Born April 5, 1895 in St. Paul, MN. O’Dowd turned pro in 1913.
On his march to the middleweight crown, he boxed no-decision bouts with Billy Miske, Soldier Bartfield, Billy Kramer, Jack Britton and Ted “Kid Lewis; as well as non-title bouts with welterweight champions Britton (L 12) and Lewis (W 12). In 1917 he won the world title from Al McCoy (KO 6) and after a 10 round no-decision bout with Harry Greb, he enlisted in the Army and served in Europe. Upon returning to the US, he stopped McCoy (KO 3) in a 1919 rematch. No-decision bouts against Mike Gibbons, Bartfield, Britton and Lewis, along with stoppage wins over Tommy Murphy (TKO 3, KO 9) and Joe Eagan (KO 5) followed. O’Dowd lost his belt to Johnny Wilson (L 12) in 1920 but bounced back, including a win over Jeff Smith (W 15), before losing to Wilson (L 15) in a 1921 rematch. A pair of 12 round wins over Bartfield and Gibbons set up a NYSAC world middleweight title-winning bout with Dave Rosenberg (WF 8). O’Dowd never defended the title and retired after losing to Jock Malone (KO 1) in 1923.
The St. Paul idol, who was a terrific infighter and gifted defensively, operated a nightclub named Mike O’Dowd’s Harp in retirement. He died on July 28, 1957 in St. Paul.
Born: April 5, 1895
Died: July 28, 1957
Induction: 2014
Mike O'Dowd
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