Jimmy Ellis (boxer)

For other people named Jimmy Ellis, see Jimmy Ellis (disambiguation).

Jimmy Ellis
File:Jimmy Ellis 1968.JPG Ellis in 1968
Born	James Albert Ellis (1940-02-24)February 24, 1940 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Other names	"The Cobra"
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85m)
Division	Heavyweight
Reach	76 in (196cm)
Years active	1961–1975
Professional boxing record
Total	53
Wins	40
By knockout	24
Losses	12
Draws	1

James "Jimmy" Ellis (February 24, 1940 – May 6, 2014) was an American professional boxer. He was a WBA world heavyweight champion, a title he won by defeating Jerry Quarry in 1968. He made one successful title defense against Floyd Patterson, before losing by fifth-round stoppage to Joe Frazier in 1970.

Ellis is also known for his fights with George Chuvalo, Muhammad Ali, Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle and Joe Bugner. He retired from boxing at the age of 35 in 1975, with a record of 40–12–1 (24 KOs).

He died of dementia complications on May 6, 2014 at the age of 74.

Birth and early years

He was born one of ten children. His father, Walter, was a pastor, and Ellis was brought up as a Christian. As a teenager Ellis worked in a cement finishing factory. He also sang in the local church choir, later joined by his wife Mary. He continued church involvement all his adult life. He also admired Joe Louis.

Amateur career

Ellis got into boxing as a teenager after watching a friend box fellow Louisville youngster Muhammad Ali on a local amateur boxing television show called Tomorrow's Champions. "I had a friend of mine named Donnie Hall, and he fought Ali," Ellis said. "Donnie lost, and I thought I could maybe be a fighter then." Ellis went with Hall to Louisville's Columbia Gym, where the coach was a police officer named Joe Martin.

Ellis won 59 of 66 amateur bouts and was a Golden Gloves champion. He boxed Ali twice as an amateur, with Ali winning the first bout and Ellis winning the second.

Early professional career

Ellis turned professional as a middleweight in 1961. Early in his pro career, he was trained and managed by Bud Bruner. With Bruner, he compiled a record of 15–5 (6 KOs). His five losses were decisions to top Middleweight contenders Holly Mims (whom he defeated in a rematch), Henry Hank, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Don Fullmer, and George Benton. This start probably helped his speed of punch, movement and finesse.

At the end of 1964, after losing three out of four fights, Ellis decided to leave Bruner. He later recalled Bruner fondly. "I liked him, and I fought a lot of top-rated fighters when I was with him, but eventually I had to move on," Ellis said. "He did me justice, and we always remained friends."

Ellis wrote a letter to an at first sceptical Angelo Dundee, the trainer of Ali, and asked him to handle his career. Dundee agreed to be both manager and trainer. Ellis became a sparring partner for Ali and fought on several of his early pre-Liston undercards. Six of his first eight fights with Dundee were on an Ali undercards.

Buy the mid 1960s Ellis was fighting heavyweights. Being a tall natural athletic build he'd had increasing trouble keeping down to middleweight. Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, who worked with both Ali & Ellis throughout their careers, called Ellis's development from middleweight to heavywweight one of the most dramatic he could recall.

WBA world title eliminator matches

By 1966, Ellis was fighting as a heavyweight. When Ali was stripped of the world title for refusing to enter the military, the World Boxing Association staged an eight-man tournament that featured most of the top heavyweight contenders. Ellis, who was ranked eighth in the world after eight consecutive wins, was invited to be in the tournament. Joe Frazier, ranked second by the WBA, chose not to participate in the tournament. Instead, Frazier fought for the vacant New York State Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Championship, which he won with an eleventh-round knockout of Buster Mathis.

In the opening round of the tournament, Ellis fought Leotis Martin on August 5, 1967 in Houston, Texas. Ellis, the betting underdog, battered Martin's face into a bloody mask, and the referee stopped the fight in the ninth round.

Ellis met Oscar Bonavena in the second round of the tournament. The fight took place on December 2, 1967 in Louisville, Kentucky. Ellis, once again the underdog, dropped the iron-jawed Bonavena with a right once in the third round and once in the tenth from a truly wicked left hook. After twelve rounds, Ellis was awarded a clear unanimous decision. He controlled the match throughout with perhaps the best display in his career. He made Oscar look basic and was only really in trouble himself in the ninth. But ironically, he turned the ninth around with a split second counter catching Oscar wide open and decking him badly. Ellis advanced to the tournament final.

Wins WBA world title

In the tournament final, Ellis faced Jerry Quarry, a slight betting favorite, on April 27, 1968 in Oakland, California. In a dull fight, Ellis fought what Sports Illustrated called "a tactical masterpiece". But he was very cautious and won a fifteen-round split decision to capture the vacant WBA Heavyweight Championship. Quarry said, "If they'd given me the decision, I'd have given it back. I didn't deserve it."

Title reign

In his only successful title defense, Ellis defeated Floyd Patterson by a controversial fifteen-round decision on September 14, 1968 in Stockholm, Sweden. Ellis, who suffered a broken nose in the second round, was awarded the decision by the referee, the sole judge. Many in the crowd of 30,000 disagreed with the decision and started chanting, "Floyd champ!" The New York Times scored the fight seven rounds to six for Ellis, with two even.

Following the defeat of Patterson, Ellis was out of the ring for seventeen months. He was going to fight Henry Cooper in the United Kingdom, even though the British Boxing Board of Control refused to recognize the fight as a world title bout: the BBBofC was affiliated with the World Boxing Council, who stated that they would only recognize a fight between Joe Frazier and a suitable contender as being for the world title. The fight was postponed a couple of times and eventually cancelled because Cooper injured his knee. Ellis then planned to fight Bob Cleroux in Montreal, but Cleroux lost what was supposed to be a tune-up fight against the lightly regarded Billy Joiner. Finally, Ellis was going to fight Gregorio Peralta in Argentina, but promoters canceled the fight 24 hours before it was to take place because of poor ticket sales.

Unification title match with Joe Frazier

On February 16, 1970, Ellis fought Joe Frazier to unify the World Heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The undefeated Frazier, a heavy betting favorite, proved to be too strong and powerful. Ellis, who had never been floored as a heavyweight, was knocked down twice in the fourth round by a relentless Frazier, and Angelo Dundee stopped the fight before the start of the fifth round. It was the first knockout loss for Ellis.

Fighting Ali

After winning his next three fights, Ellis fought Muhammad Ali in the Houston Astrodome on July 26, 1971. Angelo Dundee chose to work with Ellis for the fight. He was Ali's trainer, but he was both manager and trainer for Ellis. Working with Ellis meant that he would get a bigger share of the purse. Ali understood completely and got Harry Wiley, who had worked with Henry Armstrong and Sugar Ray Robinson, to be his trainer for the Ellis fight. It was one of the few fights in Ali's career in which Dundee was not in his corner.

Ellis fought well over the first three rounds, but the fight turned after Ellis was hurt by a right hand in the fourth round. The right hand "hurt me so bad I couldn't really fight my best after that," Ellis said. "It ruined me." The referee stopped the fight in the twelfth round as Ellis remained on his feet. No knockdowns were recorded throughout the fight.

Diminishing skills

After the loss to Ali, Ellis won his next eight fights by knockout. But on June 18, 1973, he fought Earnie Shavers, who was 44–2 (43 KOs), at Madison Square Garden. Ellis, ranked fourth by the WBA, stunned Shavers with a chopping right to the jaw and backed him into a corner. Shavers took numerous shots in the corner before clinching. After the referee separated the fighters, Shavers put Ellis down for the count with a wickedly powerful single right uppercut to the chin. The time was 2:39 in the first round. It was a stunning win for Shavers.

Ellis came back with a knockout win against club fighter Memphis Al Jones, but with his skills in decline, he went winless in his next five fights. He lost a split decision to Boone Kirkman, fought a draw with Larry Middleton, dropped decisions to Ron Lyle and Joe Bugner, and was stopped in nine rounds in a rematch with Joe Frazier.

The rematch with Joe Frazier took place in Melbourne, Australia, on March 2, 1975. Ellis trained at the Golden Bowl Gym in Camberwell, Melbourne with martial arts 4th Dan Gerry Scaife. Ellis won the first three rounds, but Frazier then picked up the intensity and took control. With Ellis bloody and battered, Angelo Dundee signaled for referee Bob Foster to stop the fight in the ninth round.

Retirement

On May 6, 1975, in what would be his last fight, Ellis knocked out club fighter Carl Baker in the first round. He retired aged 35 after suffering a training injury that left him partially blind in his left eye. Ellis finished with a record of 40–12–1 (24 KOs).

After retiring from boxing, Ellis trained boxers. Later he worked for the Louisville Parks Department on athletic and recreational projects between 1989 and 2003.

Life outside boxing

In 2004 Ellis told the Washington Times "...All I ever wanted to be was a good fighter and good man.' He seemed to achieve it. Brother Jeff gave a tribute on his death saying " He was someone you could model yourself on" Ellis was a reserved family man who shunned flash although had a determined competitive streak in boxing.

With wife Mary he had six children,2 sons and 4 daughters. His brother Charles boxed in the 1964 Olympics. Ellis was personally kind and gracious. He maintained a brotherly relationship with Ali over all the decades. Ali himself often recalled Ellis as a great friend. Ellis wasn't always pleased by the sparring partner tag but felt he had proved himself above that.

He suffered from dementia pugilistica, for over decade before his death. It was reported that Ellis' condition was so bad that he believed his deceased wife, Mary who died in 2006, was still alive.

Death

Ellis died of complications from dementia on May 6, 2014, in Louisville, Baptist Hospital, Kentucky.

A tribute came in from Muhammad Ali; 'In the world of heavyweights I always thought him one of the best". Ellis's family considered that boxing exacerbated the dementia, but had not necessarily caused it. His younger brother Jeff, who'd trained with Ellis in years past, commented that he himself now avoided watching boxing as he'd seen too many damaged by it. Ellis was survived by three brothers and a sister. Son Jeff played professional football and confirmed the family were always immensely proud of Ellis's achievements and world title.

Legacy

Ellis will be remembered as a top boxer and part title holder who battled both Frazier and Ali. Not withstanding his contests with Quarry, Patterson and Bonavena however. It was perhaps boxing's peak era and he was a crucial major figure.

Professional boxing record

40 wins (24 knockouts, 16 decisions), 12 losses (4 knockouts, 8 decisions), 1 draw
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	21–22–1	Carl "The Tank" Baker	KO	1	06/05/1975	Orlando, Florida
Loss	31–2	Joe Frazier	TKO	9	02/03/1975	St. Kilda Junction Oval, Melbourne	The referee stopped the bout at 0:59 of the 9th round.
Loss	48–6–1	Joe Bugner	PTS	10	12/11/1974	Empire Pool, Wembley, London	The referee's score: 0–8–2
Loss	27–1–1	Ron Lyle	UD	12	16/07/1974	Denver, Colorado	Scores: 55–59, 52–58, 52–59
Draw	21–4–1	Larry Middleton	PTS	10	04/03/1974	Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland	Scores: 46–44, 45–46, 47–47
Loss	30–2	Boone Kirkman	SD	10	12/12/1973	Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle	Scores: 93–97, 95–98, 98–97
Win	5–20–2	"Memphis" Al Jones	KO	7	23/10/1973	Atlanta Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta
Loss	44–2	Earnie Shavers	KO	1	18/06/1973	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Ellis was knocked out at 2:39 of the 1st round.
Win	10–13–2	Rico Brooks	KO	5	05/05/1973	Phoenix, Arizona	Brooks was knocked out at 0:48 of the 5th round.
Win	4–5–1	Joe Tiger Harris	KO	2	14/04/1973	Huntington, West Virginia	Carmen Basilio was the referee.
Win	8–16–1	Charlie "Emperor" Harris	TKO	1	06/03/1973	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida	The referee stopped the bout at 1:48 of the 1st round.
Win	16–11–1	Bob Felstein	KO	2	21/02/1973	Orlando, Florida	Felstein was knocked out at 0:48 of the 2nd round.
Win	13–21–2	Harold "70's Version" Carter	TKO	7	26/10/1972	Raleigh County Armory, Beckley, West Virginia	The referee stopped the bout at 0:37 of the 7th round.
Win	21–41	Ollie Wilson	TKO	6	21/09/1972	St. Josaphat Auditorium, Parma, Ohio	The referee stopped the fight after the 5th round.
Win	10–11–1	Rico Brooks	KO	2	13/06/1972	Miami Marine Stadium, Key Biscayne, Florida	The fight took place on a barge.
Win	10–13	Dick Gosha	TKO	6	16/05/1972	Seattle Center Arena, Seattle	The referee stopped the bout at 2:55 of the 6th round.
Loss	31–1	Muhammad Ali	TKO	12	26/07/1971	Astrodome, Houston	NABF Heavyweight Title. The referee stopped the bout at 2:10 of the 12th round.
Win	63–16–2	George Chuvalo	UD	10	10/05/1971	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto	Scores: 48–46, 48–44, 49–43
Win	36–8–1	"Irish" Tony Doyle	KO	10	02/03/1971	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida	Doyle was knocked out at 2:42 of the 10th round.
Win	21–20	Roberto Davila	TKO	7	10/11/1970	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida	The referee stopped the bout at 2:26 of the 7th round.
Loss	24–0	Joe Frazier	TKO	5	16/02/1970	Madison Square Garden, New York City	WBC/WBA/NYSAC World Heavyweight Titles.
Win	46–6–1	Floyd Patterson	PTS	15	14/09/1968	Solna Stadion, Stockholm	WBA World Heavyweight Title. The referee's score: 9–6.
Win	26–1–4	Jerry Quarry	MD	15	27/04/1968	Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California	WBA World Heavyweight Title. Scores: 10–5, 7–5, 6–6–3.
Win	31–3	Oscar Bonavena	UD	12	02/12/1967	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	WBA Heavyweight Elimination Tournament. Scores: 56–53, 59–53, 55–54
Win	24–1	Leotis Martin	TKO	9	05/08/1967	Astrodome, Houston	WBA Heavyweight Elimination Tournament. The fight was stopped on cuts.
Win	17–3–1	Johnny Persol	KO	1	22/03/1967	Madison Square Garden, New York City	The fight was on the undercard of Muhammad Ali vs. Zora Folley.
Win	35–29–4	Tommy "Hurricane" Sims	KO	1	14/11/1966	Astrodome, Houston	The fight was on the undercard of Muhammad Ali vs. Cleveland Williams.
Win	10–2	Eddie Dembry	KO	1	27/10/1966	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	20–14–1	Billy "The Barber" Daniels	PTS	6	10/09/1966	Waldstadion, Frankfurt	The fight was on the undercard of Muhammad Ali vs. Karl Mildenberger.
Win	19–4–1	Leweni Waqa	KO	1	21/05/1966	Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London]	The fight was on the undercard of Muhammad Ali vs. Henry Cooper II
Win	13–3–2	Hubert Hilton	PTS	8	29/03/1966	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto	The fight was on the undercard of Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo I.
Win	11–7–1	Chuck Leslie	UD	10	15/11/1965	The Hacienda, Las Vegas	Scores: 49–43, 48–43, 48–43
Win	66–23–9	Joe Blackwood	KO	1	25/05/1965	Saint-Dominic Academy, Lewiston, Maine	The fight was on the undercard of Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston II.
Loss	52–9–1	George Benton	MD	10	30/11/1964	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia	Scores: 45–46, 45–46, 46–46
Loss	32–11–2	Don Fullmer	SD	10	21/10/1964	Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	5–2	Joe Spencer	KO	1	21/04/1964	Lexington, Kentucky
Loss	18–4	Rubin Carter	UD	10	28/02/1964	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Scores: 2–7, 3–6, 3–7
Win	54–5–5	Lou Gutierrez	PTS	10	27/09/1963	Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	31–11–5	Johnny Halafihi	KO	1	18/06/1963	Empire Exhibition Stadium, Wembley, London	The fight was on the undercard of Cassius Clay vs. Henry Cooper I.
Win	20–15–2	LeRoy Green	UD	10	03/12/1962	Columbia Gymnasium Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Loss	52–16–3	Henry Hank	UD	10	01/09/1962	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	Scores: 45–47, 46–47, 44–47
Win	2–2	Sammy Poe	PTS	4	13/06/1962	Phoenix Hotel Ballroom, Lexington, Kentucky
Win	14–10–1	Charlie Glover	PTS	4	13/06/1962	Phoenix Hotel Ballroom, Lexington, Kentucky
Win	34–27–4	Rudolph Bent	TKO	2	07/06/1962	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	The referee stopped the bout at 1:17 of the 2nd round.
Win	57–22–6	Holly Mims	UD	10	04/05/1962	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	14–3–3	Johnny Alford	MD	6	17/02/1962	Madison Square Garden, New York City	The fight was on the undercard of Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Denny Moyer II.
Win	45–14–2	Herman Calhoun	KO	1	11/01/1962	Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Loss	56–22–6	Holly Mims	UD	10	29/11/1961	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	The fight was on the undercard of Cassius Clay vs. Willi Besmanoff
Win	18–24–5	Clarence Riley	TKO	2	07/10/1961	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	The fight was on the undercard of Cassius Clay vs. Alex Miteff.
Win	34–19–1	Wilf Greaves	MD	10	22/08/1961	Fairgrounds Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	21–4	Johnny Morris	SD	6	22/07/1961	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	The fight was on the undercard of Cassius Clay vs. Alonzo Johnson.
Win	11–3–1	Gene Leslie	PTS	8	06/05/1961	Louisville, Kentucky
Win	15–12–1	Arley Seifer	TKO	3	19/04/1961	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	The fight was on the undercard of Cassius Clay vs. LaMar Clark.

See also

• List of people from the Louisville metropolitan area

External links

• Professional boxing record for Jimmy Ellis from BoxRec
• Jimmy Ellis at the Internet Movie Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Muhammad Ali	WBA World Heavyweight Champion April 27, 1968 – February 16, 1970	Succeeded by Joe Frazier