Pete Herman Reclaimed the Bantamweight Crown
Pete “Kid” Herman regained the world bantamweight championship from Joe Lynch at Ebbets Field on July 25, 1921. The New Orleans boxer’s second reign followed a stoppage victory over Jimmy Wilde earlier that year.
The road through Kid Williams
Born in New Orleans on February 12, 1896, Herman began his professional career in 1912 at sixteen. A twenty-round championship draw with Kid Williams in 1916 led to another meeting eleven months later.
Herman won their return over twenty rounds to become bantamweight champion. He held the crown until losing to Lynch at Madison Square Garden in 1920.
Wilde, Lynch and the final reign
Herman stopped Wilde in the seventeenth round of their 1921 meeting, then outpointed Lynch to recover the championship in July. His second reign ended against Johnny Buff.
Deteriorating eyesight shortened Herman’s career. He won five more contests after the Buff defeat and retired in 1922. He died on April 13, 1973, and entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997.
Frankie Burns handed Herman his only knockout defeat in 1914. Herman avenged that result by decision over twenty rounds in 1917, on the same day he married. His championship-era opposition also included Johnny Coulon, Johnny Ertle and Zulu Kid, extending his experience against several other prominent bantamweights.
