Sam McVea Battles Jujitsu Fighter

sam-mcvey-or-mcvea-great-african-american-heavyweight-boxer

On Sunday, November 9, 1913, African American boxer Sam McVea, or McVey, battled Professor Stevenson, a Jujitsu practitioner, in a mixed styles bout in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. McVea and Stevenson fought ten, five-minute rounds, with three-minute intermission between rounds. McVea and Stevenson fought for $100 a side. In grappler vs. boxer matches, the grappler usually won, but McVea […]

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“Farmer” Burns Trains Jeffries

martin-farmer-burns-wrestling-james-j-jeffries-in-jeffries-training-camp

When the great Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns for the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship, the boxing establishment started searching for a “white hope” to defeat Johnson. In desperation to find someone to defeat Johnson, promoters and sports writers started lobbying former World Heavyweight Champion James J. Jeffries to end his retirement to fight Johnson. Jeffries retired undefeated in 1905. After […]

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Browning Shoots with Miyake?

jim-browning-in-1923

On Tuesday, June 3, 1924, up-and-coming wrestler Jim Browning challenged Taro Miyake in a mixed styles match in Nashville, Tennessee. Browning, a wrestler from Verona, Missouri recently left the Missouri-Kansas area to wrestle in Tennessee and Kentucky. The 21-year-old Browning was developing a reputation for solid wrestling. Browning impressed promoters so much in the 1920s that the promoters put the […]

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Miyake Wrestles Londos

taro-miyake-jujitsu-black-belt-and-pro-wrestler

Taro Miyake originally came to prominence as a jiu jitsu expert fighting legitimate mixed styles contests with professional boxers and wrestlers. Miyake used the legitimate contests, most of which he won, to generate interest in jiu jitsu. Like many judo and jiu jitsu instructors, Miyake discovered how hard it was to make a sustainable income from martial arts instruction. Taro […]

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Big Match Falls Through

mike-mooney-st-louis-professional-boxer-and-wrestler

In March 1893, newspapers across the country carried the story of a proposed match between current world light heavyweight boxing champion Jack McAuliffe and Saint Louis boxing instructor Mike Mooney.  Although the match would seem odd because Mooney was such a lightly regarded challenger, the lure of $2500 a side is probably what brought the champion to the table. Adjusted […]

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Acton Wrestles Fitzsimmons

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On Friday, November 27, 1891, former American Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Joe Acton wrestled future World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Bob Fitzsimmons in San Francisco, California. The men wrestled for a reported $1,000.00 purse. Acton usually gave up size to his opponent but Acton outweighed the 148-pound Fitzsimmons by seven pounds. The men wrestled a two-out-of-three falls match according to catch-as-catch-can wrestling […]

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Acton Wrestles Greco-Roman

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On Monday, March 26, 1888, Joe Acton, who specialized in catch wrestling, wrestled Professor William Miller, an Australian wrestler, and bare-knuckle prizefighter, in a two-out-of-three-falls Greco-Roman wrestling match. Both men’s camps believed wrestling the match in this style ensured the fairest contest between them. The men wrestled for $500.00 a side. 1,500 fans, a large crowd for the era, turned […]

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