Brownsville, NYC

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Is there a greater suburb in the world for producing boxing champions?

Mike Tyson
Shannon Briggs
Zab Judah
Riddick Bowe
Danny Jacobs

What is it about Brownsville and can anyone think of another small area with such a rich talent pool of champions anywhere else?

[Tuan_Jim]

Shame on you for forgetting Eddie Mustafa Muhammad!

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Yes, you're right, pretty spectacular omission.

I thought he was from Brooklyn; I didn't realise he was from Brownsville too.

[orbtastic]

Not a champ but Al Bummy Davis too.

Where was Luis Collazo from?

If I had to pick a region off the top of my head, probably the Bronx?

[Tuan_Jim]

Yes, you're right, pretty spectacular omission.

I thought he was from Brooklyn; I didn't realise he was from Brownsville too.

He is. Brownsville is in Brooklyn.

[oogiebe]

If you've ever spent time in Brownsville section of Brooklyn, you'd know why they produce so many fighters.

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If you've ever spent time in Brownsville section of Brooklyn, you'd know why they produce so many fighters.

Yes, I can imagine.

I know the backstory of Tyson and him growing up in poverty, but it seems like Brownsville is some sort anomaly because there must be thousands of small suburbs like Brownsville just in the USA, never mind the many others that must exist in other nations.

There must be something in the water in Brownsville.

[chrisjs1985]

Tepito, Mexico City

Carlos Zarate
Jose Medel
Alfonso Zamora
Rodolfo Martinez
Raul Raton Macias
Kid Azteca
Octavio Gomez

I'd say that's even more impressive than Brownsville, Brooklyn, and perhaps in contention for the best boxing neighborhood?

[DavidKehler]

Here are four more boxers from Brownsville:
Bernie Friedkin (#010472)
Irving Shapiro (#088346)
Sammy Aaronson (#068232)
Willie Beecher (#045465)

Brownsville is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, not a suburb. In the late 1800s, it was semi-rural, but, in the early 20th century it was urbanized and primarily populated by Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia. Most Brownsville residents were poor. In the 1930s, the Murder Incorporated gang was based in Brownsville. Irving Shapiro, who was a gangster in addition to being a boxer, was killed on July 12, 1931, in Brownsville by Murder Incorporated gang leader Abraham Reles.

Aaronson, who later owned boxing gyms and became a manager of fighters, wrote an autobiography, and it discusses growing up in Brownsville: ''As High as My Heart'' (1957, by Al Hirshberg and Sammy Aaronson). Literary figure Alfred Kazin also grew up in Brownsville, and his book about his childhood there in the 1920s and 1930s is "A Walker in the City", published in 1951.

As years passed, the demographic aspects of Brownsville changed, but it is still populated by poor people.

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Tepito, Mexico City

Carlos Zarate
Jose Medel
Alfonso Zamora
Rodolfo Martinez
Raul Raton Macias
Kid Azteca
Octavio Gomez

I'd say that's even more impressive than Brownsville, Brooklyn, and perhaps in contention for the best boxing neighborhood?

Cracking list.

I had Mexico in mind when I initially asked the question because as we all know, Mexico is one of the world's foremost boxing nations, but I didn't know about specific regions.

[Syntax Error]

Here are more boxers from Brownsville:
Bernie Friedkin (#010472)
Irving Shapiro (#088346)
Sammy Aaronson (#068232)

Brownsville is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, not a suburb. In the late 1800s, it was semi-rural, but, in the early 20th century it was urbanized and primarily populated by Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia. Most Brownsville residents were poor. In the 1930s, the Murder Incorporated gang was based in Brownsville. Irving Shapiro, who was a gangster in addition to being a boxer, was killed on July 12, 1931, in Brownsville by Murder Incorporated gang leader Abraham Reles.

Aaronson, who later owned boxing gyms and became a manager of fighters, wrote an autobiography, and it discusses growing up in Brownsville: ''As High as My Heart'' (1957, by Al Hirshberg and Sammy Aaronson). Literary figure Alfred Kazin also grew up in Brownsville, and his book about his childhood there in the 1920s and 1930s is "A Walker in the City", published in 1951.

As years passed, the demographic aspects of Brownsville changed, but it is still populated by poor people.

[DavidKehler]

Here are three more Brownsville boxers, all of whom were trained by Sammy Aaronson in Willie Beecher's gym, which was located on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Livonia Avenue, in Brownsville:
Vince Pimpinella (#021615)
Harold Valan (#043911)
Cliff Kusterbeck (#094819)

Valan later became a prominent referee. One of his bouts was a heavyweight championship matchup between Larry Holmes vs. Mike Weaver.

[Coco]

Blackwood, a Welsh village in the valleys.

Joe Calzaghe
Robbie Regan
Nathan Cleverly
Gavin Rees

Less than 10,000 people live there, also for music fans, The Manic Street Preachers are from Blackwood too.

[Boxerbeetle]

Yes, you're right, pretty spectacular omission.

I thought he was from Brooklyn; I didn't realise he was from Brownsville too.

He is. Brownsville is in Brooklyn.

I remember playing Trivial Pursuit with friends about 20 years ago and one question I was asked was something like “Which part of New York is Mike Tyson from”. Being a young boxing fan, I was delighted and proudly announced “Brownsville”, only to be told that the answer on the card was Brooklyn so they couldn’t accept it.

Never forgotten or forgiven that.

[chrisjs1985]

Blackwood, a Welsh village in the valleys.

Joe Calzaghe
Robbie Regan
Nathan Cleverly
Gavin Rees

Less than 10,000 people live there, also for music fans, The Manic Street Preachers are from Blackwood too.

Merthyr Tydfill also was the birthplace of Jimmy Wilde, in addition to Eddie Thomas, Johnny Owen, and Howard Winstone.

[AntonioMartin]

Is there a greater suburb in the world for producing boxing champions?

Mike Tyson
Shannon Briggs
Zab Judah
Riddick Bowe
Danny Jacobs

What is it about Brownsville and can anyone think of another small area with such a rich talent pool of champions anywhere else?

Tepito, Mexico
Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico

Im not sure what's the size of Culiacan but it does have Bachigualato (try saying that five times non stop!) International Airport so it has to be large compared to Brownsville but the amount of champions from that city is real good too. Bayamon, on the other side, has about 100,000 residents....so I don't know.....

Oh you forgot Al Davis, Bummy.

And wow Im impressed by all the other celebrities that came from there...Meyer Lansky, Henry Hill, Larry King, Lyle Alzado, World B. Free, Danny Kaye, Red Holzman, etc, etc!!

[AntonioMartin]

Tepito, Mexico City

Carlos Zarate
Jose Medel
Alfonso Zamora
Rodolfo Martinez
Raul Raton Macias
Kid Azteca
Octavio Gomez

I'd say that's even more impressive than Brownsville, Brooklyn, and perhaps in contention for the best boxing neighborhood?

And Ruben Olivares...

[chrisjs1985]

Tepito, Mexico City

Carlos Zarate
Jose Medel
Alfonso Zamora
Rodolfo Martinez
Raul Raton Macias
Kid Azteca
Octavio Gomez

I'd say that's even more impressive than Brownsville, Brooklyn, and perhaps in contention for the best boxing neighborhood?

And Ruben Olivares...

He's not from Tepito. There have been some mistaken articles saying he is from there, but he is not. He's from Bondojito.

[AntonioMartin]

Tepito, Mexico City

Carlos Zarate
Jose Medel
Alfonso Zamora
Rodolfo Martinez
Raul Raton Macias
Kid Azteca
Octavio Gomez

I'd say that's even more impressive than Brownsville, Brooklyn, and perhaps in contention for the best boxing neighborhood?

And Ruben Olivares...

He's not from Tepito. There have been some mistaken articles saying he is from there, but he is not. He's from Bondojito.

Ah.....

[littlepug]

The village of Bukom in Ghana has produced a few top flight fighters including Ike Quartey, Azumah Nelson and Joshua Clottey

[Caractacus]

Its somewhat surprising that just about all those champions from Brownsville NYC
are relativly recent the last 30 or 40 years or so.
just from its name "Brownsville" would suggest a historically Black community.
Most cities and large towns a 100 years ago usually had an area in the poor part of town called "Brownsville"
even the small town of 15,000 where I live had a "Brownsville" district back in the days of Jim Crow and segragation.

[Caractacus]

a documentery from 1981.

[oogiebe]

Brownsville was originally a primarily Jewish neighborhood.

It was named for its devloper, Charles S. Brown. The housing was mostly a type of building called Brownstones.

[Caractacus]

where was the Black section of New York City back in the 1800's ?
Harlem was originally a Dutch community in the 1700's and still mostly White up until the 1910's and maybe early 1920's.
(Burt Lancaster was born there).
The East End of London was the poor section of London even before the Jewish migration there
around the mid-1800's.

[Caractacus]

Brownsville-once know as the" Fistic incubator of Brooklyn"
Bummy Davis came from there.
Don't believe it ? then check out this article from 1951.

https://brighteningglance.org/brownsville-bum.html

The article mentions that Bummy use to train at the gym on the corner of Georgia and Livonia.
what are (or were) the oldest "A.C"s (Athletic Clubs or Boxing gymnasiums in Brownsville ?
(and what is at those locations now ?)