[Excerpted from our book Boxing Like the Champs Round Two . Available here .] Lou Ambers, a two-time lightweight champion, was born in 1913 in Herkimer, New York, hence one half of his ring name. Lou was one of those fighters who skipped amateur bouts and jumped right into being a pro. Usually without early experience one would suffer with this jump directly to the big leagues as it were, but Mr. Ambers racked up 32 straight victories at the beginning of his career. This pro-jump and success rate did not go unnoticed as he was ranked the 9 th best lightweight contender in 1933 a mere year after getting into the game. Lest we think that he stepped fully formed out of the womb, what Ambers did in place of amateur bouts was potentially a more formidable school of hard knocks. He fought many a “bootleg” fight before his pro debut. This is essentially off-the-books bouts where anyone with heart could be grist for the fight viewing entertainment mill. Mr. Ambers, in the phraseology ...
Examining & Resurrecting Indigenous Skills and Frontier Rough & Tumble Combat