Jimmy Britt

Jimmy Britt (October 5, 1879, in San Francisco, California – January 21, 1940) 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 (Colma, California).[1] Britt was elected to the Ring Magazine hall of fame in 1976.

Jimmy Britt
Statistics
Real nameJames Edward Britt
Weight(s)Lightweight
NationalityAmerican
Born(1879-08-05)August 5, 1879
San Francisco, California
DiedJanuary 21, 1940(1940-01-21) (aged 60)
Boxing record
Total fights23
Wins13
Wins by KO4
Losses7
Draws3

Career

Amateur

In 1901 Jimmy Britt, who was the 135Ib Champion of the Pacific Coast, boxed three rounds with World Featherweight champion Terry McGovern. In this encounter Britt was described as boxing "exceedingly well" by The San Francisco Call[2]

Early professional fights

In 18 February 1902 Jimmy Britt had his professional debut in a 15-round scheduled fight against Toby Irwin[3] Britt outclassed his opponent over the 15 rounds to win on points.[4] On 19 May 1902, Britt fought former Lightweight Champion Kid Lavigne. Britt outboxed Lavigne throughout the contest until Kid Lavigne's brother stopped the contest to prevent him from taking any more punishment. Lavigne was discovered to have broken bones in his left forearm after the fight, near where they had broken previously.[5]

Britt then fought former Featherweight and Lightweight Champion Frank Erne on November 26, 1902. Britt knocked out his Swiss opponent in the seventh round; he hurt his opponent with a left to the body early in the round, and after sending him down multiple times, stopped him with a left to the stomach. The San Francisco Call described Britt as finishing the fight "unscathed", with Erne "unable to get in an effective blow", while Frank Erne showed all the signs of his punishment, with his nose, lips, and under his left eye swollen.[6]

Britt then fought Young Corbett II, winning a hard-fought decision over 20 rounds. Britt's face was covered in blood in the fifth round and was staggered in the 10th round, while Corbett was helping in the eighth round, and staggered Corbett in the 15th round. However, Britt took over after the 16th round. The audience was described as not knowing which way the decision would go, until referee Eddie Graney gave it to Jimmy Britt.[7]

First fight with Joe Gans

On 31 October 1901, Britt challenged World Lightweight Champion Joe Gans. The San Francisco Call said that "Gans was outboxed, outfought, and outgamed" by Britt. Britt fought on the offensive in the first round, but the punching was light in this round. The second round saw both fighting aggressively and throwing hard shots. The third round saw Britt take the lead with a straight right with the body early seriously hurting Gans. In the fourth round, Britt knocked Gans down, and Gans went down twice more, with Britt hitting Gans while still on the ground. In the fifth round, Britt sent Gans back, before the latter once again went down. Britt struck Gans as he came up and was disqualified. The furious Britt then attacked the referee Eddie Graney[8]

Series with Battling Nelson

On 20 December 1904, Britt fought his first of four fights with Battling Nelson. Britt won a decision after 20 rounds, outboxing Nelson despite being badly hurt multiple times by the Durable Dane, by keeping the fight at range and using his superior boxing science.[9]

Nelson and Britt would once again fight on 9 September 1905. R. A. Smyth said Britt did not fight with his usual cleverness, and in the 18th round Nelson caught Britt with a light left, and then a right that sent Britt down until he was counted out.[10]

Their third fight was held on 31 July 1907, with Britt winning another decision over the 20 rounds.[11] The referee, Jack Welsh, said that Nelson only won two of the 20 rounds, and that "the rest of the time Britt outclassed him at every point".[12]

Rematch with Gans and later career

Joe Gans announced his challenge to the winner of the third fight between Battling Nelson and Jimmy Britt in a speech before that fight.[13] On 9 September 1907, Joe Gans and Jimmy Britt would once again fight for the World Lightweight Championship, however Britt was unable to repeat his success of the first fight. R. A. Smyth said, "Britt was hopelessly outclassed from the second round until the end came at the close of the fifth round." Britt quit after the end of the fifth round with an injury.[14] Britt was examined by multiple physicians, three of which diagnosed a fractured ulna, while Gans' physician said it was bruised.[15]

Jimmy Britt would then fight a 10-round no-decision contest with Battling Nelson on 3 March 1908, with newspapers differing as to who was better.[16]

Britt would then be stopped in the sixth round by Packey McFarland on 11 April 1908. After this he would have three fights with Johnny Summers in the {[United Kingdom]], winning the first on decision in 1908, before losing a decision, and being knocked out in 1909.[16]

Professional boxing record
13 Wins (4 Knockouts), 7 Defeats (4 Knockouts), 1 Draw ,[16]
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Loss 13-7-1 Johnny Summers KO 9 (20) 1909-07-31 Memorial Ground, West Ham, London
Loss 13-6-1 Johnny Summers PTS 20 1909-02-22 National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London
Win 13-5-1 Johnny Summers PTS 10 1908-11-02 Wonderland, Mile End, London
Loss 12-5-1 Packey McFarland TKO 6 (20) 1908-04-11 Mission Street Arena, Colma, California
Draw N/A Battling Nelson NWS 10 1908-03-03 Naud Junction Pavilion, Los Angeles, California Newspaper Decision
Loss 12-4-1 Joe Gans TKO 6 (20) 1907-09-09 Recreation Park, San Francisco, California For World Lightweight Title
Win 12-3-1 Battling Nelson PTS 20 1907-07-31 Auditorium Rink, Los Angeles, California Won World 'White' Lightweight Title
Draw N/A Terry McGovern NWS 10 1906-05-28 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York Newspaper Decision
Loss 11-3-1 Battling Nelson KO 18 (20) 1905-09-09 Mission Street Arena, Colma, California Lost World 'White' Lightweight Title
Win 11-2-1 Kid Sullivan PTS 20 1905-07-21 Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California Retained World 'White' Lightweight Title
Win 10-2-1 Jabez White TKO 20 (20) 1905-05-05 Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California Retained World 'White' Lightweight Title
Win 9-2-1 Battling Nelson PTS 20 1904-12-20 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California Retained World 'White' Lightweight Title
Loss 8-2-1 Joe Gans DQ 5 (20) 1904-10-31 Recreation Park, San Francisco, California For World Lightweight Title
Win 8-1-1 Young Corbett II PTS 20 1904-03-25 Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California
Win 7-1-1 Martin Canole PTS 25 1903-11-20 Colma A.C, Colma, California Retained World 'White' Lightweight Title
Win 6-1-1 Charley Sieger PTS 20 1903-11-10 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California Retained World 'White' Lightweight Title
Draw 5-1-1 Jack O'Keefe PTS 20 1903-06-13 Old Baseball Park, Butte, Montana Retained World 'White' Lightweight Title
Win 5-1 Willie Fitzgerald PTS 20 1903-04-28 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California Retained World 'White' Lightweight Title
Loss 4-0 Jack O'Keefe DQ 6 (20) 1903-03-09 Pastime A.C., Portland, Oregon
Win 4-0 Frank Erne KO 7 (20) 1902-11-26 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California Won World 'White' Lightweight Title
Win 3-0 Kid Lavigne TKO 8 (20) 1902-05-29 Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California
Win 2-0 Tim Hegarty KO 8 1902-02-28 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California
Win 1-0 Toby Irwin PTS 15 1902-02-18 Acme A.C., Oakland, California
gollark: If perfection is bad, the thing you're optimizing for is wrong.
gollark: What? That's wrong by definition.
gollark: And really, if humans were created by an omnipotent being, why do we have so many design flaws?
gollark: As I said: what you do is quite significantly determined by your environment. This environment is entirely controlled by god, as they're omnipotent. God knows the answers in advance *anyway*, as they're omnipotent.
gollark: It's a terrible test then.

References
  1. "Funeral Today for Boxer Jimmy Britt". The San Bernardino County Sun. January 25, 1940. p. 19. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "McGovern Tries Out James Britt in a Three Round Boxing Bout" The San Francisco Call, April 26, 1901, p. 4
  3. "James Britt's Professional Debut is Attracting Much Attention" The San Francisco Call, 15 February 1902, p. 9
  4. "Britt Wins Cleverly On Points in Fifteen Round Bout" The San Francisco Call, February 19, 1902, p. 4
  5. "Britt Defeats Lavigne After Eight Rounds of Hard Fighting" The San Francisco Call, May 30, 1902, p. 4
  6. "Jimmie Britt Knocks Out Frank Erne in Seventh Round of a Desperate Fight" The San Francisco Call, November 27, 1902, pp. 4, 5
  7. "Jimmy Britt Gains The Decision Over Young Corbett AFter 20 Rounds Full of Sensational Fighting" The San Francisco Call, March 26, 1904, p. 3
  8. "Britt Loses on a Foul" The San Francisco Call, November 01, 1904, p. 4
  9. "Britt Wins on Points From Battling Nelson After Twenty Rounds of Fiercest Fighting" The San Francisco Call, December 21, 1904, p. 10
  10. "Nelson Defeats Britt in Eighteen Rounds a Great Crowd Wildly Cheering The Victor" The San Francisco Call, September 10, 1905, pp. 39, 41
  11. "Californian Overcomes his Old Time Rival in A Terrific Ring Battle" The San Francisco Call, August 01, 1907, pp. 1, 8
  12. "Referee Says Britt Won on Science" The San Francisco Call, August 01, 1907, p. 8
  13. "Californian Overcomes his Old Time Rival in A Terrific Ring Battle" The San Francisco Call, August 01, 1907, pp. 1, 8
  14. "Fifth Round Ends Mill With Native at Champion's Mercy" The San Francisco Call, September 10, 1907, p. 10
  15. "Physicians differ as to Injury to Britt's Wrist" The San Francisco Call, September 10, 1907, p. 11
  16. Jimmy Britt's Professional Boxing Record Archived 2014-05-12 at the Wayback Machine. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-09-29.
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Frank Erne		 World White Lightweight Champion
June 24, 1902 – September 9, 1905		 Succeeded by
Battling Nelson
Preceded by
Battling Nelson		 World White Lightweight Champion
July 31, 1907 – September 9, 1909
Lost bid for Undisputed Title 		Title Defunct
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