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Harris Martin

American boxer (1865–1903)

Born
1865
Died
1903
Citizenship
United States
Sport
boxing
Discipline
middleweight
Occupation
boxer

Harris Martin (April 2, 1865 – April 26, 1903) was an American boxer known as "The Black Pearl". He declared himself the first colored middleweight champion of the world after a fight with "Black Frank" Taylor in Minneapolis in 1887. Harris' legacy is that of being one of the first African-American boxing celebrities in the United States, with public acclaim during his time extending throughout the Midwest region. Over a century after his death, Harris was inducted into the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.

External links

Facts from Wikidata Q5664959 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.