Ed Binney (April 19, 1864 – unknown) was an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

boxer who was the colored middleweight champion of the World in the

1890s The 1890s (pronounced "eighteen-nineties") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1890, and ended on December 31, 1899. In the United States, the 1890s were marked by a severe economic depression sparked by the Panic of ...

. Born Edward Phinney in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the middleweight fought out of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

and

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...

during his career. He was known a clever fighter whose punch carried a sting. He defeated

Johnny Banks Johnny Banks (born December 25, 1861 in Richmond, Virginia), was an African American boxer who fought under the sobriquet "The Darkey Wizard" and was the Negro Middleweight Champion of the World during the mid-1880s. Standing 5'6" tall (some s ...

("The Darkey Wizard"), the former Negro middleweight champion of the world, in Boston in a 16-round decision. They had been scheduled to box 13 rounds, but the fight was scored a draw after the 13th. Another three rounds were tacked onto the bout and Binney won the fight.

Colored Championship

Harris Martin, "The Black Pearl", declared himself the world colored middleweight champion after beating "Black Frank" Taylor in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 2, 1887. Binney took the title from The Black Pearl on November 30, 1891, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. On February 29, 1892, The Black Pearl fought Charley Turner, "The Stockton Cyclone", and was defeated. Turner claimed the title but never defended it. Binney was considered the lineal champ; he had also defeated the Negro Middleweight title holder. Binney lost his title on November 13, 1892, in Philadelphia to

Joe Butler Joseph Campbell Butler (born September 16, 1941) is an American drummer and stage actor. He was a founding member of The Lovin' Spoonful, who had seven top 10 hits between 1965 and 1966. Early life Joe Butler was born on September 16, 1941, ...

. In his career, Binney won 17 fights ( knocking out his opponent in 15 of the bouts), lost three (and was knocked out twice), and drew six.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Binney, Ed African-American boxers Middleweight boxers World colored middleweight boxing champions 1864 births Year of death missing American male boxers Place of birth missing