HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 22, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. He is the only fighter to ever hold world championships in three divisions (
featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
,
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 ...
and
welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
) simultaneously. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win titles in three or more different divisions: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. He defended his welterweight title a total of nineteen times. ''The Ring'' magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1937. The
Boxing Writers Association of America Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a ...
(BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1940. He is currently ranked by
BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...
as the 12th-greatest
pound-for-pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, adjusted to compensate for weight class. As fighters in different weight classes do not compete directly, determining the best fighter pound for ...
fighter of all time. In 2007, ''The Ring'' ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of the last 80 years. Boxing coach and commentator Teddy Atlas considers Armstrong to be the greatest of all time. Historian
Bert Sugar Herbert Randolph Sugar (June 7, 1936 – March 25, 2012) was an American sportswriter known for his work covering boxing and baseball. As the author of over 80 books, ''The New York Times'' called Sugar an "accomplished raconteur with a bottom ...
also ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of all time.
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time. He was posthumously inducted into 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 ...
in the inaugural class of 1990. In 2019, the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) ranked him as the second best boxer of all time, pound for pound, as well as the second-best featherweight, third-best welterweight, and fifth-best lightweight of all time.


Early life

He was born Henry Jackson Jr. on December 12, 1912, in
Columbus, Mississippi Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Mississippi, Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the ...
. He was the son of Henry Jackson Sr., a
sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...
of
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
descent and America Jackson, said to be a "full-blooded" Iroquois. As a child, Henry Jr. moved with his family to
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, during the early period of the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to industrial cities of the Midwest and North. There he became involved in boxing. He graduated as an honor student from Vashon High School in St. Louis Later he took the surname Armstrong as his fighting name.


Early career

Armstrong began his professional career on July 28, 1931, in a fight with Al Iovino, in which Armstrong was knocked out in three rounds. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he lost two four-round decisions in a row to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. Following these two losses, however, he started a streak of 11 wins. In 1936, Armstrong split his time among Los Angeles, Mexico City and St. Louis. A few notable opponents of that year include Ritchie Fontaine, Baby Arizmendi, former world champion Juan Zurita, and Mike Belloise. Early in his career, he fought some fights under the ring name Melody Jackson. In 1937 alone, Armstrong went 27–0 (26KO). Aldo Spoldi was the only opponent to take him the full 10 rounds. He knocked out Baby Casanova in three rounds, Belloise in four, Joe Rivers in three, former world champion Frankie Klick in four, and former world champion Benny Bass in four. Armstrong was given his first world title fight, for the title in the 126-pound weight class against World
Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
Champion Petey Sarron at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
. Armstrong knocked Sarron out in six rounds, becoming the World Featherweight Champion. Armstrong's two nicknames were ''Hurricane Henry'' and ''Homicide' Hank''. In 1938, Armstrong started his season with seven more knockouts in a row, including one over Chalky Wright, a future world champion. The streak finally ended when Arizmendi lasted ten rounds before losing a decision to Armstrong in their fourth fight. Armstrong's streak of 27 knockout wins in a row qualifies as one of the longest knockout win streaks in the history of boxing, according to '' The Ring'' magazine. Later in 1938, Armstrong, still the Featherweight division world champion, challenged Barney Ross for the title. Later a fellow member of the three division champions' club, Ross was then World
Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
Champion. Armstrong, at pounds, beat Ross, at 142 pounds, by unanimous decision, adding the World Welterweight Championship to his belt. Armstrong lost weight in order to compete in the lower weight division, and beat World
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 ...
Champion Lou Ambers by split decision. Armstrong was the first boxer ever to hold world championships in three different weight divisions at the same time. He decided not to maintain the required 126-pound weight anymore and left the featherweight crown vacant.


Welterweight defenses

Armstrong dedicated the next two years to defending the welterweight crown, beating, among others, Ceferino Garcia, a future World
Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...
Champion, and Bobby Pacho. Armstrong defended his Lightweight belt in a rematch with Ambers, which he lost on a 15-round decision. After that, he concentrated once again on defending the world Welterweight title. He defended it in eight fights in a row, the last of which was a nine-round knockout win over
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
's Pedro Montañez. Armstrong sought to become the first boxer to win world titles in four different categories in a rematch with Garcia, already the World Middleweight Champion, but the fight ended in a ten-round draw. Armstrong's attempt to win a world title in a fourth division was frustrated. According to boxing historian
Bert Sugar Herbert Randolph Sugar (June 7, 1936 – March 25, 2012) was an American sportswriter known for his work covering boxing and baseball. As the author of over 80 books, ''The New York Times'' called Sugar an "accomplished raconteur with a bottom ...
, many commentators of the time said that Armstrong deserved the decision in this fight. Returning to the welterweight division, Armstrong successfully defended the title five more times, until Fritzie Zivic beat him to take the world title in a 15-round decision. This ended Armstrong's reign as Welterweight Champion. Armstrong's eighteen successful title defenses were the most in history in the Welterweight division. In 1945, Armstrong retired from boxing. His official record was 152 wins, 21 losses and 9 draws, with 101 knockout wins.


After boxing

After retiring from boxing in 1946, Armstrong briefly opened a Harlem nightclub, the Melody Room (named after his first nickname). He returned to settle again in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
where, apart from the ceremonies and galas that he attended afterward, he led a quiet retirement. He became a
born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...
and an ordained
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
minister and youth advocate, helping to run the Herbert Hoover Boys Club. He also taught young fighters how to box. In February 1966, Rev. Armstrong appeared on the TV game show I've Got a Secret with his simultaneous triple championship as his secret. He died in 1988.


Honors

*1937, ''The Ring'' magazine named him as Fighter of the Year. *1940, the
Boxing Writers Association of America Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a ...
(BWAA) named him as Fighter of the Year. *In 1954, Armstrong was inducted into ''The Ring'' magazine Boxing Hall of Fame the year it was established. *In 1987, he was among those inductees from ''The Ring'' list who were absorbed into 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 ...
when it was established. *In 1995, Armstrong was posthumously honored for his boxing career by being inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. *In 2007, ''The Ring'' magazine ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of the last 80 years. *In 2007,
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time.


Professional boxing record


Titles in boxing


Major world titles

* NYSAC
featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
champion (126 lbs) * NBA (WBA) featherweight champion (126 lbs) * NYSAC
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 ...
champion (135 lbs) * NBA (WBA) lightweight champion (135 lbs) * NYSAC
welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
champion (147 lbs) * NBA (WBA) welterweight champion (147 lbs)


''The Ring'' magazine titles

* ''The Ring'' featherweight champion (126 lbs) * ''The Ring'' lightweight champion (135 lbs) * ''The Ring'' welterweight champion (147 lbs)


Regional titles

* California State featherweight champion (126 lbs) * California–
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
featherweight champion (126 lbs)


Undisputed titles

* Undisputed featherweight champion * Undisputed lightweight champion * Undisputed welterweight champion


See also

* Lineal championship * List of boxing triple champions


References


External links

* * The story of his life is retold in the 1949 radio drama
The Saga of Melody Jackson
, a presentation from ''
Destination Freedom ''Destination Freedom'' was a series of weekly radio programs that was produced by WMAQ in Chicago. The first set ran from 1948 to 1950 and it presented the biographical histories of prominent African Americans such as George Washington Carver ...
'', written by Richard Durham
The Official Henry Armstrong Web Site

Henry Armstrong Foundation Web Site


on the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) web site *
National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1938 – BoxRec

National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1939 – BoxRec

National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1940 – BoxRec

The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: Lightweight--1930s – BoxRec




{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Henry American male boxers African-American boxers Native American boxers 1912 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Native American people American people of Irish descent Boxers from Mississippi Burials at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery Featherweight boxers World featherweight boxing champions World colored welterweight boxing champions International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Columbus, Mississippi Boxers from St. Louis Welterweight boxers World welterweight boxing champions Lightweight boxers World lightweight boxing champions World boxing champions African-American Christians Baptists from Mississippi 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States Vashon High School alumni