Duane Bobick
Bobick at the 1972 Olympics
Born
Duane David Bobick

(1950-08-24) August 24, 1950
Little Falls, Minnesota, U.S.
Statistics
Weight classHeavyweight
Weight(s)94 kg (207 lb)
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Reach208 cm (82 in)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights52
Wins48
Wins by KO42
Losses4
Draws0
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing the  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1971 Cali +81 kg

Duane David Bobick (born August 24, 1950) is an American former boxer. As an amateur, Bobick won the gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games and fought at the 1972 Olympics. He then turned professional in 1973 and retired in 1979 with a record of 48 wins (42 by knockout) and four losses, all by knockout. He scored notable wins over future heavyweight champion Mike Weaver and contenders Chuck Wepner, Scott LeDoux, Randy Neumann and Manuel Ramos. From 1973 to 1977, he compiled a record of 38–0 with 32 knockouts which made him the number 3 contender in the division before he was defeated by number 1 contender Ken Norton.[1][2]

Amateur career

Bobick was part of a boxing family and grew up with the sport in the 1960s. A good puncher who developed well early by virtue of countless hours in the gym and ring, Bobick had an outstanding amateur career that included a win over Teófilo Stevenson at the 1971 Pan American Games. Bobick added another future champion to his list when he beat Larry Holmes to be named to the 1972 U.S. Olympic boxing team. But lurking on Bobick's amateur record were two devastating second-round one-punch knockout losses at the hands of future heavyweight contender Ron Lyle. The first time, Lyle dispatched of him at the national AAU quarterfinals. The second time, fighting for a spot on the national team, Bobick was dropped with a straight right at 30 seconds of the second round, and was unconscious in the ring for over five minutes.[3][4]

While being an amateur Bobick served as a quartermaster in the U.S. Navy. He was a three-time Navy Heavyweight Champion, two-time All-Service Heavyweight Champion and two-time International Military champion.[5] He was touted as a rising star at this early stage, and may have been overconfident as he met Stevenson again at the 1972 Olympics. The fight was even after two rounds with Stevenson getting the edge in round one and Bobick rallying in round two. In the third round, Bobick fell victim to a nemesis that would bedevil him for the rest of his boxing career, the overhand right. Stunned, floored and eventually defenseless, Bobick was pounded by the Cuban champion until the bout was stopped; this was Bobick's last bout as an amateur.[6] By that time he had a record of 93 wins (60 by KO) and 10 losses.[7]

Highlights

1st place, gold medalist(s) All-Navy Championships, Mare Island, California, April 1971:

  • Finals: Defeated Rick Harris KO 2 (1:50)

1st place, gold medalist(s) Inter-service Championships, Mare Island, California, April 1971:

  • 1/2: Defeated Kenneth Hassan KO 1
  • Finals: Defeated Louis Slaughter by decision

1st place, gold medalist(s) National Championships, New Orleans, Louisiana, April–May 1971:

  • 1/16: Defeated William Anderson KO 2 (2:02)
  • 1/8: Defeated Michael Weaver KO 1
  • 1/4: Defeated Don Nelson KO 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Fred Houpe KO 2
  • Finals: Defeated Ronald Draper by decision

1971 Pan-American Games Heavyweight champion

    1972 National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion

    Pro career

    Bobick trained hard to start his pro career, which did not begin until the spring of 1973. He trained with and was managed by heavyweight legend Joe Frazier. Bobick's first match was against Tommy Burns. He sent Burns to the canvas four times on his way to a first-round KO. Bobick had 14 other fights in 1973, winning them all by KO, including a win over former contender Manuel Ramos. Bobick won his first 19 fights by knockout.[8]

    He had 10 more fights in 1974, winning them all again, eight by KO. Knockout wins that year included Ted Gullick and future champion Mike Weaver. He also decisioned veteran boxer Billy Daniels. With a 25–0 record and 23 KOs he was then rated as the sport's new "White Hope",[6] taking that label from then-declining Jerry Quarry. Frazier himself was approaching retirement and focusing on upcoming paydays with protégé Bobick.

    Bobick gained top-10 ranking in 1975 with eight more fights and wins, all again by KO. He was now being dodged by some, but a win over Randy Neumann proved he could not be ignored. He had a tentative contract with Muhammad Ali in 1976, but the fight never materialized. Instead he met and defeated lower ranked contender Larry Middleton, fellow Minnesotan Scott LeDoux, Bunny Johnson and veteran Chuck Wepner among his five 1976 fights, all wins with two KOs.[8]

    The Norton fight

    Having a 38–0 record with 32 KOs he fought the future champion Ken Norton in a prime time network television bout in May 1977. Both fighters appeared tight and cautious from the opening bell. Norton suddenly connected with an unexpected overhand right flush onto Bobick's chin. He staggered wildly unable to clinch and avoid Norton's furious assault.

    Norton trapped Bobick in a corner landing several roundhouse rights. One of the punches that connected was a right uppercut that caught Bobick in the throat. Staggered, blind from his tearing eyes as a result of the throat punch and walloped by another huge right hand, Bobick went to the canvas face first. He rose as the count reached ten. Bobick swayed on unsteady legs and the bout was stopped. The fight officially lasted just 58 seconds, but the actual length of the contest was about 70 seconds. Trainer Joe Frazier, who had previously sparred with Norton, apparently had advised Bobick not to take the fight.

    Comeback

    Despite the embarrassing defeat, Bobick was back in the ring two months later, winning a rematch with Scott LeDoux. He finished the year 1977 at 40–1 with 34 KOs.[8]

    In 1978, he was upset in the third round by South African Kallie Knoetze for his second KO loss, again falling victim to an overhand right. Cut over his right eye and floored, Bobick rose at the count of 8 but the fight was stopped. He fought eight more times against second-tier fighters in 1978, winning all by KO.[8]

    He was then looking to return to top-level contention in 1979 securing a nationally televised bout with future belt-holder and Stevenson's 1976 Olympic KO victim John Tate. Bobick talked openly pre-bout of his new commitment to training and conditioning, citing reduced body fat statistics as proof of his seriousness to return to the top of the heavyweight ranks. Hurt early in the first round by an overhand right as in the Norton fight, Bobick couldn't clinch to clear his head and continued to move forward absorbing terrible punishment. A knockdown followed by a dozen overhand rights from Tate forced the referee to stop the bout a little over two minutes into the first round. A TKO loss (stopped due to deep cuts on both eyelids) to prospect George Chaplin later that year led to his retirement at age 28.

    Professional boxing record

    48 Wins (42 knockouts, 6 decisions), 4 Losses (4 knockouts, 0 decisions)[8]
    Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
    Loss 48-4 United States George Chaplin RTD 6 1979-07-03 New Jersey Resorts Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Bobick retired at 3:00 of the sixth round.
    Loss 48-3 United States John Tate KO 1 1979-02-17 Indiana Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Bobick knocked out at 2:25 of the first round.
    Win 48-2 United States Henry Patterson KO 2 1978-12-23 South Carolina Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.
    Win 47-2 United States Tom Nickson TKO 3 1978-12-05 Florida Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
    Win 46-2 United States Terry Mims TKO 7 1978-11-30 Indiana Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:06 of the seventh round.
    Win 45-2 United States Tom Prater TKO 5 1978-10-31 Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
    Win 44-2 United States John Jordan KO 1 1978-10-09 Virginia Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia, U.S.
    Win 43-2 Mexico Fernando Montes KO 3 1978-08-30 Minnesota Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
    Win 42-2 United States Jerry Thompkins KO 2 1978-08-16 New York (state) Star Theatre, Nanuet, New York, U.S.
    Win 41-2 South Africa Mike Schutte TKO 8 1978-03-20 South Africa Good Hope Centre, Cape Town, South Africa
    Loss 40-2 South Africa Kallie Knoetze KO 3 1978-02-04 South Africa Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
    Win 40-1 Puerto Rico Pedro Agosto KO 3 1977-11-30 New Jersey Newark, New Jersey, U.S. Agosto knocked out at 2:03 of the third round.
    Win 39-1 United States Scott LeDoux TKO 8 1977-07-28 Minnesota Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the eighth round.
    Loss 38-1 United States Ken Norton TKO 1 1977-05-11 New York (state) Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:58 of the first round.
    Win 38-0 United States Fred Houpe UD 10 1976-10-30 Nevada The Aladdin, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
    Win 37-0 United States Chuck Wepner TKO 6 1976-10-02 New York (state) Utica College Sports Complex, Utica, New York, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:12 of the sixth round.
    Win 36-0 Jamaica Bunny Johnson TKO 8 1976-05-24 West Germany Olympiahalle, Munich, West Germany
    Win 35-0 United States Scott LeDoux UD 10 1976-04-22 Minnesota Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
    Win 34-0 United States Larry Middleton UD 10 1976-02-06 New York (state) Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
    Win 33-0 United States Randy Neumann TKO 4 1975-12-12 New York (state) Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:17 of the fourth round.
    Win 32-0 United States George Johnson RTD 4 1975-11-13 Minnesota Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
    Win 31-0 United States Rochelle Norris KO 2 1975-10-21 Pennsylvania Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Norris knocked out at 2:59 of the second round.
    Win 30-0 United States Pat Duncan KO 8 1975-08-26 Maryland Largo Capitol Centre, Largo, Maryland, U.S.
    Win 29-0 Jamaica Oliver Wright KO 3 1975-06-25 Minnesota Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
    Win 28-0 United States Ernie Lassiter TKO 2 1975-05-31 Connecticut Waterbury Armory, Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S.
    Win 27-0 Argentina Reinaldo Raul Gorosito UD 10 1975-04-23 Minnesota Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
    Win 26-0 United States Roy Wallace KO 2 1975-04-04 New York (state) Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, U.S. Wallace knocked out at 1:25 of the second round.
    Win 25-0 United States Harold Carter TKO 2 1974-08-10 West Virginia Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S.
    Win 24-0 United States Mike Weaver TKO 7 1974-07-26 California San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California, U.S.
    Win 23-0 United States Donnie Nelson TKO 1 1974-07-16 Colorado Denver, Colorado, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the first round.
    Win 22-0 United States Art Robinson KO 3 1974-06-22 Minnesota Little Falls, Minnesota, U.S.
    Win 21-0 United States Lou Bailey UD 10 1974-04-22 Virginia Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
    Win 20-0 United States Billy Daniels UD 10 1974-04-06 West Virginia Huntington, West Virginia, U.S.
    Win 19-0 United States Ted Gullick TKO 2 1974-03-20 Pennsylvania Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:31 of the second round.
    Win 18-0 United States Jimmy Cross KO 3 1974-02-19 Oklahoma Oklahoma City, U.S.
    Win 17-0 United States Jimmy Summerville TKO 2 1974-02-05 Florida Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
    Win 16-0 United States Orville Qualls KO 2 1974-01-25 California San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California, U.S.
    Win 15-0 United States Rico Brooks KO 2 1973-12-06 Nebraska Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. Brooks knocked out at 2:19 of the second round.
    Win 14-0 United States John Hudgins TKO 2 1973-11-24 Virginia Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.
    Win 13-0 United States Roger Russell KO 5 1973-10-30 Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
    Win 12-0 United States Orvin Veazey KO 2 1973-10-16 Connecticut Columbia Music Hall, West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
    Win 11-0 United States Ron Draper KO 4 1973-09-25 Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. Draper knocked out at 1:46 of the fourth round.
    Win 10-0 Mexico Manuel Ramos TKO 7 1973-09-15 Virginia Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
    Win 9-0 United States GG Maldonado KO 2 1973-08-22 Minnesota Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
    Win 8-0 Canada Leslie Borden TKO 3 1973-08-15 Colorado Denver, Colorado, U.S.
    Win 7-0 United States Ned Edwards KO 3 1973-08-08 New York (state) Binghamton Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Binghamton, New York, U.S.
    Win 6-0 United States Sylvester Murphy KO 1 1973-07-06 Tennessee Bristol International Raceway, Bristol, Tennessee, U.S.
    Win 5-0 United States Doug Kirk TKO 2 1973-06-15 Minnesota Saint Cloud, Minnesota, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:16 of the second round.
    Win 4-0 United States Clyde Brown TKO 2 1973-05-31 Kentucky Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:45 of the second round.
    Win 3-0 Jim Williams KO 5 1973-05-12 Colorado Denver Coliseum, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
    Win 2-0 United States Willie Anderson TKO 3 1973-04-21 Kentucky Capitol Plaza, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
    Win 1-0 Canada Tommy Burns KO 1 1973-04-10 Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. Burns knocked out at 2:59 of the first round.

    Life after boxing

    Bobick returned to Minnesota and took heavy industry work before a machine accident nearly killed him in 1997. Both his arms were caught and crushed between huge paper rolls being rotated in a paper mill. He narrowly avoided amputation after a complex surgery to re-attach muscles and tendons and repair skin and bone damage. After this, he went into coaching and public speaking, using his celebrity to try to encourage and help others. In November 2006, Bobick was elected as a city councilman.[6]

    On June 19, 2014, he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in Troy, Michigan.[9]

    Personal life

    Bobick's younger brother Rodney Bobick was also a heavyweight boxer. He died in a single car crash in 1977.[5]

    Bobick suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (also known as dementia pugilistica). Originally diagnosed in 1997 after his arm injury, his progressive decline has been noteworthy in recent years. He was quoted in 2011 by the Morrison County Record saying "I'm not sure I would have gone into boxing back then if I would have known all the effects of head trauma that I know today, but I don’t regret the experience, intense training and discipline I learned from the sport."[10]

    References

    1. ↑ https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine%27s_Annual_Ratings:_Heavyweight--1970s
    2. ↑ https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Ken_Norton_vs._Duane_Bobick
    3. ↑ Ali, Frazier, . . . and Lyle? (Special Report) by Paul Loewenwarter, 60 minutes, March 1971, vol. 3, no. 12.
    4. ↑ Lotierzo, Frank. "Ron Lyle: The Only Fighter To Hurt Foreman In Maybe The Finest Hour For Both". The Sweet Science.
    5. 1 2 Duane Bobick, boxrec.com. Accessed November 6, 2022.
    6. 1 2 3 Duane Bobick Archived July 29, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
    7. ↑ Duane BOBICK. reocities.com
    8. 1 2 3 4 5 Boxing record for Duane Bobick Archived April 30, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. BoxRec.com.
    9. ↑ "Duane Bobick". National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
    10. ↑ Slack, Patrick (February 12, 2012). "Hall of Fame boxer Duane Bobick faces his greatest fight". Morrison County Record. Retrieved June 5, 2016.


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