Boxing Career
Before he became a referee, Goldstein boxed professionally from 1925 to 1937. Nicknamed the "Jewel Of The Ghetto," Goldstein was a smooth boxing, hard punching welterweight with a large following in his hometown of New York City.
Fighting his first professional fight at the age of 17 and appearing on the cover of The Ring Magazine just one year later, Goldstein won his first 23 bouts, developing into a remarkable lightweight and middleweight contender. His boxing career ranged from 1925 until 1937. He won 50 of 55 professional fights — 34 by knockout. All five of his losses were by early knockouts in the fourth round or before. In 30 of his own knockouts, his opponent failed to make it past the fourth round, and a dozen fell in round one.
Unfortunately, Goldstein could not take a punch well, and was stopped in the three major fights he fought against Jimmy McLarnin, Ace Hudkins, and fellow New Yorker Sid Terris.
The Terris fight was a much-hyped battle between the two rival Jewish New Yorkers. Each fighter had his legion of supporters, and their eagerly anticipated face-off produced a stirring 1-round fight. Goldstein seized the advantage when he floored Terris for a count of nine, and confidently seemed on his way to an easy victory. Terris, however, upon arising timed Goldstein's charge and caught him coming in with a powerful blow, knocking Goldstein out. Interestingly, Terris suffered from the same flaw as Goldstein (a glass jaw), and was himself KOed by McLarnin.
Read more about this topic: Ruby Goldstein
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