Young Corbett II

Young Corbett II (born William J. Rothwell on October 4, 1880 Denver, Colorado and died on April 10, 1927) is a boxer who held the World Featherweight championship. He took the name "Young Corbett II" in honor of James J. Corbett, a heavyweight champion. Corbett was posthumously inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1965 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.

World featherweight champion

Corbett became a professional boxer in 1896 and was undefeated in his first 13 fights with a record of 9-0-3-1. In 1901, Corbett defeated George Dixon for the Western featherweight title in Denver, Colorado. In his next fight, Corbett faced world featherweight champion Terry McGovern in Hartford, Connecticut. Corbett knocked out McGovern in the second round and took the title. He defended the title four times, including a rematch against McGovern, which Corbett also won by knockout. During this time he also engaged in a number of non-title matches, including one against Young Erne and two against Jimmy Briggs, both of which Corbett won.

Attempts to match British World Featherweight Champion Ben Jordan with Young Corbett were not successful.

During this time there is some dispute as to Corbett's claim on the featherweight title. Corbett had trouble making the featherweight limit of 126 pounds, and some sources claim he relinquished his title and moved to the lightweight division in December 1902. Abe Attell then claimed the featherweight title. Other sources show that Corbett defended his featherweight title at weights above 126 pounds with Attell defending the title at 126 pounds.

Later career

Regardless, Corbett continued to fight. He met future world champion Battling Nelson in two consecutive fights in 1904 and 1905, losing both by technical knockout. He then met old nemesis Young Erne in two more fights in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first fight they fought to a draw. The second fight Corbett lost by decision.

He had a mixed record over the five years remaining in his career. Aurelio Herrera knocked him out in 1906, Harlem Tommy Murphy defeated him via decision, but he defeated Young Erne by decision in 1907. His last fight was in 1910.