George Foreman at the Armory, 5/23/69

On May 23, 1969, Muhammed Ali announced that he would retire from boxing forever because the sport ran counter to his religious convictions. The previous evening in Tampa, one phase of another boxer's life concluded for real: the amateur career of boxer George Foreman.

After a three month absence, boxing returned to the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory with the Olympic heavyweight champion highlighting the card. The event would mark the 20-year-old Foreman's last bout as an amateur.

Long before any rumbles in the jungle or best-selling fat-grilling machines, the Houston native scaled the heights of his sport just nine months earlier in Mexico City.

In October 1968, George Foreman defeated Ionas Chepulis of the Soviet Union with a TKO to capture the Olympic gold medal. Foreman endeared himself to those watching at home by waving a tiny American flag in the ring following his match -- quite the contrast to the black-fisted salutes on the medal stand by Olympic sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos.

Foreman also appeared to be the ideal contrast to Ali. Unlike Ali, who had his heavyweight championship stripped following his draft dodging conviction, Foreman brandished his patriotism openly.

"I got a military obligation, and I'm going to honor it," Foreman said at the time. "When it's my time to go, I'll go. I plan to make a lot of money in this country and spend a lot here, too. This is my country. I'll do right by it."

Manager Dick Sadler, who also handled the career of Sonny Liston, knew Foreman could eventually climb the ranks of professional boxing.

"He's a diamond in the rough," Sadler said of Foreman. "He's an untapped oil well. He can hit with either hand. He can think and coordinate his fists with his brain. That's important. He has the power in both hands that others don't."

The crowd of just over 1,000 fans at the Armory knew they weren't going to get a 12-round slugfest so much as the chance to see an Olympic hero. Foreman didn't really come to Tampa to box his opponent George Savage, either, so much as to put on a show.

"We're not here to try and hurt each other," he said.

In fact, Foreman mostly toyed with the outgunned Savage in a no-decision three round fight. Sporting a "USA" t-shirt, Foreman dodged and ducked Savage, who landed only two clean shots to the face of the gold medalist.

The crowd still enjoyed the bout and showered the boxers with plenty of applause. These would be the last moments Foreman would spend in the ring as an amateur fighter.

The next day in Houston, Foreman signed his first pro contract with Sadler, who indicated on their way out of Tampa that Foreman would one day return for a big-time bout.

It took Foreman a little over three years and 37 wins without a loss to become the world's heavyweight champion. On January 22, 1973, down went Joe Frazier.

Foreman would never again box in Tampa, although he made several appearances in Orlando during his comeback in the late 1980s. On that one night, however, fans at the Armory could say that Tampa sent George Foreman on his way in style.

Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams, 10/7/68

On October 7, 1968, the city of Tampa nearly went into sensory overload. Reigning Miss America Judith Anne Ford of Illinois arrived to participate in the annual Fire Prevention Parade. For those more interested in politics than parades, Hubert Humphrey’s running mate, Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine, made a campaign appearance at the Sheraton Tampa Motor Inn. And for those more interested in punches than politics, professional boxing made its long-awaited return to Tampa after a three-year absence.

Headlining the card at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory was one of the best boxers to never hold a major title, Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams. The 35-year-old fighter arrived in Tampa with a career mark of 69-6-1, including 54 knockouts. One of his most notable bouts was two years earlier, when he faced Muhammad Ali at Houston's Astrodome for the world heavyweight boxing championship.

Williams, a 5-1 underdog in the bout, was knocked out by Ali – who was nine years younger and in his prime -- in the third round. Williams' former manager, Lou Viscusi of Lutz, arranged for Williams to fight Mose Harrell of St. Petersburg, a relative novice with a 16-3 career mark. The bout essentially amounted to another tune-up in Williams’ comeback attempt to re-climb the heavyweight ladder and earn another chance at the title.

After his defeat to Ali, Williams had won four straight bouts against fighters with losing records. A victory over Harrell could have meant eventual shots at heavyweights Joe Frazier or Jimmy Ellis. The 21-year-old Harrell, who recorded a 27-2 mark as an amateur, had a lot to gain with a victory as well. Defeating Williams would launch Harrell right into the mix of heavyweight contenders. Despite their size difference – Williams outweighed Harrell by 21 pounds -- his own manager, Walt Profitt, felt confident going into the fight, saying, “I think he’ll knock Williams out.”

That night at the Armory, Harrell found out how difficult that would be to do. In front of a less-than-capacity crowd of 800 spectators, Harrell struggled to withstand blows from the larger and stronger “Big Cat,” who was once described by Sonny Liston as the hardest puncher he ever fought. Despite suffering an injury to his left arm while training in Houston earlier in the week, Williams battered Harrell with steady body shots throughout the fight. Harrell’s quickness on the mat kept Williams from getting a knockout blow through the early rounds, but the dancing came at a cost.

In the fourth round, Harrell suffered leg cramps that limited his movement for the rest of the bout. His time would run out against Williams at 2:26 in the seventh round when a series of combination rights, climaxing with a wicked uppercut, dropped him to the mat for good. With the victory, Williams passed Joe Louis for all-time knockouts with his 55th such decision.

Unfortunately for the “Big Cat,” he would never return to prominence in the heavyweight division. Defeats in four of his next five fights effectively ended his title ambitions, although he continued to fight against mostly journeymen boxers before retiring in 1972. He ended his career with a 78-13-1 mark, and tragically died in 1999 at the age of 66, the victim of a hit-and-run driver.

"Two Gun" Tommy Licata, 4/26/73

Boxer Tony Licata, who turned pro in 1969, did not originally hail from Tampa. The southern middleweight champion from New Orleans, however, found that his success here made Tampa feel like home sweet home.

Leading up to his April 26, 1973, bout with Ernie Burns, Licata posted an overall mark of 16-0 in the city of Tampa, with three of those wins coming as an amateur. Pretty impressive, but not nearly as impressive as his overall career numbers at the time: 30 wins, zero losses, and three draws.

Burns, whose career mark at the time was just 14-7, would have his hands full against Licata in their bout at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory. Although trained by the legendary Angelo Dundee, Burns’ record seemed to indicate that he would serve as little more than a tune-up for the undefeated Licata.

Licata, in fact, had his eyes on a target much more formidable than Burns: a title shot at middleweight champion Carlos Monzon of Argentina.

“I hope it is this year,” Licata said.

Although his crack at Monzon would not come until June of 1975, Licata had no intention of looking past Burns, a converted southpaw from Miami who earned the nickname “The Upset Kid.”

As fighters, Licata and Burns could not have had less in common. “Two Gun” Tony, as he was known for his quick combination use of left and right punches, relied on speed to compensate for his lack of a power game. Burns, on the other hand, came in with ten knockout victories to his credit and a reputation for being hard to intimidate.

His manager, Lou Fleischer, described Burns as a “fighter who can go into a strange and hostile ring, meet the opposition and bring home the bacon.” He added that Burns would not be intimidated by Licata or the Armory setting because “he (Burns) carries his own referees – his fists.”

In 33 fights, Licata had tasted the canvas only one time. In a match in Tampa against Santiago Rosa on June 8, 1970 – almost a full three years earlier – Licata took a vicious right when expecting a left, going down for a mandatory eight-count. Licata captured the bout on points and learned a valuable lesson in the process: never discount a fighter’s “lesser” hand. Still, Licata entered the fight knowing where Burns could hurt him the most. “I know his hardest punch,” Licata said, “will be in his left hand.”

His left, as it turned out, was the hand Licata used to the greatest effect in the match. A judicious use of jabs and hooks with his left, while keeping his right hand mostly holstered, allowed him to register enough points with the judges to cruise to a comfortable decision. The fight lacked any knockdowns, although one of Licata’s rarely-used rights buckled Burns’ knees in the tenth round. Licata took his share of shots from Burns during the briskly moving affair, though the punches seemed to have little impact on the tough Licata.

Still undefeated after 34 fights, Licata continued his run of success with 18 more wins to improve to 52-0-3. He lost the first match of his career on points to Ramon Mendez in Milan, Italy, but returned the favor against Mendez just one month later in New Orleans.

This set the stage for his long-awaited tilt against Carlos Monzon at Madison Square Garden for the WBA Middleweight title. Although he would go down in defeat as a result of a TKO in the tenth round, Licata’s place in Tampa boxing lore would remain secure.

After a decade-long career, Licata retired in 1980 with an overall mark of 61-7-4. His record in Tampa, however, was a dominating 22-0. He may have hailed from the Big Easy, but Licata couldn’t have felt more at home in the ring anywhere else.

Note: Rounds 9-10 of the Monzon-Licata fight can be seen on YouTube at the address. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VLyabYhiNQ.

"Tampa Tommy" Gomez, 2/5/48

One of the best-known brawls to happen in Tampa – a city known for its rich boxing history – occurred 60 years ago this week at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory. It was a doozy of a rematch featuring “Tampa Tommy” Gomez and Joe Matisi.

Gomez, one of the greatest boxers ever to come out of Tampa, sought to avenge a 1946 three-round knockout loss to Matisi. Bruised and battered, Gomez had temporarily retired following their first bout on Matisi’s home turf in Buffalo, N.Y.

Gomez knew a thing or two about adversity, however, as a soldier in World War II. A veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, the Hillsborough High graduate earned a Purple Heart for his heroic efforts during the war. He spent six months in a French hospital recovering from severe shrapnel and machine-gun bullet wounds.

True to form, Gomez pulled himself up off the mat and resumed his career with nine consecutive knockout wins leading up to the rematch with Matisi.

The eighth-ranked heavyweight in the world, Gomez entered the match with momentum on his side, while Matisi came to Tampa on a three-match losing streak. Tampa fight fans were certainly excited in the days leading up to the bout, as an overflow crowd jammed the Palmetto Beach Boys Club gymnasium two days before the match, just to watch Gomez conduct his final training sessions.

Promoter Lou Viscusi said it was the “biggest crowd I’ve ever seen at a workout since I started promoted boxing in Tampa.”

Advance ticket sales guaranteed a capacity crowd for the fight on the evening of Feb. 5, 1948. A record crowd of 7,500 fans packed into the Armory for what turned out to be a brutal slugfest.

Although neither fighter scored a knockdown during the fight, there was plenty of action, and a few low blows, to make things interesting.

In the fifth round, Matisi threw a low left punch below the waist that sent Gomez to his knees. Referee Eddie Coachman allowed Gomez a five-minute rest period to recover from the shot.

Perhaps doubting the credulity of Gomez’s pain, Matisi’s trainer, Ray Arcel, scoffed after the fight at the severity of the injury, saying modern “protectors” made it impossible to inflict serious injury with a low punch.

Gomez and Matisi traded low blows in the sixth before Gomez took full control of the match. The sixth round proved to be Gomez’s most dominant of the bout, as he battered Matisi with a barrage of left hooks, setting the stage for a seventh-round finale.

Both fighters at this point were the very definition of walking wounded. Gomez had injured his hands earlier in the fight and threw his punches with visible pain. For his part, Matisi could barely keep his mouthpiece in place because of a severe jaw injury. After Matisi absorbed a few more overhand rights, Arcel decided his boxer could take no more – he felt he had no choice but to throw in the towel for Matisi, earning a TKO for the hometown hero Gomez.

By the end of the fight, it was be difficult to discern between the victor and the vanquished. In severe pain, Gomez could barely make it to his dressing room on his own power after the match.
Both fighters were taken to Tampa General Hospital following the fight. Gomez suffered a broken right hand and a sprained left. Matisi left Tampa with a broken nose and serious injuries to his stomach and jaw.

Two months elapsed before Gomez could return to ring action, but the repercussions for Matisi were much more significant. In his next match four months later, Matisi suffered a first-round knockout. He boxed professionally just two more times before retiring in 1949.

Gomez fought in eighteen more matches before calling it a career in 1950. Considered by many to be one of the greatest athletes in Tampa history, Gomez, who passed away in 2006, was ranked in 2003 by The Ring magazine as one of the top 100 punchers of all time. Nights like the one sixty years ago at the Armory will always remind fight fans why.