Frank Otto Mintell
a.k.a.
Frank Mantell
Circa 1910
Claimant
With the retirement of Ryan in 1907 tracing the lineage of the middleweight championship of the world is a task on a par with many of those outlined in the old testament .
Ryan begat Ketchel, or was it Mantell, who begat Papke or was it Thompson or Jeff Smith or ...
For a span of six years, from 1907-1913, Frank Mantell laid claim to the middleweight championship of the world. With the title vacated by Tommy Ryan, Mantell fought Honey Mellody in Dayton, Ohio in what was billed as a fight for the vacant middelweight title. Mantell knocked Mellody out in the fifteenth round.
Thus, Mantell staked out his claim to the middleweight championship over three months before Stanley Ketchel defeated Mike Sullivan to claim the crown.
Over the next three years Mantell had his ups and downs , losing to Papke, and Klaus and winning from Jack Twin Sullivan. Through it all his title claim went virtually unrecognized.
Then, Ketchel was killed...
Papke claimed the championship ...
then lost it to Cyclone Johnny Thompson..
re-claimed when Thompson retired..
Now, re-enters Frank Mantell, in a surprizing showing Mantell won a clear-cut twenty round decision over Billy Papke.
Papke announced his retirement...
and Mantell went about defending his title, defeating Jack Henrick.
Meanwhile, Papke had un-retired and was in Paris fighting Marcel Moreau for the middleweight championship...
While, Frank Mantell was defeating against the un-retired Cyclone Johnny Thompson.
By 1913 the powers that be had agreed upon Frank Klaus as champion and Frank Mantell toiled on un-recognized. Mantell's career ended in 1917 with back to back loses via knockout to Harry Greb and Mike Gibbons.
In all over eleven years and 101 bouts, Frank Mantell was in the ring with six world champions , by all rights he was the seventh.
Vintage Original Hand Tinted Large Format Photograph
Price: $ 1,450.00
Condition: Excellent
Size: 16 X 20 inches Framed in an antique frame to
Shipping & Handling $20.00 in the United States. $40.00 to foreign destinations.
3000-1309