The Best Heavyweight Boxers Of All Time
The Best Heavyweight Boxers Of All Time
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- Sam Langford was born on 4 March 1883 in Weymouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was an actor, known for The Brute (1920) and Langford-Flynn Pictures (1910). He died on 12 January 1956 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.178-30-38
126 KOs
8 KOs
5′ 7½″ 74″
*247 - Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
George Foreman was boxing's most feared fighter from 1973-1974. Undefeated in 40 straight fights, 37 by knockout, he was on a 24 consecutive knockout run when he faced Muhammad Ali on October 30, 1974 in defense of his world heavyweight title in Zaire, Africa. A product of a poor family, Foreman was in constant trouble with the law. He credits the Job Corp with turning his life around. Started boxing as an amateur and, in less than three years, captured a gold medal in the 1968 Olympic Games. Lost only 2 out of 24 amateur fights. Turned pro under the guidance of veteran trainer Dick Saddler. Foreman was a stablemate of former heavyweight king Charles "Sonny" Liston and Charlie Snips. Foreman idolized Liston and copied his ring style and mannerisms. Foreman used a piercing stare to intimated his opponents ala Liston. He was criticized for beating second rate opponents, yet had scored victories over credible fighters like George Chuvallo, Boone Kirkman and Gregorio Peralta. Destroyed undefeated Joe Frazier in two brutal rounds to capture the world title in 1973; Frazier was knocked down six times. Destroyed Jose "King" Roman in one round and Ken Norton in two rounds to retain his title. Foreman was knocked out by 3-1 underdog Muhammad Ali in 8 rounds. Foreman fought 5 men in one night in a 1975 exhibition. Won five straight knockouts on the comeback trail before being decked and decision-ed by Jimmy Young in Puerto Rico in 1977. Foreman claimed to have seen God in his dressing room following the defeat and announced he was going to become a preacher and retire from boxing. Preached for 10 years and blew up to 300 pounds. Decided to return to the ring to raise money for his church; experts laughed, but Foreman racked up 18 straight knockout victories. He was defeated in a title bid by Evander Holyfield but, a few years later, shocked the world by knocking out undefeated World Heavyweight Champion Michael Moorer (36-0) to become champion again at 45. Made a few successful defenses before losing his title by a controversial decision to Shannon Briggs.76-5-0
68 KOs
1 KOs
6′ 3″ 78½″
*138- Ezzard Charles was born on 7 July 1921 in Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA. He was married to Gladys Gartrell. He died on 27 May 1975 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.95-25-1
52 KOs
7 KOs
6′ 0″ 73″
*114.5 - Actor
- Soundtrack
Joe Louis is considered by many fistic experts and fans as the greatest Heavyweight Boxing Champion in the sport's history. Born into a poor family, Joe Louis's mother felt the only way her son could escape poverty was through music. She bought him a violin and sent him off daily to lessons. On his way there, young Joe would pass by a boxing gym. In no time, he was working out at the gym, training for a boxing career. His amateur career started off disastrously, as he was knocked-out down 16 times in losing the fight. However, he was determined to continue and posted an outstanding amateur career with only 5 defeats in 60 fights. He turned professional and quickly racked up one of the most impressive winning streaks in boxing history. He was nicknamed, The Brown Bomber, and became the first boxer to defeat six heavyweight champions (Primo Carnera, Max Baer, Jack Sharkey, Jimmy Braddock, Max Schmeling, and Jersey Joe Walcott). After winning the championship, he held it almost 12 years to set a record, plus set another record with 25 successful title defenses. He retired with a 60-1 record, only to make an unsuccessful and very sad comeback at the age of 37. While champion, Joe Louis volunteered to join the U.S. Army at the height of his career. He made two title defenses in which he donated his entire purses to relief funds to help both the Army and the Navy. He spent almost five years in the service and boxed hundreds of exhibitions. However, after the war, he was hounded by the Internal Revenue Service to pay back taxes on the purses he had donated. He suffered terribly through this ordeal. and soon found himself broke. He launched a "controversial" pro-wrestling career and was undefeated in some 20 matches before retiring with a heart problem. He was helped by his good friend Frank Sinatra and acted in a few films, worked as a host in Las Vegas, and made numerous appearances for boxing. He died a few years after suffering a massive stroke. Joe Louis was buried with full-military honors, and it was said that he was "most" proud of his European-African-Middle Eastern Medal and his Victory Medal World War II. In or out of the ring, Joe Louis was a Champion.66-3-0
52 KOs
2 KOs
6′ 1½″ 76″
*113- Gene Tunney's parents were Mary Jean (aka Rose) Lydon and John Tunney. Both of his parents were born in Mayo, Ireland, near Kiltimagh, and moved to New York City. He won the heavyweight boxing championship from Jack Dempsey in 1926 and successfully defended his title against Dempsey in 1927. In 1928, he successfully defended his title against Tom Heeney and then retired from the ring undefeated in 1928. He then married Andrew Carnegie's great niece, Mary Josephine Lauder (aka Polly) in October, 1928, went on an extensive honeymoon, then returned to the U.S. and had four children - three sons and one daughter. He enlisted as a Marine during World War I, and he joined the Navy during World War II and was made an officer. He wrote two autobiographies - 'A Man Must Fight' in 1932 and 'Arms for Living' in 1941. He was very successful with his business interests.65-1-1
48 KOs
0 KOs
6′ 0″ 76″
*111.5 - Dr. Wladimir Klitschko is founder, hotelier, investor, endowment donor and well known internationally for holding the record as the longest reigning heavyweight boxing world champion. He was born in Kazakhstan and is Ukrainian citizen.
After ending his sports career in 2017, it became his mission to share the knowledge he gained in 30 years of competitive sport. Together with his team of Klitschko Ventures, the company he founded in 2016, he developed his philosophy of life "Challenge Management" into the method FACE the Challenge. Its 4 core skills Focus, Agility, Coordination and Endurance show the way to willpower.
He has made brief guest appearances in a few movies, e.g. Ocean's Eleven ,Keinohrhasen, Pain & Gain etc.. After appearing mostly in business surroundings for years, in 2021 he is starring in Amazon Prime Video's "Celebrity Hunted" because he wants to show a maximum of people what you can achieve with pure willpower.
He teaches at "CAS Change & Innovation Management" course of University of St. Gallen and has become a bestselling author with his book "FACE the Challenge - Discover the Willpower in You!", published in 2020. In 2012, he opened his hotel 11 Mirrors, a renowned boutique and design hotel in the historic center of Kiew. For over 20 years, Kiew has also been the location of the Klitschko Foundation, aiming to make a positive impact for children and young people in Ukraine.64-5-0
53 KOs
4 KOs
6′ 6″ 81″
*108 - Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Born the son of a Georgia sharecropper, Larry Holmes would go on to reign as boxing's Heavyweight Champion for a record breaking seven and a half years. He also successfully defended his world championship title a record setting 19 times. "The Easton Assassin," as he was known, was one of Muhammad Ali's sparring partners when The Greatest set up a training camp in Pennsylvania near Larry's adopted hometown, Easton. Eventually, the two would face off in a fight billed as The Last Hurrah near the end of Ali's historic career. The two have remained close friends over the decades.
Larry has also remained close friends with Gerry Cooney, with whom he had one of his biggest fights. The fight was so big that Caesars Palace constructed its first outdoor arena in the casino's parking lot. Although the promotion of the fight played the race card to full advantage, neither Cooney nor Holmes had personal issues regarding race. Today they are not only friends but support each other's charitable causes.
Though nearly forgotten by history, Holmes passed on a potential payday in excess of 30 million dollars to fight white South African contender Gerry Coetzee. The fight was to be held in South Africa during the time of Apartheid and while Nelson Mandela was still in prison. Supporting the worldwide boycott of South Africa until racial justice was in place and Mandela released, Larry Holmes walked away from what would have been one of the richest purses in the history of the sport. From that point on, unbeknownst to Holmes, Nelson Mandela kept a photo of "his champion" in his prison cell.
Holmes has recently appeared in movies for National Lampoon, GRUDGE MATCH, and recorded an episode of Mike Tyson Mysteries.69-6-0
44 KOs
1 KOs
6′ 3″ 81″
*106- Rocco Francis Marchegiano , better known as Rocky Marciano, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only heavyweight champion to have finished his career undefeated. His six title defenses were against Jersey Joe Walcott (from whom he had taken the title), Roland La Starza, Ezzard Charles (twice), Don Cockell and Archie Moore.49-0-0
43 KOs
0 KOs
5′ 10½″ 68″
*92 - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Muhammad Ali beat more champions and top contenders than any heavyweight champion in history. He defeated heavyweight kings Sonny Liston (twice), Floyd Patterson (twice), Ernie Terrell, Jimmy Ellis, Ken Norton (twice), Joe Frazier (twice), George Foreman and Leon Spinks. He defeated light-heavyweight champs Archie Moore and Bob Foster. Ali defeated European heavyweight champions Henry Cooper, Karl Mildenberger, Jürgen Blin, Joe Bugner, Richard Dunn, Jean-Pierre Coopman and Alfredo Evangelista. He defeated British and Commonwealth king Brian London. All of Ali's defeats were by heavyweight champions: Frazier, Norton, Spinks, Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick. Ali also beat undefeated fighters Sonny Banks (12-0), Billy Daniels (16-0), 'Rudi Lubbers' (21-0) and George Foreman (40-0).56-5-0
37 KOs
1 KOs
6′ 3″ 78″
*87- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jack Dempsey's life story could have been a Hollywood script. Born to a dirt-poor farming family, young Dempsey took up boxing with his older brother. Turning professional under the name Kid Blackie, Dempsey fought in saloons, coal-mining towns, back allies, lumberjack camps, and numerous hick and tank towns around the United States. Pocessing speed, toughness, and one-punch knockout power, Dempsey quickly started racking up a series of knockouts. Defeats to "Fireman" Jim Flynn, Willie Meehan, and Jack Downey, kept Dempsey in the minor circuit. It wasn't until he met manager Jack "Doc" Hearns did Dempsey's career take off. After scoring 5 consecutive first round knockouts, Dempsey met Jess Williard for the World's Heavyweight Boxing Title on July 4, 1919. Dempsey butchered the 6 ft 6 inch 270 pound Williard, knocking him down seven times in round one, and finally stopping him in the third. Dempsey became the first fighter to generate a million dollar gate. His knockouts over Luis Firpo and George Carpienter are legendary. He lost his tile after almost 7 years to Gene Tunney. Lost to Tunney in the "Battle of the Long Count" and retired. In 1931, at 36, Jack Dempsey announced his comeback and fought hundreds of exhibitions. He knocked-out over 40 opponents, sometimes 3 or 4 in one night. In 1940, at 45, he returned for the final time and knocked out 3 opponents in one month. Dempsey went on to run his famous restaurant on Broadway for almost 50 years.53-6-8
43 KOs
1 KOs
6′ 1″ 73″
*85- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990.
Tyson won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round. Claiming his first belt at 20 years, four months, and 22 days old, Tyson holds the record as the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, as well as the only heavyweight to unify them in succession. The following year, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds of the first round. In 1990, Tyson was knocked out by underdog Buster Douglas in one of the biggest upsets in history.50-6-0
44 KOs
5 KOs
5′ 10″ 71″
*83- Charles "Sonny" Liston's life and death began and ended in the same manner: as a mystery. Liston, one of 25 children by his father, is reputed to have been born in May 1932, yet prison records show various birth dates, among them 1928. After a rough upbringing, with little formal education, Liston found himself in trouble with the law. He served brief prison terms and on one occasion was introduced to boxing by a prison chaplain. Liston excelled in his newfound love, boxing, and, after a short amateur career, turned professional. At 6 feet 1 inch and 217 pounds, Liston had devastating punching power, an iron chin, and lightning reflexes, along with a powerful jab. He quickly destroyed all the leading heavyweight contenders--Roy Harris, Zora Folley, Cleveland Williams--to earn a title shot against Floyd Patterson. Liston destroyed the champion in one round and destroyed him again in the rematch. Liston was the most feared man in the world, until Muhammad Ali arrived on the scene and knocked him out twice, ending his championship days and his reputation as the "World's Baddest Man." Liston continued to box until the time of his death. His 17-year ring log was an impressive 50-4 with 39 knockouts. Outside of the ring, Liston had a charming personality. He was friendly with his fans and had a soft spot for children. He acted in a number of films, the most famous being "Harlow" with Carroll Baker. He died under mysterious conditions on December 30, 1970.50-4-0
39 KOs
3 KOs
6′ 1″ 84″
*82 - Actor
- Additional Crew
Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv and head of the Kyiv City State Administration, having held both offices since June 2014. Klitschko is a former leader of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and a former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament. He became actively involved in Ukrainian politics in 2005 and combined this with his professional boxing career until his retirement from the sport in 2013. He holds a Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) from Kyiv University's Physical Science Department.45-2-0
41 KOs
2 KOs
6′ 7″ 80″
*82- He grew up there in poor circumstances, got on the wrong track as a child and became enthusiastic about boxing at an early age. At the age of 14, Patterson began boxing. At the beginning of the 1950s he initially pursued an amateur career in the middleweight division. From 1951 to 1952 he was US champion in this weight class. At the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952, at the age of 17, he won the gold medal. Immediately after winning the Olympics, Patterson began his career in professional boxing. After a few victorious fights, he won by knockout in the fifth round against Archie Moore in 1956. of this: This brought him - at the age of 21 as the youngest heavyweight champion - the world heavyweight title.
Patterson was able to successfully defend his world title four times. In 1959 he lost to the Swedish challenger Ingemar Johansson, who became the new world champion. The following year, Patterson knocked out Johansson in the rematch, regaining the world title. The world champion was subsequently able to defend his title several times - including again against Johansson in 1961 - only to lose it in September 1962 to Sonny Liston, whom he defeated by knockout. lost in the first round. After losing his world championship title, Patterson continued his professional career until the early 1970s.
In 1965 he took on the newly crowned world champion Muhammad Ali, but he was knocked out in the 12th round. succumbed. On September 20, 1972, Patterson was in the ring for his last fight, which he won by knockout. lost again to Ali in the seventh round. Patterson lived in New Paltz, New York. In his professional career he had won 55 times in a total of 63 encounters, 40 of which were by knockout. After retiring from sports, he served as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission for many years.
Floyd Patterson died on May 11, 2006 in New York.55-8-1
40 KOs
5 KOs
6′ 0″ 71″
*81.5 - Actor
- Soundtrack
Schmeling was seriously wounded in WW2 when he took part in the attack against Crete in 1941 as a parachutist and spent the rest of the war in a hospital. After the war he became the head of the Coca Cola company in Germany.56-10-4
39 KOs
5 KOs
6′ 1″ 76″
*78- Actor
- Producer
After a long amateur career that included a gold medal winning performance in the 1988 Seoul Olympics that came in the form of a KO of 'Riddick Bowe' (who also went on to win the world heavyweight crown), former undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis turned professional in 1989. His 2 round win over Canadian boxer Donnovan Ruddock in Oct of 1992 gained him recognition as a threat among the tough heavyweight ranks. Lewis, a citizen of England and Canada, was slated for a shot at the winner of Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe. Bowe, a victim of a brutal knockout suffered at the hands of Lewis in the amateur ranks, refused to live up to his end of the bargain by not giving Lewis a well-deserved title shot and infamously tossed the WBC title in a garbage bin. This act prompted the WBC commission to strip Bowe and crown Lewis as the new WBC champion. Lennox Lewis went on to defend the crown for several fights until he was defeated by Oliver McCall in 2 rounds in Sept of 1994. Lewis, with the help of new trainer Emanuel Steward, came back and began tearing his way through the ranks of the heavyweight division. Lewis was again denied a title shot when champion Mike Tyson relinquished his WBC title to fight Evander Holyfield rather than risk his titles against Lewis. Lewis recaptured the vacant WBC title by beating his conquerer Oliver McCall in a rematch. Lewis, after defeating every top contender thrown his way, was given his shot at Evander Holyfield in a championship unification fight on March 13, 1999. Lewis dominated the fight but due to controversial judging, the bout was declared a draw. Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in a rematch on Nov 13, 1999 to become undisputed world champion. Due to promoter Don King's underhanded tactics, the WBA belt was stripped from Lewis in court. Lewis went on to beat every mandatory challenger while keeping his crown. While avidly issuing challenges to reluctant contender Mike Tyson, Lewis went to Johannesburg in South Africa at the invitation of Nelson Mandela. Lewis would defend his titles against supposed low-risk opponent Hasim Rahman. Due to Lewis' failure to prepare for the fight by dropping excessive weight rapidly, arriving in Johannesburg 2 weeks before the fight which, according to expert opinion, was too late to acclimatize to the thin air since Johannesburg was 5,000 feet above sea level, Lewis suffered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. However, Lewis has had his rematch with Hashim Rahman and won the title back, and he also fought Mike Tyson and beaten him 'easily' in 8 rounds.41-2-1
32 KOs
2 KOs
6′ 5″ 84″
*68.5- Ken Norton was born on 9 August 1943 in Jacksonville, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Dirty Work (1998), Mandingo (1975) and Drum (1976). He was married to Rose Conant, Jacqueline Halton and Jeannette Brinson. He died on 18 September 2013 in Henderson, Nevada, USA.42-7-1
33 KOs
4 KOs
6′ 3″ 80″
*63.5 - Actor
- Producer
Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiser-weight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and remains the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes in the three belt era. Nicknamed "the Real Deal", Holyfield is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992, the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994, the WBA title a third time from 1996 to 1999; the IBF title a third time from 1997 to 1999 and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.44-10-2
29 KOs
2 KOs
6′ 2½″ 78″
*60- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Tyson Fury was born on 12 August 1988 in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England, UK. He is an actor, known for WWE Smackdown! (1999), WWE Raw (1993) and Undisputed (2023). He has been married to Paris Fury since 21 November 2008. They have six children.34-0-1 ?
24 KOs ?
0 KOs ?
6′ 9″ 85″
*57.5 ?- Jersey Joe Walcott was born on 31 January 1914 in Merchantville, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Harder They Fall (1956), Cain's Hundred (1961) and World's Heavyweight Championship: Joe Louis vs. Jersey Joe Walcott (1947). He died on 25 February 1994 in Camden, New Jersey, USA.49-20-1
31 KOs
6 KOs
6′ 0″ 74″
*53.5 - Actor
- Soundtrack
Joseph William Frazier, nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable punching power, and relentless pressure fighting style and was the first boxer to defeat Muhammad Ali. Frazier reigned as the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1970 to 1973 and as an amateur won a gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics.32-4-1
27 KOs
3 KOs
5′ 11½″ 73″
*51.5- Actor
- Producer
Anthony Joshua is a British professional boxer. He is a two-time unified heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles since December 2019 and previously between 2016 and June 2019. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2014 to 2016.
Anthony Joshua represented England at the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships as an amateur in the super-heavyweight division, winning a silver medal; he also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, winning gold. In 2014, a year after turning professional, he was named Prospect of the Year by The Ring magazine. In 2017, his victorious fight against Wladimir Klitschko was named Fight of the Year by The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Joshua is the second British boxer, after James DeGale, to win both a gold medal at the Olympics and a world title by a major professional sanctioning body, as well as the first British heavyweight to do so.
Joshua was ranked as the world's best active heavyweight by BoxRec and third by The Ring magazine and Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, as well as the eighth best active boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec.28-3-0 ?
25 KOs ?
1 KOs ?
6′ 6″ 82″
*49 ?- An Olympic champion, gold medalist at the world and European championships with an amateur record of 335 wins to 15 losses, Oleksandr Usyk has quietly taken over the heavier divisions of boxing. Born in Simferopol, the southpaw fighter is nothing short of a master boxer, described by myboxinglife.com as 'clinical', Usyk is known for his footwork, slickness and his incessant 'pawing' jab that confuses opponents. Very much of the continental European school of boxing, he's a pound for pound king and always value to watch.21-0-0 ?
14 KOs ?
0 KOs ?
6′ 3″ 78″
*35 ?