Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-03-22
NEGROES Shine
IN THE ring
Three Of the Greatest Worlds
Champions Were Co|ored'
ONCE FAMOUS TRIO - GEORGE
DIXON, JOE CANS AND JOE
WALcoTT WERE uNExcELlEC
IN THE HISTORY OF THE RING.

The sport loving public takes I'M
seemly delight in calling a man yer
low" If a fighter shows the least
inclination to quit or If in the thickest
of the fight he slows up for some rea'
son, perhaps to conserve his forces
and it turns out that he is beaten, the
first thing that comes into the minds
of fistic devotees is the accusation
He's not game" Especially is that at
titude applied to negro pugilists. There
has been cause, of course, many negro
whalers having been troubled with
lack of courage. But exceptions nave
been noted Some Of the best fighters
since the time OF Figg have oeen
negroes.
Peter Jackson, for instance. Inc
great West Indian who battled Jim
Corbett 81 rounds to draw. Inen
there were George Godfrey. hrst
colored champion heavyweight OF
America, and Frank Craig, the "Har-
lem Coffee Cooler" There are some
truly remarkable negro fighters today
johnson, Langford, Jeanette. NC
Vea-but one splendid trio of negro
battlers is foremost in puglllstic MIS-
tory.
1t was composed OF George Dixon,
Joe Cans and Joe Walcott. Dixon, the
first negro worlds champion; Cans OF
Knockout fame; Walcott. the Bar
bados terror, whose head was SO close
to his shoulders that it was next 10
impossible to hurt him. All three won
the highest honors the ring can be-
stow.
Dixon was ruler Of the feather
weights and bantams, Cans OF the
lightweights, and Walcott became
master of the welters.
Dixon was the most popular negro
that ever raised a glove. He was like
wise the greatest ring artist. His
career started in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
in 1886, when he knocked out Young
Johnson. The following year he came
to this country and located in Boston.
He had 26 fights in Massachu-
sets cities and in other eastern towns,
dating from 1887 to February 7. 1890.
when he met Cal Mccarthy for the
bantam championship of America. The
men fought 70 rounds to draw with
two-ounce gloves.
Dixon was different miller from the
general run of fighters. Where, as
rule, coming champions knock out
most of their opponents in the early
days of their careers, Dixon played
safe and was content with winning
over his opponents. All the time he
was learning cleverness, but when he
fought Mccarthy he did not look much
like the star he became later.
Little Chocolate" had four fights
after the memorable affair with Nc
Carthy, and then Tom O'Rourke took
him to London, where in June. 1890,
he defeated Nunc Wallace, bantam
champion Of England, in IS rounds.
Nine months later he again fought Nc
Carthy for the bantam championship
of America and won it at Troy, N. Y,
in rs rounds. Next he met Abe Will
lis, the Australian champion, at San
Francisco, and knocked him out in
five rounds. Dixon became bantam
champion of the world as a result of
this feat
There being no good men left in the
bantam class for him to meet, he
fought several featherweights and
whipped them one after another A
year after his battle with Willis ne
was matched with Fred Johnson fo9
the worlds featherweight champion
ship. They struggled at Coney Island
for a $4,000 purse and Dixon dropped
Johnson for the count in the four
teenth round.
Dixon continued In the same game
until 1906. In 1890 he lost the feath-
erweight title to Terry McGovern.
In the '90s, Joe Walcott blazed
trail for lightweights, welterweights
and mddleweights that was hard
to follow. Walcott was welter-
weight, but he trained down to 1873
pounds for Kid Lavigne when the kid
was champion at that weight in 1895
and the Michigander gave him a ter
rifle lacing Before the Lavigne fight,
and after, Walcott was universally
feared He was animalistic in his at
tack and established a string of
knockouts. Walcott was a powerful
puncher, and never hesitated to
fight man from 10 to 60 pounds heav-
Ter than himself
His first fight with Mysterious Billy
Smith was one Of the most brutal ever
staged. Smith was protected by two
sets of articles and after Is fierce
rounds had been reeled off Smiths
handler, Jim Westcott, told the ref