Early life and career
Connolly was born on November 18, 1876 inTaking the Canadian Featherweight Championship
He began boxing professionally around 1894, taking the Canadian Featherweight Title at only eighteen on April 3, 1894, in five rounds in his hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick. He won the bout in a five-round points decision. Connolly defeated Frank Garrard, a competent featherweight, on October 15, 1895 in a third-round knockout in Cleveland, Ohio. On January 10, 1896, he defeated Jimmy Dime at the Cleveland Athletic Club in Cleveland, Ohio, in a third-round knockout. These victories were instrumental in his quick rise in the boxing world. In January 1893, Dime had won the equivalent of the American Lightweight Championship at 130 pounds in Fonda, New York. On August 13, 1896, fighting on his home turf of Saint John, New Brunswick, Connolly drew in six rounds with Stanton Abbott at the Mechanics Institute. The fighting was rather subdued and the crowd was small, however, as a New Brunswick magistrate, under pressure to curtail professional boxing, had threatened to arrest not only the principals in the fight but the spectators as well if a bout took place. The police chief and ten constables present at the bout apparently did not prevent the fight from taking place.Taking the World Lightweight Championship of the British Empire
On November 24, 1896, Connolly took the British Empire World Lightweight Championship in Birminghamp, U.K. against English champion Tom Causer in a fifth-round knockout. It was an important win, and a widely recognized World Title, though not recognized worldwide, particularly the United States. Causer was a formidable opponent who according to one source, had lost only one bout prior to 1896. He was the favorite in the pre-fight betting at odds of 6 to 4 and a sizable purse of 200 pounds was at stake. The fighting was fierce and often close throughout, with the first full count in the fifth round.Brutal bout with English boxer Dick Burge
On January 28, 1897, Connolly fought the great British boxer Dick Burge to a ten-round draw at the Olympic Club in Birmingham, England. Burge was the favorite at 143 pounds, with Connolly five pounds lighter at 138. The bout "caused unusual excitement, crowds flocking to the doors of the clubhouse, and it required extra policemen to preserve order." The sixth and seventh rounds were marked by particularly fierce fighting, with Burge connecting solidly to Connolly's face when he nearly slipped in the sixth, knocking him to the canvas for a count of nine, from which he quickly recovered. At least one source wrote that Burge had the edge in the fight and should have received the decision, despite having over a six-inch disadvantage in reach. The bout was stopped in the tenth round largely as a result of the fierceness of the fighting and the conditions of the competitors. Spectators, the manager of the Olympic Club, and several of the police voiced their desire to stop the fighting. Connolly's head and face were badly battered in the bout. According to Chicago's ''InterOcean'', Burge, angered perhaps by the decision or confused by the fierceness of the contest, began fighting his own cornermen at the conclusion of the fight, and attempted to get at Connolly's trainer. On March 28, 1897, Connolly met fringe world welterweight contender Paddy Fenton at the Suffolk Athletic Club in Boston, Massachusetts, losing in a fifteenth round disqualification. Connolly was disqualified for a punch to the groin of Fenton two minutes and thirty seconds into the fifteenth round. The victory for Fenton over a future Welterweight Champion, even if it was the result of a foul, may have been one of his most notable. Around September 1911, around the age of thirty-eight, Fenton would perform an exhibition bout with the young welterweight Abe "The Newsboy" Hollandersky, a future Panamanian Heavyweight Champion, at the New London County Fair.Attempting the World Lightweight Championship against "Kid" Lavigne
According to Cyber Boxing Zone, Connolly competed unsuccessfully for the World Lightweight Championship on April 28, 1897 against reigning champion George "Kid" Lavigne in Brooklyn, New York, losing in an eleventh-round technical knockout. In an article by Kid Lavigne in 1927, his win against Connolly in eleven rounds in 1897 was also listed. On October 27, 1898, Connolly won a bout against Tom Broderick in a tenth-round technical knockout at the Waverly Athletic Club in Yonkers, New York. Broderick, having accidentally had salts thrown in his eyes, was unable to answer the starting bell in the tenth round, and had to forfeit the match. A great deal of money had been wagered on the bout, with Connolly the favorite. The first four rounds saw fierce battling but with fairly even points scoring on both sides. In the fifth, Broderick clipped Connolly's face with straight lefts and right hooks, leaving him exhausted and battered. In the sixth, Connolly staggered Broderick putting him on the mat. On September 4, 1899, Connolly would defeat Broderick in a twenty-round newspaper decision at the Coliseum in Hartford, Connecticut. On November 26, 1898, Connolly met George Kerwin, a noted lightweight, at the Commercial Athletic Club in St. Louis, Missouri, for a twenty-round draw. The fighting was fierce, but the draw verdict was not protested by the audience. He would defeat Kerwin in a fourth-round technical knockout on May 9, 1899 at the Olympic Athletic Club in Buffalo, New York. Kerwin was the victim of continuous rights and lefts from Connolly, who had the better of the bout from the early rounds. Connolly was finally knocked down by a left to the jaw in the fourth round. Three months later, Kerwin would take the Lightweight Championship of Iowa on August 31 against Jim Sellars.Connolly's first bouts with Matty Matthews
On July 31, 1899, Connolly lost toRamp up to the World Welterweight Championship
In an important win on December 15, 1899, Connolly defeated William "Kid" McPartland in a twenty-five round points decision, again at the Broadway Athletic Club in Brooklyn. Both boxers fought at a weight near 138, close to the lightweight limit. Connolly took the initiative from the early fighting scoring points with lefts to the body, and rights to the head of McPartland. McPartland may have landed heavier blows particularly lefts to the chest and face, but Connolly landed more often, thus winning on points. Connolly never seemed in danger of a knockdown and had McPartland at a safe distance. In 1902, McPartland would contend unsuccessfully for the Lightweight Championship of the World against the greatTaking World Welterweight Championship, June 5, 1900 against Matty Matthews
Connolly took the World Welterweight Championship in a twenty-five round points decision on June 5, 1900 against reigning championLosing the World Welterweight Championship to Rube Ferns
On August 13, 1900, he lost the World Welterweight Championship toBoxing in England as a Welterweight
On June 21, 1902, he won an important bout against Pat Daly in a fifteen-round points decision at the National Sporting Club in London. The bout was billed as the 144 pound title, making it an important Welterweight battle.Facing English Middleweight Champion Jack Palmer
On July 19, and August 23, 1902 Connolly faced boxer Jack Palmer twice at the Ginetts Circus in New Castle, England, losing the first bout in a twenty-round decision, and the second in a sixth-round technical knockout. In their third and final meeting, on November 24, 1902, Connolly lost to Palmer in London at the National Sporting Club in a fifteen rounds points decision. Palmer was considered an English Middleweight Champion at the time of the bout. Palmer took $1000 for the win, with Connolly receiving only $250. The battling was hard and fast throughout. Fighting normally as a welterweight, Connolly may have been outweighed by the middleweight champion. At least three sources considered the bout for the Middleweight Championship of England at 158 pounds, though Connolly, perhaps because of his weight or his status as a resident of America was not eligible to box for the British title.Unsuccessful attempt at the British Empire Welterweight Championship
On September 15, 1902, Connolly was defeated by English boxer Tom Woodley in an eleventh round points decision at the Wonderland Club in London. The bout was staged as a match for the British Commonwealth Welterweight Title at 144 pounds. Connolly had the lead until the sixth round when the tide turned and he was nearly knocked out by Woodley, and for the remaining five rounds, Woodley took control, finally winning on points. In a rematch on January 26, 1903 at the National Sporting Club in London, Connolly beat Woodley in a fifteen-round points decision.Return to America and retirement from boxing
On July 22, and August 10, 1903, he fought two ten-round draws against Jack "Twin" Sullivan in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in his original hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick, in Canada. Though a well known welterweight himself, Jack's twin brother Mike would claim the World Welterweight Championship in 1907. On January 15, 1904 Connolly ended his career, according to most sources, losing in a first-round technical knockout against Honey Mellody at the Lennox Athletic Club in Boston, Massachusetts. The brief newspaper reports that followed the bout stated simply that "Connolly was outclassed and at the mercy of the Charlestown man (Mellody).""Boxing Bout Stopped", ''The Burlington Free Press'', Burlington, Vermont, pg. 1, 16 January 1904 Two years later Mellody would take the World Welterweight Championship against the great Joe Walcott on October 16, 1906. Coverage of Connolly in American newspapers subsequent to his boxing career was sparse. He died in 1936.See also
*Boxing achievements
References
External links
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