Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about bare knuckle prizefighting in the 19th Century and early professional boxing from 1890 to 1930.
In mixed style bouts between wrestlers and strikers, the adage is once the wrestler gets his hands on the striker, the fight is over. In most mixed style bouts between wrestlers or grapplers and boxers, the grappler normally wins after dragging the striker to the ground. Ray Steele defeated Battling Levinsky. “Judo” Gene LeBell smashed Milo Savage. In modern
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
On November 19, 1935, professional wrestler Ray Steele met professional boxer Kingfish Levinsky in a mixed wresting versus boxing bout. The Missouri State Athletic Commission created special rules for the match. The commissioners ruled the bout would consist of three-minute rounds like a boxing match. The commissioners allowed Levinsky to punch even if he was on the mat. Steele could
William Muldoon was the reigning World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and a noted physical culturist, when Muldoon was engaged by John L. Sullivan’s backers to get their fighter in shape. Sullivan was the reigning World Heavyweight Bare Knuckle Prizefighting Champion. He signed an agreement to meet his toughest challenger, Jake Kilrain, in July 1889. Sullivan admitted he was in bad shape,
Tom Allen was born in Birmingham, England but fought some of his most famous fights in America. In 1867, Allen moved to St. Louis, the largest city west of the Mississippi. Allen never left and would use St. Louis as his home base to train for prizefights. Allen fought mostly in bare knuckle prizefights as American boxing would not be
No one took advantage of the No Decision era of professional boxing like Battling Levinsky. Levinsky was a skilled defensive boxer, who took little damage during his fights. When Ring Magazine asked him why he was so active, sometimes taking 3 fights in a day around New York, Levinsky said, “I like money and I never get hurt.” Levinsky was
On January 10, 1910, recently arrived Polish wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko took on Charlie “The Kid” Cutler in a best two-out-of-three falls match. Cutler had been a boxer in a troupe run by John L. Sullivan before transitioning to wrestling. While Cutler was extremely tough, Stanislaus Zbyszko had been wrestling since his youth. Zbyszko would use these skills to overcome Cutler
On Thursday, September 7, 1876, Tom Allen defended his World Heavyweight Bare Knuckle Prizefighting Championship against fellow Englishman Joe Goss. Allen, originally from Birmingham, England, settled in St. Louis, Missouri. Allen eventually became a U.S. Citizen. Allen showed a pugnacious personality, inside and outside the ring, making powerful enemies amongst the sporting men in the United States. Allen particularly irritated
On Tuesday, November 18, 1884, World Heavyweight Bare-Knuckle Prizefighting Champion John L. Sullivan fought Al Greenfield at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Sullivan needed to overcome more than just his opponent in this bout. The men originally agreed to fight on Monday, November 17, 1884, but New York City authorities threatened the men with arrest. The wrangling with
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