Clarence Henry (27 March 1926 – 28 February 1999) was an American boxer who won the 1948 Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions and was a highly ranked heavyweight contender during the 1950s. He was in line to fight heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.

Career

Born in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

and raised in

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, Henry won the 1948 ''

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'' Golden Gloves heavyweight championship, going on to win the national Golden Gloves championship in Chicago that year. In April 1948, he defeated Belgian Fernand Bothy as part the Chicago Golden Gloves Team representing the United States. Henry was small for a heavyweight but had an explosive punch. Fighting out of Los Angeles, he won the Heavyweight Championship of California and the Heavyweight Championship of the Pacific Coast. On June 26, 1952, Henry fought

Archie Moore Archie Moore (born Archibald Lee Wright; December 13, 1913 – December 9, 1998) was an American professional boxer and the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time (December 1952 – May 1962). He had one of the longest ...

six months before Moore won the light-heavyweight title from

Joey Maxim Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli (March 28, 1922 – June 2, 2001) was an American professional boxer. He was a World Light Heavyweight Champion. He took the ring-name Joey Maxim from the Maxim gun, the world's first self-acting machine gun, based ...

. Weighing 184¾ lbs. to Moore's 176 lbs., he lost a unanimous decision in 10 rounds at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. At his peak, he was the third-ranked heavyweight contender.

Arrest and retirement

In 1949, former heavyweight champ

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

became his manager, though gangster Frank "Blinky" Palermo eventually owned his contract. On June 4, 1954, Henry was arrested in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

for attempting to bribe Oakland, California middleweight Bobby Jones to throw his June 11 match in Madison Square Garden with

Joey Giardello Carmine Orlando Tilelli (July 16, 1930 – September 4, 2008) was an American boxer who was the world middleweight champion from 1963 to 1965,. He adopted the name Joey Giardello (the name of a cousin's friend) in order to join the U.S. Army whi ...

of Philadelphia, a future world's middleweight champion. Henry allegedly offered $15,000 (equivalent to approximately $ in today's funds) to Jones to throw the fight, which Giardello subsequently won in a close decision. He retired from the ring that year.\ He was forced to retire because of injuries sustained to his eyes in the boxing ri

Legacy

Clarence Henry was elected to the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998, the year before his death.

Championships and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...

**Boxing Honoree (1992)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Clarence 1926 births 1999 deaths African-American boxers Sportspeople from San Antonio Boxers from Los Angeles Sportspeople involved in betting scandals National Golden Gloves champions American male boxers Boxers from Texas Heavyweight boxers 20th-century African-American sportspeople