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 nameMichael Francis McTigue
Nickname(s)Bold Mike
Weight(s)Light Heavyweight
NationalityIrish
Born(1892-11-26)November 26, 1892
County Clare, Ireland
DiedAugust 12, 1966(1966-08-12) (aged 73)
Queens, New York
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights172
Wins108
Wins by KO52
Losses46
Draws13
No contests15

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He was 38 years old when his boxing licence was revoked and had been fighting for 21 years.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
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
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
42 Win 32–9–1 Billy Brown NWS 10 Oct 02, 1916 Bolton Hall, Troy, U.S.
41 Win 31–9–1 Battling Gans NWS 10 Sep 14, 1916 Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
40 Win 30–9–1 Battling Munroe KO 8 (10) Sep 01, 1916 New Polo A.C., New York, U.S.
39 Win 29–9–1 Willie Langford NWS 10 Aug 21, 1916 Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
38 Win 28–9–1 Willie Langford DQ 4 (10) Aug 03, 1916 Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
37 Win 27–9–1 Willie Appleby KO 7 (10) Jul 24, 1916 Tottenville S.C., Staten Island, New York, U.S.
36 Win 26–9–1 Jack Kelsey NWS 10 Jun 24, 1916 Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
35 Loss 25–9–1 Happy Howard NWS 10 May 27, 1916 Queensboro A.C., Long Island City, Queens, New York, U.S.
34 Win 25–8–1 Hippolyte Tyncke NWS 10 May 13, 1916 St. Nicholas Arena, New York, U.S.
33 Win 24–8–1 Young Carpentier NWS 10 Mar 29, 1916 Pioneer Sporting Club, New York, U.S.
32 Loss 23–8–1 Augie Ratner NWS 10 Mar 18, 1916 Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
31 Win 23–7–1 Eddie McGlynn NWS 10 Mar 06, 1916 Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
30 Win 22–7–1 Al Thiel NWS 10 Feb 28, 1916 Pioneer Sporting Club, New York, U.S.
29 Win 21–7–1 Michael Hickey NWS 10 Feb 21, 1916 Harlem S.C., New York, U.S.
28 Win 20–7–1 Billy Carter KO 1 (10) Jan 29, 1916 Sharkey A.C., New York, U.S.
27 Loss 19–7–1 John Kraynack DQ 5 (12) Jan 12, 1916 Rhode Island A.C., Thornton, U.S.
26 Win 19–6–1 John Kraynack PTS 12 Dec 22, 1915 Rhode Island A.C., Thornton, U.S.
25 Win 18–6–1 Reuben Jaffe KO 7 (10) Dec 10, 1915 New Polo A.C., New York, U.S.
24 Win 17–6–1 Charley McGreevey KO 1 (10) Nov 27, 1915 Sharkey A.C., New York, U.S.
23 Loss 16–6–1 Eddie Maher DQ 2 (10) Nov 08, 1915 Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
22 Win 16–5–1 Al Thiel KO 7 (10) Oct 11, 1915 Olympia Boxing Club, New York, U.S.
21 Win 15–5–1 Reuben Jaffe KO 6 (10) Sep 13, 1915 Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
20 Win 14–5–1 Walter McGirr NWS 10 Aug 23, 1915 Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
19 Win 13–5–1 Johnny Baker NWS 10 Aug 09, 1915 Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
18 Win 12–5–1 Dan Tucker KO 3 (10) Jul 16, 1915 New Polo A.C., New York, U.S.
17 Draw 11–5–1 Freddie Kiebler NWS 10 Jun 12, 1915 Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
16 Win 11–5 Happy Howard NWS 10 May 21, 1915 St. Nicholas Arena, New York, U.S.
15 Win 10–5 Paddy Sullivan TKO 3 (10) May 17, 1915 Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
14 Win 9–5 George Novick TKO 3 (10) Apr 12, 1915 Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
13 Loss 8–5 Tex Kelly NWS 10 Apr 10, 1915 Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
12 Loss 8–4 Tommy Teague DQ 6 (10) Mar 20, 1915 Brown's Gym, New York, U.S.
11 Loss 8–3 Joe Stein NWS 10 Jan 30, 1915 Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
10 Win 8–2 George Leahy KO 3 (10) Jan 16, 1915 Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
9 Loss 7–2 Mike Farrell NWS 10 Jan 05, 1915 Brown's Gym, New York, U.S.
8 Win 7–1 Jack Emmanon KO 2 (10) Dec 12, 1914 Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
7 Win 6–1 Rube Howard KO 5 (10) Nov 01, 1914 New York, U.S.
6 Loss 5–1 Walter McGirr DQ 5 (10) Oct 17, 1914 Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Paddy Conway NWS 10 Aug 24, 1914 Olympic A.C., New York, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 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
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Battling Siki		 World Light Heavyweight Champion
17 Mar 1923–30 May 1925		 Succeeded by
Paul Berlenbach
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