Ring Legends. Stanely Ketchel - The Michigan Assassin

#ringlegends #brawlerz #stanleyketchel
"The Michigan Assassin" Stanley Ketchel.
Born in 1886 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he avoided school, instead falling in with a gang of street kids and often getting into fist fights. At twelve years old, he ran away from home, becoming a child hobo. As a teenager he lived in Butte, Montana, where he found employment first as a hotel bellhop and then as a bouncer. This profession obviously led to many scraps that established his reputation as the best fist fighter in town.
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Soon enough sixteen-year-old Stanley was performing in backroom boxing matches with older locals for twenty dollars a week. In 1907, he moved to California, where he knew most of boxing's big names and big fights waited for him.
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Only a middleweight, Ketchel was also known for taking on heavyweights, who sometimes outweighed him by more than 30 pounds (14 kg). According to hearsay, before each of his fights, he would imagine that his opponent had insulted his mother, with whom he had a very close relationship; thus, his anger would motivate him to fight with fury.
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The Ring magazine ranked Ketchel as the eighth-greatest middleweight of all time in 2004, behind Harry Greb, Sugar Ray Robinson, Carlos Monzon, Marvin Hagler, Jake LaMotta, Charley Burley, and Tiger Flowers. The Ring also named Ketchel number six on their list of 100 Best Punchers of All Time.
He had a record of 51 wins, four losses, four draws, one no contest, and four no decisions (newspaper decisions: 2-1-1), with 48 wins by knockout. He was the first middleweight champion to regain the world title after losing it.
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In 1910 Ketchel was shot and killed by staff at a ranch he was staying at in Missouri. The staff robbed Ketchel and left him bleeding out, he died that evening aged just 24.

[@tacorevenge87]

So underrated

[@kennygiles4647]

Murdered by a coward

[@mr.miller5041]

Upon hearing of Stanley's death, his manager was quoted as saying 'Stand over his body and start counting. He'll get up'. My favourite quote of all time...

[@michaelgaskell2031]

Loved Stanley’s story. He would fight black or white. When most black guys were barred. Legend

[@colincampbell7928]

Had a close relationship with his mother yet he ran away from home as a kid?

[@vigorkomar7296]

p4p goat!