Abe Goldstein

Abe Goldstein
Goldstein as a Young Boxer circa 1918
Statistics
Real name	Abraham Attell Goldstein
Rated at	Bantamweight
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Nationality	American
Born	(1898-09-10)September 10, 1898 New York, New York
Died	February 12, 1977(1977-02-12) (aged 78) New York, New York
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	135
Wins	101
Wins by KO	35
Losses	24
Draws	9
No contests	1

Abe Goldstein (September 10, 1898 – February 12, 1977) was an American bantamweight boxer from New York. He defeated Joe Lynch to become World Bantamweight champion on March 21, 1924, in Madison Square Garden, and was ranked the #5 bantamweight of all time by boxing Manager Charley Rose. He worked with the famous New York trainer Ray Arcel.

He successfully defended the title twice the year he took it, against Charles Ledoux and Tommy Ryan, before losing to Eddie "Cannonball" Martin in a 15-round decision on December 19, 1924. He had an unsuccessful attempt at the American Flyweight Championship early in his career against Johnny Buff and fought Pancho Villa, another holder of the American Flyweight Title in a non-title match.

Goldstein was born in the slums of New York's lower East side on September 10, 1898, and spent some of his early years in an orphanage. His widowed mother made a living wheeling a pushcart in New York's Lower East Side, occasionally having to steal rolls from local bakeries to feed her family. He got his earliest ring experience with Nat Osk, the athletic instructor at the 92nd YMHA of Manhattan, who taught him elementary boxing. After fighting for three years as an amateur flyweight, Willie Lewis, who usually acted as his promoter, took note of his potential and developed him into an exceptional young contender. He won a series of amateur titles including the Metropolitan, New York State, New England, Middle Atlantic, and National Titles for amateurs at the weight of 112 pounds. Ray Arcel, his exceptional trainer, began working with him even before he turned professional in 1916. Unlike several of Arcel's bantamweight fighters, Goldstein rarely had trouble making weight, a trick (problem) for many bantams. According to Arcel, "The one thing we had on our side was that Abe could eat a ton of bricks and never weight more than 116 pounds."

In his first forty professional fights, he was reputed to have lost only five times by points decisions. Of Goldstein's first 40 bouts, 16 wins were by knockout.

He had several losses in 1920. One was to Paddy Owens on September 18, 1920 in a twelve round points decision in Waterbury, Connecticut. Of his August 21, 1920 twelve round loss by newspaper decision to Young Montreal in Hartford, Connecticut, the Boston Post wrote that Montreal was "far and away the cleverer boxer" and his hooks, "took a heavy toll from Goldstein's strength." Perhaps his most important early loss was in a non-title fight with bantamweight champion Joe Lynch in an eleventh round knockout in Madison Square Garden on November 5, 1920, when Goldstein was substituting for another boxer. A left and a right to the chin of Goldstein ended the bout, but the two would meet again four years later.