Biography
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Joey Maxim. Such a class fighter not least because he beat Sugar Ray Robinson and ended the career of Freddie Mills. So it's surprising to note that he had 29 losses out of 115 fights though he was only stopped once. And one wonders why he had to wait until nearly 28 to get a world title shot? And then he had to travel to England and fight before a partisan crowd. When all is said and done, though, what names he defeated...

Joey Maxim

Real name: Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli
Rated at: Light heavyweight
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Reach: 721/2 in (184 cm)
Nationality: American
Born: March 28, 1922, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died: June 2, 2001 (aged 79), West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Stance: Orthodox

Boxing Total fights: 115
Wins: 82
Wins by KO: 21
Losses: 29
Draws: 4
No contests: 0

THE MAXIM GUN:

Joey Maxim, whose real name was Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He learned to fight at an early age and turned professional in 1940 after a successful amateur career culminated in a national Golden Gloves title. During the war years, he boxed at numerous exhibitions while serving as a military policeman at Miami Beach.

Maxim's undoubted class and brooding Italian looks makes his interminable wait for a world title shot somewhat puzzling. He was nearly 28, and a veteran of 87 fights, by the time he challenged Mills for the world championship in London, where, despite being very much the underdog, he wore down the champion with left jabs and right uppercuts before forcing a stoppage in the 10th. The hugely popular English man, who had been making his first title defence, never fought again.

After being outpointed by Ezzard Charles in a bold world heavyweight title challenge on May 30 1951, Maxim successfully defended his 175lb crown by outlasting Robinson as Sugar Ray melted in the searing heat of New York. The Ohio man's victims included formidable opponents such as Jersey Joe Walcott, Jimmy Bivins and the future world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson, yet Charles won all five of their contests, while Moore ("The Old Mongoose") outpointed him three times.

Following his third loss to Moore, Maxim fought on sporadically until 1958, when six successive defeats persuaded him to hang up his gloves. He won 82 of his 115 fights, lost 29 and drew four.

His days in the ring over, Maxim subsequently tried his luck as a cab driver, restaurateur, stand-up comic and film extra, and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1988.

Predeceased by his wife Michelina, he was survived by two daughters.

Source: Guardian

FURTHER READING:

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