DANIEL (DAN) CREEDON

 June 7th, 1868 – July 10th, 1942.

There is little doubt that Dan Creedon is one of the greatest ring men to come out of New Zealand, yet he remains one of our least known champions. This is probably due to the fact that Creedon never boxed professionally in the country of his birth and lived the majority of his life in Australia. Creedon none the less was born in New Zealand, in Invercargill, and was taught the rudiments of the sport in this his native land. The heights he went onto attain in the boxing game and his New Zealand status firmly underpin his being admitted to the NZBHOF as a foundation member.

 Introduced to boxing during Jem Mace’s and Larry Foley’s tours of New Zealand in the early 1880s Dan had relatively few fights in New Zealand and did not turn professional until he went to Australia at age 20. Under Foley’s guidance, he rapidly developed into a fighter of rare quality. Standing 1.75 meters and weighing just over 72 kilo’s Creedon was possessed of bulldog-like ferocity in the ring.

MPHe was both aggressive and clever, a terrific hitter with the right hand, and was imbued with the ability to soak up a great deal of punishment. Creedon KO’d Owen Daly in his first professional fight on 12/1/ 1889 at Melbourne’s Apollo Athletic Hall. In November 1890 he won on points against the very good Australian Jim Hall. In his eleventh fight and still undefeated he beat Edward “Starlight” Rollins to secure the vacant Australian Middleweight title. On 15/11/ 1892, he KO’d Mick Dunn, in the fourth and final defense of his Australian title. The following year, he departed Australia, taking up an offer to fight highly regarded Alec Greggains of San Francisco.

 In Roby, Indiana, on 14/8/1893 with a purse of $9000 US at stake, Creedon defeated Greggains in the 15th round of a 20-round contest, the fight lasted 55 minutes. His display of punching power and all-round ring generalship caught the eye and he began to be talked about as a possible challenger for Bob Fitzsimmons World Middleweight title. Over the next eight months, Creedon carried all before him. Twice he defeated, in contests a week apart, “the Harlem Coffee Cooler,” Frank Craig. Punctuating the Craig fights, on 12/2/1894, he KO’d James Desverney. The day following his second engagement with Craig on 15th Feb he KO’d Marion Haley in one round. For Creedon, the pace was hectic, four fights in eight days!

 Following the Haley fight, Creedon boxed a draw against the highly-rated Dick Moore. In Minneapolis, two months later on 24/4/ 1894, he KO’d Moore in the 9th of a 20 rounder. Undefeated in 29 fights Creedon then challenged fellow New Zealander Bob Fitzsimmons for the undisputed middleweight title. The championship bout took place at the Olympic Club, New Orleans on 26/9/1894 for a purse of $5000 US. The fight was the first and remains the only time to date that two New Zealanders have shared a ring in a World Title fight.

 Good as he was, in some quarters Creedon was advised not to take the fight against Ruby Robert. Creedon though was confident he could beat Fitzsimmons. Weighing 158lbs, Creedon entered the ring first, the champion came in at a tad under 156lbs. The fight was a short one. After an opening round in which both men looked for an opportunity, one minute into round two Fitzsimmons landed three quick, heavy lefts on Creedon’s nose. Creedon went down for the count.

 Fitzsimmons didn’t fight again as a middleweight; he went on to win the Heavyweight Championship and established a legacy for himself as one of the all-time greats.  Creedon remained a top-quality fighter for a few more years. After Fitzsimmons he had another six bouts in the US, winning four and drawing two. One of the draws was against the very good heavyweight Joe Choyniski. Creedon then departed the US, of the 16 fights, he had had in America he had won 12, (9 by KO), drawn 3 and had lost one.

 Creedon’s next engagement on 14/10/1895 was against old rival Frank Craig at the National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, in London.

At stake, was the Middleweight Championship of England. Creedon again won on points. This time not only did he win the English title but he laid claim to the World Middleweight Championship. His claim never received wide recognition though. The rationale behind Creedon’s claim was no doubt that Fitzsimmons had relinquished the Middleweight Championship in order to campaign as a heavyweight. Craig at the time of this his third defeat to Creedon was the “Coloured World Middleweight Champion”. Craig had won the title by knocking out champion Joe Butler in the 4th round at Philadelphia on 20/2/1894. Creedon no doubt felt that his claim was a legitimate one.

 Creedon featured again at the N.S.C. on 27/1/ 1896 against Jem Smith. This time for the British Empire Heavyweight Title. Creedon KO’d Smith in the second round to become the first New Zealand boxer to win a British Empire Championship. After the Smith fight, he returned to America. There he raked up another six wins all but one via the short route. He was matched with Charles “Kid” McCoy another legend of the ring for the vacant World Middleweight Championship. The title having been left vacant by, Fitzsimmons. The fight scheduled for 25 rounds, took place at the Long Island City Arena on 27/1/1897. In excess of $100,000 was laid down and upwards of 5000 attended the fight.

 Creedon, badly beaten was knocked down in the closing seconds of the 15th round. He was in no state to answer the bell for the 16th round prompting his second Joe Choyniski to throw the sponge in.

 After the McCoy fight, Creedon abilities declined rapidly. Far from being a force in the game, he came to be seen as a spent force. In the years after the McCoy fight, he lost more than he won. During this period, he had 25 bouts, won just 7, lost 14, and had 3 draws, 8 of his defeats were by knockout. In the main, the fighters he faced during these years were far from second-tier though. In 1899 he lost four fights against another ring immortal, “Barbados” Joe Walcott, three by way of decision, and one, their first meeting, by first-round knockout. On 18/5/1900 in NYC, Creedon suffered another stoppage defeat (TKO, 6) against McCoy.  Later that year he was defeated (KO 1) by Jack Root. In 1901 he lost to future Heavyweight Champion Marvin Hart (KO 6), and later that year he lost on disqualification to Al Weinig.

 Twelve months on having arrived back in Australia he KO’d Bill Doherty on the 6/11/1902, in the Hibernian Hall, Melbourne. This was the last fight Creedon would win in a professional career that had commenced 14 years prior. At the National Sporting Club, Sydney, 3/3/1903 he was stopped (TKO 6) by Billy McColl and in the process was deprived of his British Empire and Australian Heavyweight titles. On 5/11/1904, following a very disappointing No Contest bout in Sydney against Soldier Jack Thompson for the Australian Middleweight Championship Creedon was in Johannesburg. At the appropriately named Wanderers Hall, he fared no better being knocked out by Tom Dingey in eight rounds.

Back in Australia, on 5/6/1905 in Newcastle, Creedon again attempted to win back the British Empire and Australian Heavyweight Titles. He fortunes continued to spiral downwards, again being KO’d by Billy McColl, this time in the first round. Following his second defeat to McColl, Creedon then 37, fought intermittently. The next year on 4/6/1906 he lost inside the distance to Bill Smith. Dan had just two more fights, these being several years apart. Edward ‘Starlight’ Rollins reversed an earlier defeat to Creedon, by KO in late 1911. Creedon’s last fight was a No Decision affair against Pat Doran in Melbourne, on 26/11/1914. Dan by this time was 46 years of age and just a shadow of the great fighter he had once been.

 Dan Creedon is buried in Melbourne General Cemetery.

 MP 2020

Dan Creedon’s Ring Record Stands at: 77 Bouts – 39 Wins  (32 by KO) – 21 Loses  (15 by KO) -10 Draws – 6 ND – 1 NC

Dan Creedon’s 32 KO’s remained a New Zealand record until surpassed by Maurice Strickland’s 33.

 Inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame (2011)

 Ref: Kiwis with Gloves On.   By Brian O’Brien   (Pub, 1960)

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