Herman Taylor
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Name: Herman Taylor
Alias: Mugsy
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: 1980-06-27 (Age:93)
Matchmaker: Record
Promoter: Record
Referee: Record
Herman Taylor is generally considered Philadelphia's greatest boxing promoter.
He had boxed as a flyweight briefly, compiling a record of 2-0.
In 1912 he purchased the Broadway Athletic Club, and began his 63-year career as a boxing promoter. In 1916, he formed a partnership with Bobby Gunnis.
Taylor and Gunnis, teamed up to put on the first Jack Dempsey vs.Gene Tunney fight in Philadelphia. Their final promotion together was in 1936, when they put on Joe Louis vs. Al Ettore. Gunnis died prior to that fight, but for many years Taylor paid Gunnis's widow what would have been her late husband's share of the profits from each card. Taylor would continue to promote on his own after that.
Taylor briefly lost his promoter's license in the early 1960s, after it was alleged that one of his matches was fixed. He later regained his license, and continued promoting until his final promotion in 1975, featuring Eugene (Cyclone) Hart's 10-round decision over Sugar Ray Seales in Atlantic City, NJ.
Taylor also promoted the first boxing show at the Spectrum in 1967, with Joe Frazier defeating Tony Doyle in the main event. The Spectrum later became Philadelphia's popular boxing venue during the 1970s under J. Russell Peltz.
Among the notable fights he put on:
- Joe Louis-Tony Galento
- Joe Louis-Gus Dorazio
- Ike Williams-Bob Montgomery I and II
- Jersey Joe Walcott-Ezzard Charles IV
- Rocky Marciano-Jersey Joe Walcott I
- Kid Gavilan-Gil Turner
- Harold Johnson-Doug Jones
External Links
- IBRO Newsletter No. 54, pp. 73-76 (1997): [1]
- IBRO Journal No. 79: [2]