1919 WICB Boxing News January 2, 1919 Pottawatomie, Kansas: World heavyweight champion Jess Willard said today he is considering one more fight before retirement to his small horse farm outside this community. "I think its time to let the younger fellas carry on.", said the 38 year old champion. Rumors persist that he may give a title shot to 35 year old Sam McVey. McVey is also said to be considering retirement despite being undefeated. "No one will fight me, so why keep on tryin'?" said McVey from his home in Oxnard, California. McVey only fought once all last year, a unanimous decision over Canadian Andy McFadden at Rizal Arena in Manila, the Philippines. "They offered us real good money to go down there so me and Andy said okay. But I ain't been able to get nothin' else." Other contenders said to be under consideration by the Willard camp are Canadian Sam Langford, ranked as the #1 contender in the world, undefeated American Billy Miske or European champion Otto Flint. -------------------------------------------------------
New York Times Sportswriter Murph O'Donnell James Figg. The first heavyweight champion? Almost 138 years before America's John L. Sullivan rose to fame, there was another man who is said to be the first to gain recognition as heavyweight champion. His name was James Figg and he was born in 1695 in Thame, Oxfordshire, England. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 185 pounds, Figg was a stalwart figure who was always ready to accept a challenge to fight. He was a tough bare knuckle fighter as well as an expert at wrestling, swordplay and fighting with cudgels. Figg's reign lasted from 1719 to 1734 as he fought all comers. In fact, it is reported he beat long-time rival Ned Sutton with both his fists and his sword! Figg's cry was "Here I am Jemmy Figg from Thame, I will fight any man in England". Regular Prize Fights were held at a venue called the Boarded House in the Bear Garden in Marylebone Fields off Oxford Street in London. In 1723 the Boarded House held contests every Wednesday and James Figg is advertised as featuring approximately once a month. Challengers came from far and wide to fight the well known "Champion of England". With the help of the Earl of Peterborough, James Figg set up the Figg's Academy in London, England and started the first organized boxing instruction for a fee. James Figg died December 8, 1734 in London, England.
James Figg ------------------------------------------------------- January 3, 1919 Hamburg, Germany. European champion Otto Flint has sent a telegram to world heavyweight champion Jess Willard expressing interest in travelling to America for a chance at the world title. Flint shocked the European continent last July with an upset win in Berlin over heavy favorite, Georges Carpentier of France, to take the European heavyweight championship. Flint had knocked the French fighter down twice in the 5th round and once more in the 6th before finally putting "The Orchid Man" down for the count at 2:54 of the 6th round. If a match with Jess Willard does not materialize, then a fight with Irish contender Jim Coffey appears likely. ------------------------------------------------------- January 27, 1919 Detroit, Michigan American heavyweight Joe Jeannette continued his climb to a possible title shot with a convincing first round TKO over fellow American, Fighting Dick Gilbert. From the opening bell Gilbert proved to be no match for the swift and powerful Jeannette. Gilbert tried desperately to stay away from his 40 year old opponent but the referee called the fight with only 12 seconds remaining in the round. Jeannette is considered the #2 world ranked boxer but hopes are fading fast for the aging contender. "I've been working so hard," said Jeannette after the fight, "we all lost so many years because of the war and all. I just want one chance, that's all, just one chance." In an undercard, Harry Wills remained unbeaten with a 2nd round KO of Baltimore fighter Jack Warner. The crowd was on its' feet in the first round when Warner tagged Wills with a left hook to the ear that staggered the man ranked as the #10 world contender. Wills was forced to clinch repeatedly as the younger man tried to force his advantage. Warner tagged Wills hard several times near the end of the first and had him looking into his corner for help. In the second, however, Wills stormed out of his corner and overwhelmed his younger opponent, putting him down for counts of 4 and 8 before landing a powerful blow to the heart that put Warner away for keeps. The official time of the knock out was 2:58 of the 2nd round. ------------------------------------------------------- February 12, 1919 Pottawatomie, Kansas: Jess Willard summoned the press to his ranch this morning to announce he will defend his title against Joe Jeannette in a bout to take place on July the 4th, 1919 at the Toledo Sport Center in Toledo, Ohio. "I think the man deserves every chance in the world," said the champion, "he's waited a long time for a title shot and his last fight against that young fella proves he deserves a chance." A telegram sent by Joe Jeannette in accepting the challenge simply stated, "Thank you. You are a credit to the sport." The Champion, Jess Willard, has hired several people to promote the event under his personal guidance. Willard has acted as his own promoter since his split from former manager Tom Jones and Jack Curley, the promoter of Willard's last championship fight, and has shown himself to be quite capable in that role. New York Times' boxing writer Murph O'Donnell estimates that Willard has earned nearly $800,000 outside the ring during his reign as world heavyweight champion and that fact alone should make the Willard-Jeannette fight successful for both men, no matter who wins inside the squared ropes. ------------------------------------------------------- February 16, 1919 Hamburg, Germany: With the recent announcement of a Willard-Jeannette world title fight, Germany's Otto Flint has agreed to fight Ireland's Jim Coffey for the European heavyweight crown on July 12th in Flint's hometown of Hamburg, Germany. Coffey has been fighting out of New York in hopes of getting a shot at Jess Willard. His camp said he will bring several sparring partners along on the voyage back across the ocean to ensure he is ready for the fight. Odds at this point give a slight edge to the current champion, Otto Flint, to retain his crown. ------------------------------------------------------- March 1, 1919 Boston, Massachusetts: Canadian Sam Langford, announced here today that he will fight Australia's Colin Bell in defense of his British Empire Championship on August 2, 1919 in Montreal, Canada. Langford also used the occasion to express his disappointment at not getting a shot at Jess Willard's world title despite being ranked the #1 contender. "I think the man is avoiding me 'cause he knows I can beat him," said an obviously angry Langford, "he knows I can beat him. That's why he keeps dodging me." When it was pointed out that others like Harry Wills and Billy Miske have perfect records Langford snapped, "That's 'cause they ain't met me yet!" The man known as "The Boston Tar Baby" has also been undefeated but with one slight blemish on his record, an eight round draw with France's Georges Carpentier. ------------------------------------------------------- April 18, 1919 New York, NY Canadian heavyweight Horace "Soldier" Jones maintained his unbeaten record here last night with a unanimous decision over South African fighter Harry Smith. The fight proved to be a close match as all three judges saw it as 76-75 for Jones. Transvaal Harry Smith has been fighting out of Harlem here in hopes of getting better money fights but has proven to be a poor draw. The Canadian, on the other hand, has shown great promise and has agreed to fight here again in the future. # 8 world contender Charles Horn of San Francisco, also drew a unanimous decision from the judges in his bout last night with Canadian Dick Wylie. Horn knocked Wylie down twice in round seven but was unable to finish the job with a flourish and put himself solidly in line for a title shot. -------------------------------------------------------
New York Times Sportswriter Murph O'Donnell Tom Molineaux- Slave to boxing legend. Tom Molineaux was born a in Georgetown, Virginia in 1784. Trained by his father, Zachary Molineaux, he boxed with other slaves in order to entertain the plantation owners. His owner won $100,000 by betting on Molineaux and as a result was granted his freedom and a payment of $500. Molineaux first moved to New York city but when he found out he could make more money fighting in England he decided to get a job as a deckhand on a boat sailing for Liverpool. In his first fight in England on August 21, 1810 Molineaux knocked out Tom Blake in eight rounds. Molineaux met up with Bill Richmond, another freed American slave who became a notable prizefighter in England, and Richmond took up the task of training Molineaux. Molineaux won two bouts lining him up for a title shot against British heavyweight champion Tom Crib. On December, 1810, Molineaux fought Cribb and after 19 rounds Molineaux had Cribb in trouble on the ropes. It is reported that Cribb's supporters now entered the ring and during the scrimmage Molineaux had one of his fingers broken. Molineaux continued to fight despite the injury and in the 28th round appeared to knock out Cribb. However, his seconds complained that Molineaux had been hiding lead bullets in his fists. While this accusation was being disproved, Cribb recovered and was able to continue. Molineaux still remained the favorite to win but unluckily he slipped and hit his head on one of the ring posts. He again fought on but by the 39th round he was unable to defend himself and Cribb was declared the winner. The return fight between Molineaux and Cribb took place at Thistleton Gap in Leicestershire on 28th September, 1811. A record 15,000 people watched the fight. In the sixth round Cribb hit Molineaux with a low blow. He never fully recovered from this punch and in the ninth round Cribb broke his jaw. Two rounds later Cribb knocked out Molineaux. After making a full recovery Molineaux fought and defeated Jack Carter in 1813 and then was victorious over Bill Fuller in a two-round fight that lasted over an hour. But the two Crib fights had made Molineaux a celebrity in England and he eventually fought only as needed from time to time, opting to engage in numerous sparring exhibitions instead. Tom Molineaux died penniless in Dublin, Ireland, in 1818.
------------------------------------------------------- May 12, 1919 Louisville, Kentucky In a "tune up" as he called it, Canadian heavyweight Sam Langford won a unanimous decision over English fighter Gordon Sims here last night. Langford knocked Sims down in the 1st round and then many observers felt he carried Sims for the rest of the fight. "I needed the work," said Langford, "you can't just spar in the gym. You got to get out into a real fight to stay sharp." Langford is scheduled to fight Australia's Colin Bell in defense of his British Empire Championship on August 2, 1919 in Montreal, Canada. In an undercard, American Mike McTigue continued his rise up the ranks with a unanimous decision over Darkey Healy. McTigue was in complete command throughout the fight against the young British heavyweight, knocking him down once in the 8th round. McTigue has brought his record to 22-1 with 8 KO's and his camp is now calling for a shot at someone in the world ranked top ten. McTigue's only loss was a UD against Australian-New Zealand Champion, Colin Bell. New Orleans, LA Harry Wills maintained his unbeaten streak here last night in a fight against aging Australian fighter Boshter Bill Squires. Wills knocked Squires down twice in the first but was unable to put his opponent away for keeps. The survival of Squires came back to haunt Wills when he was knocked down for an eight count in the 8th and final round. Wills was able to survive a constant beating by Squires in the last 2 minutes of the round to take a unanimous decision but boxing experts are beginning to wonder if Wills has what it takes to be the heavyweight champion of the world. Halifax, Canada Canadian Horace "Soldier" Jones remains undefeated with a TKO win in 6 rounds over Ireland's John Ferguson here last night .The fight was close through the first four rounds with Ferguson leading on the score cards until Jones landed a series of punches that put Ferguson down for an eight count with fifteen seconds to go in the 4th round. The next two rounds were all Jones as he pounded the Irishman until the referee stepped in to stop the bout at 2:53 of the 6th. -------------------------------------------------------
New York Times Sportswriter Murph O'Donnell Tom Hyer-Yankee Sullivan -first sports event reported over the telegraph. On February 7, 1849, one of the most famous prizefights of the century took place in the backwoods of Maryland. New York born Tom “Young American” Hyer challenged reigning United States champion James “Yankee” Sullivan at Still Pond, about eight miles from Chestertown. Sullivan was actually British and so Hyer was billed as "The Great American Hope." The match was to have taken place on Poole’s Island, but police and militia from Baltimore chased away the four boats carrying spectators, reporters, and participants. At Still Pond, organizers of the fight located an appropriate spot and, finding the owner of the property absent, constructed a makeshift ring on the front lawn. Sullivan, an Irish immigrant frequently in trouble with the law, had waited two years for this match; a punishing fighter, he had difficulty finding opponents. The match with Hyer, for an unheard-of $10,000 winner's purse, was arranged in part by boxing fans with nativist sentiments who wanted to replace Sullivan with an American-born champion. It was a "winner take all" battle, with each side putting up five thousand dollars, in an era when a laborer earned around three hundred dollars a year. After sixteen half-minute rounds, Sullivan, shorter and lighter in weight than Hyer, suffered the first defeat of his career. At most a few hundred men witnessed the battle. But tens of thousands awaited word of the outcome. In one of the earliest uses of the new technology, telegraph lines flashed the fight's result to the multitudes gathered at newspaper offices in northeastern cities. Newsboys hawked thousands of papers, lithographers sold pictures of the combatants as fast as they could print them, and saloon keepers worked overtime filling the glasses of men who gathered to share the word from Maryland. In Philadelphia, crowds packed Chestnut Street and mobbed Tom Hyer when he appeared. In New York, one newspaper declared, "nothing has been heard or talked of for several days past but the fight between Hyer and Sullivan." Hundreds gathered at Yankee Sullivan's New York saloon, but save for occasional cheers for their man, the crowd remained quiet. Hyer's favorite haunt, in contrast, the Fountain House in Park Row, witnessed fireworks, wild celebrations, and the hanging of a brilliantly lighted transparency with the words, "Tom Hyer, the Champion of America." The phrase signified something new, a single unified title owned by the one man who unequivocally could best all others in the ring. The U. S. press proclaimed Hyer the world champion on the basis of that victory, which led to an enormous increase in boxing. Genuine boxing matches had been rare until then, but they became regular events in New York City during the 1850s.
The Great Fight -Tom Hyer vs Yankee Sullivan Supplement to the New York Illustrated Times ------------------------------------------------------- July 5, 1919 Toledo, Ohio The long awaited World Heavyweight Title fight between Jess Willard and challenger Joe Jeanette took place last night at the Toledo Sport Center in Toledo, Ohio. Go here to read the account of this match over the American Sports Radio network. ------------------------------------------------------- July 13, 1919 Hamburg, Germany Ireland's Jim Coffey won the European Heavyweight Championship last night with a split decision over Germany's Otto Flint. Coffey's edge in the fight came from two knockdowns of Flint, in the 7th and 12th rounds. Read the account of the fight here. ------------------------------------------------------- August 2, 1919 Montreal, Canada The boxing world was stunned when Sam Langford lost to Colin Bell here in Montreal, Canada on a TKO in the 6th round of their British Empire heavyweight championship title bout. Langford was in complete control and winning on all cards when the referee called the bout with only 37 seconds gone in the 6th round. A gash over Langford's right eye from an accidental head butt in the 4th round was the reason for the stoppage. Referee Max Conte said the fight doctor examined the gash after the 4th and 5th rounds and expressed grave concerns for the fighter's eye if the blood could not be stopped. The Canadian heavyweight's corner worked frantically on the gash between rounds but were unable to stem the flow of blood. Langford is considered the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Title held by Joe Jeannette. For the report on the fight go here. ------------------------------------------------------- August 12, 1919 North Bergen, New Jersey Heavyweight Champion Joe Jeannette announced this morning that he will fight "The Saint Paul Thunderbolt", Billy Miske, in October. "I haven't got many fights left in me and this fight will put some real money in the bank. I've been fightin' for chump change for a long time and Miske's camp came back to me with an offer that I can't refuse. They already got a lot of tickets and advertisements sold to a big venue in their hometown and they are gonna' give me the lion's share. I get a guaranteed amount to be put in my bank account before I leave for Minnesota. I can't pass this up." When asked who else he had been negotiating with for a title fight Jeannette refused to mention names. "I've been talking to a lot of folks but they all wanted a lot more money for their side than Miske's people did. All he cared about was a title shot is what he told me. He gets what he wants and I get the money."
September 2, 1919 Rosario, Argentina Argentina's Luis Firpo retained his South American Heavyweight Title here with a 7th round TKO over fellow countryman, Jamie Escobar. Firpo had first knocked down Escobar at 1:08 of the 7th and then continued his assault of the challenger for the remainder of the round until the referee stopped the bout at 2:27. Firpo is considering moving to the United States in the hopes of getting better fights and a shot at the world heavyweight title. For a report on the fight go here. ------------------------------------------------------- October 17 1919 St. Paul, Minnesota The city of St. Paul was in a festive mood here last night as their local hero, Billy Arthur Miske, the man they call "The St. Paul Thunderbolt", lifted the heavyweight crown from Joe Jeannette. The fight turned into a tactical battle as Joe Jeannette used his years of experience in the ring to make this a difficult fight for his young opponent. The new heavyweight champion, Billy Miske, is a smooth, quick boxer but he found himself in a close battle with little room to move in many of the rounds as the former champion crowded him. Jeannette may have been able to win this fight if it were not for the swelling that closed his eye and made him an easy target for punches coming to his left. For a report on the fight go here. ------------------------------------------------------- November 1, 1919 New York, New York Colin Bell of Australia faces a dilemma. He is now ranked as the #1 heavyweight contender in the world after his last two fights gained the attention of boxing experts worldwide. Bell must fight one of the contenders for his Australian-New Zealand title by the end of the year or have the title declared vacant. Bell has to fight either Albert Pooley of New Zealand, the #2 ranked fighter, or fellow Australians Jack Howard or George Cook. Bell, however, has put himself in line for a tile shot and could end up in the same dilemma as Sam Langford, the man who helped put him there. Canadian Sam Langford was also ranked #1 but lost to Bell in a British Empire Title bout in Montreal, Canada in August due to a severe cut. Langford has tumbled in the rankings despite the fact he was winning that fight and now has a long road back at age 36. If a similar fate befell the Australian Colin Bell, also 36, he may never get another chance. Bell is expected to announce his decision next week. ------------------------------------------------------- September 10, 1919 St. Paul, Minnesota Heavyweight champion Billy Miske held a press conference here last night and announced he will fight Australia's Colin Bell on February 15th of next year. "He is the number one contender and deserves a chance to fight for the title," said Miske, "I plan on fighting two or three times next year and Bell will be the first. Bell, who has remained in New York since his last fight in Montreal, Canada against Sam Langford has said he will not defend his Australian-New Zealand title. "I have sent the Australian-New Zealand Boxing Commission a telegram stating that. I need to focus on this opportunity completely." The Miske-Bell fight will take place in St. Paul, Minnesota, the home town of the reigning champion. ------------------------------------------------------- September 11, 1919 Sydney, NSW, Australia The Australian-New Zealand Boxing Commission has announced that Albert Pooley of New Zealand will fight Jack Howard of Australia for the vacant Australian-New Zealand Heavyweight championship. Pooley and Howard are ranked as the number one and two contenders for the title recently vacated by Colin Bell. The fight will take place December 18, 1919 in Gisborne, New Zealand. ------------------------------------------------------- November 21, 1919 New York, New York Canadian Horace "Soldier" Jones had his fast rise through the heavyweight ranks stopped short last night at the hands of Fighting Bob Martin of Clarksburg, West Virginia. Jones was never in the fight as Martin landed thunderous punches from the opening bell. This was only Martin's 4th professional fight but he has now won all four by way of knock out. Jones' record now stands at 14-1. ------------------------------------------------------- December 19, 1919 Gisborne, New Zealand Albert Pooley of New Zealand won the vacant Australian-New Zealand Heavyweight title here last night with a 10th round KO of Australia's Jack Howard. Both fighters landed some telling blows throughout the fight although Pooley won most of the rounds. Ringsiders felt Pooley was actually beginning to run out of steam in the 10th round as he went hard after the game Howard. Howard weathered several crushing hooks through the 10th before he succumbed to a straight right hand that put him down for the count. Go here to read an account of the fight. ------------------------------------------------------- |
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