Jimmy Ellis vs. Tony Doyle ~ March 2, 1971

[Bill Paxtom]

Jimmy Ellis vs. 'Irish' Tony Doyle

Fight Review

It was Jimmy {198 lbs.} who was sleek-and-fast, and he got off to a fast start. Right away he out-jabbed the taller Tony Doyle {207 lbs.}
with quick left-hands to the face. Tony was forced to back up, right from the get-go.

Jimmy easily controlled Rounds 1 and 2, by utilizing his hand-speed. Tony could not match Jimmy in quickness.

In Round 3, Tony was able to get off with some good jabs during the first-half of the Round, and did well as Jimmy stayed outside.
But Jimmy was quick to the task over the least-minute, and scored with a variety of left-right combinations forcing Tony to back
up along the Ropes.

In Round 4, Jimmy went back to speed-boxing and out-jabbed Tony over the first-minute. Tony, unable to match Jimmy in speed,
laid back and loaded-up looking to counter. The opening came at the {1:40 Mark}, as Tony caught Jimmy coming in with a strong
right-hand to the jaw.

Jimmy was hurt, and Tony opened up with a series of combinations to Jimmy's head. Tony then drove Jimmy backwards with
another strong right-hand and Jimmy's legs buckled. Tony continued to fling punches over the next minute. But Jimmy bobbed
and weaved, and was able to clear his head at the {2:40 Mark} and rode out the rest of the Round as Tony slowed down.

In Round 5, Jimmy was cautious over the first-half of the Round. Tony was again looking to counter, and waited. Jimmy started
to work his left-hand at the {2:00 Mark}, and scored with several lefts to Tony's face and head. Tony again was forced to back
away.

In Round 6, Jimmy was the aggressor, and charged forward with a two-fisted attack. More lefts-and-rights to the face had Tony
continually giving ground. Jimmy scored with a 'jarring' left-right to Tony's head late in the Round, forcing to Tony to grab-and-hold
over the last 25-Seconds.

In Round 7, Jimmy took complete command and dominated Tony with a variety of solid punches to the head. At the {1:45 Mark},
Jimmy shook Tony with a hard right-hand, and then followed up with a barrage that sent Tony down at the {1:55 Mark}. Tony took
the 'Mandatory 8-Count', but soon was met with more of the same. Jimmy scored at will with lefts-and-rights to Tony's head.

Jimmy shook Tony again with a hard left-hook at the {2:44 Mark}, and then dropped him with a jolting right-hand to the jaw. Tony got
up at the '8-Count' at the {2:56 Mark} and just barely made it through the end of the Round. Tony walked back to his corner on wobbling legs.

In Round 8, Jimmy surprisingly came out very conservative. He only pecked away with left-jabs, and did not press the action on a hurt
Tony. Tony was able to clear his head by the mid-way point of the Round, and made an effort to score with some long-range left jabs.
Jimmy went to counter-punching over the last minute, and neither fighter did much scoring.

In Round 9, again Jimmy fought conservatively and did little, other than flick out light left-hands with an occasional right-hand lead.
On the other hand, Tony was back to waiting to counter, and did not offer up anything effective in the Round, other than a decent
medium-power 'left-right-left' during the middle of the session.

In Round 10, Jimmy again came out with little aggression, and pawed at Tony with left-hands at Center-Ring. Tony did the same thing,
by sticking out long left-hands with no power on them, using his glove as a paw.

At the {1:40 Mark}, Jimmy stepped it up, and landed a medium-power right-lead and left hook. The punches appeared to shake Tony,
who then backed away. Jimmy then moved forward, and became more aggressive, as he fired off a '3-Punch' combination, and a follow
up hard right-hand. Jimmy continued to press over the next 30-Seconds, while looking for an opening to launch a finisher.

At the {2:20 Mark} Jimmy landed a glancing left-hook to Tony's head which stunned him. Jimmy slowly moved in, and fired off a 'right-left',
and then caught Tony with a hard left-hook to the head that dropped him. Referee - Cy Gottfried counted out Tony Doyle at {2:42} of Round 10.

[Bill Paxtom]

After Bout Analysis

Jimmy Ellis looked good. He was sleek {198 lbs.} and sharp. All those sparring sessions with Muhammad Ali and
Jeff 'Candy Slim' Merrit in late-1970 and early-1971 proved beneficial.

Jimmy dominated the entire fight, except for some 'rocky moments' in Round 4. Jimmy showed that he was back,
as he stopped a 'tough' Tony Doyle, who was a Top 20 challenger. At {Age; 31} Jimmy showed that he still had
a lot left-in-the-tank.

Jimmy Ellis >
"I proved that I'm the next Heavyweight to challenge for the Championship. The winner of the Championship Bout
between Joe Frazier - Muhammad Ali next week should to give me the next opportunity. All I need is one more
'strong fight', and then I'll be ready."

"I expected a bit more from Tony Doyle. I guess he was worried about my right-hand, and didn't want to take any
chances early. I got a little careless in Round 4, and he caught me coming in. I'll admit it, I was hurt bad for a few
moments. But I came back, and dropped him 'twice' in Round 7. I had the fight 'in-the-bag' so I cruised until the
last Round before I opened up on him."
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Tony Doyle lost the bout and a big opportunity. A win here, and 'Irish Tony' would have secured a Title Bout for the
late-Summer of 1971. Tony at {Age; 26 1/2} is still a young man, but too many tough fights {46-Bouts in 8-Years}
have apparently taken there toll.

Tony Doyle >
"I got smeared tonight. Jimmy was too fast for me. I only caught him once, as I had him in big trouble in Round 4,
but I couldn't finish him. He was too smart, and boxed really well tonight. And he punches harder than you think.
Now you can see why nobody wants to fight Jimmy Ellis. He's one tough cookie."

"I won't quit just yet. I'm still ranked in the Top 20. I have to put together a few wins, and then I'll give it one more try."