Abe Simon

Abraham Simon (May 30, 1913 – October 24, 1969) was an American professional heavyweight boxer. He fought Joe Louis for the world heavyweight title twice. He was managed for most of his career by Jimmy Johnston, and trained by Freddie Brown. In 1940, he was rated the sixth best heavyweight in the world, and would rise higher in the next two years. After retiring, he became an actor and had roles in two of America's best-known movies about boxers, Academy Award winner On the Waterfront and Requiem for a Heavyweight. In the prior month on December 6, 1939, Simon had defeated Reddish in a fourth-round TKO in Philadelphia. As was not uncommon in Simon's matches, he had a sizable weight advantage over his opponent, in this instance a remarkable fifty-six pounds. The match took a turn for the worse in the fourth when the two boxers' heads clashed, and Reddish received a bad gash on his forehead, leading to the referee ending the fight from a technical knockout in the fourth.

Knockout of Jersey Joe Walcott In one of his most memorable victories, in a ramp up to the heavyweight title, he knocked out the legendary Jersey Joe Walcott, a future heavyweight champion, in six rounds in Newark, New Jersey, on February 12, 1940. A heavyweight in every sense, he benefitted from a remarkable sixty-two pound weight advantage in the match. Behind in points in the first five rounds, Simon unleashed a tremendous right to the mouth of Walcott 2:32 into the sixth causing the knockout, and Walcott barely moved as he was counted out by the referee. He also had a heavily publicized win over Finland's Gunnar Barlund on October 7, 1940, in a ten-round points decision at New York's St. Nicholas Arena. Barlund was soundly defeated suffering a cut eye and chin early in the match, and winning no more than two of the ten rounds. In the most valiant effort of his career against his greatest adversary, many ringside experts gave Simon the second, fourth, sixth, tenth, and eleventh rounds. According to one source, when Simon knocked Louis down in the first round, it was the first knockdown of his professional career. Simon even managed to stagger Louis briefly in the seventh. After the fight, Louis told reporters, "for a big guy, he was pretty good and just about as tough as they come". Before 18,000 fans, Simon fought through a bruising attack by Louis, lumbering into the fourth round and connecting with a few blows, before succumbing to a brutal attack in the opening of the sixth. Louis was fighting for the Army for the first time, and though he was fitter than in his first match with Simon, he was hoping for a quick knockout to avoid injury as he received no purse for the fight. The match was a benefit for the Army Relief Fund, which helped both boxer's reputations and garnered a larger audience, including many servicemen.

Film and television Between 1940 and 1962, Simon acted in small roles in several TV series and had parts in four movies.

Careers after boxing and death Continuing his career in law enforcement after his second loss to Louis, he was appointed Deputy Police Commissioner of Long Beach in 1942. For most of his adult life he lived on 215th Street in Long Island's Bayside Hills, in Queens, New York. He began working as a detective at Roosevelt Raceway in 1957, and after suffering from arthritis, switched to Public Relations around 1966.

He died on October 24, 1969, at Meadowbrook Hospital in East Meadow, Long Island, leaving a wife, Rita, whom he had married in 1942, and two children.

Selected bouts

Win Jim Dowling Mar 11, 1935 Jamaica, Queens 2nd Rnd. KO Boxing debut Loss Lou Nova Oct 21, 1936 New York, New York 6 Rnds Points Rare early loss Loss Buddy Baer Aug 30, 1937 Yankee Stad., Bronx 3rd Rnd TKO Rare early loss Win Willie Reddish Dec 6, 1939 Philadelphia 4 Rnd TKO Reddish had gash on his forehead Loss Willie Reddish Jan 22, 1940 Philadelphia 10 Rnds Points Simon floored twice Win Jersey Joe Walcott Feb 12, 1940 Laurel Garden, Newark, NJ 6th Rnd KO Walcott, future heavywt. champ Win Eddie Blunt May 20, 1940 Newark, New Jersey 10 Rnd Points Fought in the rain Win Roscoe Toles Dec 6, 1940 Detroit, MI 10 Rnds Unanimous Dec. Win Gunnar Barlund Oct. 7, 1940 New York, New York 10 Rnd Points Dec. At St. Nicholas Arena Loss Joe Louis Mar 21, 1941 Detroit, Michigan 13th Rnd TKO Heavyweight title match*

Turkey Thompson Oct 6, 1941 Los Angeles, CA 10 Rnd Points Well-publicized match Loss Joe Louis Mar 27, 1942 Mad. Sq. Garden, NY 6th Rnd TKO Heavyweight title match*19,000 fans