This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/20/2019
Offered is a collection of 11 boxing tickets and passes for memorable title cards, including matches featuring heavyweight champions Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano. The first item in this collection is a full ticket for the June 19, 1946 World Heavyweight Championship bout between the champ, Joe Louis, and the challenger Billy Conn. It was Louis’s 22nd championship defense, and a rematch with Conn. Louis retained his title with an eighth-round knockout of Conn at Yankee Stadium. This full ticket has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (42026408) and is graded VG 3.
The second item in this collection is a working press ticket stub for the June 9, 1948 boxing match with the headliners Rocky Graziano vs. Tony Zale in their third bout for the world Middleweight championship. Graziano lost his first match with Zale in 1946, when Zale was the Middleweight champ; beat him in the re-match, wresting the title from Zale in 1947; in this third meeting, Zale regained his crown with a third-round knockout at Rupert Stadium in Newark, NJ. This is a working press pass for the bout. This ticket stub has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (28230128) and is graded PR 1. The third item in this collection is a working press ticket stub for the September 8, 1950 Sandy Saddler vs. Willie Pep World Featherweight Championship bout at Yankee Stadium. This was the third meeting for these two popular fighters; Pep had lost his title to Saddler in 1948’s fight, regained it in the second meeting in 1949, but lost it again to Saddler through an eighth-round knockout. This ticket stub has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (42730892) and is graded AUTHENTIC.
The fourth item in this collection is a working press ticket stub for the Ezzard Charles vs. Jersey Joe Walcott World Heavyweight Championship fight at Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan on March 7, 1951. This was the second of what would turn out to be four fights between this pair, with Charles retaining his title at the end of 15 rounds. This ticket stub has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (29230127) and is graded PR 1 (MK). The fifth item in this collection if a working press ticket stub from June 25, 1952, the World Light-Heavyweight Championship title match between Sugar Ray Robinson and Joey Maxim. Robinson had dominated both the welterweight and middleweight divisions but had set his sights on Maxim’s title. Held in New York’s Yankee Stadium, Maxim vs Robinson was scheduled to take place on June 23rd, but a torrential rainstorm had forced a postponement. Two days later and instead of being engulfed by a monsoon, New York was scorched by staggering heat. In fact, to this day June 25, 1952 remains one of the leading contenders for the hottest day ever in New York City. Near the end of the 13th round, Ray missed by a mile with a wild right hand and fell flat on his face. He rose and kept slinging punches though it was obvious now he had nothing left. At the bell, he reeled away from Maxim — his legs buckling, his mouth wide open — and, disoriented, searched in vain for his corner. His trainers got to him just as he finally collapsed and dragged him to his stool. That was it. The challenger couldn’t continue, and Maxim retained his title. It would be the only time in over 200 professional fights that Sugar Ray would lose inside the distance. They later weighed Robinson and discovered he had been drained of 16 pounds during the fight; Maxim had lost ten. This ticket stub has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (28230125) and is graded PR 1 (MK).
The sixth item in this collection is a ticket stub from September 24, 1953, when Rocky Marciano defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Roland LaStarza at the Polo Grounds in New York. Their first fight was on March 24, 1950 and was a split decision victory for the champ. Going into the rematch, Marciano was still undefeated at 44-0. LaStarza’s record was a superb 53-3 and he was as tough as nails. But Marciano, the Brockton Blockbuster, was a veritable hammer, retaining his title with an 11th-round TKO. This ticket stub has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (42348431) and is graded VG-EX 4. The seventh item in this collection is a full “Police” ticket from the September 24, 1953 Rocky Marciano vs. Roland LaStarza heavyweight title bout at the Polo Grounds. LaStarza fought Marciano on even terms for the first six rounds but began to tire afterwards. Referee Ruby Goldstein stopped the fight in an eleventh round TKO as Marciano battered LaStarza relentlessly. This was LaStarza's first fight (out of 53) in which he was stopped. This full ticket has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (42295192) and is graded EX 5.
The eighth item in this collection is a ticket stub for the “ringside roving photographer” at Yankee Stadium on June 17, 1954 when Rocky Marciano fought Ezzard Charles for the World Heavyweight Championship. Rocky Marciano fought two celebrated boxing matches with Ezzard Charles. The first match took place on June 17, 1954 and the second on September 17, 1954. The first fight went the distance with Marciano winning on points through a unanimous decision. This full ticket has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (42348429) and is graded PR 1. The ninth item in this collection is a ticket stub for “working press” at the Polo Grounds on June 22, 1955, when light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore knocked out middleweight champ Carl “Bobo” Olson in the third round with a left hook. This ticket stub has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (28634781) and is graded PR 1 (MK).
The 10th item in this collection is a dressing room pass for the Archie Moore vs. Carl “Bobo” Olson fight at the Polo Grounds. This pass has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (28634782) and is graded EX 5 (MK). The 11th item in this collection is a ticket stub from September 21, 1955, when heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Marciano defended his title against Archie Moore at Yankee Stadium. Marciano won the bout with a ninth-round knockout of Moore and retired after the fight with a perfect 49-0 record (with 43 knockouts). This ticket stub has been encapsulated and authenticated by PSA (42348430) and is graded PR 1.