Terry McGovern vs. Casper Leon

Terry McGovern beat Casper Leon by KO at 2:45 in round 12 of 25

• Date: 1899-01-30
• Location: Greenwood A.C., Brooklyn, New York, USA
• The fight was scheduled for twenty-five rounds at 115 pounds. McGovern was a favorite at 100 to 80 in the betting.
• The rules governing the bout were straight Queensberry, with no hitting in the clinches or breakaways, which should have played greatly in favor of Leon, as McGovern was very much an inside fighter. In Casper Leon, McGovern was supposed to be meeting the toughest challenge of his short career, as Leon was one of the top fighters of his size in the world. But McGovern handled him as if he were a novice just starting out, and scored a clean knockout in the twelfth round. The club was packed with probably its largest crowd ever up to that point in time. Leon was known for his cleverness, but as it turned out, his cleverness was no match for the ring generalship and McGovern’s ability to severely punish an opponent. McGovern had a slight lead going after five rounds, but it was becoming evident that it would really only be a matter of time before Leon fell. Throughout the remaining rounds Terry put in some terrific work to the head and body, and his right hand was doing particular damage whenever it landed, as McGovern put all of his force into each blow; the shots to the body had a very telling effect on Leon, as he was visibly weakening by the constant attack put forth by McGovern. In the twelfth round both men came out and swapped some quick punches, but McGovern’s was much more powerful, and on a quick counter, McGovern shot over a short left that landed flush on the point of Leon’s chin and down he went as if he had been shot. Referee Owen Ziegler counted Leon out with only a few seconds remaining in the round. It took several minutes for Leon to fully recover his senses. Former world champion and human dynamo Jimmy Barry was able to knock out Casper Leon once in 28 rounds, and failed in other return bouts to do the trick. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle & the National Police Gazette)
• Charley White, Leon’s manager, stated afterward that McGovern broke two of Leon’s ribs in the second round.