January 2002 - October 2006 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation
January 2002 - October 2006 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation
January 2002 - October 2006 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation
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TED GULLICK. I WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT AT THE TIME BUT I FORGOT. BUT<br />
YOU RAISED A GOOD POINT AND I WILL GO INTO THE NEXT TIME.|<br />
|3/7/03 11:53:39 AM|FOREST WARD|SOUTH CAROLINA||JOEKEVIN@CS.COM||||10|HI JOHN, I<br />
REMEMBER BOTH JEFF MERRIT AND BLUE LEWIS, VERY WELL. BOTH WERE EX-JAILBIRDS<br />
LOOKING FOR A NEW START IN LIFE THROUGH BOXING. I DID NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT ROCKY<br />
DiFAZIO, EXCEPT FOR WHAT I SAW IN RING MAGAZINE.I REMEMBER WHEN JEFF<br />
MERRITT STARTED FIGHTING, BOY COULD HE PUNCH; ESPECIALLY WITH HIS LEFT HOOK. HE<br />
BEGAN FIGHTING IN THE LATE 60'S IN NEW YORK CITY. MERRITT WAS TRAINED AT THAT<br />
TIME BY SANDY SADDLER. AT THE TIME HE WAS A RECOVERING DOPE ADDICT, WHO DID TIME<br />
IN JAIL FOR ARMED ROBBERRY (THIS WILL BECOME IMPORTANT LATER IN THE STORY).<br />
MERRITT AND FOREST WARD WERE RISING PROSPECTS ON THE HEAVYWEIGHT SCENE IN THE<br />
LATE 60'S IN NYC. MERRITT KEPT YELLING FOR A FIGHT WITH WARD, AND CLAIMED WARD<br />
WAS DUCKING HIM. HE MAY HAVE BEEN RIGHT. IF THEY FOUGHT AT THE TIME SOMEONE<br />
DEFINETLY WOULD HAVE BEEN KNOCKED. BOTH OF THEM AS IT TURNS OUT HAD GLASS JAWS.<br />
IRONICALLY, I SAW THEM BOTH KNOCKED OUT ON THE SAME NIGHT IN MADISON SQUARE<br />
GARDEN, IN SEPT OF 1968. MERRITT WAS KNOCKED OUT IN THE 3RD ROUND BY JOHNNY<br />
GAUSE OF PHILA.,AFTER KNOCKING DOWN GAUSE A COUPLE OF TIMES IN THE SAME ROUND,<br />
IT WAS A SENSATIONAL FIGHT. FOREST WARD WAS KNOCKED OUT IN THE 7TH ROUND BY<br />
CHUCK WEPNER, IN A BEAUTIFUL COME FROM BEHIND VICTORY BY WEPNER. WEPNER FLOORED<br />
WARD IN THE 2ND ROUND; BY THE 4TH ROUND WARD PUMELLING WEPNER SO BAD THE REFEREE<br />
ASKED WEPNER IF HE WANTED TO CONTINUE, THERE WAS NO QUIT IN CHUCK WEPNER. YEARS<br />
LATER I GOT TO KNOW WEPNER AND I TOLD HIM I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT THE WARD FIGHT<br />
WAS HIS BEST FIGHT, HE TOLD ME HIS FAVORITE WAS HIS WIN OVER MANUEL<br />
RAMOS.MERRITT HAD A BUSY YEAR IN NYC IN 1969 AND WON EVERY FIGHT.<br />
IN 1970 HE MOVED AWAY FROM NYC AND FOUGHT OUT OF MIAMI, WITH ANGELO DUNDEE. HERE<br />
IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING. AFTER MUHAMMAD ALI FOUGHT QUARRY IN ALANTA, ALI<br />
SUED FOR A LICENSE IN NYC. IN ALI'S LAW SUIT IT STATED THAT THE NEW YORK STATE<br />
BOXING COMMISSION LICENSED FELONS TO BOX, AND AS A RESULT HE WAS ENTITLED TO A<br />
LICENSE UNTIL HIS COURT APPEAL WAS DECIDED, AND GUESS WHO'S NAME WAS GIVEN AS AN<br />
EXAMPLE? JEFF MERRITT! ALI GOT THE LICENSE AND FOUGHT BONAVENA 5 WEEKS LATER.<br />
FAST FORWARD, A FEW YEARS LATER, DURING A TRAFFIC STOP THE POLICE CHECKED THE<br />
TRUNK OF JEFF MERRITT'S CAR AND FOUND A DEAD BODY. HE WAS SENT BACK TO PRISON.<br />
I CAN ONLY GUESS, BUT I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO I HEARD HE WAS OUT OF<br />
JAIL, AND A CRACK ADDICT BEGGING IN THE STREETS OF LAS VEGAS.BLUE LEWIS,<br />
WAS A GOOD FIGHTER, MOST FIGHTERS DUCKED HIM, MOST NOTABLY BUSTER MATHIS. THE<br />
DETROIT BOXING COMMISSION SUSPENDED MATHIS FOR NOT HONORING A CONTRACT TO FIGHT<br />
LEWIS. LEWIS FOUGHT A PRETTY GOOD FIGHT AGAINST ALI IN DUBLIN. NO QUESTION<br />
ABOUT IT LEWIS WAS A CAPABLE AND GOOD FIGHTER. BEFORE TURNING PRO, LEWIS DID<br />
TIME IN JAIL FOR MANSLAUGHTER, I UNDERSTAND HE LEARNED HOW TO BOX IN PRISON.<br />
ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT LEWIS WAS DESTITUTE IN<br />
DETROIT.JOHN, I WAS LOOKING AT PAST POST AND I SAW ONE YOU MADE ABOUT<br />
TED GULLICK. I WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT AT THE TIME BUT I FORGOT. BUT<br />
YOU RAISED A GOOD POINT AND I WILL GO INTO THE NEXT TIME.|<br />
|3/7/03 12:43:38 PM|JIMMY DORSEY|VENTURA<br />
CALIFORNIA||ronnyrains@yahoo.com||||10|Okay:Usually I KEEP MY OPINIONS SHUT,FOR<br />
CONTROVERSY ON THIS SITE,FOR I FIGURE THEY ARE AS TRIVIAL AS AN OLD ARCHIE MOORE<br />
COMMENT ON JERRY,(talking ABOUT before <strong>Quarry</strong> kayoed Archies own Shavers, and<br />
really won Arches "respect"MOORE EVEN WROTE A COLUMN ABOUT IT). And it seems<br />
they "QUARRY WOMEN" have been attacked again.Listen this Great site is for<br />
Boxing fans, you bozo's. WHY DON'T YOU GUYS UPGRADE YOURSELF Too "STOOGES" LIKE<br />
KENT,FOREST WARD,STEVE/JOHN GERARD AND MYSELF ETC. AND SO ON??!|<br />
|3/7/03 01:04:06 PM|FOREST WARD|SOUTH CAROLINA||JOEKEVIN@CS.COM||||10|JIMMY<br />
DORSEY, YOUR THE MAN! I KNOW I UPSET PEOPLE WITH MY SOMETIME NEGATIVE FEELING<br />
ABOUT BOXING, AND NOT THE QUARRY'S FAMILY STRIFE. BUT, LIKE OTHER'S WHO I<br />
RESPECT ON THIS SITE, IT IS NEVER PERSONAL, AND NORMALY IT'S ABOUT BOXING. AS I<br />
MENTIONED EARLIER, IN ANOTHER POST I DID NOT SEE THE "QUARRY WOMEN POSTING," NOW<br />
ON 2ND THOUGHT, I AM GLAD THAT I DID NOT.ONE MORE THOUGHT ABOUT THE