Bobo Olson

Bobo Olson
Bobo Olson
Statistics
Real name	Carl Olson
Nickname(s)	The Hawaiian Swede
Rated at	Middleweight
Height	Lua error in Module:Convert at line 452: attempt to index field 'titles' (a nil value).
Nationality	American
Born	July 11, 1928; Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Died	Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.; Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Stance	orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	115
Wins	97
Wins by KO	47
Losses	16
Draws	2
No contests	0

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Carl Olson (July 11, 1928 – January 16, 2002) was an American boxer. He was the world middleweight champion between October 1953 and December 1955, the longest reign of any champion in that division during the 1950s, although he is probably best remembered for his three knockout losses against Sugar Ray Robinson.^{[citation needed]}

His nickname, Bobo, was based on his younger sister's mispronunciation of "brother".^{[citation needed]}

Early years

Olson was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Portuguese mother and a Swedish father, hence his other nickname "The Hawaiian Swede". Like many boxers, Olson decided to take up the sport after getting into fights on the streets. Olson received training from boxers who were stationed in Hawaii during World War II, it was also during this period that he picked up his two trademark tattoos.^{[citation needed]}

Using a fake identity card Olson obtained a boxing licence at the age of 16. He had won his first three contests, two by knockout, before his true age was discovered. During 1945 Olson ran off to San Francisco in order to continue his boxing career. By the time he was 18 he had amassed a record of 13 successive wins (10 by KO). Even at this stage his power and huge reserves of stamina were clear, as was his rather average skill.^{[citation needed]}

Mature career

The first real test of Olson's career came on March 20, 1950, Olson's record at this point was 40 wins and 2 losses, against the Australian Dave Sands. Olson lost to a close points decision in Sydney. Seven months after this Olson had his first fight against Sugar Ray Robinson, for the lowly regarded Pennsylvania State World Middleweight Title. Olson, who was widely seen as a slow starter, failed to get into the fight, even though Robinson was not having one of his best fights. Olson managed to hold on for 11 rounds before being knocked out. Despite his great record it was clear that Olson was still too inexperienced to be fighting at that level.

A year after his loss to Robinson, Olson managed to get a rematch against Dave Sands. This fight was the first to be televised coast-to-coast in America. However, Sands once again proved too much for Olson, he again won by unanimous decision.

On March 13, 1952 Olson fought Robinson again, this time for the World middleweight title. Robinson, who had lost and regained the title against Randy Turpin in his previous two fights, was looking for an easy fight. However, Olson had improved significantly from their first encounter. Through 10 rounds the fight was neck-and-neck, only a dominant finish by Robinson over the last 5 rounds won him the decision. This would be the only time that Olson lasted the duration against Robinson.

Robinson retired for the first time in December 1952, vacating his middleweight crown. The top four contenders fought a tournament for the title. Olson defeated Paddy Young for the American title to gain the right to fight for the vacant world title, Turpin won the other eliminator against Charley Humez.

The title fight against Turpin took place on October 21, 1953 at Madison Square Garden. Turpin dominated the first four rounds, he almost scored a knockdown in the first, before Olson got a grip on the fight. As the fight progressed Olson took the initiative, he scored knockdowns in the 10th and 11th rounds on the way to a unanimous decision. Following his success Olson was voted Ring magazine's fighter of the year for 1953.

Olson won all seven of his fights in 1954 including defences of his title against such big names as Kid Gavilan, Rocky Castellani, and Pierre Langlois.

In 1955 Olson, who was finding it increasingly difficult to make weight, stepped up to light heavyweight. His first major fight in this category was against former champion Joey Maxim, Olson won the fight easily on points after scoring knockdowns in both the 2nd and 9th rounds. On June 22 Olson challenged 41-year-old Archie Moore for the light heavyweight title, a fight that many believed Olson would easily win. However, the "Old Mongoose" was too strong for Olson and won by knockout after only a minute had elapsed of the third round. After this fight Olson began his decline.

Following two walkover wins, Olson put his middleweight title on the line against Robinson, who was once again number 1 contender following his brief retirement, on December 9, 1955. Olson, who entered the fight as a massive favourite, was knocked out in the second round. The rematch, fought five months later at Wrigley Field, ended similarly with Olson going down in the fourth. After this second defeat Olson announced his retirement.

Late career

After a year out of the game Olson returned as a heavyweight to fight Maxim again, a fight he won on points. Olson took another year out following a knockout defeat against Pat McMurtry. Whilst initially coming back as a journeyman, despite being only 30, Olson managed to reestablish himself as a contender. On November 27, 1964 he fought José Torres with the winner going on to fight the champion, Willie Pastrano. Olson was knocked out after 2 minutes of the first round. This defeat effectively ended his career, he would only fight again four more times, with his final fight being a defeat to Gene Fullmer's younger brother, Don.

Life after boxing

Olson retired with a record of 97 wins (47 by KO), 16 losses, and 2 draws from his 115 professional fights. He went on to work with disaffected youngsters before working as a PR officer for the Teamsters Union. In 1987 he was a Union Elevator Operator in Lancaster, California, working on new construction at the Antelope Valley Medical Center. He would travel home on the weekends. At this point of his life he was slow, but kept the workers entertained with his boxing stories. In the 1990s he lived in Northern California for a time. In his later years Olson suffered from Alzheimer's disease. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2000.

Professional boxing record

97 Wins (47 knockouts, 50 decisions), 16 Losses (7 knockouts, 9 decisions), 2 Draws [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	39-13-3	Don Fullmer	MD	10	28/11/1966	Oakland Arena, Oakland, California	2-5, 4-4, 2-6.
Win	30-2-3	Piero Del Papa	SD	10	11/07/1966	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California	4-6, 5-2, 6-3.
Win	24-18-6	Fred Roots	TKO	3	23/09/1965	Centennial Coliseum, Reno, Nevada	Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the third round.
Win	16-1-2	Andy Kendall	UD	10	24/06/1965	Centennial Coliseum, Reno, Nevada	49-46, 50-41, 49-45.
Loss	33-1-1	José Torres	KO	1	27/11/1964	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Bobo knocked out at 2:51 of the first round.
Win	31-6-1	Wayne Thornton	UD	10	28/08/1964	Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco, California	6-3, 5-4, 6-3.
Loss	11-1	Johnny Persol	MD	10	19/06/1964	Madison Square Garden, New York City	5-5, 4-6, 1-9.
Win	29-5-1	Wayne Thornton	MD	10	27/03/1964	Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco, California	7-2, 6-3, 5-5.
Draw	29-5-5	Hank Casey	PTS	10	09/12/1963	Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, California	4-4, 3-4, 4-2.
Win	13-2-1	Jose Menno	UD	10	21/10/1963	Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco, California	7-2, 6-1, 7-0.
Win	30-13	Jesse Bowdry	UD	10	14/05/1963	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii	50-42, 50-42, 50-42.
Win	22-16-7	Sonny Ray	TKO	8	30/04/1963	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	38-31-2	Tiger Al Williams	TKO	5	25/01/1963	Lane County Fair, Eugene, Oregon
Draw	33-6	Giulio Rinaldi	PTS	10	14/12/1962	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome
Win	12-1-3	Lennart Risberg	KO	6	03/06/1962	Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm	Risberg knocked out at 1:44 of the sixth round.
Loss	14-7-1	Pete Rademacher	UD	10	03/04/1962	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	14-17-2	Artie Dixon	PTS	10	19/01/1962	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	37-26-2	Tiger Al Williams	PTS	10	12/01/1962	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	20-21-6	Yancy D. Smith	TKO	8	14/11/1961	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	26-6-2	"Kid" Sixto Rodriguez	UD	10	23/10/1961	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Loss	25-6-2	"Kid" Sixto Rodriguez	UD	10	11/09/1961	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California	2-6, 4-6, 3-6.
Win	34-7-1	Roque Maravilla	UD	10	14/08/1961	Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, California	7-1, 10-0, 6-2.
Win	7-3-4	Floyd Buchanan	TKO	3	16/02/1961	Victoria Memorial Arena, Victoria, British Columbia
Win	18-2-4	Bobby Daniels	UD	10	19/01/1961	Spokane Coliseum, Spokane, Washington	97-90, 99-92, 99-93.
Loss	15-0	Doug Jones	KO	6	31/08/1960	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois	Bobo knocked out at 1:30 of the sixth round.
Win	39-8-4	Mike Holt	PTS	10	06/06/1960	Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng
Win	9-2-1	Al Sparks	TKO	5	05/05/1960	Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, British Columbia
Win	32-6-1	Roque Maravilla	TKO	7	07/04/1960	Auditorium, Portland, Oregon	Referee stopped the bout after the seventh round.
Win	20-8-2	George Kartalian	TKO	5	25/08/1959	Memorial Auditorium, Fresno, California
Win	39-6-1	Herman "Rory" Calhoun	UD	10	30/03/1959	Cow Palace, Daly City, California	95-93, 98-93, 96-93.
Win	10-9-2	Tommy Villa	TKO	5	16/12/1958	Memorial Auditorium, Fresno, California	Referee stopped the bout at 1:28 of the fifth round.
Win	49-12-4	Paddy Young	TKO	6	25/11/1958	Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, California
Win	17-5	Don Grant	TKO	7	28/10/1958	Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, California	Referee stopped the bout at 2:32 of the seventh round.
Loss	25-1-1	Pat McMurtry	KO	2	17/08/1957	Meadows Race Track, Portland, Oregon	Bobo knocked out at 2:34 of the second round.
Win	82-25-4	Joey Maxim	SD	10	18/06/1957	Auditorium, Portland, Oregon	54-56, 57.5-52.5, 56-54.
Loss	137-4-2	Sugar Ray Robinson	KO	4	18/05/1956	Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California	World Middleweight Title. Bobo knocked out at 2:51 of the fourth round.
Loss	136-4-2	Sugar Ray Robinson	KO	2	09/12/1955	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois	World Middleweight Title. Bobo knocked out at 2:51 of the second round.
Win	41-3-1	Joey Giambra	UD	10	26/08/1955	Cow Palace, Daly City, California	58-52, 56.5-53.5, 57.5-52.5.
Win	67-19-7	Jimmy Martinez	UD	10	13/08/1955	Multnomah Stadium, Portland, Oregon	62-48, 61-49, 66-44.
Loss	147-19-8	Archie Moore	KO	3	22/06/1955	Polo Grounds, New York City	World Light Heavyweight Title. Bobo knocked out at 1:00 of the third round.
Win	81-21-4	Joey Maxim	UD	10	13/04/1955	Cow Palace, Daly City, California	59.5-50.5, 60-50, 62-48.
Win	27-10-8	Willie Vaughn	UD	10	12/03/1955	Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California	60-50, 59.5-50.5, 59-51.
Win	33-12-3	Ralph Tiger Jones	UD	10	16/02/1955	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois	100-86, 100-78, 99-87.
Win	65-16-5	Pierre Langlois	TKO	11	15/12/1954	Cow Palace, Daly City, California	World Middleweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:58 of the 11th round.
Win	55-17-3	Garth Panter	TKO	8	03/11/1954	Auditorium, Richmond, California	Joe Louis refereed the bout. Referee stopped the bout at 0:41 of the eighth round.
Win	58-7-4	Rocky Castellani	UD	15	20/08/1954	Cow Palace, Daly City, California	World Middleweight Title. 89-76, 87.5-77.5, 85-80.
Win	12-7	Pedro Gonzales	KO	4	07/07/1954	Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, California	Max Baer refereed the bout.
Win	36-15-5	Jesse Turner	TKO	8	15/06/1954	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii	Referee stopped the bout at 1:09 of the eighth round.
Win	98-13-4	Kid Gavilan	MD	15	02/04/1954	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois	World Middleweight Title. 147-141, 147-139, 144-144.
Win	36-10-3	Joe Rindone	KO	5	23/01/1954	Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California	Rindone knocked out at 2:04 of the fifth round.
Win	49-3-1	Randy Turpin	UD	15	21/10/1953	Madison Square Garden, New York City	World Middleweight Title. 9-4, 11-4, 8-7.
Win	44-8-3	Paddy Young	UD	15	19/06/1953	Madison Square Garden, New York City	American Middleweight Title. 9-4, 12-3, 11-3.
Win	46-9-3	Garth Panter	UD	10	16/03/1953	Butte, Montana	58-42, 52-48, 53-47.
Win	24-13-1	Norman Hayes	UD	10	07/02/1953	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts	99-93, 99-93, 97-95.
Win	24-12-1	Norman Hayes	UD	10	18/12/1952	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California	60-50, 59.5-50.5, 57-53.
Win	74-4	Lee Sala	KO	2	20/11/1952	Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California	Sala knocked out at 2:12 of the second round.
Win	45-11-5	Gene Hairston	TKO	6	27/08/1952	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	52-6-4	Robert Villemain	SD	10	12/07/1952	Cow Palace, Daly City, California	57-53, 56-54, 54-56.
Win	29-9	Jimmy Beau	UD	10	06/06/1952	Madison Square Garden, New York City	8-2, 7-2, 9-0.
Win	39-6	Walter Cartier	TKO	5	19/05/1952	Boxing From Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York	Referee stopped the bout at 1:01 of the fifth round.
Win	6-12-5	Woody Harper	TKO	7	06/05/1952	Auditorium, Richmond, California
Loss	129-2-2	Sugar Ray Robinson	UD	15	13/03/1952	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California	World Middleweight Title. 78.5-86.5, 79.5-85.5, 80.5-84.5.
Win	13-4	Tommy Harrison	UD	10	15/02/1952	Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California	59.5-50.5, 60.5-49.5, 59.5-50.5.
Win	5-11-5	Woody Harper	UD	10	12/02/1952	Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California
Loss	91-9-1	Dave Sands	UD	10	03/10/1951	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois	45-55, 45-55, 42-58.
Win	23-13-7	Bobby Jones	MD	10	27/08/1951	Coliseum Bowl, San Francisco, California
Win	30-25-8	Charley Cato	TKO	3	27/07/1951	Auditorium, Richmond, California
Win	43-20-1	Chuck Hunter	UD	10	09/07/1951	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Win	70-23-4	Lloyd Marshall	KO	5	07/05/1951	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii	Marshall knocked out at 1:03 of the fifth round.
Win	33-6-3	Art Soto	PTS	10	20/03/1951	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Loss	113-1-2	Sugar Ray Robinson	KO	12	26/10/1950	Philadelphia Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Middleweight Title. Bobo knocked out at 1:19 of the 12th round.
Win	25-14-4	Henry Brimm	UD	10	05/09/1950	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	33-15-5	Otis Graham	PTS	10	22/05/1950	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	39-15-5	Roy Miller	RTD	5	25/04/1950	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii	Miller retired due to a broken jaw.
Loss	80-9-1	Dave Sands	PTS	12	20/03/1950	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
Win	50-19-9	Don Lee	PTS	10	22/02/1950	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	47-19-9	Earl "of Richmond" Turner	PTS	10	13/12/1949	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	23-3-1	Johnny Duke	UD	10	22/11/1949	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	23-23-5	Art Hardy	KO	3	23/08/1949	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	22-14-7	Milo Savage	UD	10	26/07/1949	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	76-5	Tommy Yarosz	PTS	10	03/06/1949	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	30-10	Anton Raadik	TKO	7	15/03/1949	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	15-9-2	Paul Perkins	TKO	2	11/01/1949	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	3-3-1	Johnny Boski	KO	1	14/12/1948	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	41-11-4	Kenny Watkins	UD	10	26/10/1948	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	4-2-1	Boy Brooks	TKO	3	12/10/1948	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	24-15-5	Charley Cato	PTS	8	20/07/1948	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	31-39-8	Bobby Castro	PTS	10	11/05/1948	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	24-17-2	Flashy Sebastian	KO	7	07/04/1948	Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Manila, Metro Manila
Win	3-1	Boy Brooks	PTS	12	17/01/1948	Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Manila, Metro Manila	Hawaii Middleweight Title.
Win	25-12-3	Nai Som Pong	KO	3	17/12/1947	Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Manila, Metro Manila
Loss	2-1	Boy Brooks	PTS	10	22/11/1947	Honolulu, Hawaii	Hawaii Middleweight Title.
Win	38-13-13	Georgie Duke	PTS	10	19/08/1947	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii	Hawaii Middleweight Title.
Loss	37-13-13	Georgie Duke	PTS	10	04/07/1947	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii	Hawaii Middleweight Title.
Win	40-18-7	Paulie Lewis	PTS	10	20/06/1947	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	40-52-16	Leroy Wade	TKO	4	02/05/1947	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	10-5	Candy McDaniels	PTS	10	21/03/1947	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	16-7-2	Gil Mojica	PTS	10	28/01/1947	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	6-16-1	Wayne Powell	TKO	4	02/12/1946	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	6-15-1	Wayne Powell	TKO	4	07/10/1946	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	28-9-15	Jackie Ryan	TKO	6	09/09/1946	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	2-1	Johnny Boski	KO	3	19/08/1946	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	2-0	Johnny Boski	KO	4	26/07/1946	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	7-5-1	Ernie Horne	TKO	2	18/07/1946	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	0-2-1	Delaware Bradby	KO	3	25/02/1946	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Win	5-2-3	Chuck Ross	PTS	6	04/02/1946	Coliseum Bowl, San Francisco, California
Win	13-26-12	Pedro Jimenez	KO	4	28/01/1946	Coliseum Bowl, San Francisco, California
Win	6-6-1	Vepe Watson	TKO	1	14/01/1946	Coliseum Bowl, San Francisco, California
Win	1-8	Obie Wooten	TKO	1	07/01/1946	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Win	1-0-1	LaVelle Perkins	TKO	2	21/12/1945	Sacramento, California
Win	1-2-1	Bobby Jones	KO	2	10/12/1945	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Win	17-15-1	Art "Honey" Robinson	TKO	4	23/11/1945	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Win	3-5	Young Pancho	PTS	4	10/09/1944	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	--	Ben Ramos	TKO	4	27/08/1944	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	--	Bob Correa	KO	2	19/08/1944	Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, Hawaii