Jose Napoles vs Clyde Gray

Mexico-based Cuban Jose Napoles retained the WBA and WBC welterweight championships by outpointing Clyde Gray over 15 rounds at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on September 22, 1973. Napoles weighed the division limit of 147 pounds and Gray 145. The decision was unanimous, with referee Jay Edson scoring 70-67 and judges Jose Juan Guerra and Tony Canzano returning totals of 71-67 and 71-65, respectively. It was the sixth defence of the championship Napoles had regained from Billy Backus in 1971.

Gray entered with a record of 40 wins, two defeats and one draw and held the Canadian and Commonwealth championships. Fighting in his adopted home city, the Jamaican-born challenger received substantial local support. Napoles, born in Cuba and established in Mexico, had already defeated Curtis Cokes, Emile Griffith, Backus, Hedgemon Lewis and Ernie Lopez during two spells as champion. At 33, he remained the division’s most complete boxer, combining economical movement with accurate counter-punching and a damaging attack to the body.

The early rounds showed the difference in experience. Gray attempted to work behind his left hand and keep the champion occupied at range, but Napoles was difficult to strike cleanly. He slipped punches with small movements, blocked others on his gloves and answered without wasting motion. Gray had moments when his jab carried him forward, but Napoles generally landed the more precise punches and dictated when the exchanges began and ended.

Napoles established a commanding advantage in the fifth. As Gray moved within range, the champion delivered a left hook which sent the Canadian to the canvas. Gray had ducked beneath an earlier hook but was caught by the next attack and went down for the bout’s only knockdown. He rose and continued without losing his discipline, although the extra points awarded to Napoles increased an advantage already visible on the publicly displayed totals.

The posting of the officials’ scores after every round was an experiment intended to remove uncertainty from the contest. Both corners therefore knew the exact position as the fight progressed. Gray, aware that he was behind, became more assertive through the middle rounds and produced some of his best work in the eighth and ninth. He pressed Napoles more effectively, threw in combinations and briefly took the initiative away from the champion. Napoles remained composed, conserving his strength and countering whenever Gray stayed too long after punching.

The pace became less sustained in the twelfth and thirteenth as both men gathered themselves for the finish. Napoles continued to score with the cleaner blows and made Gray miss at close range, while the challenger’s determination was not always matched by accuracy. The champion’s economy was important. He seldom punched without a clear target and controlled long passages without maintaining a high work rate. Gray remained competitive but was obliged to take greater risks as the posted scores showed his deficit.

Gray made a determined attempt to retrieve the contest in the fifteenth. He drove forward, placed Napoles under pressure and finished strongly before the Toronto crowd. The effort earned him credit but came too late to alter the result. Contemporary observers considered the final margins closer than the champion’s general command of the fight suggested, for Gray’s best rounds had been separated by longer periods in which Napoles controlled the distance and landed the more telling punches.

There was temporary confusion when the verdict was announced. An error in adding Edson’s card initially produced the announcement of a split decision. Inspection of the figures established that the referee had also scored for Napoles, and the result was promptly corrected to a unanimous decision. Napoles received a purse of $120,000.

The promotion was presented as the first programme in the “Muhammad Ali Presents” series. Ali appeared at ringside and joined Howard Cosell on the broadcast, adding another attraction to the championship contest. The open scoring was equally novel, enabling Gray and his handlers to know that only a decisive finish could bring him the title. He responded with an honourable late effort, but Napoles had already secured the contest through superior timing, defence and punch placement. Gray had extended him for the full distance; he had not seriously threatened his possession of the championship.

I regard Jose Napoles as one of the finest welterweights ever to lace on gloves. He did nothing hurried or unnecessary. By the time Clyde Gray challenged him, Napoles had already beaten Curtis Cokes, Emile Griffith, Billy Backus, Hedgemon Lewis and Ernie Lopez. That is top-level championship experience.

Gray was no soft touch. He held the Canadian and Commonwealth titles, had lost only twice and carried the support of Toronto into the ring. He boxed with discipline and produced good spells in the middle rounds, but Napoles was always a step ahead. The champion slipped punches with inches to spare, countered without wasting movement and made Gray pay whenever he remained in range.

The fifth-round knockdown summed up the difference. Gray avoided one hook, but Napoles read the movement and caught him with the next attack. That was Napoles: calm, observant and technically complete.

I liked the experiment of posting the scores after each round because Gray knew exactly what was required. He responded honestly and pressed hard in the fifteenth, but the fight was already gone. The initial announcement of a split decision was merely an adding error and was quickly corrected. Napoles deserved the unanimous verdict. Gray gave a respectable account of himself, yet he was facing a master who controlled fights without appearing to force anything.