On June 28, 1997, Mike Tyson bites Evander Holyfield’s ear
in the third round of their heavyweight rematch.
The attack led to his disqualification from the match and
suspension from boxing, and was the strangest chapter
yet in the champion’s roller-coaster career.
1949
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey
(June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983)
Also nicknamed The Manassa Mauler, was a boxer who competed
from 1914 to 1927, and world heavyweight champion from 1919 to
1926. One of the most iconic athletes of his era, Dempsey is ranked
sixth on The Ring magazine’s list of all-time heavyweights and
fourth among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers, while in 1950 the Associated Press voted him as the greatest fighter of the past
50 years.
He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and was
in the previous Boxing Hall of Fame.
On April 11, 1921, KDKA in Pittsburgh aired the first live
sporting event on the radio, a boxing match between
Johnny Ray and Johnny Dundee.
Pittsburgh Daily Post sports editor Florent Gibson calls
the event, about four months before KDKA’s Harold Arlin
announces the first Major League Baseball game broadcast
on radio.
On March 25, 1958, Sugar Ray Robinson defeated Carmen Basilio
to regain the middleweight championship. It was the fifth and final
title of his career.
Robinson is considered by many to be the greatest prizefighter
in history.
No less an authority than heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali
said, “My idol will always be Sugar Ray Robinson, who was, and
remains, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters to have ever
lived in this century.”
George Edward Foreman
Former Heavyweight champion George Foreman’s family
announced his passing Friday. They stated he departed
peacefully surrounded by loved ones. No cause of death
was given.
