About Jack Sharkey
Jack Sharkey was a Lithuanian-American boxer who held the NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring heavyweight titles from 1932 to 1933. This meant that Sharkey was the first heavyweight champion in history to both win and lose the championship against a European fighter. This was the first time in boxing history that the heavyweight championship was won on a foul since Joe Goss in 1876. Floyd Patterson repeated this feat when regaining the title against Ingemar Johansson, having lost it to the Swede in their first fight. Oliver McCall then became the third such heavyweight champion when he beat Lennox Lewis for the WBC title in 1994 before losing it to Lewis's countryman Frank Bruno the following year.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.