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Battling Nelson was grotesquely tough. When he stepped between the ropes, dirty fighting took a new meaning. His thumbs were inquisitive when it came to eyes, his knees often seemed to have a reflex jerk towards testicles, his forehead tended to take aim independently... Legends grew up around "The Durable Dane". Some even said that his skull was three times thicker than that of a normal man, such was his refusal to acknowledge pain. And he is said to have ruined the lemonade at the Jack Dempsey-Jess Willard fight in 1919 by honoring the occasion with a rare bath before anyone else arrived at the arena. Nelson, born in Denmark but raised in Chicago, knocked out Jimmy Britt in 18 rounds to become champion in San Francisco in September 1905. He lost the title in 1906 in Goldfield, Nevada, when he smacked Joe Gans appallingly low in the 42nd round. In 1908 Nelson twice knocked out the rapidly declining Gans but his second championship reign ended when Ad Wolgast beat him in one of the most brutal fights ever witnessed. Nelson's eyes were closed and he was vomiting blood when the fight was stopped in round 40, but he was furious ans growled angrily: "I woulda had him in another round!" For more than 20 years he fought the toughest opponents, asking no favors and certainly granting none, and for all his crudities of style paid great detail to fitness and conditioning. Out of the ring, he could be sensitive and gentle. He loved children, never drank or smoked, and said the hardest blow he ever had to take was when his marriage collapsed. When he was nearly 70 he was attacked by two hoodlums with blackjacks and suffered serious head injuries. He later died, his mind and money gone, in a Chicago hospital. |
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| 1882 |
Born Oscar Nielson, Copenhagen, Denmark |
 Nelson (left) with a sparring partner |
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| 1896 |
Professional at 14 in Indiana |
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| 1905 |
Won world lightweight title by knocking out Jimmy Britt |
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| 1906 |
Lost championship on 42nd-round foul to Joe Gans |
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| 1908 |
Regained title by knocking out Gans in 17 rounds |
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| 1910 |
Lost title to Ad Wolgast on 40th-round knockout |
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| 1917 |
Lost last fight to Freddie Welsh |
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| Died: |
Chicago, Illinois, February 7, 1954, age 71 |
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| Record: |
Fights 130, Won 67, Lost 30, Drawn 25, No Decisions 7, No Contest 1 |
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From: Boxing, Heroes & Champions, by Bob Mee, 1997
