Joe Gans vs. John Coates (1st meeting)

Joe Gans beat John Coates by PTS in round 10 of 10

• Date: 1894-12-27
• Location: Monumental A.C., Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Coats Badly Beaten by Gans.

John Coats, who won the title of "colored light-weight champion of the South" at the Monumental tournament room Wednesday night by defeating Paul Johnson, lost the title last night in the presence of a large crowd in the same ring. He was badly beaten in a ten-round go by Joseph Gans, the man who held the championship before he was defeated by Johnson.

For the first three rounds honors were even. Gans's left wrist had been hurt in a previous bout, and he was careful in his leading. After the third round Gans became more confident, and from then on he had the better of the contest. Coats, though hardly able to stand after the fourth round, was still the aggressor. He tried, like a drowning man catching at straws, to put his man out by a lucky blow.

He was the larger of the two, but Gans was the better sparrer, and avoided Coats's terrific swings. Gans countered or else avoided all Coats's leads, and from the sixth to the last round had Coats whipped.

--The Sun, 1894-12-28.