Gil Turner

Gil Turner
Data
Birth Name	Turner, Gil
Weight class	Welterweight , middleweight
nationality	Americans
birthday	October 9, 1930
place of birth	Philadelphia
Date of death	May 13, 1996
style	Left-hand boom
Combat Statistics
Struggles	76
Victories	54
Knockout victories	35
Defeats	20th
draw	2

Gil Turner (born October 9, 1930 in Philadelphia - May 13, 1996 ) was an American boxer .

Career

After a short amateur period, Gil Turner became a professional boxer at the age of just under twenty. His domicile was Philadelphia, the city of his birth. He was an intrepid, spirited and aggressive whirlwind who had an exciting fighting style and was soon very popular as a result.

He played his first professional fight on May 1, 1950 in Philadelphia, in which he came in the welterweight to a knockout victory in the first round over his compatriot Jimmy Verne. In 1950 he played a total of thirteen fights, all of which he won by knockout. It continued in a similar way in 1951. That year he played fourteen fights, all of which he won. Among the boxers he defeated were two former world champions. On April 16, 1951, he defeated the former lightweight world champion Beau Jack , who had won this title in 1942. On July 9, 1951 Turner came to a knockout victory in the eleventh round over Charley Fusari, who was well ahead in the welterweight world rankings . On September 10, 1951, he beat Ike Williams , who had carried the world lightweight title from 1945 to May 25, 1951, in the tenth round KO

In the first few months of 1952, four more victories were added, so that Turner had 31 wins in 31 fights when his management had managed to get him a world championship match against the title holder Kid Gavilán from Cuba . Turner was at the time of this title fight, which took place on July 7, 1952 in front of 39,000 spectators at the Philadelphia Municipal Stadium , only 21 years old and Kid Gavilan was far inferior in ring experience. In the first ten rounds the fight was pretty even, but in the thirteenth round Gavilan gained the upper hand and hit Turner with such heavy blows that he was taken out of the fight by the referee standing.

After this defeat, Turner only fought in the middleweight division. In this weight class he came on December 22, 1952 in Philadelphia to a remarkable knockout victory in the sixth round over Joe Miceli . On January 20, 1953, he came in Philadelphia to a point victory over Bobby Dykes and it seemed that he would survive the defeat against Kid Gavilan well and also be able to fight at the top of the middleweight division.

In the following years he did not succeed. He was still one of the most popular boxers of his time, but the number of defeats that prevented him from getting a middleweight world title fight increased. The opponents he boxed against were all from the very top of the world. On April 7, 1953 Turner lost in Philadelphia to Joey Giardello after ten rounds on points. On June 15, 1953, he defeated Johnny Saxton over ten rounds on points. On October 7, Turner beat the Italian Italo Scortichini on points in Detroit , but lost on December 9, 1953 in Cleveland against Rocky Castellani after ten rounds on points.

On January 26, 1954, Turner defeated the Frenchman Pierre Langlois in Philadelphia , who was then a contender for a world title fight in the middleweight division and who u. a. Rocky Castellani had beaten after ten rounds on points.

On April 4, 1955, Turner stopped the Salt Lake City native Mormon Gene Fullmer , whom he scored over ten rounds. In the world ranking in the US boxing journal The Ring from May 1955, he was still in eighth place (see Box Sport No. 22/1955, page 22). On July 20, 1955, he lost in Salt Lake City in revenge against Fullmer on points. 1955 Turner lost two more important fights, on September 7, 1955 in Syracuse against the former welterweight champion Carmen Basilio and on October 21, 1955 against Isaac Logart. He lost both fights after ten rounds on points. On February 17, 1956 he lost in New York in the third meeting against Gene Fullmer after points. Gene Fullmer became the new middleweight world champion a year later with a points win over the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson .

On May 16, 1956 Turner had to accept a heavy knockout defeat in Chicago against Johnny Saxton in the tenth round. On October 19, 1956 he lost in New York to Joey Giardello and on March 29, 1957 in Atlantic City again against Isaac Logart after ten rounds on points. He achieved a notable victory on September 18, 1957 in Atlantic City when he beat Virgil Akins , who dethroned Tony DeMarco , welterweight champion a month after that fight , on points. That was Turner's last win over a ranked boxer.

On January 1, 1958 he lost to Vince Martinez in Philadelphia on points, but was able to defeat on points on August 22, 1958 in New York the German Stefan Redl, who had caused a sensation in the United States with some notable victories. Finally, Turner lost on October 15, 1958 in Montreal to Ralph Dupas and on November 20, 1958 in St. Paul to Del Flanagan on points. The fight against Flanagan who was the last fight of his career.

Turner had delighted the masses throughout his career with his open and risky boxing style. He hadn't avoided any dangerous enemy.

literature

• Box Sport magazine

Web links

• Gil Turner's fight record
• Portrait of Gil Turner
• Excerpts from the fight between Gil Turner and Kid Gavilan