# Jimmy Bivins

James Louis Bivins, (December 6, 1919 – July 4, 2012) was an American boxer whose professional career ran from 1940 to 1955. He was born in Dry Branch, Georgia. Although he was never given the opportunity to fight for a world title, despite at one point being the number one contender in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, Bivins fought and defeated many of the great fighters of his era and won the "Duration" Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight titles. In recognition of his achievements in the ring - among other things, he defeated eight of the eleven world champions he faced - Bivins was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999. He was also the one-time husband of Dollree Mapp, the subject of prominent Supreme Court case regarding the rights of search and seizures.

## Boxing career

Although he was born in Georgia, Bivins fought out of Cleveland, Ohio for the entirety of his career. He made his professional debut on January 15, 1940, winning by knockout in the first round, and went on to win his first nineteen fights, all fought in 1940, before losing a split decision to Anton Christoforidis, whom he had previously beaten. Bivins won his first four fights of 1941, including contests with Teddy Yarosz and Curtis Sheppard, but lost three of his other four contests that year, which included a points loss to Melio Bettina. He began 1942 with wins against Billy Soose and Gus Lesnevich and a split-decision loss to Bob Pastor. After this loss, Bivins had a twenty-seven fight undefeated streak that lasted for four years; it was during this period that Bivins established himself as one of the great heavyweights of his era - a remarkable achievement given that, at 5' 9", he was often significantly smaller than his opponents.
Bivins first fight after losing to Pastor was a split-decision win against Joey Maxim, a fellow Cleveland fighter who went on to become a member of the hall of fame. Bivins fought four more contests in 1942, including a rematch with Bob Pastor and a bout with Lee Savold, and won them all. He began 1943 with a remarkable win against Ezzard Charles, in which he recorded seven knockdowns against the future heavyweight world champion. On February 23, 1943 he defeated Anton Christoforidis on points for the duration light heavyweight title - as all the world titles had been frozen for the duration of World War II, this was the closest he ever came to holding a world title. In the three years after this fight Bivins went on to defeat Tami Mauriello, Pat Valentino, Lloyd Marshall, Melio Bettina, Curtis Sheppard and Archie Moore, whom he knocked-down six times en route to a knockout victory. Bivins served with the United States Army from March, 1944 until his honorable discharge in November of the same year - during 1944 he fought only one professional fight, a points victory over Lee Q. Murray.
On February 25, 1946 Bivins fought Jersey Joe Walcott at the Cleveland Arena. The fight was Bivins' first loss in four years, the split decision was interesting in that one official had the fight 6-4 to Bivins, the second had it 9-1 to Walcott and the last had it 5-4-1 to Bivins but gave the fight to Walcott because of a third round knockdown in his favour. After losing his long unbeaten streak, Bivins' record as a fighter became somewhat average. After his loss to Walcott, Bivins went on to lose his next two contests, against Lee Q. Murray and Ezzard Charles, before winning the following four. Bivins suffered a knockout loss to Ezzard Charles on March 10, 1947 and went on to lose a further two of his final seven fights that year, to Lee Q. Murray and Archie Moore. He went on to win six of his nine fights in 1948, losing only to Joey Maxim, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore. In 1949 he won five of his eight fights, but lost to both Archie Moore and Harold Johnson. He only fought twice in 1950, but returned to fighting regularly the following year. In 1951 he defeated Ted Lowry on points, but was once again knocked-out by Archie Moore and lost by unanimous decision to both Joe Louis and the undefeated Bob Baker. Bivins had a further eleven fights after his loss to Baker, and won eight of them. His only big-name opponent during these final fights was Ezzard Charles, who won by decision on November 26, 1952. Bivins retired following a victory over the journeyman Chubby Wright in June 1953, but returned for two final fights, both of which he won, a couple of years later.

## Retirement and later life

Following his retirement, Bivins earned a living as a bakery truck driver. In his spare time, he coached young people in boxing. Bivins' first two marriages ended in divorce. His third wife, Elizabeth, died in 1995. In April 1998, Bivins was discovered living in the unheated attic of his daughter and son in law's home in Collinwood, wrapped in a urine and feces caked blanket. The former boxer's weight had dwindled to 110 pounds. Bivins was then moved into his sister's home in Shaker Heights. In 2009, Bivins was moved into MacGregor Home, a care facility for the elderly. He died in 2012 at the age of 92 in Cleveland, Ohio.

## Awards and honors

* Entered into Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 1978
* Entered into The Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1988
* Entered into The World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994
* Entered into The International Boxing Hall of Fame (class of 1999)
* Jimmy Bivins Park dedicated in Cleveland (2000)
* Entered into The California Boxing Hall of Fame 2015

## Professional boxing record

| 112 fights | 86 wins | 25 losses |
| By knockout | 31 | 5 |
| By decision | 55 | 20 |
| Draws | 1 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| 112 | Win | 86–25–1 | Mike DeJohn | PTS | 6 | Oct 28, 1953 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 111 | Win | 85–25–1 | Dan Moray | RTD | 3 (8) | Aug 31, 1953 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 110 | Win | 84–25–1 | Chubby Wright | PTS | 10 | Jun 9, 1953 | Huntington, West Virginia, U.S. | |
| 109 | Win | 83–25–1 | Claude Rolfe | UD | 10 | Apr 24, 1953 | Latin-American Arena, Tampa, Florida, U.S. | |
| 108 | Loss | 82–25–1 | Tommy Harrison | UD | 10 | Apr 6, 1953 | Dinner Key Auditorium, Coconut Grove, Florida, U.S. | |
| 107 | Loss | 82–24–1 | Ezzard Charles | UD | 10 | Nov 26, 1952 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 106 | Loss | 82–23–1 | Tommy Harrison | UD | 10 | Nov 3, 1952 | Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | |
| 105 | Win | 82–22–1 | Wes Bascom | MD | 10 | Oct 22, 1952 | Arena, Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
| 104 | Win | 81–22–1 | Coley Wallace | KO | 9 (10) | Sep 19, 1952 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 103 | Win | 80–22–1 | Aaron Wilson | TKO | 3 (10) | Mar 31, 1952 | Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | |
| 102 | Win | 79–22–1 | Charley Williams | SD | 10 | Nov 21, 1951 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 101 | Loss | 78–22–1 | Bob Baker | UD | 10 | Nov 5, 1951 | Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 100 | Loss | 78–21–1 | Joe Louis | UD | 10 | Aug 15, 1951 | Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 99 | Loss | 78–20–1 | Clarence Henry | UD | 10 | Jun 26, 1951 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 98 | Win | 78–19–1 | Willie Bean | UD | 10 | May 29, 1951 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 97 | Win | 77–19–1 | Ralph Hooker | PTS | 10 | May 18, 1951 | Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | |
| 96 | Win | 76–19–1 | Willie Bean | UD | 10 | May 4, 1951 | Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, U.S. | |
| 95 | Loss | 75–19–1 | Archie Moore | RTD | 9 (10) | Feb 21, 1951 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 94 | Win | 75–18–1 | Ted Lowry | UD | 10 | Feb 12, 1951 | Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 93 | Win | 74–18–1 | Young Harry Wills | KO | 4 (10) | Jan 22, 1951 | Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 92 | Loss | 73–18–1 | Sid Peaks | PTS | 10 | Feb 6, 1950 | Laurel Garden, Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 91 | Win | 73–17–1 | Willis Applegate | UD | 10 | Feb 1, 1950 | Miami Stadium, Miami, Florida, U.S. | |
| 90 | Loss | 72–17–1 | Harold Johnson | UD | 10 | Oct 26, 1949 | Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 89 | Win | 72–16–1 | Clarence Henry | TKO | 8 (10) | Sep 27, 1949 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 88 | Win | 71–16–1 | Leonard Morrow | UD | 10 | Sep 21, 1949 | Auditorium, Oakland, California, U.S. | |
| 87 | Win | 70–16–1 | Watson Jones | KO | 2 (10) | Jul 15, 1949 | Last Frontier Sportsdrome, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 86 | Loss | 69–16–1 | Leonard Morrow | UD | 10 | Jul 5, 1949 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 85 | Win | 69–15–1 | Willie Bean | UD | 10 | Jun 20, 1949 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 84 | Loss | 68–15–1 | Archie Moore | KO | 8 (10) | Apr 11, 1949 | Sports Arena, Toledo, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 83 | Win | 68–14–1 | Rusty Payne | SD | 10 | Mar 21, 1949 | Aragon Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 82 | Loss | 67–14–1 | Joey Maxim | SD | 10 | Dec 7, 1948 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 81 | Win | 67–13–1 | Johnny Flynn | MD | 10 | Oct 11, 1948 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 80 | Loss | 66–13–1 | Ezzard Charles | UD | 10 | Sep 13, 1948 | Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., U.S. | |
| 79 | Loss | 66–12–1 | Archie Moore | MD | 10 | Jun 28, 1948 | Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 78 | Win | 66–11–1 | Pat Valentino | UD | 10 | Apr 20, 1948 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 77 | Win | 65–11–1 | Billy Thompson | TKO | 7 (10) | Apr 12, 1948 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 76 | Win | 64–11–1 | Turkey Thompson | UD | 10 | Mar 9, 1948 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 75 | Win | 63–11–1 | Johnny Haynes | TKO | 4 (10) | Mar 1, 1948 | Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 74 | Win | 62–11–1 | Johnny Shkor | UD | 10 | Jan 13, 1948 | Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, U.S. | |
| 73 | Win | 61–11–1 | Sid Peaks | PTS | 10 | Nov 12, 1947 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 72 | Loss | 60–11–1 | Archie Moore | RTD | 8 (10) | Sep 8, 1947 | 5th Regiment Armory, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 71 | Win | 60–10–1 | Bobby Zander | SD | 10 | Jul 1, 1947 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 70 | Win | 59–10–1 | Lee Q Murray | SD | 10 | Jun 9, 1947 | Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 69 | Win | 58–10–1 | Omelio Agramonte | TKO | 2 (10) | Jun 2, 1947 | Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 68 | Loss | 57–10–1 | Lee Q Murray | UD | 10 | May 9, 1947 | Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | |
| 67 | Win | 57–9–1 | Curtis Sheppard | UD | 10 | Apr 21, 1947 | Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 66 | Loss | 56–9–1 | Ezzard Charles | KO | 4 (10) | Mar 10, 1947 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 65 | Win | 56–8–1 | Curtis Sheppard | UD | 10 | Feb 17, 1947 | Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 64 | Win | 55–8–1 | Booker Beckwith | KO | 4 (10) | Feb 3, 1947 | Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 63 | Win | 54–8–1 | Johnny Flynn | UD | 10 | Jan 16, 1947 | Uline Arena, Washington, D.C., U.S. | |
| 62 | Win | 53–8–1 | Colion Chaney | KO | 5 (10) | Dec 5, 1946 | Armory, Akron, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 61 | Loss | 52–8–1 | Ezzard Charles | UD | 10 | Nov 12, 1946 | Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 60 | Loss | 52–7–1 | Lee Q Murray | UD | 10 | Jun 10, 1946 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 59 | Loss | 52–6–1 | Jersey Joe Walcott | SD | 10 | Feb 25, 1946 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 58 | Win | 52–5–1 | Yancey Henry | KO | 10 (10) | Feb 11, 1946 | Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 57 | Win | 51–5–1 | Oakland Billy Smith | PTS | 10 | Jan 30, 1946 | Auditorium, Oakland, California, U.S. | |
| 56 | Win | 50–5–1 | Johnny Haynes | KO | 2 (10) | Jan 22, 1946 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 55 | Win | 49–5–1 | Watson Jones | TKO | 6 (10) | Jan 7, 1946 | Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| 54 | Win | 48–5–1 | Yancey Henry | UD | 10 | Sep 26, 1945 | Uline Arena, Washington, D.C., U.S. | |
| 53 | Win | 47–5–1 | Archie Moore | KO | 6 (10) | Aug 22, 1945 | Lakefront Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 52 | Win | 46–5–1 | Curtis Sheppard | UD | 10 | Jul 26, 1945 | Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 51 | Win | 45–5–1 | Russell Scott | KO | 4 (10) | Jun 12, 1945 | Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., U.S. | |
| 50 | Draw | 44–5–1 | Melio Bettina | PTS | 10 | Mar 16, 1945 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 49 | Win | 44–5 | Johnny Flynn | PTS | 10 | Feb 27, 1945 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 48 | Win | 43–5 | Buddy Walker | KO | 2 (10) | Feb 19, 1945 | Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 47 | Win | 42–5 | George Parks | TKO | 4 (10) | Feb 5, 1945 | Uline Arena, Washington, D.C., U.S. | |
| 46 | Win | 41–5 | Lee Q Murray | PTS | 10 | Feb 29, 1944 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 45 | Win | 40–5 | Lee Q Murray | UD | 10 | Dec 1, 1943 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 44 | Win | 39–5 | Melio Bettina | UD | 10 | Sep 15, 1943 | Lakefront Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 43 | Win | 38–5 | Herbert Marshall | KO | 6 (10) | Aug 24, 1943 | Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., U.S. | |
| 42 | Win | 37–5 | Lloyd Marshall | KO | 13 (15) | Jun 8, 1943 | Lakefront Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | Retained duration light heavyweight title |
| 41 | Win | 36–5 | Pat Valentino | UD | 10 | Apr 26, 1943 | Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| 40 | Win | 35–5 | Watson Jones | UD | 10 | Apr 6, 1943 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 39 | Win | 34–5 | Tami Mauriello | MD | 10 | Mar 12, 1943 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 38 | Win | 33–5 | Anton Christoforidis | UD | 15 | Feb 23, 1943 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | Won vacant duration light heavyweight title |
| 37 | Win | 32–5 | Ezzard Charles | UD | 10 | Jan 7, 1943 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 36 | Win | 31–5 | Lee Savold | UD | 10 | Nov 27, 1942 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 35 | Win | 30–5 | Bob Pastor | SD | 10 | Oct 20, 1942 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 34 | Win | 29–5 | Tami Mauriello | SD | 10 | Sep 15, 1942 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | Won vacant duration heavyweight title |
| 33 | Win | 28–5 | Joe Muscato | KO | 5 (10) | Jul 23, 1942 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 32 | Win | 27–5 | Joey Maxim | SD | 10 | Jun 23, 1942 | Lakefront Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 31 | Loss | 26–5 | Bob Pastor | SD | 10 | Apr 17, 1942 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 30 | Win | 26–4 | Gus Lesnevich | UD | 10 | Mar 11, 1942 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 29 | Win | 25–4 | Billy Soose | UD | 10 | Jan 13, 1942 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 28 | Loss | 24–4 | Melio Bettina | UD | 10 | Nov 17, 1941 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 27 | Win | 24–3 | Nate Bolden | UD | 10 | Oct 20, 1941 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, U.S. | |
| 26 | Loss | 23–3 | Tony Musto | SD | 10 | Sep 10, 1941 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 25 | Loss | 23–2 | Lem Franklin | TKO | 9 (10) | Jul 14, 1941 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Curtis Sheppard | PTS | 10 | Jul 2, 1941 | Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Buddy Knox | PTS | 10 | Apr 2, 1941 | Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Teddy Yarosz | PTS | 10 | Mar 5, 1941 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | Pete Tamalonis | TKO | 1 (10) | Feb 19, 1941 | Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 20 | Loss | 19–1 | Anton Christoforidis | MD | 10 | Dec 2, 1940 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Anton Christoforidis | UD | 10 | Nov 15, 1940 | Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Vince Pimpinella | UD | 10 | Oct 22, 1940 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Larry Kellum | KO | 1 (10) | Sep 23, 1940 | Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Johnny Barbara | TKO | 7 (8) | Sep 9, 1940 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Charley Burley | UD | 10 | Sep 3, 1940 | Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Johnny Barbara | KO | 2 (10) | Aug 5, 1940 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Paul Frazier | PTS | 8 | Jul 15, 1940 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Mose Brown | PTS | 6 | Jul 1, 1940 | Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Frankie Hughes | PTS | 8 | Jun 24, 1940 | Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Stoney Jackson | TKO | 1 (6) | Jun 13, 1940 | Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Paul Frazier | KO | 1 (8) | May 13, 1940 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Enzo Iannozzi | KO | 1 (8) | Apr 25, 1940 | Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Marine Johnny Dean | KO | 3 (6) | Apr 15, 1940 | Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Nate Bolden | PTS | 8 | Apr 8, 1940 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Young Flowers | TKO | 3 (4) | Mar 27, 1940 | Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Joe Sutka | PTS | 8 | Mar 18, 1940 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Joe Sutka | PTS | 8 | Feb 26, 1940 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Tito Taylor | PTS | 4 | Feb 12, 1940 | Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Emory Morgan | TKO | 2 (4) | Jan 15, 1940 | Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |