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Nicknamed
"the Ape," Simon was a 250-pound heavyweight who fought Joe
Louis twice in the early 1940s when Louis was the heavyweight
champion of the world. He later had a small role in the film
On the Waterfront.
Simon
began his professional career in 1935 and won his first 14
fights, 12 by knockout (10 of which were in the first three
rounds). A 6'4", 250-pound giant, Simon faced his first real
challenge in August 1937 when he met Buddy Baer, brother of the
former heavyweight champ Max Baer (the brothers had one only
Jewish grandparent, but each of them wore a Magen David on his
trunks as a marketing tool to gain Jewish support). Baer knocked
Simon out in the third-round. After going 8-3 in his next 11
fights, Simon faced Jersey Joe Walcott in February 1940. In the
sixth-round of the fight, Simon knocked out the future
heavyweight champion (Walcott won the title in 1949) and became
a top contender for the crown held by Joe Louis.
In March 1941, Simon finally got a chance at the title after
winning 8 of his previous 10 fights. The first bout against
Louis took place in Detroit, Louis' hometown, and few gave the
challenger any real chance. With over 18,000 fans watching,
Simon was knocked down in the first round (the first time he had
been knocked down in his career), but he also got some shots in,
closing Louis' left eye in the later rounds. After being knocked
down again in the third round (Simon grinned while sitting on
the canvas until the count of nine, then rose to continue the
fight), he came back again and staggered Louis towards the end
of the seventh round. The bout was scheduled for 20-rounds; by
the 13th, the champion was gathering strength and momentum,
while Simon seemed to be losing steam. After Simon was knocked
down twice in the 13th-round -- and was staggering after another
blow -- the referee stopped the fight at 1:20 of the round, and
Louis retained his title.
One year later, in March 1942, Simon got another shot at the
world champ, who was considered almost unbeatable by this time.
Simon employed the same strategy that he had in the first fight:
he used his size as an advantage by being aggressive and bearing
in on the smaller Louis (who weighed 207 pounds). This time,
however, the fight would not last very long, as Louis landed
good punches in round one and then knocked Simon down in the
second -- the bell sounded at the count of two to save the
challenger. Although to some ringside observers, Simon seemed
dazed after round two, he came out strong in the third. He then
won the fourth round with his barrage of punches from inside. In
the next round, the champion knocked Simon down again, although
he was again saved by the bell. In round 6, Simon was felled for
a third time only seconds into the round, and was counted out by
the referee. Although he argued that he had risen before the
count of ten, it was apparent that the fight was over. It was
Simon's final professional bout and he finished with a
professional record of 38 wins in 49 career decisions. |
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