Diminishing Skills
Ellis won his next eight fights by knockout and then fought Earnie Shavers, who was 44-2 (43 KOs). The fight took place on June 18, 1973 at Madison Square Garden. Ellis stunned Shavers with a chopping right to the jaw and backed him into a corner. Then, with a single right uppercut, Shavers put Ellis down for the count. The time was 2:39 in the first round. It was a stunning win for Shavers.
Ellis came back with a knockout of Memphis Al Jones, but with his skills in decline, he went winless in his next five fights. He lost a split decision to Boone Kirkman, fought a draw with contender Larry Middleton, dropped decisions to Ron Lyle and Joe Bugner, and was stopped in nine rounds in a rematch with Joe Frazier.
The rematch with Frazier took place in Australia on March 2, 1975. Ellis won the first three rounds, but Frazier then picked up the intensity and took control. With Ellis bloody and battered, Angelo Dundee signaled for referee Bob Foster to stop the fight in the ninth round.
On May 6, 1975, in what would be his last fight, Ellis knocked out a Carl Baker in the first round. He retired after suffering a training injury that left him partially blind in his left eye. Ellis finished with a record of 40-12-1 (24 KOs).
After retiring from boxing, Ellis trained boxers and worked for the Louisville Parks Department. He now suffers from dementia pugilistica. It has been reported that Ellis' condition is so bad that he believes his deceased wife is still alive.
Read more about this topic: Jimmy Ellis
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