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Benny
Leonard held the World Lightweight Championship from May 28,
1917, to January 15, 1925, retiring his crown undefeated. His
seven-year, seven–and–a–half month reign is the longest in the
history of the lightweight division.
One of the greatest boxers and punchers in any
weight to ever enter the ring, Leonard lost his first
professional fight and then went on to win his next 88
matches—68 by knockouts. In his first year as champion, Leonard
defended his title 14 times, beginning just one week after
winning it.
Although he retired from the ring a millionaire,
he lost nearly everything in the stock market crash of 1929.
After a seven-year layoff, he attempted an ill-fated comeback,
retiring once again after losing to young Jimmy McLarnin in
October 1932.
Wrote veteran sportswriter Dan Parker: “Leonard
[as champion] moved with the grace of a ballet dancer and wore
an air of arrogance that belonged to royalty.” Said Hearst
papers editor Arthur Brisbane of Leonard: “He has done more to
conquer anti-Semitism than a thousand textbooks.” Leonard was a
key supporter of the first Maccabiah Games in 1932 and the
Maccabiah Games of 1935.
After several years in the U.S. Maritime Service during
World War II, Leonard returned to boxing as a referee in 1943.
Four years later he collapsed and died in the ring while
refereeing a match in New York’s St. Nicholas Arena. |
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