Who is the Best IRISH-AMERICAN boxer of all time ?

Mickey Walker
Jimmy McLarnin Edit - he was irish-irish and lived in Canada, so he does not count.
Billy Conn
Terry McGovern

Was John L Sullivan irish-american ?

 

Muhammad Ali

Tho Andre Ward deserves a mention.

 

Vic, McLarnin wasn't Irish American. He was actually born in Ireland and spent his childhood in Canada.

 

Oh, I had no idea !

Does Jack Dempsey qualify as irish-american ?

 

Not sure but I believe so. I believe he was born in Montana. I will check.

 

I guess it is hard to do this, I mean very few americans even in those days were irish on both sides...

I did not put Braddock or Micky Ward in there because obviously they are not in the same tier as Mickey Walker, Terry McGovern or Billy Conn....

 

A lot of fighters also fought under different names that weren’t of their true ethnicity

 

Not the irish though did they ?

Philadelphia Jack O'Brian I guess was irish-american too.

 

His dad was of Irish blood, and he was born in Colorado so he qualifies.

 

Fair enough, if Max Baer was a jewish-american, Dempsey is a irish-american fighter.

 

Yes, The Manassa Mauler was born in Montana. Well done.

 

Packey McFarland has to be up there.

 

I remember a card televised by either ESPN or USA Network back in the day on St. Patrick’s Day.

To have some fun with it, every fighter entered the ring wearing either green trunks with white stripes or white with green.

And regardless of race, every fighter was introduced by the ring announcer as “Irish” (whatever his name was).

I think it was on USA, with, of course “Irish” Sean O’Grady on the call.

 

Mickey Rourke

 

Billy Conn