What was the nickname of the reigning, retired heavyweight champion at the time of the Fitzsimmons vs. Sharkey Heavyweight Championship boxing match?
Fitzsimmons vs. Sharkey The Fitzsimmons vs Sharkey Heavyweight Championship boxing match between Bob Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey was awarded by referee Wyatt Earp to Sharkey after Fitzsimmons knocked Sharkey to the mat. Earp ruled that Fitzsimmons had hit Sharkey when he was down, but very few witnessed the purported foul. The fans at the December 2, 1896 fight in San Francisco booed Earp's decision. It was the first heavyweight championship fight since James J. Corbett, the prior champion, had retired from boxing the year before. The fight may have been the most anticipated fight on American soil that year.
Gorilla Jones William Landon Jones (1906–1982) known as "Gorilla" Jones, was an American boxer who held the NBA Middleweight Boxing Championship of the World. Although he was nicknamed "Gorilla" for his exceptional reach, Jones is to be distinguished from the original "Gorilla Jones", who campaigned from 1913 to 1924 and held the World Colored Welterweight title. Jones was never knocked out although he himself won by 52 knockouts out of 101 wins over 141 total fights. He was posthumously inducted into World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009.