Battling Nelson

Battling Nelson
Statistics
Real name	Oscar Mattheus Nielsen
Nickname(s)	The Durable Dane
Rated at	Lightweight
Nationality	Danish
Born	June 5, 1882 Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	February 7, 1954(1954-02-07) (aged 71)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	135
Wins	73
Wins by KO	40
Losses	30
Draws	24
No contests	0

Oscar Mathæus Nielsen, also known as Battling Nelson, (June 5, 1882-February 7, 1954) was a Danish boxer who held the world lightweight championship on two separate occasions. He was nicknamed "the Durable Dane".

Personal history

Nelson was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, but emigrated to the United States the following year and he was raised in Hegewisch, a neighborhood on the far southeast side of Chicago. He died in 1954 in Chicago, Illinois after suffering serious head injuries obtained from an attack during a street crime.^[1]

Boxing career

Nelson began boxing professionally in 1896. He fought for the vacant lightweight title against Jimmy Britt on December 20, 1904, but lost a twenty-round decision. He lost to Abe Attell in 1905 but then beat Jack O'Neill to secure another shot at the title. This time, on September 9, 1905, he beat Britt by an eighteenth-round knockout.

1906 Gans-Nelson fight commemorative marker.

He defended the title once against Terry McGovern but then faced former champion Joe Gans on September 3, 1906, in Goldfield, Nevada. Gans dropped Nelson repeatedly during the bout, but could not knock him out. Finally, in the forty-second round, Nelson hit Gans low and was disqualified, losing the bout and his title.

In 1907 and 1908, Nelson split a pair of bouts with old foe Britt and he and Attell fought to a draw. He then challenged Gans for the title on July 4, 1908. This time he knocked Gans out in the seventeenth round. They fought again two months later, with Nelson winning by a twenty-one round knockout.

In 1909 Nelson fought Ad Wolgast in a fight held over the lightweight limit. Wolgast beat him and Nelson gave Wolgast a chance at his title on February 22, 1910. Eventually unable to see due to the accumulation of punches, Nelson lost the title when the referee stopped the fight in either the fortieth or the forty-second round.^[2]

Nelson continued to fight and in 1917 challenged Freddie Welsh for the lightweight title. He lost a twelve-round decision and retired from fighting in 1920.

He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.

External links

• Professional boxing record for Battling Nelson from BoxRec
• International Boxing Hall of Fame Site

References

1. ^ Roberts, James and Alexander Skutt (1997). The Boxing Register, 1st ed.. Ithaca, New York: McBooks Press. pp. 128. ISBN 0-935526-23-4. 
2. ^ Roberts, James and Alexander Skutt (1997). The Boxing Register, 1st ed.. Ithaca, New York: McBooks Press. pp. 129. ISBN 0-935526-23-4. 

Preceded by Jimmy Britt	Lightweight boxing champion 1905–1906	Succeeded by Joe Gans
Preceded by Joe Gans	Lightweight boxing champion 1906–1910	Succeeded by Ad Wolgast

Persondata
Name	Nelson, Battling
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 5, 1882
Place of birth	Copenhagen, Denmark
Date of death	February 7, 1954
Place of death