1920 WICB Boxing News

January 15, 1920

Philadelphia, PA

There are a few new faces in the top 10 world heavyweight boxing rankings this year and one of them is a local favorite, Chuck Wiggins.

Known in these parts as the Hoosier Playboy, Wiggins has begun to catch the eye of the boxing world with both his ability in the ring and his fun loving nature outside it. Wiggins loves to party and is a favorite of the ladies but make no mistake, the young man can fight and he is in line for a title shot before too long.

Wiggins' manager, Ray Alvis, has been working the wires trying to line up a fight with the champion Billy Miske or a bout against one of the other top 10 contenders to maintain his present high profile.

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February 2, 1920

New York Times Sportswriter Murph O'Donnell

John L. Sullivan -boxing legend

 It was two years ago today that boxing immortal John L. Sullivan passed away.

John L. Sullivan is considered to be boxing's first modern Heavyweight Champion of the World. Sullivan was nicknamed The Boston Strongboy and lived up to the nick name.

It is reported that Sullivan was arrested several times for participating in bouts where the sport was outlawed, and he used to go on tours offering people money to fight him, and for exhibition bouts. In 1879 Sullivan offered 500 dollars to anyone in America who was willing to fight him. From '83 to '84 he went on a circus tour, offering any circus goer who would last one round with him 500 dollars as well. Legend has it that he knocked out about 79 men during that tour.

Sullivan became the world champion under the Marquis of Queensbury rules in 1889 when he knocked out Jake Kilrain in round 75 of the scheduled 80 round bout. That fight is considered to be a turning point in boxing's history because it was the last world title fight which was fought under the London Rules. It was also the last bareknuckle title fight.

Sullivan, undefeated up to that point, did not defend his title for the next four years, and he enjoyed the sweet life many champions take after winning the title, becoming an alcoholic,  feeling invincible, and getting out of boxing shape.

He finally defended his title in 1893 but was knocked out by Gentleman Jim Corbett in the 21st round

After losing for the first time, Sullivan retired, but he engaged in several exhibitions for the next twelve years.

In retirement, Sullivan became a popular stage actor, speaker and bar owner. He is known by autograph experts to have been a good autograph signer, as there are many documents, pieces of paper and photos in existence that are known to have been signed by him. 

Sullivan ultimately died in 1918, of health problems caused by his drinking problem. He is buried in the Old Calvary Cemetery, in Boston, Massachusetts.

John L. Sullivan

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February 16, 1920

St. Paul, Minnesota

Heavyweight Champion, Billy Miske, retained his title here last night with a 7th round TKO of Australia's Colin Bell.

Bell fought well, winning the 2nd and 5th rounds, in this writers opinion, but was well behind in the fight [176-166] by the time the fight was stopped. Billy Miske, the Saint paul Thunderbolt, was able to use his speed and quickness to stay away from the game challenger and never seemed to be in any trouble throughout the fight.

Read about the fight here.

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February 21, 1920

New Orleans LA    

Mike McTigue pounded out a unanimous decision over Jim Coffey here last night, knocking the  Irishman down in the 1st and twice in the 8th.

Coffey never seemed to be in the fight except for the 5th round that he won on the judges score cards. McTigue now is 26-1-1 with 8 KO's.

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Toronto, Canada

February 22, 1920

Canadian Sam Langford stopped American Watt Adams with a 6th round TKO here to bring his record to 27-1-1 with 21 KO's. Langford toyed with his opponent most of the night and promptly issued a challenge to heavyweight champion Billy Miske to meet him in a title fight before the year is out. Langford has now won 5 straight fights since his controversial loss to Colin Bell last August.

In an undercard, South American Heavyweight Champion, Luis Firpo, lost a unanimous decisions to Canadian newcomer Jack Delaney. Firpo had the Canadian in trouble in the 1st round and knocked him down in the 3rd but failed to put him away for keeps. Firpo began to fade in the 4th and was knocked down himself in the 6th and 7th. Firpo blamed a lack of conditioning and and an inability to get quality fights back home as the factors in his loss.

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March 2, 1920

Brisbane , Australia

Albert Pooley retained his Australian-New Zealand Heavyweight title here today with a unanimous decision over George Cook.

The bout was a hard fought see-saw battle that saw both men taste the canvas. Cook was knocked down in the 1st and the 6th while Pooley was down in the 5th.

For a report of the fight go here.

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April 2, 1920

London England

South African George "Boer" Rodel KO'd Colin Bell at Wembley Stadium here today to take the British Empire Heavyweight championship.

Bell started the fight well, scoring with sharp, telling blows in the 1st but Rodel took charge in the second, splitting Bell's lip in the 4th and knocking him out in the 5th with a couple of beautiful combinations.

Colin Bell announced his retirement in the post fight interview.

For a report of the fight go here.

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April 10, 1920

St. Paul, MN

McVey Wins In Close Fight 

The boxing world was surprised here this afternoon as 35 year old Sam McVey defeated Billy Miske in a close split decision to take the world heavyweight boxing crown.

McVey worked the body in the early rounds, crowding the younger fighter and taking away the ring when Miske tried to keep to the outside. No doubt the well known strength of the older man was a decisive factor in the fight.

To read a report of the radio broadcast go here.

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April 12, 1920

Pretoria, South Africa

Rise of the South Africans

A remarkable story is playing out on the world heavyweight stage. South African fighters are suddenly becoming a force to be reckoned with.

George "Boer" Rodel has taken the British Empire Championship with a 5th round KO of Australia’s Colin Bell, and presently sits as the topped ranked challenger for Sam McVey’s world crown.

Fellow South African, Nick Van Den Berg, sits as the topped ranked challenger to Rodel’s Empire crown and #2 for McVey’s.

And, although not ranked in the top ten in the British Empire rankings, three South Africans are not far out. Jan Van Staden is ranked #12, Bill Smith is #13 and Harry Smith is #15.

Boer Rodel is in the midst of his triumphant return from England and when asked about the sudden prominence of the small country in the boxing world he commented, in his heavy Afrikaner accent, "I don’t know how to explain it. I guess there is not much else for us old farm boys to do except fight. There is a lot of competition here and I think that has helped us all become much better fighters. I know it has helped me to get where I am today."

When asked if he would defend his Empire crown against any of his countrymen Boer replied, "Yea. Maybe we’ll just fight each other over the crown for a while. Sort of ‘keep it in the family’ you could say."

The entire boxing world is feeling the heat of that "family" these days.

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April 15, 1920

Montreal, Canada

Langford Victorious

Sam Langford retained his Canadian Heavyweight Championship here today with an easy 4th round TKO of challenger Bill McKinnon.

McKinnon was never really effective in the fight and Langford scored at will throughout the short bout.

Read a report on the fight here.

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May 1, 1920

Dublin, Ireland

Two Irish fighters, Jim Coffey and Bob Devere traded blows here today before scores of Irish fans who were delighted to be able to attend a major event so close to home.

Coffey retained the European Championship with a quick 3 round TKO but the Irish fans were still able to yell themselves hoarse before the end of the fight.

For a report on the fight go here.

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May 6, 1920

Rosario, Argentina

South American boxing fans awoke this morning to learn of the shocking upset in last night's South American Heavyweight Title Fight. Cuba's Elpidio Pizzaro caught Argentina's Luis Angel Firpo with a wild left hook in the 6th round that put the former champion down for the count. Pizzaro admitted he was merely trying to survive the round when he connected to end the fight.

When you consider it was only the 7th win for Pizzaro in 26 bouts, there is no doubt he was outclassed by Firpo, who is now 16-7-1 with 12 KO's. 

But it is men that fight and not statistics.

For a report on the fight go here.

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May 10, 1920

Oxnard, CA

World heavyweight champion, Sam McVey announce he will fight Philadelphia's Chuck Wiggins in San Francisco on July 4th.

Wiggins, known as the "Hoosier Playboy" has attracted a lot of attention this year and it will make for an entertaining fight at the Cow palace.

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May 21, 1920

Denver, CO

Former heavyweight champion Billy Miske climbed back into the ring here last night and came away with a unanimous decision over home town favorite Tex Broad.

Miske started the bout in a cautious manner but began to exhibit his considerable boxing skills as the fight moved on. Broad was never able to land any telling blows against the slick ex-champion.

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June 12, 1920

Pittsburgh, OH

Argentina's Luis Firpo said he was angry with himself for his last two losses but it was Captain Bob Roper who paid the price. Firpo lost his South American crown in May when he became careless as he was trying to put the finishing touches on what looked like a sure KO.  Instead, Cuba's Elpidio Pizzaro caught Firpo with a wild left hook and it was lights out for Firpo instead.

This time Firpo made no mistakes as he attacked Roper from the opening bell and knocked him out in the 1st round. It was the first loss for Roper in 18 bouts and he had never been KO'd before.

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July 5, 1920

San Francisco, CA

Sam McVey made short work of Chuck Wiggins here last night with a first round KO over the 22 year old Philadelphia fighter in the world championship match.

For a report on the fight go here.

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August 1, 1920

Oxnard, CA

World heavyweight champion, Sam McVey announce he will fight the #1 contender, South Africa's George "Boer" Rodel, October 15th in San Francisco. Rodel has risen up the ranks quickly in the last year and holds the British Empire title.

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August 15, 1920

Scranton, PA

American heavyweight Fred Fulton of Blue Rapids, Kansas is beginning to wonder what he has to do to get any recognition from the boxing experts today. Fulton has 24 KO's in his 28 fights and that is more than Sam Langford and Harry Wills [23] or Luther McCarty with 19.

Fulton possesses a strong, "rapier-like" jab and when you couple that with his height [6' 4-1/2"], reach and overall hitting power, you have one very talented fighter. Fulton has a KO win over Luther McCarty, back 4 years ago when both were talented newcomers, but it is McCarty who has caught the eyes of the boxing world instead.

Fulton also has KO victories over good fighters like Denver Jack Geyer, Mike Comiskey, Al Benedict, Carl E. Morris and Germany's Paul Sampson-Korner.

Fulton says he will keep knocking out opponents until he runs out of people to fight!

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September 2, 1920

Brisbane, Australia

Frank Moran, the fighter they call "The Pittsburgh Dentist", needed one here last night after he was KO'd by Australian-New Zealand Champion Albert Pooley.

Moran was knocked down in the 1st and 3rd before coming back in the fight to put the New Zealand fighter on his back in the 4th and 5th rounds.

Pooley was able to survive, however, and put Moran down twice in the 6th to finally stop the American heavyweight.

Ringsiders said the bout was filled with haymakers from start to finish and is considered one of the most exciting fights ever seen in this country.

Pooley's backers had arranged the fight in the hopes of raising their man's profile in order to get a shot at the world heavyweight title.

Moran has long been a contender for the crown but has never been given the opportunity himself.

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October 15, 1920

San Francisco, CA

Heavyweight champion Sam McVey scored a TKO in the 12th round over challenger George "Boer" Rodel.

Rodel seemed to fight an overly cautious fight at times and was knocked down in the 4th, 7th, 11th and 12th rounds before the fight was finally stopped.

Rodel did have McVey in trouble in the 1oth round but was either unable or unwilling to go after the champion.

After the fight, Sam McVey announced that a fight will take place with Sam Langford next January here in San Francisco. Langford has been a long time contender for the heavyweight crown. 

For a report on the fight go here.

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November 15, 1920

New York New York

by New York Times Sportswriter Murph O'Donnell

The Young Heavyweights

A number of young heavyweights have appeared on the scene in the past year and a few are already being ranked quite highly despite only having 10 fights under their belts.

One of those is Fighting Bob Martin of Clarksburg, West Virginia. Martin has only 10 victories in as many fights but one of those wins was over highly ranked Canadian, Soldier Jones. He KO'd Jones in an upset win last December in only his 5th fight. But Martin packs a real wallop as Jones found out. Martin has stopped 9 of his 10 opponents with the only one to survive was journeyman Dick Rice. Martin dropped Rice in the 7th round of that bout but was never able to put him away for good.

On the other side of the pond is England's Phil Scott who has 9 victories in 10 fights with one draw. Scott has won decisions over good fighters like Bombardier Billy Wells and Denmark's Soren Peterson. He is already being considered as a rising  heavyweight contender for Mcvey's crown and only needs a few more fights under his belt to challenge the very best.

Another up and coming American is George Godfrey of Leiperville, PA. Godfrey has the same record as Phil Scott but has 7 KO's in his bag with one coming against ranked Australian fighter Billy McColl. Godfrey's only blemish, a draw, came against Australian contender Harold Hardwick that many thought Godfrey had won.

Another capable youngster is New Zealand's George Modrich with a 9-0-1 record with 4 KO's. Modrich has a win over ranked South African fighter Bill Smith. Modrich knocked Smith down in the 2nd round but was never able to put him away in the 8 round fight.

The future looks bright for the world heavyweight scene.

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December 2, 1920

Cleveland, OH

Former world heavyweight champion Billy Miske had his comeback hopes dashed here last night with a split decision loss to Australian Billy McColl.

The fight proved to be a tough one for Miske who was rocked several times in the 3rd round and then almost had his knee touch the canvas on a hard right hook in the 4th.

McColl ran out of gas in the 6th and allowed Miske to get back into the fight.

Miske is said to be considering retirement after this loss.

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December 18, 1920

Detroit, MI

Fighting Bob Martin lost his first fight here last night but he said it was a learning experience. Australia's George Cook won the first 5 of the scheduled 8 rounds and displayed some fine boxing skills to stay away from the hard punching Martin. But Martin began to figure out the slick Aussie and nearly pulled it out in the 8th round. Martin finally caught Cook with a straight right hand and then tried in vain to put away his opponent, tagging him again and again for the remainder of the round. Cook was just able to weather the storm and had done enough in the early rounds to come out the eventual winner

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December 20, 1920

Dublin, Ireland

Irishman Jim Coffey has announced he will defend his European Heavyweight crown against France's Georges Carpentier next February 15 in Paris, France.

Carpentiers managers have put together an attractive package that offers Coffey, known as "The Roscommon Giant" a ton of money to meet their man.

Carpentier is ranked as the #1 contender for Coffey's title but there had been speculation that Coffey was considering fighting Germany's Otto Flint [who he beat to take the crown] or English fighters Terry Kellar or Tom Cowler. All proposed opponents would have been attractive draws at the gate.

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