Duane Bobick

Duane Bobick at the 1972 Olympics
Statistics
Rated at	94 kg (207 lb)
Height	190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Reach	208 cm (82 in)
Born	(1950-08-24) August 24, 1950 Little Falls, Minnesota, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	52
Wins	48
Wins by KO	42
Losses	4
Draws	0
Medal record Representing the  United States Pan American Games 1971 Cali +81 kg

Duane Bobick (born August 24, 1950) is a retired boxer from the United States. As an amateur he won the gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games and fought at the 1972 Olympics. He then turned professional and retired in 1979 with a record of 48 wins (42 by knockout) and four losses, all by knockout.

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 was a devastating first round KO loss at the hands of future heavyweight contender Ron Lyle. Bobick was unconscious in the ring for over five minutes after the knockout.^[1]

While being an amateur Bobick served 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.^[2] 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.^[3] By that time he had a record of 93 wins (60 by KO) and 10 losses.^[4]

Amateur highlights

• 1971 Pan-American Games Heavyweight champion
• 1971 National AAU 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.^[5]

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,"^[3] 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.^[5]

The Norton fight

Haiving 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. Duane 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 had apparently advised Bobick not to take the fight.^[6]

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.^[5]

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.^[5]

He was then looking to return to top-level contention in 1979 securing a nationally televised bout with future beltholder 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 in 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)[5]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	12-1-1	George Chaplin	RTD	6	1979-07-03	Resorts Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Bobick retired at 3:00 of the sixth round.
Loss	17-0	"Big" John Tate	KO	1	1979-02-17	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States	Bobick knocked out at 2:25 of the first round.
Win	4-1	Henry "Bulldog" Patterson	KO	2	1978-12-23	Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States
Win	2-5	Tom Nickson	TKO	3	1978-12-05	Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Win	7-2	Terry Mims	TKO	7	1978-11-30	Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:06 of the seventh round.
Win	19-8-1	Tom Prater	TKO	5	1978-10-31	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Win	15-10-3	John "Speedy" Jordan	KO	1	1978-10-09	Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia, United States
Win	17-9-1	Fernando Montes	KO	3	1978-08-30	Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, United States
Win	8-10	Jerry Thompkins	KO	2	1978-08-16	Star Theatre, Nanuet, New York, United States
Win	36-8-1	Mike "The Tank" Schutte	TKO	8	1978-03-20	Good Hope Centre, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Loss	13-2	Kallie Knoetze	KO	3	1978-02-04	Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Win	28-10-1	Pedro Agosto	KO	3	1977-11-30	Newark, New Jersey, United States	Agosto knocked out at 2:03 of the third round.
Win	21-5-1	Scott LeDoux	TKO	8	1977-07-28	Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the eighth round.
Loss	37-4	Ken Norton	TKO	1	1977-05-11	Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:58 of the first round.
Win	12-0	Fred Houpe	UD	10	1976-10-30	The Aladdin, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	47-45, 47-45, 46-44.
Win	33-10-2	Chuck Wepner	TKO	6	1976-10-02	Utica College Sports Complex, Utica, New York, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:12 of the sixth round.
Win	44-7-1	Bunny Johnson	TKO	8	1976-05-24	Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
Win	18-1-1	Scott LeDoux	UD	10	1976-04-22	Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, United States	100-92, 99-91, 100-92.
Win	22-6-2	Larry Middleton	UD	10	1976-02-06	Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States
Win	31-5	Randy Neumann	TKO	4	1975-12-12	Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:17 of the fourth round.
Win	22-26-5	George "Scrap Iron" Johnson	RTD	4	1975-11-13	Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, United States
Win	11-3	Rochelle "The Roach" Norris	KO	2	1975-10-21	Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Norris knocked out at 2:59 of the second round.
Win	34-8-2	"Irish" Pat Duncan	KO	8	1975-08-26	Largo Capitol Centre, Largo, Maryland, United States
Win	12-10	Oliver "Twist" Wright	KO	3	1975-06-25	Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, United States
Win	3-2-1	Ernie Lassiter	TKO	2	1975-05-31	Waterbury Armory, Waterbury, Connecticut, United States
Win	12-8-1	Reinaldo Raul Gorosito	UD	10	1975-04-23	Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, United States
Win	19-19-2	Roy "Cookie" Wallace	KO	2	1975-04-04	Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, United States	Wallace knocked out at 1:25 of the second round.
Win	17-30-3	Harold "70's Version" Carter	TKO	2	1974-08-10	Fairmont, West Virginia, United States
Win	6-5	Mike "Hercules" Weaver	TKO	7	1974-07-26	San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California, United States
Win	7-2	Donnie "Admiral" Nelson	TKO	1	1974-07-16	Denver, Colorado, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the first round.
Win	2-4	Art "of Boxing" Robinson	KO	3	1974-06-22	Little Falls, Minnesota, United States
Win	18-41-5	Lou Bailey	UD	10	1974-04-22	Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Win	23-19-3	Billy "The Barber" Daniels	UD	10	1974-04-06	Huntington, West Virginia, United States
Win	15-6-1	Ted Gullick	TKO	2	1974-03-20	Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:31 of the second round.
Win	19-8-1	Jimmy "Old Rugged" Cross	KO	3	1974-02-19	Oklahoma City, United States
Win	10-4-4	Jimmy "Slim" Summerville	TKO	2	1974-02-05	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	11-7-1	Orville Qualls	KO	2	1974-01-25	San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California, United States
Win	10-15-2	Rico Brooks	KO	2	1973-12-06	Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska, United States	Brooks knocked out at 2:19 of the second round.
Win	15-18-6	John "Big John" Hudgins	TKO	2	1973-11-24	Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia, United States
Win	11-13-2	Roger "The Dodger" Russell	KO	5	1973-10-30	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	3-10-2	Orvin Veazey	KO	2	1973-10-16	Columbia Music Hall, West Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	--	Ron Draper	KO	4	1973-09-25	Kansas City, Missouri, United States	Draper knocked out at 1:46 of the fourth round.
Win	24-23-3	Manuel "Pulgarcito" Ramos	TKO	7	1973-09-15	Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Win	8-3-2	GG Maldonado	KO	2	1973-08-22	Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Win	15-28-2	Leslie Borden	TKO	3	1973-08-15	Denver, Colorado, United States
Win	1-14	Ned Edwards	KO	3	1973-08-08	Binghamton Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Binghamton, New York, United States
Win	3-2	Sylvester Murphy	KO	1	1973-07-06	Bristol International Raceway, Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Win	13-4	Doug Kirk	TKO	2	1973-06-15	Saint Cloud, Minnesota, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:16 of the second round.
Win	10-8	Clyde "Sandman" Brown	TKO	2	1973-05-31	Frankfort, Kentucky, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:45 of the second round.
Win	--	"Slim" Jim Williams	KO	5	1973-05-12	Denver Coliseum, Denver, Colorado, United States
Win	--	"Slick" Willie Anderson	TKO	3	1973-04-21	Capitol Plaza, Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Win	9-8	Tommy "Side" Burns	KO	1	1973-04-10	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States	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 that he went into coaching and public speaking, using his celebrity to possibly encourage and help others. In November 2006, Bobick was elected as a city councilman.^[3]

• To be honored June 19, 2014 with his induction into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in Troy, Michigan.

Personal life

Bobick's younger brother Rodney Bobick was also a heavyweight boxer of note, though less successful, and died in a single car crash in 1977.^[2]

Bobick suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. 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."^[7]

References

External links

• Amateur record
• Pro record
• Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee