Isadore Schwartz - Biography

Isadore “Corporal Izzy” Schwartz ("Izzy Schwarts; the "Ghetto Midget"; October 23, 1900, in New York, New York – July 1988) was an American boxer.

Schwartz was (New York) World Flyweight Champion from 1927 to 1929.

Boxing career

He was born in the East Village in New York. Corporal Izzy's nickname was bestowed on him because he learned to box in the U.S. Army.

Only 5' 1", Schwartz was an extremely quick boxer who was in constant motion when fighting, and he was knocked out only once during his career.

He turned professional as a flyweight in 1922, and did not lose a fight that year.

For the next five years, Schwartz built up a good reputation, and was a contender in 1927 when world champion Fidel La Barba vacated the title. La Barba's retirement threw the division into turmoil, as an undisputed champion could not be found.

Schwartz was recognized as the world champ in New York when he defeated Newsboy Brown in 15 rounds in December 1927, but the NBA (the National Boxing Association which represented about 30 states) and other state boxing commissions refused to recognize Schwartz as the champion, and the title remained divided.

Despite holding a disputed championship, Schwartz defended his title in April 1928 and defeated Routier Parra in a 15-round decision.

The following month, while still the flyweight champ, Schwartz fought Bushy Graham for the vacant world bantamweight title, but lost the 15-round decision (the flyweight title was not on the line).

He then successfully defended his flyweight crown three more times. These included a pair of 1928 bouts within 31 days — February (10 rounds) and March (12 rounds), both in Toronto—Schwartz decisioned NBA and IBU Flyweight Champion Albert "Frenchy" Belanger.

He vacated the crown in August 1929; the New York Commission ordered an elimination tournament to crown its champion, but the division was not unified until 1937.

In fact, Schwartz lost his last title fight by a 15-round decision to Willie LaMorte. However, Izzy’s manager had become the opponent’s manager the night before the match. New York State refused to recognize the bout as a championship, declaring the title vacant because of the manager’s deception.

Schwartz’s professional record: 124 bouts, W 70 (7 KOs), L 34 (3 KOs), Drew 16, 5 no-decisions.

Hall of Fame

Schwartz was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

See also

• List of select Jewish boxers

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External links

• Jewish Sports bio
• Jews in Sports bio
• Boxrec bio