The Boxing Bulletin

Pick'em Game Now on Bad Left Hook

2011-01-18T03:38:43Z

A new season of our pick'em game has started. Please check out Bad Left Hook to play.

Farewell & Thank You From The Boxing Bulletin

2011-01-06T04:03:19Z

As many of our readers are already aware from the announcement on Bad Left Hook, The Boxing Bulletin will be joining forces with BLH in 2011.

While this is exciting news in many respects, it also means that we will no longer be operating as an individual site and TheBoxingBulletin.com will cease to be updated. On behalf of all our writers and photographers, we wish to thank you for visiting us over the last two years. We hope that you have enjoyed our work and will continue to follow our writers in the future.

- Lee Payton & Andrew Fruman

Where you can find The Boxing Bulletin writers in 2011 and beyond?

As Scott Christ mentioned on Bad Left Hook, Andrew Fruman, Lee Payton, Sidney Boquiren and Jason Karp will be writing for BLH. You can add Dave Oakes to the group as well which means BLH will be the place to go for British and Japanese boxing coverage. Also writing for BLH will be Anthony Wilson, formerly of The Rumble.

Our writers will also be moving on to a couple of other great sites, with The Cruelest Sport and The Queensbury Rules the new home for a number of TBB contributors.

Writing for The Cruelest Sport will be Michael Nelson, Patrick Connor and Andrew Fruman. You can expect to see occasional pieces from Dave Oakes and Sidney Boquiren on TCS as well. Patrick's work can also be found on his blog, Violent Meditation.

Corey Erdman, Andrew Harrison and Anthony Wilson will be writing for The Queensbury Rules. Andrew has written for TQBR in the past, and you can always read more from him on his blog, Safe Side of the Ropes. As he's been doing on TBB, Andrew will also be filling in on occasion for The British Scene on BLH. Corey can also be found over the airwaves on Pound 4 Pound Radio on Sirius 98.

Jeff Pryor, who wrote a number of excellent feature stories for us over the last two years will confirm in the near future where his writing can be found in 2011. Chances are you'll be able to find him at one of the aforementioned sites.

Joseph R. Holzer and Frank Zhong have also yet to confirm their plans for 2011.

Ivan Montiel can be found at FightFan.com.

If you're a Boxing Bulletin pick'em game player, the game will be starting up again the weekend of January 21/22 on Bad Left Hook.

If you have any questions, we can still be reached via e-mail.

The Boxing Bulletin Awards for the Best of 2010

2011-01-01T00:01:36Z

The Boxing Bulletin writers voted over the last week for their choices for the best of 2010.

Here are the winners...

Fighter of the Year

Sergio Martinez

There was no doubt about this one, with Martinez taking the honor unanimously.

The Argentinean middleweight upset the odds with a convincing decision win over Kelly Pavlik back in April, before emphatically stamping his claim as this year's top fighter with a stunning one punch knock-out of Paul Williams in November.

Fight of the Year

Amir Khan UD12 Marcos Maidana

This was a close vote, with Khan's thrilling twelve round points victory against a hard charging Maidana just earning the nod over Humberto Soto's bruising decision win over Urbano Antillon. Also receiving first place votes were Giovanni Segura's knockout of Ivan Calderon, Juan Manuel Marquez's TKO over Michael Katsidis, and Ricky Burns' upset win over Roman Martinez.

Knockout of the Year

Sergio Martinez KO2 Paul Williams

No surprise here, with Maravilla's flush left hand blast earning the unanimous vote of the TBB writers.

Performance of the Year

Carl Froch UD12 Arthur Abraham

Using a sharp accurate jab and ring smarts, Froch outclassed his heavy handed Super Six rival from start to finish. The Nottingham fighter also mixed in some solid body work and crisp right hands that had Abraham noticeably wilting down the stretch. It was an all-around outstanding effort from Froch against an opponent that many fight aficionado's picked to win by knockout.

Several other performances received first place votes, with Juan Manuel Marquez earning runner-up honors for his victory over Michael Katsidis. The 135lb champ proved his mettle once more by climbing off the deck to eventually wear down his gritty opponent with a counter-punching clinic.

Also receiving first place votes were Nonito Donaire's destruction of Wladimir Sidorenko, Floyd Mayweather's domination of Shane Mosley and the comeback effort of Bernard Hopkins against Jean Pascal.

Upset of the Year

Jason Litzau SD10 Celestino Caballero

The Minnesota fighter's decision victory over Caballero in November was a runaway choice for this award. Expected to be nothing more than an opponent in a stay-busy outing for the highly rated Panamanian, Litzau seized the opportunity by outworking Caballero in the majority of rounds to earn the nod on the cards.

The runner-up was the shocker pulled off by Gilberto Keb Bass. The 33-year-old Mexican journeyman with 20 losses on his ledger, upended countryman Omar Nino in early November with a 12 round majority decision win. Scottsman Ricky Burns also received a first place vote in this category for his surprise victory over Roman Martinez in a terrific action fight.

TCS 2010 Story of the Year: The Disinherited: Edwin Valero 1981-2010

2010-12-31T16:11:16Z

TCS 2010 Story of the Year: The Disinherited: Edwin Valero 1981-2010

By Carlos Acevedo of The Cruelest Sport.

"Beneath it all, desire of oblivion runs."
Philip Larkin

In the ring, Edwin Valero was riveting, and the strange quality that defined his style–an uncommon cruelty–was couched strictly in boxing terms throughout his career. Now we can say it, though we may not want to believe it: Yes, his bloodlust appeared to be a natural extension of his fractured psyche. Over the years, several fighters with similarly destructive styles–among them Mike Tyson, Frank Fletcher, Tony Ayala, and James Kirkland–have found themselves unable to curb their hostility. Read more...

Japanese Scene: Kameda Brothers Go 3-for-3 in Saitama

2010-12-27T04:35:08Z

Sidney Boquiren recaps Sunday's boxing action from Japan. For more Japanese boxing updates, you can follow Sidney on twitter: RingwalkNippon@Twitter

Koki writes Japanese boxing history, becomes first three-division champ

Japanese boxing purists and critics of the alphabet organizations may discount the feat that Koki Kameda achieved on Sunday at the Saitama Super Arena when he won the WBA bantamweight title and became Japan’s first ever three-division champion.

With the inception of the junior divisions and the sheer number of belts handed out in each weight class, the once difficult task of finding success in multiple divisions has clearly become much easier. The very fact that a belt was available was stupefying – the man who had previously held it, Anselmo Moreno, was elevated to the organization’s "Super Champion" status, leaving the "regular" championship vacant. One could also argue that neither participant in yesterday’s bout had been worthy of the title opportunity. Kameda had never fought, let alone beaten, a true contender at 118-pounds; Alexander Munoz retired last November, only to return eleven months later and barely squeak by a sub-.500 journeyman.

Regardless, Kameda will be known as the nation’s first pugilist to attain a title in three weight classes. Perhaps more importantly, however, the youngster showed further progress in his evolution as a boxer-puncher. From the early frames, Kameda displayed good timing and accuracy with his counterpunching, effectively picking apart the wild, free-swinging Venezuelan. He was forced to overcome the roughhouse tactics that Munoz employed and negated the veteran’s savvy (if you will) by remaining patient and collected.

Though there was a spell in which he became predictable by overusing his lead left, on the whole, Kameda used both hands well, stunning Munoz with right hooks as well as the left hand. Most impressively, the Japanese bad boy tried to close out the fight spectacularly, going for the stoppage after flooring the former champion with a right hook in the twelfth round. Though Munoz tried to play off the knockdown, he was in serious trouble as Kameda landed with lefts and rights, and the Venezuelan just barely made it to the final gong.

The former super flyweight strapholder, making his eighth appearance in Japan, looked every bit his 32 years of age. The adage that the last thing that goes for a fighter is his punch may have been true in this case as Kameda gave a nod of recognition to Munoz’s power in his post-fight interview. However, the Venezuelan’s performance during the bout was marred with recklessness and wide, inaccurate punch delivery. Off balance and unable to find the mark with scoring blows, Munoz was an easy target for the younger fighter’s more compact punching. In addition, uppercuts thrown from a distance and errant right hands left him wide open for Kameda’s counterpunching.

After 36 minutes of action, all three judges voted in favor of the local product by scores of 115-111, 116-109, and 117-109.

Though Kameda expressed uncertainty toward his future – one possibility would be to come back down a weight class for a title at 115-pounds, another would be a unification bout with a fellow bantamweight champion (Nonito Donaire, who has a date with WBC and WBO strapholder Fernando Montiel, was on hand to watch the fight in the arena) – this experience may prove to be an important source of growth for the youngster. Still just 24-years old, Kameda showed continuing technical improvement. Already the most visible active Japanese pugilist, a jump to stages outside his native country is very possible. With his skill set growing, Kameda should have several opportunities in the future to show fans and critics alike that he is indeed an elite fighter worthy of the historic feat he has accomplished.

Daiki escapes with a split decision over Olteanu

The three men sitting ringside for the co-main event were placed in the position of having to choose aggression or effectiveness as the combatants in the WBA flyweight title bout presented very contrastive styles. The European challenger was a busy fighter – working behind an active jab while darting in and out as he mixed his offense to the body and head. The champion, either attempting to conserve energy to go all 36 minutes or to lull the Romanian into a trap, sat back passively, picking off blows with his guard while occasionally offering a left hook. At the end of twelve rounds, the three judges were divided among their scorecards, two giving a slight edge to the beltholder and one finding favor in the visitor.

Daiki Kameda talks to the press after Sunday night's fight / Photo © Sidney Boquiren

The champ, Daiki Kameda, did not capitalize on his physical advantages over diminutive challenger Silvio Olteanu. Despite a clear disparity in height and reach, the champion was deferential for the majority of the contest, fighting almost exclusively on his back foot and rarely throwing punches in combination. Falling back into old habits, the 21-year-old’s offense focused heavily on his left hook, and while he did land a few decent blows over the course of the fight, his lack of activity allowed Olteanu the opportunity to take several rounds based on aggression alone.

Fortunately for the incumbent, at least two of the judges recognized and rewarded him for his defensive skills. While his offensive output was minimal, Kameda did show that he managed distance well and prevented a good majority of the Romanian’s punches with a tight guard and upper body movement. The blows he threw that did find the mark were heavier and harder than those landed by Olteanu, staggering the challenger with a couple of left hooks in the sixth and again with right hands in the ninth.

The 32-year old European champ certainly attempted to be victorious in his first world title shot. Showing surprisingly quick hands, Olteanu would double and triple his jab, then step inside to throw combinations that targeted both upstairs and down. If the bout had been an amateur contest, the Romanian would have blown out the titleholder, scoring far more often than Kameda. However, short on power, Olteanu did little more than connect, unable to hurt the younger fighter.

Kameda advanced his record to 19-2 (11KO) with the win and made the second defense of his strap. It turns out that it will be his last as well, as he revealed to the press earlier today that he will vacate the crown due to his struggle to make the 112-pound limit. Though super flyweight could be a possibility, Kameda could join his older brother at 118.

Tomoki drops opponent four times en route to TKO3

The youngest of the Kameda brothers, Tomoki, made his return to the Japanese ring a quick one by stopping woeful Pichitchai Twins Gym in a little over eight minutes. Primarily campaigning in Mexico, the 20-year old appears to have decent physical tools, using superior hand speed and a particularly nasty left hook to the body to weaken his Thai counterpart. Though he showed moments of a lack of control, the youngster also displayed a good variety of punches and was relentless in his attempt to stop his opponent after clearly hurting him in the third.

Scoring two knockdowns in the second round, Kameda floored Pichitchai again in the first minute of the third after trapping him in a corner and landing a flurry of blows. While the Thai gamely rose to his feet, a hard left hook to the liver set him down for the fourth time. Certainly not lacking heart, Pichitchai picked himself up once more, only to meet more punishment. However, referee Biney Martin had seen enough and called an end to the beating at the 2:12 mark.

With the victory, Kameda remains undefeated, improving to 17-0, 12KO.

Of the three brothers, Tomoki is the most physically impressive and a true bantamweight. He may be a bit raw in a few areas, but is clearly far more advanced than local pugilists his age thanks to his training in Mexico. A slight tendency to slap with his punches can be seen when he had his opponent on his heels and it would be nice to see him work his jab more. Though it is likely too soon for the world title shot that he told reporters he is targeting in 2011, the 20-year old is a prospect to keep an eye on for the next few years.

e-mail Sidney Boquiren

For more coverage of Japanese boxing, follow Sidney on Twitter: RingwalkNippon@Twitter

Pick'em Game: Season 4 Final Standings

2010-12-26T23:52:12Z

Congratulations to A.F., our season 4 pick'em winner with 229 points. The new champion held off a strong late season push from waldo47, who finished only 8 back in second spot with 221. Matt (Yorkshire) took third place with 182, followed by sigidy in fourth with 164 and Brickhaus taking fifth with 141.5.

We have prizes for the top 5 players. Please e-mail us at TheBoxingBulletin@gmail.com.

Rounding out the top 10 were Violent Demise with 139.5, TheChampIsHere 137.5, BrianBrock 132, thenonpareil 129.5 and Michael Nelson with 122.5.

Thank you to everyone for playing.

The complete weekly standings and overall leaders...

Week 10 Standings

waldo47 ………. 18
Violent Demise ………. 10.5
Brickhaus ………. 7.5
Matt (Yorkshire) ………. 7
A.F. ………. 4
Dafs ………. 3
ulises solis ………. 1.5
Sweet science ………. -9
BrianBrock ………. -13
sigidy ………. -19.5

Overall Standings (doubles/triples left)

A.F. … ( 1 - 4 ) ………. 229
waldo47 … ( 0 - 0 ) ………. 221
Matt (Yorkshire) … ( 3 - 0 ) ………. 182
sigidy … ( 0 - 0 ) ………. 164
Brickhaus … ( 1 - 0 ) ………. 141.5
Violent Demise … ( 0 - 0 ) ………. 139.5
TheChampIsHere … ( 10 - 1 ) ………. 137.5
BrianBrock … ( 1 - 0 ) ………. 132
thenonpareil … ( 2 - 5 ) ………. 129.5
Michael Nelson … ( 0 - 0 ) ………. 122.5
Dafs … ( 0 - 0 ) ………. 107
Sweet science … ( 1 - 1 ) ………. 102
BloodMeridian … ( 3 - 0 ) ………. 100
LatinoPorVida … ( 5 - 4 ) ………. 90.5
Apprentice … ( 7 - 4 ) ………. 86.5
ulises solis … ( 3 - 0 ) ………. 73.5
Scott Christ … ( 2 - 2 ) ………. 72.5
Dave Oakes … ( 5 - 0 ) ………. 54
morin … ( 2 - 0 ) ………. 53
notclements … ( 2 - 0 ) ………. 50
Sam5001 … ( 6 - 1 ) ………. 30
AGLA … ( 9 - 5 ) ………. 20.5
cyke … ( 4 - 3 ) ………. 13
sonofapsycho … ( 2 - 1 ) ………. 10
WelshDevilRob … ( 9 - 5 ) ………. 8.5
Hoosier_ … ( 0 - 2 ) ………. -2.5

Around the Net: Manny Pacquiao vs Shane Mosley Reaction Edition

2010-12-22T11:35:04Z

It's not a fight boxing fans were hoping for, but the news that Shane Mosley has won the latest Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes is certainly not a surprise. All signs pointed to the former champion as Top Rank's choice for the May 7 Vegas date, and while many hoped either Juan Manuel Marquez or Andre Berto would get the call, it sounds like neither were ever truly in the running.

Very few followers of the sweet science truly believe this will be a competitive fight, but Top Rank and Pacquiao will make their money, and Mosley will too. This is hardly something to look forward to for the rest of us, but we'll save further complaints for a later date. For now let's take a look around the net for more reaction to the fight...

Bad Left Hook - Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley Done for May 7

The fight is sure to draw criticism, and rightly so. Mosley is old and looked worn out this year. While it's worth asking who else was really available, I would point to Andre Berto, though with the admission that Berto is nowhere near Mosley's star level. Our friend Corey Erdman spoke with Lou DiBella, Berto's promoter, and Lou said, "It was never a true sweepstakes. [Pacquiao-Mosley] is not a surprise. Smart business, but maybe not good for boxing."

Boxing Scene - How Pacquaio vs Mosley Impacts The Rest Of The Sport

Depending upon whom you ask, news of Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley agreeing to terms for a May 7 showdown is a dream come true or the worst possible scenario.
Popular opinion leads far more towards the latter. When you think about who wins and who loses in the aftermath of Tuesday’s announcement, it’s easy to understand why.

The winners from this event do not make for a very extensive list.

ESPN - Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley a bad fight for boxing

Forget all the nonsense we've heard since Pacquiao beat down Antonio Margarito, about how Pacquiao's next opponent was going to come from a list of Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Berto.
The real list was more like Mosley, Mosley and Mosley. But Arum had to include a couple of other names so he could leverage Mosley into believing it was a competition and, therefore, drive down his price. Mosley is desperate for the fight after being beaten almost as badly in his recent divorce settlement as he will be by Pacquiao, who should have put his foot down and demanded a better fight. Make no mistake: Pacquiao is culpable here, too.

Boxing FanHouse - Bob Arum: Shane Mosley-Manny Pacquiao 'Most Sellable Fight'

How much did the obviously strained relationship between Top Rank Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions factor into the negotiations, as well as the asking price of the purse demands of Juan Manuel Marquez?
Bob Arum: Golden Boy, they agreed to step aside and to allow us to promote a third fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. They gave us the call on everything that we wanted. So that was not an obstacle.

But what was an obstacle was that they had priced themselves so high, that it was something that Manny became offended about. They were asking for more than double the money that they made when Marquez fought and lost to Floyd Mayweather.

I don't think that that was fair or that it was right, and Marquez, because of that, was a non-starter.

LATimes.com - Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley said to be a done deal

Marquez's promoter, Richard Schaefer, said he proposed to Arum that if a Pacquiao-Marquez III bout generated a pay-per-view audience of 1.2 million, Marquez, 37, would collect $5 from every buyer beyond 500,000 for an $8.5-million purse. Pacquiao and Top Rank would earn more than $28 million — "More than fair," Schaefer said.
"Good luck to [Mosley]," Schaefer said Tuesday. "He turned his back on Golden Boy, so be it. Everybody moves on. It is what it is. There's nothing I can do but wish him luck."

NO EXIT: The Short Life & Strange Career of Eddie Machen

2010-12-21T20:00:35Z

A look at the career of Eddie Machen, a gifted heavyweight who never reached his potential because of a shaky psychological make-up. He died, in mysterious circumstances, at the age of 40 - by Carlos Acevedo of The Cruelest Sport.

Perhaps he crossed the path of a black cat once too often, or was given to recklessly overturning saltshakers. Whatever he did, Eddie Machen, a top heavyweight in the late fifties and early sixties, was the personification of bad luck in a business–prizefighting–where bad luck is an accepted occupational hazard. A naturally gifted boxer, Machen had a habit of bringing more than just his gloves into the ring; he also dragged with him the kind of bad juju common to characters in a Cornell Woolrich novel or a particularly bleak film noir.

Eddie Machen was born in Redding, California on July 15, 1932. During the midst of the Depression, Redding was an anomaly: a Boom Town–or at least as close as you could get to one in those lean days. The construction of the Shasta Dam, which began in 1936, nearly doubled the population of Redding, and brought in its wake a blue collar workforce as well as the rough and tumble atmosphere typical of hard laborers during lean times.

Eddie Machen was one of 6 children. His father was a mail carrier and his mother was a housewife. Somehow lower middle-class prosperity did not appeal to Machen; he soon dropped out of high school to pursue other interests: among them boxing and its ugly stepsister, trouble. His amateur career lasted all of three fights before he was arrested for armed robbery in 1952. Machen spent three years in prison. "I went in as a kid," he told The Saturday Evening Post. "I came out grown up, determined never to be jailed again." After being released from prison in 1955, Machen fought ten times for Lee Hughes before hooking up with San Francisco fight manager Syd Flaherty (who by then had "Bobo" Olson under his wing) and setting off on one of the most perplexing heavyweight careers in boxing history.

Machen weights in for his 1958 bout with Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson / photo courtesy of Antiquities of the Prize Ring

With power in both hands but a strange reluctance to use it, Machen employed his superb defensive skills to fluster opponents and spectators alike. "Cautious Eddie," as he was known, defeated several tough customers on the way to a 24-0 record, including Nino Valdes, Johnny Summerlin, Howard King, Bob Baker, John Holman, Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson, and weathered ex-light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim. Poor Valdes needed smelling salts after Machen was through with him, and Jackson took such a beating that he was never the same again. After little more than a year as pro, Machen was already a top contender generating significant buzz.

In April 1958, Machen struggled to a draw with skittish jab artist and top contender Zora Folley. This fight, dull enough to ward off fans for the rematch two years later, was an early sign that for all of his natural talent, something in Machen was missing. But it was his disaster against Ingemar Johansson in September, 1958 that seemed to define the rest of his up-and-down career. A crowd of over 55,000 watched as Johansson dropped Machen three times in the opening round to score an effortless stoppage. The right hand that initially capsized Machen was uncorked with such quickness as to seem nearly invisible. But its force was undeniable.

"Later," Machen told The Los Angeles Times, "I studied the films, looking for my mistakes. I ran it time after time, but it was just a case of getting nailed right on the chin." The second knockdown was just as heavy as the first, and Machen rose like a man with vertigo. With less than a minute to go in the round, Machen was battered to the canvas and out onto the ring apron in his own corner, where his seconds rushed in to halt the slaughter. In a surreal image, and one that is a stark reminder of the clinical brutality of boxing, referee Andrew Smyth continued the 10-count while Machen was being frantically attended to by his cornermen.

Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson / photo courtesy of Antiquities of the Prize Ring

Before his loss to Johansson, Machen was unquestionably avoided by reigning champion Floyd Patterson. As Arthur Daley put it, "In 1958, the super-cautious Cus D’Amato, the proprietor of Patterson, kept ducking Machen just as he ducked most of the top heavyweights, charging they were all under the sinister control of the forces of evil." While D’Amato seethed against the wickedness of man from rickety soapboxes, the heavyweight championship went through the ignominy of having Pete Rademacher and Tom McNeely contest it in spectacles closer to pratfall conventions than prizefights. In his never-ending jihad against unholy forces in boxing, D’Amato frothed over Sid Flaherty, who, like 98.5% of fight managers, maintained a working relationship with Jim Norris and the IBC. This flaw, one that brings to mind the poor crones in medieval Europe accused of witchcraft due to an unsightly mole or an affinity for cats, was enough to demonize Machen. Behind all of his righteous bluster, D’Amato was merely trying to protect his fragile champion, whose chin made tin resemble titanium. In eleven Patterson title fights from 1956 to 1963, over 40 knockdowns were scored, with Patterson suffering 15 of them. Years later, Patterson, the most dignified of fighters, was embarrassed at being protected, and when the world demanded that he face Sonny Liston, Patterson insisted that the fight be made. Public demand, unfortunately, never reached those heights for Machen.

(In 1964 Machen finally got to meet Patterson, but by then both fighters had seen better days. Machen lost a tepid 12-round decision to the former two-time champion in Sweden.)

Machen attemps to block a right hand from Zora Folley / photo courtesy of Antiquities of the Prize Ring

After seven easy comeback wins, Machen seemingly put the Johansson catastrophe behind him and signed to face Zora Folley again on January 18, 1960 in San Francisco. He was outboxed by Folley in their dreary rematch, and as if to underscore just how hard hard luck can be, the fight was a financial bloodbath for Machen as well. In the end, Machen, who was to pay Folley $15,000 out of his own purse, wound up $270 in the hole that night, and did even further damage to his reputation with an uninspired performance. "Referee Vern Bybee," reported The New York Times, "proved to be the busiest man in the ring last night…"

On September 7, 1960, Machen got another shot at the big time when he faced Sonny Liston in a nationally televised bout from Seattle. Machen looked dreadful dropping a 12-round decision against "Night Train," then considered the uncrowned heavyweight champion of the world. "Machen simply would not fight," wrote Harry Sanford. "Instead, he got on his bicycle and ran for twelve rounds, save when he would tackle, grab, hold, shove, and pull at Liston, who stalked him all the while, trying to land the big punch, a punch that did not come." After the fight Machen revealed that he had injured his right arm sparring against Willy Besmanoff and that he fought Liston at a serious disadvantage. Like most fighters who enter the ring injured, Machen needed the money. "With two hands I can take him," he said ruefully. Once again, "Cautious Eddie" had come up short in an important bout.

Less than a year after the Liston fight, Machen was outpointed by crafty NBA light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson in Atlantic City. From then on Machen became more inconsistent. Once in a while he would still spring an upset (as in his impressive decision over undefeated Doug Jones) or post a solid win (his destructive knockout of Mike De John), but he was fighting less frequently, and soon money would become an increasing worry. "It got so bad I took a job as a bouncer in a night club," Machen told the Saturday Evening Post. "The Number One challenger shouldn’t have to hold down a job. That’s for when you’re on the way up. And it’s just asking for trouble–all those guys with a few belts in them thinking you don’t look so tough." He seemed uninspired fighting to a stalemate with Cleveland Williams in July 1962, and once again drew criticism for his performance. Despite his spotty results, however, Machen was named number one contender the following October. But he would never get a chance at the title. In fact, it would be over a year before Machen fought again.

Over the years Machen struggled variously with the ups-and-downs of prizefighting, as well as with marital difficulties, alcohol, lawsuits, and depression. Soon he began to give beneath the strain. On December 12, 1962, Machen was discovered sitting in his car on the shoulder of the Cummings Skyway by a police officer. The despondent fighter had a gun and a suicide note in the vehicle with him; presumably he intended to put both to use. Machen was arrested and taken to the psychiatric ward of Napa State Hospital. His wife told the Associated Press that Machen "had been disturbed over money matters and failure to get a fight. He was trying very hard to get a fight with anyone. Fighting was his profession and he wanted to work at it. He was worried about family finances."

Over the next few days Machen made headlines for his harrowing behavior in the psychiatric ward–twice attacking hospital staff and having to be restrained by tranquillizers and straitjackets. After a brawl with seven hospital attendants, Machen was declared "schizophrenic." Machen spent the holidays at Napa State Hospital, and after showing improvement was transferred to a private clinic at the request of his family. Within a few weeks he was discharged.

Incredibly, and unlike his institutionalized contemporaries Johnny Bratton and Johnny Saxton, Machen returned to the ring on September 16 1963, less than a year after being committed and scored a sixth round knockout over Ollie Wilson. He did not, however, return to the ring with what might be considered a rosy outlook. "What do I have to show," he lamented, "for all my years as a ranking heavyweight? Nothing."

Eddie Machen drops Ollie Wilson in first fight back / photo courtesy of Antiquities of the Prize Ring

Three more tune-ups followed the Wilson fight before his disappointing flop against Patterson in Sweden. At 32, with nine years of adversity behind him, Machen could have been forgiven for thinking that his chances at a world championship were gone, and with them his days as a top-flight heavyweight. But if the topsy-turvy world of prizefighting specializes in anything, it is Absurdity, with a capital "A." When Muhammad Ali was stripped of the WBA portion of his heavyweight title for facing Sonny Liston in an immediate rematch, Machen was paired off against contender Ernie Terrell to fill the "vacancy." After years of unsuccessfully toiling for a shot at the title, Machen suddenly found himself ironically being handed one for a fugazi belt no one would respect. Still, it was an opportunity for a paycheck and the possibility for bigger fights down the line. Unfortunately, "carpe diem" was not a concept Machen ever seemed to fully grasp. He underperformed on the big stage yet again, losing an eyesore of a decision to Terrell on March 5, 1965, in Chicago. "It was difficult for the spectators to stay awake," wrote Lew Eskin.

By now it was clear that Machen would never live up to his potential. It was also clear that strange things would never stop happening to Eddie Machen. After the debacle with Terrell, Machen went on to lose on points to Karl Mildenberger in Germany, in a match where Referee Gerhard Seewald was replaced in the 7th round for incompetence and, more likely, favoritism. The contest itself was described by The Chicago Tribune as "a slow, dull fight," and Machen returned to America further dispirited.

Eddie Machen in the gym / photo courtesy of Antiquities of the Prize Ring

As if fed up with by his own tedious fights, Machen soon turned in some exciting–if uneven–performances in Los Angeles, uncharacteristically brawling with Manuel Ramos, Joey Orbillo, and Scrapiron Johnson. His most notable fight–and most impressive victory–during this strange fit of temper was a bruising split decision nod over a 20 year-old steamroller named Jerry Quarry. But after being shredded by a young Joe Frazier in 10 rounds in November, 1966, a declining Machen became little more than a stepping stone, losing his last two fights to Henry Clark and undefeated Boone Kirkman. Machen announced his retirement after being stopped by Kirkman. His final career record was 50-11-3.

After retiring from boxing, Machen, who had declared bankruptcy in 1966, worked as a bartender and a truck driver before settling as a longshoreman. He also began behaving erratically again. In 1966 he was arrested for a drunken café brouhaha and once more in 1968 for a roadside brawl with a policeman who needed mace to subdue the former heavyweight contender. Financially unstable, newly divorced, bitter at his fortunes (or, better said, misfortunes) in the ring, without the fame prizefighting brought him, Machen found himself battling depression once more and turned to psychiatrists for help.

On August 8, 1972 Machen was found dead, in his pajamas, after falling from his window in the Mission District of San Francisco. Whatever hex he suffered from persisted until his last moments: Machen lived on the second floor, and where most might suffer broken limbs, fractures or concussions from a two-story drop, the former number one heavyweight contender died from a ruptured liver. There has always been mystery surrounding the actual circumstances of his death–was it suicide or an accident? His girlfriend at the time, Sherry Tomasini, told officials that the troubled ex-boxer was prone to sleepwalking. Machen suffered from insomnia, a common byproduct of depression, and often took pills to help him sleep.

It is hard to imagine anyone thinking a fall from a second-story window would prove fatal; perhaps Machen was performing some sort of subconscious wish fulfillment when he stepped into oblivion that night. Perhaps he felt he had nowhere to go. "I was a fighter for almost 13 years," he once said. "It was hard for me to walk into something else after all that time." Machen was 40 years old when he died.

(This article first appeared, in a different version, in Boxing Digest Magazine.)

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