Sam Langford
| Sam Langford | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Sam Langford, "The Boston Tar Baby", African Canadian boxer and Australian heavyweight champion, photograph 1912
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| Statistics | |
| Real name | Samuel E. Langford |
| Nickname(s) | Boston Tar Baby, Boston Terror, Boston Bonecrusher, Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows |
| Rated at | |
| Height | 5 ft 7 1⁄2 in (1.71 m) |
| Reach | 74 in (188 cm) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Born |
March 4, 1883 Weymouth Falls, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Died | January 12, 1956 (aged 72) Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 256 |
| Wins | 180 |
| Wins by KO | 128 |
| Losses | 29 |
| Draws | 39 |
Samuel "Sam" E. Langford, known as the Boston Tar Baby, Boston Terror, and Boston Bonecrusher (March 4, 1883 – January 12, 1956) was a Black Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows", by ESPN, many boxing historians consider Langford to be one of, if not the greatest fighter of all time. Originally from Weymouth Falls, a small community in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was known as "The Boston Bonecrusher", "The Boston Terror", and his most infamous nickname, "The Boston Tar Baby". Langford stood 5 ft 7 1⁄2 in (1.71 m) and weighed 185 lb (84 kg) in his prime. He fought from lightweight to heavyweight and defeated many world champions and legends of the time in each weight class. Considered a devastating puncher even at heavyweight, Langford was rated No. 2 by The Ring on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". One boxing historian described Langford as "experienced as a heavyweight James Toney with the punching power of Mike Tyson".
He was denied a shot at many World Championships, due to the color bar and by the refusal, of Jack Johnson, the first African-American World Heavyweight Champion, to fight him. Langford was the World Colored Heavyweight Champion, a title vacated, by Johnson, after he won the World Championship, a record five times. Many boxing aficionados consider Langford to be the greatest boxer not to win a world title. BoxRec ranks him as the 2nd greatest heavyweight of all-time, the 12th greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all-time and the greatest Canadian boxer of all-time.
Langford was a boxer who fought greats from the lightweight division right up to the heavyweights, beating many champions in the process. However, he was never able to secure a world title for himself. Langford was simply too good and, as a result, was ducked by many champions. Despite the fact Langford never received his rightful chance at the heavyweight title because of Jack Johnson's refusal to risk his crown against Langford, Ring magazine founder Nat Fleischer rated Langford as one of the ten best heavyweights of all time. Renowned champion Jack Dempsey claimed that as a young boxer in 1916 he refused a fight with Langford. According to Dempsey: "I think Sam Langford was the greatest fighter we ever had."
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Wikipedia