Leotis Martin - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Leotis Martin was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

, the first ever NABF heavyweight champion and best known for his victory over former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston

Sonny Liston

Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was a professional boxer and ex-convict known for his toughness, punching power, and intimidating appearance who became world heavyweight champion in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round...

. Martin was a good puncher and a fairly skilled heavyweight who fought from 1962 to 1969. He compiled a record of 31 wins (19 KOs) and 5 losses and in 2003 was named to the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. His career, however, was marked by inconsistency and bad luck.

Amateur career

Martin was the 1960 Chicago and Intercity Golden Gloves

Golden Gloves

The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...

160 lb champion and the 1961 160 lb Intercity Golden Gloves

Intercity Golden Gloves

This amateur boxing tournament is considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the three most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Chicago Golden Gloves and the New York Golden Gloves....

Champion (alternate). He also was the United States National AAU

Amateur Athletic Union

The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...

165-lb. champion in 1960 and 1961.

Professional career

From February 1964, where Martin fought on the Liston-Clay world heavyweight championship fight undercard, to June 1967, Martin fought 15 times without suffering a defeat. This winning streak qualified him for the WBA heavyweight elimination championship series, after that group had stripped Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

of its world heavyweight crown when he refused induction into the United States Army. But even this win streak was laced with hard luck, On May 10, 1965, he faced Sonny Banks

Sonny Banks

Sonny Banks , born Lucien Banks,was an American boxer best known for being the first fighter to drop a young Muhammad Ali . At the time Banks was a rising prospect and known for a fast sharp left hook....

, then one of only two fighters to have knocked Muhammad Ali down for a count. Martin scored a nine round knockout over Banks. Martin's jubilation was short lived. Banks never recovered from the blows he received during the fight and died from his injuries.

Although Martin was selected for the WBA title elinination tournament, he was matched, in his very first fight, against the ultimate tournament winner Jimmy Ellis

Jimmy Ellis

James Albert "Jimmy" Ellis is a retired boxer from Louisville, Kentucky. He fought in what some consider to be the greatest heavyweight era of all-time, which included Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Jerry Quarry, Floyd Patterson, Oscar Bonavena, Earnie Shavers and George Chuvalo among...

. The two fought in the Houston Astrodome on August 5, 1967. Ellis, as was his style at the time, came out sharp, trying to score an early knockout with his sneak fast and dangerous right hand. Although unable to knock Martin out, Ellis inflicted a nasty cut inside of Leotis' mouth which ultimately caused the fight to be stopped in the ninth round. Scoring was around evens at that point. Many had predicted Martin might win the elmination series. Martin had compagned for a contest with fellow Philidephian Joe Frazier

Joe Frazier

Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....

, but it never happened. Mainly due to his loss to Bonavena who got the match instead.

Martin rebounded from the Ellis defeat by travelling to Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

to knock out German and European heavyweight champion Karl Mildenberger

Karl Mildenberger

Karl Mildenberger is a retired German heavyweight boxer. He was the European Heavyweight Champion from 1964 to 1968...

in 7 rounds. Martin appeared to be back in contention for a title shot when he dropped a decision to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

heavyweight Henry Clark

Henry Clark

Henry Clark may refer to:*Henry Alden Clark , U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania*Henry Maitland Clark , Northern Irish colonial administrator and politician*Henry Selby Clark , U.S. Representative from North Carolina...

(record 14-3-2). He then came back from that defeat to upset and knockout Thad Spencer

Thad Spencer

Thad Spencer is a retired American heavyweight boxer.A native of Portland, Oregon, Spencer made his professional boxing debut in May 1960...

in 9 rounds. His title quest, however, again was derailed when Martin travelled to Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

to meet Oscar Bonavena

Oscar Bonavena

Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena was a heavyweight professional boxer with a career record of 58 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw. A rugged, wild-swinging puncher, he was nicknamed "Ringo" because of his Beatles haircut, and enjoyed professional success in both Argentina and the United States...

in his home town of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, where he lost by decision. Bonavena went on to fight Frazier for the world title.

After the Bonavena loss, Martin put together a four fight win streak, including two wins over Detroit hometown favorite Al "Blue" Lewis. These fine efforts landed him a match with veteran former champion Sonny Liston

Sonny Liston

on December 6, 1969. Liston had resumed boxing after his two stunning losses to Muhammad Ali, and had run off a winning streak of 14 fights with 13 knockouts. Although slowed by age, Liston was still a feared heavyweight.

Martin, who formerly had been Liston's sparring partner, devised a good fight plan. Rather than attempting to slug with the bigger and heavier Liston, Martin stayed away from him, boxing and waiting for the older man to tire. Despite a close call in the fourth round when Liston caught him with a booming left hook that knocked Martin down, the plan worked to perfection. With every passing round Martin seemed to get stronger while Liston weakened. Finally, in the ninth round, Martin hit Liston with a beautiful, powerful combination that knocked the former champion out cold. Fate, however, double crossed Martin once again. He had suffered a detached retina during the fight, and was forced to retire before he could capitalize on the biggest win of his career.

After boxing

For the next 26 years Martin lived a quiet life in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia. Early in 1995 he retired from Budd & Co. after 31 years as a machinist. In November that year Martin had a stroke brought on by hypertension and complications from diabetes, and died en route to a local hospital. Aged only 56.

Sadly very little coverage was given Martin in the boxing media at the time of his death, despite his famous victory over Liston.