James Louis Bivins (December 6, 1919 – July 4, 2012) was an American boxer whose professional career ran from 1940 to 1955. He was born in Dry Branch, Georgia. Although he was never given the opportunity to fight for a world title, despite at one point being the number one contender in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, Bivins fought and defeated many of the great fighters of his era and won the "Duration" Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight titles. In recognition of his achievements in the ring - among other things, he defeated eight of the eleven world champions he faced - Bivins was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999. He was also the one-time husband of Dollree Mapp, the subject of prominent Supreme Court case regarding the rights of search and seizures.

Boxing career Although he was born in Georgia, Bivins fought out of Cleveland, Ohio for the entirety of his career. He made his professional debut on January 15, 1940, winning by knockout in the first round, and went on to win his first nineteen fights, all fought in 1940, before losing a split decision to Anton Christoforidis, whom he had previously beaten. Bivins won his first four fights of 1941, including contests with Teddy Yarosz and Curtis Sheppard, but lost three of his other four contests that year, which included a points loss to Melio Bettina. He began 1942 with wins against Billy Soose and Gus Lesnevich and a split-decision loss to Bob Pastor. After this loss, Bivins had a twenty-seven fight undefeated streak that lasted for four years; it was during this period that Bivins established himself as one of the great heavyweights of his era - a remarkable achievement given that, at 5' 9", he was often significantly smaller than his opponents.

Bivins first fight after losing to Pastor was a split-decision win against Joey Maxim, a fellow Cleveland fighter who went on to become a member of the hall of fame. Bivins fought four more contests in 1942, including a rematch with Bob Pastor and a bout with Lee Savold, and won them all. He began 1943 with a remarkable win against Ezzard Charles, in which he recorded seven knockdowns against the future heavyweight world champion. On February 23, 1943 he defeated Anton Christoforidis on points for the duration light heavyweight title - as all the world titles had been frozen for the duration of World War II, this was the closest he ever came to holding a world title. In the three years after this fight Bivins went on to defeat Tami Mauriello, Pat Valentino, Lloyd Marshall, Melio Bettina, Curtis Sheppard and Archie Moore, whom he knocked-down six times en route to a knockout victory. Bivins served with the United States Army from March, 1944 until his honorable discharge in November of the same year - during 1944 he fought only one professional fight, a points victory over Lee Q. Murray.

On February 25, 1946 Bivins fought Jersey Joe Walcott at the Cleveland Arena. The fight was Bivins' first loss in four years, the split decision was interesting in that one official had the fight 6-4 to Bivins, the second had it 9-1 to Walcott and the last had it 5-4-1 to Bivins but gave the fight to Walcott because of a third round knockdown in his favour. After losing his long unbeaten streak, Bivins' record as a fighter became somewhat average. After his loss to Walcott, Bivins went on to lose his next two contests, against Lee Q. Murray and Ezzard Charles, before winning the following four. Bivins suffered a knockout loss to Ezzard Charles on March 10, 1947 and went on to lose a further two of his final seven fights that year, to Lee Q. Murray and Archie Moore. He went on to win six of his nine fights in 1948, losing only to Joey Maxim, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore. In 1949 he won five of his eight fights, but lost to both Archie Moore and Harold Johnson. He only fought twice in 1950, but returned to fighting regularly the following year. In 1951 he defeated Ted Lowry on points, but was once again knocked-out by Archie Moore and lost by unanimous decision to both Joe Louis and the undefeated Bob Baker. Bivins had a further eleven fights after his loss to Baker, and won eight of them. His only big-name opponent during these final fights was Ezzard Charles, who won by decision on November 26, 1952. Bivins retired following a victory over the journeyman Chubby Wright in June 1953, but returned for two final fights, both of which he won, a couple of years later.

Retirement and later life Following his retirement, Bivins earned a living as a bakery truck driver. In his spare time, he coached young people in boxing. Bivins' first two marriages ended in divorce. His third wife, Elizabeth, died in 1995. In April 1998, Bivins was discovered living in the unheated attic of his daughter and son in law's home in Collinwood, wrapped in a urine and feces caked blanket. The former boxer's weight had dwindled to 110 pounds. Bivins was then moved into his sister's home in Shaker Heights. In 2009, Bivins was moved into MacGregor Home, a care facility for the elderly. He died in 2012 at the age of 92 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Awards and honors Entered into Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 1978 Entered into The Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1988 Entered into The World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994 Entered into The International Boxing Hall of Fame (class of 1999) Jimmy Bivins Park dedicated in Cleveland (2000) Entered into The California Boxing Hall of Fame 2015

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes112Win Mike DeJohnPTS6Oct 28, 1953 111Win85–25–1 Dan MorayRTD3 (8)Aug 31, 1953 110Win84–25–1 Chubby WrightPTS10Jun 9, 1953 109Win83–25–1 Claude RolfeUD10Apr 24, 1953 108Loss82–25–1 Tommy HarrisonUD10Apr 6, 1953 107Loss82–24–1 Ezzard CharlesUD10Nov 26, 1952 106Loss82–23–1 Tommy HarrisonUD10Nov 3, 1952 105Win82–22–1 Wes BascomMD10Oct 22, 1952 104Win81–22–1 Coley WallaceKO9 (10)Sep 19, 1952 103Win80–22–1 Aaron WilsonTKO3 (10)Mar 31, 1952 102Win79–22–1 Charley WilliamsSD10Nov 21, 1951 101Loss78–22–1 Bob BakerUD10Nov 5, 1951 100Loss78–21–1 Joe LouisUD10Aug 15, 1951 99Loss78–20–1 Clarence HenryUD10Jun 26, 1951 98Win78–19–1 Willie BeanUD10May 29, 1951 97Win77–19–1 Ralph HookerPTS10May 18, 1951 96Win76–19–1 Willie BeanUD10May 4, 1951 95Loss75–19–1 Archie MooreRTD9 (10)Feb 21, 1951 94Win75–18–1 Ted LowryUD10Feb 12, 1951 93Win74–18–1 Young Harry WillsKO4 (10)Jan 22, 1951 92Loss73–18–1 Sid PeaksPTS10Feb 6, 1950 91Win73–17–1 Willis ApplegateUD10Feb 1, 1950 90Loss72–17–1 Harold JohnsonUD10Oct 26, 1949 89Win72–16–1 Clarence HenryTKO8 (10)Sep 27, 1949 88Win71–16–1 Leonard MorrowUD10Sep 21, 1949 87Win70–16–1 Watson JonesKO2 (10)Jul 15, 1949 86Loss69–16–1 Leonard MorrowUD10Jul 5, 1949 85Win69–15–1 Willie BeanUD10Jun 20, 1949 84Loss68–15–1 Archie MooreKO8 (10)Apr 11, 1949 83Win68–14–1 Rusty PayneSD10Mar 21, 1949 82Loss67–14–1 Joey MaximSD10Dec 7, 1948 81Win67–13–1 Johnny FlynnMD10Oct 11, 1948 80Loss66–13–1 Ezzard CharlesUD10Sep 13, 1948 79Loss66–12–1 Archie MooreMD10Jun 28, 1948 78Win66–11–1 Pat ValentinoUD10Apr 20, 1948 77Win65–11–1 Billy ThompsonTKO7 (10)Apr 12, 1948 76Win64–11–1 Turkey ThompsonUD10Mar 9, 1948 75Win63–11–1 Johnny HaynesTKO4 (10)Mar 1, 1948 74Win62–11–1 Johnny ShkorUD10Jan 13, 1948 73Win61–11–1 Sid PeaksPTS10Nov 12, 1947 72Loss60–11–1 Archie MooreRTD8 (10)Sep 8, 1947 71Win60–10–1 Bobby ZanderSD10Jul 1, 1947 70Win59–10–1 Lee Q MurraySD10Jun 9, 1947 69Win58–10–1 Omelio AgramonteTKO2 (10)Jun 2, 1947 68Loss57–10–1 Lee Q MurrayUD10May 9, 1947 67Win57–9–1 Curtis SheppardUD10Apr 21, 1947 66Loss56–9–1 Ezzard CharlesKO4 (10)Mar 10, 1947 65Win56–8–1 Curtis SheppardUD10Feb 17, 1947 64Win55–8–1 Booker BeckwithKO4 (10)Feb 3, 1947 63Win54–8–1 Johnny FlynnUD10Jan 16, 1947 62Win53–8–1 Colion ChaneyKO5 (10)Dec 5, 1946 61Loss52–8–1 Ezzard CharlesUD10Nov 12, 1946 60Loss52–7–1 Lee Q MurrayUD10Jun 10, 1946 59Loss52–6–1 Jersey Joe WalcottSD10Feb 25, 1946 58Win52–5–1 Yancey HenryKO10 (10)Feb 11, 1946 57Win51–5–1 Oakland Billy SmithPTS10Jan 30, 1946 56Win50–5–1 Johnny HaynesKO2 (10)Jan 22, 1946 55Win49–5–1 Watson JonesTKO6 (10)Jan 7, 1946 54Win48–5–1 Yancey HenryUD10Sep 26, 1945 53Win47–5–1 Archie MooreKO6 (10)Aug 22, 1945 52Win46–5–1 Curtis SheppardUD10Jul 26, 1945 51Win45–5–1 Russell ScottKO4 (10)Jun 12, 1945 50Draw44–5–1 Melio BettinaPTS10Mar 16, 1945 49Win44–5 Johnny FlynnPTS10Feb 27, 1945 48Win43–5 Buddy WalkerKO2 (10)Feb 19, 1945 47Win42–5 George ParksTKO4 (10)Feb 5, 1945 46Win41–5 Lee Q MurrayPTS10Feb 29, 1944 45Win40–5 Lee Q MurrayUD10Dec 1, 1943 44Win39–5 Melio BettinaUD10Sep 15, 1943 43Win38–5 Herbert MarshallKO6 (10)Aug 24, 1943 42Win37–5 Lloyd MarshallKO13 (15)Jun 8, 1943 41Win36–5 Pat ValentinoUD10Apr 26, 1943 40Win35–5 Watson JonesUD10Apr 6, 1943 39Win34–5 Tami MaurielloMD10Mar 12, 1943 38Win33–5 Anton ChristoforidisUD15Feb 23, 1943 37Win32–5 Ezzard CharlesUD10Jan 7, 1943 36Win31–5 Lee SavoldUD10Nov 27, 1942 35Win30–5 Bob PastorSD10Oct 20, 1942 34Win29–5 Tami MaurielloSD10Sep 15, 1942 33Win28–5 Joe MuscatoKO5 (10)Jul 23, 1942 32Win27–5 Joey MaximSD10Jun 23, 1942 31Loss26–5 Bob PastorSD10Apr 17, 1942 30Win26–4 Gus LesnevichUD10Mar 11, 1942 29Win25–4 Billy SooseUD10Jan 13, 1942 28Loss24–4 Melio BettinaUD10Nov 17, 1941 27Win24–3 Nate BoldenUD10Oct 20, 1941 26Loss23–3 Tony MustoSD10Sep 10, 1941 25Loss23–2 Lem FranklinTKO9 (10)Jul 14, 1941 24Win23–1 Curtis SheppardPTS10Jul 2, 1941 23Win22–1 Buddy KnoxPTS10Apr 2, 1941 22Win21–1 Teddy YaroszPTS10Mar 5, 1941 21Win20–1 Pete TamalonisTKO1 (10)Feb 19, 1941 20Loss19–1 Anton ChristoforidisMD10Dec 2, 1940 19Win19–0 Anton ChristoforidisUD10Nov 15, 1940 18Win18–0 Vince PimpinellaUD10Oct 22, 1940 17Win17–0 Larry KellumKO1 (10)Sep 23, 1940 16Win16–0 Johnny BarbaraTKO7 (8)Sep 9, 1940 15Win15–0 Charley BurleyUD10Sep 3, 1940 14Win14–0 Johnny BarbaraKO2 (10)Aug 5, 1940 13Win13–0 Paul FrazierPTS8Jul 15, 1940 12Win12–0 Mose BrownPTS6Jul 1, 1940 11Win11–0 Frankie HughesPTS8Jun 24, 1940 10Win10–0 Stoney JacksonTKO1 (6)Jun 13, 1940 9Win9–0 Paul FrazierKO1 (8)May 13, 1940 8Win8–0 Enzo IannozziKO1 (8)Apr 25, 1940 7Win7–0 Marine Johnny DeanKO3 (6)Apr 15, 1940 6Win6–0 Nate BoldenPTS8Apr 8, 1940 5Win5–0 Young FlowersTKO3 (4)Mar 27, 1940 4Win4–0 Joe SutkaPTS8Mar 18, 1940 3Win3–0 Joe SutkaPTS8Feb 26, 1940 2Win2–0 Tito TaylorPTS4Feb 12, 1940 1Win1–0 Emory MorganTKO2 (4)Jan 15, 1940

References

External links

WCPN interview