by Dean Ab-Hugh Warrant Officer 1

GA division (Guns Aviation Division) was also responsible for the ships boxing team, and a lot of my men fought in the ships smokers. We had one guy named John L. Sullivan (really). He was quite big and had a size 16 foot. Of course he had to fight, with a name like that. We didn't have a shoe to fit him, so he fought against a marine Sgt. in his stocking feet. For two rounds, the marine beat the crap out of John L. If you've ever teased a cat, you know how their eyes get when they get mad. Click To PreviewWell, by the third round, John L. hauled off and knocked the marine out! Of course the marine said it was an accident, so at the next smoker, the two were matched up again, with the very same results. In the third round John L. was mad, and knocked the marine out again!

 

 

Nearly 1,000 sailors and 20,000 other spectators are still arguing about the decision of June 9, 1967, but the judges maintain that Floyd Paterson and Jerry Quarry fought to a draw.  The USS Yorktown played a big part in the spectacle with a contingent of her Whitehats acting as guard of honor for the two principals.  Yorktown also provided a quartet of spit and polish Marines who paraded the colors at the flag ceremony.

As a thank you gesture, the Olympic Boxing of Los Angeles donated $819 in the Yorktown's name to the Navy Relief.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marine EmblemMarine Corporal Joey Capozzo hits a sailor with his left.  (not the Marine mentioned in the above story)
Capozzo on right in dark trunks.  Boxing on the Hanger Deck of the USS Yorktown in the late 1960s

 

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