Britton, Jack
[William J. Breslin]
Boxing
b. Oct. 14, 1885, Clinton, NY
d. March 27, 1962
A very clever boxer, Britton practically made a career of fighting Ted "Kid" Lewis. They met in 20 bouts and fought for a total of 224 rounds. Most of their fights were no-decisions, but the welterweight title changed hands in four of them.
Britton's first recorded fight was a 6-round decision over Johnny Earle in 1905. After being knocked out by Steve Kinney later that year, Britton went undefeated in 48 fights until he lost on a foul to Kid Farmer in 1909. Later that year, he knocked Farmer out in the 7th round.
On June 22, 1915, Britton won the vacant welterweight championship by beating Mike Glover in a 12-round decision in Boston. But he lost his next fight, to Lewis, on August 31, giving up the title. After another loss to Lewis on September 27, Britton regained the title with a 20-round decision over Lewis in New Orleans on April 24, 1916.
The two fought seven more times in the next eighteen months. The first six were non-title bouts but on June 25, 1917, Lewis won the championship back with a 20-round decision in Dayton, OH. Britton won the title once more by knocking Lewis out in the 9th round on March 17, 1919, in Canton, OH. He held the championship until losing a 15-round decision to Mickey Walker on November 15, 1922, in New York City.
Britton continued fighting for eight more years but never had another title fight. He retired after winning an 8-round match over Young Bobby Buffalo on May 8, 1930. Britton was later a boxing instructor and manager.
He won 99 fights, 21 by knockout; lost 28, 1 by knockout, and fought 20 draws, 177 no-decisions, and 1 no-contest.