Henry Armstrong
Encyclopedia
Henry Jackson Jr. was a world boxing
champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. He is universally regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time by many boxing critics and fellow professionals.
Henry Jr. was a boxer who not only was a member of the exclusive group of fighters that have won boxing championships in three or more different divisions (at a time when there were only 8 universally recognized World Titles), but also has the distinction of being the only boxer to hold three world championships at the same time. He also defended the Welterweight championship more times than any other fighter.
In 2007, The Ring
ranked Armstrong as the 2nd greatest fighter of the last 80 years.
, Armstrong was born December 12, 1912 and moved as a youngster with his family to St. Louis, Missouri
, where he developed his boxing skills. The son of a Henry Armstrong a sharecropper of African American, Irish
, and Native American descent, and America Jackson, an Iroquois
Native American. Armstrong graduated from Vashon High School
and was later inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame
. Armstrong's two nicknames were Hurricane Henry, and Homicide' Hank.
, Bernard Hopkins
, and Wilfredo Vazquez
in the future, Armstrong was one world champion who started off on the losing end. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six.
In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he started out losing two four round decisions in a row, to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. But after that, he started a streak of 11 wins in a row, a streak which expanded to 1933, until he lost again, to Baby Manuel. Then he went 22 straight fights without a defeat, going 17–0–5 in that span, including a win in a Sacramento
rematch with Manuel, and five wins over Perfecto Lopez. After that, he moved to Mexico City, where in his first fight there, he lost to former world bantamweight champion Baby Arizmendi
. He had four more fights there, going 2–2 and losing to Arizmendi in what was considered by Mexico and California a world title bout (thus Armstrong losing on his first championship try), and to Baby Casanova by a five round disqualification. He then moved back to California, where he went 8–1–1 for the next ten bouts.
In 1936, Armstrong split time campaigning between Los Angeles, Mexico City and St. Louis. Some opponents of note that year were Ritchie Fontaine, against whom he lost by decision and then won by decision in the rematch, Arizmendi, whom he finally beat by a ten round decision, former world champion Juan Zurita
and former champ Mike Belloise, who also lost a decision to Armstrong.
Armstrong started out 1937 by winning 22 bouts in a row, 21 by knockout
. He beat Casanova in three, Belloise in four, Joe Rivers in three, former world champion Frankie Klick in four and former world champion Benny Bass
in four. After those 22 wins in a row, the inevitable happened: Armstrong was given his first world title try, for the 126 pounds title, Featherweight world champion Petey Sarron
defending it against him at the Madison Square Garden
. Armstrong became the world's Featherweight champion knocking out Sarron in six, and closed the year with four more knockout wins.
In 1938, Armstrong started with seven more knockouts in a row, including one over future world champion Chalky Wright
. The streak finally ended when Arizmendi lasted ten rounds before losing a decision to Armstrong in their fourth fight. His streak of 27 knockout wins in a row qualifies as one of the longest knockout win streaks in the history of boxing, according to The Ring
. After the fourth bout with Arizmendi was a bout with Fritzie Zivic
's brother, Eddie Zivic, resulting in another Armstrong knockout win, and after one more bout, Armstrong, the 126 pound division world champion, challenged a fellow member of the three division champions' club, Barney Ross
, then world Welterweight champion, for the title. Armstrong, 126, beat Ross, 147, by unanimous decision, adding the world Welterweight championship to his Featherweight belt. Then, he went down in weight, and challenged world Lightweight champion Lou Ambers
. In a history making night, Armstrong became the first boxer ever to have world championships in three different divisions at the same time, by beating Ambers on points. A few days later, he decided he couldn't make the 126 pounds weight anymore, and left the Featherweight crown vacant.
He dedicated the next two years to defending the welterweight crown, beating, among others, future world middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia
, Al Manfredo and Bobby Pacho
, before defending his Lightweight belt in a rematch with Ambers, which he lost on a 15 round decision. After that, he concentrated once again on defending the world Welterweight title, and made eight defenses in a row, the last of which was a nine round knockout win over Puerto Rico
's Pedro Montañez
. Then, he tried to make history once again by becoming the first boxer to win world titles in four different categories in a rematch with Garcia, already world Middleweight champion, but the fight ended in a ten round draw, Armstrong's attempt to win a fourth division's world title being frustrated. According to boxing historian Bert Sugar, many felt Armstrong deserved the decision in this fight.
He went back to Welterweight and retained the title five more times, until Fritzie Zivic was able to avenge his brother Eddie's defeat by taking the world title away from Armstrong with a 15 round decision. With this loss, Armstrong's reign as Welterweight champion came to an end, leaving Armstrong's successful defense streak at eighteen, the most defenses by a champion ever in Welterweight history. In 1941, they boxed a rematch, this time, Zivic stopping Armstrong in 12 rounds.
1942 saw Armstrong go 13–1, including wins over world champions (Fritzie) Zivic in a ten round non title bout, Jenkins and Zurita.
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1943 saw him go 10–3, with wins over world champions Tippy Larkin
and Sammy Angott
in ten round bouts, and losses to world champions Beau Jack
and Sugar Ray Robinson
, also in ten round bouts.
1944 saw Henry go 14–2–1 in 17 bouts, among those, another win over Belloise.
After winning one fight, losing one and drawing one in 1945, Armstrong decided to retire from boxing. Apart from the ceremonies and galas that he attended afterward, he led a relatively quiet life for the rest of his life. He became a born-again Christian and an ordained pastor, and he taught young, upcoming fighters how to box.
Armstrong registered an official record of 149 wins, 21 losses and 10 draws, with 101 knockout wins. Early in his career, he fought some pay fights under the nickname of Melody Jackson.
Armstrong became a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame
.
After retiring from boxing, Henry Armstrong became a Baptist
minister.
On his passing in 1988, he was interred in the Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
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Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. He is universally regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time by many boxing critics and fellow professionals.
Henry Jr. was a boxer who not only was a member of the exclusive group of fighters that have won boxing championships in three or more different divisions (at a time when there were only 8 universally recognized World Titles), but also has the distinction of being the only boxer to hold three world championships at the same time. He also defended the Welterweight championship more times than any other fighter.
In 2007, The Ring
The Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
ranked Armstrong as the 2nd greatest fighter of the last 80 years.
Early life
A native of Columbus, MississippiColumbus, Mississippi
Columbus is a city in Lowndes County, Mississippi, United States that lies above the Tombigbee River. It is approximately northeast of Jackson, north of Meridian, south of Tupelo, northwest of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and west of Birmingham, Alabama. The population was 25,944 at the 2000 census...
, Armstrong was born December 12, 1912 and moved as a youngster with his family to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, where he developed his boxing skills. The son of a Henry Armstrong a sharecropper of African American, Irish
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
, and Native American descent, and America Jackson, an Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
Native American. Armstrong graduated from Vashon High School
Vashon High School
-Vashon High School:Vashon High School is a public high school located in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1927, the school is named in honor of two educators of African-American descent: John B. Vashon, and his son, George B. Vashon....
and was later inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame
St. Louis Walk of Fame
The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors well-known people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there...
. Armstrong's two nicknames were Hurricane Henry, and Homicide' Hank.
Professional Career
Armstrong started out as a professional on July 28, 1931, being knocked out by Al Sorvino in three rounds. Just like Alexis ArgüelloAlexis Argüello
Alexis Argüello , also known by the stage name El Flaco Explosivo , was a Nicaraguan professional boxer and politician...
, Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...
, and Wilfredo Vazquez
Wilfredo Vázquez
Wilfredo Vázquez is a retired Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is a former World Champion at three different weights, Bantamweight, Super bantamweight and Featherweight.-Early life and amateur career:...
in the future, Armstrong was one world champion who started off on the losing end. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six.
In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he started out losing two four round decisions in a row, to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. But after that, he started a streak of 11 wins in a row, a streak which expanded to 1933, until he lost again, to Baby Manuel. Then he went 22 straight fights without a defeat, going 17–0–5 in that span, including a win in a Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
rematch with Manuel, and five wins over Perfecto Lopez. After that, he moved to Mexico City, where in his first fight there, he lost to former world bantamweight champion Baby Arizmendi
Baby Arizmendi
Alberto "Baby" Arizmendi was a professional boxer and featherweight world title holder. He also competed in the bantamweight and welterweight divisions. Arizmendi is famous for being the youngest boxer to turn pro...
. He had four more fights there, going 2–2 and losing to Arizmendi in what was considered by Mexico and California a world title bout (thus Armstrong losing on his first championship try), and to Baby Casanova by a five round disqualification. He then moved back to California, where he went 8–1–1 for the next ten bouts.
In 1936, Armstrong split time campaigning between Los Angeles, Mexico City and St. Louis. Some opponents of note that year were Ritchie Fontaine, against whom he lost by decision and then won by decision in the rematch, Arizmendi, whom he finally beat by a ten round decision, former world champion Juan Zurita
Juan Zurita
Juan Zurita was a Mexican boxer in the Lightweight division and a former Lightweight world champion.-Pro career:During his career he won a version of the Lightweight Championship of the World and other belts such as the NBA Lightweight Championship of the World, Featherweight Championship of...
and former champ Mike Belloise, who also lost a decision to Armstrong.
Armstrong started out 1937 by winning 22 bouts in a row, 21 by knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
. He beat Casanova in three, Belloise in four, Joe Rivers in three, former world champion Frankie Klick in four and former world champion Benny Bass
Benny Bass
Benny Bass, known as "Little Fish," was an American boxer....
in four. After those 22 wins in a row, the inevitable happened: Armstrong was given his first world title try, for the 126 pounds title, Featherweight world champion Petey Sarron
Petey Sarron
Petey Sarron was a member of the Olympic Team at flyweight in boxing for the United States during the 1924 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
defending it against him at the Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden (1925)
Madison Square Garden was an indoor arena in New York City, the third of that name. It was built in 1925 and closed in 1968, and was located on Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in Manhattan on the site of the city's trolley car barns. It was the first Garden that was not located near...
. Armstrong became the world's Featherweight champion knocking out Sarron in six, and closed the year with four more knockout wins.
In 1938, Armstrong started with seven more knockouts in a row, including one over future world champion Chalky Wright
Chalky Wright
Albert "Chalky" Wright was a black American featherweight boxer who fought from 1928 to 1948. His career record was 160 wins , 43 losses and 18 draws. In 2003, Wright made The Ring magazine's list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time.-Biography:Wright was born in Durango, Mexico...
. The streak finally ended when Arizmendi lasted ten rounds before losing a decision to Armstrong in their fourth fight. His streak of 27 knockout wins in a row qualifies as one of the longest knockout win streaks in the history of boxing, according to The Ring
The Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
. After the fourth bout with Arizmendi was a bout with Fritzie Zivic
Fritzie Zivic
Fritzie Zivic , born as Ferdinand Henry John Zivcich , was an American boxer.-Biography:...
's brother, Eddie Zivic, resulting in another Armstrong knockout win, and after one more bout, Armstrong, the 126 pound division world champion, challenged a fellow member of the three division champions' club, Barney Ross
Barney Ross
Barney Ross , born Beryl David Rosofsky, was a world champion boxer in three weight divisions and decorated veteran of World War II.-Early life:...
, then world Welterweight champion, for the title. Armstrong, 126, beat Ross, 147, by unanimous decision, adding the world Welterweight championship to his Featherweight belt. Then, he went down in weight, and challenged world Lightweight champion Lou Ambers
Lou Ambers
Luigi Giuseppe d'Ambrosio , aka Lou Ambers, was a lightweight boxer who fought from 1932 to 1941.Managed by Al Weill and trained by Charley Goldman, the "Herkimer Hurricane", as he was known, began his career losing only once in more than three years when he faced future hall of fame lightweight...
. In a history making night, Armstrong became the first boxer ever to have world championships in three different divisions at the same time, by beating Ambers on points. A few days later, he decided he couldn't make the 126 pounds weight anymore, and left the Featherweight crown vacant.
He dedicated the next two years to defending the welterweight crown, beating, among others, future world middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia
Ceferino Garcia
Ceferino Garcia was a champion boxer born in Naval, Biliran, Philippines. His number of victories are the most ever achieved by a Filipino boxer. He's also the only boxer from the Philippines ever to become world champion at middleweight. He was managed, during the final years of his career by...
, Al Manfredo and Bobby Pacho
Bobby Pacho
Robert Pacho was an Mexican-American professional boxer from Yuma, Arizona. After Bert Colima's career was over, Pacho was Mexican fans most popular boxer.-Early life:...
, before defending his Lightweight belt in a rematch with Ambers, which he lost on a 15 round decision. After that, he concentrated once again on defending the world Welterweight title, and made eight defenses in a row, the last of which was a nine round knockout win over Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
's Pedro Montañez
Pedro Montañez
Pedro Montañez, , was a boxer from Cayey, Puerto Rico. Also known as El Torito De Cayey , he has been considered by many to be one of the best boxers in history never to win a world title...
. Then, he tried to make history once again by becoming the first boxer to win world titles in four different categories in a rematch with Garcia, already world Middleweight champion, but the fight ended in a ten round draw, Armstrong's attempt to win a fourth division's world title being frustrated. According to boxing historian Bert Sugar, many felt Armstrong deserved the decision in this fight.
He went back to Welterweight and retained the title five more times, until Fritzie Zivic was able to avenge his brother Eddie's defeat by taking the world title away from Armstrong with a 15 round decision. With this loss, Armstrong's reign as Welterweight champion came to an end, leaving Armstrong's successful defense streak at eighteen, the most defenses by a champion ever in Welterweight history. In 1941, they boxed a rematch, this time, Zivic stopping Armstrong in 12 rounds.
1942 saw Armstrong go 13–1, including wins over world champions (Fritzie) Zivic in a ten round non title bout, Jenkins and Zurita.
Tippy Larkin
Tippy Larkin was a boxer from New Jersey who appeared on the cover of The Ring magazine in July 1944. From 1935 to 1946, Larkin's record was 114-9.-External links:* http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9619&cat=boxer&pageID=1...
and Sammy Angott
Sammy Angott
Sammy Angott was born Samuel Engotti in Pennsylvania. He was known as a clever boxer who liked to follow up a clean punch by grabbing his opponent, causing him to be known as "The Clutch."...
in ten round bouts, and losses to world champions Beau Jack
Beau Jack
Sidney Walker, better known as Beau Jack, , was an American lightweight boxer, he was a world champion twice...
and Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
, also in ten round bouts.
1944 saw Henry go 14–2–1 in 17 bouts, among those, another win over Belloise.
After winning one fight, losing one and drawing one in 1945, Armstrong decided to retire from boxing. Apart from the ceremonies and galas that he attended afterward, he led a relatively quiet life for the rest of his life. He became a born-again Christian and an ordained pastor, and he taught young, upcoming fighters how to box.
Armstrong registered an official record of 149 wins, 21 losses and 10 draws, with 101 knockout wins. Early in his career, he fought some pay fights under the nickname of Melody Jackson.
Armstrong became a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
.
After retiring from boxing, Henry Armstrong became a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister.
On his passing in 1988, he was interred in the Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
External links
- The Official Henry Armstrong Web Site
- Henry Armstrong Foundation Web Site
- Biographical sketch for Henry Armstrong on the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) web site
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