Bob Fitzsimmons

Bob Fitzsimmons, origin. Robert James Fitzsimmons, ( born May 26, 1863 in Helston, Cornwall, † October 22, 1917 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois ) was a British boxer and world champion at middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.

The the then nine-year Fitzsimmons family emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Timaru. In operation of his brother he learned the blacksmith's trade, which he developed a very strong upper body, his legs should have been spindly compared to the other hand.

His first World Championship title won Fitzsimmons on January 14, 1891 at middleweight in a fight in New Orleans against the Irish Jack Dempsey. He won by knockout in the thirteenth round.

The heavyweight title he won on March 17, 1897 against Jim Corbett in Carson City, Nevada by way of knockout in the fourteenth round. The meeting with Corbett is one of the earliest boxing matches, of which there are moving pictures. After today's standards Fitzsimmons was a super middleweight with a weight of 76 Kg and won his fights often through body Hits.

On 9 June 1899, he lost in Brooklyn, New York, the World Cup in the first defense of the title to Jim Jeffries, as he went down in the eleventh round and was counted.

He was the first boxer then succeeded him on 25 November 1903 in San Francisco by a point win against George Gardner also to win the light heavyweight title. Fitzsimmons was now forty years old.

His last big fight, he played with 46 years on December 27, 1909 against Bill Lang in Sydney at the Australian heavyweight title, but was defeated by knockout in the twelfth round.

1990 Fitzsimmons was induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.