Aaron "Little Tiger" Wade (March 17, 1916 - February 15, 1985) was an American Middleweight boxer[1] who fought from 1935 to 1950. Wade was a member of the famed Black Murderers' Row.
Born in Trenton Tennessee, Wade became the first African American golden gloves champion in Peoria, Illinois and reportedly had 600 or more amateur fights. Aaron's older brother Bruce "Big Tiger" Wade was also a professional boxer, albeit a less successful one than his younger brother. Aaron stood a hair above 5 feet 5 inches and began his career at 140 lbs as a welterweight before moving up and fighting at middleweight and light heavyweight.
Known for his power, Wade had a knockout ratio of 50% over a span of 64 victories. His fights with other members of the black murderers' row are 3 losses to Charley Burley, 1 win over Herbert Lewis "Cocoa Kid" Hardwick, 2 losses and 1 draw to Jack Chase, and a win over Bert Lytell. Other notable fights of Wade's career include a win over Archie Moore, a win against Sam Baroudi, 3 wins against Oakland Billy Smith, a loss to Ceferino Garcia, and a loss in his final career fight after a 2-year layoff against the great Sugar Ray Robinson.[2] Like all the black murderer's row fighters, Wade never got a shot at the world title. Aaron Wade finished his career with a record of 64(32 KOs)-16-6.
Wade was a sparring partner of Sugar Ray Robinson's in 1948. According to a Boston Post article, Wade got into a fight with Sugar Ray over Wade's payment. Wade had knocked down Sugar Ray outside a gym and left him with separation of his ribs and swelling described as "the size of a pullet egg" around his heart. Robinson had to cancel his scheduled fight and was out for the next two months.
Author Springs Toledo uncovered evidence that Wade took a dive in the bout against Sugar Ray Robinson. According to Wade's son, Robinson was unaware of the fix with the promoters being the culprits, paying Wade a few hundred dollars to go down in three rounds and lose the fight. According to the Savannah Evening Press Wade "began hitting the canvas for apparently no reason at all."[3]
After his career ended, Wade descended into alcoholism but later overcame it and devoted his life to helping the less fortunate in the Fillmore section of San Francisco as a Christian minister. Wade died of a heart attack on February 15, 1985. He was 68 years old.[4]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86 | Loss | 64–16–6 | Sugar Ray Robinson | KO | 3 (10) | Feb 22, 1950 | |
| 85 | Loss | 64–15–6 | Wylie Burns | UD | 10 | Dec 22, 1947 | |
| 84 | Loss | 64–14–6 | Ted Lowry | UD | 10 | Oct 27, 1947 | |
| 83 | Win | 64–13–6 | Sam Baroudi | SD | 10 | Oct 13, 1947 | |
| 82 | Loss | 63–13–6 | Holman Williams | KO | 4 (10) | Feb 4, 1946 | |
| 81 | Win | 63–12–6 | Joe Hyman | TKO | 2 (10) | Oct 15, 1945 | |
| 80 | Win | 62–12–6 | Bert Lytell | SD | 10 | Oct 1, 1945 | |
| 79 | Loss | 61–12–6 | Charley Burley | UD | 10 | Aug 20, 1945 | |
| 78 | Win | 61–11–6 | Mario Raul Ochoa | TKO | 2 (6) | Aug 10, 1945 | |
| 77 | Loss | 60–11–6 | Joe Carter | PTS | 10 | Dec 11, 1944 | |
| 76 | Win | 60–10–6 | Herbert Lewis Hardwick | PTS | 10 | Nov 13, 1944 | |
| 75 | Loss | 59–10–6 | Holman Williams | PTS | 10 | Oct 11, 1944 | |
| 74 | Win | 59–9–6 | Jimmy Hayden | KO | 1 (10) | Sep 29, 1944 | |
| 73 | Draw | 58–9–6 | Jack Chase | PTS | 10 | Aug 9, 1944 | |
| 72 | Loss | 58–9–5 | Jack Chase | TKO | 10 (10) | Jun 28, 1944 | |
| 71 | Loss | 58–8–5 | Charley Burley | PTS | 10 | Mar 24, 1944 | |
| 70 | Win | 58–7–5 | Alonzo Williams | TKO | 2 (6) | Feb 21, 1944 | |
| 69 | Win | 57–7–5 | Eddie Guerra | TKO | 1 (10) | Nov 15, 1943 | |
| 68 | Win | 56–7–5 | Harvey Massey | TKO | 7 (10) | Oct 25, 1943 | |
| 67 | Win | 55–7–5 | Harvey Massey | TKO | 4 (10) | Oct 4, 1943 | |
| 66 | Win | 54–7–5 | Archie Moore | PTS | 10 | Aug 16, 1943 | |
| 65 | Win | 53–7–5 | RJ Lewis | TKO | 4 (10) | Aug 2, 1943 | |
| 64 | Win | 52–7–5 | RJ Lewis | TKO | 1 (10) | Jul 19, 1943 | |
| 63 | Loss | 51–7–5 | Jack Chase | PTS | 10 | Jun 21, 1943 | |
| 62 | Win | 51–6–5 | Al Couture | TKO | 2 (8) | Jun 7, 1943 | |
| 61 | Loss | 50–6–5 | Charley Burley | PTS | 10 | Mar 3, 1943 | |
| 60 | Win | 50–5–5 | Watson Jones | PTS | 10 | Dec 18, 1942 | |
| 59 | Win | 49–5–5 | Rand Jackson | KO | 3 (8) | Dec 3, 1942 | |
| 58 | Win | 48–5–5 | Oakland Billy Smith | PTS | 10 | Nov 10, 1942 | |
| 57 | Win | 47–5–5 | Buddy Green | TKO | 4 (8) | Oct 16, 1942 | |
| 56 | Win | 46–5–5 | Bobby Birch | PTS | 8 | Sep 18, 1942 | |
| 55 | Win | 45–5–5 | Tabby Romero | PTS | 8 | Sep 4, 1942 | |
| 54 | Win | 44–5–5 | Oakland Billy Smith | KO | 4 (8) | Aug 28, 1942 | |
| 53 | Win | 43–5–5 | Tabby Romero | PTS | 6 | Aug 26, 1942 | |
| 52 | Win | 42–5–5 | Oakland Billy Smith | PTS | 8 | Aug 21, 1942 | |
| 51 | Win | 41–5–5 | Rudy Campa | KO | 1 (8) | Aug 7, 1942 | |
| 50 | Loss | 40–5–5 | Johnny Jackson | PTS | 10 | Aug 11, 1941 | |
| 49 | Win | 40–4–5 | Johnny Jackson | PTS | 10 | Jul 17, 1941 | |
| 48 | Win | 39–4–5 | Urban Hernandez | TKO | 6 (10) | Jun 16, 1941 | |
| 47 | Loss | 38–4–5 | Johnny Jackson | KO | 5 (10) | Apr 25, 1941 | |
| 46 | Win | 38–3–5 | Big Boy Hogue | RTD | 8 (10) | Dec 20, 1940 | |
| 45 | Win | 37–3–5 | Bobby Pacho | TKO | 6 (10) | Sep 30, 1940 | |
| 44 | Win | 36–3–5 | Billy Bengal | KO | 1 (10) | Jun 28, 1940 | |
| 43 | Win | 35–3–5 | Lloyd Delucchi | PTS | 10 | Jun 7, 1940 | |
| 42 | Win | 34–3–5 | Billy Azevedo | PTS | 4 | May 13, 1940 | |
| 41 | Loss | 33–3–5 | Billy Azevedo | PTS | 6 | Mar 29, 1940 | |
| 40 | Loss | 33–2–5 | Jackie Cooper | PTS | 5 | Nov 17, 1939 | |
| 39 | Win | 33–1–5 | Chuck Vickers | KO | 3 (?) | Aug 31, 1939 | |
| 38 | Win | 32–1–5 | Henry Woods | PTS | 10 | Feb 10, 1939 | |
| 37 | Win | 31–1–5 | Billy Pascal | KO | 10 (10) | Feb 1, 1939 | |
| 36 | Win | 30–1–5 | Herman Graves | PTS | 6 | Nov 8, 1938 | |
| 35 | Win | 29–1–5 | Jack Rainwater | TKO | 2 (6) | Oct 10, 1938 | |
| 34 | Win | 28–1–5 | Ace of Spades | TKO | 3 (6) | Oct 3, 1938 | |
| 33 | Win | 27–1–5 | Frankie Santos | KO | 4 (6) | Aug 22, 1938 | |
| 32 | Draw | 26–1–5 | Frankie Santos | PTS | 4 | Aug 12, 1938 | |
| 31 | Win | 26–1–4 | Jimmy McCready | PTS | 6 | Jun 1, 1938 | |
| 30 | Win | 25–1–4 | Jack Rainwater | PTS | 10 | Apr 26, 1938 | |
| 29 | Win | 24–1–4 | Jimmy Berres | PTS | 6 | Mar 16, 1938 | |
| 28 | Win | 23–1–4 | Johnny Bassanelli | PTS | 10 | Feb 4, 1938 | |
| 27 | Win | 22–1–4 | Jimmy Wakefield | TKO | 2 (6) | Jan 19, 1938 | |
| 26 | Win | 21–1–4 | Billy Azevedo | PTS | 6 | Nov 10, 1937 | |
| 25 | Win | 20–1–4 | Young Lew Massey | TKO | 3 (6) | Oct 13, 1937 | |
| 24 | Win | 19–1–4 | George Romero | TKO | 2 (6) | Sep 24, 1937 | |
| 23 | Draw | 18–1–4 | Mickey Duris | PTS | 6 | Sep 17, 1937 | |
| 22 | Draw | 18–1–3 | Clarence Enos | PTS | 4 | Aug 25, 1937 | |
| 21 | Win | 18–1–2 | Mario Duccini | PTS | 6 | May 28, 1937 | |
| 20 | Win | 17–1–2 | Lee Medina | PTS | 6 | Apr 26, 1937 | |
| 19 | Win | 16–1–2 | Teddy Movan | KO | 1 (6) | Apr 16, 1937 | |
| 18 | Loss | 15–1–2 | Ceferino Garcia | TKO | 1 (10) | Mar 23, 1937 | |
| 17 | Win | 15–0–2 | Johnny Fasano | TKO | 3 (6) | Nov 20, 1936 | |
| 16 | Draw | 14–0–2 | Billy Azevedo | PTS | 6 | Nov 4, 1936 | |
| 15 | Win | 14–0–1 | Billy Azevedo | PTS | 6 | Oct 21, 1936 | |
| 14 | Win | 13–0–1 | Mike Barto | PTS | 6 | Sep 16, 1936 | |
| 13 | Win | 12–0–1 | Frankie Santos | PTS | 6 | Aug 12, 1936 | |
| 12 | Draw | 11–0–1 | Jimmy McLeod | PTS | 6 | Jul 31, 1936 | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Jimmy McLeod | PTS | 4 | Jul 22, 1936 | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Lloyd Smith | TKO | 3 (6) | Jun 10, 1936 | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Johnny Bassanelli | TKO | 3 (6) | May 21, 1936 | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Frankie Nocella | TKO | 5 (6) | May 15, 1936 | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Bert Sommers | PTS | 4 | Apr 17, 1936 | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Walter Adams | PTS | 4 | Mar 27, 1936 | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Bobby White | KO | 2 (4) | Mar 13, 1936 | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Jimmy Duffy | PTS | 4 | Nov 22, 1935 | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Carl Martin | UD | 8 | Oct 14, 1935 | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Murray Allen | PTS | 6 | Sep 27, 1935 | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Murray Allen | PTS | 8 | Aug 15, 1935 | |