Otto Cribb (Alfred Otto Simpson) boxer

Otto Cribb, born Alfred Otto Simpson, (14 February 1878 – 23 July 1901) was a New Zealand boxer notable for being inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame as a pioneer of the sport in 2014. He only boxed for three years but became the most popular boxer in the colonies due to his grit and determination during his short career.He began his boxing career in New Zealand but moved to Australia after a year where he achieved popularity and became the middleweight champion of Australia after beating Mick Dunn. He then went to America where he suffered his first defeat and returned to Australia, accusing his manager of taking advantage of him financially. Shortly after returning he suffered his second defeat in a rematch with Dunn and died shortly afterwards due to a concussion.Cribb was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1878. His birth name was Alfred Simpson and his father was a tobacconist and hairdresser in Christchurch. He also became a tobacconist and worked for a chemist's shop in New Zealand for a time, and attained a high level of education.Cribb began boxing in New Zealand in 1898 winning several fights that year, and came to Australia in about 1899, ultimately settling in Parramatta, and earned recognition in boxing circles by sparring in a novice tournament at the Alhambra Club in Sydney in May. He joined the novice competition officially and in June 1899 he fought a fellow novice boxer Paddy Martin at the Alhambra Club and won. The fight was regarded as both entertaining and amusing by the crowd, with Otto drawing laughs for reacting to being punched in the nose by wiping it. In September he beat Joe Dunn in a semi-final of the novice competition, and in October he drew against a boxer going by the pseudonym 'The Poet'. In late October he contracted influenza and was bedridden for four days leading him to postpone a match against Jack Tuckwell, who he beat when the match finally took place in late November. In December he acted as a cornerman for the first time during a Colonial Fleet boxing championship.In January 1900 Cribb beat Harry Dawson in five minutes in a fight at the Golden Gate Club attended by 800 spectators, who were disappointed at the noncompetitive fight. After the fight he expressed the wish to box in Melbourne, but in February he boxed in Sydney again against Ned Burden at the Golden Gate club winning quickly in front of a crowd of 1,000. In March he fought Victorian light-weight Tot Higgins in Sydney, and won in thirteen rounds in what was described as his best performance yet in front of a crowd of 2,000. In April he beat Jack Broughton at the Gaiety Theatre in front of 500 people and the match was harshly criticized due to Broughton's lack of competitiveness, and it was suggested it may even kill the Sydney boxing boom.