Boxer George Dixon is shown in a handout photo. A ceremony was held Monday on the Halifax waterfront to pay tribute to boxing great Dixon, the first Black boxer and first Canadian to win a world title. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame **MANDATORY CREDIT**
HALIFAX – A ceremony was held today on the Halifax waterfront to pay tribute to boxing great George Dixon, the first Black boxer and first Canadian to win a world title.
About 50 people were on hand at the Africville Museum as officials unveiled a plaque commemorating Dixon, a Nova Scotian who became one of the world’s top boxers in the late 1800s.
Born in 1870 in Africville, a once-thriving community in the north end of Halifax, Dixon was renowned for his stamina, speed and innovative training methods.
Despite widespread racial prejudice and discrimination, he won the bantamweight world title in 1890 and later moved up a weight class and won the featherweight title in 1891.
Dixon is credited with inventing shadow boxing, a training technique that is used to this day.
He is also known for his 1893 book, “A Lesson on Boxing,” which described his winning strategies and training regimen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2023.
