Today in Boxing History: June 3, 1959
Joe “Old Bones” Brown KO 9 Paolo Rosi, Washington, D.C.
Retains World Lightweight Title.
World Lightweight Champion, Aug 24, 1956–Apr 21, 1962
This will be Brown’s seventh defense in little more than two years, and his 100th professional fight in 13 years of campaigning. Before that he was the Navy’s lightweight champion during World War II, winning 16 fights between seven landings in the Pacific.
Joe “Old Bones” Brown and George Parnassus-1960
Joe Brown (May 18, 1926 – December 4, 1997) was an accomplished boxer who won the undisputed Lightweight Championship of the World in 1956, making 11 successful defenses before losing his crown in his old age to Carlos Ortiz in 1962. Brown was a classic boxer and a knockout puncher. Known as the ‘Creole Clouter’ and Joe ‘Old Bones’ Brown, he was managed by Lou Viscusi and named The Ring’s ‘Fighter of the Year’ for 1961. Brown was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996.
Brown retired in 1970, at the age of 44. When his championship run finally ended, it came at the hands of another celebrated Hall of Fame fighter, and when the best of his skills and youth had abandoned him, it was as if all of it were a dream; as though he had never blossomed into a great the first place.
England’s celebrated former heavyweight contender, Sir Henry Cooper once said of ‘Old Bones’ “there was little pride left in his later performances as he tried to compensate for all of the hungry years when he was forced to fight for peanuts”. Later, after his fighting career had ended, Brown trained fighters for a number of years in New Orleans. He passed away on December 4th 1997 at age 71. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996. His career stands at 116-47-14 with 52 KO’s.
