Since it’s Thanksgiving week, the Jim Strickland boxing memorabilia exhibition had a limited engagement, specifically designed for Wednesday Journal photographer William Camargo and myself.
When I visited Jim and Deanna Strickland at their lovely home east of downtown Oak Park, a visual summary of Jim’s 65-year career in amateur and professional boxing as a manager, trainer and “cutman” was scattered on their dining room table.
Photos included Strickland with boxers Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, Sugar Ray Leonard, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, promoters Don King and Bob Arum, and trainers Sam Colonna and Emanuel Steward, plus referee Mills Lane and countless others.
The collection also featured ID tags Strickland wore at fights he worked (including 70 world title fights and 20 world championships) plus assorted jackets, plaques, trophies from significant fights and personally signed, framed pictures to Strickland from an array of boxing legends.
“It truly is a wonderful representation of Jim’s boxing career, but we’re breaking it all down soon,” Deanna said with a laugh. “We have to get this table ready for Thanksgiving. I’m planning on letting my family do all the cooking and I’m just going to sit back and smile.”
The Stricklands, who have been married and lived in Oak Park for 47 years, have a lot to smile about these days.
After a long career as a teacher in the city, Deanna recently retired. She likes to work around the house, as well as browse the computer, and travel.
Boxing remains in Jim’s blood, as a fan and occasional trainer. On Nov. 4, Strickland was inducted into the Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame.
His passion for the sport took root in his hometown of Kansas City. As a teenager, he trained in Golden Gloves boxing with Arrington “Bubble” Klice during the mid-1940s.
“Bubble was a little fella, about 5-foot-3 and 110 pounds,” Strickland said. “He would box around the country at little fairs, but he was well known throughout the United States and Europe.
“For about three or four years, he was an amateur champion coach who took kids to the national championships in the United States.
“Bubble was a big inspiration to me, like a father figure.”
During his amateur boxing career, Strickland would spend summers in Chicago as a way of picking up more matches. He worked for Schwinn Bicycle Company in the city and boxed on his own time.
“I’ve always liked Chicago because it’s a bigger city with more things to do,” Strickland said. “It also allowed me the opportunity to get more fights.”
Unfortunately, he knew his career as a fighter had a quick expiration date.
“When I was boxing, I used to worry about how am I going to get out of it?” he recalled. “There’s only so much you can do in terms of making a living as a boxer. So I decided to go back home and I attended Kansas University.”
After graduating from KU in 1953 with a degree in pharmacy, he worked as a pharmacist and later as pharmacy manager at the Joslyn Family Clinic in Maywood.
Fifteen years later, Strickland branched out to open his own drug store at 47th and Prairie in Chicago, which would ultimately expand to three locations.
During his college days and pharmacy career, Strickland lost touch with boxing due to the demands of everyday life.
“Jim was working night and day,” Deanna said. “He doesn’t play golf, doesn’t play cards. He didn’t have any outlet away from work.
“I talked with Jim and said if you like boxing so much why don’t you start working [in it] again? There has to be something else in life.”
Strickland took his wife’s suggestion to heart and returned to the fight game.
In the 1970s, he worked with promising, young boxers in the Chicago Golden Gloves program.
“I started going back to the gym and really getting back into it,” he said. “I came across this fighter, Lee Roy Murphy, who just moved me with his ability. He had so much natural talent; he hit like [Mike] Tyson.
“For about a 10-year period, he was easily the most exciting fighter in Chicago. People came to his fights expecting to see a knockout.”
Murphy, who finished with an amateur record of 157-17, made the U.S. boxing team for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and won the IBF Cruiserweight title in 1984 with a 14th round TKO of Marvin Camel.
Both Murphy and Strickland were bitterly disappointed when the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics.
“The boycott in 1980 really hurt Lee Roy and me,” Strickland said. “He had some success previously in 1976 and made the team in 1980, but there was nowhere to go.”
Although Murphy and the U.S. Olympic team didn’t compete in Moscow, they did take part in an alternate Olympics in Nairobi, Kenya.
Winning all six of his fights (four by knockout), Murphy was considered the best fighter at the tournament. He was awarded the “Honor Above Glory” plaque which states, “This award perpetuates the ideals of these young men who placed honor above glory.”
“That award means as much to me as any of the other championship belts and honors of other boxers I’ve trained,” Strickland said.
In addition to Murphy, Strickland has managed, trained or worked as a cutman for other notable fighters like Ray Lynumn, Randy Smith, Corey Spinks, William Guthrie, Ray Lathon, David Tua and Michael Brothers.
He also cherishes the opportunity to coach David Diaz. A Chicago native, Diaz was an IBA and WBC lightweight champion and a four-time Chicago Golden Gloves champion.
Heavily influenced by Strickland, Diaz finished his pro career with a 36-4-1 record and 17 knockouts.
“Strick knows boxing so well and he knew how to push me to get the best out of my ability,” Diaz said. “Whether it was working the bag or sparring time in the ring, we spent countless hours together in the gym. He was a great trainer for me but an even better person.”
Strickland has worked matches around the world, including stops in Sweden, England, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, China, Samoa, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, and Australia.
One of his favorite memories is having lunch with Nelson Mandela (a huge boxing fan) in South Africa.
“I told Jim I wish they had selfies back then,” Deanna said. “I have traveled around the world vicariously through Jim. It’s been an exciting, interesting career.”
As a trainer and cutman for so many classic matches, Strickland’s most bizarre experience occurred on June 28, 1997 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Strickland was Evander Holyfield’s cutman in the latter’s rematch with Mike Tyson.
Initially billed as “The Sound and the Fury,” the bout became infamously referred to as “The Bite Fight” after Tyson bit off a part of Holyfield’s ear.
Tyson lost by disqualification. The reality was Tyson bit off more than he could chew whenever he faced Holyfield, who was 2-0 against Tyson.
“Tyson was a savage in the ring,” Strickland said. “Evander was winning their rematch fight when Tyson got desperate. I have seen all kinds of cuts during my career but never anything like that.
“Evander and I have similar personalities so we worked well together. He knew how to fight Tyson.”