Hilton Edward Booker (November 5, 1917 – January 26, 1975) was an American boxer who was active during the 1930s and 1940s.
Booker was one of the famous "Murderers Row" group of black boxers, along with the likes of Charley Burley, Holman Williams and Jack Chase, avoided by other elite fighters of the era because of their ability and their skin colour. Booker compiled a record of 66-5-8, which included a (1-1-1) record vs. Holman Williams, (0-1) record vs. Jack Chase, (1-0) vs. Lloyd Marshall, (0-1) Cocoa Kid. Other Notable Booker fights include a (1-0-2) record vs. Archie Moore (being the first to knock him out) a win over Harry Matthews, a loss to Fritzie Zivic and a (2-1-1) record vs Shorty Hogue. Like all black murderer's row fighters, he never got an opportunity to fight for a world title. Booker was forced to retire prematurely due to an eye injury. He was a 2017 inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
World Champion Archie Moore thought the world of Booker saying, “I’ve had some rough fights in my time,” Moore said, “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 … [Booker] was one of the great fighters of my time. He had me fighting for dear life.”
Booker was blind later in life due to eye injuries suffered from an illegally doctored glove. He died in San Francisco on January 26, 1975 at 57 years old.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes79WinHolman WilliamsPTS10Mar 6, 194478Win65–5–8Frankie NelsonPTS10Feb 23, 194477Win64–5–8Archie MooreTKO8 (10)Jan 21, 194476Win63–5–8Paul HartnekTKO6 (10)Jan 5, 194475Loss62–5–8Holman WilliamsPTS12Nov 19, 194374Win62–4–8Van McNuttTKO5 (10)Oct 18, 194373Win61–4–8Harry MatthewsTKO5 (10)Aug 9, 194372Loss60–4–8Jack ChasePTS15Jan 11, 194371Draw60–3–8Archie MoorePTS12Dec 11, 194270Win60–3–7Lloyd MarshallPTS10Sep 28, 194269Win59–3–7Big Boy HogueTKO4 (12)Sep 18, 194268Win58–3–7Bobby BirchUD12Sep 4, 194267Win57–3–7Izzy JannazzoPTS10Aug 24, 194266Win56–3–7Shorty HogueRTD8 (10)Aug 14, 194265Win55–3–7Costello CruzPTS10Jul 15, 194264Draw54–3–7Johnny 'Bandit' RomeroPTS10May 1, 194263Win54–3–6Billy ConnertyTKO3 (10)Dec 1, 194162Loss53–3–6Shorty HoguePTS10Aug 22, 194161Win53–2–6Jimmy McDanielsPTS10Aug 19, 194160Win52–2–6Henryk ChmielewskiTKO9 (10)Aug 11, 194159Win51–2–6Charley HarrisKO6 (10)Jul 18, 194158Win50–2–6Charley SimpsonPTS10Jul 10, 194157Win49–2–6Jimmy McDanielsPTS10Jul 8, 194156Win48–2–6Johnny DiasTKO8 (10)Jun 16, 194155Win47–2–6Shorty HoguePTS10May 2, 194154Win46–2–6Leon ZorritaPTS10Apr 25, 194153Win45–2–6Freddie DixonPTS10Apr 4, 194152Draw44–2–6Shorty HoguePTS10Mar 14, 194151Draw44–2–5Archie MoorePTS10Feb 21, 194150Win44–2–4Milo TheodorescuPTS10Feb 12, 194149Win43–2–4Chester ParksKO1 (8)Feb 4, 194148Win42–2–4Bobby PachoPTS10Apr 9, 194047Win41–2–4Bobby PachoPTS10Dec 18, 193946Win40–2–4Ray VargasKO2 (10)Nov 29, 193945Win39–2–4Henry MajcherTKO7 (10)Nov 13, 193944Win38–2–4Carlos GarciaKO3 (10)Oct 3, 193943Loss37–2–4Herbert Lewis HardwickPTS10Mar 9, 193942Loss37–1–4Fritzie ZivicPTS8Feb 10, 193941Draw37–0–4Holman WilliamsPTS6Jan 25, 193940Win37–0–3Oscar SuggsTKO3 (6)Jan 9, 193939Win36–0–3Unknown MorganKO3 (6)Dec 20, 193838Win35–0–3Lew RaymondPTS6Dec 9, 193837Win34–0–3Demosthenes WakerlisPTS6Nov 18, 193836Win33–0–3Carlos MirandaTKO3 (10)Jul 1, 193835Win32–0–3George SalvadoreTKO7 (10)Jun 24, 193834Win31–0–3Al ManfredoPTS10Jun 10, 193833Win30–0–3Andy CallahanPTS10Mar 3, 193832Draw29–0–3Mickey DurisPTS10Jan 14, 193831Draw29–0–2Jackie BurkePTS10Oct 8, 193730Win29–0–1Gaston LeCadreTKO9 (10)Aug 27, 193729Win28–0–1Johnny BassanelliTKO9 (10)Jul 30, 193728Win27–0–1Johnny FosterPTS6May 5, 193727Win26–0–1Remo FernandezPTS6Mar 12, 193726Win25–0–1Remo FernandezPTS10Jan 26, 193725Win24–0–1Gale HarringtonPTS10Nov 24, 193624Win23–0–1Jimmy WakefieldPTS10Sep 29, 193623Win22–0–1Billy Azevedo PTS10Sep 1, 193622Draw21–0–1Jimmy WakefieldPTS10Aug 4, 193621Win21–0Billy AzevedoTKO5 (6)Jul 21, 193620Win20–0Johnny FosterTKO4 (6)Jul 10, 193619Win19–0Billy AzevedoTKO3 (6)Jun 5, 193618Win18–0Johnny FosterTKO1 (6)May 1, 193617Win17–0Mickey BarkerTKO4 (6)Apr 13, 193616Win16–0Tony O'DellTKO1 (6)Dec 30, 193515Win15–0Johnny FosterPTS4Dec 18, 193514Win14–0Frankie MarinoTKO1 (6)Nov 27, 193513Win13–0Johnny NatalieTKO3 (?)Oct 22, 193512Win12–0Al RossiTKO3 (4)Oct 16, 193511Win11–0Johnny FosterPTS4Sep 4, 193510Win10–0Mickey GibbonsPTS4Aug 7, 19359Win9–0Al EvansTKO3 (4)Jul 16, 19358Win8–0Joe AguilarPTS4Jul 2, 19357Win7–0Al LaBoaPTS4May 28, 19356Win6–0Joe AguilarPTS4Apr 3, 19355Win5–0Johnny NataliePTS4Mar 20, 19354Win4–0Johnny BassanellifPTS4Mar 6, 19353Win3–0Joe PabloKO1 (4)Feb 27, 19352Win2–0Johnny MateoKO2 (4)Jan 22, 19351Win1–0Ray LewisKO1 (4)Jan 15, 1935
See also Murderers' Row (Boxing)
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