Benny Leonard

Benny Leonard
Statistics
Real name	Benjamin Leiner
Nickname(s)	Ghetto Wizard The Great
Rated at	Lightweight
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Reach	69 in (175 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1896-04-07)April 7, 1896 New York, New York, United States
Died	New York, New York, St. Nicholas Arena
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	219
Wins	183
Wins by KO	70
Losses	24
Draws	8
No contests	4

Benny Leonard (born Benjamin Leiner; Hebrew name דוב בער בן אברהם גרשון [Dov Ber ben Avraham Gershon]; April 7, 1896 – April 18, 1947) was an American professional lightweight boxer. Widely considered one of the all-time greats, he was ranked 8th on The Ring magazine's list of the "80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years" and placed 7th in ESPN's "50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time". In 2005, the International Boxing Research Organization ranked Leonard as the #1 lightweight, and #8 best pound-for-pound fighter of all-time. Statistical website BoxRec rates Leonard as the 3rd best lightweight ever, while The Ring magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #2. Boxing historian Bert Sugar placed him 6th in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue. Leonard is a member of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame, the World Boxing Hall of Fame, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Early life

Benny Leonard was born and raised in the Jewish ghetto, which was then located in the lower east side of Manhattan, New York City, on whose streets he learned to fight. He was the son of Minny and Gershon Leiner, who immigrated from Eastern Europe.

Professional career

Leonard was known for his speed, excellent boxing technique and ability to think fast on his feet. He also was a hard hitter, who scored 70 KOs out of his 183 wins. Leonard was defeated 24 times and was held to a draw on 8 occasions. As was common in the era in which he fought, Leonard engaged in several no-decision matches and is believed to have fought 219 bouts.

Lightweight contender

Leonard debuted on a Saturday in November 1911—the exact date is unknown—losing in three rounds at the Fondon Athletic Club in New York when the fight was stopped because he was bleeding through the nose. He won 12 of his next 18 bouts (three were no-decisions), establishing a reputation as a good local fighter before meeting Canadian Frankie Fleming in May 1912. Leonard was knocked out for only the second time in his career. He lost a rematch with Fleming 16 months later. (Not surprisingly, Fleming got the first shot at Freddie Welsh, failing to unseat the lightweight champion in a May 1915 fight the newspapers awarded to Welsh.) Leonard’s next big test came when he took on featherweight champion Johnny Kilbane in Atlantic City in April 1915. Kilbane won six of ten rounds to win the decision. “Leonard might have beaten the champion if he had a little more confidence,“ the Chicago Tribune said, “but even when he was having the best of the going he shut up like a clam and clinched for all he was worth.”

World lightweight champion

Welsh vs Leonard 1917

Leonard then reeled off a string of 15 straight victories (interrupted by two draws), which earned him the chance to meet Freddie Welsh for the lightweight championship on March 3, 1916. Although newspaper reporters at Madison Square Garden believed that Leonard had won, Welsh retained his title in a bout that was officially recorded as a no decision. The two fighters met again four months later in Brooklyn, and this time Welsh won decisively, staggering Leonard and nearly putting him down with a right to the jaw in the sixth.

After winning 17 of his next 19 bouts, the 21-year-old Leonard fought Welsh for the third time in the Manhattan Casino on May 28, 1917. The challenger floored the champion three times in the ninth round before referee Billy McPartland stopped the bout, making Leonard the lightweight champion of the world. He officially defended the title seven times over the next eight years.

Besides being lightweight Champion, Leonard challenged welterweight Champion Jack Britton for his title on June 26, 1922. He lost the fight when he was disqualified for hitting Britton when Britton was down in the thirteenth round.

Retirement and comeback

Leonard announced his retirement from boxing on January 15, 1925, as the reigning World Lightweight Champion because his mother wanted him to. He lost most of his considerable fortune in the stock market crash of 1929, and embarked on an ill-advised comeback in 1931. Although described as pudgy and slow, the balding Leonard won 23 fights, albeit against nondescript opposition, before meeting a championship caliber fighter. On October 7, 1932, his career ended when he was TKOed in 6 rounds by future champion Jimmy McLarnin.

Notable bouts

Result	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	Jimmy McLarnin	TKO	6 (10)	1932-10-07	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	Lew Tendler	UD	15	1923-07-24	Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York	Retained World Lightweight Title.
Win	Lew Tendler	UD	15	1923-07-24	Boyle's Thirty Acres, Jersey City, New Jersey	Retained World Lightweight Title. Newspaper Decision
Win	Rocky Kansas	TKO	8 (10)	1922-07-04	Floyd Fitzsimmons' Arena, Michigan City, Indiana
Loss	Jack Britton	DQ	13 (15)	1922-06-26	Velodrome, Bronx, New York	For World Welterweight Title.
Win	Rocky Kansas	UD	15	1922-02-10	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Retained World Lightweight Title.
Win	Rocky Kansas	NWS	12	1921-06-06	Federal League Baseball Park, Harrison, New Jersey	Retained World Lightweight Title. Newspaper Decision
Win	Charley White	KO	9 (10)	1920-07-05	Floyd Fitzsimmons' Arena, Benton Harbor, Michigan
Win	Johnny Dundee	NWS	8	1920-02-09	4th Regiment Armory, Jersey City, New Jersey	Newspaper Decision
Win	James Red Herring	TKO	6 (8)	1919-12-19	Southern A.C., Memphis, Tennessee
Win	Johnny Dundee	NWS	8	1919-09-17	1st Regiment Armory, Newark, New Jersey	Newspaper Decision
Win	Johnny Dundee	NWS	6	1919-06-16	Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Newspaper Decision
Win	Willie Ritchie	TKO	8 (8)	1919-04-28	1st Regiment Armory, Newark, New Jersey
Loss	Willie Ritchie	NWS	4	1919-02-21	Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California	Newspaper Decision
Win	Johnny Dundee	NWS	8	1919-01-20	1st Regiment Armory, Newark, New Jersey	Newspaper Decision
Draw	Kid Lewis	NWS	8	1918-09-23	Weidenmeyer's Park, Newark, New Jersey	Newspaper Decision
Win	Jack Britton	NWS	8	1918-06-25	Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Newspaper Decision
Win	Jack Britton	NWS	10	1917-10-19	Harlem S.C, New York, New York	Newspaper Decision
Win	Johnny Kilbane	TKO	3 (6)	1917-07-25	Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win	Freddie Welsh	TKO	9 (10)	1917-05-28	Manhattan Casino, New York, New York	Won World Lightweight Title.
Win	Johnny Dundee	NWS	6	1916-11-15	Olympia A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Newspaper Decision
Loss	Freddie Welsh	NWS	10	1916-07-28	Washington Park A.C., Brooklyn, New York	For World Lightweight Title. Newspaper Decision
Draw	Johnny Dundee	NWS	6	1916-11-15	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Newspaper Decision
Win	Freddie Welsh	NWS	10	1916-03-31	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	For World Lightweight Title. Newspaper Decision
Draw	Johnny Dundee	NWS	6	1916-03-08	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Newspaper Decision
Win	Rocky Kansas	NWS	10	1916-02-28	Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York	Newspaper Decision
Win	Joe Mandot	KO	7 (10)	1915-12-17	Harlem S.C., New York, New York
Loss	Johnny Kilbane	NWS	10	1915-04-29	Federal A.C., New York, New York	Newspaper Decision
Loss	Johnny Dundee	NWS	10	1915-03-02	135th Street A.C., New York, New York	Newspaper Decision
Loss	Frankie Fleming	NWS	10	1913-08-16	Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York	Newspaper Decision
Loss	Frankie Fleming	KO	4 (6)	1912-05-03	New Polo A.C., New York, New York

Life after boxing

Leonard holding back Harry Houdini, mock punched by heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey

After his boxing career was over, Leonard was a front man for National Hockey League owner Bill Dwyer of the New York Americans, who had secretly purchased the Pittsburgh Pirates of that league. Leonard was supposed to appear as if he owned the team. The team suffered both at the gate and on the ice. The team moved to Philadelphia for 1930–31 and then folded.

Later, Leonard became a boxing referee. After refereeing the first six bouts of the April 18, 1947, card at the St. Nicholas Arena in New York, Leonard was stricken with a massive heart attack during the first round of the next bout, toppled to the canvas, and died in the ring. He was 51. Benny Leonard was interred at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Glendale, New York.

Film career

Leonard starred in the film serial The Evil Eye (1920) and a series of boxing related film shorts titled Flying Fists (1924–1925).

See also

• List of select Jewish boxers

External links

• Professional boxing record for Benny Leonard from BoxRec
• Benny Leonard at Find a Grave
• Benny Leonard at the Internet Movie Database

Achievements
Preceded by Freddie Welsh	World Lightweight Champion May 28, 1917 – January 15, 1925 Retired	Succeeded by Jimmy Goodrich