The Newsboy Boxer: Remnant of a Bygone Era

Published

4 years ago

November 4, 2021

The-Newsboy-Boxer-Remnant-of-a-Bygone-Era

In olden days, many boxers were drawn from the ranks of newsboys. The newsboy boxer was a staple of so-called smokers during the early decades of the twentieth century. Some amateur tournaments were restricted to newsboys. The promoters had no trouble finding volunteers.

Some newsboys went on to have Hall of Fame careers. Abe Attell, Tony Canzoneri, Young Corbett III, Pete Herman, Rocky Kansas, Fidel LaBarba, David Montrose, Lew Tendler, and Kid Williams are enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY. There are undoubtedly a few others in there with a newsboy background. Montrose was enshrined under his ring name, Newsboy Brown.

There are different types of newsboys. Many years ago, this reporter had a newspaper route. At the distribution center, copies of the Long Island Press were folded in such a way that they became projectiles which could then be launched on to a homeowner’s stoop without getting off one’s bicycle. The Press was an afternoon paper so there was no conflict with school.

This was the sissified version of a newsboy.

With few exceptions, the newsboys that went on to become boxers were city dwellers who had to hustle to make a little money in the face of fierce competition. They did not have the luxury of a well-defined route free of interlopers like the kids in suburbia. They had to fight to defend their turf.

A boy holding a bunch of newspapers under one arm as he barked out his spiel was once a ubiquitous shard of the urban landscape. The peak years were the years straddling the dawn of the twentieth century when new technologies sharply reduced the cost of producing a newspaper. During the decade of the 1890s, notes the celebrated historian Vincent DiGirolamo in his 2019 opus “Crying The News,” 657 new daily papers emerged in the United States, bringing the total to 2,179. In 1899, there were more than two dozen dailies in New York City alone with a combined circulation of more than a million. Many of the newcomers were tabloids that practiced so-called yellow journalism. They were known for their lurid headlines, a boon to the newsboys who had their hook for roping in passersby who might need a sensational storyline to trigger them into shaking loose a few coins.

During this period, the newsboy demographic changed. Jews and Italians displaced the Irish. Boxing mirrored the transition. Of the Hall of Famers previously mentioned, only Kid Williams, born in Denmark, was unique. Young Corbett III (Raffaele Giordano), Pete Herman (Peter Gulotta), and Rocky Kansas (Rocco Tozzo) were Italian. Montrose was Jewish, as were Attell and Tendler.

There were two diametrically opposed stereotypes of newsboys.

In books for young readers, he was often portrayed as an orphan who would return a lost wallet to its owner with its contents undisturbed. He was applauded for his industriousness. But as the ranks of newsboys were swelled by immigrants and children of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, a pernicious stereotype emerged. Newsboys were now frequently portrayed as truants whose moral fiber, already tattered, was worsened by a life on the streets. Newsboys, it was noted, were more likely to smoke, swear, and gamble than were their non-newsboy peers. At Newsboy Alley in Chicago, one could reportedly find a craps game at any hour of the day.

For some boxers identified either as newsboys or former newsboys, hawking papers was likely an irregular and fleeting occupation. Some may not have been newsboys at all. Old-time sportswriters were notorious for playing loose with the facts. But for some, work as a newsboy continued while their boxing careers were in progress. And newsboys weren’t all boys. There were always adult men in the mix and a smattering of girls and women too. Their percentage increased during periods of economic instability.

Plug the word newsboy into BoxRec and more than 100 citations appear. Monk the Newsboy, a fighter from Providence, Rhode Island, born Harry Kronski, had the distinction of being the last man to defeat George Dixon, knocking the immortal “Little Chocolate” into retirement. Newsboy Millich, who did not confine his fisticuffing to the ring, was one of the great sporting characters in the history of Sacramento.

Millich had more than 100 pro fights, but the prize in this category belonged to Abraham “Abe the Newsboy” Hollandersky who claimed to have had more than a thousand, earning him a citation in the Guinness Book of Records and in Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Abe sold newspapers on the streets of New London, Connecticut before graduating to the life of a maritime newsboy-businessman. Through an arrangement with the Department of the Navy, he acquired a supply boat from which he peddled newspapers and magazines and various sundries such as shaving cream to servicemen aboard military ships. He had his most notable fights in Panama where the U.S. Navy established a large presence during the building of the famous canal.

Abe did so well at his trade that he was able to finance the publication of his memoir. Titled “The Life Story of Abe the Newsboy: Hero of a thousand Fights,” the book went to so many editions that it became almost as commonplace as Pete Rose’s autograph. It is a most curious tome as one would have inferred from this promotional blurb: “a story that has all the charm of conversation…unspoiled by any editorial blue-pencil.”

As author DiGiralamo notes, although young boys hawking papers flooded the sidewalks of cities both big and small, they were yet invisible to social reformers concerned with improving conditions of children working in factories and mills. Part of this owed to the fact that newsboys were independent contractors and there was a great deal of turnover in their ranks. However, some young newsboys were compelled to quit school because of circumstances at home and their lot wasn’t an easy one. Their bosses could raise the wholesale cost of papers on a whim or reduce the number of unsold papers they were willing to take back. Working in harsh weather was a challenge and there were predators on the streets – older boys that coveted their pitch and men with sordid propensities.

In this environment, it figured that many boys would take up the sport of boxing. And as history would show, many proved to be quite good at it.

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Arne K. Lang

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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

Published

6 hours ago

May 11, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12^th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.

The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.

But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.

Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.

Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.

As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.

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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

Published

8 hours ago

May 11, 2025

David A. Avila

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In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.

What do they feed these guys?

Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.

From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.

It was savage.

Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.

Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.

Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.

But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.

Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.

Interim IBF Lightweight Title

The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.

Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.

Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.

Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.

There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.

Muratalla was brief.

“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”

Perla Wins

Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.

Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Published

21 hours ago

May 10, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.

Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.

In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.

Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.

Semi-Wind-Up

Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.

This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.

Other Bouts of Note

In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.

In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.

Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.

A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).

Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry

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