In 1943, Armstrong lost a 10-round decision to an up-and-coming Sugar Ray Robinson, who had idolized the three-division champion. "If you spit any more blood on that floor," referee Billy Cavanaugh told Armstrong, "I'm going to stop this fight.". Hometown: Columbus, MS. Year Induction: 2010. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. Sims is 9-1 in his professional boxing career, with five knockouts in his nine wins. WHAT MAKES A GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS TITLE? The road to becoming a champion was not entirely smooth. Facing Arizmendi once more in August 1936, Armstrong secured his first title as the new featherweight champion, beating Arizmendi so badly that he was forced to take six months off. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 54.6%. (WLBT) - The inaugural Henry Armstrong Boxing Classic will be held in Columbus on Saturday. Two years later he was ordained as a Baptist minister at Morning Star Baptist Church. been; During 1937, he was 27-0 with 26 knockouts; In 1938, he was 14-0 Of his total 151 wins, 100 of them were via KO (66.2%). edited by David L. Porter, Greenwood Press, 1995. var navgalleryover = new Image(); navathletescold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_athletes_cold.gif"; In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he lost two four-round decisions in a row to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. "Henry Jackson," Contemporary Authors Online, Gale Research, 1999. http://www.galenet.com(December 13, 2000). He first set his sights on the lightweight division, but his challenge to a title fight was declined by lightweight titleholder Lou Ambers. After his death, his heart was found to be one-third larger than average. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. For other people named Henry Armstrong, see, Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri, Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, Billed as a World Middleweight Title fight recognized only by California, Municipal Audiotrium, Saint Louis, Missouri, Harringay Arena, Harringay, London, England, Municipal Audtiorium, Saint Louis, Missouri, Madison Square Garden Bowl, New York City, New York, International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, University of Detroit Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, Dexter Park Arena, Woodhaven, New York City, New York, Municipal Auditorium, Saint Louis, Missouri, Retained world featherweight title (CaliforniaMexico), Won world featherweight title (California-Mexico), Retained USA California State featherweight title, Civic Auditorium, Watsonville, California, Bakersfield Arena, Bakersfield, California, Pismo Beach Arena, Pismo Beach, California, Main Street Athletic Club, Los Angeles, California, Culver City Stadium, Culver City, California, Meyers Bowl, North Braddock, Pennsylvania, "BoxRec ratings: world, pound-for-pound, active and inactive", "Boxing Hall of Fame names first inductees", "IBRO All-Time Ratings - Pound For Pound Results", "IBRO All-Time Ratings - Featherweight Ratings", "IBRO All-Time Ratings - Welterweight Ratings", "IBRO All-Time Ratings - Lightweight Ratings", "Henry Armstrong: Goes for Four Divisions", "Ceferino Garcia vs. Henry Armstrong (2nd meeting) BoxRec", Armstrong, seated, posing with a title belt, National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1938 BoxRec, National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1939 BoxRec, National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1940 BoxRec, The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: Lightweight--1930s BoxRec, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_Armstrong&oldid=1135310555, World colored welterweight boxing champions, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2016, Pages with login required references or sources, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, In 1987, he was among those inductees from, In 1995, Armstrong was posthumously honored for his boxing career by being inducted into the, The story of his life is retold in the radio drama ", This page was last edited on 23 January 2023, at 22:13. [16] He returned to settle again in St. Louis, Missouri where, apart from the ceremonies and galas that he attended afterward, he led a quiet retirement. After Armstrong turned the trick in 1938, no boxer was ever again allowed to be a champion in more than one weight division simultaneously.In 1939, Armstrong lost the World Lightweight Championship in a rematch with Ambers by a fifteen-round unanimous decision. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Armstrong was dynamite in a small When Cox sold his contract on Armstrong to Wirt Ross in 1932 for $250, Armstrong entered the professional ranks to stay. A Who's Who of Sports Champions: Their Stories and Records. Birth Abt 1861 - null. The event is even more special for Davis. Encyclopedia of World Biography. For a full list of record titles, please use our Record Application Search. Madison Square Garden Bowl, Long Island City, Queens, California-Mexico World Featherweight Title. In 1938 with 14 consecutive wins, 10 by knockout, Armstrong achieved his goal, becoming the first boxer to On March 1, 1940, in Los Angeles, Armstrong sought to become the first-ever four-division champion when he attempted to wrest the middleweight crown from Ceferino Garcia, whom he had decisioned in a welterweight defense in 1938. He was managed by Wirt Ross, Eddie Mead, jazz singer Al Jolson and Hollywood actor George Raft. Home; . He died at age 75 on Oct. 24, 1988, in Los Angeles. Armstrong lost the fight via 10 round PTS. Armstrong and his managers realized that they needed to attract attention away from the rising fame of boxer Joe Louis. Armstrong starred in the feature film Keep Punching (1939) in 1939. Floyd Patterson was born on January 4, 1935 in Waco, North Carolinathe third of 11 children. So, its just a coincidence that all this is coming together like that.. Ill prepared and undernourished, Armstrong lost his first professional fight by a knockout. On October 29, 1937, Armstrong returned to the featherweight division and challenged Petey Sarron for the . Henry Armstrong Stats, Bio. was a high pressure, non-stop fighter who threw punches from Taking away Lou Ambers' lightweight crown on Aug. 17, 1938 in Madison Square Garden proved more difficult. October 29, 1937: Armstrong wins his first world titles by defeating Petey Sarron via 6th round KO. } document[imgName].src = eval(imgName + 'cold.src'); Ambers had Armstrong spitting blood from a torn bottom lip, and he cut the challenger's eyes as well. navpostcardcold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_postcard_cold.gif"; March 16, 1939: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring lightweight titles against Lew Feldman, winning the fight via 1st round KO. RECORD. The most consecutive boxing world welterweight title defences is 18 by Henry Armstrong (USA) from 25 November 1938 to 23 September 1940. Switch to interactive mode By his last professional fight on February 14, 1945, Armstrong's boxing record stood at 151-22-10 (100 KO wins, 2 KO losses). ESPN ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time. Armstrong made his professional boxing debut at the age of 18 on July 27, 1931. By his last professional fight on February 14, 1945, Armstrong's boxing record stood at 151-22-10 (100 KO wins, 2 KO losses). Two boxers from the Pearl Boxing Club will be fighting in the event: Chown Chop Chop Sims, and Keshaun Big Baby Davis. He did manage to win his second fight on points; however, he decided to return to St. Louis. During his years attending Vashon High School, Armstrong excelled, earning good grades and gaining the respect of his peers. Background. He died on October 24, 1988 at the age of 75 years. He defended his welterweight title a total of nineteen times.