Michael Joseph O'Dowd (April 5, 1895, in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

– July 28, 1957) was an American boxer who held the World Middleweight Championship from 1917 to 1920.

Biography

O'Dowd won the title on November 14, 1917, by knocking out Al McCoy in the sixth round after dropping him six times.Mike O'Dowds's Professional Boxing Record
BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-18. O'Dowd was the only active boxing champion to fight at the front during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(1918, while serving in the U.S. Army).Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame - Mike O'Dowd
MNBHOF.org Retrieved on 2014-04-30 During his career he claimed victories over Hall of Famers

Jack Britton Jack Britton (October 14, 1885 – March 27, 1962) was an American boxer who was the first three-time world welterweight boxing champion. Born William J. Breslin in Clinton, New York, his professional career lasted for 25 years beginning i ...

, Mike Gibbons,

Kid Lewis Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goat * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin, lea ...

and Jeff Smith. On February 25, 1918, he held the legendary

Harry Greb Harry Greb (June 6, 1894 – October 22, 1926) was a professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Pittsburgh Windmill", "The Smoke City Wildcat", and "The Pittsburgh Bearcat", he is ranked by BoxRec as the fourth greatest boxer of all time, pound for poun ...

to a draw. O'Dowd was knocked out just once in his career, his last fight on March 16, 1923.Cyber Boxing Encyclopedia - Mike O'Dowd
CyberBoxingZone.com Retrieved on 2014-04-30 O'Dowd died on July 28, 1957, from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at a Veteran's hospital, aged 62. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery. He was inducted into the

Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame The Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame is a commemorative organization with plans to create a museum. It celebrates the history of boxing in the state of Minnesota by honoring individuals whose achievements within the sport are noteworthy. History Thou ...

in 2011 and the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

in 2014.International Boxing Hall of Fame - Mike O'Dowd
IBHOF.com Retrieved on 2014-04-05

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 encyclopedia 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 ...

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