"BOXING ILLUSTRATED" Review Feb. and March 1968

"BOXING ILLUSTRATED" Review March 1968:  by brian zelley

The key part of this issue of the magazine was an annual
review of boxing in 1967 and Carlos Ortiz  was selected as
Fighter Of The Year.  There was also a section on British
boxing with an article by Reg Gutteridge titled:
"Mickey Duff - The Pure Pro"


In stories about former boxers, there was an excellent one
by Desiree Harris Steiner titled:
"FREDDY MILLER - GLOBE TROTTING CHAMPION"
-  about former featherweight champion Freddy Miller  who was
described as one of the most active boxers in ring history with
237 bouts and only 26 losses. Freddy won a portion of the title
with a victory over Tommy Paul in 1933.  His recorded first
pro fight took place in 1937 with a victory over Chester Drown.


In articles about active boxers, one was on the popular boxer
Raul Rojas in an article by Jeff Walton titled:
"Rojas Outpoints Herrera  To Win Another Crown"


In the British Review of 1967 a number of boxers received
a mention with the first mentioned being heavyweight
Henry Cooper.  But, others were not left out with 
mention  and photos of Jimmy Revie, Brian Hudson, 
Brian McCaffrey  and Johnny Cooke.   Also, there was
the monthly listing of Commonwealth champions and
contenders.,  In the bantamweight listing Walter McGowan
was the champion as at December 20, 1967 with the top
five contenders being:  Alan Rudkin, Lionel Rose, 
Evan Armstrong, Brian Packer  and Sean McCafferty.
Canadian boxers in the rankings from heavyweight to 
flyweight were: George Chuvalo, Ed Talhami, Jimmy Meullier, 
Dave Downey, Joey Durelle, Billy McGrandle, Les Gillis, 
 and Jackie Burke. 


BI,  February 1968:
For Pacific Northwest fight folks and fans, one of the
important articles was about Eddie Cotton in an
article by Jack D. Hopkins titled:
"THE OLD WARRIOR HANGS 'EM UP"
(Eddie Cotton calls it a career at forty-one)
Eddie had fought both Harold Johnson  and
Jose Torres  for the light-heavyweight title.

Also, covered was that heavyweight tournament that
saw Jimmy Ellies move into the final following hes
victory over Oscar Bonavena.  Ellis would face the 
winner of the Jerry Quarry vs Thad Spencer fight,.

For Canadian, it was a welcome sight to see a story
about  Billy McGrandle in an article by Lew Eskin.
According to Lew, he was expected to go to Las Vegas
to cover the Dick Tiger vs Roger Rouse title fight, but
when Edmonton promoter Mitch Klimove asked him to
referee the Canadian featherweight title fight between
Billy McGrandle and Jackie Burke, Eskin did and 
he had many positive things to say about Billy.

AMATEUR BOXING - England
In the March 1968 issue of Boxing Illustrated there was
a group photo of  London's "Brixton amateur club" with
their instructor Tiny Ryan.