Jimmy McLarnin

James Archibald McLarnin (19 December 1907 – 28 October 2004) was an Irish professional boxer who became a two-time Undisputed Welterweight World Champion and an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As of September 10, 2025, BoxRec ranks McLarnin as the second greatest pound for pound fighter of all time, only behind Sugar Ray Robinson.<ref name="boxrec-rank">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BoxNation Irish">Template:Cite web</ref>

Background

There was often confusion over McLarnin's exact place of birth and his date of birth. McLarnin himself was unsure as to the exact location and at various times claimed to be born in Inchicore, Dublin, in modern-day Ireland, or the Lisburn Road in Belfast, Ireland, modern day Northern Ireland. Adding to the confusion he went by nicknames the Dublin Destroyer and Belfast Spider. It was Irish boxing historian Patrick Myler who later unearthed McLarnin's birth certificate which showed that McLarnin was born in Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland in 1907.<ref name="Yahoo">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Obituary NYTimes">Template:Cite web</ref>

McLarnin's father, Sam McLarnin, a Methodist from Dublin, was described as 'a typical Dublin Irishman' and traveled throughout Britain and Ireland for work as a butcher. He later married Mary Ferris from Belfast and they settled in County Down before being drawn into Belfast. When McLarnin was three years of age the whole family emigrated to Saskatchewan, Canada via Liverpool. The McLarnins started out as a wheat farmers, but years later, at the age of 10 and following a particularly harsh winter, the family moved to Vancouver where they opened a second-hand clothes store in Vancouver's east end.<ref name="Yahoo"/><ref name="Obituary NYTimes"/><ref name="Ross">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Observer Obituaries">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Irish Gentleman">Template:Cite web</ref>

McLarnin was a prodigious athlete, his main sports were football, baseball and boxing and was considered a model of propriety by Rev. A.E. Roberts at the Methodist mission in Vancouver. He took up boxing at the age of 10 after getting into a fight defending his newspaper-selling pitch. Former professional boxer Charles "Pop" Foster recognized McLarnin's talent at the age of 13. He constructed a makeshift gym for McLarnin to train in, sure that he would one day be the champion of the world. The two of them would remain close, and when Foster died, he left everything he had to McLarnin.<ref name="Ross"/><ref name="Observer Obituaries"/>

Boxing career

Following a successful start to his career in Vancouver, McLarnin's grew aggrieved at the low pay he was receiving for bouts and decided to move south. "We had to go to the United States to make our money. We owe Vancouver nothing" said McLarnin.<ref name="Ross"/>

Foster took McLarnin to San Francisco, where his youthful appearance made it difficult to get a fight until he lied about his age. It is for this reason that McLarnin was known as the "Baby-faced Assassin". Despite his youthful appearance, McLarnin had incredible power with both fists, his right being particularly feared. However, like many similar fighters McLarnin suffered several hand injuries throughout his career. Towards the end of his career McLarnin was forced to become more of a scientific boxer to reduce further injuries to his hands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

McLarnin lost his first title shot on 21 May 1928 in New York against world lightweight champion Sammy Mandell. However, he did go on to beat him twice in the following two years. It would be five years before McLarnin would next get a title shot, during which time he knocked out Al Singer, Ruby Goldstein, and Sid Terris.<ref name="BoxRec page">Template:Cite web</ref>

McLarnin's second title shot came against welterweight champion Young Corbett III. McLarnin won by knockout after only 2 minutes 37 seconds. Following his title success, McLarnin fought an epic three-fight series with Barney Ross. The first fight, on 28 May 1934, was won by Ross, but McLarnin regained his title in their next match four months later. In the deciding fight on 28 May 1935, McLarnin lost his title for the final time in a narrow decision.

McLarnin retired in November 1936 still at the top of his game, having won his last two fights against all-time greats Tony Canzoneri and Lou Ambers. His record was 54 wins, 11 losses, and 3 draws in 68 contests. In 1996 Ring Magazine voted McLarnin the fifth-greatest welterweight of all time.

Life after boxing

McLarnin never returned to the ring despite large incentives for him to do so.<ref name="Guardian" /> Unlike many boxers, McLarnin invested his money wisely and retired a wealthy man. He opened an electrical goods store, and also did some acting, golfing, and lecturing.<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1937, he appeared with boxers Maxie Rosenbloom, James J. Jeffries, Jack Dempsey, and Jackie Fields, in MGM's Big City, a film involving rough competition between two rival taxi companies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1938, he appeared in a background gymnasium scene for the successful 1938, MGM boxing movie, The Crowd Roars with boxers Abe "The Newsboy" Hollandersky, Joe Glick, Maxie Rosenbloom, Jack Roper, and Tommy Herman.<ref>"Pretty Boy to HeMan", Dallas Morning News, pg. 12, Dallas, TX., 9 August 1938.</ref>

In 1946, he appeared in Monogram Pictures' boxing movie, Joe Palooka, Champ, with cameos by real boxing greats Joe Louis, Henry Armstrong, Ceferino Garcia, and Manuel Ortiz. Heavyweight Jack Roper appeared as the character Waldo. The simple plot involved young boxer Joe and his girl resisting mob influence while Joe trains to fight the champ.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

McLarnin died on 28 October 2004 at the age of 96 in Richland, Washington.<ref>Jimmy McLarnin, Top Boxer Called Baby Face, Dies at 96</ref> He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Professional boxing record

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Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Age	Location	Notes
69	Template:Yes2Win	Template:Nowrap	Lou Ambers	UD	10	Nov 20, 1936	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
68	Template:Yes2Win	54–11–3	Tony Canzoneri	UD	10	Oct 5, 1936	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
67	Template:No2Loss	53–11–3	Tony Canzoneri	UD	10	May 8, 1936	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
66	Template:No2Loss	53–10–3	Barney Ross	UD	15	May 28, 1935	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
65	Template:Yes2Win	53–9–3	Barney Ross	SD	15	Sep 17, 1934	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
64	Template:No2Loss	52–9–3	Barney Ross	SD	15	May 28, 1934	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	52–8–3	Young Corbett III	TKO	1 (10)	May 29, 1933	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
62	Template:Yes2Win	51–8–3	Sammy Fuller	TKO	8 (10)	Dec 16, 1932	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2Win	50–8–3	Benny Leonard	TKO	6 (10)	Oct 7, 1932	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
60	Template:No2Loss	49–8–3	Lou Brouillard	SD	10	Aug 4, 1932	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2Win	49–7–3	Billy Petrolle	UD	10	Aug 20, 1931	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
58	Template:Yes2Win	48–7–3	Billy Petrolle	UD	10	May 27, 1931	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
57	Template:No2Loss	47–7–3	Billy Petrolle	UD	10	Nov 21, 1930	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2Win	47–6–3	Al Singer	KO	3 (10)	Sep 11, 1930	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2Win	46–6–3	Jack Thompson	UD	10	Mar 28, 1930	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
54	Template:Yes2Win	45–6–3	Sammy Mandell	UD	10	Mar 1, 1930	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
53	Template:Yes2Win	44–6–3	Ruby Goldstein	KO	2 (10)	Dec 13, 1929	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
52	Template:Yes2Win	43–6–3	Sammy Mandell	UD	10	Nov 4, 1929	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
51	Template:Yes2Win	42–6–3	Sergeant Sammy Baker	KO	1 (10)	Oct 9, 1929	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2Win	41–6–3	Ray Miller	UD	10	Mar 22, 1929	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	40–6–3	Joe Glick	KO	2 (10)	Mar 1, 1929	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	39–6–3	Joe Glick	UD	10	Jan 11, 1929	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
47	Template:No2Loss	38–6–3	Ray Miller	RTD	7 (10)	Nov 30, 1928	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
46	Template:Yes2Win	38–5–3	Stanislaus Loayza	KO	4 (10)	Aug 2, 1928	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	37–5–3	Phil McGraw	TKO	1 (10)	Jun 21, 1928	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
44	Template:No2Loss	36–5–3	Sammy Mandell	UD	15	May 21, 1928	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2Win	36–4–3	Sid Terris	KO	1 (10)	Feb 24, 1928	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	35–4–3	Billy Wallace	PTS	10	Nov 23, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	34–4–3	Louis Kaplan	KO	8 (10)	Oct 18, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	33–4–3	Don Long	KO	3 (10)	Sep 23, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	32–4–3	Charlie McBride	KO	2 (10)	Sep 9, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	31–4–3	Lope Tenorio	PTS	10	Jun 24, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	30–4–3	Johnny Lamar	PTS	10	May 27, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	29–4–3	Freeman Black	KO	2 (10)	May 6, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	28–4–3	Tommy Cello	PTS	10	Apr 5, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
34	Template:DrawDraw	27–4–3	Tommy Cello	PTS	10	Feb 22, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
33	Template:No2Loss	27–4–2	Doc Snell	PTS	10	Oct 15, 1926	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	27–3–2	Joe Glick	PTS	10	Sep 7, 1926	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
31	Template:No2Loss	26–3–2	Johnny Farr	PTS	10	Mar 17, 1926	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	26–2–2	Joey Sangor	KO	3 (10)	Mar 3, 1926	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
29	Template:No2Loss	25–2–2	Bud Taylor	PTS	10	Jan 12, 1926	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	25–1–2	Bud Taylor	DQ	2 (10)	Dec 8, 1925	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	24–1–2	Jackie Fields	KO	2 (10)	Nov 12, 1925	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
26	Template:Yes2Win	23–1–2	Pancho Villa	PTS	10	Jul 4, 1925	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
25	Template:No2Loss	22–1–2	Bud Taylor	PTS	10	Jun 2, 1925	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	22–0–2	Eddie Spec Ramies	KO	6 (6)	Apr 18, 1925	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	21–0–2	Young Farrell	PTS	6	Apr 11, 1925	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	20–0–2	Teddy Silva	PTS	10	Mar 24, 1925	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	19–0–2	Fidel LaBarba	PTS	10	Jan 13, 1925	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
20	Template:DrawDraw	18–0–2	Memphis Pal Moore	PTS	4	Dec 9, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
19	Template:DrawDraw	18–0–1	Fidel LaBarba	PTS	4	Nov 11, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	18–0	Fidel LaBarba	PTS	4	Oct 28, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	17–0	Young Nationalista	PTS	4	Oct 14, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	16–0	Frankie Dolan	PTS	4	Oct 7, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	15–0	Benny Diaz	PTS	4	Sep 30, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	14–0	Mickey Gill	MD	10	Aug 15, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	13–0	Abe Gordon	KO	2 (4)	May 14, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	12–0	Jimmy Griffiths	PTS	4	May 2, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	11–0	Jockey Joe Dillon	PTS	4	Apr 30, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	10–0	Johnny Jockey Lightner	PTS	4	Apr 24, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Frankie Grandetta	PTS	4	Apr 9, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Jimmy Griffiths	PTS	4	Apr 4, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Sammy Lee	PTS	4	Mar 26, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Frankie Sands	PTS	4	Mar 19, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Joe Conde	TKO	3 (4)	Mar 5, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	4–0	Eddie Collins	TKO	3 (4)	Feb 22, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Frankie Sands	PTS	4	Feb 13, 1924	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Mickey Gill	MD	7	Dec 28, 1923	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Young Fry	KO	1 (6)	Dec 19, 1923	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Titles in boxing Major world titles NYSAC welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×) NBA (WBA) welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×) The Ring magazine titles The Ring welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×) Regional/International titles Pacific Coast flyweight champion (112 lbs) Undisputed titles Undisputed welterweight champion (2×) See also List of welterweight boxing champions Notes References External links Template:Boxrec Template:Find a Grave

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• https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine%27s_Annual_Ratings:_Welterweight--1930s
• https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1933
• https://titlehistories.com/boxing/na/usa/ny/nysac-wl.html