Titles: Bantamweight champion 1916-1921
 
Record: 66-13-8 with 57 no decisions 

Born: February 12, 1896 in New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)

Years active: 1912-1922

Nickname: none



Pete Herman was the most brilliant boxer of his time and perhaps one of the 
best ever scientific boxers the bantamweight division ever saw. Herman was 
also as tough as they come and was only stopped once in his 10 year career
and that was very early in his career. The accuracy of his punches was what 
he was known for and Pete had the ability to go inside and fight there when 
forced to do so. His only real deficiency as a fighter was his marked lack 
of punching power only 21 of his 144 opponents were knocked out. Still
his busy style made him a fan favorite even though he lacked a knockout 
punch. Herman came up the hard way and never fought as a amateur loosing 
several of his early fights. Still managed to beat such excellent fighters 
as Johnny Coulon, Kid Williams, Johnny Buff, and Joe Lynch. These worthy 
accomplishments fade in comparison to his title winning 17th round kayo of 
Jimmy Wilde in London. This fight is thought of as one of the best of the 
"old-timers" era. Herman began to box at the age of 16 after being spotted 
by a local promoter in a street fight, he rarely ventured outside of the 
New Orleans area during his early career. 1914 was the breakout year for 
Herman when he held vastly more experienced former champion Kid Williams 
to a no contest they would meet again in 2 years. Herman continued to
improve over the next 2 years fighting the likes of Young Zulu Kid and 
Eddie Campaigned, a official shot at the title came in 1916. Again he 
faced Kid Williams in a very close fight that featured a lot of infighting, 
the decision was a draw but ringside reports had Herman getting the better 
of Williams. A rematch had to  be made because of the closeness of the 
first fight and in the second fight Herman would not be denied. The fight 
was all Herman as he knocked down Williams twice on the way to a 20 round 
decision win. Herman was now a champion at the age of 20. For the next 4 
years Herman fought a wide variety of fighters but only put his title on 
the line once. It was also during this time that Herman injured his eye in 
a charity match and this would hinder him for the rest of his career. Joe 
Lynch took the title from Herman in a 1917 and Herman never looked worse
than in this fight as he seemed lethargic and unfocused. Less than 3 weeks 
later however he faced the legendary Jimmy Wilde in London. The fight 
almost did not take place as Wilde balked at having to face a larger 
Herman and had to be persuaded to fight in his lockeroom by the Prince of 
Wales who was in attendance. It was a tremendous fight by every account 
and Herman the naturally larger man wore down his aging opponent and won 
the fight after 17 hard rounds. Now a rematch with Joe Lynch set up in 
Chicago. Herman fought almost the entire fight on the inside as his vision 
was getting progressively worse, after 15 round a deserved decision was 
given to Herman. He would only hold the title for 2 months as Johnny Buff 
took the title from him. Soon after Herman retired from the ring due to 
his eye poor eyesight. In retirement Herman went totally blind but did
run a successful cafe and served on the Louisiana state athletic board.