Lee Anderson (July 17, 1889 – June 1970) was a boxer who fought between 1914 and 1929. The 5'10" Anderson fought out of Oakland, California as a

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

. He was the first holder of the World Colored Light Heavyweight title. On May 30, 1921, he fought

Kid Norfolk Kid Norfolk (born William Ward, 10 July 1893 – 15 April 1968) was an American professional boxer who fought as a Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight from 1910 through 1926, holding wins over many notable boxers of his day including Joe Jeanette ...

for the new colored light heavyweight title in a scheduled 10-round bout in Phoenix, Arizona. Anderson won on a T.K.O. when Norfolk returned to his corner in the ninth round, being unable to continue to fight. (They would meet another three times in non-title bouts between 1922 and 1924, and The Kid prevailed each time.) Anderson defended the title on the Fourth of July 1921 in a 10-round bout in Phoenix, Arizona, beating Rough House Ware on points. When Norfolk fought The Jamaica Kid on December 20, 1921 at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in New York City, he had claimed the world colored light heavyweight title. He beat the Jamaica Kid on points in an eight-round bout. In Atlanta on January 30, 1922, Norfolk faced Tiger Flowers, the boxer who would become the first African American world middleweight champ in 1926, K.O.-ing him in third round of a 10-rounder. He apparently had vacated the title when he met reigning colored heavyweight champ

Harry Wills Harry may refer to: TV shows *Harry (American TV series), ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin *Harry (British TV series), ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons *Harry ...

on March 2, 1922 in

in New York City for a 15-round bout, losing to the great champion via a K.O. in the second round. Wills outweighed him by 25¾ lbs. On May 9 of that year, Lee Anderson took on Tiger Flowers in

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju� ...

, Mexico, for a 15-round bout to determine the colored light heavyweight title. Anderson won his second colored crown when he K.O.-ed Flowers in the seventh round. Anderson apparently vacated the title in turn, and Kid Norfolk took the crown title for the second time one day short of a year later, on May 8, 1923, when he K.O.-ed Flowers at 2:50 in the first round of a scheduled 12-rounder. The title then went into abeyance. Anderson retired from the ring. By 1942, he was living in a boardinghouse in Harlem and working as a stevedore on the Hudson River waterfront. John Henry Lewis became the first black world light heavyweight champion in 1935. In his career, Anderson racked up a record of 36 wins (15 by

K.O. A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

, 32 losses (K.O.-ed four times) and 12 draws, plus eight newspaper decisions, in which he won two, lost two, and had two draws.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Lee African-American boxers 1889 births 1970 deaths Boxers from Georgia (U.S. state) Light-heavyweight boxers World colored light heavyweight boxing champions Sportspeople from Oakland, California People from McDuffie County, Georgia American male boxers 20th-century African-American sportspeople