Билли Папке – Американдық боксшының өмірі мен мансабы

American boxer

Billy Papke (born William Papke, and known as "The Illinois Thunderbolt") (September 17, 1886 – November 26, 1936) was an American boxer who held the World Middleweight Championship from September 7 to November 26, 1908. In 1910 12, he also took the Australian and British versions of the World Middleweight Championship, though American boxing historians generally take less note of these titles. With a solid and efficient punch, 70 percent of his better publicized career wins by decision were from knockouts, and roughly 40% of his reported fights were as well. Papke was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. His earliest fights in 1906 took place near Spring Valley or Peoria where he had moved by 1907, though he traveled frequently North to box in the next few years. In an important early bout on September 14, 1907, Papke knocked out Terry Martin in the third round at the National Athletic Club in Philadelphia. The win led several reporters to view Papke as a middleweight title contender. In a well publicized bout On November 14, 1907, Papke defeated Tony Caponi in their first bout in a second round knockout at the Peoria Club in Peoria, Illinois. After only two minutes and ten seconds of fighting in the second, Papke put Caponi down for the count with a strong right uppercut to the jaw immediately after breaking from a clinch. Caponi tried to rise, but went back down and stayed on the mat. The two had fought two draws the previous May and June, with Papke holding a slight lead during the more recent match. Adding to the interest in the contest was Caponi's unsuccessful attempt at Hugo Kelly's World and American 158 lb. middleweight championship the previous August.

On March 16, 1908, Papke defeated Hugo Kelly at the Hippodrome in Milwaukee in a ten round points decision that was billed as the world and American 158 pound middleweight championship, though it was not a universally sanctioned bout. There was a significant amount of clinching, and some butting in the match mostly attributed to Papke. Papke put Kelly on the mat in the first round with a blow to the jaw, but Kelly recovered quickly and fought well defensively. There was a shower of blows in the fourth, followed by more clinching in the fifth, as the boxers recovered from fatigue. The final four rounds were close, but the referee decided in favor of Papke at the bell in the tenth. Papke's management successfully used the win as a stepping stone to a world middleweight title match with Stanley Ketchel ten weeks later. On May 15, 1909, Papke would defeat Kelly more decisively in a first round knockout in Colma, California.

Papke's first meeting with Stanley Ketchel resulted in loss by 10 round points decision, on June 4, 1908, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the first of Papke's four fights with the reigning Middleweight champion.

Papke won the second fight with Ketchel in an upset at Jeffrie's Arena in Vernon, near Los Angeles, on September 7, 1908, in a convincing twelve round technical knockout, and impressively took the world middleweight title from the reigning champion. The referee was the thirty three year old boxing legend and former heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries. A few newspapers including the Record Argus of Greenville, Pennsylvania, perpetuated the legend of the sucker punch at the handshake, though the myth may have had its origin in Papke's furious attack very early in the first round and the not infrequent habit of a few boxing reporters of the era to embellish their reporting. Even reporting on his death in 1936, a newspaper perpetuated the myth of Papke's first blow coming as Ketchel extended his hand to shake. A California newspaper, likely using the account of a ringside reporter, inferred the fighting did not commence until after the opening bell, and that both men entered the ring in perfect condition, but that within one minute and twenty seconds, Papke had mounted an attack that determined the outcome of the bout. Ketchel was down three times in the first round, and Papke seemed to have the upper hand throughout the fierce and furious bout. The match became so one sided in favor of Papke by the close, that the crowd yelled for referee Jeffries to stop the fight. Papke dealt the final blows in the twelfth delivering a right swing followed by a powerful hook.

In their third meeting, two months later on November 26, 1908, Papke lost his title to Ketchel in an eleventh round knockout in Colma, California, and received a terrific beating in the process. Papke's own wife did not recognize him after the bout was over. Ketchel led the bout through most of the first ten rounds. Papke went down in the eleventh for a count of nine, and not long after arising was struck by a left to the chin that ended the bout. Papke lost the fourth and final meeting by unanimous decision before a large crowd in Colma, California, near San Francisco, on July 5, 1909. It was a particularly savage encounter and lasted 20 rounds. One source wrote that of all their fights it was "the bloodiest and most grueling". Ketchel was reported to have broken his right hand in the sixth, and Papke a bone in his left. In their heavily attended world welterweight championship bout in Paris, Papke demonstrated superior hitting ability, speed, and defense throughout the match, and was the aggressor through all three rounds. Papke tried to have his agent arrange a match with Ketchel after the bout, but it was never to be.

After Ketchel's murder at age 24, on October 15, 1910, while training at a Cattle Ranch in Conway, Missouri, Papke became one of several middleweights contesting the world middleweight title. The title did not pass hands as both men were over the middleweight weight limit of 160, and weighing nearer 165.

On February 22, 1912, Papke lost to American world middleweight contender Frank Mantell in Sacramento in a twenty round points decision. It was a slow bout with much vertical wrestling while the contestants weakly attempted to score blows during the clinches. After the bout, Mantell tried to claim Papke's former British world middleweight title of June 11, 1911, taken from Jim Sullivan in London. Mantell's claim was weak, however, as Papke claimed he did not make weight for the match.

On June 29, 1912, Papke, defending his June, 1911 world middleweight title, defeated Marcel Moreau at France's Cirque de Paris in a sixteenth round technical knockout. Papke was down in the first, while Moreau was knocked down twice in the fifteenth by left and right hooks before failing to show for the final round. Papke lost to middle and welterweight contender Leo Houck in the third week of September 1912 at the Olympia Athletic Club in Philadelphia in a six round newspaper decision. The first two rounds were slow, with Papke staging a comeback in the third which was marred by his tossing Houck around in the clinches and refusing to break at the referee's request. His clinching may have signaled his fatigue from the repeated blows of his opponent. In the final three rounds, Houck dominated, throwing several swift blows with no return in the fourth, and sending Papke through the ropes in the sixth.

Papke traveled to Paris where he beat future champion Georges Carpentier in an eighteenth round technical knockout on October 23, 1912. It became a non championship fight when Papke exceeded the middle weight limit at the pre fight weigh in. Papke's infighting or close range techniques baffled the skilled Carpentier. At the end of the eighth, Carpentier's right eye was closed, and he fought more cautiously. Though staging a comeback in the fifteenth and sixteenth, Carpentier was floored in the opening of the seventeenth round, when Papke struck him with a left hook, likely taking advantage of the reduced vision on his opponent's right side. Carpentier attempted to fight on but gave up after consulting with his corner men, and did not return for the eighteenth round.

Papke was beaten by an American, Pennsylvania middleweight Frank Klaus on March 5, 1913, at France's Cirque de Paris. The referee warned Papke and called fouls and breaks repeatedly in the late rounds for wrestling, head butting, and low blows. In frustration, the referee called his last foul in the fifteenth round for a low blow which Papke had been called on in the previous two rounds, disqualifying Papke and ending both the match and Papke's title hopes. After his October 14, 1913, loss to Marty Rowan in St. Louis, Papke took a three year hiatus from the ring, before returning in 1916, and facing his last few opponents. He continued fighting until 1919, losing a four rounder to the prolific boxer and contender Soldier Bartfield in San Francisco in April 1919. He had lost to Flynn earlier in a newspaper decision in March 1909 in Pasadena.

In his retirement near Los Angeles, he benefited from his real estate investments.

Near the time of his death, he was working as a "host" at Jim Flynn's Cafe in Los Angeles, a beer hall named after the heavyweight boxer. He had recently refereed a boxing match. Papke died on November 27, 1936, by suicide, after first killing his wife. The violent incident may have been a result of undiagnosed brain dementia suffered from years of trauma in the ring. Both he and his wife were buried at Mt. View Cemetery in Altadena, California, slightly North of Pasadena and Los Angeles. He left three sons with whom he lived, Robert, Clifford, and William A. Papke Jr. He is a primary character in the novel, The Killings of Stanley Ketchel, (2005), by James Carlos Blake.

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted to the win/loss/draw column. No. (Number)ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes63Loss37–11–6 Jimmy DarcyPTS4May 14, 1919 62Loss37–10–6 Jakob "Soldier" BartfieldPTS4Apr 8, 1919 61Loss37–9–6 Jack SmithNWS10Jun 1, 1916 60Loss37–9–6 Marty RowanPTS8Oct 14, 1913 59Loss37–8–6 Frank KlausRTD6 (20)Mar 5, 1913 58Win37–7–6 Georges BernardRTD6 (20)Dec 4, 1912 57Win36–7–6 Georges CarpentierTKO18 (20)Oct 23, 1912 56Loss35–7–6 Leo HouckNWS6Sep 27, 1912 55Loss35–7–6 Jack DenningNWS10Sep 25, 1912 54Win35–7–6 Marcel MoreauTKO16 (20)Jun 29, 1912 53Win34–7–6 Billy LeitchTKO2 (10)May 2, 1912 52Loss33–7–6 Frank MantellPTS20Feb 22, 1912 51Loss33–6–6 Bob MohaPTS12Oct 31, 1911 50Loss33–5–6 Sailor BurkeNWS10Aug 22, 1911 49Win33–5–6 Jim SullivanKO9 (20)Jun 8, 1911 48Win32–5–6 Dave SmithTKO7 (20)Mar 11, 1911 47Loss31–5–6 Cyclone Johnny ThompsonPTS20Feb 11, 1911 46Loss31–4–6 Dave SmithDQ10 (20)Dec 26, 1910 45Win31–3–6 Ed WilliamsTKO6 (20)Oct 26, 1910 44Win30–3–6 Jack "Twin" SullivanPTS12Jun 21, 1910 43Win29–3–6 Al GoodaleDQ2 (10)Jun 14, 1910 42Win28–3–6 Joe ThomasKO16 (20)May 19, 1910 41Win27–3–6 Willie LewisKO3 (15)Mar 19, 1910 40Loss26–3–6 Frank KlausNWS6Nov 11, 1909 39Win26–3–6 Willie LewisNWS6Oct 8, 1909 38Draw26–3–6 Fireman Jim FlynnNWS10Jul 14, 1909 37Loss26–3–6 Stanley KetchelUD20Jul 5, 1909 36Win26–2–6 Hugo KellyKO1 (45)May 15, 1909 35Loss25–2–6 Fireman Jim FlynnNWS10Mar 19, 1909 34Draw25–2–6 Hugo KellyPTS25Dec 15, 1908 33Loss25–2–5 Stanley KetchelKO11 (20)Nov 26, 1908 32Win25–1–5 Stanley KetchelTKO12 (25)Sep 7, 1908 31Win24–1–5 Sailor BurkeNWS6Aug 18, 1908 30Win24–1–5 Frank MantellTKO1 (6)Aug 13, 1908 29Win23–1–5 Johnny CarrollTKO2 (6)Aug 13, 1908 28Loss22–1–5 Stanley KetchelPTS10Jun 4, 1908 27Win22–0–5 Hugo KellyPTS10Mar 16, 1908 26Win21–0–5 Walter StantonTKO4 (12)Jan 21, 1908 25Draw20–0–5 Hugo KellyPTS10Dec 30, 1907 24Win20–0–4 Bartley ConnollyTKO4 (10)Nov 22, 1907 23Win19–0–4 Charlie HagheyTKO1 (10)Nov 22, 1907 22Win18–0–4 Tony CaponiKO2 (10)Nov 14, 1907 21Draw17–0–4 Pat O'KeefePTS6Nov 9, 1907 20Win17–0–3 Cy FlynnTKO3 (10)Oct 30, 1907 19Win16–0–3 Terry MartinKO3 (6)Sep 14, 1907 18Win15–0–3 Tommy SullivanKO1 (15)Sep 2, 1907 17Draw14–0–3 Tony CaponiPTS10Jun 20, 1907 16Win14–0–2 Foster WalkerKO2 (10)Jun 14, 1907 15Win13–0–2 Jack MorganKO7 (10)Jun 6, 1907 14Draw12–0–2 Tony CaponiPTS15May 21, 1907 13Win12–0–1 Johnny CarrollKO4 (10)Apr 30, 1907 12Draw11–0–1 Billy RhodesPTS15Mar 26, 1907 11Win11–0 Billy RhodesPTS10Mar 6, 1907 10Win10–0 Carl AndersonKO1 (10)Feb 14, 1907 9Win9–0 Dick FitzpatrickPTS10Jan 29, 1907 8Win8–0 Tommy WallaceKO3 (10)Jan 15, 1907 7Win7–0 Kid FarmerKO6 (10)Dec 17, 1906 6Win6–0 Milt KinneyKO3 (10)Nov 27, 1906 5Win5–0 Carl PurdyTKO7 (10)Jul 4, 1906 4Win4–0 Jack DennyKO1 (6)Jun 1, 1906 3Win3–0 Buster TeeganKO3 (6)May 30, 1906 2Win2–0 Red MorriseyKO3 (4)Apr 30, 1906 1Win1–0 Mexican WonderPTS4Mar 24, 1906

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions to the win/loss/draw column. No. (Number)ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes63Loss39–17–7 Jimmy DarcyPTS4May 14, 1919 62Loss39–16–7 Jakob "Soldier" BartfieldPTS4Apr 8, 1919 61Loss39–15–7 Jack SmithNWS10Jun 1, 1916 60Loss39–14–7 Marty RowanPTS8Oct 14, 1913 59Loss39–13–7 Frank KlausRTD6 (20)Mar 5, 1913 58Win39–12–7 Georges BernardRTD6 (20)Dec 4, 1912 57Win38–12–7 Georges CarpentierTKO18 (20)Oct 23, 1912 56Loss37–12–7 Leo HouckNWS6Sep 27, 1912 55Loss37–11–7 Jack DenningNWS10Sep 25, 1912 54Win37–10–7 Marcel MoreauTKO16 (20)Jun 29, 1912 53Win36–10–7 Billy LeitchTKO2 (10)May 2, 1912 52Loss35–10–7 Frank MantellPTS20Feb 22, 1912 51Loss35–9–7 Bob MohaPTS12Oct 31, 1911 50Loss35–8–7 Sailor BurkeNWS10Aug 22, 1911 49Win35–7–7 Jim SullivanKO9 (20)Jun 8, 1911 48Win34–7–7 Dave SmithTKO7 (20)Mar 11, 1911 47Loss33–7–7 Cyclone Johnny ThompsonPTS20Feb 11, 1911 46Loss33–6–7 Dave SmithDQ10 (20)Dec 26, 1910 45Win33–5–7 Ed WilliamsTKO6 (20)Oct 26, 1910 44Win32–5–7 Jack "Twin" SullivanPTS12Jun 21, 1910 43Win31–5–7 Al GoodaleDQ2 (10)Jun 14, 1910 42Win30–5–7 Joe ThomasKO16 (20)May 19, 1910 41Win29–5–7 Willie LewisKO3 (15)Mar 19, 1910 40Loss28–5–7 Frank KlausNWS6Nov 11, 1909 39Win28–4–7 Willie LewisNWS6Oct 8, 1909 38Draw27–4–7 Fireman Jim FlynnNWS10Jul 14, 1909 37Loss27–4–6 Stanley KetchelUD20Jul 5, 1909 36Win27–3–6 Hugo KellyKO1 (45)May 15, 1909 35Loss26–3–6 Fireman Jim FlynnNWS10Mar 19, 1909 34Draw26–2–6 Hugo KellyPTS25Dec 15, 1908 33Loss26–2–5 Stanley KetchelKO11 (20)Nov 26, 1908 32Win26–1–5 Stanley KetchelTKO12 (25)Sep 7, 1908 31Win25–1–5 Sailor BurkeNWS6Aug 18, 1908 30Win24–1–5 Frank MantellTKO1 (6)Aug 13, 1908 29Win23–1–5 Johnny CarrollTKO2 (6)Aug 13, 1908 28Loss22–1–5 Stanley KetchelPTS10Jun 4, 1908 27Win22–0–5 Hugo KellyPTS10Mar 16, 1908 26Win21–0–5 Walter StantonTKO4 (12)Jan 21, 1908 25Draw20–0–5 Hugo KellyPTS10Dec 30, 1907 24Win20–0–4 Bartley ConnollyTKO4 (10)Nov 22, 1907 23Win19–0–4 Charlie HagheyTKO1 (10)Nov 22, 1907 22Win18–0–4 Tony CaponiKO2 (10)Nov 14, 1907 21Draw17–0–4 Pat O'KeefePTS6Nov 9, 1907 20Win17–0–3 Cy FlynnTKO3 (10)Oct 30, 1907 19Win16–0–3 Terry MartinKO3 (6)Sep 14, 1907 18Win15–0–3 Tommy SullivanKO1 (15)Sep 2, 1907 17Draw14–0–3 Tony CaponiPTS10Jun 20, 1907 16Win14–0–2 Foster WalkerKO2 (10)Jun 14, 1907 15Win13–0–2 Jack MorganKO7 (10)Jun 6, 1907 14Draw12–0–2 Tony CaponiPTS15May 21, 1907 13Win12–0–1 Johnny CarrollKO4 (10)Apr 30, 1907 12Draw11–0–1 Billy RhodesPTS15Mar 26, 1907 11Win11–0 Billy RhodesPTS10Mar 6, 1907 10Win10–0 Carl AndersonKO1 (10)Feb 14, 1907 9Win9–0 Dick FitzpatrickPTS10Jan 29, 1907 8Win8–0 Tommy WallaceKO3 (10)Jan 15, 1907 7Win7–0 Kid FarmerKO6 (10)Dec 17, 1906 6Win6–0 Milt KinneyKO3 (10)Nov 27, 1906 5Win5–0 Carl PurdyTKO7 (10)Jul 4, 1906 4Win4–0 Jack DennyKO1 (6)Jun 1, 1906 3Win3–0 Buster TeeganKO3 (6)May 30, 1906 2Win2–0 Red MorriseyKO3 (4)Apr 30, 1906 1Win1–0 Mexican WonderPTS4Mar 24, 1906