See the Jem Mace Memorial in Kenner, LA

As you wonder along the streets in Kenner, you’ll see a few interesting places. One of the best known by locals is the Jem Mace Memorial along Williams Boulevard. However, many may not know the reason it stands at this spot or what it means to the town.

A Historic Fight

On May 10, 1870, Jem Mace, known as The Gypsy, defeated Tom Allen for the heavyweight championship in bare-knuckle boxing. The monument pays tribute to this historic match. Mace won by points in a ten-round match. He retained his English heavyweight title and won the World heavyweight title. He would face Allen again a year later in Ontario Canada where the match would be a draw.

This was Mace’s first World title, which he would retain and defend in two more matches. The second and last would be in Mississippi in November of 1871.

A World Career

Born      as James Mace, Jem came from England where he had already established his career. Its peek came between 1860 and 1866 when he won the welterweight, heavyweight, and middleweight championships.

Mace began boxing at a local boxing club in the 1850s. He performed at fairs and exhibitions where he also played the violin when not boxing. Moving from amateur to professional, he took his first heavyweight championship in 1861 where he beat an opponent who weighed around 50 pounds more than Mace and stood three inches taller.

Worldwide Fame

Mace’s opponent at the Kenner fight was English-born Tom Allen. The purse was $2500 each side, and the fight lasted 45 minutes. Allen was ten years younger than Mace, but he dislocated or broke his shoulder with injuries to his face while Mace looked relatively clean.

Mace fought until he was 58 years old. In his career, he had a total of 37 fights with three of them being no decisions. He had 25 wins, 5 losses and 5 draws. As mainly a bare-knuckle fighter, he finished his career with gloves.

The fight in Kenner was more than just a heavyweight title match. It was the first World heavyweight match, which made it one of the most significant events to take place in this town. Around a thousand spectators were on hand along the banks of the Mississippi at LaSalle’s Landing. Many of them were of the rough-and-tumble crowd because boxing still wasn’t looked at as a gentlemen’s sport. Even though the Marquess of Queensbury had introduced 12 rules which would make the sport more civil, those rules hadn’t made it to the US when Mace and Allen met.

Today, this area is known as Rivertown with shops and other historical places. At the site of the famous town, a life-size statue in bronze showcases this epic battle with two proud fighters and fists flying. Both men are positioned in fighting stances to commemorate the historical day of May 10, 1870. While boxing has become an acclaimed sport around the world, Kenner can proudly say it was one of the first cities to bring worldwide attention to boxing.