"Old Chocolate" was born to William Godfrey and Sarah Byers in an area of Charlottetown known as the Bog, a poor part of the West End. The year after Godfrey was born, his father was convicted for petty larceny and served two weeks in jail for stealing a cow.
He is not to be confused with the American heavyweight George Godfrey who claimed the same Championship 42 years after his Canadian namesake. Godfrey was inducted into the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. He first received boxing instructions while still residing in Charlottetown, from Dick Cronin.
Godfrey then left Canada to find employment as a porter in Boston"s silk importing offices.
After winning in the heavyweight class at a local boxing competition in 1879, he began boxing professionally. At a fighting weight of 175 pounds on a 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) frame, he would be considered a light-heavyweight by modern standards.
Professional career
Godfrey went 4-0-4 in his first eight fights, which included a draw with famed pugilist Jake Kilrain. On August 24, 1888, Godfrey faced off against renowned Australian boxer Peter Jackson in San Francisco, California.
He would end up losing the bout by technical knockout in the nineteenth round, subsequently losing the World "Colored" Title.
Godfrey had two more bouts with Kilrain after their initial draw, losing both of them via knockout. He also faced Peter Maher and Joe Choynski towards the latter part of his career, also losing those matchups. However, in 1881 a story surfaced that a bare-knuckle fight against Sullivan had been scheduled but was stopped by the Boston police due to boxing being illegal in the state.
This enhanced Godfrey"s notoriety and earned him some high-profile matchups with some of the top pugilists of his time period, including the likes of Kilrain, Maher, Jackson and Choynski.
Among the notable fighters that Godfrey beat were Charles Hadley, Community College Smith, Denver Editor Smith, McHenry Johnson ("Minneapolis Star"), Irish Joe Lannon, Patsy Cardiff, Steve O"Donnell and Joe Doherty. Death
Godrey died of Tuberculosis on October 19, 1901 at his house in Revere, Massachusetts.
He had reportedly accumulated considerable real estate in both the Chelsea and Revere areas at the time of his death.
However, despite being undersized and rather old at 27 years of age to begin prizefighting, Godfrey would go on to achieve tremendous success inside the boxing ring. In just his ninth pro bout, he won the World "Colored" Heavyweight Champion by beating Charles Hadley via sixth round knockout on February 23, 1883. Godfrey spent nearly his entire career chasing eventual World Heavyweight Champion John L. Sullivan, who repeatedly refused to fight black contenders.
