Five Of The Most Influential Boxers In History
The boxing world is filled with champions and contenders, but some stand out above the rest. Boxing is a globally popular sport with millions of fans. In this article, discover some of the most influential boxers in history!
Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer, widely regarded as one of the most celebrated and significant sports figures of the 20th century. He is universally known by his nickname ‘The Greatest’. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the Rome Olympics in 1960, which made him a local sports hero. He converted to Islam before changing his name after he became world champion. Muhammad Ali fought 61 times with 56 wins, 37 by knockout and 5 losses. He was The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year four times and was named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of Year twice.
Making regular appearances in boxing news, Mike Tyson won 50 fights and lost only six in his boxing career. He had the longest winning streak in boxing history—20 consecutive wins from 1987 to 1990. He’s perhaps best known for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear during a 1997 fight. Tyson remained one of the most feared boxers in history—and certainly one of the most influential boxers ever to step into the ring.
Ray Robinson was a champion for almost his entire career. He held welterweight and middleweight titles for several years in the 1940s and retired as one of the most successful boxers in history with a record of 173 wins (including 88 knockouts), 19 losses, and 6 draws. Robinson had one punch that could knock opponents out cold—the famed ‘sucker punch’. This led to many fights being stopped early due to his opponent being knocked unconscious before they were able to land any punches back on him. Fans believe if he could still box today, he would be the best boxer in the world due to his abilities and knock-out punches and he would certainly be a crowd favourite when it comes to betting on boxing matches at online sites like 21.co.uk/betting.
- Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano was an American professional boxer. He is considered one of the greatest heavyweights in history and one of the best boxers of all time by many boxing critics and publications. Marciano had a 49-0 record with 43 knockouts, despite being three years into his career when he won his first title belt against Joe Louis. At only 5’10”, Marciano also had a relatively short reach for a heavyweight boxer, of 67”. The knockout victory over Moore would be Marciano’s last fight as he retired with an undefeated record: 49 wins with 43 knockouts (a KO ratio of 0.950).
- Joe Louis
Louis was a world-famous heavyweight boxer weighing in at only 190 pounds. During his career, he won 66 matches, 52 of those being knock-out wins. His knock-out against German Max Schmeling in 1938 projected him into national fame. He became a professional in 1934 and by 1935 had established himself as a heavyweight boxer. The epilogue of 2005 film Cinderella Man, a film based on the life story of fighter James J Braddock, reveals that Braddock would lose his heavyweight world champion title to Louis. Braddock started well however Louis managed an 8th-round knockout which named him the heavyweight champion.
