Throwback Thursday - Young Peter Jackson and Dixie Kid Fight to a Stalemate

Young Peter Jackson; Source

Even the most rabid of boxing fans would have to scrape the look of perplexity off their faces if asked about that time Sim Thompkins and Aaron Lister Brown met in a ring. But tell them Young Peter Jackson and Dixie Kid squared off, and that might be speaking their language. 
Around the time of their meeting on December 26, 1904, nicknames and clever monikers were often ways to simply pay tribute to hometowns, ethnicity and even fighters of yesteryear who paved dangerous roads.

In this case, Young Peter Jackson's nickname was an homage to former "colored" heavyweight champion Peter Jackson, who waded through the heavyweight ranks, skin pigment unimportant, to have a respected boxing career. And that meant something to many, whether he realized it or not.

Jack Johnson, giant of both Galveston, Texas and black history, visited the grave of Jackson -- who had died of tuberculosis in 1901 -- in Brisbane, Australia shortly after seizing the heavyweight championship in 1908, as a nod of respect to one of his predecessors. 

On Jackson's grave marker reads simply, "This was a man."

Dixie Kid and Young Peter Jackson were among those who followed in the wake of such culture-bending and stereotype-destroying figures, merely trying to be men themselves. 

Throwback Thursday - Sam McVey Gets Revenge Decision Over Joe Jeannette

Sam McVey; Source

Around the dawn of the twentieth century, it wasn't at all uncommon for top black fighters to have fought each other a dozen or more times. Having been shut out of the title picture in various divisions time and again. Gimmicks were sometimes necessary to sell the fights, and when it came down to simply making a living as a fighter, any opponent would do just fine. 

 

Sam McVey and Joe Jeannette fought only five times -- a relatively short order compared to McVey's 15 times against Sam Langford and six against Harry Wills, or Jeannette's seven against Jack Johnson and 14 with Langford. 

 

These men essentially fought the best upper echelon fighters available, multiple times, and that is nearly unheard of in the current era of boxing.

TQBR Radio 2/18: The Return of Brian Campbell

Lack of substantial action in boxing has left a crater in our lives; via

A dearth of high end boxing is like a full moon to fans, in that in brings out some sort of weird instinctual drama detector. We'll find other ways to entertain ourselves, and sometimes it's just not pretty.

Luckily, Benjamin Franklin and Al Gore (probably) helped invent podcasts, and a few of us will have stuff to do. For instance, this week on Queensberry Rules Radio, ESPN's Brian Campbell joins James Foley of Bad Left Hook and TQBR's Patrick Connor in just...talking about boxing. Likely on the agenda, however, will be the middling type of boxing cards from the last week or so, Zou Shiming's return on another Macau card, Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora's co-headlining show, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo, and so forth.

Click this link to tune in live at 12:30 p.m. Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern, or download the episode later via iTunes or Stitcher Radio.

Destiny - The Story of Jimmy McLarnin vs Barney Ross (Video)

Throwback Thursday - Sam Langford Dispatches Fireman Jim Flynn

 

Source: San Diego Union

The state of California enjoyed a passionate, on again, off again love affair with prizefighting, having been declared illegal, banned, re-allowed and compromised upon various times in every major Golden State city -- and all that since only 1900. 

When boxing's popularity would peak, many fights were contested over only a few rounds, and in some jurisdictions, decision verdicts weren't even legal. In others, it hinged on what the local police force felt like that day. Needless to say, it wasn't that often that 20 round fights were signed and allowed in a large, seemingly lawless city like San Francisco. 

It was prime geography for a brisk winter match up, though. 

By December of 1908, Sam Langford had ended a months-long fight tour of New York and Boston, during which he stayed undefeated. Fireman Jim Flynn couldn't exactly be described as "fresh," and he was about four months removed from getting stretched by Al Kaufman, but Langford sought big fights and none of the fish were biting. That's where Flynn came in.

TQBR Radio 2/4: Luis Collazo vs. Victor Ortiz, Gennady Golovkin vs. Osumanu Adama Recap, News

Pictured above: concentrated pheromones, also known as "The FaceLube Display Case"; Source

When the boxing schedule is lacking and you need a pick-me-up, Queensberry Rules Radio will be the arborist to your Victor Ortiz. We know all about the science of you, and we will not hesitate to cater to your needs every so often. That includes sticking by you in difficult times, fans.

Speaking of Victor Ortiz, it seems as though the aerodynamics of Luis Collazo's gloves made more of a difference than that goofball Ortiz's manscaping. Was crushing the hopes and dreams of a space cadet with boxing gloves worth it to Collazo? Will Luis Collazo lure Floyd Mayweather to Brooklyn for a potential "Best Event Ever to Happen Between Mayweather and Collazo" type of fight? Is there any way Adrien Broner could possibly, potentially make his next sex tape more offensive?

This week on TQBR Radio, James Foley of Bad Left Hook and TQBR's Patrick Connor try to alienate themselves from the tasteful majority of boxing media with their recapping, previewing and other stuff. Also on the agenda: Gennady Golovkin's win over Osumanu Adama and random blog-worthy news snippets.

Click this link to tune in live at 12:30 p.m. Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern, or download the episode later via iTunes or Stitcher Radio.