Ringside Report Remembers Caveman Lee
By Jeffrey “Italian Medallion” Cellini
William “Caveman” Lee, 22-4, 21 KO’s was one of the most dangerous punchers in the middleweight division during the 1980’s. Trained by Hall-of-Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, Lee fought out of the legendary Kronk Gym in Detroit, Michigan. William Lee who was given the nickname “Caveman” because of his sideburns, struggled with southpaws throughout his career despite being a good boxer. Although a talented fighter inside the ring, Lee’s troubles outside the ring prevented him from reaching elite status.
In an interview with Shawn Murphy back in 2010, Caveman Lee talked about when began training at Kronk. “In 1977, I fought at the Olympia Stadium here in Detroit. I was sparring with Tommy and those guys. Emanuel Steward liked the way I boxed and he brought me here to prepare Tommy for a couple of big fights”.
Caveman Lee began his boxing career on February 25,1976 with a knockout win over Wallace Smith, who was also making his pro debut, at the Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Actually, Lee won his first four fights by knockout over fighters who were making their pro debuts. In his seventh pro fight, Don Addison shocked Caveman Lee by winning a majority decision at Felt Forum in New York City on December 15,1978. Lee rebounded by winning his next seven fights, six by knockout.
On July 3,1980, a young southpaw prospect named Frank “The Animal” Fletcher squared off with Lee at the Resorts International in Atlantic City on a nationally televised fight carried via ESPN. Carrying his left hand very low, typical of Kronk fighters, Caveman was caught repeatedly by Fletcher’s right jabs and heavy left hands. After being staggered early in the third round by Fletcher’s blows, Lee finally withered under a siege of big shots in the fourth round. The Caveman, who was very good at fighting from a distance, was unable to handle “The Animal” on the inside.
rapped on the ropes, Lee absorbed several big left hands before stumbling around and falling to the canvas. Able to get up at the count of one, Lee was still unable to fend off Fletcher. After several bigger shots from Fletcher, Lee was saved from taking more of beating when the referee intervened with 23 seconds remaining in the fourth round.
Caveman blamed over-training for his unexpected loss to Frank Fletcher. “I trained way too hard for that fight and we fought my timing was way off and everything else. I know I could have beaten him but I over trained”.
After his knockout loss, Caveman reeled off eight straight stoppage victories, with big wins over Marcos Geraldo and John LoCicero. Lee believed that his win over Geraldo came at a time when he was finally at his best. “He had just fought Hagler and took Sugar Ray Leonard ten rounds. Bill Miller got me ready for that fight. I lost to Fletcher and I needed a strong comeback. Fletcher was real mad that I jumped over him. When I fought Geraldo I was in great shape. You saw the champ in me that night”.
On July 9,1981, the Lee-LoCicero bout took place in Detroit, Michigan, in front of an audience that witnessed one of the most entertaining fights of the year in the middleweight division. The fifth round of the LoCicero fight was voted Round-of-the-Year by Ring Magazine because of the back-and-forth action between the two fighters.
Boxing commentator Al Bernstein put it like this: “It was in the early Kronk Gym days, in the Twenty Grand Showroom in Detroit with no air conditioning. It was August and amazingly hot. In the fifth round, John LoCicero and Caveman Lee put on a round of boxing that was just beyond belief. First, LoCicero went down, got up, and hit Lee with like twenty-five unanswered punches. It was ridiculous. LoCicero ultimately got knocked out in that round and it was about as exciting as anything I’ve ever seen.”
Caveman blamed poor training for his struggles in the LoCicero fight. “I was supposed to fight him a month prior but the fight got delayed and I stopped training right. I took him lightly and he surprised me”.
Following his victory over LoCicero, Caveman Lee defeated Reyes Escalara by technical knockout at the Cobo Hall in Detroit on November 19th. A world title opportunity opened up afterwards when Mickey Goodwin hurt his hand and was unable to challenge “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler for the middleweight crown. Lee told Murphy that he only had a couple of weeks to train for the fight and was not in the right frame of mind for the fight. “I was in good shape physically but mentally no. I had just fought Lo Cicero and was still recovering from that”.
On March 7, 1983, World Middleweight champion Marvin Hagler stopped the Caveman at the 1:07 minute of the first round. A stiff left hand and a strong right by Hagler sent Lee to the canvas thirty seconds into the fight. Badly hurt, Lee was trapped on the ropes and was wobbled by the champion’s combinations. Unable to defend himself, Lee was on the wrong end of several more big left hands. Hagler kept pounding Lee along the ropes before the referee stopped the onslaught. Caveman expressed his disappointment afterwards, “My plan was to see if he could take what I could give him. I was going to take him out. He allowed me just one mistake and that was I hesitated”.
Caveman Lee only had two more fights in his career after his defeat to Hagler. On January 3,1988, in Genoa, Italy, Lee suffered his fourth and final loss but this time it came at the hands of Yawe Davis of Uganda. Davis was the third southpaw to defeat Lee by knockout.
Lee’s battle with drugs had finally caught up to him and brought an end to a once-promising career. He committed several armed robberies in an attempt to supply his drug needs and ended up serving three separate terms (1984-86,1991-93, 1994-2006) in prison. Fortunately for Caveman Lee, he was able to overcome his drug habits and straighten out his life. “By God’s grace, hands were laid on me and God broke me of the habit. I’ve been free ever since”.
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