LaMar Clark

LaMar Freeman Clark
LaMar Freeman Clark
Born	December 1, 1933; Cedar City, Utah
Died	November 5, 2006 (aged 72); West Jordan, Utah
Nationality	American
	Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Stance	Orthodox
	Boxing record
Total fights	46
Wins	43
Wins by KO	42
Losses	3

LaMar Freeman Clark (December 1, 1933 – November 5, 2006) was an American professional boxer who fought in the heavyweight division. He was active from 1958 to 1961 and fought a recorded 46 times in his 3 year-career, mostly in his home state of Utah. The Guinness Book of World Records lists Clark as the boxer with the most consecutive knockouts (42), and also the most knockouts in one night (six).^[1] Clark's knockout streak garnered him nationwide press attention,^[2] though some commentators have derided the poor quality of his opposition.

Amateur career

Clark claimed an amateur record of 25–2, winning a regional Golden Gloves championship in the process.^[3]

Professional career

Clark was managed by Merv Jensen, who also managed middleweight champion Gene Fullmer.^[3] He made his professional debut on January 4, 1958, winning a six-round decision over John Hicks. Subsequently, Clark won his next 44 bouts by knockout. The Historical Dictionary of Boxing describes the quality of his opposition in these bouts as "poor".^[3] None was a rated contender and most had little or no professional experience. In a December 1959 column reflecting on Clark's long KO streak, Red Smith wrote: "Up to now Clark has been whipping sheep herders and streetcar conductors", and thus reserved judgement on his ability.^[4]

To build publicity for Clark, Jensen arranged for him to fight twice in one night; Clark won both bouts by KO. Clark followed up by knocking out three opponents on 10 November 1958 and six opponents on 1 December 1958 (including five in the first round and one within 7 seconds).^[3] Another of Clark's wins was against Tony Burton, who later appeared in the Rocky movies, in a bout refereed by Jack Dempsey. On 11 January 1960, Clark knocked out Kenneth Hayden, his 44th consecutive knockout, surpassing the previous record held by Billy Fox.^[5]

In April 1960, Clark was matched with Bartolo Soni, described as a "tough journeyman" who had never been knocked out.^[3] Clark was unable to KO Soni and was himself stopped in the ninth round. Clark then fought Pete Rademacher, the 1956 Olympic gold medalist and former heavyweight title contender; Rademacher won by a tenth-round knockout. His last fight was on April 19, 1961, against Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali). Clay broke Clark's nose and knocked him out in the second round. Clark retired after this fight.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Other sources state that Clark had 42 or 45 knockouts.^[9]^[3]

Personal life

After retiring from boxing, Clark worked as a track foreman for the railroad operations at Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine until retiring in 1984.^[10]

Clark died on November 5, 2006, aged 72. Clark was survived by his wife of 46 years, Brenda and his daughters Nicole Clark-Romano, Cherese Jones and Theresa Clark. As well as son-in-laws Tony Romano and Brent Jones and Theresa's son, Dillen LaMar Clark.^[11]

Professional boxing record

46 fights	43 wins	3 losses
By knockout	42	3
By decision	1	0

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
46	Loss	43–3	Cassius Clay	KO	2 (10), 1:27	1961-04-19	Freedom Hall State Fairground, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
45	Win	43–2	Chuck Wilburn	KO	2 (10)	1961-03-04	Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
44	Loss	42–2	Pete Rademacher	TKO	10 (10), 2:27	1960-06-29	Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
43	Loss	42–1	Bartolo Soni	TKO	9 (10), 2:02	1960-04-08	Weber High School Gymnasium, Ogden, Utah, USA
42	Win	42–0	Kenneth Hayden	KO	1 (6), 0:59	1960-01-11	Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
41	Win	41–0	Kooey Garcia	KO	1 (8), 1:07	1960-01-02	West Jordan, Utah, USA
40	Win	40–0	Charley Davis	KO	1 (8)	1959-12-04	George Nelson Field House, Logan, Utah, USA
39	Win	39–0	Tony Borne	KO	1 (8)	1959-05-04	Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
38	Win	38–0	Treach Phillips	KO	1 (8)	1959-05-04	Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
37	Win	37–0	Tony Burton	KO	4 (6)	1959-04-04	Polo Grounds, Palm Springs, California, USA
36	Win	36–0	Rod Orell	KO	1 (8), 1:29	1959-03-20	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
35	Win	35–0	Ferrin Barr	KO	1 (8)	1959-02-07	Helper, Utah, USA
34	Win	34–0	Ferrin Barr	KO	2 (6)	1959-01-26	Eldred Recreation Center, Provo, Utah, USA
33	Win	33–0	Bob Hall	KO	1 (8)	1959-01-24	Helper, Utah, USA
32	Win	32–0	Ox Anderson	KO	2 (8)	1959-01-23	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
31	Win	31–0	Phil Paxton	KO	1 (8), 1:39	1959-01-16	Uintah High School Gym, Vernal, Utah, USA
30	Win	30–0	Dennis Forsland	KO	1 (8), 1:31	1958-12-26	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
29	Win	29–0	Ferrin Barr	KO	2 (8)	1958-12-22	Cedar City, Utah, USA
28	Win	28–0	Cornell Butler	KO	1 (8), 1:21	1958-12-15	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
27	Win	27–0	Allan Hedge	KO	1 (8), 0:35	1958-12-15	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
26	Win	26–0	Del Randall	KO	1 (8), 0:22	1958-12-01	Bingham, Utah, USA	Part of 'Intermountain Heavyweight Champion' tournament.
25	Win	25–0	John Lowd	KO	1 (8), 1:19	1958-12-01	Bingham, Utah, USA	Part of 'Intermountain Heavyweight Champion' tournament.
24	Win	24–0	Dick Pierce	KO	1 (8), 0:44	1958-12-01	Bingham, Utah, USA	Part of 'Intermountain Heavyweight Champion' tournament.
23	Win	23–0	Jack Read	TKO	1 (8), 0:07	1958-12-01	Bingham, Utah, USA	Part of 'Intermountain Heavyweight Champion' tournament.
22	Win	22–0	Tom Kidd	KO	1 (8)	1958-12-01	Bingham, Utah, USA	Part of 'Intermountain Heavyweight Champion' tournament.
21	Win	21–0	Wayne Ennis	KO	2 (8), 1:37	1958-12-01	Bingham, Utah, USA	Part of 'Intermountain Heavyweight Champion' tournament.
20	Win	20–0	Sain Thompson	KO	1 (8)	1958-11-29	Kanab, Utah, USA	Part of 'Intermountain Heavyweight Champion' tournament.
19	Win	19–0	Jimmy King	KO	1 (8), 2:12	1958-11-28	Kanab, Utah, USA	Part of 'Intermountain Heavyweight Champion' tournament.
18	Win	18–0	Hal Crump	KO	2 (8), 1:40	1958-11-28	Kanab, Utah, USA	Part of 'Intermountain Heavyweight Champion' tournament.
17	Win	17–0	Ken Howard	KO	1 (4), 1:35	1958-11-10	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
16	Win	16–0	Dick Tanner	RTD	2 (4), 3:00	1958-11-10	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
15	Win	15–0	Maurice Leniece	KO	1 (4), 2:11	1958-11-10	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
14	Win	14–0	Ricky Smith	KO	1 (4), 2:32	1958-10-13	West Jordan Elementary School, West Jordan, Utah, USA
13	Win	13–0	Oscar Talley	KO	1 (4), 0:55	1958-10-13	West Jordan Elementary School, West Jordan, Utah, USA
12	Win	12–0	Rusty Davis	KO	1 (6), 2:01	1958-09-11	Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
11	Win	11–0	Joe Sullivan	KO	4 (8)	1958-07-26	Arena, West Jordan, Utah, USA
10	Win	10–0	Willie Dalton	KO	1 (8)	1958-07-17	West Jordan, Utah, USA
9	Win	9–0	Dynamite Jackson	KO	1 (6), 0:37	1958-07-07	West Jordan, Utah, USA
8	Win	8–0	Buck Dixon	KO	4 (4), 0:39	1958-06-04	West Jordan Park, West Jordan, Utah, USA
7	Win	7–0	Jerry Olster	KO	2 (8)	1958-04-05	Cedar City, Utah, USA
6	Win	6–0	Buck Dixon	KO	1 (4), 2:30	1958-03-03	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
5	Win	5–0	Keith Jacobsen	KO	1 (4), 1:02	1958-01-28	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
4	Win	4–0	Jack Read	KO	2 (8)	1958-01-21	Cedar City, Utah, USA
3	Win	3–0	John Hicks	KO	3 (8)	1958-01-18	Cedar City, Utah, USA
2	Win	2–0	Willard Whitaker	KO	2 (10)	1958-01-11	Cedar City, Utah, USA
1	Win	1–0	John Hicks	PTS	6 (6)	1958-01-04	Cedar City, Utah, USA

References

^ "Most consecutive knockouts". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
^ "Boxer Lamar Clark Ties Knockout Record, 43 in a Row". The Washington Post. 4 January 1960.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f John Grasso (14 November 2013). Historical Dictionary of Boxing. Scarecrow Press. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-0-8108-7867-9.
^ "Lamar Clark, Knockout Artist". The York Dispatch. 11 December 1959.
^ "Clark Shatters Knockout Record By Blasting Hayden In First". Deseret News and Salt Lake Telegram. 12 January 1960.
^ "Muhammad Ali's ring record". ESPN. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
^ Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 38. ISBN 9780671688929.
^ Felix Dennis & Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. p. 58.
^ David L. Hudson Jr. (13 May 2009). Combat Sports: An Encyclopedia of Wrestling, Fighting, and Mixed Martial Arts. ABC-CLIO. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-0-313-34384-1.
^ "Clark". kennecott-groundbreakers.com. RioTinto. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
^ "Utah boxing great Clark dies at age 72". The Salt Lake Tribune. 8 November 2006.

External links

Boxing record for LaMar Clark from BoxRec (registration required) (history)

[1] "Most consecutive knockouts". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 11 December 2022.

[2] "Boxer Lamar Clark Ties Knockout Record, 43 in a Row". The Washington Post. 4 January 1960.

[Grasso-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f John Grasso (14 November 2013). Historical Dictionary of Boxing. Scarecrow Press. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-0-8108-7867-9.

[4] "Lamar Clark, Knockout Artist". The York Dispatch. 11 December 1959.

[5] "Clark Shatters Knockout Record By Blasting Hayden In First". Deseret News and Salt Lake Telegram. 12 January 1960.

[ESPN_record-6] "Muhammad Ali's ring record". ESPN. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 6 October 2016.

[Hauser-7] Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 38. ISBN 9780671688929.

[Glory_Years-8] Felix Dennis & Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. p. 58.

[Jr.2009-9] David L. Hudson Jr. (13 May 2009). Combat Sports: An Encyclopedia of Wrestling, Fighting, and Mixed Martial Arts. ABC-CLIO. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-0-313-34384-1.

[10] "Clark". kennecott-groundbreakers.com. RioTinto. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2024.

[11] "Utah boxing great Clark dies at age 72". The Salt Lake Tribune. 8 November 2006.

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