Philly Boxing History

JANUARY 20, 1964

HAYWARD WINS BATTLE OF LOCAL WELTERS -  EDGES TURNER AT ARENA

Stanley 'Kitten' Hayward pulled out a close 10-round spilt decision against Dick Turner at the Philadelphia Arena on this day in 1964.

The bout, fittingly billed as "Philadelphia's Fistic Natural" by promoter Herman Taylor, had the makings of exactly that. It pitted two rising stars of the welterweight division with strikingly similar credentials. Hayward entered the ring with a record of 17-2-1 (8 KO), and was coming off his KO of Percy Manning. Turner, 19-1-1 (11 KO), was fighting for the first time since his only loss - a 10-round decision to Jose Stable at the Garden.  Turner had a KO of his own over Percy Manning, while Hayward's record showed a 10-round blemish against Stable. Both fighters had scored decision wins over Gaylord Barnes, Hayward in six and Turner in eight. So only their bouts with Willie Davis produced different results. While Hayward was held to draw, Turner managed a sixth round TKO. Clearly this fight was a toss up going in. 

The fight itself was a squeaker and the result was disputed by some. But Kitten came away with the biggest win of his career, up to that point. He would continue to have a great run, beating Curtis Cokes, Vince Shomo, Tito Marshall & Bennie Briscoe over the next two years, bringing him to the brink of a title shot. 

After this fight, doctors discovered that Dick Turner had suffered a detached retina during the battle. To Turner's credit, he decided to step away from the game, showing grace and common sense - two qualities often lacking in boxing. But what a rematch it would have been! 

  1944 - Eddie Giosa W8 Rudy Garcia at The Olympia in Philadelphia

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