Stefan Redl is a NJ Boxing Hall of Fame fighter from the 50's and my Dad. Here's a blog of some of his fights and what it was like being a professional prize fighter!
Stefan fought Don Fullmer on 5/11/60 in West Jordan Utah, in Fullmer's family gym. He lost the 10 round fight in a unanimous decision. This was the 2nd in a string of 6 consecutive losses; Carl Hubbard TKO'd Stefan in round 6, Don Fullmer won by unanimous decision, Vince Martinez won by TKO in round 5, Joe Salci won on points, Jorje Jose Fernandez won by unanimous decision, and Curtis Cokes beat Stefan by way of TKO in round 8. The next two fights, (that year!) Stefan won. He beat Julie Jamison on points and KO'd Joe Smyer in round 5.
Don Fullmer was one of three brothers who boxed. Jay Fullmer, the youngest, was a welter weight, whom surprisingly being the same weight class, my Dad never fought. My Dad believed he would have beaten Jay because Jay was lighter than him. Don and Gene were both middle weights and my Dad fought Don. Gene was the most successful of the Fullmers. My Dad tells me Gene bought land in Utah where he built a gym. There were apartments above the gym and a few other buildings around the area. The whole Fullmer family had fights there. I had joked, "Talk about your home advantage" and my Dad answered, "Well Gene beat Robinson there!" Sugar Ray Robinson is regarded by most as the greatest pound for pound fighter ever. My Dad agrees. He met Robinson several times and said of him that he could do anything. He beat every fighter he ever lost to, even beating Gene in a rematch. My Dad said some thought Robinson threw the first match with Gene to make more money in the rematch. My Dad disagrees, having seen that fight, he believed Gene to have genuinely won.
Regarding money, even though my Dad was really a welter weight, he went in the ring with the bigger and heaver Don. As he said many times before, there was more money in the heavier fights. He believed after watching this fight again, that it could have gone either way on the score cards. But since it was Fullmer's home gym, my Dad would have to have knocked out Don to win. In those days to beat a champ or "home advantage" you'd have to earn the win. If the fight were close or a draw, many times they'd give it to the champ or town hero. My Dad seemed to agree with this idea, scoffing at some modern fights.
[For interest, I asked my Dad if he had ever fought Gene, if he'd win. My Dad said no, as Gene, a heavy middle weight, was simply too big! He felt technically he really didn't belong in the ring with Don, but the money was good...]
This fight was a Friday night TV fight. It was filmed on 8mm, which is why there is no sound and the editing seems a little choppy, but it's a good fight! Watch for my Dad's best punch combination: A left jab to the belly, lunging in far and low, then a left hook to the head. Whenever my Dad showed me a punch, that was the one. He'd squat low, bending at the knees, then spring up like a frog putting his arm, shoulder, back, legs, virtually his whole body behind the punch!
My Dad, Stefan fought Eddie Jordan in 3/6/1959 in NYC to a Draw. This was a video Eddie's family gave to my Dad after he ran into him at a boxing convention. Thanks to Mr. Jordan, we now have a great copy of this fight.
(Actually we have 2 copies! This one has the commercials in it and the original announcers. Another copy I have has the commercials edited out and another announcer describing EVERY single swing and punch. I remember my Grandfather, my Mom's Dad, saying how he liked the old commentators as they let you watch the fight and not babble on and on. But in this second copy, the commentator's seem to be broadcasting for radio as it's not stories, theories or opinions they're talking about, but an endless, breathless barrage of descriptions to what your watching. I decided to post this copy, without that commentary and with the commercials of the 50's. Being a cartoonist I was almost as excited to see the old animation as my Dad's fight! So for selfish reasons here is the commercial-riddled Redl vs Jordan fight.)
Of this fight, my Dad said that he thinks he should have won, having "made the fight", by chasing Jordan. (Bear in mind this is a disagreement on styles of fighting. Many would argue Marvelous Marvin Hagler is more exciting to watch than Sugar Ray Leonard because he's the aggressor, constantly pushing the fight. Others would say the flash and dancing of Leonard is more exciting. When there's a close fight with one fighter moving forward and the other moving backward, opinions like this play very much into how the judges score the fight. See what you think...)
Redl vs Jordan:
When my Dad gets a chance, I'll have him review this fight and I'll post his remarks!
Special thanks to Mr. Jordan and the Jordan family! Part of the purpose of this blog is to connect with fighters my Dad fought who might have a copy of a fight or two!
When your Dad was a prize fighter, the question you'll always ask him, no matter how many times he told you is "Who was the toughest guy you fought?" Without hesitation, every time, my Dad answered, "Florentino Fernandez".
Stefan fought him in NYC 6/19/59 and lost by way of TKO in round 7. Of Fernandez my Dad said he could hit so hard, when he hit you in the stomach, Florentino picked you up a few inches off the canvas.
In the late 50's 3 Cuban boxers came to America. One was Florentino. No one saw them fight before, but Stefan's manager Carl Duva set the fight. Florentino out weighed my Dad by a few pounds, being closer to a middle weight than a welterweight, but the money was there and being fearless, my Dad took the fight.
Stefan held his own for a while slugging it out with Fernandez up until round 7. My Dad has been knocked down before, usually in the early rounds since he was a slow starter. Also because his style of boxing caused him to slip frequently. Whether you opponent knocked you there or not, sometimes a slip can count. But this TKO was for real.
My Dad told me he was hit, then heard the ref say, "FOUR" and he thought, "What the hell happened to 1,2 and 3?" He took a knee to catch his breath and got up at the count of 8. But, still groggy, he didn't get his guard up until Fernandez was on top of him again. Seeing this, the ref stopped the fight, calling a TKO.
Even though he lost, my Dad is proud of the fact that he slugged it out with a much larger, almost mystery fighter. After seeing the fight, so am I. My Dad remains to be the toughest guy I've ever known.
I thought I'd start this blog off with an exciting fight my Dad, Stefan Redl had against Al "Rocky" Milone in 1957. Aside from the fierce brawl, which was common for fights in the 50's, it's also fun to go around saying, "Hey, my Dad fought 'Rocky' and won... TWICE!"
Their first battle was in 3/18/57 at the St. Nicholas Arena in NYC. This was an arena my Dad broke a record in for the biggest gate for a boxing match. (He drew all the Germans and Hungarians from President St. in Passaic. Bus loads of people from the local saloon and some of which my Dad's barber brought in!) Chris Shankle the commentator, sort of a pre-Howard Cosell who commented on fights back then, said this fight drew the biggest crowd in St. Nicks ever. I don't know if my Dad broke it again later.
Milone knocked my Dad down twice in the second round. First he slipped, which often happened to him, but since his glove touched the canvas, it counted as a knockdown. The second knockdown was for real! But Stefan made up for it by TKO in round 8!
A couple of months later, they met again in 5/4/57 in the Paterson Armory in NJ. [Check out that fight promotional poster! $5 for a seat!] Milone promised after their first encounter that the next time he knocked Stefan down, he'd keep him there! So recollects my Dad as well as indicated on the poster itself under Milone's name. But Stefan won that fight also, this time by KO in round 6.
An interesting side note is that before the fight they introduce Johnny DiGilio, who my Dad fought in 3/29/58 in Paterson NJ. He won that fight and became NJ Welterweight Champ. It's the biggest trophy on his mantle. (I use to compare my Han Solo action figure to the bronze boxing figures on it.)
Below is a broadcast of the first REDL vs MILONE fight! [Due to file sizes, I broke the fight up into two parts. Here's part one of a 38 min. video! It takes a while for the fight to start, but I didn't want to edit anything out. Interesting to see how things were done back in those days.]:
Stefan was cut in the first round, which also often happened to my Dad and you'll see his corner tend to his wound. One story he told me was that sometimes they'd keep half-dollar coins on ice and use that as a cold compress for swollen eyes and cheeks. Another more grisly story my Mom mentioned was during the 2nd Vince Martinez fight, my Dad had a plastic like film called "New Skin" applied to one of his cuts that was suppose to stop the bleeding. The blood needed somewhere to go, so part of his face and head swelled. Duva never used it again. My Dad told my Mom's Dad to take my Mom home. Since in those days men were only allowed in the dressing rooms, my Mom didn't see Stefan for a week or so until the swelling stopped. Even then, his features still seemed swollen.
At about 10:50 of the first video you'll see Al Milone hit my Dad behind the ears. This is called "Rabbit Punches". I first heard the term from a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It can't knock a guy out, but could distract him with pain. You'll see old fighters and wrestlers especially with lumpy ears called cauliflower ears from abuse like that. When I drew Popeye's Brutus, he always had a cauliflower ear. (Can you tell I'm a cartoonist yet?) Those type of punches are illegal, but back then usually the ref looked the other way or simply told the other fighter to watch out.
My Dad told me once punches like this was the difference between "boxing" and "fighting". He had over 150 amateur fights in Germany where he was called "a boxer". Being a boxer, you try to tag your opponent with punches in specific areas of the head and body using specific areas of your glove. If you cut a guy, you tried to avoid the cut and still win. If you could do that, then you are really a champ. When he came to America in 1956 and turned pro, he was called "a fighter". As such, when you cut a guy, you rub your head against it in a clinch, poke the thumb of the glove in it, rub your forearms and elbows against it when the ref wasn't looking and generally hit nothing but that cut to bust it wide open and at least get the ring doctor to stop the fight. Almost a different sport!
One specific story my Dad told me was one of his first professional fights was with a guy shorter than him. My Dad thought going in that he'd beat this guy easy, "He's even shorter than me!" Well in round 1, this little guy pushed my Dad, then punched him when he was off balance. This little guy is getting the better of him! At the end of the round, Carl Duva, my Dad's trainer yelled at him and threatened to walk away from the fight. "If he pushes you, you push him back!" he yelled. Scolded and a little embarrassed, in the next round my Dad gave him a shove, then threw a left hook and down he went! It was a clear illustration of the difference between "boxing" and "fighting".
Of this fight, my Dad said Al Milone could really slug and was one tough guy. You can see Milone swinging bombs left and right! But he mentions that he won the fight because he fought smarter. My Dad was a better boxer and was in better shape with better stamina. That's what won the fight. But you have to hand it to Milone... in the end he wanted more!
My Mom mentioned that she never saw this fight, but saw the re-match (of the poster above). She knew my Dad as a boxer, but wasn't even dating him at that time. She remembers seeing through a window at the Paterson Armory my Dad's Army friends, whom he served with at Ft. Dix, carrying him on their shoulders upon his victory. My Mom was often dragged to fights by our Aunt Minnie!
