First for boxing match on film
In the first boxing championship fight recorded on film, Bob Fitzsimmons knocked out Jim Corbett in teh 13th round at Carson City, Nevada. The proximity of the fight and the nature of the era was emphasised by Sheriff Bat Masterson collecting 400 guns from the paying customers at the entrance. Another famous sheriff Wyatt Earp, stood in Corbett’s corner with a six-gun as protection. Corbett had beaten the legendary John L. Sullivan for the heavyweight title in 1892.
This day in sport: 17 March 1897
