The highly controversial WW title match between champion Gavilan and fellow HoFer Graham. At the end of 15 scintillating rounds, Gavi won a decision that was booed by Graham's hometown fans and decried by a number of local sportswriters as a robbery. Matchmaker Teddy Brenner later fueled talk of a "fix" by claiming that one of the judges had confessed to him on his deathbed that he was instructed by the Mafia to score for Gavi. However, this claim was later disproven, as the judge's family produced a death certificate showing that he had died suddenly from a heart attack at a train station. Nevertheless, Graham was often touted as "the Uncrowned Champion" in NY for years afterward (even after he was decisively beaten by Gavi in a title rematch) and the controversy helped propel him into the HoF. But is the controversy really warranted? I've always felt that Graham was too defensive over the first two-thirds of the fight and didn't really take over until the championship rounds. Score it for yourself and decide.
Kid Gavilan v Billy Graham 3 That was not an easy fight to score but I think Gavilan won and don't feel that Graham got jobbed at all here. It was an unpopular decision at the time but the fight took place in Graham's hometown so I don't pay much attention to that. Graham certainly turned it more into his kind of fight over the second half of the bout which was a victory of sorts but he was almost measured to a fault in his punch output. The jab worked nicely but he didn't put enough punches together to really assert a clear authority, even in the rounds I felt he edged. And I do think it was a question of edging them. The rounds Gavilan won on my card, particularly early on, he won more clearly. No controversy here in my view. 1. 10-9 2. 10-9 (close) 3. 10-9 (Graham started the round well but the Kid just outworked him. Still, tough round to score and fight is somewhat closer than my card is suggesting so far) 4. 10-9 (Gavilan the aggressor and busier than Graham. He's edging these rounds) 5. 9-10 (First round in the bag for Graham on my card) Intermission: 5 rounds down and I have it 4-1 Gavilan so far. This is a close and competitive fight but Gavilan's aggression and willingness to throw combinations is edging this over the more spartan output of Graham, despite some nice counters from him. 6. 10-10 (Gavilan opened up with some nice jabs but Graham came into it in the second half. These are marginal rounds, whichever way they go. I do feel that Graham needs to be a little less conservative though) 7. 10-10 (Jesus, not sure how to score that either! Both fighters waiting to counter the other. Could have gone either way) 8.10-9 (Graham not doing enough) 9. 10-10 (These are god awful rounds to score) 10.10-9 (Graham waiting to counter while Gavilan stays busy) 11. 9-10 (first Graham round on my card since the 5th) 12.10-9 13. 9-10 (Graham countering nicely) 14. 9-10 (Graham slightly edged this with his counters. He needed to let go of the right hand a bit more though) 15. 9-10 (close but Graham just edged it) 7-5 Gavilan with 3 rounds even Gavilan 145-143 Graham
Thanks for the analysis. I typically have Gavilan winning by about a 3-round margin whenever I watch it, i.e.: 9-6, 8-5-2, etc. IMO, Gavilan built up a near-insurmountable lead over the first two-thirds of the fight, and Graham didn't start to definitively win rounds until the last third.
Yeah, that's pretty much my analysis. Graham closed the gap over the last third but he gave up too big a lead. There were some tight rounds in there but there was no injustice at all.
