George Chip

Jack Dillon

Chip fought the exceptional boxer Jack Dillon over ten times, usually losing to him in the opinions of newspapers. Dillon was an Indiana-born Hall of Famer who held the light heavyweight championship of the world from 1914-16.

Chip fought Pittsburgh area boxer Albert "Buck" Crouse seven times during his career, mostly in no decision bouts, losing to him only once. [2]

On November 25, 1913, after taking the title, Chip faced Tim O'Neil in a ten-round no decision bout in Racine, Wisconsin. Though he won the bout by newspaper decision, he would have lost the title had he been knocked out by O'Neil.[4]

On Dececember 23, 1913, some sources reported that Chip's rematch with Klaus in Pittsburgh was a middleweight championship, however, as the fight was fought at catchweights, boxing historians do not consider the bout a title match. After knocking down Klaus twice in the fifth, the referee called the bout, resulting in a Technical Knockoout.[4] The second win over the former title holder cemented Chip's place as champion.

On January 12, 1914 Chip faced Gus Christie in a ten-round no decision bout in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Though he won the bout by newspaper decision, he would have lost the title had he been knocked out by Christie.[4]

On January 14, 1914 Chip faced Tim O'Neil again in a ten-round no decision bout in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He won the bout in a second-round TKO, exhibiting his strong punching abilities.[4]

On December 7, 1915, Chip lost to Jeff Smith, future Australian World Middleweight Champion, in a seventh round disqualification at the Hippodrome in Boston. The New Castle News wrote that Chip was clearly winning the contest when he was disqualified by the referee for a low blow. Some reporters wrote the blow to the torso was not below the belt, and believed Chip was close to winning the bout by knockout.[9]

Between November 1914 and May 1915, Chip fought Jimmy Clabby four times. Clabby, an exceptional talent, competed for but never won a world title in his career, though he took the World Middleweight and Light Heavyweight titles of Australia and the Heavyweight Championship of New Zealand. On November 6, 1914 Chip lost a twenty-round bout with Clabby in Daly City, California, outside San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Clabby won easily, taking seventeen rounds.[4] On March 22, 1915, Clabby beat Chip again in the opinion of newspapers, in a six-round no decision bout in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[2]

On January 20, 1916, after losing his Middleweight Title, Chip easily won a ten-round no decision rematch with Al McCoy in Brooklyn's Broadway Arena according to the New York Times.[4] Reportedly, McCoy was badly battered in the bout, and at one point in the third round was down for nine seconds. Chip had knocked McCoy down for a short count earlier in the round. A knockout would have transferred the title back to Chip from reigning champion McCoy. According to the Pittsburgh Daily Post, Chip was the aggressor throughout, and McCoy took one of worst beatings in the fight. But McCoy more importantly managed to last seven rounds after his knockdown without hitting the canvas and retained his title.[10]

On September 30, 1916, Chip fell to a ninth-round knockout from Australian boxer Les Darcy for Australia's World Middleweight Title in Sydney. The Australian fans bet heavily on their national champion, who carried the fight decisively throughout.[11] He followed on November 6, 1916, with an important fourteenth-round knockout victory over American boxer Art Magirl in Melbourne.

Chip fought the great middleweight Harry Greb four times in his career, losing decisively to Greb on November 19, 1917, in a ten-round bout in Cincinnati, Ohio. On May 22, 1917, Greb beat Chip in an exciting ten round bout before a crowd of 4,000 in Pittsburgh. In two earlier fights in Pennsylvania, Chip beat Greb according to newspapers on June 26, 1916, but received a draw earlier in a closer fight in Pittsburgh in 1915.

In their ten-round no decision bout on June 26, 1916, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, local newspapers agreed that Chip had the decisive edge over Greb in an impressive win. The New Castle Herald gave Chip every round, and the Post gave Greb only three rounds.[12][4]

Between 1917 and 1919, Chip fought the great middleweight Mike Gibbons three times, on July 4, 1917, January 31, 1919, and June 11, 1919. Chip lost all three fights in the decision of most newspapers. Gibbons' claim to the World Middleweight Title in 1909 was a strong one, though it is not sanctioned today. Nonetheless, Gibbons was rated in the top 20 all time Middleweights by statistical boxing site BoxRec and The Ring Magazine.[13]

In the July 1917 bout between Chip and Gibbons at Wright Field in Youngstown, Ohio, Gibbon's World Middleweight Title was at stake if he lost by knockout. The Washington Post wrote that "Gibbons won all the way". [4] The Harrisburg Telegraph observed that Gibbons had better boxing science and technique, and though Chip may have had the stronger punches, they did not faze Gibbons who was able to avoid his blows and counterpunch effectively. In the last three rounds, the crowd of 5,000 witnessed the most exciting exchanges.[14] In their slow January, 1919 bout in Duluth, Gibbons defeated Chip by a "wide margin" after returning from fifteen months in the Army.[15]In a faster bout before a substantial crowd in Terre Haute, Indiana, on June 11, 1919, Chip landed several strong blows but they never fazed Gibbons who had the edge in their fight according to newspapers.[4][16] Chip also fought Gibbons' brother Tommy Gibbons five times from 1917-19 though he never beat him in the opinion of most newspapers.[4]