Tommy Ryan (born Joseph Youngs; March 31, 1870 – August 3, 1948) was an American World Welterweight and World Middleweight boxing champion who fought from 1887 to 1907. His simultaneously holding records in both weight classes was a rare and impressive feat for a boxer. His record is a topic that has been up for debate for decades. As of May 2021, Boxrec.com lists his official record as 82–2–13 (68KO). The International Boxing Hall of Fame lists his record as 86–3–6 (22KO). Others list his record anywhere from 86–3–6 (68KO), to 90–6–11 (70KO), to 84–2–11 (70KO). Some historians have even speculated that he held closer to 90 knockouts. Ryan was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the class of 1991.

Boxing career

Ryan was considered by many one of the greatest Middleweights in boxing history. He was the World Middleweight Champion from 1898 to 1906. Some of his opponents included Mysterious Billy Smith, Kid McCoy, Tommy West, and Jack Bonner. After his retirement as a fighter he became a boxing teacher and coach. He was credited with helping devise the crouching technique for defense. During his career of 97 fights he won 82 (70 by knockout), lost 2, with 13 draws. Ryan was considered an excellent boxer-puncher and nearly unbeatable for his time. Ryan first won the welterweight title in a match with

Mysterious Billy Smith William Amos Smith (May 15, 1871 – October 15, 1937) (Aka "Mysterious Billy" Smith) was a Canadian born two-time world welterweight boxing champion of the world: first at age 21 in 1892, then again in 1898 at the age of 27. He became fa ...

on July 26, 1894. He was knocked out by

Kid McCoy Charles "Kid" McCoy (October 13, 1872 – April 18, 1940), born Norman Selby, was an American boxer and early Hollywood actor. He claimed the vacant world middleweight title when he scored an upset victory over Tommy Ryan by 15th round knockou ...

in the 15th round on March 2, 1896. This bout forms part of the lore of the McCoy legend. McCoy served as a sparring partner for Ryan, and absorbed many beatings at the hands of his employer. Ryan was notorious for showing little mercy to his sparring partners. Jim flynn tommy ryan

As a result, McCoy hated Ryan, and sought revenge. It is alleged that McCoy, who appeared thin, pale and frail, persuaded Ryan that he was seriously ill before their fight. McCoy, who was famed as a trickster, purportedly rubbed flour on his face so as to appear deathly ill. Ryan is said to have fallen for the ruse, failed to train properly and was not in top condition for the bout. Whether true or not, McCoy scored an upset win over Ryan in the non-title match. In November 1941, Ryan accepted the position of boxing instructor at the

Multnomah Athletic Club The Multnomah Athletic Club is a Social club, private social and Sports club, athletic club in Portland, Oregon, United States. Located in the Goose Hollow, Portland, Oregon, Goose Hollow neighborhood, it was originally founded in 1891 as the M ...

. A month later, he resigned the position and told ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', "I don't think I would have come west had I known that

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

was barred in the states of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. There is too much money in other sections of the country for me to stick here at a $150 job". Ryan was also instrumental in the career of

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

champion

James J. Jeffries James Jackson "Jim" Jeffries (April 15, 1875 – March 3, 1953) was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion. He was known for his enormous strength and stamina. Using a technique taught to him by his trainer, former Welter ...

. In fact, Ryan is credited with changing Jeffries' stance and teaching him to fight out of a crouch. Ryan also seconded

James J. Corbett James John "Jim" Corbett (September 1, 1866 – February 18, 1933) was an American professional boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated the great John L. Sullivan (hence the " man who beat the man ...

in his second attempt to wrest the heavyweight crown from Jeffries. Corbett however, blamed Ryan's strategy for his defeat. In 2003, Ryan was listed in '' The Ring'' magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Ryan died on August 3, 1948, aged 78.

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from

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 ...

, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

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

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.

References

External links