Help us find and improve next week's Connection Finder profiles: Boxers

Question

Actor Carl Weathers, known for his role of boxer, Apollo Creed, in the "Rocky" film franchise, passed away recently. We're looking for other boxers, both on screen and in real life, to feature in the Connection Finder next week, like Creed's opponent and friend in the "Rocky" movies, Sylvester Stallone.

(Weathers is currently unconnected. Can you help connect him before next week's feature? Jump in!)

Here are some boxers we're considering:

• Laila Ali, champion women's boxer and daughter of boxing great, Muhammed Ali
• Roberto Duran, top boxer from Panama
• Hilary Swank, Maggie Fitzgerald in "Million Dollar Baby"

Who else should we feature? We have room for 12 individuals. We can't feature everyone who is nominated, but if we don't feature a profile you work on, we may use it sometime in the future. And, of course, all contributions help improve our shared tree.

Our choice of features will depend partly on the notable person's CC7, i.e. their connection count within seven degrees. The more connections they have, the more likely it is for all WikiTree members to find a close and interesting connection to them. So, if you nominate someone, please help grow their CC7.

Suggestions are more likely to be considered if you provide a link to the person on WikiTree, some information about who they were or why you're nominating them, and if their profile is in good condition with a connection, image, and well-written and well-sourced biography.

We'll make a final decision on which ones to feature early next week.

Please reply here with what you're working on so that we don't duplicate our efforts. Thank you!

Take note that this is not the place to discuss why you think we shouldn't feature someone if those reasons are due to politics, actions, or opinions of those being suggested. Mentioning things like their not being connected, their biography still needing work, erroneous information, etc. are all suitable for discussion here and an opportunity to correct those situations.

Help us choose themes for 2024 Connection Finder themes here. 

Answer 1

There do not seem to be any women in WikiTree categories for boxing. Instead this week I'll nominate Lionel Rose (1948–2011), bantamweight, the first Indigenous Australian to win a world boxing title, and also the first to be named Australian of the Year. The profile has a good biography and several images, and the CC7 is 166.

Comments

The Australia Project Notables Team supports this nomination!

---

Thanks, Jim.

Answer 2

So many worthy boxers with low counts or no profiles. I’m including some in the hope that someone will be interested and show them some love.

The Manassa Mauler, Jack Dempsey, [[Dempsey-743|William Harrison Dempsey (1895-1983)]] CC7=5711

Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee, we can’t leave out, Muhammad Ali, [[Clay-1582|Cassius Marcellus (Clay) Ali (1942-2016)]] CC7=1038

Father of “Jethro Bodine”, Max Baer Sr. [[Baer-524|Maximillian Adelbert Baer Sr. (1909-1959)]] CC7=833

The Brown Bomber, Joe Louis, [[Barrow-1722|Joseph Louis Barrow (1914-1981)]] CC7=447

Jake LaMotta, [[LaMotta-6|Giacobbe LaMotta (1922-2017)]] CC7=174

The only boxer to knock out the great John L Sullivan, [[Sullivan-1121|John Lawrence Sullivan (1858-1918)]], CC7= 47, James J Corbett, [[Corbett-4725|James John Corbett (1866-1933)]] CC7=665

Undefeated heavyweight champ, Gene Tunney, [[Tunney-38|James Joseph Tunney (1897-1978)]] CC7=538

Journalist Damon Runyon nicknamed him Cinderella Man for his unbelievable comeback, James J Braddock, [[Braddock-270|James Joseph Braddock (1905-1974)]] CC7=405

Floyd Patterson, [[Patterson-21881|Floyd Patterson (1935-2006)]] CC7=56

Sonny Liston, [[Liston-798|Charles L. Liston (1932-1970)]] CC7=22

The OG Sugar Ray, [[Smith-218251|Walker (Smith) Robinson (1921-1989)]] CC7=79

Jack Johnson, [[Johnson-66486|John Arthur Johnson (1878-1946)]] CC7=55 and the actor who played a fictionalized version of him, [[Jones-39327|James Earl Jones]] CC7=386

Rocky Graziano, [[Barbella-11|Thomas Rocco (Barbella) Graziano (1919-1990)]] CC7=139 and the actor who played him, Paul Newman, [[Newman-2496|Paul Leonard Newman (1925-2008)]] CC7=300

This one makes me sad and I’ll have to work on him when I get a chance. The late, great, undefeated World Heavyweight Champion, Rocky Marciano, [[Marchegiano-1|Rocco Francis (Marchegiano) Marciano (1923-1969)]] CC7=4. He fought both Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott,  neither of whom are on WT.

Comments

Thanks, Donna.

Answer 3

I think the dear old (Douglas-5371) 9th Marquis of Queensberry deserves a shout-out here.  His sport, his rules.

Not marked as a notable yet, but he should absolutely meet the CC7 criteria.  Profile could use some work though.

Comments

He is now  I'll see what I can do with his profile.

---

Sheena, you've done an amazing job, it's unrecognizable from before!

---

Thank you, Stephen   I still need to get it finished though!

---

Thanks, Stephen and Sheena.

Answer 4

A great Australian boxer is Les Darcy  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Darcy-533

He has over 1400 as his CC7 count I think. He was inducted into Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

He had both Australian Middleweight and Heavyweight Championship titles at the same time in his life,

Comments

The Australia Project Notables Team supports this nomination!

---

Thanks, Sue.

Answer 5

Maybe Bep van Klaveren, the only Dutch boxer to ever win Olympic gold. 

Max Schmeling would also be a good one, but he isn't connected to the tree.

Unfortunately nominating Lucia Rijker isn't feasible, since she doesn't have a Wikitree profile and because she's still alive it's too hard to find information to make one.

Comments

I have now expanded the CC7 of Bep van Klaveren “The Dutch Windmill” to 156 connections. Not much yet, but I'm working on it ;-)

---

Thanks, Joke and Elsa.

Answer 6

Every boxing match needs a referee so I nominate Eugene 'Gene' Corri. His CC7 is over 1400.  Corri started his boxing career in the 1890s and was one of the original members of the National Sporting Club (NSC). He is believed to be the first in UK to referee from inside the ring.

Corri’s last major bout as a referee was the 1927 world middleweight fight at Olympia between America’s Mickey Walker and Britain’s Tommy Milligan. 

Corri retired from ring in 1931 after reputedly refereeing more than 1,000 bouts in UK and United States. He was a referee at the 1908 London Olympics. 

He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014. 

On trial at the Old Bailey in 1901 for the Killing and slaying of Murray Livingstone, (boxing name Billy Smith) in a bout at the National Sporting Club. He was the 'timekeeper' and one of ten accused. They were all acquitted when the jury failed to reach a verdict. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Corri-39

Comments

Thanks, Patrick.

Answer 7

James McLarnin CC7=72 1907-2004 . Family left Ireland when Jimmy was just three years old. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/McLarnin-5

James 'Gene' Tunney CC7=539 1897-1978 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tunney-38

Comments

Thanks, David.

Answer 8

John 'The Duke' Wayne. Usually a cowboy, but in 1952 he was 'Sean 'Trooper' Thornton' in the movie 'The Quiet Man'

CC7=1136 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Morrison-2413

Comments

One of my favorite movies. Thanks, Patrick!

Answer 9

This isn't entirely serious due to a CC7 of only 281 and a certain amount of personal bias, but it would be fun to know more about Johnny Walker (1819-1888).  He is notable.

No connection to the scotch whiskey, or the unrelated fighter Johnny Walker born in 1992.

John Badman (ring name Johnny or Jonny Walker) has the only census record I have ever seen with the occupation "Teacher of the Nobel art of Self Defence".  He lived mostly in England with a spell in Philadelphia, USA.  

He has living descendants in Canada, California, and probably England where there are DNA matches which otherwise can't be explained, but with no documented relationship.

There is a drawing of him here and a different one here but I'm not sure how to get a pubic domain version.

Comments

Hi Steve, he didn't have the 'Notable' sticker on his profile. I have added it now. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1840s-boxer-johnny-walker-boxing-135279878

---

Thanks, Steve.