In the mid-1950's, Las Vegas started its climb towards becoming the center of the boxing world. With the increasing development of casinos and the influx of celebrity visitors, it became progressively easier to bring in the big names such as: Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Cassius Clay, Mike Tyson (became the youngest Heavyweight title holder here), George Foreman (became the oldest Heavyweight title holder here), Benny "Kid" Paret, Don Jordan, Emile Griffith, and Gene Fullmer to name a very few.
But, what about Nevada's fledging days in the boxing world? Through the use of various media information and the ever essential Internet, a brief, but spotty history comes to life. In the very early days, it appears Nevadans included boxing matches as part of any celebration whether it be a holiday or other, i.e., lodge initiations, birthdays, etc. If a fighter was passing through town and matches were going to be held, they would often stop, or were coerced into stopping, enter a challenge, and hopefully, obtain a match before they continued on - usually to California. Prior to the boxing statute of 1897, boxing was banned in the State, so matches were advertised as “exhibitions,” “athletic carnivals” or “athletic contests” as a way to circumvent the law. In order to “properly” record matches held in Nevada for boxing records, one must understand the terminology used during the timeframe, why it was used and the laws governing boxing at the time.
The boxing statute of 1897 was approved on January 29, 1897 during the 18th session of the Legislature so the Fitzsimmons-Corbett title match could be held in Nevada. In short, it provided: (1) The boxer had to be a male of no less than 21 years of age and the gloves could not be less than 4 ozs. (2) The fee for a license was $1,000 which was paid to the local sheriff. (3) Ten hours prior to the match, the licensee had to file with the County Clerk a certificate in writing, executed by two regular practicing physicians of this State, that the contestants were in sound physical health and condition. (4) The exhibition or contest had to be held in an enclosure from which passersby could not observe it and alcohol was not allowed to be sold or given away on the grounds where the match was being held. (5) Authorized charging an admission fee. (6) Anyone violating the act was deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction, could be fined from $200 to $1000 or imprisoned for six months.
In 1913, this legislation was amended to include: (1) That the contest or exhibition could not be more than 10 rounds. (2) The license fee was reduced to $100. (3) Fines for violating the law were reduced to $100 to $500 and that both fines and jail time could be incurred.
In 1919, the boxing statute was amended to include: (1) The boxers had to be "white" men. (2) Increased the length to 25 rounds. (3) The sheriff or a deputy had to be present at ringside. (4) Only one license could be issued for any boxing contest in any county on the same date. These amendments were passed over the governor's veto by Assembly and Senate certificates.
Two of the most popular towns for holding matches were Tonopah and Goldfield which were mining towns. Boxing matches held in these areas included professional fighters and/or the miners themselves. Jack Dempsey was one of these - in 1910 (at least) he was working in the mines in Tonopah.
I have compiled a chronological history of fights through various sources of research from 1878 to 1924, along with some interesting tidbits. If you would like a copy, please E-MAIL me. As time goes, I will be expanding the available “hard copy” to cover Nevada’s fights from 1878 to 1960.
