June 5, 1882 - February 7, 1954
Oscar “Battling” Nelson, otherwise known as the “Durable Dane” was one
of the toughest fighters who ever lived. He was a rough and tough
fighter, who was seemingly immune to punishment. Turning professional in
1896, Nelson would face the greatest lightweights of his era during his
career. It was an era in which the lightweight division was full of a
varied array of outstanding fighters, from slick and speedy boxers, to
dynamite punchers, rough and tumble brawlers, and then some boxers who
could do a bit of everything. The men whom Nelson squared up to, or
chased down in the ring, included men such as ‘Cyclone’ Johnny Thompson,
Adam Ryan, George Memsic, Aurelio Herrera, Young Corbett 11, Jimmy
Britt, Abe Attell, Kid Sullivan, Terry McGovern, Joe Gans, Dick Hyland,
Ad Wolgast, ‘Philadelphia’ Pal Moore, George ‘One Round’ Hogan, Leach
Cross, Jimmy Reagan, and Freddie Welsh.
Nelson was born Oscar
Mattheus Nielson on June 5, 1882, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Nelson’s
parents move to Chicago when Oscar was a baby. During his career, Nelson
built up a tremendous reputation as being seemingly invulnerable to
pain or punishment. In an era where fighters were incredibly tough,
Nelson was a man who stood out from the crowd. He was a true iron man
whose durability was equaled by his ability to hand out frightful
beatings to his opponents. He was a potent puncher who favoured fighting
on the inside, and could wreck an opponent’s body with a few well
placed left hooks. Nelson favoured hitting his opponents as hard, and
as often as he could, until they finally wilted, and collapsed. Some
went early, others hung around and tried to fight it out with the
‘Durable Dane’. Very few could succeed going toe to toe with Nelson.
Yet to try and outbox Nelson was also a nightmare because he would never
stop coming forwards, always on the attack.
Nelson is most
renowned for his 3 fights with the legendary Joe Gans. Nicknamed ‘The
Old Master’ Gans was a boxer with a superlative mixture of speed,
cleverness and dynamite, and Nelson would be his greatest rival. The two
men first fought on September 3, 1906, in a brutal epic bout in the
desert of Goldfield, Nevada. By this time, Nelson had beaten just about
every other top contender in the lightweight division, while Gans had
held the World lightweight championship since 1902. The temperatures
rose over 100 degrees, the two men fought for over 40 rounds, with Gans
pitting his skills and brain against Nelson’s strength, and almost
demonic determination. The finish came in the 42nd round when a worn
down and seemingly close to defeat Gans was awarded the victory on a
foul, thereby retaining his World lightweight title.
Nelson was
bitter about his loss to Gans, and had to wait almost 2 years before he
could gain revenge. His chance came on July 4, 1908, when he faced Gans
once more for the World lightweight championship. Gans was by now
suffering from tuberculosis, and after a brave stand, was knocked out in
the 17th round. Nelson underlined his superiority over the ailing Gans
two months later when he beat him again, this time knocking out the
‘Old Master’ in 21 rounds, after Gans had put up a brave yet, ultimately
doomed performance.
Nelson held his world title until February
22, 1910, when he came face to face with a mirror image of himself in Ad
Wolgast, who managed to out-slug, and outlast Nelson in one of the most
thrilling and brutal contests ever seen in a boxing ring, finally
stopping Nelson in the 40th round. At the finish, Nelson was still on
his feet, but was blinded with both eyes cut and nearly shut, as well as
being covered in various other cuts and bruises. In the end, the
referee stopped the match, to save the blind and groggy Nelson any more
punishment. Nelson of course protested bitterly at the stoppage. The
match itself was probably the nearest thing to a battle to the death
that has been seen in the modern ring, and neither man was ever the same
fighter again.
Battling Nelson carried on fighting until 1917,
with the increasingly vain hope of somehow regaining the world title,
but although he continued to fight at the top level, the spark had gone
from his fighting armor. Nine months after losing his world title to Ad
Wolgast, Nelson was counted out for the first time in his career when
England’s Owen Moran knocked ‘The Durable Dane’ out in the 11th round.
The former iron man had finally become a mere mortal inside the ring.
However, he still fought with courage and determination in the ring, and
despite being past his best, would never take the full count again.
Nelson finally retired in 1920, with his last fight being a 12- round
point’s win over Slugger McLaughlin.
Battling Nelson’s final record was 59(49koes)-19-22. He died on February 7, 1954, aged 71.
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Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com
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