March 13, 1873 Joe Walcott (also known as Barbados Joe Walcott), hall of fame boxer, was born in Demerara, British Guyana. As a youngster, Walcott got a job as a cabin boy on a ship sailing to Boston, Massachusetts. After settling in Boston, he got a job at a gym and began boxing. Walcott made [...]
Tag Archives | International Boxing Hall of Fame
Albert Chalky Wright – February 10th in African American History
February 10, 1912 Albert Chalky Wright, hall of fame boxer, was born in Wilcox, Arizona. Wright began boxing professionally in 1928, two weeks after turning 16. He fought for many years before winning the World Featherweight Championship in September, 1941. He successfully defended the title once before losing it in November, 1942. Wright retired in [...]
January 17th in African American History – Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. (Muhammad Ali)
January 17, 1942 Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. (Muhammad Ali), hall of fame boxer, was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Ali began boxing at the age of 12 and went on to win six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, and the Light Heavyweight Gold medal at the 1960 Rome Summer Olympic Games. Ali [...]
December 4th in African American History – Joe Brown
December 4, 1997 Joe Brown, hall of fame boxer, died. Brown was born May 18, 1925 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He began his professional boxing career at the age of 17 but it was interrupted by World War II. During his almost two years in the United States Navy, Brown took part in seven Pacific [...]
October 22nd in African American History – Henry Armstrong
October 22, 1988 Henry Armstrong, the first boxer to hold world titles in three weight classes at the same time, died. Armstrong was born Henry Jackson, Jr. on December 2, 1912 in Columbus, Mississippi. He assumed the surname of his mentor and trainer, Harry Armstrong, in 1931. Because the fight purses were small, Armstrong usually [...]
September 3rd in African American History – Jeff Chandler
September 3, 1956 Jeff Chandler, hall of fame boxer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Chandler began his professional boxing career in 1976 after only two amateur fights. He won the WBA Bantamweight championship in 1980, becoming the first American to hold that title in over 30 years.
September 2nd in African American History – Lennox Claudius Lewis
September 2, 1965 Lennox Claudius Lewis, hall of fame boxer, was born in London, England but raised in Ontario, Canada. Lewis was a dominant amateur boxer and in 1983 won the World Amateur Junior championship. In 1988, he won the super heavyweight boxing Gold medal at the Seoul Olympic Games. After the Olympics, Lewis turned [...]