THE MICHIGAN ASSASSIN

On Tuesday, I wrote about some of the great pre-‘60s fighters. Stanley Ketchel, dubbed The Michigan Assassin, is rated by many boxing historians as the best middleweight ever to put on the gloves. He threw devastating knockout punches from any angle with either hand. Ketchel was fearless, even taking on heavyweights, including the great champion Jack Johnson. He had a record of 52 wins, four losses, four draws and four no decisions, with 49 wins by knockout. Ketchel would have easily knocked out any of today's best middleweights.

Here are some excerpts from STANLEY KETCHEL, THE MICHIGAN ASSASSIN…”HE POSSESSED FISTS OF IRON” by Monte Cox:

Stanley Ketchel (World Middleweight Champion 1908-1910), born Stanislaus Kiecel on a farm near Grand Rapids, Michigan was one of the strongest and hardest hitting middleweights of all time.

Stylistically Ketchel fought somewhat like a swarmer, but he hit like a slugger. His fury of attack kept his opponents so busy they had little time to think of anything but defense. Although Ketchel had no formal training he certainly had experience as a fighter. His style was crude, but the qualities that he possessed natural strength, boundless stamina, a strong chin, and a quick and pulverizing punch that earned him the moniker of “The Michigan Assassin” made him a great fighter.

Nat Fleischer wrote that Ketchel was, “One of the greatest fighters of my time. All stone and ice concentration when he entered the ring. The moment he entered his eyes were the eyes of a killer. Ketchel scorned the word retreat. A demon of the roped square he made his opponents think that all the furies in Hades had been turned loose on them. He got his punches away from all angles. If he missed with one hand, he would nail him with the other. He was game as a bulldog and tough as a bronco.”

Heavyweight boxer Jack Root said of Ketchel, “He possessed fists of iron, had a fighting heart and his self-confidence was unmatched.”

Veteran fight manager Dan Morgan stated that, “Ketchel was an exception to the human race. He was a savage. He would pound and rip his opponent’s eyes, nose and mouth in a clinch. He couldn’t get enough blood. His nickname “Assassin”, fit him like a glove.”

In Ketchel’s famous bout with heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, both waltzed through much of the first 10 rounds. It is no coincidence that the Oct 16th, 1910 San Francisco Chronicle featured a large cartoon of a motion picture company cameraman saying, “I don’t know who’s going to win, and I don’t give a darn either. All I want is for the fight to go OVER 10 ROUNDS” (emphasis theirs). The fighters were to receive 40 percent of the motion picture proceeds from the bout. In those days the public wouldn’t pay to see a fight that ended as soon as it began so the two agreed to carry one another for the first dozen rounds to enlarge their own pockets.

Harry B. Smith wrote in the Oct 17th Chronicle, “That the Negro could have finished the fight much earlier was apparent to those at ringside.” Nevertheless both men kept to their pact until the 12th round. Ketchel unleashed a hard right that knocked down Johnson for a short count. Smith stated, “To the writer and 90 percent of those who were in a position to follow closely it appeared that the punch seemed to glance around the back of Johnson’s head…and there was genuine surprise when Johnson went down.” However Referee Jack Welsh “affirms that the blow struck Johnson, and the colored man himself declares that he was hit behind the ear as he was coming in.” Johnson embarrassed, got up and knocked out the middleweight champion out with his next punch. Two of Ketchel’s teeth were embedded in Johnson’s glove after the knockout.

Stanley Ketchel was shot in the back and killed by Walter Dipley, the common law husband of Goldie Smith, who had been cooking Stan's breakfast. The wounded champion was transported from Conway, Mo where a special train had been chartered. Three physicians were on the special. They attempted to locate the slug, which had entered the boxer's body below the right shoulder and entered his lung. He died in a Springfield, Mo. Hospital on Oct 15, 1910. His last words were, “I'm so tired, take me home to mother.”

Because he was only 24 when he died as champion it can be argued that the world never saw the best of Stanley Ketchel.