Ruby Goldstein
| Ruby Goldstein | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Reuven Goldstein |
| Nickname(s) | The Jewel of the Ghetto |
| Rated at |
lightweight welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 4.5 in (1.64 m) |
| Nationality |
 American |
| Born |
October 7, 1907 Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York |
| Died | April 23, 1984 (aged 76) Miami Beach, Florida |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 60 |
| Wins | 54 |
| Wins by KO | 38 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Reuven "Ruby" Goldstein (October 7, 1907 – April 23, 1984), the "Jewel Of The Ghetto," was an American boxer and prize fight referee. He was a serious World Lightweight Championship contender in the 1920s, and became one of America's most trusted and respected boxing referees in the 1950s. During his boxing career, he was trained and managed by Hymie Cantor.
Ruby Goldstein was born on Cherry Street, in a small three room apartment on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. His widowed mother, whose husband had died a few months before Goldstein was born, took in sewing and washing in an effort to raise her four children. Before he became a referee, Goldstein boxed professionally from 1925 to 1937. Nicknamed the "Jewel Of The Ghetto," Goldstein was a smooth boxing, hard punching lightweight and later welterweight with a large following in his hometown of New York City. He lost only six fights in his professional career and had an astounding 70 percent of his wins were by knockout or technical knockout.
Goldstein dropped out of school around 14 to take an office job, but was boxing as an amateur by sixteen. He started his boxing training as an anemic looking bantamweight at around 125 pounds, and boxed almost exclusively in the lightweight range between 1923–28, impressively winning all but three of his first thirty-two fights from December 1924 and June 15, 1927. On that date he lost to the extraordinary, Sid Terris in a first-round knockout at the Polo Grounds in New York City. Terris was considered by many to have been one of the fastest lightweights of the era, as well as possessing the best defensive skills.
On May 11, 1925 Goldstein won a six-round points decision against Ray Mitchell at the Pioneer Sporting Club in New York City.
On May 17, 1926, Goldstein, fighting at 136 1/2 pounds, won a sixth-round technical knockout against Tony Vacarelli in Madison Square Garden. The Scranton Republican wrote that "Goldstein...scored a technical knockout over a rugged veteran, Tony Vacarelli in the middle of he final round. Goldstein, hailed as a lightweight championship prospect, gave a dazzling exhibition of footwork, boxing skill and hitting, battering Vacarelli into such helplessness that the referee stopped the fight." It was an impressive win as Vacarelli had not previously been knocked out.
According to some boxing historians, Goldstein could not take a hard punch to the chin as well as some top contenders, and was stopped in the three major fights he fought against Jimmy McLarnin, Ace Hudkins, and fellow New Yorker Terris as a result. His youth, reckless management, and the exceptional quality of his opponents could also explain his knockout losses. He met Hudkins as a lightweight on June 25, 1926 at Coney Island Stadium in Brooklyn, before 18,000 fans, losing in a fourth-round knockout. Hudkins took the Nebraska State Lightweight title in February 1924. Hudkins was down on the mat for a count of five in the first round from a right cross to the jaw, and Goldstein appeared to be winning the bout. Goldstein took the second round by a good margin, with the third close to a draw. In the fourth, Hudkins floored Goldstein twice with rights and lefts, before ending the bout with a right to the jaw for the final count of ten, with Goldstein down on the mat still holding to the ropes. Goldstein was only eighteen at the time of the bout, and may have lacked the defensive skills or endurance to withstand the blows of Hudkins. He had not been knocked out before, and according to the Lincoln Star, had won twenty-three consecutive bouts prior to the match.
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