| Bobo Olson | |
| Realname: | Carl Olson |
| Nickname: | The Hawaiian Swede The Kalihi Kid |
| Weight: | Middleweight |
| Height: | 5feet |
| Nationality: | American Hawaiian |
| Birth Date: | July 11, 1928 |
| Birth Place: | Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii |
| Death Place: | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
| Style: | orthodox |
| Total: | 115 |
| Wins: | 97 |
| Ko: | 47 |
| Losses: | 16 |
| Draws: | 2 |
Carl "Bobo" Olson (July 11, 1928 – January 16, 2002) was an American boxer. He was the World Middleweight champion between October 1953 and December 1955,[1] the longest reign of any champion in that division during the 1950s.His nickname was based on his younger sister's mispronunciation of "brother".[2]
Olson was born in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii to a Portuguese mother and a Swedish father, hence his other nickname "The Hawaiian Swede". Like many boxers, Olson decided to take up the sport after getting into fights on the streets. Olson received training from boxers who were stationed in Hawaii during World War II, and it was during this period that he picked up his two trademark tattoos.[2]
Using a fake identity card Olson obtained a boxing license at the age of 16. His earliest fights were in his native Kalihi, Hawaii. He had won his first three contests, two by knockout, before his true age was discovered. During 1945, Olson ran off to San Francisco to continue his boxing career. By the time he was 18, he had amassed a record of 13 successive wins (10 by KO). Even at this stage his power and huge reserves of stamina were clear, as was his rather average skill.[2] [3] [4]
The first real test of Olson's career came on March 20, 1950, Olson's record at this point was 40 wins and 2 losses, against the Australian Dave Sands. Olson lost to a close points decision in Sydney. Seven months after this Olson had his first fight against Sugar Ray Robinson, for the lowly regarded Pennsylvania State World Middleweight Title. Olson, who was widely seen as a slow starter, failed to get into the fight, even though Robinson was not having one of his best fights. Olson managed to hold on for 11 rounds before being knocked out. Despite his great record it was clear that Olson was still too inexperienced to be fighting at that level.[5] [2]
A year after his loss to Robinson, Olson managed to get a rematch against Dave Sands. This fight was the first to be televised coast-to-coast in America. However, Sands once again proved too much for Olson, he again won by unanimous decision.[5]
On March 13, 1952, Olson fought Robinson again, this time for the world middleweight title. Robinson, who had lost and regained the title against Randy Turpin in his previous two fights, was looking for an easy fight. However, Olson had improved significantly from their first encounter. Through ten rounds the fight was neck-and-neck, and only a dominant finish by Robinson over the last five rounds won him the decision. The Los Angeles Times wrote that Robinson won the first six rounds easily, slowly stacking up points, but that Olson reduced the points margin in the seventh through tenth. Robinson won the fifteenth convincingly with hard rights and lefts.[6] This would be the only time that Olson lasted the duration against Robinson.[5]
Robinson retired for the first time in December 1952, vacating his middleweight crown. The top four contenders fought a tournament for the title. Olson defeated Paddy Young for the American title to gain the right to fight for the vacant world title, Turpin won the other eliminator against Charley Humez.[5]
The title fight against Turpin took place on October 21, 1953, at Madison Square Garden. Turpin dominated the first four rounds, he almost scored a knockdown in the first round, before Olson got a grip on the fight. As the fight progressed Olson took the initiative, he scored knockdowns in the 10th and 11th rounds on the way to a unanimous decision. Following his success Olson was voted Ring magazine's fighter of the year for 1953.[5] [4]
Olson won all seven of his fights in 1954 including defenses of his title against such big names as Kid Gavilan, Rocky Castellani, and Pierre Langlois.[5]
In 1955 Olson, who was finding it increasingly difficult to make weight, stepped up to light heavyweight. His first major fight in this category was against former champion Joey Maxim. Olson won the fight easily on points after scoring knockdowns in both the 2nd and 9th rounds. On June 22 Olson challenged 41-year-old Archie Moore for the light heavyweight title, a fight that many believed Olson would easily win. However, Moore was too strong for Olson and won by knockout after only a minute had elapsed of the third round. After this fight Olson began his decline.[5] [2]
Following two walkover wins, Olson put his middleweight title on the line against Robinson, who was once again number 1 contender following his brief retirement, on December 9, 1955. It was Olson's fourth and final defense of his title, but ended as a stunning comeback for Robinson. Olson, who entered the fight as a 3–1 favorite, was knocked out in the second round. The rematch, fought five months later at Wrigley Field, on May 18, 1956, ended similarly with Olson going down in the fourth. Robinson ended the bout with a hard left hook to the body and a right to the jaw. Olson had made the mistake of dropping his right hand after Robinson's hard left, dropping his only defense in an instant.[7] After this second defeat Olson announced his retirement.[5] [8]
After a year out of the game Olson returned as a heavyweight to fight Maxim again, a fight he won on points. Olson took another year out following a knockout defeat against Pat McMurtry. Whilst initially coming back as a journeyman, despite being only 30, Olson managed to reestablish himself as a contender. On November 27, 1964, he fought José Torres with the winner going on to fight the champion, Willie Pastrano. Olson was knocked out after 2 minutes of the first round. This defeat effectively ended his career, he would only fight again four more times, with his final fight being a defeat to Gene Fullmer's younger brother, Don.[5]
Olson retired with a record of 97 wins (47 by KO), 16 losses, and 2 draws from his 115 professional fights. He went on to work with disaffected youngsters before working as a PR officer for the Elevator Operating Engineers Local Union in San Francisco. In 1987 he was a Union Elevator Operator in Lancaster, California, working on new construction at the Antelope Valley Medical Center.[9]
In the 1990s he lived in Northern California for a time. In his later years Olson suffered from Alzheimer's disease. To add quality of life to his later years he and much of his close family returned to Honolulu. He died on January 16, 2002, in Honolulu at Queens Medical Center at the age of 73.
He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1958, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2000.[2] [5] [10]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115 | Loss | 97–16–2 | Don Fullmer | MD | 10 | Nov 28, 1966 | |||
| 114 | Win | 97–15–2 | Piero Del Papa | SD | 10 | Jul 11, 1966 | |||
| 113 | Win | 96–15–2 | Fred Roots | TKO | 3 (10), | Sep 23, 1965 | |||
| 112 | Win | 95–15–2 | Andy Kendall | UD | 10 | Jun 24, 1965 | |||
| 111 | Loss | 94–15–2 | José Torres | KO | 1 (10), | Nov 27, 1964 | |||
| 110 | Win | 94–14–2 | Wayne Thornton | UD | 10 | Aug 28, 1964 | |||
| 109 | Loss | 93–14–2 | Johnny Persol | MD | 10 | Jun 19, 1964 | |||
| 108 | Win | 93–13–2 | Wayne Thornton | MD | 10 | Mar 27, 1964 | |||
| 107 | Draw | 92–13–2 | Hank Casey | SD | 10 | Dec 9, 1963 | |||
| 106 | Win | 92–13–1 | Jose Menno | UD | 10 | Oct 21, 1963 | |||
| 105 | Win | 91–13–1 | Jesse Bowdry | UD | 10 | May 14, 1963 | |||
| 104 | Win | 90–13–1 | Sonny Ray | TKO | 7 (10), | Apr 30, 1963 | |||
| 103 | Win | 89–13–1 | Tiger Al Williams | TKO | 5 (10) | Jan 25, 1963 | |||
| 102 | Draw | 88–13–1 | Giulio Rinaldi | PTS | 10 | Dec 14, 1962 | |||
| 101 | Win | 88–13 | Lennart Risberg | KO | 6 (10), | Jun 3, 1962 | |||
| 100 | Loss | 87–13 | Pete Rademacher | UD | 10 | Apr 3, 1962 | |||
| 99 | Win | 87–12 | Artie Dixon | UD | 10 | Jan 19, 1962 | |||
| 98 | Win | 86–12 | Tiger Al Williams | UD | 10 | Jan 12, 1962 | |||
| 97 | Win | 85–12 | Roy Smith | TKO | 8 (10), | Nov 14, 1961 | |||
| 96 | Win | 84–12 | Sixto Rodriguez | UD | 10 | Oct 23, 1961 | |||
| 95 | Loss | 83–12 | Sixto Rodriguez | UD | 10 | Sep 11, 1961 | |||
| 94 | Win | 83–11 | Roque Maravilla | UD | 10 | Aug 14, 1961 | |||
| 93 | Win | 82–11 | Floyd Buchanan | TKO | 3 (10) | Feb 16, 1961 | |||
| 92 | Win | 81–11 | Bobby Daniels | UD | 10 | Jan 19, 1961 | |||
| 91 | Loss | 80–11 | Doug Jones | KO | 6 (10), | Aug 31, 1960 | |||
| 90 | Win | 80–10 | Mike Holt | PTS | 10 | Jun 6, 1960 | |||
| 89 | Win | 79–10 | Al Sparks | TKO | 5 (10) | May 5, 1960 | |||
| 88 | Win | 78–10 | Roque Maravilla | TKO | 7 (10), | Apr 7, 1960 | |||
| 87 | Win | 77–10 | George Kartalian | TKO | 5 (10) | Aug 25, 1959 | |||
| 86 | Win | 76–10 | Rory Calhoun | UD | 10 | Mar 30, 1959 | |||
| 85 | Win | 75–10 | Tommy Villa | TKO | 5 (10), | Dec 16, 1958 | |||
| 84 | Win | 74–10 | Paddy Young | TKO | 6 (10) | Nov 25, 1958 | |||
| 83 | Win | 73–10 | Don Grant | TKO | 7 (10), | Oct 28, 1958 | |||
| 82 | Loss | 72–10 | Pat McMurtry | KO | 2 (10), | Aug 17, 1957 | |||
| 81 | Win | 72–9 | Joey Maxim | SD | 10 | Jun 18, 1957 | |||
| 80 | Loss | 71–9 | Sugar Ray Robinson | KO | 4 (15), | May 18, 1956 | |||
| 79 | Loss | 71–8 | Sugar Ray Robinson | KO | 2 (15), | Dec 9, 1955 | |||
| 78 | Win | 71–7 | Joey Giambra | UD | 10 | Aug 26, 1955 | |||
| 77 | Win | 70–7 | Jimmy Martinez | UD | 10 | Aug 13, 1955 | |||
| 76 | Loss | 69–7 | Archie Moore | KO | 3 (15), | Jun 22, 1955 | |||
| 75 | Win | 69–6 | Joey Maxim | UD | 10 | Apr 13, 1955 | |||
| 74 | Win | 68–6 | Willie Vaughn | UD | 10 | Mar 12, 1955 | |||
| 73 | Win | 67–6 | Ralph Jones | UD | 10 | Feb 16, 1955 | |||
| 72 | Win | 66–6 | Pierre Langlois | TKO | 11 (15), | Dec 15, 1954 | |||
| 71 | Win | 65–6 | Garth Panter | TKO | 8 (10), | Nov 3, 1954 | |||
| 70 | Win | 64–6 | Rocky Castellani | UD | 15 | Aug 20, 1954 | |||
| 69 | Win | 63–6 | Pedro Gonzales | KO | 4 (10), | Jul 7, 1954 | |||
| 68 | Win | 62–6 | Jesse Turner | TKO | 8 (10), | Jun 15, 1954 | |||
| 67 | Win | 61–6 | Kid Gavilan | MD | 15 | Apr 2, 1954 | |||
| 66 | Win | 60–6 | Joe Rindone | KO | 5 (10) | Jan 23, 1954 | |||
| 65 | Win | 59–6 | Randy Turpin | UD | 15 | Oct 21, 1953 | |||
| 64 | Win | 58–6 | Paddy Young | UD | 15 | Jun 19, 1953 | |||
| 63 | Win | 57–6 | Garth Panter | UD | 10 | Mar 16, 1953 | |||
| 62 | Win | 56–6 | Norman Hayes | UD | 10 | Feb 7, 1953 | |||
| 61 | Win | 55–6 | Norman Hayes | UD | 10 | Dec 18, 1952 | |||
| 60 | Win | 54–6 | Lee Sala | KO | 2 (10), | Nov 20, 1952 | |||
| 59 | Win | 53–6 | Gene Hairston | TKO | 6 (10), | Aug 27, 1952 | |||
| 58 | Win | 52–6 | Robert Villemain | SD | 10 | Jul 12, 1952 | |||
| 57 | Win | 51–6 | Jimmy Beau | UD | 10 | Jun 6, 1952 | |||
| 56 | Win | 50–6 | Walter Cartier | TKO | 5 (10), | May 19, 1952 | |||
| 55 | Win | 49–6 | Woody Harper | TKO | 7 (10) | May 6, 1952 | |||
| 54 | Loss | 48–6 | Sugar Ray Robinson | UD | 15 | Mar 13, 1952 | |||
| 53 | Win | 48–5 | Tommy Harrison | UD | 10 | Feb 15, 1952 | |||
| 52 | Win | 47–5 | Woody Harper | UD | 10 | Feb 12, 1952 | |||
| 51 | Loss | 46–5 | Dave Sands | UD | 10 | Oct 3, 1951 | |||
| 50 | Win | 46–4 | Bobby Jones | MD | 10 | Aug 27, 1951 | |||
| 49 | Win | 45–4 | Charley Cato | TKO | 3 (10) | Jul 27, 1951 | |||
| 48 | Win | 44–4 | Chuck Hunter | UD | 10 | Jul 9, 1951 | |||
| 47 | Win | 43–4 | Lloyd Marshall | KO | 5 (10), | May 8, 1951 | |||
| 46 | Win | 42–4 | Art Soto | UD | 10 | Mar 20, 1951 | |||
| 45 | Loss | 41–4 | Sugar Ray Robinson | KO | 12 (15), | Oct 26, 1950 | |||
| 44 | Win | 41–3 | Henry Brimm | UD | 10 | Sep 5, 1950 | |||
| 43 | Win | 40–3 | Otis Graham | UD | 10 | May 22, 1950 | |||
| 42 | Win | 39–3 | Roy Miller | RTD | 5 (10) | Apr 25, 1950 | |||
| 41 | Loss | 38–3 | Dave Sands | PTS | 12 | Mar 20, 1950 | |||
| 40 | Win | 38–2 | Don Lee | UD | 10 | Feb 22, 1950 | |||
| 39 | Win | 37–2 | Earl Turner | UD | 10 | Dec 13, 1949 | |||
| 38 | Win | 36–2 | Johnny Duke | UD | 10 | Nov 22, 1949 | |||
| 37 | Win | 35–2 | Art Hardy | KO | 3 (10), | Aug 23, 1949 | |||
| 36 | Win | 34–2 | Milo Savage | UD | 10 | Jul 26, 1949 | |||
| 35 | Win | 33–2 | Tommy Yarosz | UD | 10 | Jun 3, 1949 | |||
| 34 | Win | 32–2 | Anton Raadik | TKO | 6 (10), | Mar 15, 1949 | |||
| 33 | Win | 31–2 | Paul Perkins | TKO | 2 (10), | Jan 11, 1949 | |||
| 32 | Win | 30–2 | Johnny Boski | KO | 1 (10) | Dec 14, 1948 | |||
| 31 | Win | 29–2 | Kenny Watkins | UD | 10 | Oct 26, 1948 | |||
| 30 | Win | 28–2 | Boy Brooks | TKO | 3 (10) | Oct 12, 1948 | |||
| 29 | Win | 27–2 | Charley Cato | UD | 8 | Jul 20, 1948 | |||
| 28 | Win | 26–2 | Bobby Castro | MD | 10 | May 11, 1948 | |||
| 27 | Win | 25–2 | Flashy Sebastian | KO | 7 (10) | Apr 7, 1948 | |||
| 26 | Win | 24–2 | Boy Brooks | PTS | 12 | Jan 18, 1948 | |||
| 25 | Win | 23–2 | Nai Som Pong | TKO | 3 (10) | Dec 17, 1947 | |||
| 24 | Loss | 22–2 | Boy Brooks | PTS | 10 | Nov 22, 1947 | |||
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | George Duke | UD | 10 | Aug 19, 1947 | |||
| 22 | Loss | 21–1 | George Duke | UD | 10 | Jul 4, 1947 | |||
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Paule Lewis | UD | 10 | Jun 20, 1947 | |||
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Leroy Wade | TKO | 4 (10), | May 2, 1947 | |||
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Candy McDaniels | UD | 10 | Mar 21, 1947 | |||
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Gil Mojica | PTS | 10 | Jan 28, 1947 | |||
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Wayne Powell | TKO | 4 (10), | Dec 2, 1946 | |||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Wayne Powell | TKO | 4 (10), | Oct 7, 1946 | |||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Jackie Ryan | TKO | 5 (8), | Sep 9, 1946 | |||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Johnny Boskie | KO | 3 (5) | Aug 19, 1946 | |||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Johnny Boskie | KO | 4 (6) | Jul 26, 1946 | |||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Ernie Horne | TKO | 2 (5), | Jul 19, 1946 | |||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Delaware Bradby | TKO | 3 (6) | Feb 25, 1946 | |||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Chuck Ross | PTS | 6 | Feb 4, 1946 | |||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Pedro Jimenez | KO | 4 (6) | Jan 28, 1946 | |||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Vepe Watson | KO | 1 (4) | Jan 14, 1946 | |||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Obie Wooten | TKO | 1 (4) | Jan 7, 1946 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | LaVelle Perkins | PTS | 4 | Dec 21, 1945 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Bobby Jones | TKO | 2 (4) | Dec 10, 1945 | |||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Art Robinson | TKO | 4 (4) | Nov 23, 1945 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Young Pancho | PTS | 4 | Sep 10, 1944 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Ben Ramos | TKO | 4 (4), | Aug 27, 1944 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Bob Correa | KO | 2 (4) | Aug 19, 1944 |