The last great fighter to come out of the tough town of Mansfield, Ohio was the talented and vastly under rated former I.B.F. light heavyweightchampion, Prince Charles Williams.
Almost forgotten is a fighter from the area who peaked not long before Williams was to make his mark. He only had 21 fights in his four-year career but he made himself a presence in the jr. welterweight and welterweight divisions.
Art McKnight made his pro debut in March of 1977. By the end of the year he had reeled off ten straight victories. Among those triumphs were two wins over Ron Pettigrew and one over Larry McCall.
He opened 1978 by losing a ten rounder to rated Roland Pryor. He was impressive enough in that fight to be awarded a shot at up and coming Sugar Ray Leonard. Art’s bout with Ray took place On March 1 in Dayton, Ohio. Although Art was game the streaking Leonard halted him in the seventh round.
Art returned to get back in the win column. Larry McCall was again among his victims. On August 25 in Houston, Texas Art dropped a ten round duke to world rated Floyd Mayweather Sr.
In 1979 lost a six round contest to Danny Paul but rebounded to win a hard fought decision from rugged Bobby Legion September 19 in Scranton, Pa. Art met Willie “Fireball” Rodriguez for the U.S. Junior Welterweight championship. After twelve rounds Rodriguez had retained his crown.
In 1980 Art would travel to Youngstown to meet the capable Greg Netter. After ten rounds the bout was called a draw. That ended Art’s tenure as a fringe contender.