George Dixon

George Dixon was born on 29 July 1870 in Africville, the historic Black community on Halifax harbour, which the city demolished in the 1960s. He moved to Boston as a boy, and from 1887 lived there, working as a photographer's apprentice before turning to boxing. He turned professional in Halifax on 1 November 1886, aged 16, standing five feet three and a half inches and weighing only 87 pounds, and knocked out his opponent in the third round.

Known as Little Chocolate, Dixon was fast, elusive and a master of defence, and he built his reputation fighting out of Boston. In May 1888, after victories over top fighters, he claimed the world bantamweight title with a win over Tommy Spider Kelly. He became the officially recognised champion on 27 June 1890 by knocking out the Englishman Nunc Wallace in the 18th round at the Pelican Club in London.

That victory made Dixon the first Black boxer to win a world title, and the first Black athlete to win a world championship in any sport, as well as the first Canadian to win a world title in any weight class. He later moved up to featherweight and won that title on 28 July 1891 with a fifth-round knockout of Abe Willis in San Francisco, making him the first boxer to win world titles in two weight classes.

He held the featherweight championship, with periodic brief losses, for most of the next decade, and was famous for his stamina, once fighting for 70 rounds and drawing a famous 25-round bout with the Australian Young Griffo in 1895. As a Black fighter he faced racism and biased judging, but he used his fame to create opportunities for other Black boxers and contributed his earnings to support Black communities.

Dixon lost the title to Terry McGovern in 1900 and fought on until 1906. He died in New York on 6 January 1908, aged 37, and is buried in Boston. He was elected to The Ring magazine's Hall of Fame in 1956, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1955 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. The Canadian government has recognised him as a person of national historic significance, and a mural in Africville and the George Dixon Community Centre in Halifax honour his name.