A LOOK back AT EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON this date
Looooooong fight
One must admire the conditioning of a boxer who can go the 12-round distance. How about 136? That’s the number of rounds lightweights Arthur Chambers and Johnny Clark did battle on this date in 1879 in Chippewa Falls, Ontario. The bout lasted 2 hours, 23 minutes, one of longest contests in boxing history, according to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Chambers, from England, knocked out his American counterpart to end the marathon. How could 136 rounds be squeezed into about 2½ hours? We can’t be certain, although a round ended when one fighter went down in those days. Maybe it was as much a wrestling match as a boxing contest. Some consider it the first great lightweight fight. Chambers, who settled in Philadelphia, went on to become an early financial backer and advisor to the first heavyweight champion of the modern era, John L. Sullivan. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Pioneer in 2000.
Also on this date: Joe Louis stopped Abe Simon in six rounds to retain the heavyweight championship in 1942 at Madison Square Garden. And, in 1983, Larry Holmes successfully defended his heavyweight belt by easily outpointing Lucien Rodriguez at Watres Armory in Scranton, Pa.