Boxing Profile: Jerry Quarry

It is not often that I write about a fighter from the past who never wore a world title. Actually, it is not often anyone does but in this case, I feel it is justified. Why? Well anyone who ever saw Jerry Quarry in his prime would know exactly what I meant by that statement.

Jerry fought in an era of greatness. From the mid 1960’s through the latter part of the 1970’s, heavyweight boxing was at it’s peak. It was a time when every fighter, champion or contender, was worthy of praise. A time when fighters were worth every cent they were paid. It may have been the greatest era, not only for the heavyweight division, but boxing as a whole.

If you were a fight fan, you never had a night where you could complain about the quality of a bout. It was a time when win, lose or draw, every man who put on the gloves performed like a champion.

For those out there who may have been too young or perhaps have forgotten what type of competition was out there at the time, here is a look back at the active list. From 1965-1978, you could see guys like Floyd Patterson, George Chuvalo, Oscar Bonavena, George Foreman, Henry Cooper, Jimmy Ellis, Jimmy Young, Joe Frazier, Chuck Wepner, Ernie Terrell, Cleveland Williams, Zora Folley, Buster Mathis, Ken Norton, Bob Foster, Ernie Shavers, Joe Bugner, Muhammad Ali and Ron Lyle.

Each and every one of those men, a titlist or not, gave champion-like performances, win or lose, every night. Those who were not skilled scientifically were just outright tough!

During that time, one of the most persistent and often overlooked men was a guy known as “The Bellflower Belter”, “Irish” Jerry Quarry. Jerry stood about six feet tall and averaged 200 pounds, but his heart was that of a guy 10 feet 10 inches and 500 pounds.

During Jerry’s career he faced every opponent willing to fight him, such as Floyd Patterson, Buster Mathis, Joe Frazier, George Chuvalo, Ernie Shavers, Ken Norton and Muhammad Ali. Quarry actually faced Ali twice!

During his career, there was one problem Jerry had that all the training in the world could not help. That problem was cuts. Every time Quarry made it to the big dance,

sure as my dog has fleas, he would split open like a ripe melon in the summer sun. In his fights with Ali, cuts ended his dance with the great one in rounds three and seven.

It also happened in his first fight with Joe Frazier.

But each time, Quarry’s efforts were so admirable that he received ovations from the crowd, something rarely seen for fighters on the losing end. When I think about the determination of Quarry in his losing efforts, it reminds me of why I love this sport.

It reminds me that every now and then a guy comes along who takes what little bit he has and gives it his all, just for the sheer fact that anything less in unacceptable. It reminds me that boxing is the one place that, win or lose, you can show what type of man you are inside by how much you are willing to give of yourself on the outside.

In 1975, Quarry slowed down the pace and fought only five times over the next eight year, going 4-1 and losing only to Ken Norton before retiring. In 1992, for some reason, Jerry made a brief return to the ring and lost a six round unanimous decision to a guy named Ron Cramner, a fighter who, in all reality, was not worthy of being in the same ring as Jerry.

Some say the brief return was due to the fact that he was almost destitute and in desperate need of funds. In 1999, Quarry passed away at 54 years old, suffering from pugilistic dementia, ironically, a fate also suffered by his brother Mike, a former light heavyweight contender who died of the same affliction.

Jerry Quarry gave us his all, not just on occasion but each and every time he performed in the squared circle. Jerry gave the sport many great moments. Those of you who have not had the privilege of ever seeing Quarry in action, I suggest that you get a few of his fights on disc to see exactly what kind of heart he had and see for yourself why he will always be one my all time favorites.

We always talk about the ex-champions of the past. We praise them for their success in the ring. We brag about how they won the title and constantly relive their greatest moments, making them immortal for the rest of time. Jerry Quarry never won a world title and never have I heard his name mentioned in the same sentence as the world’s all time great.

He will never make a pound for pound list or be remembered for his skills as a boxer. But, one thing is certain; what Quarry lacked in skill, he made up for in desire. Such desire that if he had just slightly more skill, it could have made him a champion. Perhaps one of the greatest ever. For that alone, Jerry Quarry deserves his place in history and why I took this time to remember one of boxing’s greatest contenders.