Jackie Sharkey or Jack Sharkey (born Giovanni Cervati) was an Italian-born American boxer who made a claim to the World Bantamweight Title on August 15, 1919, defeating reigning champion Pete Herman in a ten-round, no-decision bout in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His claim to the title was not universally recognized at the time. Jack Sharkey, also known as Little Jackie Sharkey, should not be confused with the heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey.
Early life and career
Jackie Sharkey was born Giovanni Cervati in Bologna, Emilia Romagna, Italy on June 20, 1897, though he would live most of his life in New York City. In his early professional career between May 23, 1914, and February 21, 1916, fighting almost exclusively in the New York area, he won three and lost six bouts, with one draw.
On February 21, 1916, Sharkey lost to Jewish boxer Abe Friedman at the Olympia Boxing Club in New York in a ten-round newspaper decision. Friedman would become a competent bantamweight fringe contender during his career taking the USA New England Bantamweight Title in 1921.
On June 2, 1916, Sharkey lost to Young Zulu Kid in a fifth-round knockout at the Vanderbilt Athletic Club in Brooklyn, New York. By that year, Zulu Kid had established himself as a serious world flyweight contender.
Draw with Johnny Coulon, February 1917
On February 5, 1917, Sharkey drew with former World Bantamweight champion Johnny Coulon in a ten-round newspaper decision at the Pioneer Sporting Club in New York. Local newspapers disagreed on the decision. Coulon held the World Bantamweight Championship from 1911 to 1913, though the title was not unified at the time.
On July 27, 1917, Sharkey first lost to Kid Williams in six rounds at Oriole Park in Baltimore, at least by the newspaper decision of the Baltimore Sun. He lost to Williams again on April 1, 1918, in a twelve-round points decision at the Lyric Theater in Baltimore. Williams held the World Bantamweight Title from June 1914 to January 1917.
Bouts with December 1920 World Bantamweight Champion Joe Lynch 1916–25
Sharkey first met Joe Lynch on September 26, 1916, in the star bout at the Pioneer Sporting Club in New York, losing in ten-round newspaper decisions of the New York Times and New York Tribune. They met on February 27, 1917, and Sharkey lost again by a ten-round decision of three New York newspapers at the Pioneer Sports Club in New York City. Sharkey was down in the fifth round, after which Lynch had little trouble penetrating his defenses. The bout was an elimination series for the bantamweight championship, and Lynch had some difficulty with Sharkey in the early rounds.
Sharky and Joe Lynch drew in a fifteen-round points decision at New York's Madison Square Garden on September 28, 1920, although Lynch was down in several rounds from the blows of Sharkey. Sharkey's ability to stay fifteen rounds with a top bantamweight contender put him squarely in the list of top contenders himself. On December 2, 1920, in a somewhat more historic bout, Lynch defeated Sharkey in a fifteenth-round knockout at Madison Square Garden. Sharkey had the better of the bout up until the sixth round, when Lynch became far more dominant. Lynch's win gave him the right to challenge Pete Herman for the Bantamweight Championship three weeks later. On July 2, 1925, at the Polo Grounds in New York, home of the New York Giants, the two drew in four rounds to a large house in which Lynch was somewhat favored to win.
Seven bouts with top bantamweight contender Frankie Burns, 1916–18
Sharkey met Frankie Burns seven times during his career, but had little luck with the highly rated bantamweight contender. Beginning on November 27, 1916, Sharkey faced a ten-round loss by newspaper decision from Burns in New York, followed by a ten-round loss on February 9, 1917, at the Harlem Sports Club in New York by newspaper decision of the New York Sun. Sharkey sank to the mat in the sixth round and claimed a foul, though he recovered by the seventh. He fought the first two rounds "like a whirlwind" and looked to have an advantage, but lost his pace in subsequent rounds. In the third, Sharkey was stunned by a left hook to his midriff that may have affected him for the remainder of the bout.