To everyone who passed him on the streets of New York City, he was just another unhoused person.
He seemed to be almost skin and bones as his clothes hung loosely, barely providing enough warmth to keep the chill of the wind out.
No one stopped to ask him who he was.
If someone had, they would have heard a story of triumph and tragedy.
He could have told them of his humble beginnings in Nova Scotia and how he became one of the most famous men in the world by winning not one, but two different world championships.
He would’ve said he was the first Canadian-born boxing champion, and the first Black man to do it.
One day, experts would rank him as the greatest featherweight boxer who ever lived, and one of the greatest athletes to ever come out of Nova Scotia.
I’m Craig Baird, this is Canadian History Ehx and today we are shadow boxing our way into a 15-round match with a man who revolutionized boxing!
George Dixon!
February is Black History Month so over the next four weeks, I am sharing important stories of Black Canadians to celebrate.
But before I continue, a quick note — this episode may contain dated language. It is being used as examples of how people spoke at the time and does not reflect current views.
Halifax claims George Dixon as one of its greatest exports.
But when he was born, the city wanted nothing to do with him, or anyone else from his community.
Dixon was born on July 29, 1870, not in Halifax, but in Africville — A black Canadian settlement from the early-1800s, founded as a place for Black Nova Scotians who didn’t want to, or couldn’t, live in Halifax.
The City of Halifax did everything it could to make life in Africville difficult, including building a city prison, an infectious disease hospital, a slaughter house and other undesirable facilities like a depository for fecal waste and the city dump.
Halifax also refused to provide heat, water or sanitation to Africville residents.
But Africville persevered.
George Dixon was born into a small community that had withstood racism yet prospered… At least until the 1960s when Halifax condemned the area, told residents to move, and then bulldozed 150 years of history.
And in that time, it was the birthplace of Portia White, one of Canada’s greatest concert singers.
Had the Africville Seasides hockey team which dominated the Colored Hockey League by winning championship after championship.
And when the Halifax Explosion levelled its buildings in 1917, forcing the residents to rebuild with none of the millions of dollars in aid Halifax enjoyed from around the world made it to Africville.
But I’m getting ahead of myself because baby George Dixon opened his eyes for the first time on a warm summer day in 1870 and lived in Africville for a decade before his family moved to Boston.
His father was looking for more work opportunities and so Boston became his adopted home. That’s where George began to take an interest in photography.
His new passion put him on a path with destiny because one day, while working for a local photographer, he was asked to help take promotional photos of boxers.
Dixon didn’t know it, but his life would be forever changed as he watched boxer after boxer pose for the camera with a serious face and their fists raised towards an imaginary opponent.
George noticed how others admired them.
They were the kings of their sport.
George Dixon wanted to be just like them.
He began taking boxing classes.
It quickly became apparent to everyone that George was an absolute natural in the ring.
Now boxing has a rich and storied history that dates back more than 5,000 years to ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Greece.
And although the sport evolved over time, when George entered the sport, boxers fought bareknuckle, or with rudimentary boxing gloves that resembled winter gloves more than sporting equipment.
Every fight was brutal as two combatants punched each other until… one of them was knocked out…or dead.
Life in the ring was not for the faint of heart.
Andy Bowen died in 1894 when he was knocked out in the 18th round by Kid Lavigne.
Three years later, Walter Croot died of a brain injury from punches to the head from Jimmy Barry.
There were many who saw George Dixon’ five-foot-three height and 87 pounds and wondered how he could ever survive in the ring.
But…what he lacked in size he made up in pure skill.
He was quick with his punches and his defences.
He could bob and weave with lightning speed.
If an opponent threw a punch, by the time it was supposed to land George was already somewhere else ready to land a punch of his own. And I haven’t even mentioned the strength and power behind every one of his punches With all those weapons in his arsenal it didn’t take long for George Dixon to be ready for his first official fight,
And that meant a return to his homeland… Nova Scotia.
We don’t know what George Dixon was thinking when he walked into the ring in Halifax for his first fight.
He would be facing off against Young Johnson. The mists of history have erased any information about that young man except that he was George Dixon’s first professional opponent.
And the reason details could be lost to history is because it wasn’t a long fight.
George knocked him out in three rounds to claim his first victory.
It is interesting however that George’s first fight was in Halifax.
Although he began his boxing career there he never fought there again, at least in an official capacity.
With that first win, a new force had entered the boxing world, and he was about to take it by storm.
George’s next fight was in Boston against Elias Hamilton on Sept. 21, 1887.
In eight rounds, he was declared the winner on points, rather than knockout.
The Boston Globe wrote quote,
“This was a hard fight, and Dixon proved to be the better man.”
As a rising star in the Boston boxing world, George fought on a more frequent basis.
During 1888, he boxed 12 times from Jan. 1 to Dec. 28.
George was such an entertaining and popular boxer that the scheduled number of rounds were often increased so Dixon and his opponents could fight for longer.
To the delight of the fans seven of the 12 matches in 1888 lasted longer than the scheduled rounds.
And Dixon kept winning, or at least he didn’t lose.
He had 6 wins and 6 draws that year.
His first loss didn’t arrive until June 3, 1889, almost three years after he first entered the ring.
He only lost the 17th fight of his career because he punched his opponent, fellow Canadian George Wright, twice in the face after the bell.
That earned him a disqualification.
The Boston Globe wrote,
“Dixon had everything his own way from the start. In the second round he pounded Wright so hard that the Canadian appeared to be anxious to quit. As soon as the gong announced the end of the round, Dixon forgot himself and struck Wright two blows in the face.”
Despite that loss, there seemed to be no stopping him.
On Dec. 27, George Dixon went up against Eugene Hornbacher.
For Boston, this was an important match up.
His opponent was from their hated rival …New York City.
Boston fans put hundreds of dollars on a George Dixon win.
And he would make it rain…The Fall River Globe wrote,
“Hornbacker was hit so hard that he was still very groggy at the call of time, and it was easily to be seen that the fight was almost over.”
Dixon danced around the ring and repeatedly punched his opponent and one minute into the second round Hornbacker was knocked out.
The entire fight lasted only five minutes.
With that knockout, Dixon became the American 115-pound champion.
And he was just getting started.
A month and a half later George Dixon would be in the ring for a marathon match.
On Feb. 7, 1890, in Boston he faced Cal McCarthy who was the first teen-age titleholder when he won the 110-pound title in 1887, at 18-years-of-age. His bout against George lasted 70…YES 70 ROUNDS.
For four hours and 37 minutes, Dixon and McCarthy bobbed and weaved, while throwing punches at each other.
Think back to the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson event from late-2024.
That fight was eight rounds of two minutes each.
Do you think either Paul or Tyson could have lasted 70 rounds, and nearly five hours in the ring?
Not a chance.
The Ottawa Journal wrote,
“McCarthy forced Dixon upon the ropes many times, but the referee allowed no foul. McCarthy’s left eye was closed and his mouth and face swollen but Dixon showed only a little swelling under the left eye.”
George Dixon won by points and he had basically an undefeated record.
There was no debating it. He was the best there was at the time.
His fans knew it.
The world knew it.
And George Dixon knew it.
But there was some controversy over titles, and he wanted to prove it officially.
You see, two years earlier, George thought he had won the World Bantamweight Championship belt but due to disorganization among various governing bodies, British boxer Nunc Wallace also claimed the title.
To claim the title in earnest Georgen travelled with his manager Tom O’Rourke to London, England in June 1890.
He would face Wallace at the New Pelican Club Gym.
It would be a match up for the ages in front of 1000 people The Ottawa Daily Citizen wrote,
“From the fifth up to the tenth round, there was no great display of pugilistic skill but in the tenth round Wallace received a knock-down blow and blood flowed from him pretty freely. He came to time, however, promptly at the call, though his weakness was plainly apparent. In each succeeding round to the 18th, Dixon fought the Englishman all around the ring.”
By the 18th round, Wallace was exhausted and couldn’t defend.
When he leaned helplessly against the ropes, George Dixon was named the winner.
That win earned him the championship and a purse of over $1,000.
For the next few years, George fought to hold his title, including one incredible 40-round match up, against Johnny Murphy in Providence, Rhode Island on Oct. 23, 1890.
Dixon won that with a knockout punch and was on top of the world as the Bantamweight Champion.
But he wanted more. and for that he had to put on nearly 20 pounds of muscle.
Fans paid upwards of $20 each to watch a rematch between George Dixon and Cal McCarthy on March 31, 1891, in Troy, New York for the World Featherweight Championship.
Once again, George Dixon did not disappoint. The Kingston Daily News wrote,
“Both men fought fast but Dixon had the best of the fight from the start, repeatedly knocking down his opponent, whose blows, although landed often, seemed to lack force. In the seventh round, McCarthy’s nose was broken.”
By the ninth round, the repeated hits to the head had McCarthy’s vision blurring.
In the 12th round, Dixon ran McCarthy into the ropes, and it took everything McCarthy had to stay upright.
McCarthy rallied slightly in the 15th round but by the 21st, he was not doing well.
By the 22nd round, Dixon had sealed the deal.
The Daily News reported,
“When the boys came together in this round it was evident that they meant to settle matters. They both landed heavily, McCarthy going down several times from the tremendous swings of his opponent, but he rallied in time to gain his feet. It was too plain that he could not last long.”
One final punch and Dixon laid out McCarthy.
He won the match and $4,000 and, in the process, became the first person to capture world titles in two different weight classes.
So, how was Dixon able to dominate the boxing world?
He was a natural athlete with incredible speed and agility.
He also had a sharp mind that could easily analyze opponents.
While others thought boxing was just about dodging or landing punches, George Dixon knew there was much more to it.
He was a smart fighter who essentially created the idea of scientific boxing which led him to develop new training methods.
To build his strength and speed, he held hand weights while throwing punches t.
To improve his footwork, he attached a speed bag to the floor and kicked it as he punched a heavy bag hanging from the ceiling.
Perhaps his most famous innovation was punching and dodging an invisible opponent. This loosened up his muscles but also helped him train for a fight when he was alone.
Today we call this shadowboxing.
George Dixon also wanted to teach others and in 1893 he wrote and published A Lesson on Boxing
His training and innovative approach helped him dominate the sport.
Fighter after fighter challenged him over the next few years, but George Dixon was triumphant every time.
There was Eddie Pierce, who challenged for the featherweight title in New York and who lost in three rounds on Aug. 7, 1893.
Solly Smith was next.
The American of Hispanic descent lasted seven rounds before he was knocked out on Sept. 25, 1893. On the same day, three years later Tommy White danced into the ring.
. He survived for 20 rounds before losing on points on Sept. 25, 1896.
George Dixon was unstoppable.
Almost….
He may have been one of, if not the most, famous boxers in North America but outside the ring he was a Black man.
He experienced racism wherever he went, especially after he married his white manager’s sister.
In 1892 during a tournament at the Olympic Club in New Orleans, he broke Jack Skelly’s nose and knocked him out in the eighth round.
Skelly was a white man, and several spectators got angry he was defeated by a Black man.
Racial slurs rained down from the stands with such fierceness George and his entourage feared for his safety.
The Olympic Club decided the best thing to do was not keep racists out, instead they banned all mixed-race boxing matches.
In the face of racism George Dixon persevered.
His fights drew huge crowds so he insisted that promoters reserve seats at the front for Black fans so they wouldn’t be relegated to the back and far away from the action.
I’m sure it was nice for him to see his community supporting him from the front row as he hoped not only to give them the best seats in the house, but also to inspire others to follow in his footsteps.
But his shoes would be really hard to fill.
George Dixon’s hold on the featherweight title finally ended, albeit briefly on July 1, 1898,
Ben Jordan, the British featherweight champion took on Dixon at New York’s Lenox Club in a fight for the ages.
In the seventh round, Jordan was on his hands and knees after a punch by Dixon, but he got back up.
Dixon knocked him down a few more times, but Jordan refused to stay down and kept getting back on to his feet.
Finally, after 25 rounds, Jordan was declared the champion in a points decision The San Francisco Chronicle wrote,
“Dixon did the leading but unlike many of those who had previously met the little Colored fighter, Jordan went at him and mixed it all the time.”
Those in attendance thought it was very close, and it could have gone either way.
The Los Angeles Times wrote,
“Both men fought well and there was little to choose between them.”
George Dixon may have been down, but he was definitely not out He may have lost the featherweight title that day, but it wouldn’t be long before they were reunited.
When Dave Sullivan claimed the featherweight title, Dixon challenged him for it On Nov. 11, 1898, Dixon and Sullivan got in the ring and after 25 rounds George Dixon was champion once again. Sullivan had held the title for only 46 days.
While nine challengers attempted to take the title away from Dixon that year, none were successful.
But as a new century dawned, the tides of fortune changed, and George Dixon’s reign would come to an end.
To explain what happened to George Dixon let me bring up the movie, The Big Lebowski.
Donny, played by Steve Buscemi, is a member of a bowling team along with Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski and Walter Sobchak.
Through the first part of the movie, Donny was a good bowler who often got a strike.
He could always count on his skills until, one day he walks up and throws the ball, while The Dude and Walter are talking behind him, he watches the ball as it hits the pins.
All but one go down.
Donny looks confused, almost concerned that he was off while his teammates barely notice his miss.
Shortly after, Donny dies of a heart attack in the parking lot of the bowling alley.
I think that scene is analogous to George Dixon’s career.
He always won and even when he lost it was always by points.
Until one fight…changed that.
It was like the one pin left standing.
Because after that fight? It was over for George Dixon.
George confidently walked into the ring at the Broadway Athletic Club in New York City on Jan. 9, 1900.
He hadn’t lost a fight in almost 2 years having won 14 in a row Everyone expected a Dixon victory over Terry McGovern who had won the World Bantam Championship on September 12, 1899.
Much like Dixon had done years earlier, McGovern moved up in weight class in less than five months to be able to challenge Dixon for the featherweight title. The two went toe to toe for 25 rounds, until McGovern did something no one had ever done before.
He knocked out George Dixon.
He had a broken nose and as blood poured down his face… something had changed. From 1887 to 1900, Dixon had only lost 13 official matches.
It was an incredibly dominant run but after his battle against McGovern, he lost 14 in a row.
The downward spiral paused on Feb 13, 1902, when he won against Chick Tucker in Connecticut but then it continued with another 7 straight losses. From the moment he lost the featherweight title, to his last fight on Dec. 10, 1906, he registered only 13 wins, while racking up 60 losses or draws.
And this is when the triumphant story of George Dixon turns tragic.
Just a few months after his final fight, he was living on the streets of New York City.
His winnings had disappeared, and alcohol had become a constant companion.
To make money he boxed for a few dollars in unofficial matches in front of a handful of people.
On Jan. 28, 1907, the Montreal Star wrote,
“George Dixon, the coloured Nova Scotian boxer, is a physical wreck. When the former featherweight champion put up his hands in an exhibition at the McGovern benefit, expressions of pity were heard on all sides.”
As people around the world celebrated New Year’s 1908, George Dixon checked into the alcohol ward of Bellevue Hospital.
Five days later, on Jan. 6, 1908, Dixon died.
After his death fans rallied and organized a charity boxing tournament on Jan. 23, 1908, to pay off the hospital bills he had incurred.
It was a tragic end to a great Canadian athlete.
But how has he been remembered since?
In Nova Scotia, George Dixon is considered one of the province’s greatest athletes.
Ranked in 2018, as the sixth greatest athlete just behind fellow Black boxer Sam Langford, and one spot ahead of two-time Boston Marathon winner Johnny Miles.
A recreation and community centre in Halifax was named after him, and the Government of Canada declared him a National Historic Person.
In 1955, he was one of the first athletes inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
A year later, he was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame.
When the International Boxing Hall of Fame opened its doors in 1990, Dixon was one of the first boxers inducted.
Ring Magazine went on to rank him as the greatest featherweight boxer in history.
But it’s important to remember that George Dixon was more than a great athlete.
Throughout his career, nearly to the end, he used his fame and fortune to create opportunities for Black boxers.
He provided them with training and showcased their talents by sparring against them.
Without George Dixon, Sam Langford or Larry Gains may not have had opportunities in the sport.
Both Black Canadian boxers rose to the top of their sport to become champions thanks in part to the doors George Dixon punched open.
