Happy 150th birthday to Bob 'Ruby' Fitzsimmons

Born in Helston, Cornwall, Bob Fitzsimmons also achieved fame for defeating Gentleman Jim Corbett in 1897 and he is currently in the Guinness Book of Records as being the lightest ever heavyweight champion (167lb/75.7kg).

As with most pugilists from the era, boxing records for Fitzsimmons, particularly his early career, are sketchy at best. It is believed he made his professional debut in 1888 in Sydney, Australia – although some historians suggest he had bouts earlier than this in New Zealand. By 1891 Fitzsimmons was travelling to New Orleans to challenge Nonpareil Jack Dempsey (the man whose name the Jack Dempsey would later adopt).

On January 14, 1891 Fitzsimmons won the middleweight world title by knocking out Dempsey in the thirteenth round. History suggests that Fitzsimmons had dominated his opponent to the point that he had knocked him down thirteen times during the bout, which culminated in Fitzsimmons carrying his opponent to his stool after the final knockdown in round thirteen.

Fitzsimmons would later vacate the title and begin campaigning for the heavyweight title. In December 1896 he would face Tom Sharkey in San Francisco in a fight that, for lack another referee, ended up being officiated by Wyatt Earp. Earp was, among other professions, a city policeman, country sheriff, buffalo hunter, bouncer, saloon-keeper, gambler, brothel-owner, pimp and miner. Needless to say, Earp was an interesting historical figure in his own right.

Fitzsimmons dominated the fight from the opening bell. In the eighth round, Sharkey was knocked down with Fitzsimmons’s signature solar plexus punch and in response he clutched his groin and claimed to have been fouled. Earp stopped the bout on the grounds that Fitzsimmons had committed a foul and, despite boos and jeers from crowd at the injustice, he awarded the bout to Sharkey. Fitzsimmons obtained an injunction against distributing prize money until the courts could determine who the rightful winner was.

Unfortunately for him, the judge ruled that prize fighting in San Francisco was illegal and the court therefore could not, and would, rule on who the victor was. Some accounts suggest that Wyatt Earp had a financial interest in the outcome of the bout, and newspapers questioned his integrity, one even reported that Earp had pulled a gun on Fitzsimmons when confronted after the event. Fitzsimmons would face Sharkey again in 1900 in Brooklyn, New York, and would knock the American out in two rounds.

For his world heavyweight title, however, Fitzsimmons would only have to wait three months after his disqualification against Sharkey. He faced James J. Corbett in Carson City, Nevada. Interestingly, an armed Wyatt Earp would be in Corbett’s corner for the bout, but fortunately had no influence on the outcome of the bout on this occasion. Fitzsimmons, a stone lighter, was knocked down in the sixth round and had his face badly damaged, but persevered. Corbett began to tire, and in the fourteenth round Fitzsimmons unleashed his solar plexus punch which stopped the American legend in his tracks, knocking him down for the count and claiming the world heavyweight title.

Fitzsimmons lost his title in New York two years later to James J. Jeffries in front of a crowd of 9,000. Although a massive favourite, Fitzsimmons was knocked down once in the second round, twice in the tenth and finally in the eleventh. Fitzsimmons would also lose the rematch with Jeffries in 1902, who would hold the world heavyweight title for six years until 1905, when he vacated it.

In 1903, Fitzsimmons made history by winning the world light heavyweight title when he scored a points victory over twenty rounds against George Gardner in San Francisco. Two years later Fitzsimmons would lose his title to Philadelphia Jack O’Brien when he retired in the thirteenth round.

In his later career Fitzsimmons would return to fighting at heavyweight with mixed results, including a second round knockout at the hands of Jack Johnson. In 1909 he fought for the Australian heavyweight title, but this ended in defeat to Bill Lang.

Fitzsimmons retired with a record of 66 wins, 59 by knockout 8 losses, 5 draws, 19 no contests and 2 no decisions, although he claimed to have had more than 350 bouts. He died in 1917 of pneumonia in Chicago. He had had four wives and gambling habit, so any fortune he had amassed during his career he was unable to hold on to.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame inducted him as a member of its “Old Timer” category and in 2003 The Ring magazine named him number eight in their list of best punchers of all time.

In terms of legacy, Fitzsimmons was the first internally recognised British heavyweight champion of all time, and the first boxer to win world titles at three different weights. He was the first middleweight champion to win a world heavyweight title, and the only heavyweight champion to drop down and win the light heavyweight crown.

To this day, Fitzsimmons remains amongst a minority elite to have won world titles at both light heavyweight and heavyweight.

Those interested in reading further on Bob Fitzsimmons may find the following resources useful:

K.R. Robinson, Lanky Bob – The Life, Times and Companions of Bob Fitzsimmons (2008)

Gilbert Odd, The Fighting Blacksmith: The Story of Bob Fitzsimmons (1976)

Adam J. Pollack, In the Ring with Bob Fitzsimmons (2007)

Dale Webb, Prize Fighter: The Life and Times of Bob Fitzsimmons (2001)

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