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What:
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The first Black Canadian to hold a professional sports championship.
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Where:
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Born in Nova Scotia, career established in Boston.
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When:
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First title achieved in 1890.
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Why:
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First Black man to win a world boxing title; held three world boxing titles:
paperweight, bantamweight and featherweight; invented shadow boxing and the
suspended punching bag; fought in the world’s longest fight.
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“Little Chocolate”- An enormous boxing figure
George Dixon was born on July 29, 1870 in Africville, Nova Scotia. While he
was working as a photographer's apprentice, he became interested in
boxing through contact with local prizefighters who were getting publicity photo shots. Dixon was
a photographer’s apprentice at the time. George Dixon was 5’3 and 115 pounds; he was one of the
smallest of early Queensburg fighters, and for this he was nicknamed “little chocolate”. Dixon's achievements in the world of boxing were enormous. The name George Dixon is associated
with many “firsts”; Dixon was the first Black man to win a world boxing title, the first fighter
to win titles in more than one weight class, and the first champion to regain a title lost in
the ring. Dixon fought 158 career professional fights and won 86, of which 30 were
knockouts. He drew 38, lost 21, and 13 had no decisions. Dixon held
the world paperweight, bantamweight, and featherweight titles. Dixon fought in the world’s longest
fight: a 70-round bout that took four hours and 40 minutes to complete, which ended in a
draw. He was also the winner of the world’s longest bantam weight fight: 40 rounds against Boston’s
Johnny Murphy. Dixon received support not normally given to Black athletes in those
times, although experienced racism at the same time.
Helped lay the foundations of modern boxing
At sixteen years of age, Dixon had his first professional fight, knocking out “Young” Johnson
in three rounds. At eighteen he won the bantamweight crown. He needed to expand from the Halifax
sporting cycles, and decided to make his boxing career in Boston. George Dixon contributed to the
world of boxing with the invention of shadowboxing and the suspended punching bag. He took a
“scientific” approach to boxing, and although he empowered his opponents, he used his defensive
skills to be an artist in the ring. Overall, he helped lay the foundations of modern boxing.
“The most Famous Black man in the world…”
Dixon’s first title match was on June 27, 1890. He was the only Black man at the high-end Pelican
Club. His opponent, Nunc Wallace, came out gunning in the first few rounds.
Dixon was on the defensive until he opened up in the fifth round, and claimed the title in the
eighteenth round by a
technical knockout. Dixon had now become a champion of a fully recognized weight division. Dixon’s
second title was claimed in a bout with an Australian, Abe Willis. Dixon beat him in
five rounds to
become the world featherweight champion. At 21 years of age he was a dual champion, and the leading
Black boxer of the 1890’s. He was the most famous Black man in the world, earning thousands of
dollars for his ring appearances.
Dixon’s reign came to an end in 1906, paving the way for future Black boxers to rise and
take the crown. George Dixon died in 1909 at the terribly young age of 39 years old. In 1955,
he was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, and in 1956 was inducted into the Ring
Hall of Fame.
Dixon’s accomplishments in the ring seem to be forgotten outside of boxing fans and Nova
Scotians. But those who cheer on Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Leonard and the Black boxers of today
should be reminded that these boxers are standing on the shoulders of a Maritimer who was “small
in size, but a giant in spirit”.
References:
Saunders, C. Sweat and Soul. Lancelot Press and the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia,
1990. 20-29
www.novascotiasporthalloffame.com
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