Dan Creedon (9 June 1868 – 10 July 1942) was a middleweight boxer who challenged for the world middleweight title twice and claimed the title between 1895 and 1897. Creedon was born in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

but his boxing career developed in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia. Like many of Australia's best boxers of this era, Creedon was taught by boxing pioneers Jem Mace and

Larry Foley Laurence 'Larry' Foley (12 December 1849 – 12 July 1917) was an Australian middleweight boxer. An exceptional boxing instructor, his students included American champions Peter Jackson, and Tommy Burns, the incomparable English-born triple ...

. He held the Australian middleweight title from 1891 until his departure for America in 1892. He challenged

Bob Fitzsimmons Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sullivan) ...

for the world middleweight title in 1894, in what would be Fitzsimmons' last defense of his belt before becoming a

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

. Creedon was knocked out in just 2 rounds. However, a year later he claimed the world title following his victory over

Frank Craig Frank Craig (April 1, 1868 – January 1, 1943) was an American boxer who was the colored middleweight champion of the world in the Gay Nineties. The 5′10" Craig fought at a weight of between 153 and 169 lbs. as a middleweight and li ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Creedon defended his claim to the title at least twice, but he is not commonly recognized as a middleweight champion by boxing historians. He would eventually lose to Kid McCoy, after which his career took a downward spiral. Creedon returned to Australia in 1902 and would fight a handful of fights, most of which he lost, before eventually retiring. A benefit was held for him on 26 November 1924, in the Socialist Hall of Melbourne, as he was "in ill health". Creedon was inducted to the

Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held across Australia. Inductees are nominated and then voted upon by a panel of ...

in 2011.

References

1868 births 1942 deaths Middleweight boxers New Zealand male boxers Australian male boxers {{Australia-boxing-bio-stub