Solly Seeman
| Solly Seeman | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Shulim Seeman |
| Rated at | Lightweight |
| Nationality |
American 
|
| Born |
February 26, 1902 Lemberg, Austria |
| Died | March 11, 1989 (aged 87) Miami Beach, Florida |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 81 |
| Wins | 53 |
| Wins by KO | 10 |
| Losses | 13 |
| Draws | 13 |
| No contests | 2 |
Solly Seeman was the 1920 AAU National Featherweight Amateur Champion. He was a legitimate contender for the Lightweight Champion of the World during March and April 1925, when he won the first two rounds of the NYSAC World Lightweight Elimination tournament. Ring Magazine rated him fifth among World Lightweight Contenders in 1925.
Seeman took the Pacific Coast Lightweight Championship in 1922, and the Pacific Coast Jr. Lightweight Championship in 1923.
Solly Seeman was born on February 26, 1902 in Lemberg, Austria. In 1908, his father Solomon, after serving in the Austrian army, moved his wife and six year old Solly to New York's Lower East Side. Seeman grew up one of six children. When his family moved to Yorktown, he began regular supervised boxing training at the YMCA on 92nd Street. From his earliest years he showed a rare balance of speed, cleverness, and a solid punch. As the Milwaukee Sentinel later noted, Seeman "displayed a shifty style, a world of speed, and a punishing right hand."
At only seventeen, the gifted redhead won both the Metropolitan and State Flyweight Amateur Championships, than defeated William Parker in Boston for the Amateur Featherweight National Title. Though qualifying for the Olympic Trials in 1920, he chose instead to begin his professional career in order to earn money for his sister and father who were suffering from TB, a common ailment in the New York ghetto.
Fighting as a featherweight in his professional debut on February 25, 1919, he aggressively won over veteran boxer Bobby Dobbs in the Manhattan Casino on November 29, 1921. In his first year of boxing he beat featherweight title contender Willie Davis in November 1921 in the Bronx, as well as Sammy Vogel. He beat Mickey Brown twice in March and April 1921, with the March fight actually being given to Seeman a week later in a reversal by New York Boxing Commission, according to the New York Times.
According to boxing writer Ken Blady, Seeman won the Pacific Coast Jr. Lightweight Title by beating Eddie Duggins in San Francisco in 1922 and the Pacific Coast Lightweight title by beating Benny Vierra in San Francisco, in 1923.
He lost to the previous Jr. Lightweight Champion Jack Bernstein on July 8, 1922.
In the only chance he was given in a sanctioned Lightweight World Title Competition, Seeman first defeated Frankie LaFay on February 27, 1925 in the first round of an elimination tournament. He then defeated Charlie O'Connell in a fifteen round bout in Madison Square Garden on March 9, before seven thousand fans, who cheered his victory at the end of the close bout.
On April 24, in the semi-final bout of the tournament, he knocked out Larry Regan in the third round in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Winning by a knockout in a critical bout showed Seeman's ability to deliver a strong punch even against a quality competitor with defensive skills. He may have overtrained for his final tournament bout with French boxer Benny Valgar, and lost in a close ten round decision in Queensboro Stadium on May 18, 1925.
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Wikipedia