By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com
Pete Herman was born in New Orleans on February 12, 1896. He was one of the greatest bantamweights in boxing.
As a 12 year old kid Herman dreamed about becoming a prize fighter while working as a shoeshine boy 다운로드. He would be fascinated by obtaining the boxing news in weekly national newspaper publication The Police Gazette. So fascinated he would shadow box in front of a local barber shop using the mirrors to perfect his performances each day.
Herman would begin to seriously train on his lunch time with an older friend who was making money posing as a preliminary fighter. In a matter of time in sparring sessions Herman became better, easily beating his heavier friend and he would catch the eyes of some local promoters who included him in their shows 다운로드.
Herman would win his bouts which would propel him to stiffer competition, and in 1913 at the age of seventeen, he fought the likes of Eddie Cotton, Jimmy Walsh, Johnny Fisse, Nat Jackson, Eddie Coulon who were all promising in their own right.
Herman continued to win which advanced him to fight the likes of Eddie Campi, Kid Williams, Young Zulu Kid, and Jimmy Pappas, who were all experienced fighters and much better competition 파이널 판타지 13 다운로드.
On February 7, 1916, just five days shy of his 20th birthday, Herman was matched in a bout with champion Kid Williams. However, Williams would only agree to the match if he were allowed to pick the referee. The choice was his friend, nationally known Philadelphia referee Billy Rocap, in a scheduled bout for 20 rounds to be held in New Orleans 다운로드. As to the fight result, most ringside observers saw Herman give Williams a boxing lesson, but unfortunately the referee didn’t agree, and being the sole judge he ruled the decision a draw.
After the Williams fight on February 28, 1916 Herman lost to an up and coming boxer Lew Tendler in a six round bout in Philadelphia.
Herman would get his rematch with Williams on January 9, 1917 again in New Orleans and again the same referee Billy Rocap 다운로드. But this time Herman left no doubt by dropping Williams twice to convincing unanimous 20 round decision over Williams, with referee Rocap, knowing that his reputation was on the line awarding Herman the deserving win and the title.
On May 14, 1917 in Racine, Wisconsin Herman defeated an older former bantamweight champion Johnny Coulon by third round knockout.
Then on December 19, 1917 at the Philadelphia National Athletic Club, Herman fought Gussie Lewis. The fight took a turn for the worse in a slugfest affair, with Herman getting thumbed in his right eye. That occurrence ultimately lead to Herman losing the sight in his right eye. An interesting note, on that same card a 38 year old Joe Jeannette fought in a six round heavyweight bout and a young 21 year old Benny Leonard fought in a six round lightweight bout.
Herman lost the bantamweight title to Joe Lynch on December 22, 1920 at Madison Square Garden, New York by a fifteen round unanimous decision.
The next month on January 13, 1921 at Royal Albert Hall, London, Herman stopped arguably the greatest bantamweight of all time, Jimmy Wilde (who came into the bout with a ring record of 137-2-1 / 98 by knockout) in the seventeenth round. After the fight Wilde briefly retired for two and a half years, only to have his last professional fight to be a knockout loss to the great Filipino Pancho Villa who was ten years younger when they fought.
On July 25, 1921 at the age of 25, Herman won the championship back, becoming the first bantamweight to regain the 118 pound title defeating Lynch in Brooklyn by a fifteen round decision.
Two months later on September 23, 1921 he lost the title to Johnny Buff at Madison Square Garden, New York by a fifteen round decision.
After the Buff fight, Herman would have six fights, winning five, with his last being on April 24, 1922, a ten round decision win over Roy Moore in Boston. After the bout he was declared legally blind and retired after a stellar career. Although his official ring record differs by other sources, my calculation is: 69 wins, 11 losses, 8 draws, 61 no-decisions with 19 knockouts. He was only stopped once in 149 bouts.
Nat Fleischer, Ring Magazine editor and founder, rated Herman as the #2 greatest bantamweight of all time. Boxing Historian Bert Sugar rated Herman #58 of the greatest boxers of all time. My ranking of Herman is #6 greatest bantamweight of all time – just behind (in order) Eder Jofre, Ruben Olivares, Fighting Harada, Carlos Zarate, Manuel Ortiz, Panama Al Brown, and just ahead of (in order) Kid Williams, Johnny Coulon, Joe Lynch to round out my top ten in the 118 pound weight division.
Herman was inducted into the Ring Magazine Boxing Hall of Fame in 1959, into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997, and I am still in disbelief he was never inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Herman, upon his retirement at age 26, owned and successfully operated a night club and bar in New Orleans in the famed French Quarter. He was later appointed a life member of the Louisiana State Athletic Commission.
Pete Herman died in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 13, 1973 from failing health and after suffering a broken hip the previous month, at the age of 77.