Fred Fulton (30) vs. Con O’Kelly (35)
Fred Fulton
The Rochester Plasterer
85-19-4, 70 KO
Notable fights: KOby4 Al Palzer; TKO7 Sam Langford; TKO7, KO2 Gunboat Smith; D10 Billy Miske; KOby1 Jack Dempsey; TKO3, W8 Frank Moran; WbyDQ6, LbyDQ5 Carl Morris; KOby3 Harry Wills; KO4, D12, W12 Bob Roper; L12 Floyd Johnson; LbyDQ4, KOby9 Jack Renault.
Had 1918 title challenge against Jess Willard set up, but fight fell through. Enormous (6-foot-6), particularly for his era, and fought both southpaw and orthodox as needed. Hard puncher, as demonstrated by high KO percentage, but iffy jaw shown in quick KOs by Dempsey, Wills, etc.
Con O’Kelly
51-16-7, 30 KO
Notable fights: W15 Piet van der Veer; WbyDQ6 Ernie Schaaf; L10, TKOby3 Jim Maloney; W12 King Solomon; L10, D10 Kingfish Levinsky; L10 Tuffy Griffiths.
Ran up an impressive (36-5-4) record in the UK before crossing the Atlantic, but served mostly as a rugged opponent over here, with a winning percentage just over .500. Only stoppage loss in U.S. was due to a cut eye in second meeting with Maloney. Son of pre-WWI heavyweight Con O’Kelly Sr., who also fought in the U.S. and UK with mixed success.
Luis Angel Firpo (23) vs. Carl Morris (42)
Luis Angel Firpo
The Wild Bull of the Pampas
31-6-0, 26 KO
Notable fights: W12, KO12 Gunboat Smith; KO12 Bill Brennan; KO3 Jack McAuliffe II; KO8 Jess Willard; KOby2 Jack Dempsey; TKO14 Erminio Spalla; L12 Harry Wills; L12 Charley Weinert.
Best known for possibly the wildest heavyweight championship fight ever, the loss to Dempsey in which he knocked the Manassa Mauler down twice in the first round – completely out of the ring on one occasion – but crashed nine times himself in a little more than three minutes of action.
Carl Morris
The Original White Hope
57-21-2, 39 KO
Notable fights: KO3 Marvin Hart; L10, WbyDQ9, W10 Fireman Jim Flynn; L12 Luther McCarthy; LbyDQ5, D4, L4 Gunboat Smith; L10 Jess Willard; W6 Porky Dan Flynn; L10 Jim Coffey; W15, WbyDQ6 Battling Levinsky; W10 Frank Moran; WbyDQ5, LbyDQ6, KOby4 Fred Fulton, TKOby4; L10 Billy Miske; L4, LbyDQ6, KOby1 Jack Dempsey; KO3 Martin Burke; LbyDQ 3 Bob Roper; LbyDQ2 Sully Montgomery; TKO8 Tut Jackson.
Turned pro two months after the 1910 Jack Johnson-Jim Jeffries fight that fueled the search for a “White Hope.” Unlike most who carried the moniker after him, Morris could actually fight a bit, though his chief attribute was an ability to absorb punshment. Big (6-foot-4 and 220-235) and awkward, he kept referees busy, winning six fights via disqualification while losing five times on fouls.
Bob Roper (16) vs. Quintin Romero Rojas (49)
Bob Roper
Captain Bob
53-36-12, 26 KO
Notable fights: L10 Jack Johnson; W10, KO6 Frank Moran; W10 Bill Brennan; L10, L12, L10, L12, L10 Harry Greb; L10 Tommy Gibbons; W12, L10, W10 Bob Martin; D15, W10 Gunboat Smith; W10 Bartley Madden; KO3 Carl Morris; D12 Battling Levinsky; LbyDQ6, D12 Billy Miske; KOby4, D12, L12 Fred Fulton; L10, L10 Jack Renault; W10 Quintin Romero Rojas.
Quintin Romero Rojas
25-49-8, 10 KO
Notable fights: KO9 Jack Sharkey; KOby2, W12 Gunboat Smith; KOby7 Floyd Johnson; L10 Martin Burke; D6 Sully Montgomery; W12 Johnny Risko; W10, KOby4, W10 Jack Renault; L10 Martin Burke; L10 Bob Roper, L10 Jim Maloney; L10 Harry Greb; TKOby3 Young Bob Fitzsimmons; TKOby4 Young Stribling.
Wins over Sharkey, Risko and Renault in 1924 earned the Chilean the No. 5 spot in the inaugural annual rankings by the ring, as well as a spot in this tournament. Rojas was 16-5-3 at that point, but apparently, all the attention went to his head. He lost his first eight fights of ’25 and went 9-34-5 over the final six years of his career, with a 1927 upset of Renault the only meaningful win over that span.
Young Stribling (6) vs. Bombardier Billy Wells (59)
Young Stribling
King of the Canebrakes
257-15-15, 128 KO
Notable fights: W10, KO1 Otto von Porat; KO1, TKO1 Martin Burke; KO6 Ray Neuman; KO2 Sully Montgomery; L10 Jack Sharkey; W10, LbyDQ6 Babe Hunt; W10, KO1 Jack DeMave; LbyDQ4, WbyDQ7 Primo Carnera; KO2 Phil Scott; W10 Arthur de Kuh; W10 Tuffy Griffiths; Lby15 Max Schmeling; L10 Ernie Schaaf; TKO5 Jack Renault.
Started boxing as part of a family vaudeville act and turned pro as a featherweight. Grew into one of the top light-heavy and heavyweight contenders of the 1920s. Lost a decision to Schmeling in his only title shot, but was positioning himself for a fight with Carnera, with whom he had split a pair of controversial disqualifications in ’29, when he was killed in a motorcycle accident at age 28 in 1933 while on the way to visit his wife and new baby in the hospital.
Bombardier Billy Wells
41-11-0, 34 KO
Notable fights: W20 Porky Dan Flynn; KO6 Iron William Hague; KOby3 Al Palzer; KOby4 Georges Carpentier; W3, KO16 Eddie McGoorty; TKO10 Albert Lloyd.
Won British title in 1911 and held it through World War I. Fought only twice in the U.S. and on two other occasions outside the U.K.