Missouri-born boxer Aaron Lister Brown boxed professionally as Dixie Kid throughout the 1900s and 1910s. He was often in the welterweight class but faced off against heavier opponents.

This was especially true given the nature of the “Negro ranks.” While these ranks had their own weight classes and titles to represent those classes, Black boxers ran into each other regularly on cards. This meant bouts against the same boxers and of the same boxers of different weight classes were frequent.

The practice changed somewhat with the color bar in boxing being crossed decades later.

Dixie Kid’s Style

Throughout his career, Dixie Kid was considered a talented boxer who used a counter punching approach. A good mix of tactician and showboat, he would goad his opponent into aggressive advances by baiting them. Dixie Kid left himself open to punches in hopes his opponent would rush in before catching them with well-placed blows. Through 154 fights and 90 victories, this style served him well.

Career

Dixie Kid’s career was a lengthy one with the active portion running from 1900 to 1915. Up until the next decade, he mostly fought on the east coast. Prior to that, most of his fights were out of California but with the title opportunities on the east coast, he moved.

He had one brush with the title on April 29, 1904, taking on “The Barbados Demon” Joe Walcott in a 20-round bout that unexpectedly ended with Walcott’s disqualification. It is later revealed that the referee had money on Kid Dixie.

The remainder of Brown’s career was spent in Europe–mainly between France and England. He ended his career in 1920, by that time mainly doing spot exhibition matches. He died April 6, 1934, under mysterious circumstances after falling out of a window.

His career record stood at 154 bouts, 90 wins, with 55 being knockout victories. Dixie Kid was entered into the Ring Magazine’s Hall of Fame in 1975 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2002.

REFERENCES
–http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/dixiekid.htm
–http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/28649