BoxRec

Eskimo or Eskimos are the indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the northern circumpolar region from eastern Siberia to across Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.


Kody Koch is the only one who springs to mind.. He was a heavyweight contender during the late 80's/early 90's...

Unfortunately died a few months after his loss to Wlad in 98.

Does no one know any Eskimo boxers?

lol! First thing I thought when I saw the thread is that it's already over with one response. Cannot think of any off the top. Was Koch eskimo, or just from Alaska though.

Just wan to let you know that "Eskimo" is rated as racist in Denmark (and other countries), something like "Negro" or worse. The correct is "Innuit"

By the way Johnny and Jimmy Bredahl had a mother from Greenland.

Woller wrote: ↑29 Sep 2021, 11:15 Just wan to let you know that "Eskimo" is rated as racist in Denmark (and other countries), something like "Negro" or worse. The correct is "Innuit"

By the way Johnny and Jimmy Bredahl had a mother from Greenland.

Ahh. I didn't actually know that.

Learnt something new.

Joe Louis went up to Alaska and Aleution islands to do some exhibitions while in the Army,
possibly he may have boxed someone of Inuit extraction.
Sonny Liston also went to Alaska in 1965 to do some exhibitions too.

David Charles Ward (Kiviaq)

Growing up in Edmonton, Kiviaq took to boxing to defend himself against racially motivated abuse from other children. He won his first Golden Gloves championship at age 13. He later became a prizefighter, winning 108 of 112 fights, capturing a string of provincial and Golden Glove championships.

In 1955, aged 19, he became the first Inuk (or "Eskimo") to play on the Edmonton Eskimos football team. However, Kiviaq never played a regular-season game: before the season started, he had an accidental slip on the wet field which was followed by concurrent hits from three opposing players. However, despite his severe injuries, he subsequently made a full recovery. He later won a scholarship to play football at Northwestern State College in Louisiana. He was still eligible to play college ball because he had never earned a salary playing for the Eskimos.

Walter Cleghorn was a a main event caliber fighter in his career, he was Alaska Native and born in Seldovia, where my girlfriend's family was from.

Eddie Edelman was another Alaska Native boxer that fought at the same time as Cleghorn.

He was born in Idaho.

he was a stablemate of butterbean's and they just called him the alaskan assassin, not koch, kinda goofy tbh

There was a Greenlandic boxer called Ingvardt Jorgensen who boxed in Denmark in the nineties but I don't think he was Inuit (Woller would know ).

He had a winning record though.

Was Greg Haugen part Inuit?

I remember before he became a pro boxer, Cody Koch was in a lot of those tough-man contests
that were shown on TV in the early 1990's.

remember watching this fight live on TV, Mahone was hitting Koch below the belt
and post-fight interview, Koch said rather explicitly to the interviewer.
"He kept smashing me in the B*lls !" I want a re-match"
or words to that effect.

kinda a random bump ruthy?

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑30 Apr 2019, 13:34 Eskimo or Eskimos are the indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the northern circumpolar region from eastern Siberia to across Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.


Kody Koch is the only one who springs to mind.. He was a heavyweight contender during the late 80's/early 90's...

Unfortunately died a few months after his loss to Wlad in 98.

Koch was not native American, he was white guy born in Idaho who picked up the nickname " Alaskan Assassin "

At any the native Americans in general are too small or fat at heavyweight. The best one I saw that was ranked by a boxing organization was Joe Hipp, a fringe like contender who lost his biggest fights. He had issues with cuts and swelling but some power. Not fast. Not skilled. That was over 25 years ago.

pound per pound wrote: ↑12 Jul 2022, 17:52

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑30 Apr 2019, 13:34 Eskimo or Eskimos are the indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the northern circumpolar region from eastern Siberia to across Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.


Kody Koch is the only one who springs to mind.. He was a heavyweight contender during the late 80's/early 90's...

Unfortunately died a few months after his loss to Wlad in 98.

Koch was not native American, he was white guy born in Idaho who picked up the nickname " Alaskan Assassin "

At any the native Americans in general are too small or fat at heavyweight. The best one I saw that was ranked by a boxing organization was Joe Hipp, a fringe like contender who lost his biggest fights. He had issues with cuts and swelling but some power. Not fast. Not skilled. That was over 25 years ago.

He starting residing in Alaska didn’t he. Which is we’re he got the name from.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑12 Jul 2022, 19:10

pound per pound wrote: ↑12 Jul 2022, 17:52

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑30 Apr 2019, 13:34 Eskimo or Eskimos are the indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the northern circumpolar region from eastern Siberia to across Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.


Kody Koch is the only one who springs to mind.. He was a heavyweight contender during the late 80's/early 90's...

Unfortunately died a few months after his loss to Wlad in 98.

Koch was not native American, he was white guy born in Idaho who picked up the nickname " Alaskan Assassin "

At any the native Americans in general are too small or fat at heavyweight. The best one I saw that was ranked by a boxing organization was Joe Hipp, a fringe like contender who lost his biggest fights. He had issues with cuts and swelling but some power. Not fast. Not skilled. That was over 25 years ago.

He starting residing in Alaska didn’t he. Which is we’re he got the name from.

Right. I'm just saying he's was born in Idaho, Anyone can move to Alaska, which is where he picked up the moniker. Suppose the was a fighter nicked the New Orleans jinx, but he's white guy born in Montana. Same difference.

As someone pointed out, Koch was not native. If we're going to go by just being from Alaska, we should include Tony Ridges... and maybe even Greg Haugen who did some tough man competitions up there. As far as true inuit in Alaska, wiki says there are only 35,000, so not a great population size wise.

Btw, other famous native heavyweights should include Tommy Morrison whose mother was Arapaho, if I remember correctly.

Tommy Morrison's mother was of Ponca and Onieda peoples extraction.

Even if he was born in Idaho,
How do you know that Cody Koch didn't already have roots in Alaska
and just moved back there to be with family ?

Caractacus wrote: ↑15 Jul 2022, 12:34 Even if he was born in Idaho,
How do you know that Cody Koch didn't already have roots in Alaska
and just moved back there to be with family ?

Yeh, his dad had a shop in Alaska, maybe his dad even had roots that went deeper into Alaska.

Caractacus wrote: ↑15 Jul 2022, 12:32 Tommy Morrison's mother was of Ponca and Onieda peoples extraction.

Really? Cool to know. I remember reading an SI article from back in the day saying Arapaho. Either way, the ballyhoo for the Hipp fight (Cowboy vs Indian) was pretty funny when you consider both were significantly native.

From what I remember reading (somewhere)
The Inuit( Eskimo's )use to love to box.(when their culture were observed by Anthropologists in the 1890's)
Except I think their method was more like standing strait up in front of one another
within arm's length and boxing.
and not moving around or sliding across a ring.
BTW Would anyone know what which Boxing gym that
was farthest North in the USA and or Greenland prior to 1980 ?
was it above the Artic Circle ?