The invasion from down under of the 1890s

Since there has been a lot of discussion recently about Les Darcy’s thwarted attempt to invade the United States I thought it was time for a thread about another antipodean invasion.

Australia
In the late 19th century Australia had a thriving boxing culture and the Australian champion Larry Folley set up a boxing school in collaboration with the former world champion Jem Mace. While their efforts initially resulted in fiascos such as Herbert Slade (the Maori) who unsuccessfully challenged John L Sullivan for the title it ultimately produced a generation of great fighters.

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Larry Folley

America
For most of the 19th century American boxing had been dominated by British or Irish fighters. Very few of the American bare-knuckle champions of this century were born in America. American boxing was now decisively asserting itself in the era of the great Jawn L Sullivan with a new generation of American fighters coming to the fore.

It caused alarm in some quarters when Folley and Mace’s Australian born and trained fighters arrived on the scene and started taking over many of the key divisions. At one point the contemporary press said that the Australian based fighters were on the cusp of taking over all the key divisions.

So what was the fuss about division by division?

Featherweight

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Torpedo Billy Murphy defeats Ike Weir to establish himself as first champion of the fledgling featherweight division.

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Murphy later looses his title to another antipodean in Young Griffo, who would go on to pose a serious threat to the reigning champions at lightweight and welterweight.

Middleweight

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Bob Fitzsimmons shocks America by defeating the popular champion “Nonpareil” Jack Dempsey, who had been thought unbeatable in some quarters. Although Irish born Dempsey was a national superstar.

Once Fitzsimmons settled into his throne, the two middleweights thought to be best apart from himself were Jim Hall and Dam Creedon. Both from Australia.

Heavyweight

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Although he never fought for the title Peter Jackson gained legendary status and was thought by many of the period to be the greatest heavyweight of all time. He was the outstanding challenger for the title under John L Sullivan and Jim Corbett yet he never got a title shot.

The talk in the press was often about what would happen if Jackson was given his title fight.

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Frank Slavin fell under the shadow of Peter Jackson but he is a might have been in his own right. He was a wrecking machine who would have been a constant hammer hanging over the head of the champion if Jackson had not bee around.

And then Bob Fitzsimmons wins the heavyweioght championship



While many of these fighters were not born in Australia they were coming out of a single training school in that country very rapidly and this prompted talk in the press of an invasion from down under.

 

I am convinced that America became the worlds premier boxing nation because unlike Britain it absorbed the best elements that came from outside.

 

People often forgett this but Squires went into the first fight with Tommy Burns as a 3/1 favourite.

 

Squires was a big draw in his home country.

Sort of the Frank Bruno of his era.

He could always pack out a stadium in his home country and bring in the dough. It wasnt just Burns who wanted to fight him. Jeffries and Johnson were looking for a peice of the action also.

Burns was nothing if not a smatr business man.

Incidentaly Burns looks totaly badass disposing of Squires.

 

My feelings exactly.

I was the only person in my class who actualy predicted that Mike Tyson would beat him.