Roy Harris (boxer)

Roy Harris (born 29 June 1933) is an American lawyer and retired heavyweight boxer, whose nickname derived from his place of birth, Cut and Shoot, Texas.[1] Roy is a co-trainer of undefeated title contender Alfonso López III.[2]

Roy Harris
Statistics
Real nameRoy Harris
Nickname(s)Cut N' Shoot
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Reach73 in (185 cm)
NationalityAmerican
Born (1933-06-29) June 29, 1933
Cut and Shoot, Texas
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights36
Wins30
Wins by KO9
Losses5
Draws0
No contests1

Early life

Harris was born in Cut and Shoot, Texas, on 29 June 1933. His father, a lifelong hog farmer, taught him how to box and wrestle. Following his four Golden Gloves championship victories, he enrolled in Sam Houston State University, excelling as an honor student, before joining the United States Army. He rose to the rank of Captain and served in the reserves for another 12 years.[3]

Amateur career

Roy and his brother Henry took up the boxing together after receiving their first set of gloves in a trade for wild ducks. Roy was a four-time Texas Golden Gloves amateur champion, won his state Olympic Trials in 1952, and was the winner of the Joe Louis Sportsmanship Award at the 1954 National Golden Gloves.

Professional career

Roy was a heavyweight contender during the 1950s. He won his first 23 fights, including consecutive wins against Willi Besmanoff, Bob Baker and Willie Pastrano, and was named Ring Magazine's progress of the year for 1957.

World Heavyweight Championship

Before the bout, Roy was on the cover of Sports Illustrated.[4] In August 1958, he was given a title shot by world champion Floyd Patterson. Patterson had trouble obtaining title defenses, as boxing at the time was controlled by organisations that Patterson and his manager, Cus D'Amato, refused to cooperate with.

The promotion was colorful, due to the backstory of Roy's kinsmen, one of the celebrated East Texas clans still existing as their forebears had for generations. Much was made of the "backwoods" quality of Roy's life, and every venue was utilized in using this as ballyhoo; this extended as far as having Roy record a 45 RPM record for airplay only (DECCA Records, No. 9-30717). Roy was predictably photographed in cowboy hat and boots, and in one wire photo, he holds a revolver at the ready (AP Wirephoto rw41500sh). The aforementioned Sports Illustrated cover portrayed him barechested and barefoot, standing upon a cabin porch with 19th Century rifle at rest beside him; he further sports a canine companion.[5] To watch the fight in Texas, Roy's extended family gathered at the drive-in theater in nearby Conroe, which was equipped for the occasion with its own closed circuit movie hook-up. [5]

The fight took place at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, CA. Roy knocked down the champion in the second round, but was himself knocked down four times; his corner stopped the fight before the 13th round. Mushy Callahan was the referee.[6]

When questioned, Harris - a former winner of the Joe Louis Sportsman Award - simply said: "I did my best."[7]

Harris subsequently won six consecutive fights, before being stopped 2.35 minutes into his bout Sonny Liston. He then dropped a decision to Henry Cooper and was stopped twice by Bob Cleroux.

Retirement

He retired with a final record of 30 wins and five losses. He is believed to be the only boxer to become a lawyer after fighting for the world heavyweight title. Roy Harris was a county clerk in Montgomery County for 28 years. He began practicing law in 1972 and drew up the papers for Cut And Shoot to become incorporated. Roy's office is based in his home and he has been married 47 years and has six children.

Professional boxing record
30 Wins (9 knockouts, 20 decisions, 1 DQ), 5 Losses (4 knockouts, 1 decision), 1 No Contest [8]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 25-2-1 Bob Cleroux TKO 4 23/05/1961 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas Referee stopped the bout at 3:00 of the fourth round.
Win 13-5 Dave Rent DQ 5 28/02/1961 Houston, Texas Rent disqualified at 2:03 of the fifth round for headbutting.
Loss 20-7-1 Henry Cooper PTS 10 13/09/1960 Empire Pool, Wembley, London
Loss 20-1-1 Bob Cleroux KO 5 27/07/1960 Delorimier Stadium, Montreal, Quebec Harris knocked out at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Loss 28-1 Sonny Liston TKO 1 25/04/1960 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the first round.
Win 58-25-7 Henry Hall UD 7 21/03/1960 Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 4-0 Alejandro Lavorante UD 10 24/11/1959 San Antonio Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas 99-95, 100-92, 99-90.
Win 38-14-1 Joe Bygraves UD 10 25/08/1959 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas
Win 20-3-2 Chuck Powell UD 10 09/06/1959 Houston, Texas 100-90, 100-90, 100-87.
Win 26-3 Donnie Fleeman UD 12 01/04/1959 Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas Texas Heavyweight Title. 120-108, 120-105, 119-109.
No Contest 12-5-1 John Hunt NC 5 03/02/1959 El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Win 25-2 Donnie Fleeman UD 12 01/12/1958 Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas Texas Heavyweight Title. 119-109, 120-107, 120-107.
Loss 33-1 Floyd Patterson RTD 12 18/08/1958 Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California World Heavyweight Title. 97-117, 102-116, 98-117.
Win 37-9-7 Willi Besmanoff UD 10 29/10/1957 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas 97-91, 100-91, 100-91.
Win 40-4-5 Willie Pastrano UD 10 11/06/1957 Houston, Texas 97-96, 98-95, 98-95.
Win 47-9-1 Bob "The Grinder" Baker MD 10 30/04/1957 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas 96-93, 97-92, 96-96.
Win 28-12-1 Joey Rowan PTS 10 26/02/1957 Houston City Auditorium, Houston, Texas
Win 25-4 Claude Chapman TKO 8 29/01/1957 Houston, Texas
Win 5-1 JD Marshall TKO 2 19/11/1956 Tyler, Texas
Win 26-13 Charley Norkus UD 10 02/10/1956 Houston City Auditorium, Houston, Texas
Win 27-4 Oscar Pharo PTS 10 27/08/1956 Tyler, Texas
Win 7-4 Calvin Butler PTS 10 30/05/1956 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas
Win 49-13-6 "Chief" Alvin Williams UD 10 21/05/1956 Tyler, Texas
Win 1-5-1 Johnny Bullard KO 4 16/04/1956 Tyler, Texas
Win 9-3 Don Howard Tucker KO 3 20/02/1956 Tyler, Texas
Win 12-24-4 Ponce DeLeon Taylor PTS 10 13/12/1955 Houston City Auditorium, Houston, Texas
Win 11-1 Buddy Turman SD 12 28/11/1955 Tyler, Texas Texas Heavyweight Title.
Win 2-7-2 Fred Taylor PTS 10 01/11/1955 Houston, Texas
Win 2-5 Duke Smith KO 3 01/10/1955 Tyler, Texas
Win 0-2 LeJune Burks KO 6 30/09/1955 Conroe, Texas
Win 1-5 Dick Brown TKO 3 30/08/1955 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas
Win -- Chuck Connor KO 2 28/06/1955 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas
Win -- Bobby Watson PTS 6 14/06/1955 LaGrave Field, Fort Worth, Texas
Win 4-1 Ted Donald PTS 8 03/06/1955 Conroe, Texas
Win 9-16 JD Harvey PTS 6 03/05/1955 Galveston City Auditorium, Galveston, Texas
Win -- Tommie Smith TKO 3 26/04/1955 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas

Bibliography
  • Harris, Roy; Montgomery, Robin Navarro (2012). Roy Harris of Cut and Shoot: Texas Backwoods Battler. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, Inc. ISBN 9781475960679. OCLC 819070994.

References
  1. "Roy Harris - Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved 2013-08-10.
  2. "Lopez and Pavlik – One Nice Guy Will Finish First - Boxing News". Doghouseboxing.com. 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2013-08-10.
  3. Cut and Shoot's Roy Harris a hometown hero in and out of the boxing ring.
  4. "Roy Harris, Boxing, - 08.18.58 - SI Vault". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved 2013-08-10.
  5. Montgomery, Robin (1984). Cut 'n Shoot Texas. Austin, TX: Eakin Press. p. 180. ISBN 0-89015-429-5.
  6. "A Brief Look at Floyd Patterson, Roy Harris". East Side Boxing. Archived from the original on 2003-10-07. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
  7. Montgomery, Robin (1984). Cut 'n Shoot, Texas. Austin, TX: Eakin Press. ISBN 0-89015-429-5.
  8. "Roy Harris - Boxer". Boxrec.com. Retrieved 2013-08-10.
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