Tommy Ryan:
The Albert Einstein of the squared circle
By Alden Chodash
Tommy Ryan holds a rare distinction of not only becoming a two-time world title claimant, but never losing those belts in twenty years in the ring against some of the greatest fighters the ring has ever known. With an amazing record that stands at 86-3-6 with 68 knockouts, Ryan's combination of blinding hand and foot speed, vicious punching power, and mental strength unmatched by any other fighter made him nearly unbeatable in an era that also displayed talents such as Mysterious Billy Smith, Kid McCoy, Joe Walcott "The Barbados Demon", and Jack Dempsey "The Nonpareil".
Not only was Ryan an exceptional fighter, but an outstanding teacher. He is credited with teaching Jim Jeffries his crouching stance that eventually played a major role in making Jeffries the legendary heavyweight he was to become. Ryan also instructed James J Corbett on some of the finer points of boxing. Kid McCoy, "The Corkscrew Kid", was also given lessons by Ryan. However, after Ryan befuddled McCoy in sparring with experience, McCoy turned against his former teacher and this later sparked a bitter rivalry.
Ryan kicked off his career in 1887 scoring 17 knockout in his first 18 bouts. Ryan, then, in 1893 faced Mysterious Billy Smith. Smith was as rough as they come and sometimes too rough, eventually being disqualified a total of 10 times in his career. Ryan, with very little experience against world-class fighters, took a beating but he fought back just enough to earn a hard fought yet controversial six-round draw. After another draw against Smith, Smith put his world welterweight title on the line against Ryan in July of 1894. This time Ryan emerged victorious with a 20-round decision to win his first world title. The following year, in Ryan's first defense of the crown, he took on Jack Dempsey "The Nonpareil". Dempsey had a marvelous reputation as a nearly untouchable fighter who could always lay you out with his hands. But at this point in Dempsey's career, Dempsey was dreadfully underweight and was no longer a fraction of the fighter he once was. Ryan took advantage of the ageing star and stopped him in three rounds, 10 rounds quicker than murderous punching Bob Fitzsimmons needed to knock out the man no longer "Nonpareil".
Kid McCoy, who had reason to hold a grudge against Ryan, was now scheduled to fight the welterweight champion. McCoy, who was a novice compared to Ryan, sent a letter to him saying that he was ill and asking Ryan to lighten up on him. Of course the "Corkscrew Kid" was pulling another terrible scam and Ryan, who wasn't expecting a challenge from McCoy to begin with, trained sparingly if he even bothered to and came into the ring completely unprepared. McCoy, sensing his chance, jumped all over Ryan from the start and stopped him in the fifteenth. Ryan, after an additional three defenses of the crown he gained against Smith, was still determined to give his former protégé a beating and to his delight, he was pitted against McCoy in 1897. This time, Ryan trained seriously for the event and controlled the opening three rounds. In the fourth, Ryan dropped McCoy and just as the referee was about to administer a count McCoy felled Ryan with a shot of his own. In the fifth, the referee ruled "no contest" due to the dangers of this blood splattered bout. Before the two met for a third match, Ryan won the middleweight title via points victory over Jack Bonner. When Ryan met McCoy for the third bout, he had trained religiously for possibly his last opportunity to dethrone his hated rival. The third bout was fought closely and neither fighter really ever gained the initiative. The bout was agreed to be a draw after 6 rounds if no knockout was scored but the referee raised McCoy's hand instead, unaware of the deal. Then a riot broke out as Ryan attacked the referee and the was hit himself. Ryan never did get a chance to avenge the embarrassment he suffered in the hands of McCoy in 1896 as McCoy played his wise yet evil tricks on other unfortunate fighters.
Ryan finished off his illustrious career with several middleweight title defenses. Nat Fleischer, the great boxing reporter, rates Ryan second in his middleweight rankings and if Ryan never moved up to middleweight, he may have been considered the greatest welterweight, possibly higher than Joe Walcott "The Barbados Demon" who Fleischer rates as kingpin above all welterweights. Ryan also defines a great pound-for-pound fighter as he proved in his showings against McCoy, who held his own against top heavyweights and light-heavyweights. But in the rankings of brainiest fighters, Ryan is the undisputed and undefeated champion.