Thomas Patrick Loughran (November 29, 1902 – July 7, 1982) was an American professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and the former World Light Heavyweight Champion. Statistical boxing website

BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...

lists Loughran as the #7 ranked light heavyweight of all time, while ''

The Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...

'' founder

Nat Fleischer Nathaniel Stanley Fleischer (November 3, 1887 – June 25, 1972) was a noted American boxing writer and collector. Career Fleischer was born in New York City. After he graduated from City College of New York in 1908, Fleischer worked for the ' ...

placed him at #4.Cyber Boxing Encyclopedia - Tommy Loughran
CyberBoxingZone.com Retrieved on 2014-04-30All-Time Light Heavyweight Rankings
BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-04-11. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Loughran as the 6th best light heavyweight ever.All-Time Light Heavyweight Rankings
IBROresearch.com Retrieved on 2014-04-29 Loughran was named the ''Ring Magazines Fighter of the Year twice, first in 1929 and again 1931.Tommy Loughran (1902-1982) Historical Marker
ExplorePAHistory.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-07. He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1956 and the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

in 1991.

Boxing career

Loughran was one of seven children of an Irish immigrant motorman. His effective use of coordinated foot work, sound defense and swift, accurate counter punching is now regarded as a precursor to the techniques practiced in modern boxing. Loughran fought many middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight champions in his career, including

Gene Tunney James Joseph Tunney (May 25, 1897 – November 7, 1978) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1915 to 1928. He held the world heavyweight title from 1926 to 1928, and the American light heavyweight title twice between 1922 and 1 ...

Jack Sharkey Jack Sharkey (born Joseph Paul Zukauskas, lt, Juozas Povilas Žukauskas, October 26, 1902 – August 17, 1994) was a Lithuanian-American world heavyweight boxing champion. Boxing career He took his ring name from his two idols, heavyweight ...

, and

Georges Carpentier Georges Carpentier (; 12 January 1894 – 28 October 1975) was a French boxer, actor and World War I pilot. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908 to 1926. Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood and ...

. Loughran even achieved a

newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club ...

over fistic phenom

Harry Greb Edward Henry Greb (June 6, 1894 – October 22, 1926) was an American professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Pittsburgh Windmill", he is widely regarded by many boxing historians as one of the best pound for pound boxers of all time. He was the Ame ...

, whom he first met at age 19. As a light heavyweight, he defeated two future world heavyweight champions:

Max Baer Max Baer may refer to: * Max Baer (boxer) (1909–1959), American boxing world champion ** Max Baer Jr. Maximilian Adelbert Baer Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, producer, comedian, and director widely known for his role as ...

and

James J. Braddock James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937. Fighting under the name James J. Braddock (ostensibly to follow the pattern set by two prior world boxing ...

. Loughran finally fought

Primo Carnera Primo may refer to: People *DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo * Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934 *Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino cr ...

for the heavyweight title but lost a decision.Tommy Loughran's Professional Boxing Record
BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-18. In an interview late in life, Loughran said his loss to Carnera was a pre-arranged ''fait accompli'': "I had to knock him out to win, I had to agree to that". Footage of the fight is limited and scarce, but Loughran contended he had Carnera in trouble in Rounds 4 and 10, "but then, when I couldn't finish him, I knew the thing was over". The decision a foregone conclusion, Tommy Loughran told Peter Heller in April, 1972, "I beat (Carnera), no question about it".

Later life

On August 22, 1957, he refereed

Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in hi ...

's defense of his heavyweight title vs. 1956 Olympic gold medalist

Pete Rademacher Thomas Peter Rademacher (November 20, 1928 – June 4, 2020) was an American heavyweight boxer. A gold medalist at the 1956 Olympics, he became the only person to challenge for the world heavyweight championship in his first professional bo ...

, at Sick's Stadium,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. The fight was notable in that Rademacher was the first and only fighter to challenge for the heavyweight crown in his professional debut. There were several knockdowns in the fight; Tommy counted out the challenger at 2:57 of the 6th round. In the 1960s Loughran retired from having been a long-time, successful broker on Wall Street, where he had dealt in commodities (sugar). He became a keynote speaker, appearing at dinners and banquets, his message an attempt to promote and strengthen the image of boxers and boxing at what for the sport was a troubled time. In addition, Tommy lent color commentary to at least one championship bout, Carlos Ortiz vs. Johnny Bizarro in Pittsburgh, June 20, 1966. In 2006, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission raised a historical marker in front of St. Monica's Roman Catholic Church, in his old neighborhood, and reads in part: He boxed during the "Golden Age of Boxing" in many weight classes, beating 10 champs in his 18-year career. The "Philly Phantom" had a scientific style, built on precision and maneuverability rather than brute force. Considered a gentleman both in and out of the ring. Loughran was devoted to his neighborhood and church here.

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from

, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All

s are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of

s in the win/loss/draw column.

References

, - , -

External links

*
2 minute movie of Loughran vs Jimmy Delaney
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loughran, Tommy 1902 births 1982 deaths American male boxers American people of Irish descent American Roman Catholics Boxers from Philadelphia Heavyweight boxers Light-heavyweight boxers United States Marines World boxing champions