Curly Wilshur
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Canadian1901
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
Nickname | The Canadian Ghost[1] |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Born | Barney Eisenberg 1901 London, England |
| Died | November 8, 1962 (aged 60–61) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Height | 5 ft 6½ in (169cm) |
| Weight | Featherweight |
| Boxing career | |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 73 |
| Wins | 34 |
| Win by KO | 3 |
| Losses | 27 |
| Draws | 12 |
Curly Wilshur (born Barney Eisenberg; 1901 – November 8, 1962) was a British-born Canadian professional featherweight boxer who became the featherweight boxing champion of Canada in 1923.
Barney Eisenberg (or Isenberg) was born in London, England, in 1901.[2]
His family migrated from the East End of London to Toronto, Ontario, when he was 13. He quickly found work as a printer's apprentice, earning four dollars per week, but after a printer's strike, he began to pursue boxing.[3]
Professional boxing career
Eisenberg fought professionally during the 1920s under the ring name of Curly Wilshur.[1] Nicknamed Curly, he formed his ring name from his mother's surname, Wiltshire, though most newspapers published it as Wilshur.[3]
He turned pro under manager Phil "Darkey" Daniels.[1] Known for his remarkable speed and elusive style,[4] he earned the nickname "The Canadian Ghost."
From 1919 to 1922, he had 10 fights with Toronto's Benny Gould, future featherweight titleholder. He went 3-2-5.[5]
He kicked off a rivalry with Eddie Pinchot in April 1922, fighting to a 10-round draw and being outpointed in the May rematch.[5]
He faced future world bantamweight champion Charley Phil Rosenberg at Madison Square Garden in December 1922 and won the six-round bout on points.[5]
In January 1923, he lost to Midget Smith by majority decision at the Toronto Coliseum.[5] Ahead on points through eight rounds, Wilshur was overtaken late by Smith in their bout, with Smith's ninth-round rally and stronger finish securing the decision.[6]
In his next fight, he fought Eddie Pinchot to a stalemate at the Gayety Theatre in Toronto.[5]
He signed to face Canadian bantamweight champion Bobby Eber in a 10-round non-title bout in March 1923. With the judges split, referee Lou Marsh awarded the fight to Wilshur based on his performance in the final rounds.[7]
His win over Eber lined up a title match with Leo "Kid" Roy, then the featherweight champion of Canada. He suffered a TKO loss in the second round of the championship bout against Roy. After bouncing back with a win over George Gerardin, he challenged for the featherweight title again.[5]
Taking the Canadian featherweight championship, September 1923
Curly Wilshur won the Canadian featherweight championship on September 21, 1923, defeating Montreal's Leo "Kid" Roy by majority decision.[2]
Wilshur made a successful defense of the newly won Canadian featherweight title against British featherweight champion Joe Fox at the Arena Gardens in October 1923.[2]
Losing the Canadian featherweight championship, November 1923
On November 2, 1923, he lost the Canadian featherweight title while defending it against world junior featherweight champion Benny Gould.[2] Wilshur took three out of ten rounds of the title fight held at the Coliseum in Toronto.[8]
Days after losing his championship, he dropped a decision to Leo "Kid" Roy at the St. Denis Theatre in Montreal on November 14, 1923, marking their third bout.[5]
He fought Bobby Garcia, featherweight champion of the Army at Pittsburgh's Motor Square Garden. The 10-round bout resulted in a newspaper decision in Wilshur's favor.[5]
When Wilshur and Leo "Kid" Roy met for the fourth time at the Toronto Coliseum in February 1924, referee Lou Marsh gave the nod to Roy following a split verdict from the judges. After a draw against Roy Chisholm, he was defeated by Sylvio Mireault in April 1924.[5]
Wilshur traveled to Australia in August 1924 for a series of bouts at the West Melbourne Stadium, facing Bert Spargo, Ansel Bell, and Ben Martin. He was defeated in all three fights.[5]
His professional career concluded with a points win over Joe Scully in May 1927 in Detroit.[5]
Professional boxing record
| 73 fights | 34 wins | 27 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 3 | 5 |
| By decision | 31 | 22 |
| Draws | 12 | |