Jackie Graves, alias The Austin Atom, (September 12, 1922 — November 15, 2005) was a featherweight boxer from Minnesota.
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Graves was a native of Austin, Minnesota.
From 1944 to 1956 Graves compiled a career record of 82 wins (48 KOs) and 11 losses with 2 draws. He won the Minnesota State Featherweight Title in only his seventh professional fight, and before his career was over he had fought such luminaries as Willie Pep, Lefty LaChance, Glen Flanagan, Jackie Blair, Miguel Acevedo, Del Flanagan, Corky Gonzales, Redtop Davis, and on August 23rd, 1948, the dubiously named, "Willie Cheatum."
Graves is named as the foil against whom Willie Pep won a round without throwing a punch. This occurrence is sometimes said to have taken place in the third round of a fight between the two. [1] Contemporary reports, however, clearly indicate that Pep threw punches in the third round.[2]
Graves was a correspondent for Ring Magazine for many years after his fighting career ended. [3]