Abe Goldstein (September 10, 1898 – February 12, 1977) was an American Undisputed World Bantamweight Champion boxer from New York known as the Pride of the Ghetto. He defeated Joe Lynch to become World Bantamweight champion on March 21, 1924, in Madison Square Garden, and was ranked the #5 bantamweight of all time by boxing Manager Charley Rose. He worked with the famous New York trainer Ray Arcel.
He successfully defended the title twice the year he took it, against Charles Ledoux and Tommy Ryan, before losing to Eddie "Cannonball" Martin in a 15-round decision on December 19, 1924. He had an unsuccessful attempt at the American Flyweight Championship early in his career against Johnny Buff and fought Pancho Villa, another holder of the American Flyweight Title in a non-title match.
Early life and career Goldstein was born in the slums of New York's Lower East Side on September 10, 1898, and spent some of his early years in an orphanage. His widowed mother made a living wheeling a pushcart in New York's Lower East Side, occasionally having to steal rolls from local bakeries to feed her family.Dewy, Donald, Ray Arcell, A Boxing Biography, (2012), "Travels with Charlie", McFarland Publishing, pg. 35, Jefferson, North Carolina He got his earliest ring experience with Nat Osk, the athletic instructor at the 92nd YMHA of Manhattan, who taught him elementary boxing. After fighting for three years as an amateur flyweight, Willie Lewis, who usually acted as his promoter, took note of his potential and developed him into an exceptional young contender. He won a series of amateur titles, including the Metropolitan, New York State, New England, Middle Atlantic, and National Titles for amateurs at the weight of 112 pounds."Goldstein Wins Bantam Crown", Evening Journal, Wilmington, Delaware, pg. 14, 22 March 1924"Abe Attell Goldstein Wants First Crack at Jimmy Wilde", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 56, 19 October 1919Amateur championships listed in "New Rival of Young Zulu Kid Appears in Abe 'Attell' Goldstein", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 14, 4 December 1916 Ray Arcel, his exceptional trainer, began working with him even before he turned professional in 1916.Dewy, Donald (2012) Ray Arcel: A Boxing Biography, p. 31, McFarland and Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina Unlike several of Arcel's bantamweight fighters, Goldstein rarely had trouble making weight, a trick (problem) for many bantams. According to Arcel, "The one thing we had on our side was that Abe could eat a ton of bricks and never weigh more than 116 pounds."Dewy, Donald (2012) Ray Arcel: A Boxing Biography, p. 32, McFarland and Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina
In his first forty professional fights, he was reputed to have lost only five times by points decisions. Of Goldstein's first 40 bouts, 16 wins were by knockout.
He had several losses in 1920. One was to Paddy Owens on September 18, 1920, in a twelve-round points decision in Waterbury, Connecticut. Of his August 21, 1920, twelve-round loss by newspaper decision to Young Montreal in Hartford, Connecticut, the Boston Post wrote that Montreal was "far and away the cleverer boxer" and his hooks, "took a heavy toll from Goldstein's strength.""Fistic Award for Montreal", Boston Post, Boston, Massachusetts, p. 17, 22 August 1920 Perhaps his most important early loss was in a non-title fight with bantamweight champion Joe Lynch in an eleventh-round knockout in Madison Square Garden on November 5, 1920, when Goldstein was substituting for another boxer. A left and a right to the chin of Goldstein ended the bout, but the two would meet again four years later."Abe Goldstein Knocked out by Joe Lynch in Eleventh", The Morning News, Wilmington, Delaware, pg. 16, 6 November 1920
American Flyweight Championship against Johnny Buff and Filipino boxer Pancho Villa On March 31, 1921, he received what might be considered his first title shot against American flyweight champion Johnny Buff, but was knocked out in the second round at the Manhattan Casino in New York. Patsy Haley, one of America's most accomplished referees in the New York area, officiated.
Match with Pancho Villa On November 16, 1922, he lost to Pancho Villa, the Filipino holder of the American Flyweight Championship, in a fifteen-round bout in Madison Square Garden by unanimous decision. The bout drew an impressive but rowdy audience. Villa won the decision by "decisively outpointing and outpunching his heavier rival," and appeared to be the aggressor in most of the rounds, with the possible exception of the fifth, where Goldstein scored with two left hooks."Pancho Villa Wins From Abe Goldstein", Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, pg. 8, 17 November 1922 Around 12,000 viewed the bout, with a very large crowd being turned away. The unruly crowd tore off one of the doors of the stadium and booed and hissed at Goldstein's passiveness and lack of response to Villa's aggression, but Goldstein may have been wise to fight a purely defensive bout.Van Every, Ed, The Evening World, "Pancho Villa Defeats Goldstein in Slow Garden Bout", New York, New York, pg. 28, 17 November 1922 One source noted that the bout was not a title match, as Goldstein weighed in at against Villa's 110 pounds."Pancho Villa Whips Abe Goldstein", Decatur Herald, pg. 17, 17 November 1922 The two had previously met in a twelve-round bout on June 7, which ended in a newspaper decision for Goldstein, which surprised many who noted Villa's dominance in their November 16 match.
Match with Joe Burman, interim bantamweight champion On October 19, 1923, he defeated Joe Burman in a twelve-round decision at Madison Square Garden. Goldstein was substituting for Joe Lynch, who had been stripped of his title, partly for avoiding the match against Goldstein. Burman had been temporarily assigned the Bantamweight Championship in New York State as a result of Lynch's being stripped of the title. Goldstein was given five rounds, Burman three, and the rest were declared even. Later discussion by the New York State Athletic Commission restored the bantamweight title to Lynch, though Goldstein would soon have a shot at his crown."Abe Goldstein Wins Decision Over Joe Burman of Chicago", Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque. New Mexico, p. 5, 20 October 1923
World Bantamweight Champ, 1923 On October 29, 1923, Goldstein defeated Joe Burman in a close twelve round points decision in Madison Square Garden, though according to Ray Arcel, Goldstein had not fully trained for the bout. By many accounts, the bout was a Bantamweight Title Match, but since Burman only held the title as a result of it being temporarily stripped from Joe Lynch, who had refused to meet Burman in a title match on the same date, most sources attribute Goldstein's victory over Lynch five months later as the date when he officially took the World Bantamweight Title. Goldstein's victory over Burman, whom most considered a valid World Bantamweight Contender, gave Goldstein a far stronger claim to contend for the World Bantamweight Championship, and Arcell considered it a critical victory in building his reputation as a championship-caliber trainer as well.Dewy, Donald (2012) Ray Arcel: A Boxing Biography, p. 32
Of his win against Joe Lynch on March 21, 1924, the Wilkes-Barre Evening News wrote, "Lynch fought a game, courageous battle, but he was not equal to the task of warding off the relentless attack of his challenger, who gave a splendid exhibition of scientific boxing." Though Goldstein landed repeatedly with his left and landed many solid blows that rocked Lynch, the reigning champion was never knocked down and never appeared to be at risk of being knocked out. Ray Arcel, one of the most skilled and accomplished boxing trainers in history, was in Goldstein's corner for the fight. Arcel considered Goldstein's victory as one of his great achievements, as Goldstein was the first boxer he had trained to a World Championship. He noted that during training for the fight, he and Goldstein "played together, laughed together, and wept together." Both were Jewish and had roots in New York's Lower East Side, Arcel being from Harlem."Ominious Beginning Couldn't Keep Arcel Out of the Ring", The Palm Beach Post, Palm Beach, Florida, pg. 131, 21 December 1980"Former Boxing Trainer Dies", The Index-Journal, "Greenwood, South Carolina, pg. 15, 8 March 1994
The News noted that the capacity crowd of 14,900 at Madison Square Garden witnessed a "stirring, hard fought battle with Goldstein assuming the lead almost from the start, and continuing to pile up points throughout the fifteen rounds." The News gave only the tenth round decisively to Lynch, who, for the first time in the battle, landed his signature right hand to the chin of Goldstein."Goldstein Wins Bantam Title in Bout with Lynch", Wilkes-Barre Evening News, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, pg. 18, 22 March 1924 The result of the fight was not a foregone conclusion in the minds of most fans, as Wilmington's Evening Journal noted that Lynch had been the big favorite on the night of the match.
World Bantamweight defenses
One of his critical title defenses was a fifteen-round Unanimous Decision against Charles Ledoux on July 16, 1924, at New York's Metropolitan Velodrome. Famed American sportswriter Damon Runyan wrote of the fight in his typically humorous style that most of the folks in the audience "expected to see Charles Ledoux expire of senility and Goldstein's punches long before the fifteenth." Ledoux was thirty-one at the time of the bout, considerably older for a boxer, compared to Goldstein's more youthful twenty-five.Runyan, Damon, "Bantam King Wins on Points Over Cautious French Star", The Davenport Democrat and Leader, Davenport, Iowa, pg. 7, 17 July 1924 Ledoux had reigned for ten years as European Bantamweight Champion and considered retirement after the bout, but did not.The Post Crescent, "Golfers Plan Roug House Meet Saturday", Appleton, Wisconsin, p. 31 July 1924 The Winnipeg Tribune called the fight, "a tame, uninteresting fifteen-round exhibition", and noted that "The crowd, a scant 5000, booed the exhibition and hissed the decision", perhaps anticipating a more rousing spectacle. The Tribune noted, as had Runyon, that Ledoux had been down twice in the bout and was very game to last the full fifteen rounds."Goldstein is Bout Winner", The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Canada, p. 15, 17 July 1924
He defended his title again against Tommy Ryan on September 8, 1924, in Long Island City, in Queens, New York, in a fifteen-round points decision. The referee was again the renowned Patsy Haley, who officiated at many important New York title fights and had fought primarily as a lightweight in New York at the turn of the century. Goldstein had fought and defeated Ryan twice previously in non-title fights. In the simplest terms, "Goldstein had a wide and comfortable margin.""Setback, Given to Challenger", The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio, pg. 13, 9 September 1924 According to the Reading Times Goldstein had a significant lead over Ryan after the seventh round. According to the Times, "In the eighteenth round, Goldstein, working from long range, swung his battery of rights and lefts into action and drove the reeling Ryan about the ring punch-drunk and on the verge of a knockout." The Times also noted in the fifteenth round Ryan appeared close to a knockout but finished the round nonetheless."Abe Goldstein is Winner Over Ryan at Long Island City", Reading Times, Reading, Pennsylvania, p. 5, 9 September 1924
On May 27, 1924, he atypically lost a ten-round points decision to Johnny Shepherd in Boston. Shepherd was awarded eight of the ten rounds. His opponent's lefts and countering rights gained the winning edge in the points awarded by the judges."Goldstein Loses Bout But Not His Title", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 24, 27 May 1924
Losing of Bantamweight Title