Herbert Slade

New Zealand boxer (1851–1913)

Born

10 January 1851

Died

6 April 1913

Citizenship

New Zealand

Sport

boxing

Occupation

boxer

Herbert Augustus Slade (10 January 1851 – 6 April 1913), also known as "Maori" Slade, the Big Maori, the Maori Mauler or the Australian Giant, was a New Zealand boxer of Irish and Māori descent, who fought John L. Sullivan for the heavyweight championship of the world in 1883. This occurred at Madison Square Garden, New York, on 6 August 1883. Sullivan won in the third round. On 3 July 1896, long after his retirement, Slade was heavily beaten in a ten-round fight with Charley Lange. On other occasions, he reportedly had the better of Sullivan in saloon scuffles.

A bare-knuckle fighter, Slade is considered New Zealand’s first international sports personality, and has been inducted into the Māori Sports Hall of Fame.

Born at Kaikino, near Awanui in the Northland region of New Zealand, in 1851, he was one of eight children of James Slade, an Irish whaler, and Te Paea Rupu "Sophia" Kopiri, a Māori woman of the Ngāpuhi tribe.

External links

• Wikipedia
• BoxRec
• Wikidata

Facts from Wikidata Q5735586 (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.