Matty Matthews
| Matty Matthews | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | William Robert Matthews |
| Rated at | Welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m) |
| Nationality | American 
|
| Born |
July 13, 1873 New York City |
| Died | December 6, 1948 (aged 75) Brooklyn, New York |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 101 |
| Wins | 58 |
| Wins by KO | 25 |
| Losses | 24 |
| Draws | 19 |
| No contests | 0 |
William "Matty" Matthews (July 13, 1873 – December 6, 1948) was an American boxer of the early 20th century born and raised in New York City. He was the world welterweight champion twice between 1900 and 1901, and was one of the first boxing world champions to regain his crown. Johnny Dunn, also known as a sports announcer, was his primary manager, particularly during his reign as world welterweight champion.
Matthews was born and raised in the lower East side of New York City in the Brooklyn area, near Corlear's Hook, on July 18, 1873, and excelled at baseball as a childhood sport, particularly pitching. In his early life, he gained strength as a truck driver delivering cases of tea. Boxing referee Charley White may have acted as his earliest manager and arranged his first bout with local boxer Johnny Bennis, who he knocked out in telling fashion. He had several jobs in manual labor, at one time building ships in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Matthews began boxing around 1893, and by July 1896, had won seven of his better publicized bouts with only one loss and two draws.
On February 11, 1896, he knocked out Nick Collins in seven rounds at the Palm Athletic Club in New York. Though Collins was not as accomplished a boxer as Matthews would soon face in his career, the win was convincing and helped him to gain recognition.
On October 29, 1896, Matthews knocked out English born boxer Stanton Abbott in the seventh of fifteen rounds at the Empire Athletic Club, in Buffalo, New York before a crowd of around 2,000. According to several sources, Abbott took the English lightweight title at 132 pounds in January 1893 at the National Sporting Club in London. Matthews employed a low crouch in the fight and seemed to be dominant throughout. He overwhelmed his opponent, who at several times seemed to have trouble effectively countering his blows.
On April 10, 1897, Matthews defeated Mike Farragher in a second round technical knockout at the National Sporting Club in New York. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote that Farragher slipped in the second round avoiding a swing, hitting his head against a post, and was unable to continue, but many in the crowd felt the bout may have been fixed and Farragher's fall was staged. The lights were dimmed as a result of the crowd's reaction, and order prevailed as the crowd filed out under the watch of the police present. The Baltimore Sun wrote that the blow that caused the knockout was a strong right to Farragher's jaw.
On December 21, 1897, Matthews won a twenty round points decision against Mike Leonard at the Rienzi Athletic Club in Rochester, New York. Leonard faced most of the better welterweights of his day. Matthews had drawn with Leonard the previous year.
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