Joe Bernstein (boxer)
| Joe Bernstein | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Youselle Bernstein |
| Nickname(s) | Pride of the Ghetto Pride of the Bowery |
| Weight(s) | Featherweight |
| Nationality | American 
|
| Born |
November 7, 1877 New York City, Lower East Side |
| Died | January 21, 1930 (aged 52) New York City |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 85 |
| Wins | 28 |
| Wins by KO | 7 |
| Losses | 29 |
| Draws | 27 |
| No contests | 1 |
Featherweight Joe Bernstein (November 7, 1877 – 1931) was one of the first great boxers to emerge from New York's Lower East Side. He fought for the championship three times, but lost all three bouts, often in close matches. Nicknamed "The Pride of the Ghetto" in the 1890s, his championship fights endeared him to newly arriving Jewish immigrants.
Bernstein began fighting professionally at only sixteen in 1894. On July 27, 1896, he met Dolly Lyons, a well known Jewish Bantamweight and Featherweight in an eight-round draw at the Palm Athletic Club in New York. Bernstein would take on Lyons twice more, beating him in a twenty-round decision in Brooklyn in March 1899 in what was likely a large audience. The March, 1899 bout with Bernstein is considered Lyons last recorded fight. Lyons had previously fought Maxey Haugh in front of a crowd of 25,000 in May 1896 in Coney Island. Going against a well known Jewish boxer from Brooklyn who could draw such impressive crowds brought Bernstein to the attention of a large Jewish audience early in his career.
David Stewart, alderman, married Bernstein and Annie Morris, an entertainer, in Brooklyn's City Hall on May 14, 1898.
He eventually fought the best men in his division. His first Featherweight Title match went a full twenty five rounds with Featherweight Champion and Hall of Famer George Dixon. It took place on June 2, 1899 at the Broadway Athletic Club in Brooklyn. Bernstein lost in a grueling match.
Dixon had just taken the Featherweight title from Dave Sullivan on November 11, 1898. He held it until January 1900. Bernstein had previously boxed Dixon to a six-round no decision on September 15,1898 in Philadelphia shortly before Dixon had retaken the title.
The 23-year-old Bernstein had another shot at the title after defeating former champ Solly Smith twice in New York, once by knockout. This time, on November 2, 1900, he battled the legendary Featherweight ChampionTerry McGovern. In his second attempt at the title, Bernstein was knocked out in the seventh round in Louisville.
Bernstein also fought the exceptional boxer Benny Yanger, the "Tipton Slasher", one of the few featherweights to ever beat Featherweight champion Abe Attell. Bernstein lost to Yanger on December 18, 1901 in six rounds in Chicago. He lost to Yanger again in six rounds in Chicago on February 10, 1902. Two months later, Yanger beat Attell on April 24, 1902 in a very rough nineteenth-round TKO in St Louis but was never given the title, though the bout was advertised as a Featherweight championship by some sources.
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