Jack Sharkey

Jack Sharkey was a Heavyweight boxing champion nicknamed the “Boston Gob.” He earned the distinction of having fought two of the world’s boxing greats, Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis in prizefights. He was a legend in his own right, although boxing critics and sports historians deem this Lithuanian fighter as an overshadowed champion in an era where boxing had produced a slew of great boxers.

Born Joseph Paul Zukauskas on October 26, 1902 in New York, Zukauskas adopted the name “Jack Sharkey” to boost his marketability as a professional boxer by sounding American. Zukauskas was born in a time when public figures had to take on an appropriate alias or pseudonym, and he chose to be named after two of his boxing idols, the retired Irish "Sailor Tom" Sharkey and legendary fighter Jack Dempsey, whom he would later fight in the ring. Both Sharkeys, Jack and Tom, were honored as International Boxing Hall of Famers as a recognition of their exceptional boxing prowess.

Jack Sharkey fought a total number of fifty-five (55) boxing matches in his career, thirty-eight (38) of which he emerged victorious, with thirteen (13) knockout wins. He had lost thirteen (13) matches, while three (3) of these bouts were ruled as draws.

Jack Sharkey was reputed to be a fast, well-trained, intellectual fighter, with the corresponding determination and heart to go with such qualities. One impressive and notable detail in his career is that he went against the very best names in the boxing world in such a golden era of the sport where getting a match against prizefighters was more than enough to earn the respect and admiration of the boxing community. Winning the title of heavyweight champion in 1929 against Tommy Loughran established his name even more as a great boxing contender.

Sharkey passed away August 17, 1994 at the age of 91 in Beverly, Massachusetts.