Rex Gessel Layne (June 7, 1928 in Lewiston,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

– June 7, 2000) was a former heavyweight professional boxer. Sometimes termed the "Lewiston Larruper," the top rated Layne never fought for the heavyweight title, but notched victories over such greats as future world champions Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott.

Background

According to the Oct. 29, 1949 Tacoma News Tribune, Layne was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

who was a staff sergeant with an airborne division in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for 19 months, serving some time in Japan. He did not start boxing until he joined the Army. "When they sent out a call for boxing candidates at

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, he won the heavyweight championship of our troops in

Nippon Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Returning home in 1947, he dropped a close decision in an Olympic tryout to Jay Lambert, who won the United States Olympic title, and lost a decision in the London Olympics semifinals. Layne lost a close verdict to Utah State's Dale Panter in the Utah

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

, but earned a trip to Boston acquiring the A.A.U. Intermountain amateur championship by a knockout. In the Hub he won four bouts, three by knockouts, to account for the national championship."

Amateur career

Rex Layne was a

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

sugar beet farmer when he won the 1949

National AAU Heavyweight Championship Below is a list of National Amateur Boxing Heavyweight Champions, also known as US Amateur Champions, along with the state or region which they represented. The United States National Boxing Championships bestow the title of United States Amateu ...

Professional career

His final record stands at 50-17-3 (34 KO), and was undefeated his first 17 fights. Before Layne's career declined in the mid-1950s, boxing historian

Nat Fleischer Nathaniel Stanley Fleischer (November 3, 1887 – June 25, 1972) was a noted American boxing writer and collector. Career Fleischer was born in New York City. After he graduated from City College of New York in 1908, Fleischer worked for the '' ...

wrote of the boxer, "Layne looms as the outstanding prospect west of the Mississippi. He is a hard hitter... Layne has what it takes to be developed into the next world heavyweight king. He can hit and has an abundance of courage." On July 12, 1951, he lost by 6th round KO to Rocky Marciano. Marciano's knockout punch sheared off four of Layne's upper, front teeth at the gumline and sent his mouthpiece bouncing with teeth included out of the ring. Heavyweight Action ranked Rex Layne as the 11th best heavyweight boxer of the decade of the 1950s, with the top 3 spots held by Marciano, Walcott and Charles.

Trivia

*Was Featured on the cover of the May 1951 The Ring magazine. *His outstanding career featured wins over such champions as Ezzard Charles and Joe Walcott, as well as other notable contenders such as Bob Satterfield. *In 1968, Layne had a bit part in the movie " The Devil's Brigade (film)," starring William Holden. Such other former athletes as Paul Hornung and Gene Fullmer also had small roles.Deseret News, June 11, 2000
"Boxer Rex Layne dies at age 72"
/ref>

References

External links

* * 1928 births 2000 deaths Latter Day Saints from Utah Boxers from Utah Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers American male boxers Heavyweight boxers American expatriates in Japan {{US-boxing-bio-stub