7/15/07 - Jim Amato Oscar " Shotgun " Albarado By Jim Amato article written 7-1-07 He was a hard banger and a crowd pleaser who battled some of the best welterweights of his era. Eventually he would move up to 154 pounds and win a world title in that division. He thrilled crowds in his home state of Texas and would also become a popular draw on the West Coast. His name was Oscar Albarado and they called him " Shotgun ". Born in 1948, Oscar turned professional in 1966 and reeled off 25 straight victories. He suffered his first loss via a decision to the highly touted Hedgemon Lewis in 1969. He came back in 1970 with two wins over Youngstown, Ohio veteran L.C.Morgan. Oscar would then drop verdicts to rated contenders Adolph Pruitt and " Have Mercy Mr. Percy " Pugh. Albarado bounced back with five straight wins including a decision over rugged Raul Soriano. He was then upset over ten rounds by Manuel Fierro. In May of 1971 Oscar met then undefeated Armando Muniz and the two battled to a draw in an action packed bout. Oscar would then lose a decision to top contender Ernie " Red " Lopez. Albarado would win seven in a row but in 1973 he was surprised in one round by Dino Del Cid. Oscar came right back to stop Del Cid in the second round of a rematch. In June of 1974 Oscar traveled to Tokyo, Japan take on world junior middleweight king Koichi Wajima. In a tough battle Albarado rallied to halt Wajima at 1:57 of the fifteenth round to capture the crown. Oscar would return to Japan to defend against Wajima's countryman Ryu Sorimachi. Albarado retained his title with a seventh round stoppage. It was back to Tokyo again to face Wajima in a rematch. This time Wajima paced himself and fought a smart fight in regaining his title by decision. There would be no rubber match. It would be over five years before Oscar boxed again and it was obvious he was no longer the same fighter. He did find himself matched with some pretty good fighters though. In 1981 he was kayoed by Bobby Czyz and Bernard " Superbad " Mays. In 1982 he was taken out by Louis Arcaries and John Collins. Finally he was stopped in two rounds by Ayub Kalule in his last fight. Albarado ended his 72 fight career with a record of 58-13-1. He scored 43 knockouts. He was stopped seven times but six of those stoppages came after his five year layoff. In his prime he was a game and durable fighter with a lethal punch. 
 1940'S MIDDLEWEIGHT CONTENDER PETE MEAD PASSES AWAY. By Jim Amato article written 7-5-07 One of the toughest and most respected middleweight contenders of the 1940's passed away recently. Pete Mead died on July 2nd. He was 83 years old. Mead began his 56 fight professional career in 1942. In 1946 he made his first of several appearances at New York's Madison Square Garden with a six round decision over Tommy Merrill. He stepped up his competition beating Vince LaSalva and Jerry Fiorello. Pete split two bouts with rugged Herbie Kronowitz and then defeated the pride of Niles, Ohio, Sonny Horne. Mead then scored a big victory over Fritzie Zivic. In 1947 Pete returned to the Garden and lost a verdict to the highly regarded Harold Green. In his next match Mead lost a return bout with Horne. Pete rebounded to defeat Horne in their rubber match. Next he scored a tenth round KO victory over Rueben Shank. Mead would then rack up eight more wins including split decisions over the great Cocoa Kid and Kronowitz. Pete would drop an eight rounder to Vinnie Rossano but he roared back to stop tough Joey DeJohn in five rounds. In 1948 Pete would again outscore Kronowitz but then he lost a split verdict to Al Priest. He would lose another decision to Priest but rallied to outduel Tony Masciarelli on two occasions. On June 14th Pete would suffer the first KO loss of his career as the talented contender Walter Cartier knocked him down three times and stopped him in round three. Pete would return to defeat Charley Zivic and draw with Joe Rindone. He then stopped at the Cleveland Arena long enough to outpoint Mickey Doyle. Mead would the lose a rematch with Rindone. On February 25, 1949 Pete met Joey DeJohn again. This time at the Garden. In what is considered one of the greatest fights to ever take place at the Garden, Pete got off the floor in rounds three and five to stop a dead game DeJohn in round seven. Many call this bout the bloodiest Garden battle of all time. It would turn out to be Pete Mead's last victory. He dropped a ten round duke to French contender Robert Villemain at the Garden. He agian met DeJohn this time in Rochester, New York and DeJohn turned the tables on Pete with a seventh round stoppage. Mead then traveled to England where he lost on points to Dave Sands and was stopped in four by Randy Turpin. In 1950 Pete returned to the States but he was knocked out by Rocky Graziano in three rounds thus ending his fine career. Pete retired with a respectable 39-16-1 record and the reputation as a real crowd pleaser. He wrote an outstanding book titled " Blood, Sweat and Cheers ". I read it not once but twice. If you can ever get a hold of this book, do so. You will not regret it. Rest in peace Mr. Mead. jimsboxing@zoominternet.net
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