Dixon was born in
Africville,
Halifax,
Nova Scotia. Known as "Little Chocolate" he stood tall and weighed only when he began his professional boxing career. Dixon is widely credited for developing
shadowboxing. and was officially considered the champion after knocking out Nunc Wallace of England in 18 rounds two years later on June 27, 1890. On May 31, 1891, Dixon retained his bantamweight crown by beating Cal McCarthy in 22 rounds and then moved up to the featherweight division where he won the World title by beating England's Fred Johnson on June 27, 1892. While he held the title, Dixon established a vaudeville troupe he called the "George Dixon Specialty Co." which toured Canada and the United States; it appeared at the Naylor Opera House in
Terre Haute, Indiana, on November 8, 1894. On October 4, 1897, he lost the featherweight title by decision in a rematch bout with
Solly Smith, who he had previously defeated by seventh-round
technical knockout. In a close bout, he lost to the
British featherweight champion Ben Jordan on July 1, 1898, at New York's Lenox Club in a classic twenty five round
points decision by referee Charley White. According to the
San Francisco Chronicle, "Dixon did the leading but unlike many of those who had previously met the little Colored fighter, Jordan went at him and mixed it all the time." The bout was close, and many believed a draw would have been a better decision. Jordan was down on his hands and knees in the seventh from a blow by Dixon, but the bout contained relatively few knockdowns and no counts. The bout ended with a flurry by Dixon, but the referee did not feel it adequate to award him the decision. The
Chronicle actually believed Dixon had the edge in the fighting. The
Los Angeles Times also agreed the bout was close and that "Both men fought well and there was little to choose between them". Dixon instead turned his attention to newly crowned champion Sullivan, and on November 11, 1898, he reclaimed the world featherweight title by decisively defeating him in a tenth round disqualification at New York City's Lenox Club. Sullivan had held the title only forty-six days. At the time of the fight the betting favored Dixon, but was close, and briefly went to even odds. For nine rounds in front of eight thousand spectators, Dixon had the advantage. In the final round, Sullivan's brother Jack walked into the ring twice to speak to the referee, Jimmy Coville, about the time remaining in the round, eventually causing Coville to end the fight in frustration over Jack's infraction. Sullivan could have fought on, though he would have almost certainly lost the fight. According to some sources, Dixon lost his featherweight title in a 15-round decision to
Abe Attell on October 28, 1901, while other sources credit his loss of the title to
"Terrible" Terry McGovern almost 2 years prior on January 9, 1900. By that time, he had moved to Boston, where he had family; it was a destination for other immigrants from Africville. Dixon died on January 6, 1908, not long after his last fight, in the alcohol ward of
Bellevue Hospital. Dixon was living and begging on the streets of New York. Attempts by Dixon's fans to get him back on his feet failed and the media reported the end was near for the former champion who had fallen on dark times. When asked if he had friends who could help, Dixon would tell doctors he had no friends except for former
world heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan. Part of his hospital bills for the illness that took his life were paid for by a charity boxing tournament that took place on January 23, 1908, at Bower's Minery Theatre in New York. He is interred in the
Mount Hope Cemetery in
Boston,
Massachusetts. A recreation and community centre adjacent
Uniacke Square in
Halifax is named in his honour. In 2021, Dixon was named a
National Historic Person by the government of Canada, on the recommendation of the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board. The commemorative plaque is located at
Africville Museum, Halifax, Nova Scotia. ==Professional boxing record==