Gerald Ambrose "Tuffy" Griffiths (January 1, 1907 – November 15, 1968) was an American

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. He fought as a

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 ...

and occasionally as a

light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

under the name Tuffy Griffiths.

Early life

Gerald Ambrose Griffiths was born in

Macy, Nebraska Macy is a census-designated place (CDP) in Thurston County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,045 at the 2020 census. It is within the Omaha Reservation, and includes Omaha Nation Public Schools. History The first post office at ...

, the son of James Alfred Griffiths (1875 – 1933) and Rose Jane Girardot (1874 – 1956). He had three brothers and two sisters. His brother Buzz Saw Griffiths was also a boxer.

Boxing career

Early boxing career

Griffiths fought his first professional bout on December 11, 1925, in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. His debut was a successful one, defeating Donnie Dundee in 6 rounds.

Jack O'Keefe Jack O'Keefe (29 September 1915 – 8 March 2000) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne, Hawthorn and South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules foot ...

was the manager of Griffiths. Griffiths actually preferred to be called by the name "Jerry" and not "Tuffy." He stood at 5' 11".

Griffiths vs. Braddock

All of Griffiths early fights were fought in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. In order to gain more notoriety, he relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Many media outlets were reporting that Griffiths was not beaten in over 50 consecutive matches when he arrived on the East Coast. Fighting his first fight in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

on November 30, 1928, he fought

James J. Braddock James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937. Fighting under the name James J. Braddock (ostensibly to follow the pattern set by two prior world boxing ...

. Griffiths was supposed to be fighting former champion

Pete Latzo Pete Latzo (born August 1, 1902 – July 7, 1968) was an American Boxing, boxer, who held the list of undisputed world boxing champions#Welterweight, Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from 1926 to 1927. Boxing career highlights Lat ...

that night. However, in a tune-up match for the Griffiths bout, Braddock broke Latzo's jaw in four places. Braddock was the only other choice to fight Griffiths that night. Griffiths was a 7-1 favorite to win the match against Braddock. As expected Griffiths dominated the first round of the fight, but Braddock fought back viciously in the second. Braddock ended up getting a second-round knockout and shocked the whole boxing world. This single match launched Braddock's boxing career. A reenactment of this fight is featured in the movie ''

Cinderella Man ''Cinderella Man'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger and Paul Giamatti. It tells the true story of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock, who was dubbed ...

''.

Later boxing career

After the loss to Braddock, Griffiths ended up going on a five match win streak. His winning streak would end though to Leo Lomski on February 15, 1929. In a rematch with Lomski the following month, Griffiths bounced back and won. However, he broke his hand in the fight, and was sidelined for two months. Upon his return Griffiths won 16 consecutive matches. He beat Johnny Risko on July 2, 1930, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and knocked out

Tom Heeney Thomas Heeney (18 May 1898 – 15 June 1984) was a professional heavyweight boxing, boxer from New Zealand, best known for unsuccessfully challenging champion Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship of the world in New York City on 26 July ...

in New York on July 30, 1930. Griffiths ended up fighting a future heavyweight champion on September 26, 1932. His opponent was one of the most feared boxers of his time, Max Baer. Baer won by a TKO in the 7th round of the bout. Tuffy Griffiths would fight his last professional bout against Tony Shucco on September 6, 1933. The fight saw Tuffy get knocked out in the fourth round. After nearly 8 years of professional boxing and 74 wins, he would retire officially in 1934.

Trivia

* After his boxing career ended he was stationed at the

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

base as a boxing instructor. * Ran Tuffy Griffiths's Tavern for many years in Chicago after his retirement. * He is a member of the Greater Sioux City Athletic Association Hall of Fame. * Was a patient at the

Veterans Administration Hospital Veterans' health care in the United States is separated geographically into 19 regions (numbered 1, 2, 4–10, 12 and 15–23)In January 2002, the Veterans Health Administration announced the merger of VISNs 13 and 14 to create a new, combined n ...

in Sheridan, WY for many years before his death.

References

Braddock Knocks Out GriffithsCinderella Man Excerpt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Tuffy 1907 births 1968 deaths Boxers from Nebraska Heavyweight boxers American people of Welsh descent People from Thurston County, Nebraska American male boxers People from Pender, Nebraska United States Marines