Accomplishments
- Once was rated as the No. 1 all-time featherweight fighter by boxing expert Nat Fleischer.
- Johnstown native defeated the champions of three divisions in two years.
- McGovern knocked out Thomas Pedlar Palmer in the first round to take the world bantamweight crown on Sept. 12, 1899.
- Knocked out George Dixon in the eighth round on Jan. 9, 1900 to take the world featherweight championship.
- Won six straight title defenses, all by knockout.
- Defeated lightweight champion Frank Erne in a non-title bout in 1900.
- Had a professional record of 60 wins, 51 by knockout, four losses and four draws.
- Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
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