Benny Leonard
The Ghetto Wizard, lightweight champion who retired with the title in 1925
Overview
Leonard grew up on the Lower East Side of New York and won the world lightweight championship from Freddie Welsh in 1917. He held it for nearly eight years, a model of defensive skill and ring intelligence, before retiring as champion in 1925. Financial losses in the 1929 crash forced a brief comeback, and he later worked as a referee until his death at ringside in 1947.
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