Young Corbett II (October 4, 1880 – April 10, 1927; born William H. Rothwell) was an American

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 ...

who held the World Featherweight championship. He took the name "Young Corbett II" in honor of

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 ...

, a heavyweight champion. Corbett was posthumously inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1965 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 2010.

Pro career

World featherweight champion

Corbett became a professional boxer in 1896 and was undefeated in his first 13 fights with a record of 9-0-3-1. In 1901, Corbett defeated George Dixon for the Western featherweight title in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In his next fight, Corbett faced world featherweight champion

Terry McGovern Terry McGovern may refer to: *Terry McGovern (boxer) (1880–1918), boxer who held the world bantamweight and featherweight titles *Terry McGovern (actor) Terence McGovern (born May 11, 1942) is an American actor, television broadcaster, radio pe ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. Corbett knocked out McGovern in the second round and took the title. He defended the title four times, including a rematch against McGovern, which Corbett also won by knockout. During this time he also engaged in a number of non-title matches, including one against

Young Erne Young Erne (1884-1944) was an American boxer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his first 36 fights, he had a record of 28-2-6. Career Despite never having fought for a world title, he held wins over champions and International Boxing Hall of ...

and two against Jimmy Briggs, both of which Corbett won. Attempts to match British World Featherweight Champion Ben Jordan with Young Corbett were not successful. During this time there is some dispute as to Corbett's claim on the featherweight title. Corbett had trouble making the featherweight limit of 126 pounds, and some sources claim he relinquished his title and moved to the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division in December 1902.

Abe Attell Abraham Washington Attell (February 22, 1883 – February 7, 1970), often referred to by newspapers as "The Little Hebrew", was an American boxer who became known for his record-setting, six year consecutive reign as World Featherweight Champion ...

then claimed the featherweight title. Other sources show that Corbett defended his featherweight title at weights above 126 pounds with Attell defending the title at 126 pounds.

Later career

Regardless, Corbett continued to fight. He met future world champion

Battling Nelson Oscar Matthew "Battling" Nelson (June 5, 1882 – February 7, 1954), was a Danish-born American professional boxer who held the World Lightweight championship. He was also nicknamed "the Durable Dane". Personal history Nelson was born Oscar ...

in two consecutive fights in 1904 and 1905, losing both by technical knockout. He then met old nemesis

in two more fights in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The first fight they fought to a draw. The second fight Corbett lost by decision. He had a mixed record over the five years remaining in his career.

Aurelio Herrera Aurelio Herrera (June 14, 1876 – April 12, 1927) was an American professional boxer in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. Aurelio Herrera is the first famous boxer of Latin American origin. He was known for his aggressive fighting st ...

knocked him out in 1906,

Harlem Tommy Murphy Harlem Tommy Murphy (April 13, 1885 – November 26, 1958) was an American boxer whose career lasted from 1903 to 1917. He was a contender in three different divisions; being ranked in the bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight weight classe ...

defeated him via decision, but he defeated

by decision in 1907. His last professional fight was in 1910, though he fought exhibition matches up until his death in 1927. Corbett died suddenly in April 1927, dropping dead outside the State Theatre in Denver. His death was attributed to heart disease as he had complained of chest pains to his friends in the week prior to his death.

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 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 o ...

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

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Young, Ii Boxers from Denver Featherweight boxers World boxing champions 1880 births 1927 deaths American male boxers