By Ken Hissner: Two world champions and a contender who won a non-title fight were known to have fought with just one eye.
One was world heavyweight champion Marvin “The Fightin’ Kentuckian” Hart, 28-7-4 with 20 knockouts from Fern Creek, Kentucky, who won the vacant title stopping former light heavyweight champion Jack Root, 47-2-3, a Czech from Chicago, Illinois, in July of 1905 in Reno, Nevada.
Hart had to come off the canvas in the seventh round and barely made it back to his corner. In the eighth, he seemed refreshed, and by the ninth, Root was fatigued. Hart came on and stopped Root in the twelfth round, with former world champion James J. Jeffries serving as the referee. This was a rematch that Hart lost to Root, 42-1-1, over six rounds in November of 1902.
Some of Hart’s previous fights prior to winning the world titles were drawing with Joe Choynski, 58-15-6, win and a draw with Gus “The Akron Giant” Ruhlin, 32-8-5, and defeating future world champion Jack “Galveston Giant” Johnson, 21-3-6, two fights before stopping Root.
In Hart’s first defense, he lost by decision to Canada’s Tommy “The Little Giant of Hanover” Burns, 30-3-7, over 20 rounds, in Los Angeles. Burns made nine defenses before losing to Jack Johnson.
Hart would go 5-5-1 after losing the title, scoring a knockout over Peter Maher, 131-22-7, but three losses to Mike Schreck, 54-9-24.
World Middleweight champion Harry “Pittsburgh Windmill” Greb, 108-8-3 with 49 knockouts, certainly was one with one eye. Former boxer and trainer Joe Shannon out of Philadelphia was with him when his glass eye came out in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the boardwalk where Shannon was a billboard painter. Greb died due to complications following eye surgery in Atlantic City.
Boxrec mentions two records. The above-mentioned record 108-8-3 and 262-17-18 1nd are mentioned. Greb won the world middleweight title in August of 1923, defeating Johnny Wilson, 55-21-8, at the Polo Grounds in New York.
Previously Greb had wins over Gene “The Fighting Marine” Tunney, 47-0-2, for the American Light Heavyweight title, after losing three times to him and having a draw for the American Light Heavyweight title in May of 1922 He defeated Tommy Gibbons, 52-0-3, and at 78-1-3. He defeated Mickey Walker 70-12-2, Light Heavy champ Tommy “Phantom of Philly” Loughran 90-25-10 (3 times), Jimmy Slattery 48-1, and Kid Norfolk 87-20-6.
The third boxer who was blind in his right eye since before starting boxing was Joseph “Gypsy” Joe Harris from Philadelphia. He was “bag snatching” during Halloween when he was hit with a brick.
After a short amateur career, Harris turned professional at the famed 23rd PAL in North Philadelphia under the instruction of Duke Dugent, who was a policeman that ran the PAL.
After it was discovered in 1968 during a physical examination that Harris had a fight scheduled, his license was revoked. I met with Dugent, and we tried to convince the commissioner he’s fought his whole career with one eye. It didn’t matter to him.
When Harris fought southpaw Bobby Cassidy, 27-6-2, at the Philadelphia Arena in October of 1967, Cassidy, a southpaw, held the left shoulder of Harris with his right glove and could not hit him. That is the kind of defensive boxer Harris was.
The most success for Harris was in March of 1967 when he went to Madison Square Garden, and in a non-title fight with welterweight champion Curtis Cokes, 45-8-3, he won by scores of 7-2, 7-3, and 4-3.
Harris came in at 151 to 149 for Cokes. He was to get a title fight in Dallas, Texas, where Cokes fought out of. Upon his arrival, there was no ring set up and no Cokes to be found. The commission should have vacated his title but didn’t. Harris then would move up to super welterweight and middleweight.
In his next fight after Cokes, he defeated came in at 160 for Teddy Wright, 46-15-10, winning a decision. In August of 19687, he defeated Miguel Barreto, 15-1, by a point on two of the cards. Then he defeated Cassidy before a rematch, with Barreto winning a split decision.
In February of 1968, in his next fight, he defeated Dick DiVeronica, 39-8. Six months later, it what would be his next big fight, he was scheduled to fight former world champion Emile Griffith, 55-9. Dugent told me “Gypsy” was in Atlantic City and broke training and got married. When he arrived back in Philadelphia, he had trained in weeks, and Dugent had a week to prepare him.
At the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Harris, in what would be his last fight, lost a decision to Griffith. He had memorized the eye charts while joking with the physicians up to this time. It was discovered in his next to be fight, he had one blind eye. He was scheduled to meet Emmanuel Gonzalez, 60-34-6.
Dugent once told me, “I heard a loud roar while in the office from the ring, and there was Gypsy and “Bad” Bennie Briscoe going to war sparring. He jumped in the ring and told them “never again!”