1980-аад оны үед рингэнд үзэгчдийг байлдан дагуулж байсан дунд жингийн боксчин Фрэнк Флетчер 72 насандаа таалал төгссөн харамсалтай мэдээ гарлаа.
“Амьтан” хочит Фрэнк Флетчер нь 1976 оны аравдугаар сараас мэргэжлийн рингэнд гарч, 18-6-1 (12 нокаут) гэсэн амжилттайгаар зодог тайлсан юм. Тэрээр 1981 оны зургадугаар сараас 1983 оны хоёрдугаар сар хүртэл IBF-ийн USBA дунд жингийн аваргын бүсийг эзэмшиж, дөрвөн удаа амжилттай хамгаалж байв.
Түүний карьерын оргил үед Марвелус Марвин Хаглер болон дэлхийн аваргын бүсний төлөө тулалдах боломж хоёр ч удаа гарч байсан ч Вилфорд Скипион болон Хуан Доминго Ролдан нарт ялагдсанаар энэ зорилгодоо хүрч чадаагүй юм. Тэрээр Жон Мугаби, Уильям Ли, Эрние Синглетари, Жеймс Грин болон Клинт Жексон зэрэг алдартай боксчидтой хүч үзэж, үзэгчдийн талархлыг хүлээсэн ширүүн тулаануудыг хийж байв.
Спорт карьераа өндөрлүүлсний дараа Флетчер хуулийн асуудалд орооцолдож, 1995 онд хоригдох ял авсан бөгөөд нийт 22 жил шоронд хоригдсон байна. 2017 онд суллагдсаныхаа дараа тэрээр тайван амьдарч байгаад ийнхүү хорвоог орхижээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
The sad news broke earlier this week that Philadelphia middleweight Frank “The Animal” Fletcher passed away at the age of 72.
An incredibly exciting fighter who became must-watch TV in the 1980s, with plenty of his fights airing on ESPN, ABC, and CBS, the southpaw slugger was twice in line for a shot at Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s world title. Losses to Wilford Scypion (L Pts in February of 1983) and Juan Domingo Roldan (KO by6 in November of 1983) saw “The Animal” lose his big chance.
Nevertheless, the former prison inmate who, like so many other great fighters, learned how to box whilst incarcerated, took on and defeated some big names. And to repeat, Fletcher was an absolute dynamite, all-action fan-favorite. Wars with William “Caveman” Lee, Ernie Singletary, James “Hard Rock” Green, and Clint Jackson remain very special to those fans who saw them at the time. Indeed, you MUST check out the Fletcher Vs. Jackson fight, via YouTube; this pure slugfest really is one of the greatest “forgotten” fights of the ’80s.
Fletcher held the IBF USBA middleweight title from June of 1981 to February of 1983, and he successfully defended it four times. Who knows how Fletcher would have fared had he fought Hagler? Another big name Fletcher faced was John Mugabi, who stopped him in four rounds in what was to be Fletcher’s penultimate fight. This loss came in August 1984, and in February of the following year, Curtis Parker topped Fletcher in two rounds.
A pro since October of 1976, Fletcher called it quits after the loss to Parker, with an 18-6-1(12) record. Unfortunately, Frank couldn’t keep himself out of trouble with the law after retiring from the ring, with him being arrested for assault once again. The man who had spent many of his formative years in either prison or, before that, reform school, with the future pro fighter reportedly arrested some 27 times from the age of eight to 21, was, in 1995, back behind bars. Frank would serve another 22 years. “I had so many problems in my life,” Fletcher once said. “I had often thought that the only peace I would get was in a graveyard. Jail was my second home.”
Now, after having lived a quiet and contented life since being released from prison in 2017, Frank has passed away. Those who knew this truly thrilling, lay it all on the line ring warrior are currently putting out tributes on various boxing websites.
Frank Fletcher was never a world champion, or even a world title challenger, but he sure was one heck of a magnificent blood-and-guts warrior of the highest order. A fight fan could spend a full day watching Fletcher’s incredible fights.
