Charley White

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Charley White who was born Charles Anchowitz on March 25, 1891 in Liverpool, England was considered one of the best boxers of his era. White fought from 1906 until 1923. He made one ill-fated comeback attempt in 1930, but was ignominiously TKOed by Henry Perlick, a nondescript fighter who would not have stood a chance against White in his prime.

Although White never won a world championship, he fought for the title several times. His first attempt to win a crown came against the legendary world featherweight champion Abe Attell in 1909. Attell won the 8 round "newspaper decision".

White also unsuccessfully challenged world featherweight champion Johnny Kilbane, welterweight champion Jack Britton, and lightweight champion Freddie Welsh for their titles. White possessed a lethal left hook, but seemed to lack the killer instinct. This fault cost him in his 1916 attempt to wrest the crown from Welsh.

White appeared to hurt and have Welsh ready for a knockout in the 11th, 12th and thirteenth rounds of the match, but failed to follow up his advantage. The 20 round decision was awarded to Welsh, causing a riot to break out.

White also faced the great Benny Leonard in 1920. Once again White had his opponent hurt, but as famed sportswriter of the day Hype Igoe wrote "White is like the artist who can't resist the temptation of stepping back and admiring his incompleted work." White paid for his hesitation when Leonard KOed him in the 9th round.

White died on July 24, 1959. His ring record consists of 89 wins (59 KOs), 17 losses, 5 draws, 59 No Decisions (news reports on the No Decisions yield an additional 30 wins, 21 losses, and 8 draws), and 2 No Contests. White was named to the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time, probably for his noted skill with the left hook.