Ralph "Tiger" Jones (March 14, 1928 – August 20, 1994) was a boxer during the 1950s. Trained by
Gil Clancy
Gilbert Thomas Clancy (May 30, 1922 – March 31, 2011) was a Hall of Fame boxing trainer and one of the most noted boxing commentators of the 1980s and 1990s.
He worked with such famous boxers as Muhammad Ali, Jerry Quarry, Joe Frazier, an ...
, Jones was a fixture of televised boxing in the 1950s, known for an aggressive style that pleased fans. His overall record was 52 victories, 32 losses and five draws.
He became a professional boxer in 1950. In 1955 he scored an upset over
Sugar Ray Robinson
Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarded ...
. Robinson was highly favored in the fight, which was Robinson's second during a comeback. That was only one of his wins against top-level fighters of that era. He also beat
Joey Giardello
Carmine Orlando Tilelli (July 16, 1930 – September 4, 2008) was an American boxer who was the world middleweight champion from 1963 to 1965,. He adopted the name Joey Giardello (the name of a cousin's friend) in order to join the U.S. Army wh ...
and
Kid Gavilán
Gerardo González (January 6, 1926 – February 13, 2003), better known in the boxing world as Kid Gavilan, was a Cuban boxer. Gavilán was the former undisputed welterweight champion from 1951 to 1954 having simultaneously held the NYSAC, WB ...
(both these fighters were world champions at one time and, in other fights, also defeated Jones). Fighters to whom he lost include world champions
Gene Fullmer
Lawrence Gene Fullmer (July 21, 1931 – April 27, 2015) was an American professional boxer and World Middleweight champion.
Professional career
Fullmer began his professional career in 1951 and won his first 29 fights, 19 by knockout. His man ...
,
Johnny Saxton
Johnny Saxton (July 4, 1930 – October 4, 2008) was an American professional boxer in the welterweight (147 lb) division. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, learned to box in a Brooklyn orphanage and had an amateur career winning 31 of 33 fig ...
,
Paul Pender
Paul Pender (June 20, 1930 – January 12, 2003), was an American boxer and firefighter from Massachusetts who held the World Middleweight Championship.
Early life
Pender was born in the Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of Wil ...
, and
Carl "Bobo" Olson. In all, he fought six world champions on ten occasions.
[He never had a title fight, however.
]
After he retired, Jones drove a cab and worked for a canning company. He was survived by three sons and two grandchildren.
Professional boxing record
External links
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References
1928 births
1994 deaths
Middleweight boxers
Boxers from New York City
Sportspeople from Brooklyn
American male boxers
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