Jimmy Wilde vs Joe Symonds 1916-02-14

[1899sharkey]

Great clear footage. Wilde is my pick for greatest fly.

[mikezcartlidge1984]

my great grandad Jim Cartlidge fought Joe what i would do for some footage of him fighting!

[Fistiana7]

Great comments on the great Jimmy Wilde. Boxing buffs have never forgotten the greats of yesteryear from the likes of Langford, Ketchel, Wilde himself, Greb, Leonard, Armstrong, Louis, Pep, Robinson all the way to the modern era greats like Ali, Duran, Napoles, Olivares and more recently Chavez, Tyson, Leonard, Jones jr and now Pacquiao.

[joanjohn553]

Joe Symonds 'Hubert Head Toms', was my grandfather. He died before I was born, so never met him. Nice to watch this, though. Joan Toms.

[CousCous102]

Jimmy Wilde lived in my house in 1922!

[RapedByRepublicans]

Hey, when I was 8 dempsey was my favorite of all time (and for many, many years after that), but... i'm not so sure anymore. Gene Tunney, a man who had himself been given fits by a middleweight, beat Jacks ass off (and I believe Greb beat Dempsey sparring too), its tough not to look at that, then again, Dempsey did KO Jack Sharkey...?  who, had Schmeling not got hit in the balls, would've prolly been champ a while. early boxing is insanity... and i love it.

[RockDempsey]

Jimmy Wilde is one of the greatest and most prolific knockout punchers who ever lived. And this and his losses to Pancho Villa and Tancy Lee are the only footage of him. It makes me sick.

[RapedByRepublicans]

Obviously I had been watching too much jcc, hitting on the hip is, quite obviously, illegal (or maybe I was stoned...)

[RapedByRepublicans]

One thing I love about these guys and hate about modern boxing is the groin protectors. Hey, everyone should wear a cup, but the new ones are to the point that it protects the lower half of the stomach and the hips as well (hitting someone in the shoulder or hip is not a foul), combine that w/ the fact that these guys pull them up way over their belly buttons and it adds up to cheating and bitch tactics (but if you don't do it, yr. at a disadvantage when the other man does)

[hawkman350]

The greatest British boxer of all time. And surely in the top ten in the world.

[xpressivist]

I WONDER WHY YOU TUBE REMOVED THE VIDEO ON THE FIGHT BETWEEN JIMMY WILDE & PANCHO VILLA IN WHICH VILLA KNOCKED OUT WILDE. WHOEVER REMOVED THE VIDEO IS SO PATHETIC. YOU CANNOT HIDE THE TRUTH THAT IT WAS A SMALL BUT TUFF FILIPINO THAT KNOCKED OUT WILDE.

[RapedByRepublicans]

@xpressivist O.k., it isn't removed, I just watched it #1, I don't think anyone is trying to knock the first filipino world champion, and furthermore, to call Pancho Villa small, when talking about Jimmy Wilde is ridiculous. Wilde was much smaller than Villa and past his prime, now Pancho is great, but in the grand scheme of things, Wilde was the better boxer, puncher, and champion. But that doesn't mean Villa wasn't great too, you know? I just like Wilde's monster punching power better.

[schpoingle]

this is awesome! thanks. i just read his ,'the art of boxing'. it's funny how well spoken people were back then. It's almost hard to read after a while because they spend so much time being humble and articulate.... anybody want to buy the book?

[Cerebralator]

The ghost with a hammer in his hand.

[chrismck100]

WHERE IS THE REF?

[Aphywel]

@chrismck100 Outside the ring in those days!

[chrismck100]

@Aphywel cheers i did not no tht

[mizofan]

The finest to come from Wales, Britain and Europe, and among the very greatest ever, yet most boxing fans these days have never heard of him!

[thelaughingduck2001]

@superspartan420 His fights with Joe Lynch are the most notable things on there. The competition towards the end of his career (pete Herman, Pancho Villa) mark him out as a great, but the loss to Tancy Lee near his prime harms him IMO, especially when you see the manner in which it ended. He avenged it, and I was admittedly harsh on Wilde, but I stand by my original comment; people just look at the numbers and think 'wow, what a fighter', not delving beneath the aesthetics of his ring record.

[kelletman]

You can view Jimmy Wilds record on: WELSH WARRIORS. he fought 149 professional fight and only lost 4, he went close to 100 undefeated, he had 29 fights in 1911, 17 in 1912 and 34 in 1913, often fought men much heaver than himself, if you take into account his many booth fights he must have had close to a 1000 fights, you cannot keep that pace up for ever, it was the amount of fights he had that led to his demise more than father time, but is record remains outstanding

[1899sharkey]

Jimmy Wilde was the best! he'd have no trouble with todays " belt holders."

[0ddzZz]

would be awesome if there was a modern day jimmy wilde

[statsme88]

which one is jimmy wilde? if its the shorter guy in the lighter trunks than he's getting his ass handed

to him lol

[thallassocracy]

I met Jimmy Wilde when I was a boy - my uncle boxed out of the same stable. I never saw footage of the Joe Symonds match before - thankyou.

Jimmy was from Quakers' Yard - a sleepy little place. The nearest town is Merthyr Tydfil.

Merthyr Tydfil has statues commemorating three famous boxers who came out of the area: Eddie Thomas, Howard Winstone, Johnny Owen.

Maybe Jimmy Wilde was the greatest pound for pound boxer of all time, maybe not. He is almost certainly the most undervalued.

[RapedByRepublicans]

@thallassocracy agreed, Jimmy Wilde, Sam Langford and Stanley Ketchel are probably the three most underrated fighters in the history of boxing. Langford gets a bit of respect, but not near enough, I mean shit, even Dempsey admitted to ducking him and using the "colored" thing as an excuse. He said, "why would I risk getting my head knocked off?" So, if Dempsey fears him... well, you can figure the rest. Robinson is prolly better all around, but Wilde is the lb4lb best puncher ever.

[andrewr62]

@RapedByRepublicans To be fair Dempsey avoided the far more experienced early in his carrier. He had little to fear from the aging Langford when Dempsey was at his peak in 1919-1922.

[RapedByRepublicans]

@andrewr62 have you never seen that interview where dempsey admitted himself, "they say I never avoided anyone... well thats not true, I avoided Sam Langford, why should I get my head knocked off for nothing?"... Dempsey's manager Doc Kearns also purported told Langford (circa 1923), when Langford asked for a title shot, "Sam, we were looking for someone easier".... dunno if thats true. Also, the idea that Dempsey avoided Harry Wills,... maybe overblown, maybe not... its too bad though

[andrewr62]

@RapedByRepublicans I have. What you need know is that Dempsey's statement was made when he was

a young novice and his manager wanted him to fight Langford. Langford was far too experienced and at the end of his prime.This was in 1916. Smart move by the young Dempsey. By 1921 Dempsey really had nothing to fear from Langford past his prime and going blind. Kearn's rejection was more his not wanting to be involved in mixed race title match which had resulted in race riots and deaths in 1910.

[TotalAlchemy]

i love the fact that the best uk fighter of all time is welsh...jimmy wilde was unbelievable, theres no record in the history of boxing that comes close to this guys.

[raduz123]

Sugar ray robinson had an epic record.

[thelaughingduck2001]

WIlde's record is padded to be honest. If you look at his record it is against feeble opposition even taking into account not all the fighters from then have incomplete records.

[TheChimeMan]

lmao! its impossible to have as many fights as he did without some bums! but the fact remanes that its almost impossible to name a fighter universally regarded by almost all recognised boxing writers as the best ever in their wieght class. but wilde is one of them. almost every boxing journalst of any note regards him as the greastest flywieght ever. regarded by many as the hardest p4p puncher that ever lived, and at least in the top 5 p4p ever. probably top 2-3.

[tehmode]

Wilde's record is no more padded than most of the boxers fighting today. Most boxers will fight 40-50 bouts, and will only have around 10 meaningful fights if they're lucky.

[souperserver]

@tehmode I disagree, but I don't think its really a bad thing. It was much more common for top fighters to have 80+ fights. Many of the fights were to stay active and that meant some top fighters were fighting around once every 2 weeks. These days, fighters pad their records, but not to the extent of fighters in the past. I can think of few fighters, James Toney & J.C. Chaves come to mind, who fought nearly as much as many top fighters of this era.

[advent8888888888]

he did beat nearly every flyweight around, he did fight every week aswell, hes also. fought twice in one night, u could say the same about armstrong too

[superspartan420]

@thelaughingduck2001 how can you say wildes record was padded size can bridge a talent gap as anyone who has followed boxing knows, and Wilde smashed bigger boxers routinely. before you disrespect the mans record why dont you learn a lil something about him first

[thelaughingduck2001]

@superspartan420 His fights with Joe Lynch are the most notable things on there. The competition towards the end of his career (pete Herman, Pancho Villa) mark him out as a great, but the loss to Tancy Lee near his prime harms him IMO, especially when you see the manner in which it ended. He avenged it, and I was admittedly harsh on Wilde, but I stand by my original comment; people just look at the numbers and think 'wow, what a fighter', not delving beneath the aesthetics of his ring record.

[kelletman]

@thelaughingduck2001 Wilde had been ill just prior to his first fight with Stancy Lee and was exhausted when his corner threw the towel in to signal the end of the contest. Afterward Jimmy instructed his corner to NEVER throw the towel in again, Wilde got a rematch. There was to be no repeat win for the Scotsman as the Jimmy scored repeatedly with devastating punches to end the fight in eleven rounds, to take the British & European flyweight titles

[lindarmusic]

@kelletman

I like the fact that you know your knolege on Such an Incredible legend that evreyone sadly forgets.

But i've never seen so many coments from someone on 1 video.

Congrats lol.

[kelletman]

@lindarmusic, Thanks for your reply. I love these great champions from the past. I may have got carried away with the comments , but I was just trying to show people what a great fighter Jimmy was.

[1899sharkey]

@kelletman - You picked one hell of an idol. It's a treat watching this man work!

[kelletman]

@1899sharkey Thanks for your reply, you just have to listen what people said about him to know what a great fighter he was, the Famous former editor of ‘The Ring’ Magazine and someone who had seen every boxer of any note from 1900s America up to his death in 1972 Nat Fleischer said of Wilde: ‘he was the greatest flyweight ever.’ To earn such an accolade from perhaps the most respected American boxing pundit of all time attests to Wilde’s undoubted greatness>

[kelletman]

@thelaughingduck2001 Feeble opposition, you do not know what you are talking about, he only weighed in at around 100Ib, he started off in boxing booths knocking out men nearly twice is size, then he went 98 fights undeafeated knocking out men much heaver than himself, he knocked out nearly 100 opponents out of his 145 fights, you tell me another boxer who as done that at his wight.

[kelletman]

@thelaughingduck2001 Wilde defeated every flyweight and bantamweight of note in Great Britain. Examining his record one sees that he fought really good fighters. Young Jennings (ex Flyweight champion), Joe Symonds (ex bantamweight champion), Johnny Hughes (ex bantamweight champ) Sid Smith (ex Flyweight champion), Tancy Lee (Flyweight champion), Tommy Noble (ex bantamweight champion and well known in America) and men such as Bouzini, Mansfield, and Cullen who were all top flyweights.

[kelletman]

@thelaughingduck2001 He knocked out the tough black American flyweight Young Zulu Kid in 11 rounds to cement his claim as champion in 1916. He beat all the best bantamweights as well as top British featherweight Joe Conn. Conn, who a class 126-pounder, was floored 6 times in round 10 and knocked out in the 12th.

[kelletman]

@thelaughingduck2001 In 1919 Wilde went on an American tour going undefeated in 12 fights that included two sensational wins over highly regarded American bantamweights, Joe Lynch and Pal Moore. Returning to Britain in 1920 he virtually retired from the ring as a conquering hero

[kelletman]

@thelaughingduck2001 He did fight again and lost in 1921 to Pete Herman, one of the great bantamweights of all time, who outweighed him by 19 pounds. Herman came in overweight and scaled as much as a featherweight. Wilde was game and lasted until the 17th round. His last fight after a two year absence from the ring was against hard-hitting Pancho Villa who took his Flyweight title in 1923

[kelletman]

@thelaughingduck2001. Jimmy was fighting and beating top bantam and feather weights, but he weighed in at 102 Ib at his best and never more than 108Ib, as young as 16 he was fighting and beating men nearly twice his size in boxing booths, total number of fight including his professional fights being in excess of 850. Heavyweight champion Gene Tunney who said simply, “Jimmy was the greatest fighter I ever saw.

[advent8888888888]

wheres the whole fight?

[ExplosiveThinMan]

Jimmy Wilde The Ghost with a Hammer in his hand

Greatest nickname in sports history.

[jpwilde65]

just got online reading tributes and comments from people about the great jimmy wilde. i would like to say thank you and it has surprised me that the lengend still live on. it makes me proud that this man is my great grandad!!!

[dan32113]

jimmy wilde is the greatest fighter ever from britian. and was voted by ring magazine the 3rd hardest puncher of all time. 7st only with 99 knockouts. the ghost with a hammer in his hand!

[blllllllllleugh]

It really is sad that someone who was so phenomenally good is now so little known about. Jimmy Wilde really was a fantastic boxer. I'd say one of the p4p greatest, certainly in the top 10. The only reason he isn't recognised as in the top 80 of the last 80 years by the Ring Magazine is because they only counted 1 year of his career (1922-1923)

Take pride that this man is your great grandfather, and take solace in the fact that true boxing fans still remember him and hold him in with reverence

[thelaughingduck2001]

you need to read up on your boxing pal. Chavez no,4 in an ATG list?!?! I'm a massive Chavez fan but his resume doesn't compare to Archie Moore, Alexis Arguello, and most Sweet Pea has as many good names plus far better ability. Not taking into account the Ezzard Charles's/Harry Greb/Sam Langford type massive resumes. Pac, I love, he is borderline top 20 of all time at the moment, a win over Cotto will see him scrape into the top 20. But no.2?You clearly have no clue of boxing. Duran?Armstrong?

[advent8888888888]

robinson no1 for definite, he had everything

[KBoi220882]

No referee? They must av gt away with murder in those days

[willoughby131198]

Hey Tehmode.. thanks for posting this. My girlfriend (Jimmy's Great Grand daughter) has very little from the family of Jimmy's, so we're collecting as much as we can. One day, it will all be in a museum. Great footage. Look after it. Cheers..

[advent8888888888]

jimmy wilde is an sbsolute legend,

[AKAKArnott]

Agree with citizenjosefk - the quality of this film is amazing. Compare it to most of the Jack Johnson footage we have which is only maybe 6 - 8 years earlier or most of the Jack Dempsey stuff which is say 6 - 8 years later and this film is easily superior.

[citizenjosefk]

Legend. It's amazing that there is footage of Wild in action, not so many fights were recorded back in those days! This actually looks better than most of the fight films up until at least the 30s. Thanks tehmode!

[milk115]

a true legend too few geniuses in this world head and shoulders above them all. truley the greatest boxer ever the 7 stone weakling wiped the floor with them all. JIMMY WILDE rip

[mizofan]

The all-time greatest British boxer for sure, ahead of fellow Welshmen Calzaghe, Welsh, Driscoll...(+ also Lennox Lewis + Benny Lynch)

[corytclark]

I just noticed at 1:34 that there is no referee. Is this one of the fights where the ref is out side the ring, yelling instructions?

[jimmywilde]

THis video has Nothing to do with Joey Heatherton or Jimmy Wilde, the singer. Could you Please remove it and put it into the correct category? Thanks

[carutherscat]

Jimmy wilde the singer??? who the fuck are you .... only one jimmy wilde the ghost with the hammer in his hand so piss off prick

[jimmywilde]

What's your problem DUDE?

[tehmode]

Why were you looking for singers in the sports section?

[jimmywilde]

Hi..my name (jimmy wilde) is the same as that great fighter, Jimmy Wilde, and somehow it got mixed in with videos about him. Hope that clears it up for you and thanks for the comment.

[advent8888888888]

fucking who?

[ringworks]

@jimmywilde

Jimmy Wilde the boxer pre dates the singer by some years.

[RapedByRepublicans]

@jimmywilde what is wrong with you? Jimmy Wilde the singer? Seriously, as mentioned this is the "sports" category, but more to the point.... Why would you give a shit about jimmy wilde the singer? and how is this video mislabled anyway. Who said anything about Joey Heatherton? Can't you see it says Jimmy Wilde vs. Joe Symonds? Furthermore, the year 1916 is in the title, how could you possibly think Jimmy Wilde was alive, much less recording, almost 100 years ago?

[NickQY1]

Jimmy Wilde, one of my heroes. Wish there was more footage of him.

[ronoman88]

Jimmie Wilde a true champion. The grtst Flyweight ever. I'd would've love to see those "Booth" fights.

[tinyman3]

Cant work out which one he is? Anyone help? I take it he's the in the longer black shorts, slightly skinnier?

[RaynardAlcampor]

Jimmy would have to be up there with Francisco Guilledo aka Pancho Villa in order to be considered as the best flyweight. Both fighters could be considered the two best in the century, and Pancho Villa died before he could have reached his full potential, nonetheless these two were the best without a doubt.

[merlin999999]

137 wins and only 2 defeats first ever undispued flyweight world champion not to mention 800 unofficial fights

the word hard doesnt come close to describing such a man

[stevieb8006]

Greatest british fighter ever. Would KO welters weighting 7stone. he was beaten up by some jock thugs on a train platform as an old man and was never the same after. Died in a nursing home. My step dead (former pro from pembroke) visited him after training and said the frail old man was near the end but his eyes lit up when they talked boxing and he said "i used to b a fighter". If theres any justice the young jimmy will meet these evil pricks in the after life and wallop the shit out of them.

[AIMazing]

well said, mate.

[BlindLemonJaffaCake]

Stevie: I know that story about Jimmy being being beaten up as an old man at a train station and it's such a sad thing to happen to a truly great man. The greatest boxer the UK has ever seen and ever will see. No one even comes close to the legend that is Jimmy Wilde. The ghost with hammer in his hand.

[stevieb8006]

totally agree. rate ur top 5 list as well altho would prob make room for duran and henry armstrong, the original manny pac!

[BlindLemonJaffaCake]

Agreed Stevie. Also Rocky Marciano, Bob Foster, Joe Louis, Ray Leonard and of course not forgetting Marvellous Marvin Hagler.

[stevieb8006]

god we could be here all day coudnt we? Pernell whittaker, willie pep....they dont make 'em like that anymore!

[thelaughingduck2001]

MArciano is nowhere near anyone is the best resume stakes.

[raduz123]

manny pac! c'mon, time will tell if he is a great, you cant really accuraltey measure a fighter who is still in the business, he might lose his next five fights for all we know, i suspect this wont be the case but still. The rest of your list i pretty much agree with though, i would add the following though, Jack Johnson, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Ali, Ray Leonard, Rocky Marciono, There are more still but don't think i could list em all.lol

[stevieb8006]

the point im making is that pacs not scared to give away weight to bigger guys and has an awesome punch, just like jimmy.

[thelaughingduck2001]

MArciano does not have a very deep resume, undefeated or not. In fact, I would sy the most proven fighter of all time is someone Rocky defeated, Ezzard Charles. If we're talking pre-war as well, Harry Greb has probably the most packed and impressive resume of all time.

[raduz123]

I said that Sugar Ray robinson had an epic record, Marciono is up there with best, he was undefeated and though his record wasnt 'deep' enough he certainly proved himself. Also the best fighter he fought against in my opinion was Joe Lois. Still if i was pushed to say who i thought the greatest was id prolly say Sugar Ray Robinson. Amazing record, amazing fighter.

[thelaughingduck2001]

Joe Louis was as past prime as he could be by that point. Clearly the best fighter Marciano faced was Ezzard Charles, a natural Light-Heavy (who started at Middle) Marciano resume is O.K, his good skillset on film make sure he's in the lower end of the top 10 Heavys, but H2H he's too small to compete. I admit he'd probably destroy most Cruisers of all time.

[raduz123]

i totally agree Lois was past his prime when he fought, Marciono, the only reason he accepted the fight is cuz he was broke. Im sure Lois would have beat him during better days . The fact remains though that Marciono was unbeaten. Hell he beat Ezzard charles twice! he resume is more that ok, it may not be as expansive as others but 49 wins 43 ko's is fantastic.

[chunkyscotty]

On paper Harry Greb is probably the Greatest p4p of all-time. He beat everyone around in the 1920's even men 70lb heavier, and with one eye! Its just a shame that no fight footage exists. Reports say he had an amazing whirlwind style thats never been seen before or since. It'd be great if we could see it!!

[sagttorel]

Joe Calzaghe said this Wilde was his boxing hero and he would never consider himself as the greatst Welsh boxer with Wilde as #1.

[Ansatsuken]

I really like the old days of boxing, true men with true fighting hearts, plus they all fought like Duran. XD

[Mowglieboy69]

Wow, just goes to show much boxing would evolve.

[seerauberjohnny]

it's true,but even for those times you can see the quality of the technique,and the educated punches and excellent footwork of 'the ghost...'

[andy9will]

Jimmy Wilde was the original Mighty Atom and was also called the Ghost With A Hammer in His Hand. He was a small flyweight who routinely fought boxers from higher weight divisions. Many believe he was the greatest pound for pound boxer of all time. He isn't far off it.

[R0LFharris]

that stitch up he didn't get to 100 KO's

[sean93hilton]

As I am His great great nephue.. I think you will find that he is... and there is a memorial in the town center of taylors town , uk which tells you this fact. this is where he was born

[ControlAllDa1337]

It's Tylorstown not taylors town, also I thought he was actually born in Merthyr Tydfil.

[moosemonkeymma1]

ye he was a merther boy :)

[moosemonkeymma1]

actually i might be wrong.

[onthego2004]

Hey Sean, can you help me get vids of your uncle? he was awsome!!!

[julio91986]

What Impressed me about this guy was the fact that he was real small for his division yet he dominated like no man his size or above. his record in case you want to know was149 fights 131 wins 3 loses 99 wins by KO. Thats Impressive!

[dalesalsa]

Jimmy Wilde is not "The Mighty Atom".

Isn't the 1920's strongman Joseph Greenstein the Mighty Atom? Unless they called this boxer The Mighty Atom as well.

[cultofodin]

They called Wilde the Mighty Atom also.

[GustavusAdolphus1]

They were calling Wilde "The Mighty Atom" first. Wilde was a phenom.

[dalesalsa]

Thank you guys, I found out the details in Wiki-pedia.

[peepeeweepee]

Man this guy is my hero! Please some one find me some more footage of the Mighty Atom.

[sean93hilton]

he is my great uncle!!! i can get you posters and videos.

[peepeeweepee]

Cheers for getting back mate that sounds great!Your uncle knew how to bang!!! What kinda stuff have you got? I'd be really interested in getting hold of vids and poster if poss. Gimme shout.

[appearce55]

Sean,

there's a debate about Jimmy Wilde at boxingrebels dot com. check it out.

[sean93hilton]

thanks for that