Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about professional boxing and prizefighting in the 19th and early 20th Centuries.
On December 8, 1903, Sam Langford fought the reigning lightweight boxing champion in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to fighting Langford, most boxing experts felt Joe Gans could not be beaten in a legitimate bout. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Gans was able to break the color barrier by winning the World Lightweight Boxing Championship. Sam Langford is often considered
John Morrissey claimed the World Bare Knuckle Prizefighting Championship in a controversial bout with Yankee Sullivan in October 1853. After beating a murder charge for his participation in the murder of Bill “The Butcher” Poole, Morrissey decided to defend his title against John C. Heenan, “the Benicia Boy”. “Old Smoke” Morrissey defeated Heenan in the October 1858 bout held in
On October 12, 1853, 23 year-old John Morrissey would meet 40 year-old “Yankee” Sullivan for the American and possibly World Heavyweight Prizefighting Championship. Sullivan had been considered the champion since Tom Hyer, who had beaten Sullivan previously, retired instead of fighting Sullivan in a rematch. Sullivan claimed the title and was backed by Hyer, who had made peace with Sullivan.
In July 1854, the World Bareknuckle Prizefighting Champion John Morrissey, who also severed as Tammany Hall enforcer, challenged William “Bill the Butcher” Poole to a no holds barred street fight. The result was a terrible beating and several month recovery for John Morrissey. Morrissey would have likely won a bareknuckle prizefight with Poole, a part-time prizefighter himself. Morrissey made a
On July 26, 1854, the bare knuckle champion John Morrissey met occasional bare knuckle fighter William Poole in a no rules street brawl. What followed would be the worst five minutes of John Morrissey’s life. On October 23, 1853, the 22-year-old Morrissey beat Yankee Sullivan for the world bare knuckle championship in a disputed decision. Sullivan actually knocked Morrissey out
Sam McVey, who was considered the Idol of Paris, during his boxing career from 1902 to 1921, is largely forgotten today. One of the greatest black heavyweights of his time, he was frozen out of fighting for the world title even after Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in 1908. McVey lost to Jack Johnson three times early in his career
While doing research, I found this picture of the Manassa Mauler training for his July 4th, 1919 title fight with Jess Willard, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champions. Willard had knocked out the great Jack Johnson in 1915 to become champion. Willard was a giant of a man at 6’06” and 235 pounds. He posed a threat to anyone based on size alone. However,
After Jack Johnson became champion, a lack of strong contenders caused public pressure to mount on James J. Jeffires, the retired former heavyweight champion, to end his retirement and fight Johnson. Jeffries was considered the first and most credible of the “White Hope” contenders. In his prime, Jeffries probably couldn’t beat Johnson. At 35 years of age and nearly 300
Jack Johnson has always been a tough subject for me. I admire his courage and strength in confronting hatred and bigotry in a time when doing so put his life in danger. He refused to conform and accept a position of inferiority to white Americans. Yet, like many human beings he was a flawed man. He beat his first wife