From Pittsburgh Boxing: A Pictorial History: FRITZIE ZIVIC- World Welterweight Champion. Like Frank Klaus before him, Zivic was a pure fighter, not an athlete. He was not in possession of fluid boxing skills nor did he have an especially powerful punch. But what he did possess were all the intangibles, not the least of which were great fighting instincts; instincts honed in the mean streets of the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, where he grew up. He knew from experience how to size up opponents both in the street and in the ring and quickly assess the best methods to use in order to secure a victory. It was these sharp instincts that Sugar Ray Robinson referred to when he said that he’d learned more from fighting ten rounds with Fritzie Zivic than all of his other fights combined. Considering the large number of great fighters Robinson faced throughout his career, this comes as the highest of praise for the skills (both legal and illegal) of the welterweight known as the “Croat Comet”. Boxing writer Mike Casey summed up Zivic thusly- “He was tough and durable and his punishing style gained him the reputation of a feared warrior. He was the bump in the road that made other contenders think, ‘Oh my God, not him.’” Indeed, Zivic took pride in his evil reputation; it was a part of his identity. He definitely looked the part, with his flat nose, mischievous smirk and wide-eyed stare. Even his name suggested something ominous, “Zivic” sounding like the noise a switchblade made when leaving its sheath. But playing the bad guy role was strictly for the ring. Fritzie was unquestionably a nice guy outside the ropes, with a quick wit and an ability to connect with the common folk that made him popular with the Pittsburgh fight crowd. Both Zivic and fellow tough guy Harry Greb had solid reputations for being “dirty” fighters; no one would deny that they were both rough customers. But with Harry the questionable tactics seemed more incidental, more a product of the frenzied pace of his bouts (Greb fights were always referred to as “torrid affairs”), whereas with Fritzie the fouling always seemed more calculated, more a part of his repertoire aimed at giving him an advantage over an opponent. Unlike Greb, Fritz strove to be dirty. In fact Zivic claimed in interviews to be “irritated” that Harry was considered by many to be a dirtier fighter than himself. He was quite a character. If Fritzie had a weakness it was that he could be inconsistent and/or lethargic at times due to the frequency of his bouts, which were sometimes spaced mere days apart and often in different cities. This gave him little time to rest and recuperate (his third fight with Charley Burley in Pittsburgh is a perfect example, the bout occurring less than a week after a scrap against tough Jackie Burke in St. Louis). On many occasions it almost assured a loss over a fighter he would have otherwise beaten had he been sharp. His record shows a “streaky” ebb and flow, with long strings of wins followed by almost equally long strings of losses. Still, when he was at his best he was one of the greatest of his time and his career boasts a number of victories over many all-time greats, including Henry Armstrong, Charley Burley, Jake LaMotta, Sammy Angott and the sadly overlooked Eddie Booker. Most fighters who managed to beat Fritzie paid dearly for the privilege- nobody got away clean. Even the champions weren’t exempt and almost every winner over Zivic left the ring with the horrible scars of battle etched on his face: Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta both suffered badly gashed eyes; Lou Ambers a broken jaw. Billy Conn’s face was swollen and bloody at the final bell, Bob Montgomery had a lacerated brow and a split lip and Beau Jack bled from the nose and mouth, had lumps on his cheeks and a mouse under each eye. It was the price you paid for going to war with the tough Pittsburgher. Fritzie won the world welterweight title with a systematic butchery of the legendary Henry Armstrong on October 4, 1940, in Madison Square Garden. He was at his cool, calculating best in this fight, never allowing the fury of “Homicide Hank’s” attack to take him out of his own game plan, which consisted of catching the onrushing champ with an assortment of jabs, uppercuts and thumbs to the eyes. At the end of fifteen rounds he was awarded a unanimous decision, Armstrong’s face looking as if it had been blackjacked. True to his inconsistent ways, Zivic would lose the title a year later to the capable but vastly inferior Freddie “Red” Cochrane. Zivic retired in 1949 and began promoting and managing fighters. He remained a much loved figure by his fellow Pittsburghers, so much so that he was encouraged to run for public office. He passed away on May 16, 1984.
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 06:48:51 +0000
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