Billy Edwards (21 December 1844 – 12 August 1907) was a lightweight boxer of the late 1860s and 1870s in England.

Professional career

Nicknamed "Make-Believe Billy", Edwards was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. He began boxing at the age of 14 and fought Sam Collyer on 24 August 1868 for the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

. Edwards won the fight in the 34th-round to win the title. Edwards fought Hall of Famer Charlie Mitchell in 1884, losing in the 3rd round.

Life After Boxing

Following the Mitchell bout, Edwards retired from the ring but remained in boxing by training

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer. He is recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved ...

for several winning contests. Edwards was a successful real estate investor after retiring. In 1894 Edwards appeared as himself in the Edison Company's kinetoscope film ''Billy Edwards and the Unknown Boxer'', in a pre-determined-outcome exhibition match against a random boxer. This film survives and is preserved in the Library of Congress.

Death

Edwards died of

Bright's Disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

on 13 August 1907 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

.Everett Morning Tribune, Everett, WA, USA, August 21, 1907

Honors

Edwards has been elected to 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 ...

References

External links

* *IBHOF Bi
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1844 births 1907 deaths International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Deaths from nephritis English male boxers English bare-knuckle boxers Lightweight boxers {{England-boxing-bio-stub