Aaron "Little Tiger" Wade (March 17, 1916 – February 15, 1985) was an American Middleweight boxer who fought from 1935 to 1950. Wade was a member of the famed Black Murderers' Row.

Early life

Born in Trenton Tennessee, Wade became the first African American golden gloves champion in Peoria, Illinois and reportedly had 600 or more amateur fights. Aaron's older brother Bruce "Big Tiger" Wade was also a professional boxer, albeit a less successful one than his younger brother. Aaron stood a hair above 5 feet 5 inches and began his career at 140 lbs as a welterweight before moving up and fighting at middleweight and light heavyweight.

Career

Known for his power, Wade had a knockout ratio of 50% over a span of 64 victories. His fights with other members of the black murderers' row are 3 losses to Charley Burley, 1 win over Herbert Lewis "Cocoa Kid" Hardwick, 2 losses and 1 draw to Jack Chase, and a win over Bert Lytell. Other notable fights of Wade's career include a win over Archie Moore, a win against Sam Baroudi, 3 wins against Oakland Billy Smith, a loss to Ceferino Garcia, and a loss in his final career fight after a 2-year layoff against the great Sugar Ray Robinson. Like all the black murderer's row fighters, Wade never got a shot at the world title. Aaron Wade finished his career with a record of 64(32 KOs)-16-6.

Wade was a sparring partner of Sugar Ray Robinson's in 1948. According to a Boston Post article, Wade got into a fight with Sugar Ray over Wade's payment. Wade had knocked down Sugar Ray outside a gym and left him with separation of his ribs and swelling described as "the size of a pullet egg" around his heart. Robinson had to cancel his scheduled fight and was out for the next two months.

Author Springs Toledo uncovered evidence that Wade took a dive in the bout against Sugar Ray Robinson. According to Wade's son, Robinson was unaware of the fix with the promoters being the culprits, paying Wade a few hundred dollars to go down in three rounds and lose the fight. According to the Savannah Evening Press Wade "began hitting the canvas for apparently no reason at all."

Later years

After his career ended, Wade descended into alcoholism but later overcame it and devoted his life to helping the less fortunate in the Fillmore section of San Francisco as a Christian minister. Wade died of a heart attack on February 15, 1985. He was 68 years old.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocation86Loss64–16–6 Sugar Ray RobinsonKO3 (10)Feb 22, 1950 85Loss64–15–6 Wylie BurnsUD10Dec 22, 1947 84Loss64–14–6 Ted LowryUD10Oct 27, 1947 83Win64–13–6 Sam BaroudiSD10Oct 13, 1947 82Loss63–13–6 Holman WilliamsKO4 (10)Feb 4, 1946 81Win63–12–6 Joe HymanTKO2 (10)Oct 15, 1945 80Win62–12–6 Bert LytellSD10Oct 1, 1945 79Loss61–12–6 Charley BurleyUD10Aug 20, 1945 78Win61–11–6 Mario Raul OchoaTKO2 (6)Aug 10, 1945 77Loss60–11–6 Joe CarterPTS10Dec 11, 1944 76Win60–10–6 Herbert Lewis HardwickPTS10Nov 13, 1944 75Loss59–10–6 Holman WilliamsPTS10Oct 11, 1944 74Win59–9–6 Jimmy HaydenKO1 (10)Sep 29, 1944 73Draw58–9–6 Jack ChasePTS10Aug 9, 1944 72Loss58–9–5 Jack ChaseTKO10 (10)Jun 28, 1944 71Loss58–8–5 Charley BurleyPTS10Mar 24, 1944 70Win58–7–5 Alonzo WilliamsTKO2 (6)Feb 21, 1944 69Win57–7–5 Eddie GuerraTKO1 (10)Nov 15, 1943 68Win56–7–5 Harvey MasseyTKO7 (10)Oct 25, 1943 67Win55–7–5 Harvey MasseyTKO4 (10)Oct 4, 1943 66Win54–7–5 Archie MoorePTS10Aug 16, 1943 65Win53–7–5 RJ LewisTKO4 (10)Aug 2, 1943 64Win52–7–5 RJ LewisTKO1 (10)Jul 19, 1943 63Loss51–7–5 Jack ChasePTS10Jun 21, 1943 62Win51–6–5 Al CoutureTKO2 (8)Jun 7, 1943 61Loss50–6–5 Charley BurleyPTS10Mar 3, 1943 60Win50–5–5 Watson JonesPTS10Dec 18, 1942 59Win49–5–5 Rand JacksonKO3 (8)Dec 3, 1942 58Win48–5–5 Oakland Billy SmithPTS10Nov 10, 1942 57Win47–5–5 Buddy GreenTKO4 (8)Oct 16, 1942 56Win46–5–5 Bobby BirchPTS8Sep 18, 1942 55Win45–5–5 Tabby RomeroPTS8Sep 4, 1942 54Win44–5–5 Oakland Billy SmithKO4 (8)Aug 28, 1942 53Win43–5–5 Tabby RomeroPTS6Aug 26, 1942 52Win42–5–5 Oakland Billy SmithPTS8Aug 21, 1942 51Win41–5–5 Rudy CampaKO1 (8)Aug 7, 1942 50Loss40–5–5 Johnny JacksonPTS10Aug 11, 1941 49Win40–4–5 Johnny JacksonPTS10Jul 17, 1941 48Win39–4–5 Urban HernandezTKO6 (10)Jun 16, 1941 47Loss38–4–5 Johnny JacksonKO5 (10)Apr 25, 1941 46Win38–3–5 Big Boy HogueRTD8 (10)Dec 20, 1940 45Win37–3–5 Bobby PachoTKO6 (10)Sep 30, 1940 44Win36–3–5 Billy BengalKO1 (10)Jun 28, 1940 43Win35–3–5 Lloyd DelucchiPTS10Jun 7, 1940 42Win34–3–5 Billy AzevedoPTS4May 13, 1940 41Loss33–3–5 Billy AzevedoPTS6Mar 29, 1940 40Loss33–2–5 Jackie CooperPTS5Nov 17, 1939 39Win33–1–5 Chuck VickersKO3 (?)Aug 31, 1939 38Win32–1–5 Henry WoodsPTS10Feb 10, 1939 37Win31–1–5 Billy PascalKO10 (10)Feb 1, 1939 36Win30–1–5 Herman GravesPTS6Nov 8, 1938 35Win29–1–5 Jack RainwaterTKO2 (6)Oct 10, 1938 34Win28–1–5 Ace of SpadesTKO3 (6)Oct 3, 1938 33Win27–1–5 Frankie SantosKO4 (6)Aug 22, 1938 32Draw26–1–5 Frankie SantosPTS4Aug 12, 1938 31Win26–1–4 Jimmy McCreadyPTS6Jun 1, 1938 30Win25–1–4 Jack RainwaterPTS10Apr 26, 1938 29Win24–1–4 Jimmy BerresPTS6Mar 16, 1938 28Win23–1–4 Johnny BassanelliPTS10Feb 4, 1938 27Win22–1–4 Jimmy WakefieldTKO2 (6)Jan 19, 1938 26Win21–1–4 Billy AzevedoPTS6Nov 10, 1937 25Win20–1–4 Young Lew MasseyTKO3 (6)Oct 13, 1937 24Win19–1–4 George RomeroTKO2 (6)Sep 24, 1937 23Draw18–1–4 Mickey DurisPTS6Sep 17, 1937 22Draw18–1–3 Clarence EnosPTS4Aug 25, 1937 21Win18–1–2 Mario DucciniPTS6May 28, 1937 20Win17–1–2 Lee MedinaPTS6Apr 26, 1937 19Win16–1–2 Teddy MovanKO1 (6)Apr 16, 1937 18Loss15–1–2 Ceferino GarciaTKO1 (10)Mar 23, 1937 17Win15–0–2 Johnny FasanoTKO3 (6)Nov 20, 1936 16Draw14–0–2 Billy AzevedoPTS6Nov 4, 1936 15Win14–0–1 Billy AzevedoPTS6Oct 21, 1936 14Win13–0–1 Mike BartoPTS6Sep 16, 1936 13Win12–0–1 Frankie SantosPTS6Aug 12, 1936 12Draw11–0–1 Jimmy McLeodPTS6Jul 31, 1936 11Win11–0 Jimmy McLeodPTS4Jul 22, 1936 10Win10–0 Lloyd SmithTKO3 (6)Jun 10, 1936 9Win9–0 Johnny BassanelliTKO3 (6)May 21, 1936 8Win8–0 Frankie NocellaTKO5 (6)May 15, 1936 7Win7–0 Bert SommersPTS4Apr 17, 1936 6Win6–0 Walter AdamsPTS4Mar 27, 1936 5Win5–0 Bobby WhiteKO2 (4)Mar 13, 1936 4Win4–0 Jimmy DuffyPTS4Nov 22, 1935 3Win3–0 Carl MartinUD8Oct 14, 1935 2Win2–0 Murray AllenPTS6Sep 27, 1935 1Win1–0 Murray AllenPTS8Aug 15, 1935

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