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Elmer "Violent" Ray was the Hal Newhouser of the heavy-weight division. From 1943 through 1947 he was undefeated in 50 consecutive bouts. This streak included a run of 19 straight KOs. Like Newhouser, his incredible achievment is ignored because it took place during the war. He had worked himself into the number one contener slot when Jersey Joe Walcott ended the streak on March 1st 1947 with a decision in their duke. During his career Ray had victories over Walcott, Ez Charles, and Lee Savold. Some sources accuse Joe Louis of ducking Ray. Louis is alleged to have not wanted Ray as a sparring partner because "Elmer didn't know how to go easy, and one of them mi ght get hurt". This may be moot since they faced each other once in an exhibition. Historians have debated the accuracy of Ray's record in Boxrec. In the 1986-87 Ring Record Book Herb Goldman rated Ray as one of the 20 greatest hwavies of all-time.
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10-18-2004, 09:10 AM
