GEORGE DIXON: MAN of 1000 Fights
The very first man of African descent ever to hold an undisputed, universally recognized world boxing title in two different weight divisions was Canada’s first sports superstar, George Dixon. Dixon was also the first man of African descent to win, lose and regain a world boxing title. He invented shadowboxing and the speed bag (for which he couldn’t be bothered to apply for a patent, even though his friends urged him to do so).
The Immortal George Dixon
On January 6, 1908 at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, a physically broken, emotionally shattered and financially destitute Dixon died on January 6, 1908 from acute alcohol poisoning at the young age of 37. He had literally drank himself to death.
From that overcast, windy day in New York City, until today, a total of 116 years have elapsed. During this time, hundreds of articles and several books have been written about Dixon, by sportswriters and historians, in various publications, all around the world. Some of these articles focus on his magnificent boxing skills while, other pieces have concentrated on his profoundly sad demise. However, to be sure, every one of the hundreds of articles written about Dixon always mention one statistic in particular, as stated in his BoxRec biography, which is, “It is quite possible that Dixon fought as many as 800 fights”.[1]
For over a century, writers, historians and fight fans have asked, “How is this even possible?” Actually, in all likelihood, Dixon fought closer to 1000 fights during his career. It must be remembered that he turned professional at the young age of 16, in 1886, which was quite common back then. Dixon’s first professional fight occurred in Halifax, which was adjacent to his hometown, Africville, Nova Scotia. He knocked out a man named Young Johnson in three rounds on November 1st, 1886. It was the only professional bout he had in Canada. Dixon was later crowned the undisputed world featherweight champion on August 27, 1890, after knocking out Brit Nunc Wallace in the 19th round of a scheduled 30 round fight at the New Pelican Club Gym in Soho, London, United Kingdom. He was all of 20 years of age.
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