Eddie Martin (boxer)
| Eddie Martin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Eduardo Vittoria Martino |
| Nickname(s) | "Cannonball" Eddie Martin |
| Rated at | Bantamweight |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
| Reach | 65 in (165 cm) |
| Nationality |
 American |
| Born |
February 26, 1903 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | August 27, 1966 (aged 63) Brooklyn, New York |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 101 |
| Wins | 82 |
| Wins by KO | 29 |
| Losses | 14 |
| Draws | 4 |
| No contests | 1 |
"Cannonball" Eddie Martin became the World Bantamweight Champion on December 19, 1924 in a close fifteen round split decision against Abe Goldstein at New York's Madison Square Garden.
He held the title only three months, losing decisively to Jewish boxer Charlie "Phil" Rosenberg in a fifteen round unanimous decision on March 25, 1925 in Madison Square Garden. Martin fought many boxers who at one time held titles, including Featherweight and Jr. Lightweight World Champion Johnny Dundee, Super Featherweight World Champion Tod Morgan, and World Lightweight Champion Al Singer. He also met the lesser known boxers, Johnny Curtin, Willie O'Connell, Johnny Vestri, and Wilbur Cohen.
Hoping originally to play baseball as a short stop in the Major Leagues, Martin quit high school before graduation to pursue a professional career in the ring, against the wishes of his father. His father, who had been a successful caterer, had white collar ambitions for his son. Eddie was the sixth of nine sons and five daughters of father Giustino Martino, who managed his large Italian family with his wife in Brooklyn, New York. Several of his older siblings died before he became bantamweight champion. One of his earliest mentors was boxer Mike Doherty, who recognized his early talent as an amateur and managed him throughout his career. His other manager was Mel Cooke.
He began fighting in the Brooklyn area in December 1921, winning thirteen of his first fourteen fights, with an impressive five by knockout or technical knockout.
Between November 3, 1922 and November 6, 1924, Martin had an astonishing winning streak of 48 victories and only one draw, winning seventeen by knockout or technical knockout. He fought in this two year period almost exclusively in the Brooklyn and wider New York area, with four bouts at Madison Square Garden.
On December 19, 1924, Martin won the World Bantamweight Title against Abe Goldstein in a split decision in fifteen rounds before an impressive crowd of around 13,000 at New York's Madison Square Garden. Showing boxing dominance at an early age, Martin had only recently turned twenty-one. He had not been allowed to box in fifteen rounders by the New York State Boxing Commission until reaching that age. Some newspapers wrote that the close bout should have gone to Goldstein and that the match was marred by too much clinching for which Goldstein was cautioned at one point. Though both boxers, particularly Martin, showed aggressiveness in the bout, one newspaper noted "Goldstein weakened toward the end, and it was only by dint of holding that he saved himself from the Cannonballs's rushes." Though "in round twelve Abe's right reached Martin's jaw half a dozen times", Martin seemed to last through Goldstein's best shots. One source characterized the referee's ruling in the bout as a "razor thin decision."
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