Jerry Quarry never won the world heavyweight boxing championship. He might have done it in another day and age, but he was in his prime in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the heavyweight division was perhaps at its peak.
So Quarry had to battle it out with the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, as well as Earnie Shavers and Ron Lyle. Of his 66 professional bouts, eight of them were against men who at one time or another reigned as world champion.
Quarry had two world title shots in 1968 and 1969 – early in his career – and came up short. He spent a large part of the next decade trying to land another, but never quite did. Despite that, Quarry was one of the more popular fighters of his era. He became a millionaire and even landed television acting roles.
A strong puncher who wielded a deadly left hook, the 6-foot, 195-pound Quarry also had good hand speed, solid boxing skills and a great chin. But he was notorious for his vulnerability to cuts. Quarry also had a tendency to slug it out when he didn't have to.
A Irish-American from California, Quarry was dubbed as a “Great White Hope” during an era dominated by African-American heavyweights. He finished his pro career with a record of 53-9-4, with 32 knockouts.
Six of the losses were to men who to men who reigned as world champion – two to Ali, two to Frazier, one to Norton and one to World Boxing Association champion Jimmy Ellis. Cuts were pivotal in a majority of the defeats.
Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in, Quarry spent the final years of his life suffering from dementia pugilistica, a brain disorder believed to be caused from repeated blows to the head. The condition led to his death in 1999 at age 53.
Jerry Quarry Rises to Stardom, Takes Title Shots
Born 1945 in Bakersfield, Calif., Quarry learned to box at an early age and enjoyed a highly successful amateur career. He turned pro in 1965 at age 20 and promptly began building up an impressive record.
Quarry suffered a decision loss to veteran Eddie Machen in is 21st bout, but held a record of 23-1-4 when he was included in an eight-man WBA championship tournament. The event was designed to determine a successor for Muhammad Ali, who had been stripped of the title for refusing induction into the U.S. Armed Forces.
In the quarterfinals, Quarry won a 12-round majority decision over former world champion Floyd Patterson, with whom he had battled to a draw four months earlier. Quarry then stopped Thad Spencer in the 12th-round to set up a championship bout with Jimmy Ellis 1968. Hindered by a back injury, Quarry lost by a 15-round majority decision in Oakland.
After a five-bout winning streak, Quarry challenged Frazier for the New York State Athletic Commission’s version of the world heavyweight crown in 1969. In a punishing battle hailed by The Ring magazine as the Fight of the Year, Quarry gave a good as he got only to have the bout stopped on cuts after the seventh round at Madison Square Garden.
Quarry remained popular despite his unsuccessful title bids. He was named Boxing Illustrated magaqzine's Most Popular Fighter in both 1968 and 1969.
Jerry Quarry Battles Ali, Frazier
Quarry fought on, winning six of seven bouts before facing Ali in 1970 at Atlanta. He was stopped on cuts in three rounds. After six more wins, he battled Ali again in 1972, and was halted on cuts in the seventh at Las Vegas.
That was followed by an impressive six-bout winning streak that included a convincing 12-round decision over the hard-hitting Lyle and a first-round knockout of the powerful Shavers. Frazier ended the run with a fifth-round TKO in a non-title bout in 1974. Two bouts later, Norton halted Quarry in the fifth round in 1975 at Madison Square Garden
Quarry did not fight again in 1975, when he took on light-hitting Lorenzo Zanon. Badly outboxed over the first eight rounds, Quarry came alive to win by knockout in the ninth. But his performance was so sub-par, he retired.
A 1983 comeback led two victories, but Quarry called it quits soon after. In 1992, he returned to the ring one more time. At age 47, he lost a six-round decision to Ron Cranmer, a fighter with a 3-4-1 record.
The Death of Jerry Quarry
Stricken by dementia pugilistica, Quarry suffered drastic memory loss and his motor skills deteriorated. He was unable to perform ordinary tasks, and had to be cared for by his brother James.
In 1999, he was hospitalized with pneumonia, went into cardiac arrest, and passed away on Jan. 3, 1999 at Templeton, Calif. He left behind a legacy of being on the greatest heavyweights never to win the world title.
Tragically, his brothers Mike and Bobby – also former boxers – also developed dementia pugilistica. Mike, a former world light-heavyweight contender, died in 2006 due to complications from the disease.
James Quarry set up the Jerry Quarry Foundation, a non-profit organization to assist fighters suffering from blunt force drama and brain damage.
Sources:
BoxRec.com
Jerry Quarry, 53, Boxer Battered by Years in the Ring, Dies, New York Times, Jan. 5, 1999
Obituary: Jerry Quarry, The Independent, Tuesday, Jan 5. 1999
Jon Matsune - Jon Matsune is a free-lance writer based in Northern California. He has 25 years of experience in newspaper journalism, mostly as a sports ...
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