Pete Herman

[1] An American of Italian heritage and descent, Herman was born Peter Gulotta in New Orleans, Louisiana, and fought from 1912 until 1927.

[2] Nat Fleisher, Ring Magazine editor and founder, impressively rated Herman as the #2 best all time bantamweight.

[2] Herman lost to the great New York Jewish boxer Lew Tendler on February 28, 1916, at the Olympia Club in Philadelphia in a six-round newspaper decision.

Tendler would later meet the greatest boxers of his era including the lightweight champion Benny Leonard in several bouts.

Due to Williams' aggressive style of boxing in the bout, many ringside believed he had won more of the rounds than Herman.

[5][6] On May 14, 1917, Herman defeated Johnny Coulon in a third-round technical knockout at Lakeside Auditorium in Racine, Wisconsin.

The following day Herman defeated Frankie Burns in a twenty-round points decision at Louisiana Auditorium in New Orleans in what a few sources considered a title bout.

[13] On December 14, 1917, Herman won with a third-round technical knockout against Frankie Mason, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

[15] He defeated Chicago bantamweight Johnny Ritchie on January 7, 1920, in an eighth-round technical knockout at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

[2] In the late evening of December 22, 1920, Herman lost his bantamweight title in Madison Square Garden to Joe Lynch in a fifteen-round unanimous decision.

[16] Herman's most memorable match was fought against Jimmy Wilde, the legendary Welsh Flyweight World Champion.

The Wilde-Herman fight was staged on January 13, 1921, at Royal Albert Hall in London, and resulted in a seventeenth-round technical knockout for Herman.

The former bantamweight champion used his weight advantage and body punching to wear down Wilde, the still reigning Flyweight champ.

[18] On July 11, 1921, Herman defeated British Bantamweight Champion Jim Higgins in an eleventh-round knockout at the Highland Park Ring in London.

[19][20] On July 25, 1921, Herman fought Joe Lynch in a rematch for the World bantamweight title in New York's storied Ebbets Field.

[22] On September 5, 1921, Herman defeated French boxer Charles LeDoux at Louisiana Stadium in New Orleans in a tenth-round newspaper decision.

[23] He lost the World Bantamweight Championship for the second time on September 23, 1921, when he was outpointed by Johnny Buff in a fifteen-round title match at Madison Square Garden.

Having a very slight advantage in reach, and a four-pound weight disadvantage, Buff won on points by a sizable margin.

[25] He fought five more times, knocking out number one contender Packy O'Gatty in one round at the Rink Sporting Club in Brooklyn, on December 9, 1921.

On April 13, 1973, Herman died in a New Orleans hospital after failing health and a fall that broke his hip the previous month.

Kid Williams, World Bantamweight Champion Contender