Benny Leonard

Boxer

• Born: April 7, 1896
• Birthplace: New York, New York
• Died: April 18, 1947
• Place of death: New York, New York

Sport: Boxing

Early Life

Benny Leonard was born Benjamin Leiner in New York, New York, on April 7, 1896. He grew up on the lower East Side of the city, a rough area where children had to know how to fight to survive. Ethnic background was a major factor during the early twentieth century, and Benny, who was Jewish, had to be ready to do battle against youths of Italian and Irish descent. This fighting experience, combined with the poverty of inner-city life, caused many young boys of Benny’s generation and situation to dream of a career in the boxing ring. Benny and his two brothers frequented a local gym known as the Silver Heel Club where their uncle, who was a member, taught them basic boxing skills. In his mid-teens, Benny determined to become a professional fighter.

The Road to Excellence

Because boxing had not been legalized in New York when Benny began in the profession, his first fights were in private clubs. The payment for these bouts, which went only to the winner, was a couple of dollars at most. None of Benny’s early fights are listed on his professional record. However, by 1912, at the age of sixteen, and using the last name Leonard so that his mother would not know what he was doing, Benny’s fights began to be recorded.

During the next two years Benny had close to fifty fights, chiefly as a lightweight. By early 1914, his growing reputation as a boxing prospect brought him to the attention of well-known boxing manager Billy Gibson. In June of 1914, Benny signed a contract with Gibson, who remained his manager until the final stages of his career. Under the guidance of Gibson and his assistant, George Engel, Benny improved rapidly in both boxing technique and punching power. In 1915, he began a series of bouts that included matchups with and victories over many of the best lightweights of the era.

The Emerging Champion

The lightweight champion at the time was Freddie Welsh (Frederick Hall Thomas) of Wales. Welsh had won the world title in 1914 and defended it numerous times. Benny had fought Welsh in two “no-decision” bouts, so named because decisions were not allowed in boxing matches in New York at that time. The two had fought on fairly even terms in their first two fights. In the eyes of most at ringside, Benny got the better of the champion in the second bout. The title, however, could not change hands except by knockout. On May 28, 1917, in the third bout between the two fighters, Benny knocked Welsh out in the ninth round to gain the championship.

Benny held the title for the next eight years, until his first retirement from the ring in 1925. Among the great fighters against whom he boxed were featherweight champion Johnny Kilbane and lightweight and welterweight contender Lew Tendler. In July, 1922, in the first of his two fights with Tendler, Benny used his wits as well as his boxing skills to gain victory. Benny, badly hurt in the eighth round, engaged Tendler in a conversation while in a clench, which gained him the precious seconds needed to clear his head and continue the fight. His only defeat during this eight-year span was a loss by disqualification in a fight for the world welterweight championship against Jack Britton.

Continuing the Story

After his retirement in 1925, Benny remained out of the ring for six years. In 1931, however, after losing most of his savings in the stock market crash two years earlier, he attempted a comeback. Well past his prime, he was still able to win nineteen consecutive fights before he was finally knocked out by later welterweight champion Jimmy McLarnin in 1932. Following the loss to McLarnin, Benny retired for good. He served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II and continued to remain active in boxing, working as a referee. On April 17, 1947, he died suddenly of a heart attack while refereeing a bout in New York City.

Summary

Benny Leonard has consistently been ranked as one of the greatest lightweight boxers of all time. Nat Fleischer, the famous boxing writer and founder of Ring magazine, ranked him second behind the great African American champion Joe Gans, who fought during the early years of the century. A more recent ranking of lightweights in Ring placed him second behind Roberto Durán of Panama, who held the title in the 1970’s. Among Benny’s distinctive characteristics was his famous slicked-back hair, which, despite its length and pompadour style, seldom got mussed in the ring.

Bibliography

Bodner, Allen. When Boxing Was a Jewish Sport. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1997.

Fleischer, Nat. Leonard the Magnificent: Life Story of the Man Who Made Himself King of the Lightweights. Whitefish, Mont.: Kessinger, 2007.

Fleischer, Nat, and Sam Andre. An Illustrated History of Boxing. 6th ed. New York: Citadel Press, 2001.

Schulberg, Budd. Sparring with Hemingway: And Other Legends of the Fight Game. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1995.

Suster, Gerald. Lightning Strikes: The Lives and Times of Boxing’s Lightweight Heroes. London: Robson Books, 1994.