Ike Williams vs Beau Jack

Ike Williams retained the world lightweight championship at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, on the night of July 12, 1948, when referee Charley Daggert stopped his scheduled 15-round contest with Beau Jack after 33 seconds of the sixth round. The finish came only after Jack, pinned against the ropes and no longer able to defend himself properly, had taken a sustained and unnecessary succession of blows. A crowd of 12,952 attended Herman Taylor’s outdoor promotion, and both champion and challenger weighed 134 pounds.

Williams entered the ring as the favourite and as the recognised champion of the National Boxing Association, the New York State Athletic Commission and The Ring. He had unified the principal claims to the lightweight championship by defeating Bob Montgomery in Philadelphia two years earlier and had recently retained the title over 15 rounds against Enrique Bolanos in Los Angeles. Williams was 24 years old, strong, accurate and at the height of his powers. His straight right hand and short left hook made him one of the most dangerous punchers in the division.

Jack, a former two-time lightweight champion, was attempting to recover the title more than four years after losing it to Montgomery. He remained one of boxing’s best-known and most popular fighters, but the years of hard contests had begun to tell upon him. His familiar method was to crouch, press forward, and throw punches in clusters from both hands, often maintaining a pace that left an opponent little room to work. There was also the question of the weight. Jack had not boxed at the lightweight limit for several years, and the effort required to reach 134 pounds was expected to affect his strength over the championship distance.

For three rounds, however, the challenger made a better showing than had been anticipated. Jack advanced from his crouch, bobbing beneath Williams’s lead and carrying the fighting into close quarters. He worked with quick jabs, hooks and short rights, making the champion give ground and preventing him from setting his feet for the heavier punches. Williams remained composed, covering against the rushes and looking for openings rather than attempting to match Jack blow for blow.

The first round was closely contested. Jack’s activity caught the eye, but Williams placed the cleaner individual punches and showed no concern at being forced backwards. Jack continued his attack in the second, stepping inside the champion’s jab and throwing with both hands. During one exchange, he landed heavily with hooks and rights, briefly shaking Williams. The champion took the punches well, tightened his defence and answered with shorter, more accurate blows as Jack came forward.

Jack maintained his pace through the third round and continued to make an even fight of it. He was still the busier man, swaying at the waist and attempting to smother Williams before the champion could bring his right hand into play. Williams, though less active, was beginning to measure Jack’s approach. He allowed the challenger to come within range and then met him with straight punches through the centre, followed by hooks as Jack attempted to move away.

The fourth round was fought more cautiously. Jack no longer rushed continuously, and Williams became increasingly willing to stand his ground. The champion’s punches were now reaching the target with greater regularity. He used the jab to raise Jack from his crouch and followed it with the right hand to the head. Jack continued to attack, but the speed of his entries had diminished, and he was required to absorb punches before reaching the position from which he preferred to work.

The decisive change came in the fifth. Jack’s efforts to make the weight and the pace he had set in the opening rounds appeared to have reduced his strength. His movements became slower, his punches lacked their earlier force, and he was less successful in moving his head away from Williams’s counters. The champion began to drive straight rights between Jack’s gloves and followed with left hooks at close range. Jack was repeatedly struck as he came forward, and he was unable to answer at the same volume.

Late in the round, Williams landed several hard punches and forced Jack towards the ropes. The challenger remained upright and continued to resist, but he returned to his corner plainly tired and showing the effects of the champion’s attack. Although the scoring remained close after five completed rounds, the direction of the contest had altered. Williams was fresh, balanced and punching with authority, while Jack was becoming an increasingly stationary target.

Williams came out quickly for the sixth and gave Jack no opportunity to recover. A left hook began the final attack, and the champion followed with punches from both hands, driving the challenger across the ring and into a neutral corner. Jack’s back settled against the ropes. His arms dropped away from a proper defensive position, and he was unable either to punch back or to move clear.

Williams struck him repeatedly with hooks, uppercuts and straight rights. Jack’s head was driven from side to side, but the ropes prevented him from falling. At one stage, Williams stopped punching and looked towards Daggert, apparently expecting the referee to intervene. Daggert instead signalled for the contest to continue.

The champion resumed his attack. Jack remained trapped, dazed and virtually helpless, taking punches without returning them. Williams again looked towards the referee as the blows continued to land. Only then did Daggert step between the fighters and bring the contest to an end, 33 seconds after the start of the round.

The stoppage preserved Jack from further punishment, although it came considerably later than the challenger’s condition warranted. He had not been knocked down, but by the time Daggert acted, he was incapable of intelligent defence and was being held upright by the ropes. Williams had shown restraint in twice looking to the official rather than continuing blindly with an opponent who could no longer protect himself.

The scorecards demonstrated how competitive the contest had been before Williams took command. Referee Daggert had scored two rounds for each man, with one even. Judge Frank Knaresborough had Williams leading by three rounds to two, while Judge Harry Lasky had Jack ahead by the same margin. Jack’s work in the first half of the fight had therefore earned him a share of the official scoring, but the figures did not reflect his deteriorating condition at the conclusion of the fifth.

Afterwards, Jack offered no excuse. He said that Williams had pinned him in the corner and that he could not get away, adding that the champion was a great fighter. Jack’s courage had enabled him to make a spirited challenge, but it also kept him standing when a less determined boxer might have gone down or sought an escape from the punishment.

For Williams, the victory was a forceful defence of the championship and another demonstration of his ability to remain patient when an opponent began rapidly. He had allowed Jack to spend his strength, gradually found the range for his straighter punches and then finished the contest as soon as the challenger’s resistance weakened. It was the first of four meetings between the two men and Jack’s final attempt to regain the world lightweight title. On this night, the former champion produced three competitive rounds, but Williams’s youth, strength and heavier punching settled the matter with severe finality.

Beau Jack was already a huge name by the time he challenged Ike Williams at Shibe Park in 1948. He had been lightweight champion twice and was one of Madison Square Garden’s biggest attractions because he never gave the crowd a quiet night. Jack came forward, crouched low, threw punches in bunches and made every contest uncomfortable. But this was not the Beau Jack of his championship peak. He had not made the lightweight limit for years, while Williams was 24, in his prime and developing into one of the finest lightweights the division had seen.

Jack made a proper go of it early. He swarmed Williams, worked his jab and hooks and even shook the champion in the second round. Williams did not panic. That is what impressed me watching it back. He covered up, stayed balanced and allowed Jack to burn through his petrol. By the fourth, Williams had found the timing. His punches were shorter, straighter and far more damaging, particularly the right hand as Jack came charging in.

The finish was brutal, and the referee was far too slow. Williams trapped Jack in a neutral corner at the start of the sixth and unloaded while Jack stood virtually helpless against the ropes. Williams twice appeared to look towards referee Charley Daggert, almost asking him to stop it, before the contest was finally waved off after 33 seconds. The scorecards were close after five rounds, but they meant nothing by then. Jack had given everything he had, and Williams had taken him apart with patience, accuracy and proper championship composure.