Jerry Quarry

Jerry Quarry

Personal information

Real name: Jerry Quarry

Nickname(s): Irish, The Bellflower Bomber

Nationality: American

Date of birth: (1945-05-15)May 15, 1945

Place of birth: Bakersfield, California

Date of death: January 3, 1999(1999-01-03) (aged 53)

Personal Statistics

Rated at: Heavyweight

Boxing career information

Anyone seriously considering being a boxer should see Jerry Quarry

Jerry Quarry (May 15, 1945 - January 3, 1999), nicknamed "Irish" or “The Bellflower Bomber,” was an American heavyweight boxer. Quarry was rated by Ring Magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport, from 1968–1971, during the peak of his career.

Overview

Quarry was a durable and smart counter-puncher/action fighter. At times he even moved around the ring in an Ali fashion. He had fast hands, an excellent left hook, and punched well with both hands. He also had a remarkable chin and was always courageous. His major flaw was a tendency to cut easily and having the bad luck to box in the era of Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Patterson and Norton. He was six feet (1.83 metres) tall and weighed 195-pounds (88 kilograms) in his prime, which whilst comparable to many heavyweight boxers then, still put him on the slightly smaller side of the division. He would today be considered cruiser-weight.

He was the most visible of a significant fighting family, which included three other pro boxers (his father and two brothers). Quarry's father first put gloves on his son at five years. His career, he felt, was decided for him at a very young age.

Boxing career

Emergence

Quarry came to notice by winning the 1965 National Golden Gloves championship in Kansas City at age 19. He knocked out each of his five opponents, a feat unmatched before or since.^{[citation needed]} Quarry began his pro career in March 1965, winning a decision against Gene Hamilton in Los Angeles, California.

1960s

Quarry's first loss came against veteran and former contender Eddie Machen in 1966, which was his twenty-first fight within two full years as a pro.

In mid-1967, the (World Boxing Association) (W.B.A.) held a tournament to replace Muhammad Ali a heavyweight champion, who had been stripped of his title for refusing induction into the military. Quarry had three convincing wins early in that year to improve his ranking, but also had a draw with former champion Floyd Patterson.

Title match v Ellis

In any case, Quarry was named to the eight-man tournament field. He defeated Patterson in their rematch with multiple knockdowns, and then defeated ranked tournament favorite Thad Spencer, which brought him to national attention. In the tournament final, Jimmy Ellis defeated Quarry on a split decision to become the new WBA Heavyweight Champion Of The World. Quarry was later stung by criticism that the match was considered dull, and this was allegedly this what made him decide to trade with Frazier for the next title shot.

Title match v Joe Frazier

Quarry, 22 years old and still popular, mounted a comeback and had four straight wins. In 1969, Quarry beat contender Buster Mathis.

He was then given a title shot by Joe Frazier for Frazier's WBA title. Quarry lost the fight on cuts via a seventh-round technical knockout despite leading in the early rounds. The high-action match was called Ring Magazine's Fight of The Year. Quarry's toughness impressed many, taking Frazier's best punches without a knockdown.

Other matches, Chuvalo

Quarry returned to win two more fights that year, before a loss to Canadian George Chuvalo. After getting up quickly from a knockdown at the count of four, Quarry went back to one knee and didn't stand again until the count of 10, and was therefore counted out, officially a knockout under the rules of boxing. At the time, Quarry was well ahead on the three judges' scorecards. Former Harlem Globetrotter Zack Clayton was the referee.

Early 1970s Foster & Ali (1)

Quarry had two wins in early 1970 before being matched with the big hitting and undefeated #1 ranked contender Mac Foster (24-0-0, 24 knockouts). Quarry, weighing 196, impressed boxing fans with a sound KO win. It returned him to contention, and it remains one of the peak wins of his career.

Later he would fight Muhammad Ali n Atlanta, who was making his return to boxing in October 1970 after a 3 year exile. Quarry, it was rumoured, was the only ranked heavyweight willing to meet the former champion.^{[citation needed]} The first two rounds were competitive, before Ali opened a deep cut over Quarry's left eye. His corner stopped the fight at the end of the 3rd.

Quarry then had four straight wins, and also pursued acting and various business ventures. In November 1971, he went to London, England and fought the British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion, Jack Bodell. Quarry defeated the British Champion in 61 seconds of the first round to the cheers of Irishmen in the crowd. He was 26 years old and a millionaire despite never having been world heavyweight champion.

The second Ali match

In 1972, Quarry added two more wins before getting his rematch with Ali. He was ranked #2 at fight time. The match was part of a racially motivated 'Soul Brothers versus the Quarry Brothers' event promoted by Don King, which included his brother Mike Quarry fighting Bob Foster for the world light-heavyweight title. Jerry went into the fight after watching his brother Mike get KO'd and being on his back for five minutes. In the opening round, Quarry tried to intimidate Ali by lifting him off the canvas in an early clinch. Nevertheless, Ali dominated the fight before it was stopped in the seventh round.

Quarry, now managed by Gil Clancy, again bounced back to have perhaps his best year in 1973. Quarry soundly defeated ranked contenders Ron Lyle (19-0-0,17 knockouts) and Earnie Shavers (45-2-0, 44 knockouts) that year at Madison Square Garden. The first was a dominant decision over twelve rounds, the later a stunning 1st Round TKO. Champion George Foreman, a Quarry fan, later claimed that he dodged Quarry throughout his career, although nowadays Foreman has claimed to have avoided or tried to avoid a number of other fighters, including Joe Frazier and Ken Norton.[1]

Frazier rematch

Disappointed that a title shot against Foreman in 1974 would not materialize, Quarry tried hard to get contending fights against Don King fighters, but could not get contracts signed.^{[citation needed]} He had one more win before meeting Joe Frazier, one of the few willing to meet him,^{[citation needed]} for the rematch which many expected years earlier.

For this one, Quarry tried to out-box Frazier, and scored well early in the opening rounds. Quarry, weighing 204, then began to fade under Frazier's heavy pressure. At the end of the 4th round, it appeared Frazier knocked down Quarry with a left hook to the body just after the bell. Quarry was visibly injured by the body punch, but tried to continue. The fight was then stopped quickly in the 5th round when it was obvious he couldn't continue. Former heavyweight champion Joe Louis was the referee for the bout, and looked very unsure on how to handle the proceedings.^{[citation needed]} Joe Louis never refereed another fight.

1975 Ken Norton

In 1975, launching yet another comeback, Quarry had one win while being dodged by many potential opponents.^{[citation needed]} However, Ken Norton signed up in April of that year, as two other opponents had backed out and Quarry was the second alternate. Quarry gave another determined effort, and hurt Norton in the furious all out 3rd, while bleeding from a cut. But Norton hung on, and launched a powerful and decisive counterattack to later win by the referee stopping the contest as ringsiders had started calling for a halt to prevent further punishment.

Retirement

This concluded his prime years, and Quarry basically retired, having had many wars before the age of 30. Quarry was 50-8-4 at this time, with 32 KOs. He had two losses each to Frazier and Ali plus one apiece to Norton, Chuvalo, Ellis and Machen. He had been ranked as high as the #1 contender and won most of his matches while weighing under 200 pounds.

Quarry, who had acted in various programs on ABC to this point, including ' Batman ', ' Adam-12 ', ' I Dream Of Jeannie ' and ' The Six Million Dollar Man ', also did boxing commentary for ABC's "Wide World Of Sports." An excellent athlete, Quarry made the event Finals in 'The Superstarts' competition in 1974, going against many NFL stars. His performance that year is still the highest score of any boxer in the history of the long-running contest.^{[citation needed]}

Comeback win 1977

In November 1977, on a comeback start, Jerry fought seven losing rounds against the fast but light hitting Italian European Champion Lorenzo Zanon before a star-studded Las Vegas crowd, until his left hook turned the tables and knocked Zanon out in the ninth round. Following the fight, Quarry stated he was rusty and merely needed to fight his way back into shape. However he decided to retire again, this time for five years.

1980s

Quarry could not remain retired, since he had been married three times and fell victim to several failed business ventures. With few other opportunities, he decided once again to climb into the ring in 1983.

Now 37, and training for his latest comeback, he was visited by a Sports Illustrated reporter who was researching an article about health problems among retired boxers, especially among those who started as child boxers. Although Quarry appeared to be in good health, his performance on several simple cognitive tests was shockingly poor. This was the harbinger for the mental decline that destroyed the last part of his life - dementia pugilistica, the atrophy of the brain from repeated blows to the head, eventually leading to an Alzheimer's-like state.

The 1990s final comeback

Quarry had two wins in 1983, but the fights appeared to accelerate his mental decline. He was inactive as a boxer from 1984 to 1992, but continued to decline physically and mentally. His $5-million fortune evaporated and by 1990 Quarry was on social security. Denied a boxing license in most states because of his condition, Quarry found a loophole in Colorado that allowed him to schedule an October 30, 1992 bout with Ron Cramner, a cruiserweight 16 years Quarry's junior. At the age of 47 years and 6 months old, Quarry provided nothing more than a 6 round punching bag for the younger fighter, losing all six rounds and the decision. Only Quarry's courage and great chin let him last the full 6 rounds. Quarry was never the same after that fight.

Physical and mental decline

Within a few years, Quarry was unable to feed or dress himself and had to be cared for by relatives, mainly his brother James - the only one of the four Quarry brothers not to box professionally. Jerry's brother, Mike, who had contended for the light-heavyweight championship, was himself disabled by pugilistic dementia in later life and died as a result on June 11, 2006. Another brother, Bobby, suffers from Parkinson's disease, believed to be the result of his own, less-heralded heavyweight boxing career.

Hall of fame and death

Jerry Quarry was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995. He attended the ceremony with the help of one of his brothers but as a TV documentary showed he seemed barely aware of the events, the dementia already being severe. His professional record was 53-9-4 with 32 KOs. He had been lauded by countless younger boxing stars as a true star of the sport and an inspiration. Said Joe Frazier: "A very tough man. He could have been a world champion, but cut too easily." His brothers Mike Quarry (deceased) and Bobby Quarry also were pro boxers. Mike lost to Bob Foster by knockout for the world light heavyweight title in 1972, but defeated several top light-heavyweights including Mike Rossman. Bobby fought 23 times as a professional heavyweight, once losing to high-ranked 1990's contender Tommy Morrison. Quarry was hospitalized with pneumonia on December 28, 1998 and then suffered cardiac arrest. He never regained consciousness and died on January 3, 1999. He is interred at Shafter Cemetery in Shafter, California. A foundation was established in his honor to battle boxing-related dementia, a condition that has afflicted many boxers and brought Quarry's life to an early end. Years later, Quarry still has a loyal legion of fans.

Professional boxing record

53 Wins (32 knockouts, 11 decisions), 9 Losses (6 knockouts, 3 decision), 4 Draws [2]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	53-9-4	Ron Cranmer	UD	6	30/10/1992	Aurora, Colorado, United States	At 47, Quarry's legs were there, but after 9 years of inactivity, his skills were only memories as his reflexes were shot. Jerry took a jab beating from Cranmer, in this, his final comeback, fought at the cruiserweight limit. Inspired by Foreman's comeback.
Win	53-8-4	James Williams	MD	10	22/11/1983	Kern County Fairgrounds, Bakersfield, California, United States
Win	52-8-4	Lupe Guerra	TKO	1 (10)	31/08/1983	Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States	Quarry raced across the ring and decked Guerra with the 1st punch he threw-his trademark left hook. Guerra got up, whereupon Quarry threw and landed a 3 punch combination and down went Guerra again. Guerra's corner then threw in the towel and the referee stopped the contest without bothering to count.
Win	51-8-4	Lorenzo Zanon	TKO	9 (10)	05/11/1977	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Zanon won every round on the officials scorecards until the 8th.
Loss	50-8-4	Ken Norton	TKO	5 (12)	24/03/1975	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	For vacant NABF Heavyweight title. Title had been vacated by Muhammad Ali to challenge George Foreman for the WBC and WBA Heavyweight titles.
Win	50-7-4	George Johnson	UD	10	25/02/1975	International Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Loss	49-7-4	Joe Frazier	TKO	5 (10)	17/06/1974	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
Win	49-6-4	Joe Alexander	KO	2 (10)	08/05/1974	Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, United States	Quarry knocked down in the 1st. Alexander down twice in the 2nd.
Win	48-6-4	Earnie Shavers	TKO	1 (10)	14/12/1973	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	A minute and a half into the round Jerry caught him with a tremendous left and dropped him with a following right. Shavers barely beat the count and Quarry immediately swarmed all over him. Referee Arthur Mercante called a halt at 2:21 of the 1st round.
Win	47-6-4	Tony Doyle	TKO	4 (10)	10/09/1973	Forum, Inglewood, California, United States
Win	46-6-4	James J Woody	TKO	2 (10)	31/08/1973	Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Woody down three times in the 2nd round, and the 3 knockdown rule was in effect to stop the fight.
Win	45-6-4	Ron Lyle	UD	12	09/02/1973	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	A short right hand in the 5th round caught Lyle on the chin and made his knees wobble. But there were only 30 seconds left and Lyle was able to survive the assault. In the 8th Quarry landed a looping left hook that caught Lyle by surprise and sent him staggering up against the ropes, but again Lyle made it through the round.
Win	44-6-4	Randy Neumann	TKO	7 (10)	09/02/1973	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	Quarry softened up Neumann with hard body blows early in the fight then finished his opponent with a two-fisted attack to the head that forced ring physician, Dr. Edwin Campbell, to stop the bout before the bell sounded for the 8th round.
Loss	43-6-4	Muhammad Ali	TKO	7 (12)	27/06/1972	Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	For NABF Heavyweight title.
Win	43-5-4	Larry Middleton	PTS	10	09/05/1972	Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom	Quarry's fitness and strength carried him through in the end, but Middleton's long reach caused him a lot of trouble. In the early rounds Middleton held his opponent off with long left hands. By the middle of the fight Quarry got his booming counter-punching going and punished Middleton severely to the body.
Win	42-5-4	Eduardo Corletti	KO	1 (10)	17/04/1972	Forum, Inglewood, California, United States	Corletti was knocked down twice.
Win	41-5-4	Lou Bailey	UD	10	02/12/1971	Des Moines, Iowa, United States	Quarry knocked Bailey down 6 times in the featured event, but failed to get a knockout. Quarry sent Bailey down twice in the opening round, three times in the 2nd and once in the 3rd.
Win	40-5-4	Jack Bodell	KO	1 (10)	16/11/1971	Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom	Bodell attacked Quarry from the start, and showed a desire to brawl. Quarry, however, noticed Bodell swinging widely, and counterpunched Bodell hard enough for Bodell to go down and get back up. Quarry capitalized with a lightning fast counter right hook over the top that finished Bodell.
Win	39-5-4	Tony Doyle	UD	10	24/07/1971	Playboy Club Hotel, Wembley, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, United States
Win	38-5-4	Dick Gosha	UD	10	18/06/1971	Ocean Shores, Washington, United States
Loss	37-5-4	Muhammad Ali	TKO	3 (15)	26/10/1970	City Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia, United States	Fight stopped due to Quarry cut.
Win	37-4-4	Stamford Harris	TKO	6 (10)	08/09/1970	Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	36-4-4	Mac Foster	KO	6 (10)	17/06/1970	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	Quarry broke Foster down with many left hooks to the body in round 5. He sent him sprawling in 6, and after a right cross to the head sent Foster through the ropes, the referee stopped it without a count.
Win	35-4-4	George Johnson	UD	10	19/03/1970	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	34-4-4	Rufus Brassell	KO	2 (10)	03/03/1970	Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, United States	Quarry was knocked down by a punch after the bell to end the 1st round.
Loss	33-4-4	George Chuvalo	KO	7 (10)	12/12/1969	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	In round 7 Quarry was knocked down by a left hook on the top of the head. He rose at the count of 3, but decided to take a knee, he got up at the count of 10 instead of 9 and referee Zach Clayton declared the fight over at 2:59.
Win	33-3-4	Brian London	KO	2 (10)	03/09/1969	Oakland Arena, Oakland, California, United States	London was knocked down twice in the 2nd round.
Win	32-3-4	Johnny Carroll	KO	1 (10)	11/08/1969	Aldrich Arena, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States	Carroll down 3 times.
Loss	31-3-4	Joe Frazier	TKO	7 (15)	23/06/1969	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	For NYSAC World heavyweight title. In between rounds 7 and 8 the referee stops the fight because of the bad cut to Quarry's eye. 1969 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine.
Win	31-2-4	Buster Mathis	UD	12	24/03/1969	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	Mathis was knocked down in the 2nd round. Quarry showed complete contempt for Mathis' punching power. He walked right in and dug searing hooks and solid rights to Buster's belly and ribs.
Win	30-2-4	Aaron Eastling	TKO	5 (10)	26/01/1969	Memorial Auditorium, Canton, Ohio, United States	Eastling dropped twice in the 4th.
Win	29-2-4	Charlie Reno	TKO	5 (10)	10/01/1969	Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington, United States	Reno received one standing-eight count in the 5th round.
Win	28-2-4	Willis Earls	UD	10	19/11/1968	Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, United States
Win	27-2-4	Bob Mumford	TKO	5 (10)	11/11/1968	Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Loss	26-2-4	Jimmy Ellis	MD	15	27/04/1968	Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California, United States	For vacant WBA World Heavyweight title.
Win	26-1-4	Thad Spencer	TKO	12 (12)	03/02/1968	Oakland Arena, Oakland, California, United States	WBA Heavyweight elimination tournament. Spencer was knocked down in the 4th and 10th rounds.
Win	25-1-4	Floyd Patterson	MD	12	28/10/1967	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States	Elimination tournament for WBA Heavyweight title. Quarry dropped Patterson with short rights to the head in the 2nd and 4th rounds. But he had to battle to hold his own in the late rounds as Patterson appeared to get stronger and take charge of the fiercely contested bout.
Win	24-1-4	Billy Daniels	KO	1 (10)	15/09/1967	Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, United States
Draw	23-1-4	Floyd Patterson	MD	10	09/06/1967	Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States	Patterson down twice in the 2nd, Quarry down in the 7th.
Win	23-1-3	Alex Miteff	KO	3 (10)	27/04/1967	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	22-1-3	Brian London	UD	10	09/03/1967	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	21-1-3	Memphis Al Jones	KO	5 (10)	11/01/1967	Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, United States	Quarry was knocked down twice in the 3rd round.
Win	20-1-3	Joey Orbillo	UD	10	15/12/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States	Orbillo was knocked down in the 4th round for a nine-count.
Win	19-1-3	Leslie Borden	KO	5 (10)	29/11/1966	Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California, United States
Win	18-1-3	Bill Nielsen	UD	10	20/10/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss	17-1-3	Eddie Machen	UD	10	14/07/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States	Machen seemed to hold Quarry, and his vaunted left hook in disdain and occasionally smirked, smiled and even laughed at his rather awkward young opponent. Machen paraded around the ring even before the verdict was announced.
Draw	17-0-3	Tony Alongi	PTS	10	27/05/1966	Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	17-0-2	Memphis Al Jones	UD	10	27/05/1966	Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Win	16-0-2	George Johnson	TKO	2 (10)	07/04/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States	Johnson was knocked down in the 2nd round.
Draw	15-0-2	Tony Alongi	PTS	10	04/03/1966	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States	Alongi was knocked down in the 7th. The judge Artie Aidala scored the bout 5-5 in rounds, but favored Quarry in supplemental scoring.
Win	15-0-1	Prentice Snipes	KO	5 (10)	17/02/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States	Snipes was knocked down twice in the 5th round.
Win	14-0-1	Eddie Land	UD	8	03/02/1966	Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	13-0-1	Roy Crear	TKO	3 (10)	23/12/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Draw	12-0-1	Tony Doyle	PTS	10	11/11/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States	Doyle was knocked down in the 4th round for a five count.
Win	12–0	Roy Crear	TKO	3 (10)	02/11/1965	Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas, United States	Quarry was knocked down in the 2nd round. Los Angeles Times.
Win	11–0	Al Carter	TKO	6 (8)	28/10/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States	Carter was knocked down in the 6th round.
Win	10–0	Milton Manley	KO	1 (8)	13/10/1965	Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Win	9–0	Ray Junior Ellis	KO	3 (6)	23/09/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	8–0	John Henry Jackson	PTS	8	09/08/1965	Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Win	7–0	JP Spencer	TKO	4 (8)	02/08/1965	Hacienda Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	6–0	Ray Junior Ellis	UD	6	29/07/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	5–0	Willie Davis	KO	3 (6)	16/07/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	4–0	Dave Centi	UD	6	24/06/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States	Centi was knocked down in the 2nd round.
Win	3–0	Lance Holmberg	PTS	6	17/06/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	2–0	John Henry Jackson	KO	4 (6)	03/06/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	1–0	Gene Hamilton	PTS	4	07/05/1965	Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States	Pro debut for Quarry.

External links

• Professional boxing record for Jerry Quarry from BoxRec
• Jerry Quarry Foundation web site
• The Boxing Brothers
• Find-A-Grave profile for Jerry Quarry
• "pressure doesn't psych me" quote at Merriam-Webster
• Boxer Jerry Quarry Remembered