The World Colored Welterweight Championship was a title that existed during the time of the
color bar in professional boxing.
On 26 July 1936,
Herbert Lewis Hardwick
Herbert Lewis Hardwick Arroyo (May 2, 1914 – December 27, 1966), also known as "Cocoa Kid", was a Puerto Rican boxer of African descent who fought primarily as a welterweight but also in the middleweight division. Hardwick won the World Colore ...
("The Cocoa Kid") met
Young Peter Jackson at Heinemann Park in
in a 10-round title bout referred by
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 ...
, the former three-time
World Colored Heavyweight Champ. The Cocoa Kid won via a technical knock-out in the second round.
He made four defenses of the title. On September 22 of that year at the same venue, he defeated Jackie Elverillo on points in 10 rounds. On 11 June 1937, at the Coliseum Arena in
, The Kid fought his old nemesis
Holman Williams
Holman Williams (January 30, 1915 in Pensacola, Florida – July 15, 1967) was a world welterweight and middleweight boxing contender. Williams is a member of the infamous Murderers' Row, a group of black fighters who were never able to get a worl ...
, prevailing in a close fight, winning a decision in the 12-rounder. ''
Ring Magazine'' had donated a championship belt for the bout.
The Kid successfully defended his title against
Black Canadian boxer Sonny Jones at the
Valley Arena in
Holyoke, Massachusetts on 15 November 1937, in a bout refereed by former world heavyweight champ
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 ...
. The Kid scored a technical knock out in the sixth round of their 15-round bout. The Kid had devastated Jones in the third with a right to his jaw and opened a cut over Sonny's left eye with another right. Eventually, Sharkey stopped the fight as Jones could barely see.
The ascension of
Henry Armstrong
Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 24, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong.
Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisi ...
as the
world welterweight champ on 31 May 1938 (when he beat
Barney Ross
Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967) was an American professional boxer. Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of World War II.
Early life
Dov- ...
) seemingly made the title redundant (the
World Colored Heavyweight Championship expired when Joe Louis became world heavyweight champ in 1937 and the
World Colored Middleweight Championship The World Colored Middleweight Championship was a title awarded to black boxers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was the only recognized middleweight championship available to blacks prior to Tiger Flowers (5 August 1895 - ...
became defunct for 16 years after
Tiger Flowers
Theodore "Tiger" Flowers (August 5, 1895 – November 16, 1927) was an American professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Georgia Deacon", he rose to prominence in the early 20th century, becoming the first African-American World Middleweight Boxing ...
won the world middleweight title in 1926), but it was still contested during Armstrong's reign.
The Cocoa Kid lost the title to
Charley Burley
Charley Burley (September 6, 1917 – October 16, 1992) was an American boxer who fought as a welterweight and middleweight from 1936 to 1950. Archie Moore, the light-heavyweight champion who was defeated by Burley in a 1944 middleweight bout, w ...
on 22 August 1938, at Hickey Park in
Millvale, Pennsylvania
Millvale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Allegheny River, opposite Pittsburgh. The borough is located off Pennsylvania Route 28. The population was 3,744 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Millvale is locate ...
. Burley won a unanimous decision in the 15-round bout, knocking the Kid to the canvas three times and defeating him decisively, taking his title.
Burley never defended the title, probably out of a desire to get a title shot with Armstrong. To fill the vacant title, The Kid and Holman Williams met in a rematch on 11 January 1940 at the Coliseum in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. The Kid won a unanimous decision in their 15-round title bout, winning the title for a second time.
The Cocoa Kid never defended his second title. He won the revived
World Colored Middleweight Championship The World Colored Middleweight Championship was a title awarded to black boxers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was the only recognized middleweight championship available to blacks prior to Tiger Flowers (5 August 1895 - ...
in 1943.
List of champions
See also
*
World Colored Heavyweight Championship
*
World Colored Light Heavyweight Championship The World Colored Light Heavyweight Championship was a title created in 1921, when African American boxers were prevented from contending for the world light heavyweight title by the color bar.
On 30 May 1921, Kid Norfolk fought Lee Anderson for ...
*
World Colored Middleweight Championship The World Colored Middleweight Championship was a title awarded to black boxers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was the only recognized middleweight championship available to blacks prior to Tiger Flowers (5 August 1895 - ...
References
{{Reflist
Defunct boxing titles