Boxing’s Greats of the States | New Hampshire: Tommy Garrow

Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it.

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Discuss boxing and New Hampshire, and Jack Sharkey’s name will likely rise to the surface. However, he only became a prominent figure in “The Granite State” after his retirement.

Tommy Garrow will never be remembered as the most accomplished boxer, as he competed mostly as a lightweight in the late 1950s and never came close to capturing a world championship. He fought a who’s who of journeyman, defeating Pat McCoy (three times), Al Duarte (twice) and Tommy Tibbs. Garrow also squared off with Paddy DeMarco, Joey Donovan, Billy Wallace (twice), Buzzy Williams, Psalm Johnson and Myrel Olmstead. He knocked out Olmstead on two occasions and disposed of the debuting Williams in May 1958.

Garrow fought mostly in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, earning a reputation as a respectable brawler. He was notoriously streaky, as he started his career 7-0, later put together two six-fight winning streaks and closed his career with seven consecutive losses. Garrow retired with a 19-9 record and 12 knockouts. He died at the age of 75 on Feb. 7, 2013.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Patsy Sweeney, Jack Sharkey