Hardy Downing
Name: Hardy Downing
Birth Name: Hardy K. Downing
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Matchmaker: Record
Promoter: Record
Hardy K. Downing was a Salt Lake City, Utah, boxing promoter and matchmaker from at least 1910 to 1934.
He had been presenting amateur shows at the Manhattan Athletic Club when he approached County Attorney Job P. Lyon in mid-1910 for permission to stage weekly pro shows comprised of bouts from six to ten rounds. He got the idea when pro boxers starting flooding into Salt Lake City soon after the much-publicized May 12, 1910 show promoted by R. Alexander Grant featuring Cyclone Johnny Thompson and Peter Sullivan. Chief of Police Barlow got involved, and the promoters agreed they would limit bouts to six rounds maximum. That agreement was soon broken by all promoters concerned. [1]
In his youth, during the late 1800s to early 1900s, Downing had been a professional bicycle racer, and originally may have been from the San Jose, California area. [2] [3] [4] (Photo)
