Pete Rademacher's died (at 91).
I see he had one of the worst starts to a pro career, getting knocked out by Floyd Patterson and then Zora Folley. That's enough to discourage most anyone.
The Gold Medal Heavyweight Olympian didn't turn pro till he was nearly 30. Is that what the problem was?
Seems poor management to send an Olympic champ instantly up against Floyd Patterson. After the second loss, to Folley, Pete ran up a streak of 6 no-name opponent victories, and got to fight another name fighter: Brian London. And he was knocked out again.
He did come back to defeat George Chuvalo by decision in 1960. He was 32. Still too old? He again won fights against nobody special, and would lose to the next two name fighters he faced: Archie Moore and Karl Mildenberger. He retired at age 34 with a UD against Bob Olson.
Pete's a well-known name for winning Gold, but as a pro, he had a tough time.
I see he had one of the worst starts to a pro career, getting knocked out by Floyd Patterson and then Zora Folley. That's enough to discourage most anyone.
The Gold Medal Heavyweight Olympian didn't turn pro till he was nearly 30. Is that what the problem was?
Seems poor management to send an Olympic champ instantly up against Floyd Patterson. After the second loss, to Folley, Pete ran up a streak of 6 no-name opponent victories, and got to fight another name fighter: Brian London. And he was knocked out again.
He did come back to defeat George Chuvalo by decision in 1960. He was 32. Still too old? He again won fights against nobody special, and would lose to the next two name fighters he faced: Archie Moore and Karl Mildenberger. He retired at age 34 with a UD against Bob Olson.
Pete's a well-known name for winning Gold, but as a pro, he had a tough time.
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