Marc Huehn: The Boxer
Largely unrecognized today, Marc Huehn (September 12, 1818 – March 16, 1864) was a boxer of English-German origin. He was orphaned at the age of 8. With a stern and strict uncle to look after him, young Huehn grew up to become a magnet of troubles.
By the time Huehn turned thirteen, he had already earned a reputation for brawling and fighting and was arrested on several occasions for his participation in bare-knuckle fighting, then an outlawed sport in some parts of England. His uncle, already too tired to even reprimand his nephew, decided to send Huehn away. Marc Huehn then headed to New York where bare knuckle fighting began stirring the public’s interest.
In 1839, Marc Huehn began a career as a prizefighter in a period in boxing history which lacked formal rules. His early boxing fights thus consisted mainly of wrangling his opponents, kicking, choking and general brutality. Throughout his boxing career, Huehn participated in over 100 fights which typically lasted for over an hour.
Although not wanting in endurance and strength, Marc Huehn lacked the knockout punch that had vaulted other boxers’ status to stardom. He soon passed out of picture when early boxing champions Tom Hyer and Yankee Sullivan came into scene. Nowadays, he is best remembered for the 61-round bout with Thomas McCoy in 1941 which nearly cost him his life.
