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Edward Patrick "Mickey" Walker was an American professional boxer who held both the world welterweight and world middleweight championships at different points in his career. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he was also an avid golfer and would later be recognized as a renowned artist. Walker is widely considered one of the greatest fighters ever, with ESPN ranking him 17th on their list of the 50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time and boxing historian Bert Sugar placing him 11th in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue. Statistical website BoxRec rates Walker as the 6th best middleweight ever, while The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at No. 4. The International Boxing Research Organization ranked Walker as the No. 4 middleweight and the No. 16 pound-for-pound fighter of all-time. Walker was inducted into the Ring magazine Hall of Fame in 1957 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a first-class member in 1990.
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Eddie Palmer was an African American boxer who held the World Colored Welterweight and World Colored Middleweight titles. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1892, the 5'9" Palmer fought at a weight of between 142 and 156 lbs. out of Philadelphia and New Orleans between 1910 and 1925. He moved to Philadelphia in August 1911 and fought out of the City of Brotherly Love for two years.
Harris Martin was an American boxer known as "The Black Pearl". He declared himself the first colored middleweight champion of the world after a fight with "Black Frank" Taylor in Minneapolis in 1887. Harris' legacy is that of being one of the first African-American boxing celebrities in the United States, with public acclaim during his time extending throughout the Midwest region. Over a century after his death, Harris was inducted into the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.
Ed Binney was an African American boxer who was the colored middleweight champion of the World in the 1890s. Born Edward Phinney in Washington, D.C., the 5-foot-9-inch (175 cm) middleweight fought out of Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts during his career. He was known a clever fighter whose punch carried a sting.
Joe Butler was an African American boxer who was the colored middleweight champion of the world in the Gay Nineties. Born in Paoli, Pennsylvania, the 6′ 0½″ Butler fought out of Philadelphia during his career. Known as "The King of the Middleweights", Butler had quick hands and fast footwork and was known as canny fighter who could box or slug it out with an opponent.
Frank Craig was an American boxer who was the colored middleweight champion of the world in the Gay Nineties. The 5′10" Craig fought at a weight of between 153 and 169 lbs. as a middleweight and light-heavyweight during his career. Known as "The Harlem Coffee Cooler", Craig was regarded as a smart and quick fighter. He later worked in Britain as a stage entertainer.
Charley Turner was an African American boxer who claimed to be the colored middleweight champion of the World in the Gay Nineties. Born in Stockton, California in 1862, Turner was known as "The Stockton Cyclone". He fought out of Stockton at a weight of between 148 and 156 lbs. during his career, which would classify him as a middleweight by modern reckoning as well as by the standards of the time.
Johnny Banks, was an African American boxer who fought under the sobriquet "The Darkey Wizard" and was the Negro Middleweight Champion of the World during the mid-1880s.
Hank Griffin was an African American boxer who fought some of the greatest fighters in history, including World Colored Middleweight Champion Harris "The Black Pearl" Martin, World Colored Heavyweight Champion Frank Childs and World Heavyweight Champions Jack Johnson and James J. Jeffries.
References
- ↑ "Johnny Banks - Record". Boxing Rec. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ↑ "John Banks (the "Darkey Wizard")". Cyber Boxing Zone. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ↑ "John Banks (the "Darkey Wizard")". Cyber Boxing Zone. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ↑ "Johnny Banks". Box Rec. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ↑ ""Black Frank" Taylor". Cyber Zone Boxing. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ↑ "Charley Turner (the "Stockton Cyclone")". Cyber Zone Boxing. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ↑ "Lineage of the coloured heavyweight title" eastsideboxing.com