"Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist. Nicknamed ""The Greatest"", he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest boxers of all time. He was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, and began training as an amateur boxer when he was 12 years old. At age 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, then turned professional later"
"glib, fast-talking 22-year-old challenger who enjoyed the spotlight. Known as ""The Louisville Lip"", he had won the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. He had great hand and foot speed and lightning fast reflexes, not to mention a limitless supply of braggadocio. However, Clay had been knocked down by journeyman Sonny Banks early in his career, and, in his previous two fights, had eked out a controversial decision against Doug Jones and—more seriously—was knocked down by a left hook at the end of round four against the cut-prone converted southpaw Henry Cooper. Clay was clearly"
"Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981), best known as Joe Louis was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949, and is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. Nicknamed the ""Brown Bomber"", Louis' championship reign lasted 140 consecutive months, during which he participated in 26 championship fights. The 27th fight, against Ezzard Charles in 1950, was a challenge for Charles' heavyweight title and so is not included in Louis' reign. He was victorious in 25"
"Jack Dempsey William Harrison ""Jack"" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed ""Kid Blackie"" and ""The Manassa Mauler"", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. A cultural icon of the 1920s, Dempsey's aggressive fighting style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million-dollar gate. Dempsey is ranked tenth on ""The Ring"" magazine's list of all-time heavyweights and seventh among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers,"
"Deanna Dempsey died in 2003. Jack Dempsey William Harrison ""Jack"" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed ""Kid Blackie"" and ""The Manassa Mauler"", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. A cultural icon of the 1920s, Dempsey's aggressive fighting style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million-dollar gate. Dempsey is ranked tenth on ""The Ring"" magazine's list of all-time heavyweights and seventh among"
"18, 1982 at the age of 75. Frankie Klick Frankie Klick (May 5, 1907 – May 18, 1982) was an American boxer who became a World Jr. Lightweight boxing champion when he defeated ""Kid Chocolate"", on December 25, 1933 at the arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a seventh-round technical knockout. In his career he fought the exceptional champions Henry Armstrong once, Barney Ross twice and Tony Canzoneri four times. His managers were Joe Doran and Ray Carlin. Frank Klich was born on May 5, 1907 in San Francisco, California. Klick, as he became known when a promoter of one of"
"Joe Lynch (boxer) Joseph ""Joe"" Aloysius Lynch (November 30, 1898 in New York, NY – August 1, 1965 in Brooklyn Ny) was an American boxer who held the World Bantamweight Championship during his career. An extremely durable fighter, Lynch was never knocked out in nearly 160 bouts despite an aggressive fighting style. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Lynch as the #11 ranked bantamweight of all time, while ""The Ring Magazine"" founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #4. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Lynch as the 11th best bantamweight ever. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame"
"Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. He was found floating in a New York City bay and died en route to the hospital. Foul play was suspected. Joe Lynch (boxer) Joseph ""Joe"" Aloysius Lynch (November 30, 1898 in New York, NY – August 1, 1965 in Brooklyn Ny) was an American boxer who held the World Bantamweight Championship during his career. An extremely durable fighter, Lynch was never knocked out in nearly 160 bouts despite an aggressive fighting style. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Lynch as the #11 ranked bantamweight of all time, while ""The Ring Magazine"" founder Nat Fleischer placed him at"
"Ron Lyle Ronald ""Ron"" Lyle (February 12, 1941 – November 26, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980, and in 1995. He challenged once for the undisputed world heavyweight title, losing to Muhammad Ali in 1975. Lyle was known for his punching power, crowd-pleasing fighting style, as well as courage and determination inside the ring. He held notable wins over Buster Mathis, Oscar Bonavena, Jimmy Ellis, Earnie Shavers, Joe Bugner, and Scott LeDoux, but is best known for his slugfest against George Foreman in 1976, which won Fight of the Year honors by ""The Ring"""
"Larry Foley Laurence 'Larry' Foley (12 December 1849 – 12 July 1917) was an undefeated champion Australian middleweight boxer. He is known as the 'Father of Australian Boxing' and it is often said that the English idiom ""happy as Larry"" is a reference to him. Foley was born to a schoolmaster, Patrick, and his wife Mary (née Downs) in Bathurst, New South Wales on 12 December 1849. He was baptised a few years later on 2 May 1852 in Penrith. Aged 14 he moved to Wollongong as servant to a Roman Catholic priest with the expectation that he would join"
"raise funds to erect a monument over Dempsey's grave. The family believed that the four-foot marble shaft was a sufficient memorial. The matter was thus dropped. Dempsey was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992. Nonpareil Dempsey John Edward Kelly (December 15, 1862 – November 1, 1895) was an Irish-born American boxer, better known as Nonpareil Jack Dempsey who was the first holder of the World Middleweight Championship. He was nicknamed ""Nonpareil"" because of his reputation of being unbeatable. Dempsey was born on December 15, 1862 in"
"Herbert ""Cocoa Kid"" Lewis Hardwick, and promptly retired from the ring with a 108-17-13D- 12 ND (26KOs) record. Known as a rugged, pressing boxer who possessed tremendous stamina, the crowd-pleasing ""Meriden Buzzsaw"" died on October 26, 1970 in Norwich, CT. Kaplan was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003. Kaplan, who was Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. Kid Kaplan Louis ""Kid"" Kaplan (born October 15, 1901 in Kiev, Ukraine – October 26, 1970) was a professional boxer and a 1925 world featherweight champion. He has been described as one"
"by knockout. Though he had always abstained from alcohol, Lewis worked as a liquor salesman for a Baltimore company near the end of his career. He had two brothers who boxed professionally; Christy and Paul. Christy was a club fighter, who often appeared in preliminary bouts before him. Paul was a Middleweight who fought feature bouts during the mid-1940s, primarily in Oakland. Lewis died in Berkeley, California, in 1974 at the age of 59. He had suffered from emphysema and Parkinson's. Lewis was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994. Lewis is portrayed by Troy Amos-Ross in"
"the seventh greatest Heavyweight of all time. Ezzard Charles Ezzard Mack Charles, known as the Cincinnati Cobra (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975) was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion. Known for his slick defense and precision, he is considered one of the greatest fighters of all time by boxing critics. Charles defeated numerous Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. He retired with a record of 95 wins, 15 losses and 1 draw. He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, but is commonly thought of as a Cincinnatian. Charles graduated from Woodward High School in"
"Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008. Lewis was born Harry Besterman in New York City on September 6, 1886, and was Jewish. While he was a young child his family moved to Philadelphia. Besterman took his ring name ""Lewis"" from a local fight manager. In Lewis's early fighting career, his father Jake often gave advice to Harry at ringside during fights. According to Ken Blady, Lewis's father turned out to be a ""thorn in the flesh of Harry's professional managers."" With a strong jaw, and an impressive defensive style, Lewis was knocked out only twice in his career. Lewis's future"
"December 18, 1912 in Seattle, Washington to Virgie and Charles E. Steele. As a youth, he played baseball, but in high school in Tacoma participated in basketball, soccer, football, golf, and swimming. A good boxer and a hard hitter, Steele lost only two fights during his first ten years in the ring. Among those he defeated during his career were Ceferino Garcia, Ralph Chong, Leonard Bennett, Joe Glick, Bucky Lawless, Andy Divodi, ""Baby"" Joe Gans, Vince Dundee, Gorilla Jones, Swede Berglund, Young Stuhley, Meyer Grace, Henry Firpo, Eddie ""Babe"" Risko, Jackie Aldare, Gus Lesnevich, Paul Pirrone, Frank Battaglia, Ken Overlin,"
"the ring himself, but also owned a growing stable of other professional prizefighters. When Fritzie lacked the adequate time to devote to Affif's career, he sold his contract to Billy Sarkis and Hymie Schwartz, also of Pittsburgh. From then on, he fought under his birth name, Charley Affif. Charley Zivic Charley Zivic (January 31, 1925 – November 27, 1984) later known as Charley Affif, was a Lebanese American professional boxer from 1944 through 1951, with 42 wins, 13 losses, and 4 draws. Notably, he fought through his entire career with a metal plate in his right arm – limiting his"
"was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame George Godfrey (boxer born 1897) George Godfrey (II) ""The Leiperville Shadow"" (January 25, 1897 – August 13, 1947) was the ring name of Feab S. Williams, a heavyweight boxer from the state of Alabama who fought from 1919-1937. He named himself after George ""Old Chocolate"" Godfrey, a Black Canadian boxer from the bare-knuckle boxing days who had been a top name during the John L. Sullivan era. Old Chocolate had been the fourth fighter to reign as World Colored Heavyweight Champion while the second George Godfrey was the 20th fighter to"
"Sonny Banks Lucien ""Sonny"" Banks (June 29, 1940 – May 13, 1965) was an American boxer best known for being the first fighter to drop a young Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay). At the time Banks was a rising prospect and known for a fast sharp left hook. Banks was from Lee County in northeast Mississippi, near Tupelo. He was born in the farming community Birmingham Ridge, about halfway between Tupelo and Saltillo. (Source: Rick Cleveland column) Banks fought Clay in 1962 and knocked him down for a count, although he lost the match. Banks at the age of 24,"
"jabroni."" and ""The Greatest Fighter Of His Time"". He was also named by the STAR System Records as the ""STAR Historic Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion"" and is credited on their site as the ""Father of Modern Kickboxing"". Joseph Henry Lewis was born on March 7, 1944, in Knightdale, North Carolina. Joseph enrolled in the Marines in 1962 and was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina from July 20, 1962, to April 12, 1964. He studied Shōrin-ryū Karate with Eizo Shimabukuro, John Korab, Chinsaku Kinjo and Seiyu Oyata while stationed in Okinawa between May 21,"
"for reckless driving, disorderly conduct, and assault and battery. When asked in 1970 why he had not become a Muslim as his son had done, he said: ""my religion is my talent, that which supports me."" Clay died at the age of 77 on February 8, 1990, after suffering a heart attack while leaving a department store in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Clay was portrayed by Arthur Adams in the 1977 film, ""The Greatest"" and by Giancarlo Esposito in the 2001 Oscar-nominated film ""Ali"". Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. Cassius Marcellus Clay (November 11, 1912 – February 8, 1990) was an American"
"died in 1965 from injuries sustained in a 9-round bout against Leotis Martin. Sonny Banks Lucien ""Sonny"" Banks (June 29, 1940 – May 13, 1965) was an American boxer best known for being the first fighter to drop a young Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay). At the time Banks was a rising prospect and known for a fast sharp left hook. Banks was from Lee County in northeast Mississippi, near Tupelo. He was born in the farming community Birmingham Ridge, about halfway between Tupelo and Saltillo. (Source: Rick Cleveland column) Banks fought Clay in 1962 and knocked him down for"
"Frankie Klick Frankie Klick (May 5, 1907 – May 18, 1982) was an American boxer who became a World Jr. Lightweight boxing champion when he defeated ""Kid Chocolate"", on December 25, 1933 at the arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a seventh-round technical knockout. In his career he fought the exceptional champions Henry Armstrong once, Barney Ross twice and Tony Canzoneri four times. His managers were Joe Doran and Ray Carlin. Frank Klich was born on May 5, 1907 in San Francisco, California. Klick, as he became known when a promoter of one of his early bouts misspelled his name, began"
"Marvin Hart Marvin Hart (September 16, 1876 – September 17, 1931) was the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion from July 3, 1905 to February 23, 1906. Hart, nicknamed ""The Louisville Plumber"" because of his former trade, gained considerable prominence after a 1905 win over future champion Jack Johnson. That year, the heavyweight title was left vacant as a result of the retirement of champion James J. Jeffries and Hart's record earned him a chance to fight for the championship against top-ranked Jack Root (1876–1963), a much more experienced boxer, who had already beaten Hart in November, 1902. Jeffries, the retiring champ,"
"Lou Nova Lou Nova (March 16, 1913 – September 29, 1991) aka ""Cosmic punch"" was an American boxer and actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, the Nova was the U.S. and World Amateur Boxing Champion in 1935. After turning pro, he remained undefeated in his first 22 matches, and won 40 fights in total. He was the first top rated boxer to practice yoga, and reportedly did headstands in the dressing room before his title bout with Joe Louis. In 1938, Nova gained an upset win over Britain's Tommy Farr in a 15-round decision. Nova had Farr near a knockout"
"was named the #1 heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organization. In 2007, he was ranked #4 on ESPN.com's 50 Greatest Boxers of all-time list. In 2002 ""The Ring"" ranked Louis #4 on their 80 best fighters of the last 80 years list. Louis was also ranked #1 on ""The Ring""s list of 100 Greatest Punchers of All Time. Louis is also remembered in sports outside of boxing. An indoor sports venue is named after him in Detroit, the Joe Louis Arena, where the Detroit Red Wings played their NHL games from 1979 to 2017. In 1936,"
"there was no room for his last name, and thus became known as ""Joe Louis"" for the remainder of his boxing career. More likely, Louis simply omitted his last name to keep his boxing a secret from his mother. After this debut—a loss to future Olympian Johnny Miler—Louis compiled numerous amateur victories, eventually winning the club championship of his Brewster Street recreation centre, the home of many aspiring Golden Gloves fighters. In 1933, Louis won the Detroit-area Golden Gloves Novice Division championship against Joe Biskey for the light heavyweight classification. He later lost in the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of"
"fight of note, Moore faced a young heavyweight out of Louisville named Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali). Moore had been Clay's trainer for a time, but Clay became dissatisfied and left Moore because of Moore's attempts to change his style and his insistence that Clay do dishes and help clean gym floors. In the days before the fight, Clay had rhymed that ""Archie Moore...Must fall in four."" Moore replied that he had perfected a new punch for the match: The Lip-Buttoner. Nonetheless, as Clay predicted, Moore was beaten by a knockout in four rounds. Moore is the only man to have"
"Kid McCoy Charles ""Kid"" McCoy (October 13, 1872 – April 18, 1940), born Norman Selby, was an American world champion boxer and early Hollywood actor. Born in Moscow, Rush County, Indiana, McCoy would eventually weigh 160 pounds, stand 5' 11"", and go on to a record 81 wins (55 by KO, with 6 losses, 9 no decision, and 6 disqualifications). McCoy was noted for his ""corkscrew punch""–a blow delivered with a twisting of the wrist. According to McCoy, he learned the punch one evening while resting in someone's barn after a day of riding the rails. He noticed a cat"
"Charles Lewis Jr. Charles Lewis Jr. (June 23, 1963 – March 11, 2009) was an American businessman, promoter and entertainer. Known by his nickname ""Mask"", Lewis founded the Tapout clothing line in 1997, which eventually became a multimillion-dollar clothing company. Mask was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2009, becoming the first non-fighter to enter the UFC Hall of Fame. In 1997, Lewis and his two friends began selling mixed martial arts apparel from the back of their Mustang. By 2007, the company, ""Tapout"", had revenue of $22.5 million, with a 2009 target of $225 million. Lewis"
"Jack McAuliffe (boxer) Jack McAuliffe (March 24, 1866 – November 5, 1937) was an Irish-American boxer who fought mostly out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Nicknamed ""The Napoleon of the Ring,"" McAuliffe is one of only fifteen world boxing champions to retire without a loss. He was the World Lightweight champion from 1886 to 1893. He was inducted into ""The Ring"" Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995. McAuliffe's parents were Cornelius McAuliffe and Jane Bailey, who were living at 5 Christ Church Lane, Cork, Ireland, at the time of Jack's birth. McAuliffe emigrated"
"Lou Ambers Luigi Giuseppe d'Ambrosio (November 8, 1913 – April 25, 1995), a.k.a. Lou Ambers, was a World Lightweight boxing champion who fought from 1932 to 1941. Born Luigi Giuseppe d'Ambrosio on November 8, 1913 in Herkimer, New York, Ambers started out in a large Italian family, struggling to find an identity. Luigi took a ring name because he was afraid his Italian mother would find out that he was a fighter. He defeated future world junior welterweight champion Johnny Jadick in a ten round unanimous decision on March 19, 1934, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Ambers defeated former world junior welterweight"
"Chalky Wright Albert ""Chalky"" Wright (February 1, 1912 – August 12, 1957) was an American featherweight boxer who fought from 1928 to 1948 and held the world featherweight championship in 1941-2. His career record was 161 wins (with 83 knockouts), 44 losses and 19 draws. In 2003, Wright ranked #95 on ""The Ring"" magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Punchers of All-Time. Wright was born in Willcox, Arizona, though a few sources erroneously give Wright's place of birth as Durango, Colorado or Durango, Mexico), the youngest of seven children born to James (""Jim"") and Clara Wright (née Martin). Wright's maternal"