Blackburn and Langford Go Distance

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Charles Henry “Jack” Blackburn achieved his greatest fame as the trainer of World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Joe Louis from 1934 to 1942.  Louis is widely considered to be one of the top three to five heavyweights in professional boxing history and some consider him the best heavyweight fighter.  “Jack” Blackburn developed the talents of the young champion and helped him

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Sam Langford KOs Battlin’ Jim Johnson

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On Tuesday, December 12, 1916, Sam Langford defended the “Colored World Heavyweight Boxing Championship”, which he won from Sam McVea in February 1916.  Between 1904 and 1919, the best African-American boxers, or black Canadians like Langford, were stuck fighting each other for “Colored” Championship. If a white fighter did fight them, it was only to develop their own reputation to

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Jeffries KOs Jackson

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James J. Jeffries dominated American heavyweight boxing from 1899 to 1904.  After winning the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship from Bob Fitzsimmons in 1899, Jeffries made 9 successful title defenses during the next five years.  He retired undefeated in 1905 before be lured back for an ill-fated comeback against the great Jack Johnson. Jeffries didn’t win his bouts with superior boxing

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Fitz Dethrones Corbett in 1897

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On March 17, 1897, current World Heavyweight Boxing Champion James J. Corbett entered the boxing ring at Carson City, Nevada.  Corbett faced the challenge of former middleweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons.  Corbett entered as the favorite enjoying both an almost twenty pound weight advantage and slick boxing skills. “Ruddy Robert” as Fitzsimmons was sometimes known won the World Middleweight Boxing Championship in

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Rudy Robert Takes First Title

bob-fitzsimmons

Bob “Rudy Robert” Fitzsimmons was an English boxer, who won the undisputed middleweight, heavyweight and light heavyweight world championships, at the turn of the 20th Century.  Often mistaken for an Australian because he started his boxing career there, Fitzsimmons traveled to the United States in 1890 to campaign for the middleweight championship. Fitzsimmons stood just under 6 feet tall but

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