Mike McTigue

"Bold" Mike McTigue (November 26, 1892 – August 12, 1966) was the light heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1923 to 1925.

Mike McTigue
Statistics
Real name	Michael Francis McTigue
Nickname(s)	Bold Mike
Weight(s)	Light Heavyweight
Nationality	Irish
Born	November 26, 1892 County Clare, Ireland
Died	August 12, 1966 (aged 73) Queens, New York
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	172
Wins	108
Wins by KO	52
Losses	46
Draws	13
No contests	15

Early years

Michael Francis McTigue (Mike McTigue) was born in Lickaun, Kilnamona, in County Clare, Ireland, on 26 November 1892. He was recorded in the 1901 Census of County Clare.[1] McTigue emigrated to America in 1912 when he was 21.[2] He traveled as a steerage passenger of the British steamer Baltic, which arrived at the Port of New York on 21 September 1912. He was the brother of fellow boxer Jim McTigue.

Boxing career

World light heavyweight champion

McTigue began boxing and fought in America for 13 years. McTigue got a shot at the World Light Heavyweight Championship in 1923. Despite the Irish Civil War still ongoing, the fight was held in La Scala Opera House in Prince's Street, Dublin against the Senagalese Fighter Battling Siki. McTigue won on points after 20 rounds to become the World Light Heavyweight Champion.[3] He would defend his title against future Hall of Famers Tommy Loughran, Young Stribling and Mickey Walker before losing the title by unanimous decision to the gold medalist wrestler-turned-boxer Paul Berlenbach in 1925.

Noteworthy opposition

McTigue fought multiple bouts in his career against the likes of Paul Berlenbach, Jeff Smith, Harry Greb, Mickey Walker and Tommy Loughran. He lost most of those bouts, but he actually got the best of the great Loughran during one of their no-decision contests. He also earned a close decision over Tiger Flowers. In 1927, he produced his greatest performance on American soil when he knocked out the great Berlenbach in the fourth round.[4]

Retirement years and death

He was 38 years old when his boxing licence was revoked and had been fighting for 21 years. After his enforced retirement, McTigue ran a successful bar on Long Island until the late 1940s. He succumbed to poverty and ill health and was confined to various hospitals around New York for the last ten years of his life.[5] He finally died at New York's Queen's General Hospital on August 12, 1966. He was survived by his widow and two daughters.[6]

In later years McTigue regaled listeners with tales of the highlight of his career, particularly the Dublin bout. McTigue's favourite story involved an armed sentry stationed in his corner to keep the peace. As the rounds progressed, he stuck his bayonet between the ropes and jabbed McTigue in the leg. "I got three pounds' bet on you," the guard said. "God help you if you lose!"[7] McTigue died in 1966.[8] McTigue was honoured in his native parish when the porch of the church was named after him. Kilnamona's Community Centre was opened in 2001 and named in his honour.[9]

Professional boxing record (incomplete)

Professional record summary

116 fights	77 wins	26 losses
By knockout	52	9
By decision	23	11
By disqualification	2	6
Draws	9
No contests	4

All Newspaper decisions are regarded as “no decision” bouts as they have “resulted in neither boxer winning or losing, and would therefore not count as part of their official fight record."

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
42	Win	18–4 (20)	Billy Brown	NWS	10	Oct 02, 1916	Bolton Hall, Troy, U.S.
41	Win	18–4 (19)	Battling Gans	NWS	10	Sep 14, 1916	Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
40	Win	18–4 (18)	Battling Munroe	KO	8 (10)	Sep 01, 1916	New Polo A.C., New York, U.S.
39	Win	17–4 (18)	Willie Langford	NWS	10	Aug 21, 1916	Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
38	Win	17–4 (17)	Willie Langford	DQ	4 (10)	Aug 03, 1916	Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
37	Win	16–4 (17)	Willie Appleby	KO	7 (10)	Jul 24, 1916	Tottenville S.C., Staten Island, New York, U.S.
36	Win	15–4 (17)	Jack Kelsey	NWS	10	Jun 24, 1916	Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
35	Loss	15–4 (16)	Happy Howard	NWS	10	May 27, 1916	Queensboro A.C., Long Island City, Queens, New York, U.S.
34	Win	15–4 (15)	Hippolyte Tyncke	NWS	10	May 13, 1916	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, U.S.
33	Win	15–4 (14)	Young Carpentier	NWS	10	Mar 29, 1916	Pioneer Sporting Club, New York, U.S.
32	Loss	15–4 (13)	Augie Ratner	NWS	10	Mar 18, 1916	Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
31	Win	15–4 (12)	Eddie McGlynn	NWS	10	Mar 06, 1916	Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
30	Win	15–4 (11)	Al Thiel	NWS	10	Feb 28, 1916	Pioneer Sporting Club, New York, U.S.
29	Win	15–4 (10)	Michael Hickey	NWS	10	Feb 21, 1916	Harlem S.C., New York, U.S.
28	Win	15–4 (9)	Billy Carter	KO	1 (10)	Jan 29, 1916	Sharkey A.C., New York, U.S.
27	Loss	14–4 (9)	John Kraynack	DQ	5 (12)	Jan 12, 1916	Rhode Island A.C., Thornton, U.S.
26	Win	14–3 (9)	John Kraynack	PTS	12	Dec 22, 1915	Rhode Island A.C., Thornton, U.S.
25	Win	13–3 (9)	Reuben Jaffe	KO	7 (10)	Dec 10, 1915	New Polo A.C., New York, U.S.
24	Win	12–3 (9)	Charley McGreevey	KO	1 (10)	Nov 27, 1915	Sharkey A.C., New York, U.S.
23	Loss	11–3 (9)	Eddie Maher	DQ	2 (10)	Nov 08, 1915	Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
22	Win	11–2 (9)	Al Thiel	KO	7 (10)	Oct 11, 1915	Olympia Boxing Club, New York, U.S.
21	Win	10–2 (9)	Reuben Jaffe	KO	6 (10)	Sep 13, 1915	Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
20	Win	9–2 (9)	Walter McGirr	NWS	10	Aug 23, 1915	Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
19	Win	9–2 (8)	Johnny Baker	NWS	10	Aug 09, 1915	Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
18	Win	9–2 (7)	Dan Tucker	KO	3 (10)	Jul 16, 1915	New Polo A.C., New York, U.S.
17	Draw	8–2 (7)	Freddie Kiebler	NWS	10	Jun 12, 1915	Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
16	Win	8–2 (6)	Happy Howard	NWS	10	May 21, 1915	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, U.S.
15	Win	8–2 (5)	Paddy Sullivan	TKO	3 (10)	May 17, 1915	Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
14	Win	7–2 (5)	George Novick	TKO	3 (10)	Apr 12, 1915	Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
13	Loss	6–2 (5)	Tex Kelly	NWS	10	Apr 10, 1915	Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
12	Loss	6–2 (4)	Tommy Teague	DQ	6 (10)	Mar 20, 1915	Brown's Gym, New York, U.S.
11	Loss	6–1 (4)	Joe Stein	NWS	10	Jan 30, 1915	Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
10	Win	6–1 (3)	George Leahy	KO	3 (10)	Jan 16, 1915	Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
9	Loss	5–1 (3)	Mike Farrell	NWS	10	Jan 05, 1915	Brown's Gym, New York, U.S.
8	Win	5–1 (2)	Jack Emmanon	KO	2 (10)	Dec 12, 1914	Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
7	Win	4–1 (2)	Rube Howard	KO	5 (10)	Nov 01, 1914	New York, U.S.
6	Loss	3–1 (2)	Walter McGirr	DQ	5 (10)	Oct 17, 1914	Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
5	Win	3–0 (2)	Paddy Conway	NWS	10	Aug 24, 1914	Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
4	Win	3–0 (1)	Rube Howard	NWS	10	Jul 13, 1914	Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Mike Greel	KO	3 (6)	May 16, 1914	New York, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Joe Marino	KO	1 (6)	Mar 28, 1914	New York, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Happy Davis	KO	3 (6)	Mar 07, 1914	Fairmont A.C., Bronx, U.S.

See also

• List of light heavyweight boxing champions

References

1. Clare County Library. "1901 Census of Clare – Kilnamona DED, Leckaun 37/12". Clarelibrary.ie. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
2. "Ellis Island Foundation, Inc". Ellisisland.org. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
3. "Clare Museum: Riches of Clare: Kilnamona's World Champ". Clarelibrary.ie. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
4. "Paul Berlenbach : Boxing Profiles". Boxingbiographies.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
5. "News". mikemctigue.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
6. "Obituary", Daily News, New York, New York, pg. 382, 13 August 1966
7. "McTigue a part of St. Patrick's Day folklore – boxing – ESPN". ESPN. 17 March 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
8. "Mike McTigue". Cyber Boxing Zone. 12 August 1966. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
9. Ó Murchadha, Ciarán. (2008) The Diocese of Killaloe: An Illustrated History. Ireland:Booklink

External links

• Boxing record for Mike McTigue from BoxRec
• Mike McTigue Website
• Mike McTigue - CBZ Profile