Nathan Bor

Nathan "Nat" Bor (March 1, 1913 – June 13, 1972) was an American boxer who won a light weight bronze medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics. He continued primarily a professional welterweight boxing career until around 1940, when he served as a Marine in WWII, before returning to start a dry cleaning business in his home of Fall River, Massachusetts.[1][2][3]

Nathan Bor
Statistics
Weight(s)Lightweight, Welterweight
Nationality American
BornMarch 1, 1913 (1913-03)
Fall River, Massachusetts
DiedJune 13, 1972 (1972-06-14) (aged 59)
New Bedford, Massachusetts
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights49
Wins34
Wins by KO22
Losses12
Draws3
Medal record
Men's Boxing
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
1932 Los Angeles Lightweight

Personal

Bor was Jewish,[1] and of Russian heritage. He was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on March 1, 1913.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Bor won 90 of 95 bouts, taking both the New England and then the National lightweight championships.[3] During his amateur career, he sidelined as a telephone operator in his home of Fall River.[4]

Spike Webb 1924

As the 1932 United States Amateur Lightweight Champion, he was sent to the Los Angeles Olympics and received the Olympic bronze medal in the lightweight class after winning the third place fight against Mario Bianchini on August 13. Bor was coached by the talented Spike Webb, the American team boxing coach at the 1932 Olympics, who spent much of his later career training the nearly undefeated teams of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.[5][6]

August 1932 Olympic results
  • Quarterfinal: defeated Harry Mizler, future British light champ, in three rounds on points
  • Semifinal: lost to Thure Ahlqvist (Sweden) on points in 3 rounds. According to one local source, Bor took a lead in the second round with strong blows to the head, but in the third and final round pulled up too often in clinches and lost from longer left and rights to the head from his taller Swedish opponent.[7]
  • Bronze Medal Bout: defeated Mario Bianchini (Italy) on points for third place.[3]

Professional career

Bor won his first professional bout with a second-round knockout of Al Hope on October 5, 1932 at the Casino in his home of Fall River, Massachusetts. The win was followed by a streak of wins that lasted four years and included nearly 28 fights.[2]

In a disappointing turn that ended Bor's long early career winning streak, he lost to the somewhat heavier, more experienced, and likely more talented Babe Marino on October 21, 1936 in a widely anticipated eight round main event at the Auditorium in Oakland. Due to the bout's potential importance and Bor's successful record, he was trained by two well known former contenders, Jimmy Duffy and ex-light heavy champ Tommy Loughran.[8] Before a substantial crowd of 4,000, Bor lost decisively, beginning in the second round when Marino began crowding him, and Bor could only land the occasional right hand to the chin which did little damage compared to the constant barrage he received from Marino. Marino was given every round but the sixth by the judges.[9] The loss hurt Bor's chances of progressing to a title shot.[10]

Bobby Allen fell to Bor on April 12, 1937 in a ten-round points decision in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Winning in an upset, Bor floored his rival with a lethal uppercut to the chin in the tenth round.[11]

On June 24, 1937, he lost a ninth-round technical knockout to Andy Callahan at Brave's Field in Boston. Early in the bout, Bor suffered a bad cut over his left eye, which grew worse until the referee stopped the fighting 1:05 into the ninth round. Though there were no knockdowns in the bout, Callahan managed to earn a large lead on points from the opening rounds.[12]

Bor lost to Frankie Britt, a former New England Lightweight champion, on October 6, 1938, at the Fall River Casino in a twelve-round unanimous decision.[2]

He defeated K.O. Castillo on October 28, 1938, in a ten-round newspaper decision in Portland, Oregon. The Boston Globe gave Bor nine of the ten rounds.[2]

His last bout on May 24, 1940, was an eighth-round technical knockout loss to Joe Boscarino in Boston Garden.[2]

Life after boxing

Bor joined the Marines during World War II and served as a boxing coach stationed at Paris Island, the well known Marine base in Southeastern South Carolina. After the war, he returned to Massachusetts where he first worked as a foreman at the Eastern Sportswear Manufacturing Company and then opened the Olympic Dry Cleaners in 1948 in his hometown of New Bedford.[13] He died on June 13, 1972 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, after suffering a heart attack while on his dry cleaning route, leaving a wife, Leona, and two children. A memorial service was held at Fall River's Fisher Memorial Chapel.[14]

Selected fights
7 Wins, 4 Losses[2]
Result Opponent(s) Date Location Duration Notes
Win Harry Mizler Aug 9, 1932 Los Angeles 3 Rounds 1932 Olympic win[13]
Loss Thure Ahlqvist Aug 12, 1932 Los Angeles 3 Rounds 1932 Olympic loss[13]
Win Mario Bianchini Aug 13, 1932 Los Angeles 3 Rounds Won Olympic Bronze[13]
Win Al Hope Oct 5, 1932 Fall River, MA 2nd Round KO
Win Babe Marino Oct 21, 1936 Oakland California 8 Rounds Broke a long streak of 28 wins
Win Bobby Allen Apr 12, 1937 Holyoke, MA 10 Rounds Upset
Win Joe Gelinas May 31, 1937 Holyoke, MA 3rd Round TKO Gelinas down 5 times
Loss Andy Callahan June 24, 1937 Braves Field, Boston 9th Round KO Bor suffered bad cut,
over left eye
Loss Frankie Britt Oct 6, 1938 Fall River, MA 12 Round UD Former New England light champ
Win K. O. Castillo Oct 28, 1938 Portland 10 Rounds Newspaper Decision
Loss Joe Boscarino May 24, 1940 Boston Garden 8th Round TKO

See also

References
  1. Taylor, Paul (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games. ISBN 9781903900871.
  2. "Nat Bor Boxing Record". BoxRec. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  3. "Nat Bor Bio". BoxRec. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  4. "No Draw Bouts in Big Amateur Show", The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California, pg. 17, 19 July 1932
  5. "Spike Webb Bio". BoxRec. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  6. Taylor, Walter, "Webb, Retiring After 35 Years at Navy", The Evening Sun, Baltimore, Maryland, pg. 27, 14 January 1954
  7. Lowry, Paul, "Punk Decision Robs Yank", The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, pg. 15, 12 August 1932
  8. Ward, Allen, "Nat Bor Approved by Loughran and Duffy", Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, pg. 20, 19 October 1936
  9. "Babe Marino Defeats Bor", The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California, pg. 35, 22 October 1936
  10. Ward, Allen, "Veteran Stops Nat's String", Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, pg. 30, 22 October 1936
  11. "Bor Defeats Allen in Holyoke Fight", The Hartford Courant, Hartford, Connecticut, pg. 16, 13 April 1937
  12. "Mike Belloise Kayoes McLeod", The Hartford Courant, Hartford, Connecticut, pg. 22, 15 June 1937
  13. "Nat Bor, Bio and Stats". SR/Olympic Sports. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
  14. "Nathan Bor Left Kin Here", Newport Mercury, Newport, Rhode Island, pg. 3, 23 June 1972
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