Jim Corbett Biography - A Born Fighter, From Bank Teller To Professional Boxer, Rise Of A Champion, Chronology

1866-1933

American boxer

Heavyweight champion boxer "Gentleman" Jim Corbett forever changed his sport's image as a brawling ground for hooligans, and legitimized it as a professional sport. Before Corbett won his championship bout in 1892, boxing was perceived as mainly a test of raw power. Corbett brought strategy to the game, beating his heavier, stronger opponent, John L. Sullivan, with skill and agility. That, combined with his penchant for elegant clothes, and his refined manner, earned him his nickname. As former featherweight boxing champion and commentator Barry McGuigan put it in his introduction to Patrick

Jim Corbett

Myler's book Gentleman Jim Corbett, "He wrote the original boxing textbook for the others to follow."