Oct. 12, 1978: Scott vs Gregory

It remains one of the more unlikely episodes in all of boxing history. A convicted criminal locked inside a maximum security penitentiary not only competed in sanctioned, professional boxing matches, but performed on national television and was officially ranked at the top of the light heavyweight division. A twisted Cinderella story of the sordid kind, it captured the imaginations of millions of American sports fans, before the clock eventually struck twelve.

The tale begins in 1965 when James Scott, at the age of eighteen, found himself in Trenton State Prison, a facility which happened to have a boxing program. There Scott actually sparred with famous inmate and former top middleweight contender Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who encouraged James to develop his talent. But, released from prison in ’68, Scott soon got into trouble with the law again, was convicted of robbery, and sent to New Jersey’s Rahway State Prison. It was there that Scott devoted himself seriously to pugilism and eventually became the state prison boxing champion.

james-scott-999
James Scott circa 1978.

In 1974 Scott was released again and this time he was determined to make it on the outside as a fighter. He showed tremendous promise, competing eleven times in thirteen months against formidable competition, the matches staged in Miami Beach by veteran promoter Chris Dundee. Scott scored victories in all of the contests but one, that match declared a draw after the referee deducted two points from James for a vicious retaliatory low blow. Impressed by his obvious talent, Ring magazine ranked the ex-con number eight in the world. It appeared the James Scott tale would have a happy ending, that the ex-con was on his way to a successful boxing career.

But in May of 1975 Scott got mixed up in a violent robbery which left one man dead. While not found guilty of the murder, Scott was a repeat offender and a new conviction put him back in Rahway State Prison, now for a much longer period of time, a minimum of three decades.

But from behind the stone walls of Rahway, Scott took up where he left off, dominating the state prison boxing program. And his success inspired a new fan, prison superintendent Robert Hatrak, who promised Scott that if someone could be found to finance boxing matches at the prison, he would do everything possible to help him continue his career. Fledgling New Jersey promoter Murad Muhammad agreed to stage fights at Rahway and before the end of 1978 Scott, incredibly, had two more legit pro wins on his record.

James Scott
Scott in his prison cell.

Few were paying much attention to the oddity of a convict pursuing a pro boxing career from inside jail, but that changed thanks to the World Boxing Association and HBO. The WBA had decided to overlook the fact that Scott was incarcerated and continued to rank him among the top ten best light heavyweights in the world. This meant, at least in theory, that the inmate was eligible for a chance at the WBA version of the world light heavyweight title.

Meanwhile a brand new cable network called Home Box Office decided that televising Scott’s fights from Rahway State Prison would make for intriguing and potentially lucrative broadcasting fare. When the WBA’s number one contender, Eddie Gregory (who would later change his name to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad), agreed to face Scott, HBO brought their cameras to the prison, billing the show “Boxing Behind Bars.”

Most found the whole thing difficult to take seriously and tagged Scott as a long-shot underdog against the more experienced Gregory. With a record of 29-3-1, Eddie was both a legit top contender and a skilled boxer, while the 12-0-1 Scott was comparatively inexperienced and untested, not to mention, in prison. After all, Gregory had faced truly serious talents in Matthew Franklin, Bennie Briscoe and Victor Galindez, and was in line for a title shot against new WBA champion Mike Rossman. Surely he wouldn’t step into Rahway to face Scott if the inmate represented a threat to his high ranking. This was a side-show, a curiosity, and a tune-up for Gregory before a championship fight.

Eddie Gregory.

“They say Scott is tough, but how tough can he be?” asked Gregory. “So he fought a couple of stiffs inside the walls and he knocked them out … I’ll carry him for eleven rounds and knock him out in the twelfth. It’ll be a good workout.”

And so Eddie entered the Rahway prison auditorium completely unprepared for what awaited him. From the opening bell, Scott, who was in extraordinary condition, attacked like an unleashed pit bull. He was clearly the stronger of the two and his unceasing aggression forced his foe to concentrate on defense and little more. Gregory side-stepped some of the convict’s attacks and often rolled with the big punches thrown his way, but as early as round two Scott was consistently landing clean shots, and in the third he began to dominate, bulling Gregory about the ring and scoring heavy body blows.

Scott vs Gregory
Scott (left) was just too strong and determined for Gregory.

By round four even the most skeptical of spectators had to admit the truth: this was, against all expectations, turning into a one-sided ass-kicking in favor of Rahway inmate number 57735. Gregory’s left eye was almost swollen shut and he had no effective answer for his opponent’s strength, power and constant attack. The prisoner was grinding down the supposed top contender for the light heavyweight title, winning round after round, and the only question was if Eddie could make it to the final bell. Going into the last round his corner told him he needed a knockout to win, but it was Scott, not Gregory, who attacked like a 175 pound version of Jake LaMotta and punished his opponent with a series of heavy blows. In the end, Eddie won, at best, three rounds.

James Scott
Inmate 57735 celebrates his upset win with Dr. Ferdie Pacheco.

After the unanimous decision was announced, Scott immediately called out WBA champion Mike Rossman, predicting he would take care of him even easier than he did Gregory. “It won’t go four rounds,” he declared. Jimmy DiPiano, Rossman’s father and manager, happened to be ringside and as he left the prison he was asked about the champion coming to Rahway to face Scott. “It’s going to take an awful lot of money,” said DiPiano, “before I let my son in the same ring with that monster.”

The victory shocked the boxing world and the strange odyssey of James Scott became headline news, his face appearing in newspapers and national magazines, the major television networks now anxious to broadcast his fights. Many wondered if he might in fact become boxing’s first inmate world champion as 1979 proved a banner year for the prisoner. He went on to score five major victories, all of them against serious opposition, including one-sided beat-downs on national television over experienced contenders Richie Kates and Yaqui Lopez. There was now no question that Scott was the top contender for the light heavyweight championship of the world, and for a brief time it appeared he just might achieve his dream of punching his way out of jail.

Scott (right) battles Dwight Braxton in his final fight.

But the unlikely tale did not have a happy ending. All of Scott’s attempts to lure Rossman to Rahway, or to get special permission to fight for the title outside of prison, went nowhere. And then the WBA abruptly decided that having a convict and repeat offender as their mandatory challenger for the world title didn’t make much sense and they removed Scott from their rankings. He kept fighting, but in 1980 Scott suffered a huge setback when Jerry “The Bull” Martin came to Rahway and knocked him down and won a decision. Two more matches followed, but after being defeated by future champion Dwight Braxton, Scott retired.

Eddie Gregory rebounded from the loss to Scott by winning six straight before battering Marvin Johnson to win a world championship. He would change his name to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and successfully defend his title against Martin in 1980, thus gaining a measure of redemption for his upset loss to James Scott by beating the man who brought a halt to the Rahway champion’s unlikely run.            

— Michael Carbert    

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2 thoughts on “Oct. 12, 1978: Scott vs Gregory

  • March 14, 2022 at 3:43 am
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    Hats off to a great champion for giving Scott a shot. It took courage to fight Scott in prison. You are a true Hall of Famer, Champ, as a fighter and as a coach.

    Reply
  • March 29, 2023 at 1:15 pm
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    Eddie , you truly were my all time favorite fighter when I was a young kid in the late 70’s , both of us being born & raised in Brooklyn…Your left hook was just as Devastating if not more than Smokin’ Joe’s……God Bless You and Your Family Eddie & try your Best to get these kids on the right path….. Jimmy J.

    Reply

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