At the 1908 Summer Olympics, five boxing events were contested. All of the boxing was conducted on 27 October. The event was held in the Northampton Institute in Clerkenwell, East London.
Benny Leonard was a Jewish American professional boxer who held the world lightweight championship for eight years, from 1917 to 1925. Widely considered one of the all-time greats, he was ranked 8th on The Ring magazine's list of the "80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years" and placed 7th in ESPN's "50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time". In 2005, the International Boxing Research Organization ranked Leonard as the #1 lightweight, and #8 best pound-for-pound fighter of all time. Statistical website BoxRec rates Leonard as the 2nd best lightweight ever, while The Ring magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #2. Boxing historian Bert Sugar placed him 6th in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue.
Isiah "Ike" Williams was a lightweight world boxing champion. He took the World Lightweight Championship in April 1945 and made eight successful defenses of the title against six different fighters prior to losing the championship to Jimmy Carter in 1951. Williams was known for his great right hand, and was named to The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time as well as The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year for 1948. Williams was The Ring magazine's Fighter of the Year for 1948, was inducted into The Ring Boxing Hall of Fame, and was an inaugural 1990 inductee to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Christopher Battaglia better known as Battling Battalino, was an American World Featherweight boxing champion. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Battalino engaged in 88 bouts during his career, of which he won 57, lost 26, and drew 3. He was managed by Hy Malley and Lenny Marello. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.
Sammy Angott was born Salvatore Engotti in a Pittsburgh area town in Pennsylvania. He was known as a clever boxer who liked to follow up a clean punch by grabbing his opponent, causing him to be known as "The Clutch." In his career, Angott met the best fighters in the welterweight and lightweight divisions. These included Sugar Ray Robinson, Bob Montgomery, Beau Jack, Fritzie Zivic, Henry Armstrong, Redtop Davis, Sonny Boy West, and Ike Williams. His manager was Charlie Jones.
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory authority to guarantee the fighters' safety. Most high-profile bouts obtain the endorsement of a sanctioning body, which awards championship belts, establishes rules, and assigns its own judges and referees.
Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations.
The bantamweight was one of five boxing weight classes contested on the boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other boxing events, it was open only to men. The boxing competitions were all held on October 27. The bantamweight was the lightest class, allowing boxers of up to 116 pounds (52.6 kg). Six boxers from two nations competed. Each NOC could enter up to 12 boxers. France entered 3 boxers, 2 of whom withdrew; Great Britain entered 5 boxers.
The featherweight was one of five boxing weight classes contested on the boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other boxing events, it was open only to men. The boxing competitions were held on October 27. The featherweight was the second-lightest class, allowing boxers of up to 126 pounds (57.2 kg). Eight boxers from two nations competed. Each NOC could enter up to 12 boxers. France entered 5 boxers, 3 of whom withdrew; Great Britain entered 8 boxers, 2 of whom withdrew.
The middleweight was one of five boxing weight classes contested on the boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other boxing events, it was open only to men. The boxing competitions were all held on October 27. The middleweight was the second-heaviest class, allowing boxers of up to 158 pounds (71.7 kg). It was the only boxing event in which a non-British boxer won a bout. Reginald Baker from Australia won three before losing to Johnny Douglas in the final. Ten boxers from three nations competed. Each NOC could enter up to 12 boxers. Australasia entered 1 boxer; France entered 5 boxers, 2 of whom withdrew; and Great Britain entered 6 boxers.
The heavyweight was one of five boxing weight classes contested on the boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other boxing events, it was open only to men. The boxing competitions were all held on October 27. The heavyweight was the middle class, allowing boxers of any weight. Six boxers all from Great Britain competed. Each NOC could enter up to 12 boxers. France entered 1 boxer, who withdrew; Great Britain entered 7 boxers, 1 of whom withdrew, and the Netherlands entered 1 boxer, who withdrew.
The freestyle lightweight was one of five freestyle wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The lightweight was the median weight class, allowing wrestlers of up to 66.6 kilograms (147 lb). Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
The Greco-Roman lightweight was one of four Greco-Roman wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The lightweight was the lightest weight class, allowing wrestlers up to 66.6 kilograms (147 lb). Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
Julie Kogon (1918-1986) was an American lightweight boxer and world title contender from New Haven, Connecticut.
Benjamin "Benny" Baruch J. Bass, known as "Little Fish," was an American boxer. He was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, with his family emigrating to the United States in 1906; choosing to settle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bass was world featherweight champion and world junior lightweight champion during his career. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Bass as the #17 ranked lightweight of all time. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2002. Strongly built with muscular shoulders, Bass's signature punch was a powerful left hook to the midsection, and he enjoyed fighting on the inside, a frequent requirement from his relative lack of reach.
Beau Jack was an American lightweight boxer and two-time world lightweight champion in the 1940s. One of the most popular fighters during the War Years, he headlined at Madison Square Garden on twenty one occasions, a record that still stands. He was considered "The greatest lightweight ever" by Cus D'Amato, famous boxing trainer and manager.
Jimmy Britt was a boxer from 1902 to 1909. He fought Joe Gans twice for the World lightweight title but lost both bouts. In a career spanning 23 bouts, Britt met 6 different Hall of Famers for a combined total of 10 fights; going 4-4-2. After retiring from boxing in 1909, Britt toured the United States as a vaudeville performer, then later worked as a WPA superintendent. He died of a heart attack in his San Francisco home on January 21, 1940 and was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery. Britt was elected to the Ring Magazine hall of fame in 1976.
Jackie Fields was an American professional boxer who won the World Welterweight Championship twice. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Fields as the #19 ranked welterweight of all-time. Fields was elected to the United Savings-Helms Hall of Boxing Fame in 1972, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1979, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1987, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.
Mike Ballerino was an American World Jr. Lightweight boxing champion who began his career in the Philippines boxing with the U. S. Army. Ballerino took the World Jr. Lightweight Championship against Steve "Kid" Sullivan on April 1, 1925, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a ten-round unanimous decision.
Anthony Perez was an American boxing referee and judge of Puerto Rican descent. During his career, he refereed many major boxing fights and participated in a number of boxing related documentaries.
