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James John Corbett
was a heavyweight boxing champion. He was best known as
"Gentleman Jim," the man who defeated the great
John L. Sullivan.
A new breed of boxer was born when Corbett won the heavyweight
title from Sullivan, the last of the bare-knuckle fighters, in
1892. Corbett was an educated man
who practiced the science of boxing. He broke the mold of the
stereotypical brawling prizefighter. He was college educated and
in addition to boxing, pursued a career in acting, performing at
a variety of theaters. His fight with Peter Courtney on
September 7, 1894, by means of a Kinetograph, was only the
second boxing match to be recorded. In addition to his
officially sanctioned professional bouts, he fought over 150
exhibition matches, many against well known opponents.
In his title defense in 1894, Corbett
knocked out Charley Mitchell in three rounds, but lost the
heavyweight crown in 1897 to Bob Fitzsimmons in 14. After
retiring, he returned to his acting career and wrote a
successful autobiography that was later made into a movie
starring
Errol Flynn.
Corbett represented the new age of
boxing, fighting all of his matches wearing gloves and under the
Marquis of Queensberry rules. He has been called the "Father of
Modern Boxing" because of his scientific approach and
innovations in technique. |
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