Monthly heavyweight rankings from 1882 onwards

Greg Price99 · Jul 21, 2023

SimonLock said: ↑

October 1896

10/10/1896 Peter Felix beat Edward Rollins on points over 15 rounds for the Australian Coloured Heavyweight Title.

On 19th October 1896 it was reported that Corbett (#2) and Sharkey (#7) were struggling to agree articles for a fight, with Corbett not believing that the National club could raise sufficient funds. It was reported that Fitzsimmons (#1) may agree to fight Sharkey instead, as a warm up to his scheduled title fight with Corbett.

24/10/1896 Walter Johnson won a 4 round Newspaper decision over Steve O’Donnell (#9). Johnson apparently made O’Donnell look “like a novice”

31/10/1896, Peter Felix beat Dan Keeley by 5th round retirement.

1) Bob Fitzsimmons
2) James J Corbett
3) Joe Choynski
4) Peter Maher
5) "Denver" Edward Smith
6) Jim Hall
7) Tom Sharkey
8) Dan Creedon
9) Mick Dooley – new entry due to O’Donnell & Slavin dropping out
10) Peter Felix – new entry due to O’Donnell & Slavin dropping out

O’Donnell & Slavin drop out due to O’Donnell’s loss and Slavin’s loss to O’Donnell in September.

November 1896

7/11/1896 Joe Goddard beat “Denver” Edward Smith (#5) by 4th round KO for the South African Heavy Title. This fight was billed as being for the World Heavyweight Title, although very few serious observers considered it anything more than a regional title fight. Smith was reported as being overconfident and had apparently neglected to train. Following this fight, Mick Dooley (#10) challenged Goddard.

14/11/1896 Following his win over O’Donnell, Walter Johnson beat Frank Slavin over 4 rounds.

16/11/1896 Peter Maher (#4) beat Joe Choynski (#3) by 6th round KO. Choynski was knocked down for a count of 9, then sent back to the canvas and knocked out upon regaining his feet.

In November 1896 it was confirmed that Sharkey (#7) would fight Bob Fitzsimmons (#1) instead of James J Corbett (#2), due to the club being unable to convince Corbett that they had sufficient funds. Corbett was asked for his opinion and said “Fitz ought to whip him quick as he is a hard hitter”.

23/11/1896 Bob Armstrong beat Frank Slavin by 4th round retirement.

1) Bob Fitzsimmons
2) James J Corbett
3) Peter Maher – up by 1 due to win over Choynski
4) Joe Choynski – down by 1 due to loss to Maher
5) Joe Goddard – new entry due to win over Smith
6) "Denver" Edward Smith – down by 1 due to loss to Goddard
7) Jim Hall – down by 1
8) Tom Sharkey – down by 1
9) Dan Creedon – down by 1
10) Mick Dooley – down by 1

December 1896

2/12/1986 World Champion Bob Fitzsimmons (#1) fought Tom Sharkey (#8). Before the fight began, Fitzsimmons’ team said they would accept any referee except for Wyatt Earp, because they had heard that a fix was planned where Earp would give the decision to Sharkey. Earp denied this, and Fitzsimmons eventually relented. Fitzsimmons dominated the fight and knocked Sharkey down and out in the 8th round. While Fitzsimmons was celebrating, the referee awarded Sharkey a controversial disqualification win due to an alleged low blow. Fitzsimmons vehemently denied that he had committed any foul, and the decision was hotly criticized as it appeared to most observers that the result was fixed.

The fix was later confirmed by the testimony of the ring doctor, who said “I fixed Sharkey up to look as if he had been fouled. There is no doubt Fitzsimmons was entitled to the decision and did not foul Sharkey. I got $1,000 for the part I played in the affair”.

Due to the confirmed fix, and the fact that Fitzsimmons was clearly the better man, I have treated this bout as a knockout win for Fitzsimmons, and consider his title claim to be untouched. Whether he was the true champion is up for debate, with some at the time considering Corbett to have reclaimed his title. Observers at the time were split on the issue.

Any claim Sharkey now had to the world title was largely ignored due to the controversy around the result. As Fitzsimmons had already been stripped of the Police Gazette title, their belt remained unclaimed.

21/12/1896 Bob Armstrong beat Charley Strong for the Coloured Heavyweight Title by 19th round KO.

25/12/1896 Peter Maher (#3) beat Steve O’Donnell by 1st round KO.

1) Bob Fitzsimmons
2) James J Corbett
3) Peter Maher
4) Joe Choynski
5) Joe Goddard
6) "Denver" Edward Smith
7) Jim Hall
8) Bob Armstrong – new entry due to win over Strong
9) Tom Sharkey – down by 1
10) Dan Creedon – down by 1

My rankings at the end of 1896 are therefore as follows:

1) Bob Fitzsimmons - Aged 33 – World Champion (beat Hall in ’93, Choynski in ’94, Maher and Sharkey in ‘96)
2) James J Corbett – Aged 30 – Lineal World Champion (beat Sullivan in ‘92, beat Mitchell in '94, drew Sharkey in ’96)
3) Peter Maher – Aged 27 – Irish Fighter (beat Godfrey in ’94, O’Donnell in ’95, lost to Fitz and beat Slavin & Choynski in ‘96)
4) Joe Choynski – Aged 28 - American fighter (lost to Fitz in ’94, beat Creedon in ’95, beat Hall & Sharkey and lost to Maher in ‘96)
5) Joe Goddard – Aged 35 – Australian champion of South Africa (beat Ed Smith in ’96)
6) "Denver" Edward Smith - Aged 31 - English fighter (beat Goddard in '93, lost to Goddard in ‘96)
7) Jim Hall - Aged 27 - Australian fighter (lost to Maher in ’95, close loss to Choynski in ‘96)
8) Bob Armstrong – Aged 23 – World Coloured Champion (beat Slavin & Strong in ’96)
9) Tom Sharkey – Aged 23 – Irish fighter & World title claimant (drew Corbett and lost (fixed win) to Fitz in ’96)
10) Dan Creedon – Aged 28 – British Empire Heavyweight Champion (beat James Smith in ’96)
Click to expand...

Full respect & credit, Simon, for these wonderful updates. I've no doubt this is a gargantuan undertaking, though I'm sure you're thoroughly enjoying the process.

SimonLock · Jul 21, 2023

Greg Price99 said: ↑

Full respect & credit, Simon, for these wonderful updates. I've no doubt this is a gargantuan undertaking, though I'm sure you're thoroughly enjoying the process.
Click to expand...

Thanks Greg, appreciate the feedback. I’ve had some time off before doing 1896 so hoping to keep it going now. It’s certainly interesting and there are lots of parallels with modern day boxing.

SimonLock · Jul 23, 2023

Tagging in @mattdonnellon for his opinion on 1896 and comparison of our year-end rankings.

mattdonnellon · Jul 23, 2023

Simon's ratings listed after mine.
NR =Not rated.
Champion Corbett-2
2. Fitzsimmons-1
3. Maher--3
4 Choynski-4
5. Sharkey-9
6. Armstrong-8
7. Creedon-10
8. Goddard-5
9. Ruhlin-NR
10. ODonnell-NR
NR Smith-6
NR Hall-7
IMO Hall had done nothing of note in years, Smith had dined out on beating Goddard, now that was gone. Goddard himself was in decline.losses to Laing and Felix since the Smith defeat. My ratings are old and with hindsight I would have Walter Johnson in at 10 over O'Donnell, wins over Slavin, O'Donnell and a draw with Armstrong would be enough. Ruhlin had not done a whole pile by 1896 and should not be there either. I have Corbett as champion, once he unretired he was generally accepted as champion. BTW Maher was 30 years old in 1896. Not sure who should be at number 10....

SimonLock · Jul 24, 2023

mattdonnellon said: ↑

Simon's ratings listed after mine.
NR =Not rated.
Champion Corbett-2
2. Fitzsimmons-1
3. Maher--3
4 Choynski-4
5. Sharkey-9
6. Armstrong-8
7. Creedon-10
8. Goddard-5
9. Ruhlin-NR
10. ODonnell-NR
NR Smith-6
NR Hall-7
IMO Hall had done nothing of note in years, Smith had dined out on beating Goddard, now that was gone. Goddard himself was in decline.losses to Laing and Felix since the Smith defeat. My ratings are old and with hindsight I would have Walter Johnson in at 10 over O'Donnell, wins over Slavin, O'Donnell and a draw with Armstrong would be enough. Ruhlin had not done a whole pile by 1896 and should not be there either. I have Corbett as champion, once he unretired he was generally accepted as champion. BTW Maher was 30 years old in 1896. Not sure who should be at number 10....
Click to expand...

For 1896 then, @mattdonnellon and I agree on 8 names. We have the same top 4, albeit with the rival champions in a different order.

I have Jim Hall and Ed Smith, and Matt has Johnson + 1 other.

I think that Hall’s performance against Choynski (#4) was strong enough to maintain his spot in the top 10. He had Choynski all but beaten in the 9th round, and by all accounts caused serious damage to Choynski from which he took some time to recover.

I agree that Smith hadn’t done much since beating Goddard, but he had stayed active and kept winning which is more than can be said for some.

I did have Walter Johnson included in a draft version of this year, but ultimately took the decision that his wins were more evidence that Slavin and O’Donnell had fallen off than evidence that he was a top level fighter. His resume is thin and these wins were only 4-rounders meaning I don’t give them as much weight as a longer fight or a knockout.

I think Mick Dooley would also be in contention, although his performances in the last 2 fights with Felix damaged his standing somewhat.

mattdonnellon · Jul 24, 2023

SimonLock said: ↑

For 1896 then, @mattdonnellon and I agree on 8 names. We have the same top 4, albeit with the rival champions in a different order.

I have Jim Hall and Ed Smith, and Matt has Johnson + 1 other.

I think that Hall’s performance against Choynski (#4) was strong enough to maintain his spot in the top 10. He had Choynski all but beaten in the 9th round, and by all accounts caused serious damage to Choynski from which he took some time to recover.

I agree that Smith hadn’t done much since beating Goddard, but he had stayed active and kept winning which is more than can be said for some.

I did have Walter Johnson included in a draft version of this year, but ultimately took the decision that his wins were more evidence that Slavin and O’Donnell had fallen off than evidence that he was a top level fighter. His resume is thin and these wins were only 4-rounders meaning I don’t give them as much weight as a longer fight or a knockout.

I think Mick Dooley would also be in contention, although his performances in the last 2 fights with Felix damaged his standing somewhat.
Click to expand...

I think I'll give my number 10 slot to Peter Felix.

mattdonnellon · Dec 9, 2024

A shot in the dark to see how SimonLock got on with this enormous effort!
My 1897 year end ratings;
Champion Fitzsimmons
2. Maher
3. Sharkey
4. Choynski
5. Childs
6. Corbett
7. Ruhlin
8. Jeffries
9. ODonnell
10. Armstrong

Maybe Hall should be there?

HistoryZero26 · Dec 10, 2024

mattdonnellon said: ↑

A shot in the dark to see how SimonLock got on with this enormous effort!
My 1897 year end ratings;
Champion Fitzsimmons
2. Maher
3. Sharkey
4. Choynski
5. Childs
6. Corbett
7. Ruhlin
8. Jeffries
9. ODonnell
10. Armstrong

Maybe Hall should be there?
Click to expand...

In December of 1897 Hall would win the earliest claimed LHW title fight with Slavin. Though boxing rec claims it was a HW match they don't have weight figures for the match.

mattdonnellon · Dec 10, 2024

HistoryZero26 said: ↑

In December of 1897 Hall would win the earliest claimed LHW title fight with Slavin. Though boxing rec claims it was a HW match they don't have weight figures for the match.
Click to expand...

I could never verify that fight, I certainly don't think it took place on that date. It is unlikely Slavin could make the weight either.

Log in or Sign up

Monthly heavyweight rankings from 1882 onwards

Greg Price99 Boxing Addict Full Member

SimonLock Member Full Member

SimonLock Member Full Member

mattdonnellon Boxing Junkie Full Member

SimonLock Member Full Member

mattdonnellon Boxing Junkie Full Member

mattdonnellon Boxing Junkie Full Member

HistoryZero26 Boxing Addict Full Member

mattdonnellon Boxing Junkie Full Member

Log in or Sign up

Forums

Monthly heavyweight rankings from 1882 onwards

Greg Price99 Boxing Addict Full Member

SimonLock Member Full Member

SimonLock Member Full Member

mattdonnellon Boxing Junkie Full Member

SimonLock Member Full Member

mattdonnellon Boxing Junkie Full Member

mattdonnellon Boxing Junkie Full Member

HistoryZero26 Boxing Addict Full Member

mattdonnellon Boxing Junkie Full Member