HIST 222 Chapter 12

John C. Heenan

Although he was defeated by Morrissey twice, he nonetheless became the champion after Morrissey retired in 1860. The American Civil War put a stat to his career in the states. He went back to England during the war (a move which brought much criticism), and he boxed there, ending his career by losing a match in 1863.

Great White Hope

After Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in 1908, there immediately began a search for someone (white) to unseat Johnson. The challenger became known as America's _____________________ to bring the title back to its "rightful" place.

Howard Cosell

Announcer who was one of Ali's greatest defenders. He stood up for Ali when he refused military service when few others did. Both he and Ali recognized the importance of the other in their respective careers.

Luis Firpo

Argentinian who fought Dempsey and lost to him in one of Tex Rickard's million dollar gates in 1923.

John L. Sullivan

Became the champion when he defeated Paddy Ryan in 1882. In 1889 he defeated Jake Kilrain to retain the title, but in 1892 he lost the title to James J. Corbett.

Mike Tyson

Became the youngest heavyweight champion in 1986 at the age of 20. One of the most famous fights in history came in 1997 when he fought former champion Evander Holyfield and bit part of his ear off. Holyfield won the fight on points.

Marquess of Queensberry

British nobility title that would eventually become synonymous with boxing.

Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)

Cassius Clay converted to Islam shortly after winning the heavyweight title in 1964 and rejected his "slave name" and changed it to Muhammad Ali. Ali would go on to become arguably the greatest fighter of all time and the most recognizable sports figure in the world.

James Jeffries

Champion from 1899 to 1905 who was brought out of retirement in 1910 to be one of the "Great White Hopes" to defeat Johnson. The fight was promoted by newcomer George L. "Tex" Rickard who would become the greatest boxing promoter of the 1920s. Johnson knocked out Jeffries in the 15th round.

Gene Tunney

Defeated Jack Dempsey in 1926 and the rematch in 1927. The second match was held in Soldier field and became known as the Long Count Fight. Dempsey knocked him down in the 7th and the referee did not start the count until after Dempsey retired to his corner.

Jack Dempsey

Defeated Willard to take the title in 1919 and held it until 1926. He was not a scientific boxer, but a fighter with a capital F--the slugger par excellence.

George Foreman

Defeated by Ali in October of 1974 in a fight in Zaire known as the "Rumble in the Jungle." Ali used the tactic of staying on the ropes while Foreman wore himself out that became known as the Rope-a-dope. He would eventually make a comeback after his retirement to become the oldest recognized heavyweight champion in history at age 45 in 1994.

Jack Johnson

Defeated champion Tommy Burns in 1908 to become the first Black heavyweight champion.

Queensberry Rules for the Sport of Boxing

Devised by the 8th Marquess of Queensbury in 1865, and they were made public in 1867. The main difference in the new rules was the addition of gloves. These were the first published boxing rules that required gloves to be worn. Britain immediately accepted the rules, but American fighters continued the tradition of bare knuckle fighting for the next two decades.

Tom Crib

First superstar British fighter for the 19th century who gained the title after he defeated former American slave Tom Molineaux in 1810.

"Sugar" Ray Robinson

First superstar boxer who was not a heavyweight. He fought as a welter and middleweight and held and lost titles numerous times in the two decades following World War II. He is often referred to as the best fighter "pound-for-pound" in history.

George Carpentier

French fighter billed as the best fighter in Europe and also a war hero from World War I. His 1921 fight with Dempsey was billed as the hero (Carpentier) vs. the Slacker (Dempsey). The term "Slacker" referred to someone who did not serve. The "Slacker" won the fight.

Max Schmeling

German champion who held the title in the early thirties after defeating Jack Sharkey. Sharkey then got his revenge by first defeating Italian Primo Carnera and then Schmeling. Carnera got his revenge defeating Sharkey for the title. Schmeling would later fight Joe Louis in major fights that took on international implications as Schmeling was seen as representing the Nazi party of Germany. Louis would go on to hold the heavyweight title longer and defend it more times than anyone in history.

Pugilism

Greek historian Plutarch named the sport of boxing this for the Latin word pugnus meaning fist.

Rocky Marciano

Heavyweight champ during the 1950s who is the only champ to ever retire undefeated (49-0).

Joe Frazier

Heavyweight champion while Ali was suspended. They fought in what was billed as the "fight of the century" in 1971 and it was Ali's first defeat as a professional fighter. Ali got his revenge when he defeated him in January of 1974.

James J. Braddock

In a major upset he defeated Max Baer in 1935 to take the title. Braddock was a representative of the difficult economic times as he worked his way up from working the docks to become what sportswriter Damon Runyun termed as the "Cinderella Man."

John Morrissey

Irish immigrant who became the first official American heavyweight champion. After defeated John Heenan in 1858, he moved into gambling business. He was extremely successful after his boxing career ended and not only amassed a fortune, but he also entered politics and served two terms in the House of Representatives before his death in 1878.

London Prize Ring Rules

Jack Broughton succeeded James Figg as champion and was instrumental in devising the first rules known as this. Broughton brought some order some order with these that outlawed hitting below the belt as well as hitting a man when he was down. (18th century)

"Sugar" Ray Leonard

Namesake of Robinson who won the gold medal in the welterweight division in the 1976 Olympics. He became the welterweight champion in the world in 1979. Retired temporarily in 1991 due to an eye injury but came back one last time to fight in 1997 at the age of 40.

Joe Louis

One of the greatest boxers in history holding the Heavyweight title for 11 years. With his defeat of Max Schmeling in 1938 (U.S. v. Hitler), he proved to the world and perhaps more importantly to himself that he was now the champion of the world. He was also considered the champion of all Americans, not just African Americans. He can truly be considered the first African American sports superstar.

Richard Kyle Fox

Owner/publisher of the National Police Gazette and he often promoted boxing in its pages, along with stories of scandals, printed pictures of scantily clad showgirls, and even printed ads for contraceptives. He is considered the father of the modern tabloid.

Harry Wills

The best challenger of the 1920s who never got a shot at the title because he was black.

Old Q

The fourth Marquess of Queensberry who reportedly would wager on anything--even his own death.

James J. Corbett

Took the title from Sullivan in 1892, it was the first fight to use the Queensberry rules, it was inside under lights, promoted by a fight club, and promoted by different magazines and newspapers. He was Irish, but he was not a street fighter like Sullivan and other sons of Irish immigrants. Known as "Gentleman Jim," he attended college, held a white-collar bank teller job, and his training took place in an athletic club.

Civil war and boxing

While there were some organized matches during the Civil War by noncombatants, none of them lived up to pre-war fights. There were many instances of soldiers staging boxing matches among themselves during the war and even, on at least two occasions, matches were staged with the enemy during ceasefires. Although boxing was popular during the war, it lost some of its luster during the post-war years of the 1860s and 70s, mainly due to the sport getting a reputation for corruption. .

Mann Act

White slave traffic act which prohibited taking women across state lines "for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.