Roy Harris (June 29, 1933 – August 8, 2023) was an American lawyer and

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

boxer. His nickname derived from his place of birth, Cut and Shoot, Texas. Roy was a co-trainer of title contender Alfonso López III.

Early life

Roy Harris was born in Cut and Shoot, Texas on June 29, 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 Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

, 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.

Amateur career

Harris and his brother Henry took up the boxing together after receiving their first set of gloves in a trade for wild ducks. He 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

Harris 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, Harris was on the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

''. In August 1958, he was given a title shot by world champion

Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in his ...

. 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. Roy Harris training

The promotion was colorful, due to the backstory of Harris' kinsmen, one of the celebrated East Texas clans still existing as their forebears had for generations. Much was made of the "backwoods" quality of Harris' life, and every venue was utilized in using this as ballyhoo; this extended as far as having Harris record a 45 RPM record entitled "Cut 'n Shoot (Texas, U.S.A.)" (b/w "Desert in the Sky",

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

9-30717). Harris 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. To watch the fight in Texas, Harris' 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. The fight took place at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, CA. Harris 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. When questioned, Harris - a former winner of the Joe Louis Sportsman Award - simply said: "I did my best." Harris subsequently won six consecutive fights, before being stopped 2:35 into his bout with

Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( – December 30, 1970), nicknamed "the Big Bear", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1962 after k ...

. He then dropped a decision to

Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer. He was undefeated in British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship contests for twelve years and held the European heavyweight title for three years. In a 1963 fi ...

and was stopped twice by Bob Cleroux.

Retirement

Harris 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. 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. Harris' office was based in his home and he had been married 47 years and has six children.

Death

Roy Harris died at his home on August 8, 2023, surrounded by his children and family. He was 90.

Professional boxing record

, - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 30 Wins (9 knockouts, 20 decisions, 1 DQ), 5 Losses (4 knockouts, 1 decision), 1 No Contest , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Loss , , align=left, Bob Cleroux , TKO , 4 , 23/05/1961 , align=left,

Sam Houston Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. Early years Located at 801 Bagby Street in Downtown Houston, the Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

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, TKO , 1 , 25/04/1960 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Henry Hall , UD , 7 , 21/03/1960 , align=left, Dallas Memorial Auditorium,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Alejandro Lavorante , UD , 10 , 24/11/1959 , align=left,

San Antonio Municipal Auditorium The San Antonio Municipal Auditorium was a building located at 100 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, Texas. It was built as a memorial to American soldiers killed in World War I. The San Antonio Municipal Auditorium was also used as a concert venu ...

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Joe Bygraves , UD , 10 , 25/08/1959 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Chuck Powell , UD , 10 , 09/06/1959 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Donnie Fleeman , UD , 12 , 01/04/1959 , align=left, Dallas Memorial Auditorium,

, align=left, , - , No Contest , , align=left, John Hunt , NC , 5 , 03/02/1959 , align=left, El Paso County Coliseum,

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

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Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Willi Besmanoff , UD , 10 , 29/10/1957 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Willie Pastrano , UD , 10 , 11/06/1957 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bob "The Grinder" Baker , MD , 10 , 30/04/1957 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Joey Rowan , PTS , 10 , 26/02/1957 , align=left, Houston City Auditorium,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Claude Chapman , TKO , 8 , 29/01/1957 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, JD Marshall , TKO , 2 , 19/11/1956 , align=left,

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Charley Norkus , UD , 10 , 02/10/1956 , align=left, Houston City Auditorium,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Oscar Pharo , PTS , 10 , 27/08/1956 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Calvin Butler , PTS , 10 , 30/05/1956 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, "Chief" Alvin Williams , UD , 10 , 21/05/1956 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Johnny Bullard , KO , 4 , 16/04/1956 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Don Howard Tucker , KO , 3 , 20/02/1956 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ponce DeLeon Taylor , PTS , 10 , 13/12/1955 , align=left, Houston City Auditorium,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Buddy Turman , SD , 12 , 28/11/1955 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Fred Taylor , PTS , 10 , 01/11/1955 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Duke Smith , KO , 3 , 01/10/1955 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, LeJune Burks , KO , 6 , 30/09/1955 , align=left,

Conroe, Texas Conroe is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Texas, Montgomery County, Texas, United States, about north of Houston. It is a principal city in the metropolitan area. As of 2024, the population was 114,581. Since 2007, t ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Dick Brown , TKO , 3 , 30/08/1955 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Chuck Connor , KO , 2 , 28/06/1955 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bobby Watson , PTS , 6 , 14/06/1955 , align=left, LaGrave Field,

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ted Donald , PTS , 8 , 03/06/1955 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, JD Harvey , PTS , 6 , 03/05/1955 , align=left, Galveston City Auditorium,

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

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Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Roy 1933 births 2023 deaths Heavyweight boxers Boxers from Texas Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Texas Conroe High School alumni American male boxers 20th-century American sportsmen