Description
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Honey Mellody
Born: January 15, 1884 Charlestown, Massachusetts
Died: March 2, 1919 (aged 35)
Height: 5’7″
Weight: 140-150 lbs
Division: Welterweight
Record:
Total fights: 106
Wins: 50
Wins by KO: 29
Losses: 33
Draws: 23
No Contest: 9
Biography:
Mellody was born on January 15, 1884, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He fought several amateur bouts in the Boston area near the bottom of the lightweight limit in 1901 and early 1902. Turning professional, he began fighting talented opponents early in his career, drawing with Irish boxer Martin Canole at the Bowdoin Square Athletic Club in Boston in six rounds on April 29, 1902 by decision of the Boston Globe. By 1904, Canole had met welterweight contenders Jimmy Gardiner, Willie Lewis and future 1908 lightweight champion Battling Nelson.
In 1911, Mellody continued to fight rated welterweight contenders, but lost a higher percentage of his fights. He faced Jimmy Perry, Paddy Lavin, and Frank Peron in the first half of 1911, in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Newport, Rhode Island, losing all three, by newspaper decision. He fought Joe Stein, a less skilled boxer than many of his earlier opponents, twice more in New York in the latter half of 1911, beating him in ten-round bouts by the decision of newspapers. In the Perry fight, the Gazette Times agreed Perry had the edge, and wrote, “Jim Perry…gave that veteran formidable fighter Honey Mellody a hard battle last night before the Northern Club. Had referee Tom Bodkins been powered with the right to render a decision, he no doubt would have awarded the fight to Perry. For the first few rounds Mellody had a slight advantage in the boxing, but all ground Mellody had gained in that time was lost in the third session when Perry became effective.”
In 1912, he beat Billy West twice in Manhattan clubs by a disqualification and a newspaper decision, before losing to more talented opponents Al Rogers, Terry Martin, and Terry Mitchell in fifteen-, twelve- and ten-round newspaper decisions. In the fight with Rogers on June 10, 1912, the Boston Globe noted that “Rodgers hammered the Bostonian (Mellody) all around the arena in every one of the 15 rounds.”
In 1913, BoxRec noted that Mellody fought Noah Brusco, Dave Powers, and Harry Rice, losing two to newspaper decisions. Mellody seemed to have stayed close to the welterweight limit for even these later fights, though he weighed in a 150 for the Rice fight, near the upper range of welterweight fighters. These three boxers did not have the reputation or skills of the boxers he had faced in 1912.
More info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_%22Honey%22_Mellody
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/mellody.htm
