BOXING - What Happened On This Day???????

This content is protected

(10 years ago today)

Lennox Lewis v Michael Grant - Madison Square Garden, New York.

Lewis stops the previously unbeaten Grant in round 2 of 12, retaining his WBC, IBO & IBF world heavyweight titles.

 

This content is protected

(25 years ago today)

Tony Tubbs v Greg Page - Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York.

Tubbs retains his WBA world heavyweight title with a fairly decisive UD over 15 rounds.

 

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

Dixie Kid v Joe Walcott - Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, United States

Dixie Kid wins the World welterweight title after referee “Duck” Sullivan disqualifies Walcott for a kidney punch, although had been landing them throughout with no previous warning of a foul. Walcott had been dominating the fight up until that point.

Referee Sullivan is lucky to escape the ring with his life. Walcott’s manager, Tom O’Rourke and promoter Alex Greggains rush the ring and attack Sullivan, knocking out 2 of his teeth, immediately after he awarded Dixie Kid the title.

It’s later found that Referee Sullivan backed Dixie Kid, and therefore had a vested interest in seeing he won, even by DQ.

Walcott was re-instated as champion and continued defending the title.

(Note: This is not ‘Jersey’ Joe Walcott, who came along years later)

 

This content is protected

(90 years ago today)

Ted 'Kid' Lewis v Kid Doyle - Holborn Stadium, London, UK.
Lewis was the victor by KO in round 5 of 20, having already beaten the same opponent earlier in the month by KO in round 11 of 20.

Lewis' career opponents included Jack Britton, Maxie Rosenbloom, Benny Leonard, Georges Carpentier, Frank Burns & Young Joe Brooks.


Ted 'Kid' Lewis' career figures would read:

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

 

Just expanding on Ted 'Kid' Lewis for no good reason other than from 1915 to 1921 he fought Jack Britton a staggering 20 times, over a total of 224 rounds!

On 24 April 1916, in New Orleans, Lewis lost the title to Britton. He reclaimed it on 25 June 1917, at Westwood Field, Dayton, Ohio. He lost the title for the last time on 17 March 1919, in Canton, Ohio, when Britton knocked him out in the 9th round — the only knockout of the series.

After his last loss to Britton, Lewis returned to England.


The washup of Lewis' vs Britton matches were as follows:

Lewis won 3.
Btitton won 4.
1 draw.
12 no decisions.

 

This content is protected

Muhammad Ali v Jimmy Young - Landover, Maryland.
Ali retains his WBA & WBC World heavyweight titles in a fairly boring contest on points over 15 rounds. Probably lucky to get the nod too.

 

This content is protected

James Toney v John Ruiz – Madison Square Garden, NYC.

Toney initially wins Ruiz's World heavyweight title by unanimous decision over 12 rounds. However, this is later changed to a no-contest after Toney tests positive to a banned substance.

 

This content is protected

One of my favourite fighters and who I was fortunate to watch first-hand on a number of occasions Jimmy Thunder and his first crack at a Commonwealth title

This content is protected

- unfortunately an unsuccessful one:

Jimmy Thunder v Derek Williams - York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom.
Williams won by TKO in round 2 of 12, retaining the title he won against Young Haumono.

This content is protected

Josey Wales correctly points out that Thunder had a 2nd crack at a Commonwealth title against Henry Akinwande 2 years later - again unsuccessfully however.