Monte Attell (July 28, 1885 – November 11, 1960), born in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States, was an American boxer.

[5] As a poor Jewish kid of diminutive stature raised in a tough Irish neighborhood, Attell began his career as a fighter from a very early age.

[7][8][3] Before his world Bantamweight championship bout, Attell defeated Dusty Miller on November 5, 1904, in a six-round points decision at the Chicago Athletic Club.

Attell lost to accomplished British boxer Owen Moran on May 15, 1905, in a twenty-round points decision at the Pallisades in New York before a private, affluent crowd of around 150, who paid as much as $10 to see the fight, a princely sum in that era.

By the sixth, both fighters were fatigued, and in the seventh, Moran hooked a strong left to the jaw of Attell staggering him and causing him to fall against the ropes as the round ended.

[14] Attell claimed to have been injured, and a foul was called by the referee, but Walsh was recognized as the Bantamweight Champion, by the National Boxing Association.

In an early loss against a known competitor, Attell lost to Freddie Weeks on September 3, 1906, in a fifth-round knockout at the Grand Opera House at Victor, Colorado.

[15] Weeks was a quick and scrappy competitor who fought some of the best, including Monte's brother Abe in October 1907 and January 1909 in unsuccessful title matches for the World Featherweight Championship.

Attell defeated Mike Kutchos on November 25, 1908, for the Pacific Coast Bantamweight Title, winning in a fifteen-round points decision.

[3] As was typically the case with Attell, he was superior in the infighting, but Walsh lead and was more aggressive in the bout, and he may have landed the more telling blows, accounting for the draw decision.

[17] On June 19, 1909, Monte Attell won the World Bantamweight title defeating former champion Frankie Neil at Coffroth's Arena, in an eighteenth-round knockout in Colma, California.

[3] He fought Jimmy Reagan on February 22, 1909, in a World Bantamweight Title match that resulted in a twenty-round points decision at the Mission Street Arena in San Francisco, California.

On August 20, 1909, Attell defeated Percy Cove in a title bout and retained the world bantamweight championship in a tenth-round technical knockout before a packed house at the Mission Athletic Club in San Francisco.

McGovern's aggressiveness made the bout look like a contest, and his ability to take his time with his opponent and effectively use lefts to the face, won him the decision of the New York Tribune.

[26] Newspapers were divided on who had won the bout, but the local papers, The New York Times, and Brooklyn Daily Eagle favored Attell as the winner.

[27] Attell defeated Johnny Daly in a world bantamweight title match on October 2, 1911, in a close ten round points decision in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Attell, having a longer reach, used his left to shove back Daly's face to gain an opening, and then connected with his right to the chin or chest on multiple occasions.

The Los Angeles Times wrote that "from the tap of the bell in the first round, he (Attell) took the aggressive and never once allowed Carroll the upper hand."

[3] A year later on March 14, 1908, in one of their more well publicized bouts, Attell drew with Carroll in a fifteen-round points decision at Coffroth's Arena in San Francisco.

[33] Attell lost the world bantamweight championship to Frankie Conley on February 22, 1910, at the Pacific Athletic Club in Vernon, a suburb of Los Angeles, by a knockout in the 42nd round.

Joe Biderberg, known as Louisiana, was put to the canvas by Attell two minutes into the first round, but the battle resumed at as fast a pace as it had begun.

[40] Louisiana showed better speed and was more illusive but Attell's superior infighting, though brutal at times, made the decision of most newspapers a draw.

[43] Attell first fought Johnny Kilbane, future world featherweight champion from 1912 to 1923, on March 24, 1911, drawing in ten rounds in Cleveland, Ohio.

With jabs and right crosses to the face and jaw, Delmont, showing his old form, earned a sufficient points margin in the eleventh and twelfth, to gain the popular decision.

[3] Attell lost to Young Zulu Kid on June 24, 1916, in a ten-round newspaper decision of the New York Evening Telegram at the Fairmont Athletic Club in The Bronx.

Despite a significant reach advantage over the diminutive Italian boxer, Attell lost the bout to the Kid who fought several quality competitors but lacked a winning record against them.

[3] Attell fought top-rated boxer Frankie Britt near the end of his career on September 15, 1916, losing in a third-round knockout in Boston.

[50] Tellingly, though not unusual for an aging boxer in the era, particularly one with vision problems, Attell lost nineteen of twenty-four bouts between February 7, 1912, and October 30, 1916, near the end of his boxing career.

[52] While blind, he was forced at one point to sell peanuts and cigarettes at fights to raise money, while a young man led him to his customers.

Hearing of his plight, Jack Dempsey later financed a cigar stand in San Francisco that supplied Attell a decent living for many years.