Ike Weir
| Ike Weir | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Isaac O'Neil Weir |
| Nickname(s) | The Belfast Spider |
| Rated at | Featherweight |
| Height | 5 ft 5.5 in (1.66 m) |
| Nationality | Irish-American |
| Born |
February 5, 1867 Lurgan, Ireland |
| Died | September 12, 1908 (aged 41) Charlestown, Massachusetts |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 40 |
| Wins | 28 |
| Wins by KO | 19 |
| Losses | 3 |
| Draws | 9 |
Ike Weir (February 5, 1867 – September 12, 1908) was an Irish born American boxer, credited with being the first man to take the Featherweight Championship of the World in a match against Frank Murphy on March 31, 1889 in Kouts, Indiana. The fight was billed as a World Featherweight Title, and went an astounding eighty rounds, though it was officially declared a draw. Some sources may credit Weir with taking the World Title as early as 1887 in his knockout title wins over Jack Farrell in Ridgefield, New Jersey on January 24, or Jack Williams in Westerly Rhode, Island, on March 10. Weir first claimed the title in his win over Farrell.
He was recognized by most sources to have lost the title on January 13, 1890 to Torpedo Billy Murphy in a fourteenth-round knockout in San Francisco, California.
Weir was born on February 5, 1867, in Lurgan, Ireland (now Northern Ireland, UK) when all Ireland was part of the United Kingdom and grew up near Belfast. His father was a breeder, buyer, and trainer of thoroughbred horses for the gentry. Weir was somewhat dark complected with curly hair, blue eyes, and a lean build. He was well educated and had a fondness for books, and music. His shooting skills with both gun and pistol were noteworthy, and he was a fine pianist, having taken music education at an early age. Lighthearted and a serious entertainer, he was known to dance an Irish Jig on occasion for the entertainment of his fans or even to perform a handstand or backflip in the ring. Beginning work as a cross country jockey in Preston, England before taking up boxing, he had a fondness for horses from an early age. His ring name "spider" may have had an origin in his thin arms and legs, or a result of the spider like riding crouch he assumed as a jockey.
On October 5, 1885, he entered an amateur boxing contest in Manchester, England, where he defeated Stewart of Bradford, and Bill Palon, before being beaten by Joe Fielden who was thirty pounds heavier than Weir. His official boxing debut was on October 9, 1885 against W. Harlow in Salford, Lancashire, England. His first serious boxing instruction was obtained in Liverpool. He defeated Billy Sykes in Liverpool in four rounds on points using English boxing rules. In the next two years, before his first bout with Tommy Warren, he won ten of fourteen fights, with only four being considered draws.
Having difficulty finding bouts in England, at the age of twenty-one, he arrived in Boston on March 10, 1886, and won a three-round contest with Willie Snee. He would remain in the U.S. the rest of his life. In his next American battle in Boston on October 29, 1917, he put James Furman on the canvas in a surprising fifth-round technical knockout which allowed him to be matched with better known boxer Martin Burns on November fifth of the following week. He knocked out Burns in six difficult rounds in Boston.
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