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.
Mushy Callahan Mushy Callahan (November 3, 1904 – June 18, 1986) was the ring name of Vincent Morris Scheer, a Los Angeles-based boxing champion in the newly created World Light Welterweight Division for five years from 1926-30. The championship was formerly referred to as the World SuperLightweight Title. After his retirement from boxing in 1932, Callahan refereed hundreds of matches, and had a thirty-year career taking small roles in movies, most with boxing themes, as well as working as a stuntman and boxing adviser on movie sets.