Fitzsimmons: Boxing's First Triple World Champion. By Christopher Tobin.

Publisher: David A. Jack and C.P. Tobin (Herald Print), 2000. SCARCE LIMITED COLLECTOR"S EDITION of 500 copies. Very good hardback with, no inscriptions, a little bumping to spine ends, minor light foxing to endpapers otherwise in excellent condition. Jacket has some edgewear.

New Zealand's first boxing champion. 264 pages with photos. Robert James "Bob" Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 - 22 October 1917) was a professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, and he is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the lightest heavyweight champion, weighing just 165 pounds when he won the title. Born in Britain he moved to New Zealand aged 9 and lived in Timaru where his father established a blacksmith's forge.Amateur career In the early 1880s Jem Mace, an English bare-knuckle boxer, travelled to New Zealand, and Timaru hosted both his boxing school, and the first boxing championships held in New Zealand. Fitzsimmons entered the tournament and knocked out four opponents on his way to winning the competition. He successfully defended his title in the subsequent competition. After these tournaments, Fitzsimmons boxed at least six times in New Zealand, including some bare knuckle bouts, but it is unclear if he received payment for his fights during this time.

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