State a little know boxing fact.

[Ben Bolt]

According to a sports writer by the name of Nicholas Hobbes, who works for the Independent (or used to anyway), boxing gloves were introduced not for safety purposes but for the purpose of shortening fights i.e. more knockouts.

Without gloves, the bones in your hands would probably broke before your opponent’s jaw does.

http://twentytwowords.com/bare-knuckled-boxing-is-safer-than-boxing-with-gloves/

[NChristo]

Ted Kid Lewis was the first boxer to use a gumshield

[Ben Bolt]

Ted Kid Lewis was the first boxer to use a gumshield

Googled this and found:

“In 1913, Kid Lewis was the first boxer to use a protective mouthpiece. It was designed for him by his dentist, Jack Marks, himself a former fighter."(International ***ish Sports Hall of Fame)

News to me, and I find the source reliable.
It WAS a development to the sport!

[billeau2]

Johnny 'Tucan' McGinty got his nickname because he put his nose into his opponents eye or something a long those lines.

You reminded me of another and this is true (supposedly). Two ton Tony Galenta...three stories about him that this thread could benefitt from:

1) his training consisted of running after his bar (the nut club) would close. He would eat spaghetti and drink beer and before a fight he would make sure he stunk, eating lots of garlic and sweating out a brewery to make it rough on his opponents. I believe one guy said tuna oil was used also...

2) You guys know "the great one?" that would be jackie Gleason...Ive told this before it has been verified... So Gleason is doing his stand up and this heckler keeps bustin balls. Gleason is getting pissed and calls a break saying he would like to step outside and make his "friend" more at home... Well as jackie tells it ...he remembers the fat guy seemed mighty eager to oblidge and the next thing he remembers is being in the Boiler room of the club as towels are applied to his head...so he asks "who the hell was that guy? and what hit me?"

Any guesses who that was?

while in the subject I told Lefty this in a PM: any UFo fans here? Gleason was a big fan of possible life on other planets, going so far as having a home shaped like a saucer...his wife, who allegedly was the type who downplayed things, never exxagerated, told the following tale to biographers after Gleason departed this world. Gleason was friends with Nixon...good friends. Nixon knowing jackie's penchant for space lore apparently decided to suprise jackie for his b'day.

Allegedly, and this has been verified in so far as his wife did tell this story claiming it was true: Nixon picks Jackie up and they drive from florida to a private jet, they go to area 51 and gleason is shown alien remains... his wife stated that when jackie got home that night he was really agitated, he told her this and couldn't believe it, it really shook him up.

[billeau2]

Googled this and found:

“In 1913, Kid Lewis was the first boxer to use a protective mouthpiece. It was designed for him by his dentist, Jack Marks, himself a former fighter."(International ***ish Sports Hall of Fame)

News to me, and I find the source reliable.
It WAS a development to the sport!

And they say the Brits don't have good teeth!

[Anthony342]

Boxer Art Jimmerson wore a glove only on his left hand in the UFC 1 tournament, giving him the nickname "one glove."

Roy Jones played a full basketball game on the same day as one of his fights in his prime.

Barrera vs. McKinney was the first main event on Boxing After Dark. And what a way to kick off that show!

[billeau2]

According to a sports writer by the name of Nicholas Hobbes, who works for the Independent (or used to anyway), boxing gloves were introduced not for safety purposes but for the purpose of shortening fights i.e. more knockouts.

Thomas Hobbes "Life is nasty brutish and short" Nicholas Hobbes "well then lets use gloves to make fights more nasty brutish and short?"

[Anthony342]

Googled this and found:

“In 1913, Kid Lewis was the first boxer to use a protective mouthpiece. It was designed for him by his dentist, Jack Marks, himself a former fighter."(International ***ish Sports Hall of Fame)

News to me, and I find the source reliable.
It WAS a development to the sport!

Didn't they only use mouth pieces in training before that? And does this mean we might see boxers eventually use head gear in pro fights?

[NChristo]

Didn't they only use mouth pieces in training before that? And does this mean we might see boxers eventually use head gear in pro fights?

Seeing as amateur boxing is going back to the old ways and not wearing headgear on the national / international level probably not, the judging is transitioning to actual judging as well as oppose to who lands the most punches.

I'm 95% sure Ted was the first to ever use the gumshield, including training, obviously wasn't around back then so can't really say it's a fact.

[soul_survivor]

Without gloves, the bones in your hands would probably broke before your opponent’s jaw does.
http://twentytwowords.com/bare-knuck...g-with-gloves/

yeah, I think that's what I read a while ago. Could be plausible. But interesting none the less.