Arcel,
who trained Ross in 1938, was in his corner for the bout and saw, close
up, the beating Ross received. Armstrong's victory convinced Arcel of
the fighter's greatness, which he is still sure of more than 50 years
later.
"He could be classified with the greatest fighters of all time," Arcel said. "The fighters today, most of them he would chase right out of the ring."
Armstrong took 20% of the gate for the Ross fight, which was $32,200. Ambers and his lightweight crown were next. Tickets went on sale for $16.50 tops, $2.50 reserved and $1 general admission. Armstrong went into the fight as the odds-on choice, but the champion wound up inflicting more damage than the challenger, who won on a split decision.
Ambers' face was almost unmarked, but Armstrong needed 10 stitches to close a cut in his mouth, which he suffered in the second round, and his left eye was almost closed.
"He could be classified with the greatest fighters of all time," Arcel said. "The fighters today, most of them he would chase right out of the ring."
Armstrong took 20% of the gate for the Ross fight, which was $32,200. Ambers and his lightweight crown were next. Tickets went on sale for $16.50 tops, $2.50 reserved and $1 general admission. Armstrong went into the fight as the odds-on choice, but the champion wound up inflicting more damage than the challenger, who won on a split decision.
Ambers' face was almost unmarked, but Armstrong needed 10 stitches to close a cut in his mouth, which he suffered in the second round, and his left eye was almost closed.
The
New York crowd was so loud that when the bell sounded at the end of the
15th round, neither the fighters nor the referee heard it. Armstrong
needed to be steered to his own corner by Ambers' handlers.
When the decision was announced, there was a new champion. Armstrong had won because of his two knockdowns of Ambers, one in the closing seconds of the fifth round and the other in the middle of the sixth.
Armstrong, who had weighed in at 134 pounds, finished the fight at 129. But he was the new champion. Not only was he the world featherweight champion and the world welterweight champion, but the lightweight king as well.
In September, however, Armstrong gave up the featherweight title, and the two others were gone in two years. Ambers won his lightweight championship back when by scored a 15-round decision over Armstrong in 1939, and in 1940, an unheralded Fritzie Zivic beat Armstrong in another 15-round decision for the welterweight crown.
Armstrong retired twice and made two comebacks, losing to 21-year-old Cpl. Ray Robinson in 1943 at Madison Square Garden, before giving it up for good in 1945. Armstrong was 31.
The civilian Henry Armstrong got involved in politics and drinking, then religion and the fight against drinking. He endorsed Los Angeles Supervisor Leonard Roach and the Presidential ticket of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Before then, though, he offered a lot of toasts.
In October 1954, Armstrong spoke to the Temple Baptist Church about his drinking. Four years earlier, he had been ordained by his father-in-law, W. L. Strauther, at the Morning Star Baptist Church.
"I'd get drunk and drive my big car, roaring up and down the streets, and didn't care about anything," he said. "(Once) I blacked out. When I came to, I was in the car heading north out of Malibu at 75 m.p.h. I didn't realize I was driving. There seemed to be a presence beside me. I lost my taste for whiskey right then--and it's never come back to me."
In 1959, after 25 years of marriage, Armstrong was divorced by Willa Mae Armstrong, who said she no longer felt loved.
"He left me at home and went out alone," she said. "He never showed me any affection."
The couple had one daughter, Lanetta, who is 53 and living in Los Angeles. She is reluctant to talk about her father.
When the decision was announced, there was a new champion. Armstrong had won because of his two knockdowns of Ambers, one in the closing seconds of the fifth round and the other in the middle of the sixth.
Armstrong, who had weighed in at 134 pounds, finished the fight at 129. But he was the new champion. Not only was he the world featherweight champion and the world welterweight champion, but the lightweight king as well.
In September, however, Armstrong gave up the featherweight title, and the two others were gone in two years. Ambers won his lightweight championship back when by scored a 15-round decision over Armstrong in 1939, and in 1940, an unheralded Fritzie Zivic beat Armstrong in another 15-round decision for the welterweight crown.
Armstrong retired twice and made two comebacks, losing to 21-year-old Cpl. Ray Robinson in 1943 at Madison Square Garden, before giving it up for good in 1945. Armstrong was 31.
The civilian Henry Armstrong got involved in politics and drinking, then religion and the fight against drinking. He endorsed Los Angeles Supervisor Leonard Roach and the Presidential ticket of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Before then, though, he offered a lot of toasts.
In October 1954, Armstrong spoke to the Temple Baptist Church about his drinking. Four years earlier, he had been ordained by his father-in-law, W. L. Strauther, at the Morning Star Baptist Church.
"I'd get drunk and drive my big car, roaring up and down the streets, and didn't care about anything," he said. "(Once) I blacked out. When I came to, I was in the car heading north out of Malibu at 75 m.p.h. I didn't realize I was driving. There seemed to be a presence beside me. I lost my taste for whiskey right then--and it's never come back to me."
In 1959, after 25 years of marriage, Armstrong was divorced by Willa Mae Armstrong, who said she no longer felt loved.
"He left me at home and went out alone," she said. "He never showed me any affection."
The couple had one daughter, Lanetta, who is 53 and living in Los Angeles. She is reluctant to talk about her father.
Lanetta
said she felt estranged from her father. "He wasn't too close to me,"
she said. "He was always on the go. I mostly didn't see him too much."
Even so, it was she who sent the flowers to Armstrong's hospital room.
Whether it was bad investments, the divorce, the drinking or whatever, Armstrong had run out of money by the mid-1960s.
He left Los Angeles in 1967 and took a job as assistant director of the Herbert Hoover Boys Club in St. Louis. He also became a minister at the Mt. Olive Baptist Church. He married again and had two more children, Henrietta and Edna, with his second wife, Velma. Friends of Armstrong thought he was doing well until Velma Armstrong died. Henrietta and Edna are grown now and living in St. Louis.
The former Gussie Henry, who said she married Armstrong 10 years ago, took him out of St. Louis and brought him back to Los Angeles. But Armstrong's friends said he would have been much better off if he had stayed in St. Louis.
"We tried not to let him leave here," said James Reddick, who has known Armstrong for close to 50 years. "I know he was getting up in age, getting senile and forgetful, but he should have stayed. He had the kind of job where he basically didn't do anything and got paid for it. People were impressed just because of who he was. That was the way it was, but it was kind of sad.
"When you're on top, people cater to you, but once you start slipping, you find out who your friends are. He didn't have any money when he got here. It was gone. He didn't have nothing. But who can you blame for that? Nobody but him. I hate it for him."
Armstrong's financial plight is widely known in boxing circles. Arcel said such problems are not limited to Armstrong.
Even so, it was she who sent the flowers to Armstrong's hospital room.
Whether it was bad investments, the divorce, the drinking or whatever, Armstrong had run out of money by the mid-1960s.
He left Los Angeles in 1967 and took a job as assistant director of the Herbert Hoover Boys Club in St. Louis. He also became a minister at the Mt. Olive Baptist Church. He married again and had two more children, Henrietta and Edna, with his second wife, Velma. Friends of Armstrong thought he was doing well until Velma Armstrong died. Henrietta and Edna are grown now and living in St. Louis.
The former Gussie Henry, who said she married Armstrong 10 years ago, took him out of St. Louis and brought him back to Los Angeles. But Armstrong's friends said he would have been much better off if he had stayed in St. Louis.
"We tried not to let him leave here," said James Reddick, who has known Armstrong for close to 50 years. "I know he was getting up in age, getting senile and forgetful, but he should have stayed. He had the kind of job where he basically didn't do anything and got paid for it. People were impressed just because of who he was. That was the way it was, but it was kind of sad.
"When you're on top, people cater to you, but once you start slipping, you find out who your friends are. He didn't have any money when he got here. It was gone. He didn't have nothing. But who can you blame for that? Nobody but him. I hate it for him."
Armstrong's financial plight is widely known in boxing circles. Arcel said such problems are not limited to Armstrong.
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