Brunch Boxing Remembers: Eddie Booker
- Matthew Brown
- 21 minutes ago
- 3 min read
02/01/2026
Boxing history is filled with champions crowned and belts won, but some of the sport’s greatest figures never received the opportunities their talent demanded. Eddie Booker stands firmly among them.
One of the greatest fighters of his era, a Hall of Famer in every sense, and a name that history can no longer overlook.
Eddie Booker, born Hilton Edward Booker on November 5, 1917, was an African American boxer whose professional career spanned 1935 to 1944. He emerged during one of boxing’s most unforgiving eras, carving out a reputation as one of the most feared fighters in the ring despite being systematically denied the sport’s highest honors.
Booker was a central figure in the legendary group known as “Murderers’ Row,” a collection of elite Black fighters—including Charley Burley, Holman Williams, and Jack Chase—who were avoided by top contenders and champions alike. Their extraordinary skill combined with the racial barriers of the time meant opportunity rarely followed excellence. Eddie Booker paid that price despite being one of the most talented and popular fighters of his generation.
Forced to retire prematurely, Booker’s career was cut short after suffering a devastating eye injury in a bout against Jack Chase, during which Chase used illegally doctored gloves. The damage would haunt Booker for the rest of his life, ultimately leaving him blind later in life due to those injuries.
Even with a shortened career, Booker’s accomplishments remain staggering. He finished with an illustrious record of 66 wins, 5 losses, and 8 draws, scoring 33 knockouts. Remarkably, Eddie Booker was never stopped in his professional career. Like so many of the Murderers’ Row fighters, he was never granted a world title opportunity, a glaring injustice that history continues to reckon with.
Booker’s résumé reads like a hall of fame gauntlet. He notched victories over Archie Moore, Holman Williams, Lloyd Marshall, Harry Matthews, Shorty Hogue, and Big Boy Hogue, and shared the ring with elite contemporaries such as Herbert “Cocoa Kid” Hardwick, Jack Chase, and Fritzie Zivic.
Among his many battles, none stands taller than his brutal encounter with Archie Moore. In what is perhaps Booker’s most famous bout, he defeated Moore by 8th-round TKO in a savage contest. The aftermath underscored both Booker’s ferocity and humanity—Moore was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and Eddie Booker donated blood to save Archie Moore’s life.
Moore never forgot the experience. Reflecting on his old rival, the future Hall of Famer said:
“I’ve had some rough fights in my time, but all things being equal, when I was in my prime, one of my toughest had to have been against Eddie Booker, a fighting machine who shot out punches with deft precision. He was one of the great fighters of my time. He had me fighting for dear life.”
For decades, Booker’s greatness lived largely in the memories of boxing historians and purists. That changed in 2017, when Eddie Booker was finally inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, thanks in large part to the tireless advocacy of boxing fan and Brunch Boxing historian Victor Jacome, who argued Booker’s case to voters for years.
Eddie Booker passed away in San Francisco on January 26, 1975, at just 57 years old. Though denied titles, spotlight, and fair treatment in his lifetime, his legacy endures as one of courage, brilliance, and quiet dignity.
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