Political Quotes

“I rise today to honor a momentous occasion in the history of Nevada and one of my favorite pastimes: boxing. This September 16, 2006, marks the 100th anniversary of the longest boxing match in history fought under Queensbury rules. For more than 3 hours, 2 of the greatest boxers in the country squared off for 42 rounds in the booming mining community of Goldfield, NV. This fight's tremendous length might be important to the ``Guinness Book of World Record,'' but for Nevada, it was also an important moment in race relations during a tumultuous period in our country's history. Boxing promoters throughout the country billed the fight as one of epic proportions. Oscar Battling Nelson was one of the toughest fighters in the land. He was nicknamed ``The Durable Dane'' for his resilient and hard-hitting style. Rather than defeat his opponents with skill, Nelson preferred to absorb the blows of his opponents and outlast them in the ring. One biographer even went so far as to say that Nelson ``gave new meaning to the word tough.'' With such fabled abilities, Nelson was the early favorite to defeat his opponent, a 32-year-old African American named Joe Gans. The Baltimore native was the reigning lightweight champion and the first American-born Black man to win a boxing title.…”