‘Hurricane’ Carter KO’s Johnny Torres in NJ

Apr. 30, 1965 - Rubin (Hurricane) Carter, facing possible defeat because of a cut above his left eye, knocked out Johnny Torres tonight with a devastating left hook to the chin in the Paterson Armory in New Jersey. The cut opened when the fighters hit heads in the sixth.

Carter, the No. 3 middleweight contender, stopped Torres at 1:38 of the eighth round of a scheduled 10-round bout. Torres, his legs buckling under the impact of the blow, was hit by additional lefts and rights as he tumbled to the canvas. 

The referee, Barney Felix, counted Torres out. Torres, his eyes glassy and his legs rubbery, stagged to his feet at the count of nine. But then he stumbled backward, completely lacking control of his legs. Felix put his arms around Torres signifying the end of the bout. 

Carter will thus be able to fulfill his next assignment, an important 10-round bout with Dick Tiger, former world champion, May 20 at Madison Square Garden. This could well determine the next foe for Joey Giardello, the middleweight king.

“I’ve got a lot saved up for Tiger,” Carter said in his dressing room after tonight’s fight. “Torres was rugged, mighty rugged. I knew he would be. I’ll start training Monday for the Tiger fight. With me, it’s all work and no play. I’m beginning to find myself. I could have gone 20 rounds tonight.”

Torres said: “There’s no doubt he’s the hardest hitting middleweight today. I think I would do better next time. I thought I was doing well tonight until I walked into that hook. I hate to be the loser.”

Carter, who weighed 159½, thus chalked up his 16th knockout in 29 fights. This was the first time Torres, who weighed 157½, was floored in 57 fights. Both fighters are from Paterson.

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