Jerry Quarry

Jerry Quarry (May 15, 1945 – January 3, 1999), nicknamed "Irish" or "The Bellflower Bomber", was an American heavyweight boxer.^[2] Quarry was rated by Ring Magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport, from 1968 to 1971, during the peak of his career. His most famous bouts were against world champions Floyd Patterson, Jimmy Ellis, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton.^[3] His professional career record of 53 wins-9 losses-4 draws included wins over some of the best heavyweights of his era, 1965-75. Quarry also had a remarkably successful amateur boxing career. Also briefly a Hollywood actor, Quarry appeared in a number of television roles, and also played a recurring character on the show Adam-12. His younger brother, Mike Quarry, was also a high-ranked contender in the light heavyweight division.^[4]

Overview

Quarry was a durable and smart counter-puncher/action fighter. He had speed in both hands, including an excellent left hook. He also was notable for having a remarkable chin. He was never knocked out in any of his 66 fights, though some ended early as losses. His major flaw as a fighter was a tendency to cut easily. He was also on the smaller side as a heavyweight in this era. Quarry was six feet tall (1.83 metres) and often weighed less than 200 pounds (88 kilograms) for his matches. he also had what was considered very average reach as a boxer at only 72 inches. Today, he would be a cruiserweight, a division he greatly helped to inspire.

Boxing career

Early days

Quarry was the most visible member of a significant Irish-American boxing family, which included three other pro boxers (his father and two brothers).^[5][6] Quarry's father first put gloves on his son at five years. His career, he later felt, was decided for him at a very young age. Quarry fought first as a Junior Amateur, winning his first trophies at the age of eight. Later, he contracted nephritis, a debilitating illness which sidelined him for years. His comeback from that illness to become a professional athlete was considered medically remarkable. Quarry came to notice by winning the 1965 National Golden Gloves championship in Kansas City at age 19. Weighing just 183 pounds, Quarry knocked out each of his five opponents in the tournament, a feat unmatched before or since in the history of the tournament. In the wake of that unprecedented feat, Quarry began his pro career in May 1965, winning a decision against Gene Hamilton in Los Angeles.

1960s

Despite starting in May, Quarry had 14 matches in 1965 at the start of his pro career. Many of his early career fights took place at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, where he was a popular crowd draw. Quarry supplemented meager boxing pay then by working as a tire changer at a Greyhound bus terminal. Quarry's first loss came in his 21st bout, in July, 1966, a poor showing against veteran and former contender Eddie Machen in 1966. By then he had three draws on his record. Motivated by the loss to Machen, Quarry ran off a streak of wins over good, second-tier heavyweights and rose in the rankings.

In mid-1967, the World Boxing Association (W.B.A.) held a tournament to replace Muhammad Ali, a heavyweight champion who had been stripped of his title for refusing induction into the military after being drafted. The tournament was expanded to include eight heavyweights, and did not include Joe Frazier, who had accepted a title belt outside the WBA. When the tournament was expanded, Quarry was included. Quarry's first tournament bout was a rematch of his fourth draw fight earlier that year against former world champion Floyd Patterson. In both matches, Quarry dominated the early rounds with multiple knockdowns of Patterson, then tired and faded as the bouts concluded. He hung on better in the second bout, and was given a split-decision victory. His second tournament match was against fellow Californian Thad Spencer, who was highly lauded and ranked coming into the match. Quarry dominated Spencer, and rose to national attention with the KO win. This put him in the WBA tournament final against Louisville native Jimmy Ellis. Ellis, who was coached by Ali for the bout, fought an effective evasive boxing style in the match, and defeated Quarry by a close split decision. The bout is considered Quarry's first heavyweight title opportunity. After the bout, according to stories, it was found that Quarry had fought Ellis with a small bone fracture in his back. The bout with Ellis had come less than three months after the Spencer fight, also. After a layoff of six months, Quarry returned after the Ellis loss to post another streak of wins. Notable among these was a lopsided 12-round decision win over 1964 U.S. Olympian Buster Mathis. The win over the ranked Mathis positioned Quarry for his second title shot.

By then, Joe Frazier had KO'd Ellis to unify the two boxing belts. This first match against Frazier took place June, 23rd, 1969. It was Quarry's 38th pro fight and Frazier's 23rd pro fight. Both had turned pro in 1965. The fight was held at New York City's Madison Square Garden, which is where the Mathis fight had also been held three months earlier. This would be the site of a number of Quarry's fights in years to come. During this time, he called New York City his home citing bad press he received in Los Angeles. The fight was cited later by writers and observers for its remarkable early action. Round One was later called "Round Of The Decade" and the bout was later named Ring Magazines "Fight of The Year". Quarry fought a very aggressive fight to please the crowds after the lacklustre Ellis match, going head-to-head in the center of the ring with Frazier, and fighting Frazier's kind of fight. Judges gave Quarry the edge in points for the first two rounds as he landed the more punches with his greater speed and combination punching. But as he was slugging with the slugger, he began to fade under the fast pace of the war and hard punches of Frazier. He was cut badly by Frazier in the third round but continued on. Unable to hurt Frazier at this point and receiving many unanswered shots, the fight was stopped after the 7th round due to the cut. He was well behind in scoring at this point. There were no knockdowns in the bout, which was an impressive fact given all the hard punches landed.

Returning quickly after the loss to Frazier, Quarry won two bouts before meeting Canadian George Chuvalo in December, 1969. The bout against Chuvalo, then unranked would be the subject of controversy. Quarry easily led the bout after the first six rounds, effectively boxing the Canadian puncher. In the 7th round, Chuvalo caught Quarry with a surprise right hand that knocked the Californian off his feet. Quarry rose at the count of four, then took a knee so that he could rest while taking the rest of the ten-second count. Rising exactly at the count of ten, referee Zach Clayton ruled that Quarry was counted out. Quarry, visibly unhurt, disputed the ruling, but it was counted as a loss nonetheless.

On one episode of I Dream Of Jeanie, a sitcom of the 1960s Jerry played himself as a trainer for astronaut Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman).

1970s

Quarry returned quickly after the controversial loss to Chuvalo to post another streak of wins. Noteworthy among them was a 6th-round KO win over fellow Californian Mac Foster. Foster came into the bout ranked #1 with a record of 24-0, with all 24 wins by KO. Quarry was ranked #6, and weighed 195 for the bout. Foster weighed 215. It was a very impressive, dominating win by Quarry which figured to put him back in line for another title shot. At this time, exiled former champion Muhammad Ali had successfully sued to win the right to return as a professional boxer. Ali approached every one of the ten ranked heavyweights then for a match. Quarry was the only one willing to face him, and so got the nod for the first bout against Ali in his return. The bout received tremendous publicity and arguably remains today as Quarry's most famous bout.^[7] The bout took place at the City Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia on October 26, 1970. Ali dominated the first two rounds, moving well and scoring with his left jab and combinations. Quarry was able to land only a handful of punches, most of them glancing blows. In the third round, Quarry was badly cut by a right hand over his left eye following an exchange with Ali. Trainer Teddy Bentham, a veteran cut man, realized the cut was too severe for Quarry to continue, even though he argued to continue. Referee Tony Perez waved the bout over before the start of the 4th round, which was ruled a 3rd round technical KO. Quarry disputed the decision and demanded a rematch against Ali, which he would later receive.^[8]

Following the loss to Ali, Quarry had his second six-month layoff. He focused on television roles during this period, appearing on a number of television shows. In June, 1971, he returned to start another streak of wins. Noteworthy among them was a revenge of his earlier draw against tall Tony Doyle at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with a lopsided decision. He then KO'd British and European champion Jack Bodell in the first round. That fight was held in London. His second fight there during this streak was against Larry Middleton. Middleton was the kind of tall, quick boxer with long reach who often gave Quarry trouble in bouts. Quarry won a very narrow, controversial decision against Middleton. By then, Quarry had lobbied long and hard for a rematch against Ali. He finally was allowed that rematch a month after the Middleton bout. The second bout against Ali, no longer champion at this point, took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center on June 27, 1972. Their match was the headlining bout of a fight card that Ali called "The Soul Brothers Versus The Quarry Brothers." Bob Arum promoted the fight, with Ali playing up the obvious racial differences between his black fighters and the white Quarrys. In an earlier bout, Jerry's brother Mike, a high-ranked light heavyweight contender was KO'd by Light heavyweight champion and devastating puncher Bob Foster, and seriously injured. Ali weighed 216 for their bout, Quarry 198. The bout was eventful. At the opening bell, Quarry rushed Ali, got under his shoulders and lifted him briefly off the canvas before Referee Mike Kaplan separated the fighters. During the whole fight, Quarry had his injured brother on his mind and barely put up a fight. Visibly tired at the end of the 6th round, Quarry came out for the seventh and was hit by a half-dozen shots by Ali, who waved the referee in to stop the fight, which Quarry protested. The bout was a difficult night for the Quarry family in general, who were the object of racial insults from black fight fans and Ali / King supporters. This Ali bout magnified for observers the racial overtones that existed throughout Quarry's career. Greatly supported by white Americans, he had been called a ' white hope ', or " The Great White Hope ". He was also therefore derided by many black American boxing fans of the era for the same reason.

That racially inflamed loss to Ali behind him, Quarry, now managed by Gil Clancy, bounced back to post yet another streak of impressive wins. He seemed to mature as a fighter here, and 1973 was perhaps his greatest year as a heavyweight.

Despite deterioration in his movement and reflexes, and now having very scarred facial tissue, Quarry gave possibly the two best performances of his career next. After defeating 21-2 Randy Neumann in January, Quarry was placed into a bout similar to his previous Mac Foster match, as a ranked tune-up for a higher ranked contender. Ron Lyle was 19-0 with 17 knockouts, and the tough ex-convict was in line for a title shot when he met Quarry in February. The 6' 3 Lyle weighed 219 for the bout, Quarry 200. Despite trailing early on, Quarry took control of the fight in the middle rounds and, in perhaps his best performance, thoroughly outboxed Lyle for a lopsided 12-round decision win in an action packed fight. During this time, Quarry also got a chance to show off his overall athletic ability. On the ABC television show " The Superstars ", Quarry was invited to compete against other heavyweight boxers in the series of athletic contests the show was known for. Winning that competition, he qualified for the Superstars final that year, and finished fourth to three NFL football players, an impressive showing. Noteworthy in those performances was his impressive ability to hit a baseball. Two wins later, Don King brought Quarry in to meet hard-punching Earnie Shavers in December. Shavers was 46-2 with 44 KOs. In another bout filled with the same racial overtones as the second Ali bout, Quarry surprised Shavers. After receiving a few hard shots, he landed a big punch in the 1st round and followed that up to win a stunning first-round KO win. The incensed King reportedly left Shavers in the ring and tore up his contract to manage him. Heavyweight champion George Foreman was in attendance, and negotiations for a title bout were already in motion for mid-1974. After the Shavers bout, Foreman reportedly backed away from that proposed bout.^[9] He later claimed to have dodged Quarry, who he never formally met in the ring. Quarry later claimed to be ' locked out ' of big-opportunity fights in 1974 by King, and found himself desperately looking for quality opponents that might get him a title shot. In June, 1974, he agreed to rematch Joe Frazier. Quarry was the same size as at their first bout, but Frazier, now 212 pounds, was bigger. Quarry attempted to box Frazier this time, but due to the years of punishment, even in the recent wins against hard hitters Lyle and Shavers, he was more open to Frazier's shots and less mobile than he use to be. Straight away, a determined Frazier began to connect hard punches at the physically diminished Quarry who couldn't muster the movement to evade Frazier. Staggering him with a trademark left hook at the end of the first round, Frazier exposed to the world that Quarry had lost his once great punch resistance. Frazier then began landing solidly with both hands to Quarry's head and body, beginning a sickening beat down. Quarry was already on wobbly legs when Frazier dropped with a hard left hook to the stomach just before the bell ending the 4th round. Quarry was visibly injured by the blow, but tried unsuccessfully to continue. The fight continued, with Frazier backing away from Quarry after opening up bad cuts over both eyes. Joe Louis, however, waved Frazier back on. After landing a few more clean head shots, Louis finally stopped the fight early in the 5th round, a one sided thrashing. Louis never refereed another fight. ^[10]

Quarry by now was not the same fighter he used to be, his reflexes and punch resistance were much diminished. But he was still a talented big-name that could attract crowds. He had made millions in the ring without ever being champion at a time when few had ever made that much money in boxing. He continued his television acting work, and had by now briefly helped road-manage the rock band Three Dog Night. After a win in February, 1975, Quarry begged to put in line for a fight with contender Ken Norton. When first choices Oscar Bonavena and Jimmy Young bowed out with injuries, Quarry was placed into the Norton bout on 18 days notice. Norton had been training for five months. The Norton fight was Quarry's 62nd pro fight. Norton, who was about the same age as Quarry, was 32-3. The 6' 3 Norton weighed 218 for the bout, Quarry 207 with little training beforehand. Clancy was once again in Quarry's corner. The fight took place March 24, 1975. The fight was a war of hard punches, with Norton connecting well early against a Jerry Quarry with shot reflexes, a sitting duck for Norton's vicious attacks. He was cut badly in the 3rd round, and attacked Norton so that he would have a chance to win before the fight was stopped. Norton survived a tough Quarry attack and continued his assault. The fight was stopped in the 5th round after Quarry came under a barrage of clean shots to the head. There were many calls for him to retire afterwards as it was evident in the Frazier and Norton fights that he was a 'shot' fighter.

Retirement

Quarry retired for over two and a half years after the Norton fight. His career record was at 50-8-4 at this time, with 32 wins by KO. He had two losses each to Frazier and Ali plus one apiece to Norton, Chuvalo, Ellis and Machen to this point. He had been ranked as high as the #1 contender three times. Well-paid and very popular, it was an outstanding boxing career to this point. Arguably, Hall Of Fame caliber. At around this time, Quarry signed a contract with ABC ( American Broadcasting Corporation ) to be a boxing commentator. Quarry was very popular in this position, drawing the ire of Howard Cosell, an ABC commentator being pushed out of some work by Quarry. In mid-1977, a return match was being put together which would put Quarry in against a ranked heavyweight. The ranked heavyweight would be Italian Lorenzo Zanon. The match was to be televised on ABC, where Quarry was contracted. But both fighters signed to have the bout televised on CBS ( Columbia Broadcasting System ). When Quarry, who often negotiated his own fight contracts, signed the bout to CBS, he lost his ABC contract. The comeback match took place in November 1977, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Quarry, weighing 209, looked slow and a shell of his former self, was clearly outboxed over seven rounds by Zanon. But Quarry caught him with a hard right in the 8th round, and won the fight by KO in the 9th. Despite winning, it was a poor performance, and Quarry retired again afterward, this time for almost six years.

During those years, Quarry was married and divorced twice. He also lost a great deal of his fortune in failed business investments. No longer doing television work, he decided to return to the ring. With the Cruiserweight division now created, Quarry returned in that weight class. When he returned in August, 1983, he was 38 years old, and had been inspired by a similar late-career comeback by George Foreman. Though appearing to be in good health, Quarry was in fact already beginning to show the effects of his lengthy boxing career. A Sports Illustrated reporter was researching an article about health problems among retired boxers, especially among those who started as child boxers. The reporter met Quarry, and although he appeared to be in good health, Quarry's performance on several simple cognitive tests was shockingly poor.^[11] This was the harbinger of the mental decline that would eventually destroy the last part of his life – dementia pugilistica, the atrophy of the brain from repeated blows to the head, eventually leading to an Alzheimer's-like state. A 1983 CT scan of Quarry's brain done for the article and confidently agreed to by him, showed classic evidence of brain atrophy, including the characteristic cavum septi pellucidi found in many boxers with long careers. Despite these developing facts, Quarry had two wins in 1983, but the fights accelerated his mental decline. He retired again and was inactive as a boxer from 1984 to 1992, but Quarry continued to decline physically and mentally.^[12] His entire boxing fortune completely gone by 1990, Quarry filed for Social Security at age 45.^[13] Denied a boxing license in any states because of his condition, Quarry found a loophole in Colorado^[14][15] that allowed him to schedule an October 30, 1992 bout with Ron Cramner, a cruiserweight 16 years Quarry's junior. At age 47 years and 6 months old, Quarry provided nothing more than a 6-round punching bag for the younger fighter, losing all six rounds and the decision. Only Quarry's courage and great chin let him last the full 6 rounds. Quarry was never the same after that fight.

Physical and mental decline

Within a few years of his final bout, Quarry was unable to feed or dress himself and had to be cared for by relatives, mainly his brother James – the only one of the four Quarry brothers not to box professionally.^[16] Jerry's brother, Mike, who had contended for the light-heavyweight championship, was himself beginning to show signs of Dementia pugilistica in later life and died as a result on June 11, 2006. Another brother, Bobby, suffers from Parkinson's disease, believed to be the result of his own, less-heralded heavyweight boxing career.

Jerry Quarry was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.^[17] A TV documentary showed he seemed barely aware of the proceedings, the dementia he suffered now severe. Quarry was hospitalized with pneumonia on December 28, 1998 and then suffered cardiac arrest. He never regained consciousness and died on January 3, 1999. He is interred at Shafter Cemetery in Shafter, California. A foundation was established in his honor to battle boxing-related dementia, a condition that has afflicted many boxers and brought Quarry's life to an early end.^[18]

Legacy

Quarry's overall professional record was 53-9-4 with 32 KOs. He had been lauded by countless younger boxing stars as an inspiring star in the sport. Said Joe Frazier, in his autobiography, of Quarry: "A very tough man. He could have been a world champion, but he cut too easily." George Foreman has also similarly lauded Quarry. Quarry fought in what has been called " The Golden Age Of Heavyweight Boxing ", where the talent level of the sport and its level of national interest were at a peak. The sport of boxing, and the heavyweight division in particular, have generally declined in interest within the following decades. This is at least partly due to the number of injuries and illnesses that are associated with the sport. Quarry, Muhammad Ali and other notable boxing stars were debilitated figures in their post-career lives.^[16][19]

Professional boxing record

53 Wins (32 knockouts, 11 decisions), 9 Losses (6 knockouts, 3 decision), 4 Draws [20]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	53-9-4	Ron Cranmer	UD	6	30/10/1992	Aurora, Colorado	At 47, Quarry's legs were there, but after 9 years of inactivity, his skills were only memories as his reflexes were shot. Jerry took a jab beating from Cranmer, in this, his final comeback, fought at the cruiserweight limit. Inspired by Foreman's comeback.
Win	53-8-4	James Williams	MD	10	22/11/1983	Kern County Fairgrounds, Bakersfield, California
Win	52-8-4	Lupe Guerra	TKO	1 (10)	31/08/1983	Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico	Quarry raced across the ring and decked Guerra with the 1st punch he threw-his trademark left hook. Guerra got up, whereupon Quarry threw and landed a 3 punch combination and down went Guerra again. Guerra's corner then threw in the towel and the referee stopped the contest without bothering to count.
Win	51-8-4	Lorenzo Zanon	TKO	9 (10)	05/11/1977	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas	Zanon won every round on the officials scorecards until the 8th.
Loss	50-8-4	Ken Norton	TKO	5 (12)	24/03/1975	Madison Square Garden, New York	For vacant NABF Heavyweight title. Title had been vacated by Muhammad Ali to challenge George Foreman for the WBC and WBA Heavyweight titles.
Win	50-7-4	George Johnson	UD	10	25/02/1975	International Center Arena, Honolulu
Loss	49-7-4	Joe Frazier	TKO	5 (10)	17/06/1974	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	49-6-4	Joe Alexander	KO	2 (10)	08/05/1974	Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York	Quarry knocked down in the 1st. Alexander down twice in the 2nd.
Win	48-6-4	Earnie Shavers	TKO	1 (10)	14/12/1973	Madison Square Garden, New York	A minute and a half into the round Jerry caught him with a tremendous left and dropped him with a following right. Shavers barely beat the count and Quarry immediately swarmed all over him. Referee Arthur Mercante called a halt at 2:21 of the 1st round.
Win	47-6-4	Tony Doyle	TKO	4 (10)	10/09/1973	Forum, Inglewood, California
Win	46-6-4	James J Woody	TKO	2 (10)	31/08/1973	Convention Center, Las Vegas	Woody down three times in the 2nd round, and the 3 knockdown rule was in effect to stop the fight.
Win	45-6-4	Ron Lyle	UD	12	09/02/1973	Madison Square Garden, New York	A short right hand in the 5th round caught Lyle on the chin and made his knees wobble. But there were only 30 seconds left and Lyle was able to survive the assault. In the 8th Quarry landed a looping left hook that caught Lyle by surprise and sent him staggering up against the ropes, but again Lyle made it through the round.
Win	44-6-4	Randy Neumann	TKO	7 (10)	09/02/1973	Madison Square Garden, New York	Quarry softened up Neumann with hard body blows early in the fight then finished his opponent with a two-fisted attack to the head that forced ring physician, Dr. Edwin Campbell, to stop the bout before the bell sounded for the 8th round.
Loss	43-6-4	Muhammad Ali	TKO	7 (12)	27/06/1972	Convention Center, Las Vegas	For NABF Heavyweight title.
Win	43-5-4	Larry Middleton	PTS	10	09/05/1972	Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England	Quarry's fitness and strength carried him through in the end, but Middleton's long reach caused him a lot of trouble. In the early rounds Middleton held his opponent off with long left hands. By the middle of the fight Quarry got his booming counter-punching going and punished Middleton severely to the body.
Win	42-5-4	Eduardo Corletti	KO	1 (10)	17/04/1972	Forum, Inglewood, California	Corletti was knocked down twice.
Win	41-5-4	Lou Bailey	UD	10	02/12/1971	Des Moines, Iowa	Quarry knocked Bailey down 6 times in the featured event, but failed to get a knockout. Quarry sent Bailey down twice in the opening round, three times in the 2nd and once in the 3rd.
Win	40-5-4	Jack Bodell	KO	1 (10)	16/11/1971	Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England	Bodell attacked Quarry from the start, and showed a desire to brawl. Quarry, however, noticed Bodell swinging widely, and counterpunched Bodell hard enough for Bodell to go down and get back up. Quarry capitalized with a lightning fast counter right hook over the top that finished Bodell.
Win	39-5-4	Tony Doyle	UD	10	24/07/1971	Playboy Club Hotel, Wembley, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Win	38-5-4	Dick Gosha	UD	10	18/06/1971	Ocean Shores, Washington
Loss	37-5-4	Muhammad Ali	TKO	3 (15)	26/10/1970	City Auditorium, Atlanta	Fight stopped due to Quarry cut.
Win	37-4-4	Stamford Harris	TKO	6 (10)	08/09/1970	Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida
Win	36-4-4	Mac Foster	KO	6 (10)	17/06/1970	Madison Square Garden, New York	Quarry broke Foster down with many left hooks to the body in round 5. He sent him sprawling in 6, and after a right cross to the head sent Foster through the ropes, the referee stopped it without a count.
Win	35-4-4	George Johnson	UD	10	19/03/1970	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	34-4-4	Rufus Brassell	KO	2 (10)	03/03/1970	Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida	Quarry was knocked down by a punch after the bell to end the 1st round.
Loss	33-4-4	George Chuvalo	KO	7 (10)	12/12/1969	Madison Square Garden, New York	In round 7 Quarry was knocked down by a left hook on the top of the head. He rose at the count of 3, but decided to take a knee, he got up at the count of 10 instead of 9 and referee Zach Clayton declared the fight over at 2:59.
Win	33-3-4	Brian London	KO	2 (10)	03/09/1969	Oakland Arena, Oakland, California	London was knocked down twice in the 2nd round.
Win	32-3-4	Johnny Carroll	KO	1 (10)	11/08/1969	Aldrich Arena, Saint Paul, Minnesota	Carroll down 3 times.
Loss	31-3-4	Joe Frazier	TKO	7 (15)	23/06/1969	Madison Square Garden, New York	For NYSAC World heavyweight title. In between rounds 7 and 8 the referee stops the fight because of the bad cut to Quarry's eye. 1969 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine.
Win	31-2-4	Buster Mathis	UD	12	24/03/1969	Madison Square Garden, New York	Mathis was knocked down in the 2nd round. Quarry showed complete contempt for Mathis' punching power. He walked right in and dug searing hooks and solid rights to Buster's belly and ribs.
Win	30-2-4	Aaron Eastling	TKO	5 (10)	26/01/1969	Memorial Auditorium, Canton, Ohio	Eastling dropped twice in the 4th.
Win	29-2-4	Charlie Reno	TKO	5 (10)	10/01/1969	Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle	Reno received one standing-eight count in the 5th round.
Win	28-2-4	Willis Earls	UD	10	19/11/1968	Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio
Win	27-2-4	Bob Mumford	TKO	5 (10)	11/11/1968	Phoenix, Arizona
Loss	26-2-4	Jimmy Ellis	MD	15	27/04/1968	Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California	For vacant WBA World Heavyweight title.
Win	26-1-4	Thad Spencer	TKO	12 (12)	03/02/1968	Oakland Arena, Oakland, California	WBA Heavyweight elimination tournament. Spencer was knocked down in the 4th and 10th rounds.
Win	25-1-4	Floyd Patterson	MD	12	28/10/1967	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Elimination tournament for WBA Heavyweight title. Quarry dropped Patterson with short rights to the head in the 2nd and 4th rounds. But he had to battle to hold his own in the late rounds as Patterson appeared to get stronger and take charge of the fiercely contested bout.
Win	24-1-4	Billy Daniels	KO	1 (10)	15/09/1967	Sports Arena, Los Angeles
Draw	23-1-4	Floyd Patterson	MD	10	09/06/1967	Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles	Patterson down twice in the 2nd, Quarry down in the 7th.
Win	23-1-3	Alex Miteff	KO	3 (10)	27/04/1967	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	22-1-3	Brian London	UD	10	09/03/1967	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	21-1-3	Memphis Al Jones	KO	5 (10)	11/01/1967	Civic Auditorium, San Francisco	Quarry was knocked down twice in the 3rd round.
Win	20-1-3	Joey Orbillo	UD	10	15/12/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Orbillo was knocked down in the 4th round for a nine-count.
Win	19-1-3	Leslie Borden	KO	5 (10)	29/11/1966	Valley Music Theatre, Woodland Hills, California
Win	18-1-3	Bill Nielsen	UD	10	20/10/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Loss	17-1-3	Eddie Machen	UD	10	14/07/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Machen seemed to hold Quarry, and his vaunted left hook in disdain and occasionally smirked, smiled and even laughed at his rather awkward young opponent. Machen paraded around the ring even before the verdict was announced.
Draw	17-0-3	Tony Alongi	PTS	10	27/05/1966	Sports Arena, Los Angeles
Win	17-0-2	Memphis Al Jones	UD	10	27/05/1966	Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri
Win	16-0-2	George Johnson	TKO	2 (10)	07/04/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Johnson was knocked down in the 2nd round.
Draw	15-0-2	Tony Alongi	PTS	10	04/03/1966	Madison Square Garden, New York	Alongi was knocked down in the 7th. The judge Artie Aidala scored the bout 5-5 in rounds, but favored Quarry in supplemental scoring.
Win	15-0-1	Prentice Snipes	KO	5 (10)	17/02/1966	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Snipes was knocked down twice in the 5th round.
Win	14-0-1	Eddie Land	UD	8	03/02/1966	Convention Center, Las Vegas
Win	13-0-1	Roy Crear	TKO	3 (10)	23/12/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Draw	12-0-1	Tony Doyle	PTS	10	11/11/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Doyle was knocked down in the 4th round for a five count.
Win	12–0	Roy Crear	TKO	3 (10)	02/11/1965	Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio	Quarry was knocked down in the 2nd round. Los Angeles Times.
Win	11–0	Al Carter	TKO	6 (8)	28/10/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Carter was knocked down in the 6th round.
Win	10–0	Milton Manley	KO	1 (8)	13/10/1965	Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas
Win	9–0	Ray Junior Ellis	KO	3 (6)	23/09/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	8–0	John Henry Jackson	PTS	8	09/08/1965	Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas
Win	7–0	JP Spencer	TKO	4 (8)	02/08/1965	Hacienda Hotel, Las Vegas
Win	6–0	Ray Junior Ellis	UD	6	29/07/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	5–0	Willie Davis	KO	3 (6)	16/07/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	4–0	Dave Centi	UD	6	24/06/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Centi was knocked down in the 2nd round.
Win	3–0	Lance Holmberg	PTS	6	17/06/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	2–0	John Henry Jackson	KO	4 (6)	03/06/1965	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	1–0	Gene Hamilton	PTS	4	07/05/1965	Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles	Pro debut for Quarry.

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Jerry Quarry from BoxRec
• Jerry Quarry Foundation web site
• The Boxing Brothers
• Find-A-Grave profile for Jerry Quarry
• "pressure doesn't psych me" quote at Merriam-Webster
• Boxer Jerry Quarry Remembered