Pop Culture
4
On March 17, 1897, at an arena on this site, Carson City hosted Nevada's first world championship prizefight, a fourteen-round contest in which reigning heavyweight champion James J. "Gentleman Jim" Corbett lost his title to Robert Fitzsimmons. The Nevada Legislature had only recently legalized prizefighting, and the match drew sharp criticism from the press and clergy in other states, but thousands of fight fans came. Promoter Dan Stuart presented a clean event and showed that boxing did not have to be brutal or crooked. Other states soon liberalized their own prizefight laws, the sport began to gain a degree of respectability it had not previously enjoyed, and in later years Nevada became the scene of several other world championship fights.
Hear stories like this as you drive
ExploreHere reads historical markers out loud as you pass them: over 325,000 stories across the US. No account needed.
4.7 · 800+ ratings · Free
FIND IT
Carson City, Nevada · United States
