Holley Mims vs Ralph "Tiger" Jones

[Raging B(_)LL]

Who wins this fight between these two hard-hitting and forgotten middleweight contenders?

Both men had iron chins and iron wills to win so this has distance fight written all over it, but both men also liked to take the fight to their opponent and engage in shootout and this is where I am not quite sure as to who I would favour. In my opinion Mims was the harder hitter of the two but that wouldn`t make as much difference in the outcome as Tiger`s workrate which was usually very high.

Holley could elect to box his man though as he was a capable boxer and counter-puncher, and if he does play it safe and isn`t interested in getting into too many exchanges with his stronger foe he has a good chance at winning a decision. I`d expect him to start brawling with Tiger though at some point, too much pride Holley had to back down from a test of manhood if Jones were to try and draw him into one, either way this would be a great fight.

I`ll share more stories on these guys later, and in the meantime if anyone wants to add their 0.02$ worth that would be great. Or if you don`t know much about either fighter feel free to ask me whatever questions you may have and I`ll gladly answer them the best I can as I have studied and researched both men a great deal over the years and have most if not all available footage of both.

[Raging B(_)LL]

Well, since no one offered an opinion on this matchup, I`ll share some inside knowledge with you guys about Holley Mims:

First off Holley Mims was no mere "journeyman", if he were one he sure as hell wouldn`t have given Sugar Ray Robinson such a difficult time in their go which took place in the very fight Robinson had after he won his second title, the middleweight title, against Jake LaMotta. Mims, who was barely 20 years old, arguably defeated Ray in that fight, I say arguably as a few people I have spoken with including one who was at the fight claimed he should have gotten the nod that night. But of course they gave Robinson the decision, him being the money man and all.

Anyway, that was the worst mistake Mims could have made as after that showing against Ray no one wanted any part of him. Mims fought many times on TV, but many of those fights were when they called up Finley's gym in DC on a Tuesday or Wednesday to ask, "Can you fight (Rubin Carter, Emile Griffith, Dick Tiger) this Friday in a ten round fight?"

In Mims' fight with Carter he had the handcuffs on, but he knocked Carter down in the 4th round to demonstrate to Carter who the better fighter was. It was a beauty of a shot that put him down too, as Mims set up Rubin by sliding over to his right, throwing a left hook at a weird angle and then boom, the right hand over the left arm from the side right on the chin dropping Rubin like he`d been shot.

Mims also beat Joey Archer clearly and then stood by and watched Archer get the 'decision, that one stunk to high heavens and the crowd lustily booed the decision and for good reason (great fight btw). Mims also beat Spider Webb and knocked him down at a time Webb had been on a tear and looked like champion in the making.

In a career of 97 fights against the top middleweights in the world Mims was only stopped once. That was on a butt late in his career against a nobody fighter. Mims was from Washington, DC, but he was actually run by people from Chicago. That was obvious when he was robbed again in a Washington DC (Mims' supposed hometown) fight against Giardello. They wouldn't even give him a break in his supposed hometown. Look at Mims' record and see how many fighters he fought twice, winning one and then losing one or vice versa.

That is the hand of the Chicago people who actually ran his career showing, and don`t forget folks contrary to popular opinion the home of the "Outfit" as it was called was never in NY but in the Windy City. Robinson also had a number of fights there were he had to carry his opponent. Ray wouldn`t take a dive for no one but the mob could make money on him going the distance in fights he was heavily favoured to stop his man in, so they`d tell him to take it easy on someone like Charley Fusari for instance who Ray could have obliterated within a few rounds but lo` and behold he lasts the distance with Ray.

[cardstars]

Good writeup. Do you have any footage of Mims RB?

[Sweet Pea]

Haven't seen the entire Archer fight, but the bits I've seen had Joey getting the better of the action, and clearly. Still, I did see a lot of skill in Mims's game.

[Raging B(_)LL]

Originally Posted by cardstars

Good writeup. Do you have any footage of Mims RB?

Yes I do, quite a bit actually, although I believe what I have is all that there is available. Here is what I have on Holley:


Mims vs Joey Archer complete
Mims vs Charley Green highlights, 4minutes
Mims vs Rubin Carter complete
Mims vs Bobby Boyd I complete
Mims vs Jimmy Ellis II highlights, 12minutes
Mims vs Joey Giardello highlights, 25minutes


I think thats it, although there might be one or two more I forgot about, I`d have to check my list to make sure.

[Raging B(_)LL]

Originally Posted by Sweet Pea

Haven't seen the entire Archer fight, but the bits I've seen had Joey getting the better of the action, and clearly. Still, I did see a lot of skill in Mims's game.

If you watch the whole fight I`m sure you will agree that Holley won, I had him winning 6-3-1 in rounds and the rounds Holley won he won them clearly in my opinion.

Joey was game but Mims knew this was his last chance to make a run for the title and he gave it everything he had that night in an effort to knock Archer out so that it wouldn`t go to the judges as he knew he wouldn`t get the decision.

Alas, Joey had a granite chin and was one of the few fighters at middle I don`t see anyone knocking him out, although Holley came as close to pulling off the feat as I have seen any fighter do to Joey.

[Sweet Pea]

In the footage I saw Joey was indeed rocked early on. Mims came out of his bob and weave crouch and landed thunderous shots straight to the jaw, of which it took the third to really even register on Joey, who recovered pretty quickly. Amazing stuff.

Mims showed an interesting and effective low, sweeping bob and weave style that he'd use to set up very good counters with at times, for the most part though Joey was just outworking him with the jab. But I hardly have an opinion being as I've only seen bits.