Kid Lavigne
Encyclopedia
George Henry "Kid" Lavigne (December 6, 1869 - March 9, 1928) was an American boxer from Michigan. He was the second American boxer to hold the lightweight
champion, winning the title on June 1, 1896.
He fought Andy Bowen
in 1894 and beat him by knockout. The next morning Andy Bowen never woke up and was pronounced dead. The injuries sustained during the fight was from when Lavigne hit Bowen and knocked him down. Bowen's head hit the "canvas" which was made out of wood at the time. At first Lavigne was arrested for the death of Bowen but was found to be innocent of any wrongdoing.
In 1896 Lavigne won the lightweight championship in London against Dick Burge by a technical knockout. He successfully defended his title six times, including against Joe Walcott in 1897, a fight he won by technical knockout. He lost the title to Frank Erne in 1899.
Before he lost his title, however, he fought Mysterious Billy Smith
for the welterweight
title but lost due to his brother entering the ring during the match.
He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
in 1998.
wrote a poem eulogizing Kid Lavigne called "Kid Lavigne is Dead".
Lightweight
Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
champion, winning the title on June 1, 1896.
Pro career
Kid Lavigne became a professional boxer in 1886 and was undefeated going 31-0-6-2 in his first 40 fights.He fought Andy Bowen
Andy Bowen
Andy Bowen was an American boxer from New Orleans. His promising career was cut short due to in ring injuries suffered in a fight against Kid Lavigne in his home town of New Orleans. He was 27....
in 1894 and beat him by knockout. The next morning Andy Bowen never woke up and was pronounced dead. The injuries sustained during the fight was from when Lavigne hit Bowen and knocked him down. Bowen's head hit the "canvas" which was made out of wood at the time. At first Lavigne was arrested for the death of Bowen but was found to be innocent of any wrongdoing.
In 1896 Lavigne won the lightweight championship in London against Dick Burge by a technical knockout. He successfully defended his title six times, including against Joe Walcott in 1897, a fight he won by technical knockout. He lost the title to Frank Erne in 1899.
Before he lost his title, however, he fought Mysterious Billy Smith
Mysterious Billy Smith
Mysterious Billy Smith was a Canadian boxer. He turned pro in 1890, and in his ninth fight knocked out Danny Needham to win the welterweight championship in 1892. He held on to it until Tommy Ryan beat him on points in 1894. He won back the vacant title in 1898 by beating Matty Matthews, and lost...
for the welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
title but lost due to his brother entering the ring during the match.
He was inducted into 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...
in 1998.
In other media
Writer Robert E. HowardRobert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
wrote a poem eulogizing Kid Lavigne called "Kid Lavigne is Dead".