Henry Armstrong

Henry Armstrong: Boxing’s Super Champ is the story of arguably the most incredible fighter in the history of boxing – told by one of the few surviving writers to have been around during Armstrong’s unique world championship reign. When Henry had his arm raised on 17 August 1938, after winning a blood-spattered 15-round decision over Lou Ambers, he became the first boxer to simultaneously hold world titles at three different weights – and somehow he managed the feat in an era of just eight weight classes, with no ‘junior’ or ‘super’ divisions. He had entered Madison Square Garden as the reigning world feather and welterweight champion, and left with the world lightweight belt strapped around his waist. Now in his 90s, veteran boxing journalist and author John Jarrett looks back on the life and career of this ring hero of his youth: a 5ft 51/2in buzzsaw they nicknamed ‘Homicide Hank’. In the 85 years that have passed since then, nobody has matched Armstrong’s amazing triple-championship feat. It’s likely no one ever will.

Author Biography

John Jarrett’s love of boxing started as a fight-mad schoolboy following the exploits of Henry Armstrong and other stars of the 1930s and 40s. Now aged 92, John’s first boxing article appeared in Boxing News in 1951, and in the seven decades since then he has been a regular contributor, as well as writing about the sport for various other newspapers and magazines. He was Northern Area Secretary of the BBBofC for 40 years. This is his 12th book.