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Jimmy Young Boxing Autograph
An 8x10 Action Photograph from Muhammad Ali's fight against
Jimmy Young. Anyone who collects boxing autographs of Muhammad
Ali's opponents will want this autograph to add to their
collection!
Jimmy Young
£25.00
The 1970s have gone down in boxing
history as the golden age of the heavyweights. Muhammad
Ali was in the midst of his lock on the heavyweight championship
title. George Foreman was a force to be feared. Boxing matches
were glamorous, primetime events grabbing the adoration
of fans, celebrities, and the general public. Smack in the
middle of the glory was another heavyweight, one all but
forgotten by history. Jimmy Young held his own in the ring
against all the big names of the time. He was admired by
aficionados and feared by the fiercest gloves in the game.
So what happened? "He was brilliant," boxing historian
Bert Randolph Sugar told the New York Times. "The problem
is that he was in one of the best classes of heavyweights
ever, and all the other stars had bigger punches."
Developed Unique Fighting Style
Jimmy Young was born to William David and Ruth Ethel Young
on November 16, 1948, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His
hometown had a long boxing tradition and by the time Young
got interested in the ring, gold medalist and heavyweight
champion Joe Frazier was the town's undisputed boxing king.
His Broad Street gym was the heart of Philly boxing, and
the place Young would hang out after school. By the age
of 14, Young was enamored with the sport and began training
with a passion. Years later he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
"People ask me why I love this sport. So brutal. So
hard. I tell them what I'll tell you. I love it."
At six-foot-one and with an average weight
of 211 pounds, Young was small for a heavyweight—a
boxing class that includes fighters weighing over 200 pounds.
What he lacked in girth he made up for in originality. In
the ring he was slick, deftly dodging punches and confusing
opponents. "His style was hard to interpret. Some considered
him a boxer and others viewed him as a counter-puncher.
He was known for being extremely hard to hit," boxing
journalist and friend of Young's, Frank Lotierzo wrote on
the Philly Boxing History Web site. Top boxing critic Joe
Amato noted on the Hardcore Boxing Web site, "Jimmy
was not an exciting fighter but he was well schooled. He
was a real master of his craft." He added, "He
had a very good right hand counter that had some pop to
it. He was also a decent body puncher who was not afraid
to mix it up on the inside. He was not overly great at one
thing but was very adept at doing a lot of things."
The only thing that Young lacked was the very thing that
has to come to define heavyweight glory—a solid knock-out
punch.
Young became a professional boxer in 1969
in a New Year's Day bout against Jimmy Gilmore. He won the
bout in a four round decision by the judges. Boxing matches
can be won by knock-outs or judgment decisions, especially
when there are few punches to count. Because of his punch-ducking
style, Young's fights were often decided by judges. Over
the next three years Young had nine more professional fights,
four ending in points victories, two in knock-out victories,
and three in losses.
Fought His Way to Top Contenders
For his eleventh fight, Young's managers put him up against
Earnie Shavers. One of the most fearsome heavyweight fighters
of the 1970s, Shavers was revered for his explosive punches.
It was a monumental mismatch. Shavers had 44 professional
fights under his belt (42 wins) to Young's ten fights. "This
fight can only be rationalized by someone in the Young faction
who was desperately in need of money, or due to total ineptness
on the part of the person who had the final say," Lotierzo
wrote. To no one's surprise, Young was knocked out by the
third round.
From 1973 to 1974 Young continued to rack
up wins in the ring. He also began to fight overseas, traveling
to Venezuela and London. In November of 1974 Young faced
Shavers for a second time. This time he was ready. The fight
lasted the scheduled ten rounds and was declared a draw
by the judges, meaning neither fighter was awarded a win.
Lotierzo noted, "Over the years I've talked to more
than a few fighters and trainers who were at the fight and
saw it live. Everyone says the same thing. Young won it."
Disagreements between judges and spectators would become
a trend to hound Young's career.
Young's next major match was against Ron Lyle
in Honolulu, Hawaii. Lyle was considered one of the top
fighters in the world at that time and had his eyes on a
run for the heavyweight championship, then held by Muhammad
Ali. He was favored to beat Young. The pair went the full
ten rounds before the fight was awarded to Young in a unanimous
decision by the judges. First Shavers, then Lyle, Young
had arrived center ring with the top boxers of the decade.
By 1976 he was ranked ninth in the world.
Beat Foreman Fought Ali
Young's record stood at 17 wins, 4 losses, and 2 draws—good
enough to send him to the World Heavyweight Championships
to challenge Ali for the title. The April 30, 1976, fight
would mark Ali's seventh bout in defense of his title. True
to his style, Young came out hopping all over the ring.
Ali—who was nearing the end of his prime—appeared
out of shape and seemed confused by Young's fighting. Young
made Ali work hard and landed several severe blows on the
champ including one that burst Ali's ear drum. After 15
long rounds, the judges decided to score. The crowd thought
Young had won. The judges disagreed. Against sporadic booing,
the judges awarded the fight to Ali, letting him retain
his title as Heavyweight Champion of the World. Young was
not bitter. "To beat Ali in those days, you really
had to beat him bad," the New York Times quoted him
as saying.
Despite the loss, Young's showing in the Ali
fight kept him at the top the list of possible title contenders.
The others included Lyle, George Foreman, and Ken Norton.
In November of 1976, Young beat Lyle in a 12th round unanimous
decision by the judges. Young moved up to third ranked heavyweight
in the world and traveled to Puerto Rico to face George
Foreman, then ranked number one. The fight was billed as
a title elimination round and televised worldwide. Foreman
was favored to win. Those odds had not stopped Young before
and he went in with his trademark ducking and flurrying,
and over the course of 12 rounds outfought Big George to
another unanimous decision win. The loss sent Foreman into
a ten-year retirement and the bout was labeled "the
fight of the year" by influential boxing magazine The
Ring.
