Boxing Referee

On December the 2nd 1896 a Heavyweight Championship fight was held in downtown San Francisco at the Mechanics Pavilion. A building that was destroyed by a 8.0 level earthquake that destroyed most of the city of San Francisco, California in 1906. But just ten short years earlier it was the site of one of the most incredible boxing match’s in the history of the fight game. What made this fight so unique was for two reasons, first Bob Ruby Fitzsimmons the number one contender when Champion Gentleman Jim Corbett retired was handed the championship belt and was making his first title defense against an unranked fighter, Tom Sailor Sharkey, who was a popular west coast pugilist. Tom Sailor Sharkey was given a shot at the title because he plummeted the prior champion, Jim Corbett around the ring for four rounds before the fight was stopped, because professional boxing was against the California State Law at that time. The second and most important factor was the choice of Wyatt Earp, the famous retired lawman and hero of the gunfight at the OK corral was named to be the referee, who at that time was also the judge. In this book the author goes into great detail the circumstances surrounding this incredible fight, a brief history of each participant and the fight itself. It is another amazing story in the life of Wyatt Earp.