Determined to enter a title fight, Armstrong boldly offered to challenge welterweight champion Barney Ross. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. His next fight was four days later, and he won a six-round decision. worldCharley Rose ranked Armstrong as the #6 All-Time Welterweight; Nat We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Armstrong's attempt to win a world title in a fourth division was frustrated. American boxer While he was certainly a formidable boxer, he hadn't yet established himself as one of the all-time greats. He also taught young fighters how to box. . A Who's Who of Sports Champions: Their Stories and Records. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henry-armstrong. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Armstrong knocked out 100 of his 183 opponents. But he was learning how to harness his natural physical gifts; strength, quickness, stamina, and the ability to take a punch. var navpostcardcold = new Image(); After the decision was announced, the second fight started; both managers and the New York State Athletic Commission were the participants. But there was a sensitive side, too, as he showed at his high school graduation when he read an original poem. been; During 1937, he was 27-0 with 26 knockouts; In 1938, he was 14-0 In an attempt to gain popularity and therefore more important fights with bigger purses, they set a goal of winning titles in three different weight divisions, an accomplishment no boxer had ever achieved. In 1990 his name was added posthumously to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He voluntarily relinquished his featherweight crown, and the next August he lost the lightweight title back to Ambers on a unanimous decision. He had fulfilled his goal -- he reigned as champion over three divisions. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Over the course of his career, Armstrong earned more than $1 million. Guinness World Records Kids (opens in a new window), GWR Merchandise Store (opens in a new window), Corporate Social Responsibility activities & fundraising ideas, Community engagement & tourism marketing activities. Other honors include his being ranked 2nd on "The Ring's 2002 list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years." Early in his career, he boxed under Melody Jackson. High School Career. Alternate titles: Henry Jackson, Melody Jackson. Armstrong was the only boxer to hold world titles in three different weight divisions simultaneously, and all three titles were . Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisions: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. In 1949 Armstrong experienced a religious conversion and turned his life around. In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he lost two four-round decisions in a row to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. After taking 16 months off, he came back and stayed around until 1945, fighting 49 times although he had lost most of his skill. He officially turned pro a year later after failing to make the 1932 Olympic team, and he lost his first two fights, both four-round decisions in Los Angeles in 1932. The title bout came August 17, 1938, just three months after his fight with Ross, when Armstrong faced lightweight champion Lou Ambers before a packed house of almost 20,000 fans at Madison Square Garden. Henry passed away in March 1981, at age 94. He defeated Bobby Pacho at the Tropical Stadium in Havana, Cuba, in his fourth successful defence. In the days when there were only 8 weight classes, Henry Armstrong held championship belts in three of them at the same time. [2] Historian Bert Sugar also ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of all time. He kayoed Baby Casanova in three rounds, Belloise in four, Joe Rivers in three, former world champion Frankie Klick in four, and former world champion Benny Bass in four. He won 14 fights before bypassing the lightweight title and challenging welterweight champion Barney Ross for his crown on May 31, 1938. (February 23, 2023). First of all, Ive got to thank Pearl Boxing Club, because without them this wouldnt be the possible or without God.. Professional Boxer. He continued to box actively until announcing his retirement in 1945 at the age of 32. To this day, he is the only boxer to simultaneously hold three world titles in different weight divisions. The Ring, a boxing magazine, named Armstrong Boxer of the Year for 1938. A few notable opponents of that year include Ritchie Fontaine, Baby Arizmendi, former world champion Juan Zurita, and Mike Belloise. GET IN TOUCH WITH A RECORD SPECIALIST (Opens in a new window), How to set or break a Guinness World Records title. Upon his return, he became a boxing manager for a time, but his increasing use of alcohol led to his arrest in Los Angeles. 26 of those wins came via knockouts. Armstrong fought as an amateur from 1929 to 1932. Professional boxer, entertainer, businessman var navathletescold = new Image(); . Later a fellow member of the three division champions' club, Ross was then World Welterweight Champion. Fleischer ranked him as the #8 All-Time Welterweight; The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1940. His first title came in 1937 when he wrested the Featherweight Championship from Petey Sarron via 6th round. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Statistics for all 21 Henry Armstrong results: 61 yrs AVERAGE AGE 40% are in their 40s, while the average age is 61. After he retired, Armstrong overcame alcoholism. Armstrong was dynamite in a small Higginbottom believes Davis can be among the best of the best. Reading that a boxer named Kid Chocolate received $75,000 for one bout, Armstrong quickly abandoned his railroad job to pursue a career as a boxer. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Armstrong started 1937 off with a string of 22 straight wins, en route to 27 total wins that year. 1716-1914: New York State Religious Records at Findmypast; images only ($) 1809-1850: 10,000 Vital Records of Western New York at Ancestry; index & images, ($) 1875-1916: New York, Yonkers, Birth and Death Registration and Indexes at FamilySearch . His official record was 152 wins, 21 losses and 9 draws, with 101 knockout wins.[10]. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. Taking away Lou Ambers' lightweight crown on Aug. 17, 1938 in Madison Square Garden proved more difficult. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. In January 1935 he lost to Arizmendi for a second time. Henry Armstrong (1912-1988) became the first boxer in history to hold world titles in three separate weight classes at the same time. After retirement, he became an ordained minister. William Henry Armstrong. Armstrong fared even worse in their rematch in 1941, suffering a 12th-round TKO. His biggest hit was "Sweet Adeline", written in 1903 with Richard Gerard . compiled a 59-1-1 record (51 KOs) competing against the best in the sensational; However, when he hit stride [10] Armstrong was given his first world title fight, for the title in the 126-pound weight class against World Featherweight Champion Petey Sarron at Madison Square Garden. He was elected class president and selected poet laureate of his class, which provided him the opportunity to read a valedictory poem at his graduation ceremony. He suffered his first loss in his professional debut against Al Lovino via 3rd round KO. Having gained the fame and fortune that was his goal as a young man working on the railroad, Armstrong was able to produce and star in an autobiographical movie, Keep Punching, released in 1939. His biggest hit was "Sweet Adeline", written in 1903 with Richard H. Gerard. He finally did beat Zivic, by decision in 1942, but Zivic was no longer champ. October 29, 1937: Armstrong wins his first world titles by defeating Petey Sarron via 6th round KO. Research genealogy for Henry Armstrong of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, as well as other members of the Armstrong family, on Ancestry. He is currently ranked by BoxRec as the 12th greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time. Henry Armstrong Stats, Bio. For all the details about Armstrong's world title wins and defenses refer to "Henry Armstrong World Titles". ", Ten weeks later, Armstrong's fight with Ambers was a war. He was the son of Henry Jackson Sr., a sharecropper of African American descent and America Jackson, said to be a "full-blooded" Iroquois. After 152 victories in 14 years, Armstrong retired in 1945. var navcontributecold = new Image(); Henry held three world titles - Welterweight , Lightweight . Working at the "colored" Young Men's Christian Association, Armstrong met Harry Armstrong, a former boxer, who became his friend, mentor, and trainer. //]]>. navathletescold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_athletes_cold.gif"; Soon after his fight with Ambers, Armstrong, unable to meet the 126-pound limit, relinquished his featherweight title. He died at age 75 on Oct. 24, 1988, in Los Angeles. ." Definitely one of the goals I had in mind, so itll be a good time, to bring everybody out.. He was the son of Henry Jackson Sr., a sharecropper of African American descent and America Jackson, said to be a "full-blooded" Iroquois. He tried for a fourth world title in middleweight but drew with champion Ceferino Garcia. His father, suffering from rheumatism, struggled to provide for the family. navclassiccold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_classic_cold.gif"; Henry W. Armstrong (July 22, 1879 - February 28, 1951) was an American boxer, booking agent, producer, singer, pianist, and Tin Pan Alley composer. During the final years of the 1940s he traveled to China, Burma, and India with Raft as part of a group sent to entertain soldiers. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. Henry Armstrong. Five-time middleweight champion of the world, Sugar Ray Robinson is remembered as the greatest boxer ever, Patterson, Floyd 1935 ESPN ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time. Armstrong fought as an amateur from 1929 to 1932. Davis, who has been training at the Pearl Boxing Club, is undefeated so far in his professional career at 4-0, with four knockouts. edited by Melanie Parry, Larousse Kingfisher Chambers Inc., 1997. Armstrong lost the fight via 10 round PTS. One of the first inductees when the Boxing Hall of Fame opened in 1954, Henry Armstrong is considered one of the top three boxers of all time. His final professional record stood at 174 recorded bouts, 145 wins with 98 by knockout. function inact(imgName) { We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. His debut as an 18-year-old pro was inauspicious, as he was knocked out in the third round by Al Iovino on July 27, 1931, in Pennsylvania. During his final years, Armstrong suffered from numerous illnesses, including cataracts and dementia, commonly attributed to the punishment he took as a boxer. 149-21-9 (100 KO) Armstrong was dynamite in a small package; He was a high pressure, non-stop fighter who threw punches from the beginning to the end of every round; His goal was to knock his man out - if he didn't manage that, he certainly battered him thoroughly. The road to becoming a champion was not entirely smooth.
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