Paye 8 Portland Observer, January 7, 1987
Thad w alks to corner a fte r kayo-
ing Alvin Carter in the fifth at
the M oulin Rouge in Los A nge
les In center background is his
m anager. W alter M in s k o ff.
S m ooth - m uscled
Thad
Spencer
looks soft but his
fists peck so m uch
d ynam ite that even
Joe Louis was S u r­
prised "H e hit. all
rig h t.” said Joe.
w ith typical under
statem en t.
by Jerry Garner
Thad Spencer. Jr., is making a comeback in life, and in boxing, as a
promoter Spencer was the number one heavyweight contender in the
world in 1967 He had signed a contract to fight Muhammad Ali for the
heavyweight title However, Spencer never got to fight the legendary Ali
Ali was drafted into the Army but refuser! induction Later he was stripped
of fits heavyweight championship
"That was something,” Spencer recall. "Just when it looked like I finally
was gonna get my shot, the guy I'm chasing isn't there anymore. It might
have been the worst day of my life."
After this, Spencer's life and boxing career began to disintigrate
In 1967, Spencer defeated Ernie Terrell, who was then the top heavy
weight contender involved in the tournament to select a replacement for
Ali The victory over Terrell would be Spencer's last one as a professional
fighter In the second round of the elimination tournament, Spencer was
upset by Jerry Quarry.
After losing to Quarry, Spencer would fight eight more times He lost
seven of those bouts, four by knockouts and one draw Thad Spencer, Jr.,
whom former heavyweight champion Joe Louis once called a "better" all
around fighter than Cassius Clay, was finished as a boxer.
Spencer blames his decline as a heavyweight contender on his lifestyle
and drugs "I was heavy into drugs,” he recalls. "The fast life, the fast
women That's all that mattered " At first, Spencer kept telling people he
was in training for another fight. "I was in my twenties I could have kept
going "
Instead, Spencer started pimping along using cocaine He said he would
go to bed high and wake up thinking about getting high again. For the next
13 years, Spencer kept using drugs and lived a life in the fast lanes In bet
ween, he was shot seven times and ran over by a car twice
Spencer realized his life had hit the bottom one rainy night in Los Angeles
back in 1982. "I was walking with my son, Mister," he recalls. "I heard a
sloshing sound. I looked down and there were holes in my shoes They
had no bottoms left, so did my son's shoes I knew I had to change my
life,"
Spencer moved back to Portland in 1982, to live with his parents in the
house he had purchased from them years earlier Spencer stopped using
drugs and decided to get back into boxing as a promoter "Boxing saved
me from the streets when I was a kid," and he hoped it would do it again.
Thad Spencer, Jr., was born March 28, 1943. in Birmingham, Alabama,
the third of 12 children; 7 boys and 5 girls The family moved to Portland
when Spencer was an infant He took an interest in boxing at age 14 and
started working out in a gym.
He met the late Eddie Machen and began working out with him. At the
time, Machen was a top professional heavyweight contender Machen and
Spencer became close friends.
Spencer became a top amateur fighter He won the Pacific Northwest
Golden titles Spencer made the 1960 U S. Olympics as a heavyweight
Muhammad Ali made the team as a light-heavyweight. However, Spencer
didn’t go to the Olympics; instead he turned professional. Spencer said he
decided not to attend the Rome Olympics on the advice of Machen. "Eddie
asked me what did I want with another trophy?" For turning pro, Spencer
received $2,000 in $5 bills and a 56 Mercury
Spencer moved quickly in the heavyweight ranks Spencer's goal was
to fight Muhammad A ll Although he was the number 2 contender. All
fought No. 3 contender, Zora Folley, in Madison Garden on March 22,
1967 "I should have fought Ali before Folley," recalled Spencer "I was
ranked higher than him." The rest is history: Ali stripped of his title for
refusing induction into the Army. Spencer’s dream of fighting Ali for the
world heavyweight title wouldn't be.
Once Spencer decided to go into promoting boxing matches, he found it
was a difficult business to break into His first boxing card, which was held
in Vancouver, Washington, was nearly a disaster The day before the card,
he pulled out and only 150 people attended the event. "I had to go through
with the card If I didn't, the boxing commission could have revoked my
license, and my credibility would have been ruined,” said Spencer. Thanks
to a friend, who gave him last minute financial support. Spencer’s first card
wasn’t a disaster.
In 1984. Spencer moved to Bakersfield, California, to promote fights in
that city His first card featured former lightweight champion Art Frias and
Kelvin Lampkin. Although Spencer's first card in Bakersfield was a suc­
cess, he was somewhat disappointed after the card. "I was planning on
bringing Frias back into the top of the lightweight division. Lampkin stop
ped Frias in the eighth round. It was an upset." said Spencer.
To date. Spencer has promoted fights of Olympic medalists, and now the
N A B F. champion of the world. Paul Gonzales, and former heavyweight
champion "Big John" Tate.
These days, Spencer travels the West Coast as a businessman, trying
to promote fights through his promotion company. Thad Spencer Promo­
tions He is in Portland trying to find a sponsor for a boxing tournament
he's trying to put together,
"Three years ago. I had a conversation with Jerry Buss (Buss is the
owner of the Los Angeles Lakers). He promotes the Stroh's Beer Cham­
pionship Tournament In my discussion with Mr Buss. I expressed my
desire to hold a similar tournament in the Northwest "
Spencer said in order to hold such a tournament, he needed a beer com
pany to serve as a sponsor At the moment he is negotiating with a North­
west beer company, Spencer said once he secures a sponsor, a tourna
1
Spencer (L) d e feated Ernie Terrell, but w asted his o pportu nity to seize
the h e av y w eig h t title.
A fter sparring briefly w ith Spen
cer, Joe Lewis IRI said "H e's a
real good boy If I w as a young
fighter again, I w o u ld n 't mind
bein' this one He'll be knocking
on the cham pion's door w ith in a
year "
ment will be held involving a series of elimination fights to be held in the
Northwest The winners will compete with the winner of the Stroh's Tour­
nament held in the Southwest, for the grand title of West Coast Champion I
Besides trying to find a backer for his boxing tournament. Spencer is
working with Oon Chargin, of Top Rank, to promote close circuit coverage
of the upcoming match between Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leneard
to air at the Red Lion Hotels in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington State
Spencer is also promoting the fights of middleweight and former Olympic
team member Charles "Machine Gunn" Carter Spencer and Sandy Barr
had scheduled to host a boxing card at the Starry Night Club last month
featuring Carter, but the show failed to materialize
"On December 1, 1986, Bob Wetzel, the secretary of the boxing commis
A talented young heaveyweight was
a rare prize in those days, and 20-year-
old Thad Spencer, whom Joe Louis
calls a better all-around fighter than
Cassius Clay, had real championship
potential.
sion, informed Sandy Barr that the commission will meet on Dec 5 to sane
tion the fight or to vote on it. "Weizel later informed Barr that the boxing
commission won't meet at all during the month of December, so the fight
was o ff," recalls Spencer He said despite the set back, he plans to pro
mote a card featuring Carter in February.
Spencer is the first Black person to attain a promotor's license in Port
land; he has yet to promote a fight in his hometown He said he was dis
appointed by the cancellation. "I had put in about three hundred working
hours alone on the show "
Spencer was asked why it is so difficult for him to promote a fight in
his home town He replied, "I don't know why. At first I thought it was
due to my past problems with substance abuse I have come to the con
elusion that the boxing commission doesn't think big enough. They don't
realize the calibur of boxers I'm capable of bringing into Portland,"
A Heavyweight Contender's
Comeback From Cocaine
Spencer, w h o spent 13 years on drugs, w o rk e d w ith
youngsters in B akersfield. Calif.
"I d o n ’t w a n t to see
th a t happening to anyone else's kids.
Talking with Spencer, you get the feeling that he is sincere about his
profession He proudly showed me a letter from Bakersfield Mayor Thomas
A Payne, congratulating him for bringing boxing back to that city How
ever, his eyes glow as he and I watched a video of himself and Ali receiving
the key to the city from Mayor Payne of Bakersfield, CA
Spencer appears to be in fairly good health, considering his past life
When he first met former heavyweight champion Joe Louis, he carried 200
pounds on his six foot frame. Today, that frame is carrying forty three
extra pounds.
Spencer was asked, if he could relive his past, what would he have done
differently He replied, "I wouldn't have gotten involved in drugs and the
fast life I wouldn't have turned pro; instead I would have gone to the 1960
Olympics."
1 This m essage courtesy of
FraiMeyer.