moore to sign a contract which not only gave him just 10 percent of the take after Maxim’s guaranteed $100,000 (Moore’s share as challenger was a paltry $800, just enough to meet his training expenses!) but it also gave Kearns a share in Moore’s future management.

The legality of such a contract would surely not be upheld by any court today but this was 1950s America and there were no Monopolies or Mergers Commissions or regulation to the extent that we have today. It was certainly a restraint of trade and a restrictive covenant over Moore, but he felt that unless he accepted these draconian and legally and morally questionable terms he may never again get the opportunity to challenge for the world title. He was just turned thirty nine years old when on 17 December 1952 he challenged Maxim for the title. It was now or never and although the deal must have rankled with the independent minded and proud Moore he needed the title. Kearns thus became his eighth manager in Moore’s career so far!

The contest was held at the St Louis Arena in the town where it had all began for Moore growing up with his adoptive Aunt and Uncle. His journey had gone full circle. Moore had a tearful reunion with his father prior to the contest and arranged for both his parents to be ringside for the biggest night of this boxing career.

From the first round Moore shook Maxim and was never in any trouble himself for the whole duration of the fight. Maxim badly faltered and floundered and was lucky to last the distance. Moore just could not be denied after being kept waiting years for his chance at world glory. Finally after fifteen one-sided rounds it was Moore’s arm that was lifted in victory by referee Harry Kessler. In his 159th bout and after being a pro for over sixteen years, many of them as a top contender, Archie Moore ‘the Old Mongoose’ was world light heavyweight champion! The best amazingly was yet to come.

In six non title fights Moore brushed aside the opposition including a very impressive win over much feared top heavyweight contender, the Cuban, Nino Valdes. In a rematch with Maxim in Ogden, Utah, Moore again prevailed comfortably on points. In January 1954 thanks largely to Jack ‘Doc’ Kearns Moore had to face Maxim again, this time he proved his superiority once and for all dropping Maxim twice en route to posting yet another clear cut points win in Miami. There would be no fourth match.

Later in 1954 Moore found himself behind on points going into the fourteenth round against the talented Harold Johnson in a title defence at the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden. He managed to save the day in a tense affair finding the power to stop Johnson in that dramatic fourteenth round.

Despite being champion and a successful enduring one, Moore was still unhappy with his earning power. He was drawing big crowds and winning exciting contests against talented fighters but his victories were not being rewarded enough in his mind. Moore contemplated retirement and even toured with a jazz band, again illustrating his many and varied talents.

Looking for a new challenge to reinvigorate him and to provide him with the financial reward his talents and box office appeal deserved, Moore began another publicity campaign to coax the then world heavyweight champion, the undefeated ‘Brockton Blockbuster’ Rocky Marciano to defend against him. His shrewd adverts included the production and distribution of ‘Wanted’ posters of Rocky Marciano in the name of ‘Sheriff Archie Moore’ for the ‘capture and delivery of Rocky Marciano to any ring in the world.’ As these adverts flooded the American press Moore ensured filled column inches telling reporters of his desire to face Marciano.

All of his efforts in enticing Marciano to the ring paid off handsomely. He would make an excellent publicist today. The match seemed a natural. Could the popular Rocky maintain his unbeaten record against the dangerous knock out artist Moore? Could the reigning world light heavyweight champion make history by moving up to heavyweight and winning the crown? (Bob Fitzsimmons had won the middleweight and then the heavyweight world titles before moving down to light heavyweight. No one had ever gone up from light heavy to heavy).

On 21 September 1955 a big crowd at Yankee Stadium witnessed one of the most dramatic and thrilling heavyweight title fights ever seen. The pumped up Moore caused a sensation by knocking the champion to the canvas in the second round. Marciano got unsteadily back to his feet at the count of two, still looking groggy, then the referee, Harry Kessler wrongly in Moore’s view, gave Marciano an ‘eight count’ which was not mandatory for this contest. Kessler, also according to Moore, gave Marciano plenty of extra time to recover, procrastinating further before waving the fighters to continue.

This debate, like the famous ‘Battle of the Long Count’ between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney nearly thirty years earlier has raged on over the ensuing years. Was Marciano saved by the referee? Was he in a fit state to continue? If there was no eight count and delay in waving the action on, would Moore have capitalised and knocked Marciano out? We will never know. What we do know was that Moore became only the second man in world title fights to have floored probably the toughest and best conditioned heavyweight of all time in rock-jawed Marciano.

Once hostilities resumed and the second round ended the fight became more of a battle of endurance as both men kept crashing into each other like two stags battling over territory. It was unrelenting stuff with both giving and receiving terrific punishment. Ultimately the ten years younger man, Marciano wore 41 year old Moore down for a ninth round stoppage win. ‘The Rock’ had to give it his all and many attribute this draining and desperately hard contest as being the decisive reason for his retirement.

That all puts Moore in a fantastic light, but the fact remained that he had failed in his quest to claim the heavyweight title. That he had pushed one of the greatest heavyweights of all time to the limit and nearly caused an upset can only add to his own greatness. After the contest Moore said of Marciano ‘He was the best conditioned athlete I ever faced.’

Another plus in the aftermath of the Marciano fight was the pay of $270,000, good money for those days and from now on he would continue to be fairly and decently remunerated after serving his dues in a tough unforgiving twenty years in the hardest of all professions.

Moore undeterred by the defeat continued to campaign as a heavyweight in 1956, boxing four times in California at the weight. He then fought in other parts of America and neighbouring Canada. A weight drained Moore managed to successfully defend his world light heavyweight title on a tenth round stoppage at the Harringay Arena in London, England. He was looking lethargic and behind on points before flooring his opponent three times for the stoppage victory. It was unclear whether his talents lay in the heavy or light heavyweight division.

Outside of the ring Moore married for a fourth and last time to Harlem model Joan Hardy. They moved to San Diego and lived happily together; Moore’s domestic life at last seemed settled and harmonious. The God’s seemed to be smiling on Moore again when he was chosen to contest the world heavyweight title vacated by Marciano due to his retirement. Opposing Moore who was nearing his 43rd birthday was the 21 year old Olympic champion Floyd Patterson. The fight was held at the Chicago Stadium on 30 November 1956.

The oldest man to fight for the title (up to then) was beaten on a fifth round knockout by the youngest man to win the title. Patterson was just too fast and powerful for the older warrior. The emphatic defeat did not deter Moore who could have retired. Instead he toured Europe, defended his light heavyweight title successfully back in America against Tony Anthony and then began another tour of South America. He had gone from a ‘road warrior’ and journeyman early in his career to global champion and jet setter!

In 1958 he returned to the heavyweight division enjoying some success before being ordered to defend his world light heavyweight title on 10 December at The Forum in Montreal, Canada against the local favourite, the rough tough top contender and Canadian champion: Yvon Durelle. This fight which seemed like an innocuous and inconsequential routine defence at first would go on to become one of the greatest fights pound for pound of all time. It would also go on to define Moore as champion as well as cementing his position among the all time greats.

The fight was televised and shown across America and Canada. It was huge box office in Canada but no one could have guessed of the drama that was to come. In the first round Moore walked into a hurricane as he was heavily floored no less than three times. Each knockdown looked devastating, it was as if he had been pole axed each time, yet, amazingly he got to his feet three times, just beating the count on the first and last knockdowns. Just by surviving that torrid first round was an achievement in itself but more was to come.

In the second round through to the fifth round Moore managed to get his boxing together and managed to score with his vaunted jab, unbelievably fighting his way back into the contest. A hard right from Durelle floored Moore again in the fifth, but the champion showed true heart and fantastic durability by getting up at referee and former world heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey’s count of six. The crowd in the arena as well as the millions watching on television must have been in shocked disbelief as Moore not only managed to recover but rally late in the round staggering Durelle for the first time with a superbly delivered left hook.

The contest ebbed and flowed from the sixth to the tenth round with both men exchanging lusty wallops and scoring heavily. It was a real ‘throw back’ fight where boxers would fight to the finish and thrilling for anyone who was able to witness it. The action was almost unbearably exciting at times and it was still not clear who would prevail. Towards the end of the tenth Moore finally connected with several well placed blows until a deadly left-right combination floored the dangerous challenger for his first count of the fight.

The eleventh was the decisive and deciding round. Moore would not let his man off the hook and a now wilting Durelle was punished with some really heavy, accurate shots. He was floored by a right hook for a nine count, gamely getting up only to be floored again this time for good. Moore was still world light heavyweight champion and had prevailed in one of the most, if not the most exciting contest ever seen! He had shown true champion’s heart by taking such terrible punishment early on. I have never seen a boxer before or since get knocked down so heavily and concussively three times in a first round and then go on to win in the fashion that Moore did. When you factor in that he was also fifteen years older than his hard punching 29 year old foe the achievement was all the more remarkable.

At long last Moore enjoyed the public affection that had previously eluded him. The reporters and experts as well as those in the trade respected him, but the fans had never warmed to him, until now. His heart, tenacity, skill and self belief had won them over in an almost gladiatorial spectacle. Amazingly Moore managed to give a witty, articulate and charismatic post fight interview with the television network that was covering the fight after such a punishing bout. In fact he was so impressive in his delivery that film producer Sam Goldwyn who was watching the broadcast approached Moore to play the part of Jim in the forthcoming film ‘Huckleberry Finn.’

With the film under his belt Moore’s public profile was given a further boost. He had well and truly arrived as a star and he was now in his mid forties! Putting this in context, most fighters were retired by their mid thirties and even the great ones like Bob Fitzsimmons, Jack Johnson and Sugar Ray Robinson although managing to compete well into their forties were no longer fighting at the level Moore was when at a similar age (Fitzsimmons won the world light heavyweight title aged 41 but it was his last hurrah. Johnson fought until he was 50 but was fighting mediocre lower ranked opposition. Robinson was just a ‘name’ and a stepping stone for younger fighters when he finally retired aged 45). Yes Moore was a true first in the fistic world and doing things that fighters of his age weren’t supposed to do.

After the amazing come-from-behind victory against Durelle a rematch was a natural. The return was again held at The Forum, Montreal and took place on 12 August 1959. This time Moore proved too much for Durelle, controlling the action and totally dominating, flooring Durelle twice en route to a third round stoppage. It was a masterful performance and again it seemed the first contest had taken more out of the younger man than the fortysomething champion!

Moore returned his attentions to the heavyweight division, the NBA wanted him to defend against leading contender Harold Johnson whom Moore had already faced five times, winning four times. Understandably Moore saw no merit in a sixth contest and refused to defend his crown against Johnson. In October 1960 Moore was stripped of his title.

In Madison Square Garden on 10 June 1961 Moore fought Giulio Rinaldi the talented Italian boxer for the New York and European versions of the world light heavyweight title, winning on points. However the euphoria was short lived when New York and the EBU also ordered Moore to defend against Johnson. Moore was stripped in February 1962. He was now approaching his 49th birthday and it was the end of his world championship days. It was sad that he did not get a chance to lose the title in the ring and it was an unfortunate way to lose the title.

Significantly Moore managed to fight Angelo Dundee fighter Willie Pastrano to a draw who later took the titles from Johnson. This is evidence of Moore’s quality proving that he still belonged up there as world champion.

All good things sadly, must come to an end and Moore’s exemplary ring career was no exception. His penultimate fight was against a certain Cassius Clay (later to become Muhammad Ali). The cocky twenty year old was a handsome, tall heavyweight who moved like a lightweight and was renowned for his fight predictions. He had even been trained by Moore early in his career but the two did not see eye to eye. Now master faced pupil in Los Angeles on 15 November 1962. As Clay/Ali predicted ‘Moore in Four’ the brave Archie was stopped in the fourth round of a one-sided contest. Moore’s time had been and gone, it was now the time of Clay/Ali.

Moore won his last fight against Mike DiaBiase by a third round stoppage in March 1963. His career had spanned an unbelievable twenty seven years. On retiring he did a lot of youth work with the Boy Scouts and the ABC (Any Body Can) movement. He also worked in the corner for George Foreman early in his career and during his comeback. His interests outside the ring included playing pool, music and family. He died in 1998 of heart failure.

He had fought the top men of the light heavy and heavyweight divisions for nearly twenty years and had been world champion for a decade. His 131 knockout wins are more than any other boxer in history and a record that will probably stand the test of time.

With his cross armed defence, shuffling, clever footwork and knockout power developed by doing hundreds of press ups every day he was an intimidating prospect for any fighter. Boxing historian Gilbert Odd said of him: ‘He could jab like Louis, hook like Dempsey and uppercut like Johnson.’ Praise indeed. Moore himself commented: ‘Sometimes you could read a guy and feel sorry for him. He was doomed.’

And also, on his longevity in the ring: ‘it’s’ not the length of a career that wears a man out. It’s the number of punches he takes. I didn’t take too many.’ He was one of the most intelligent, articulate, defensive master boxers that ever held a world title. That he was also one of the hardest punchers of all time is beyond all doubt as well. A true legend of the ring.

World light heavyweight champion 1952 – 1962

World light heavyweight title fights: 10

World light heavyweight title wins: 10

World light heavyweight KO’s: 6

World heavyweight title fights: 2 World heavyweight title wins: 0

Career record

Fights: 218 Wins: 183 Losses: 24

Drew: 10

No Contest: 1 KO’s: 131