George Dixon
Canadian boxer (1870–1908)
Who was George Dixon?
George Dixon lived from July 29, 1870 to January 6, 1908. After winning the bantamweight title in 1890, he became the first ever black athlete to win a world championship in any sport; he was also the first Canadian-born boxing champion. Dixon was born in Africville, Halifax, Nova Scotia. George Dixon (July 29, 1870 – January 6, 1908) was a Canadian professional boxer. Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer ranked Dixon as the #1 featherweight of all time. In 2018 he was named one of the greatest 15 athletes in Nova Scotia's history, ranking sixth. Dixon is widely credited for developing shadowboxing.
Historical significance
He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1956 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a first-class inductee in 1990. Known as "Little Chocolate" or as "George Tropicana" he stood 5 feet 3.5 inches (1.613 m) tall and weighed only 87 pounds (39 kg) when he began his professional boxing career. Dixon claimed the world bantamweight title on May 10, 1888, after a bout with Tommy "Spider" Kelly, and was officially considered the champion after knocking out Nunc Wallace of England in 18 rounds two years later on June 27, 1890.