Fitzsimmons, "Bob" (Robert L.)
Boxing
b. June 4, 1862, Helston, Cornwall, England
d. Oct. 22, 1917
A blacksmith, Fitzsimmons won the New Zealand amateur middleweight championship in 1880 by knocking out four opponents in one night, and he retained the title with five knockouts in 1881.
After fighting in Australia for several years, he sailed to San Francisco in 1890 and won the middleweight championship by knocking out Jack "the Nonpareil" Dempsey in the 13th round of a fight at New Orleans on January 14, 1891.
Fitzsimmons never lost the middleweight title, but he moved up to the heavyweight class in 1896 and won that championship with a 14th-round knockout of James J. Corbett on March 17, 1897, in Carson City, NV. Outboxed for most of the contest, Fitzsimmons won by landing a paralyzing blow to Corbett's solar plexus.
Following the example of John L. Sullivan and Corbett, Fitzsimmons cashed in on his championship by fighting exhibitions, appearing in vaudeville, and starring in a Broadway play during the next two years. He lost the championship in his first defense, an 11th-round knockout by James J. Jeffries on June 9, 1899, at Coney Island.
Fitzsimmons was knocked out by Jeffries again, in the 8th round of a title fight on July 25, 1902. But he won the light heavyweight championship on November 25, 1903, with a 20-round decision over George Gardner in San Francisco. He was the first fighter ever to win championships in three different divisions.
Philadelphia Jack O'Brien took that title with a 13th-round knockout on December 20, 1905, also in San Francisco. Fitzsimmons did little fighting for the next several years. However, he won the Australian heavyweight title in 1909. After four more years of inactivity, he returned to the United States in 1914, fought two no-decisions, and retired from boxing.