Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about professional boxing from 1890 to 1930.
On Thursday, February 26, 1903, Jack Johnson defended his World Colored Heavyweight Boxing Championship against the undefeated Sam McVey. McVey brought a 6-0 record with six knockouts into the championship match. Since boxing promoters refused to let Black fighters compete for the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship, the best boxers around the turn of the Century fought for the World Colored
After averaging 9 fights a year over the past 7 years, World Middleweight Boxing Champion Stanley “The Michigan Assassin” Ketchel was exhausted. Ketchel took a vacation on the Missouri ranch of his friend Colonel R. P. Dickerson in an attempt to regain his strength and enthusiasm for fighting. Ketchel never returned from vacation as he was shot and killed at
“Terrible” Terry McGovern earned a reputation as one of the most powerful punchers in the history of the lighter divisions of professional boxing. McGovern weighed between 112 and 126 pounds. Unlike his fellow smaller fighters, who overwhelmed their opponents with punching volume, McGovern possessed exceptional knockout power. McGovern proved his power on Tuesday, September 12, 1899, when he fought British
An age old question in combat sports is “Who will win between a boxer and a wrestler?” The speculation around this question led to several boxer versus wrestler matches through out history, most notably the disaster between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki in 1976. The matches are mostly no-win affairs except at the box office, which is why both promoters
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
On April 17, 1909, African-American heavyweight boxer Joe Jeanette met World Colored Heavyweight Boxing Champion Sam McVey for the title in a fight to the finish. Before the classic bout was complete, the men would box for 49 rounds over 3 hours and 30 minutes. From February 5, 1903, when he beat “Denver” Ed Martin to December 26, 1908, when
John L. Sullivan had dominated the prize ring during his career. Possessing a record of 40 wins, no losses and two draws, “The Boston Strong Boy” was considered invincible. Sullivan won the world championship in 1882 and dispensed all challengers culminating with the Fight of the Nineteenth Century with Jake Kilrain. After defeating Kilrain in this epic bout, John L.
Sam McVey tired of the lack of opportunity for black fighters in the United States during the early Twentieth Century. McVey decided to leave for Europe in 1907, where he fought until 1911. McVey fought in Australia for three more years before returning to the United States. This brief highlight film from France in 1911 with “Battling” Jim Johnson shows
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
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