Rear View Mirror: Frank Fletcher

Rear View Mirror: Frank "The Animal" Fletcher

GBN's Caledonian columnist, Donald C Stewart, takes a look into his rear view mirror at the career of "The Animal" Frank Fletcher

Frank Fletcher, 18-6-1, 12 KOs was active between 1976 and 1985. As a fighter, Fletcher went under the radar, but he fought hard, dreamt big and gave value.

He was a middleweight southpaw from Philadelphia known as "The Animal" he had a come forward style that excited. Fletcher took adversity as a badge and wore it with pride. In fact, if a cliché for boxers is coming from a tough childhood, Fletcher may well have coined the term, copyrighted it and lived it. From the age of 8 until he was 21, Fletcher was arrested more than 27 times!

One of three fighting brothers, Frank had Anthony “Two Guns” (the lightweight) and Troy (the bantamweight) as siblings to push his career. Brother Anthony, who spent years on Death Row, though both were ultimately unable to escape that tragic and cliched boxing tale. The reasons for Anthony’s incarceration are documented elsewhere but dig them out; and be prepared to feel a “Hurricane” of disbelief.

Of course, there was, at home, a strong matriarch in the shape of 5 foot 2 Lucille, who clearly had her hands full. Lucille plays a massive part in Fletcher’s story.

Interviewed for XXX, in YYY, reflecting on spending most of his time in jail he opined that, “I had often thought that the only peace I would get was in a graveyard. Jail was my second home.”

Prison, however, was his saviour. In there he found boxing and just as importantly, he found he was pretty good at it.

Upon release from prison, ESPN provided a platform for Frank that saw his popularity soar. Of course, a platform is one thing, the opportunities are given freely to even those who don’t deserve it, but they need free hands with which to grasp it. When one free hand was not in cuffs, Frank managed that with some style.

He was reckless and foolhardy but oftentimes very lucky. But the thing about luck is, the harder you work, the luckier you seem to get. His greatest fan and principal cheerleader was his mom. Lucille was at every fight and another legendary figure in the sport; Howard Cosell would always mention her in his broadcasts. She was hard to miss, in her cream ruffles and with his likeness on an orange t-shirted teddy bear that was at every fight. Given that level of devotion, I would feel sure I came home with belts or bruises and no excuses.

It is believed Frank made a fortune through television appearances though did not manage to hold onto it – another all too familiar fighter’s tale.

So too is the tale of what could have been and should have been as he was twice on the cusp of fighting Marvin Hagler in a contest that would have brought a fortune into his bank account BUT neither happened.

All he needed to do? Beat a guy.

What did he do? Lose to both…

But back to 1976, summer of the Montreal Olympics, scorching heat in the UK and on the 7th of October against Charles Stern, Fletcher made his debut. His start was a unanimous decision over 4 rounds at the Holiday Inn West, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

His connection to prison life was not in the past as he faced Tony Braxton twice on the 27th of October, and then the 1st of December 1979, in New Jersey, at Woodbridge Township, in the Rahway State Prison. He drew the first, lost the rematch on points over 6 rounds.

Before then his reputation had been cemented in massive fights in Atlantic City that included big scrapes and high level entertainment against the likes of Ernie Singletary (stopped in 8 rounds) and James “Hard Rock” Green (stopped in 6). It is hard to believe, given the glowing references to his style and the effect that his professional career had on the boxing fans, his career was just short of a decade long. This included the beginning, the middle and the end; the establishing his career, the living of it and the demise.

His real big break was in 1980 when winning the first 160lb ESPN tournament. In his wake were Ben Serrano – beaten on points over 8 rounds – Jerome (Silky) Jackson – knocked out in the 5th round in May 1980 – William (Caveman) Lee – stopped in the 4th round in July 1980 – and Randy O’Grady – stopped in the 7th round in September 1980. Of those four fights it was the brutal knockout of Jackson that made all of them folks sit up and pay attention. It gave Frank his nickname whilst Jackson got stitches in his lower lip and a night of observation in hospital.

In 1981 he won the USBA middleweight title by outpointing Norberto Sabater, (a man who fought Iran Barkley twice) and he retained it on 4 occasions – Ernie Singletary was retired by the doctor after 7 rounds in August 1981, Tony Braxton was beaten on points in February 1982, then in June of the same year, Clint Jackson was beaten again on points before James Green was stopped in the 6th round in October.

Fletcher was to lose his one belt to Wilford Scypion on the 13th of February 1983 in Atlantic City. The winner was to get a shot for a world title. Fletcher lost on points. 3 months later Hagler took the winner and battered him to the point of a 4th round stoppage that was described judiciously described as brutal. Frank was to continue fighting and managed 5 more fights, three of them lost by stoppage or being knocked out.

The worst and the most brutal was the defeat by the Argentinian, Juan Domingo Roldan, 67-5-2, 42 KO’s. Roldan was to go on and give Hagler and Thomas Hearns difficult fights, so The Animal was in with a likeminded brawler. His final anonymous climb into the ring was on the 4th of February 1985, when he was stopped by Curtis Parker in the 3rd in New Jersey.

News of his retirement came from Frank himself when he called Elmer Smith of the Philadelphia Daily News, to meet him in a bar. Frank was on the run for assault charges and violating his parole and wanted Smith to accompany him when he surrendered to the authorities! Oh and by the way, Frank said during that encounter, I am retiring from boxing…

His dedication to the sport had not been matched by a dedication to keep out of trouble, even with his mother constantly at his ringside. In 1995, Fetcher was imprisoned for assault, getting 22 years in a high-security federal penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas.

He got out in 2017, announced that he had changed his life and turned it around, getting out around a few years before his brother – remember the one on death row? After 28 years in prison Anthony “Two Gun” Fletcher was released with his conviction overturned because his original lawyer had made mistakes, it was not properly investigated, and a self-defence plea would have been possible. Accepting that this was possible, a judge ruled Anthony should have been sentenced to 25 years, and having served 28, he could go free. It’s like one of those US courtroom dramas that hinge on a technicality…

In 2018, both brothers were admitted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame.

Fletcher’s life gave him toughness and an incredible tale to tell: a tough guy who was a tough customer in a very tough sport.