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Al "Bummy" Davis, born Albert Abraham Davidoff, was an American lightweight and welterweight boxer who fought from 1937 to 1945. He was a serious contender, and a world ranked boxer in both weight classes. EARLY LIFE Davis grew up in the rough and tough, then-predominantly Jewish Brownsville section of Brooklyn. His father ran a produce pushcart and later owned a candy store during the 1920s, Prohibition days. Davis' job, as a young boy of seven, was to keep lookout for the police and give the alert to his father to hide bottles of whiskey being sold on the sly. Davis developed into a tough, street-smart young man, and became well known in a neighborhood that was famed as the home of Murder, Inc. His two brothers were affiliated with the notorious gang, acting as collectors. However, because of Al's toughness and fierce independence, he was able to steer clear of the temptations of the easy wealth of the gangster life by concentrating on his boxing. In fact, he was one of the few young men in the neighborhood who was unafraid to stand up to feared local hoodlums like Murder, Inc.'s Abe Reles. His mother called him "Vroomeleh," an affectionate diminutive of his Hebrew name, Avrum (Hebrew for his middle name, Abraham), and he was known to friends and family in his neighborhood as "Vroomy." When Al was a teenager, a boxing promoter convinced him to change his nickname to "Bummy;" the promoter felt that it sounded tougher and would draw a larger crowd. Davis originally objected to his boxing name. Davis began boxing at Willie and Charlie Beecher's gym in Brownsville around 1933. At age thirteen, he came under the tutelage of a Jewish trainer, Froike (Frankie) Kane, a former lightweight. At barely fifteen, a year under age, Davis had his first amateur bout under the name Giovanni Pasconi. With his left hook, he knocked out a number of his first opponents and won scores of watches, the only compensation allowed amateur boxers. He pawned or sold most of them to his promoter for cash. BOXING CAREER Davis was a rough slugger with one of the most powerful left hooks in boxing history. He was managed by Lew Burston and Johnny Attel. His record was 66 wins, with 47 KOs, 10 losses and 4 draws, and he was named to Ring Magazine's list of "100 Greatest Punchers of All Time". He fought his first thirty-five fights out of Beecher's gym, winning thirty-three, but drawing two with Jack Sharkey, Jr., a tough opponent. In an early career highlight, Davis met Bernie Friedkin on July 22, 1938, another Jewish boxer from Brooklyn who had trained at Willie and Charlie Beecher's gym in Brownsville. Davis was only eighteen so the bout could not exceed six rounds according to New York regulations, yet it was featured as the main event and drew a crowd of around 4,000 at Madison Square Garden. The more experienced Friedkin was a 6-5 favorite, but Davis pounded him with his signature left hooks in the first round. Friedkin, skilled in defense, recovered enough to win the second with good blocking, but lost the third on a foul. Following wicked lefts to the body in the early fourth, Davis went to the head and Friedkin slumped to the canvas after a left to the jaw. He tried to get up at the count of eight, but slumped again, and the referee stopped the bout 1:09 into the fourth. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Davis_(boxer) TAGS: Al Davis (boxer), United States Army personnel of World War II, American male boxers, Deaths by firearm in Brooklyn, People murdered in New York City, Murdered American Jews, Male murder victims, Welterweight boxers, Lightweight boxers, Jewish boxers, Jewish American boxers, Boxers from New York City, People from Brownsville Brooklyn, 1945 murders in the United States #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #AlDavis(boxer)

Albert (Al) Paul Hostak, nicknamed "the Savage Slav," was an American middleweight boxer who fought from 1932-1949. Hostak twice held the National Boxing Association Middleweight title between 1938 and 1940. He was known as a hard puncher and had a record of 64 wins (41 knockouts), 9 losses (3 knockouts), and 11 draws. In 2003, Hostak made The Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. EARLY CAREER AND LIFE Hostak was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Slovak immigrants who eventually moved to Seattle, Washington when Hostak was two, settling in South Seattle's Georgetown District. Having developed a stutter in his youth, Hostak was drawn to boxing after fighting several of his tormentors. He would begin his boxing career as a 16-year-old in 1932, fighting many of his bouts in nearby White Center. Hostak would go unbeaten for his first 27 bouts in the Seattle area, all four and six-rounders, before losing a decision to Jimmy Best. He would continue to fight preliminary matches through the end of 1936, while he worked as a sparring partner for 1936 middleweight title holder Freddie Steele of Tacoma, Washington. RISE TO PROMINENCE As 1937 began, middleweight champion Freddie Steele's handlers decided to show him on the East Coast away from his home in the Pacific Northwest. With Steele, Seattle's top boxing draw leaving town, Nate Druxman] needed to develop another box office attraction, a role Hostak would fulfill in 1937. Hostak began the year by knocking out Newark middleweight contender Tony Fisher, in two rounds on January 12. A month later he knocked out Leonard Bennett, who had broken Steele's jaw in their first bout. In March and April, Hostak scored second-round knockouts of Johnny Sikes and Young Terry. This set up a bout with Eddie (Babe) Risko on July 13, 1937. Risko lost the middleweight title a year before to Steele, and had lost a rematch as well. Hostak gained national recognition when he knocked out Risko in the 7th round in Seattle. In a clear victory, Risko was floored by Hostak once in the third, and once in the fourth. Catching his opponent flat-footed with no defense, Hostak drove his right with great power into Risko's unguarded chin, followed with two rights to the ribs. Risko went down for the count. In August, he knocked out Allen Matthews in nine rounds. With three more knockouts in 1937, he stretching his streak to eleven. At the end of 1937, Ring Magazine ranked Hostak the #3 Middleweight in the world. A match with Steele in Seattle appeared likely for the summer of 1938. Steele suffered a setback in January, when Fred Apostoli stopped him in a non-title bout at Madison Square Garden. In the process, New York recognized Apostoli, not Steele as middleweight champion. Seattle promoter Nate Druxman continued with plans to pit Steele against Hostak that summer. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Hostak TAGS: Al Hostak, Boxers from Washington (state), American male boxers, Sportspeople from Seattle, World middleweight boxing champions, Middleweight boxers, Boxers from Minnesota #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #AlHostak

John Linwood Fox, or Tiger Jack Fox as he was better known, was a colorful, hard punching, American light heavyweight boxer. Fox fought from 1928 to 1950. BOXING CAREER Fox claimed he got his start in boxing when he was picked up, while hitchhiking in Georgia, by boxer Young Stribling. At that time, Stribling was travelling from town to town and engaging in boxing matches, basically meeting all comers. Stribling offered Fox a job as a sparring partner. Although he had no experience, Fox, out of work and hungry, accepted the offer. His first sparring session with Stribling almost ended his boxing career. Stribling toyed with him, and eventually knocked him senseless with a right hand to the jaw. Fox claimed he didn't sleep that night, re-living the events of the day, and studying how to avoid a similar fate the next day. Fox concluded that if he stepped forward when Stribling threw his right, he would be inside the punch and in position to hit Stribling with his left. The next day, the two sparred again. This time when Stribling threw his right, Fox was waiting and executed his manoeuvre to perfection. Surprised by Fox's left hook, Stribling's knees buckled. Fox then jumped in and hit him with another left hook, which sent Stribling to the canvas. Although he was fired on the spot, Fox thought that if he could knock Stribling down, he could hold his own with anyone. Fox then made his way to Indianopolis, where he hung around a boxing gym until he was offered a fight. Fox accepted and was on his way. He relocated in Terre Haute, Indiana to train under bantamweight champion Bud Taylor and became the "Indiana colored heavyweight champion." He fought frequently for the next nine years without losing a bout. His first loss was by a split decision to light heavyweight champion Maxie Rosenbloom. Fox claimed he engaged in over 300 fights, but many were not recorded. He claimed that he never fought a preliminary bout in his career, just main events. Fox was defeated by Melio Bettina in his only crack at the light heavyweight championship, NYSAC version. In this elimination bout to name a champion, Fox was stopped in the 9th round. Two months before the fight he was stabbed near the heart in a Harlem hotel in a dispute over a woman. Fox also fought and knocked out in two rounds former light-heavyweight champion Bob Olin, and he knocked out Lou Brouillard in seven. He was kayoed in three rounds by future lightheavyweight champion John Henry Lewis. Two of Fox's more surprising victories came against future heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott. On May 12, 1937, Fox knocked out Walcott in the 8th round. In the following year Fox again defeated Walcott, this time by a ten-round decision. Fox is second on the all-time list for first-round knockouts, and was named to the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. PROFESSIONAL BOXING RECORD All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated. Fox has a professional record of 180 fights, with 140 wins, 23 losses, 12 draws and 5 no contests. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Jack_Fox TAGS: Tiger Jack Fox, Sportspeople from Spokane Washington, Light-heavyweight boxers, Boxers from Washington (state) #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #TigerJackFox

Florentino "the Ox" Fernández was a Cuban middleweight who fought from 1956 to 1972. His overall record was 50 wins (43 by KO), 16 losses and two draws. PROFESSIONAL CAREER Fernandez was born in Santiago de Cuba. he was a big left hook artist who racked up a series of victories which led to his title challenge against Gene Fullmer. The 25-year-old Fernandez lost a split decision to Fullmer for the middleweight title in Ogden, Utah on August 5, 1961. Referee Ken Shulsen scored the fight 145-142 Fullmer, judge Del Markham favored Fernandez 145-143, and judge Norman Jorgensen scored it 148-140. Fernandez insisted on a rematch, but Ring Magazine writer Al Buck pointed to Fernandez's two fights with Rocky Kalingo as a reason why Fullmer would be foolish to fight Fernandez in Communist Cuba; " Fighting Fernandez in Cuba hardly would be an enjoyable experience except for another Cuban, a Russian, or a Red Chinese. A Fernandez-Yankee battle in Havana would be put in a military atmosphere and amid turmoil. It was recalled that one Rocky Kalingo knocked out Fernandez in one round in Caracas and then let the Cuban have a return fight in Havana. Kalingo knocked Fernandez down in the first and appeared to be headed for another victory. The mob wouldn't have it. Kalingo was threatened to the point at which he was scared into near-paralysis. He was stopped." Fernandez never received his rematch, but did receive 20 percent of the $100,000.00 gate and $10,000.00 from the paid-t.v. money. When Cuba outlawed professional boxing, Fernandez lived in exile from the communist government of Cuba, in Miami Beach, Florida, where he became a fan favorite on television, and on the fight cards promoted by Chris Dundee. In most cases Fernandez either knocked out his opponents, or was in turn KO'd himself. LOSS TO CARTER Fernandez might be best remembered for his one-round knockout loss to Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, lasting only a few seconds in 1962. Fernandez came back the following year to knock out undefeated, future world light-heavyweight champion José Torres in five rounds on May 26, 1963. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentino_Fernández_(boxer) TAGS: Florentino Fernández (boxer), Middleweight boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #FlorentinoFernández(boxer)

Gerald Arthur Cooney is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1990, and challenged twice for world heavyweight titles in 1982 and 1987 (for the WBC and lineal title in 1982 and 1987, and for the lineal title only in 1987). EARLY YEARS Born into a blue collar Irish-Catholic family on Long Island, Cooney was encouraged to become a professional fighter by his father. His brother Tommy Cooney was also a boxer, and reached the finals of the New York Golden Gloves Sub-Novice Heavyweight division. Cooney's grandparents lived in Placentia, Newfoundland, in Canada. AMATEUR CAREER Fighting as an amateur, Gerry Cooney won international tournaments in England, Wales, and Scotland, as well as the New York Golden Gloves titles. He won two New York Golden Gloves Championships, the 1973 160-lb Sub-Novice Championship and the 1976 Heavyweight Open Championship. Cooney defeated Larry Derrick to win the 1973 160-lb Sub-Novice title, and Earlous Tripp to win the 1976 Heavyweight Open title. In 1975 he reached the finals of the 175-lb Open division, but was defeated by Johnny Davis. Cooney trained at the Huntington Athletic Club in Long Island, New York, where his trainer was John Capobianco. His amateur record consisted of 55 wins and 3 losses. When he turned professional, Cooney signed with co-managers Mike Jones and Dennis Rappaport. He was trained by Victor Valle. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Cooney TAGS: Gerry Cooney, People from Huntington Station New York, Living people, American male boxers, Heavyweight boxers, Boxers from New York (state), American people of Irish descent #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #GerryCooney

Joe Walcott, also known as Barbados Joe Walcott to distinguish him from the more contemporary American boxer known by the same name, was a Bajan professional boxer who reigned as the World Welterweight Champion from 1901 to 1906, becoming the first black man ever to capture the title. He was elected to The Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1955 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. Walcott was a formidable fighter with exceptional power to his punch. His manager was Tom O'Rourke. In evidence, his wins were an impressive 60% by knockout. Nat Fleischer rated Walcott as the greatest welterweight of all time, and in 2003 he was included in the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. He was elected to The Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1955 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. "Barbados" Joe Walcott was the idol of the more contemporary boxer Arnold Cream, who adopted his idol's real name as his own, going by Jersey Joe Walcott in the ring. EARLY LIFE AND CAREER Walcott was born on March 13, 1873, in Barbados. As a youngster he set out to see the world and got a job as a cabin boy on a ship sailing to Boston that arrived around 1887. He soon settled in Boston as a piano mover and porter and took other odd jobs as well. Later, he landed a job in a gym and became popular with even the best of the boxers as an able opponent before turning professional. His amateur boxing and wrestling years spanned roughly from 1887 to 1889. PROFESSIONAL CAREER The focus of his early professional boxing years, between 1890 and 1896, were in the areas of Boston and New York City. One of his more noteworthy bouts included a 15-round draw with Mysterious Billy Smith and a 15-round loss to George "Kid Lavigne" in March and December 1895, respectively. He lost to Welsh-born middleweight Tommy West in 1894 and 1897. West acted as a sparring partner for Walcott in late October 1904. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados_Joe_Walcott TAGS: Barbados Joe Walcott #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #BarbadosJoeWalcott

Bob "Bombardier" Satterfield was a heavyweight boxer who fought from 1945 to 1957. Satterfield, who never fought for the title, retired with a record of 50 wins (35 KOs), 25 losses and 4 draws. He is in Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time at number 58. Satterfield later died from cancer at the age of 53. AMATEUR CAREER Satterfield was the Chicago City Golden Gloves 147-pound champion in 1941. He lost to Al Tribuani on a first round knockout in the inter-city championship between Chicago and New York boxers. PROFESSIONAL CAREER Satterfield, known for his punching power and aggressive style, was a fan favorite. His poor stamina and weak chin often cost him fights, however. In his bout against heavyweight contender Rex Layne on March 9, 1951, Satterfield hurt Layne, and knocked him down for an eight count in the first round. Layne slowly retook control of the fight, and ultimately knocked out Satterfield in the eighth round. Satterfield was knocked out in 7 rounds by future middleweight champion Jake LaMotta on September 12, 1946. He was also knocked out in 2 rounds by former heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles on January 13, 1954. Satterfield did score a knockout over future heavyweight contender Cleveland Williams and also beat the dangerous giant Cuban Niño Valdés, but lost by KO to light heavyweight champion Archie Moore, and dropped 2 out of 3 to future light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson. He retired from boxing on January 15, 1958, due to a detached retina in his left eye. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Satterfield TAGS: Bob Satterfield, United States Army personnel of World War II, Boxers from Chicago, Heavyweight boxers, Boxers from Missouri #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #BobSatterfield

Jesús "Little Poison" Pimentel (born February 17, 1940 in Sayula, Jalisco, Mexico) was a Mexican bantamweight boxer who fought from 1960 to 1971. PROFESSIONAL CAREER Pimentel was a fan favorite at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and at The Forum due to his terrific punching power. Pimentel won 77 bouts, 68 by knockout, and lost 7. Despite his record, Pimentel was denied a chance at the bantamweight title until he was past his prime. His last professional fight was an unsuccessful attempt to wrest the crown from all-time great bantamweight champion Rubén Olivares on December 14, 1971. Despite a valiant effort, Olivares stopped Pimentel on an eleventh round TKO. HONORS He was selected to The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesús_Pimentel TAGS: Jesús Pimentel, Mexican male boxers, Living people, Bantamweight boxers, Boxers from Jalisco #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #JesúsPimentel

Anthony Florian Zaleski, known professionally as Tony Zale, was an American boxer. Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname, "Man of Steel", reinforced by his reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win. Zale, who held the world middleweight title multiple times, was known as a crafty boxer and punishing body puncher who wore his opponents down before knocking them out. In 1990, Zale was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President George. H. W. Bush. WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE Zale met Georgie Abrams in Madison Square Garden in a world middleweight championship match on November 28, 1941, before a crowd of nearly 10,000. Despite knocking Zale down in the first round, a poke in the eye from Zale's glove left him with pain and blurred vision. From the fourth round on, Abrams fought with his left eye nearly closed. Blood from a cut opened above his right eye in the third from an accidental head butt from Zale caused additional vision problems from blood that dripped from the wound. Despite fighting half blind, Abrams fought courageously for fifteen rounds. Abrams lost in a close match, due to the incessant body attacks of Zale in the late rounds, particularly the ninth where he received a severe two handed attack to the midsection. The Associated Press judged Abrams the winner with eight rounds to Zale's seven. BOUTS AGAINST ROCKY GRAZIANO, 1946–48 Zale was a two-time world middleweight champion and made The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Zale is best remembered for his three bouts over a 21-month period with Rocky Graziano for the middleweight crown. These three bouts were among the most brutal and exciting middleweight championship matches of all time. The first match took place in Yankee Stadium, New York City. Zale had served in World War II, was thirty-three years old, and had been inactive for about four years. Graziano was on a winning knockout streak and seemed to be in his prime. In their first match (September 27, 1946), after flooring Graziano in the first round, Zale took a savage beating from Graziano, and was on the verge of losing the fight by TKO. However, he rallied and knocked out Graziano in the sixth round to retain his title. The rematch, a year later in Chicago (July 16, 1947), was a mirror image of their first fight. Graziano was battered around the ring, suffered a closed eye and appeared ready to lose by a knockout, then rallied and knocked Zale out in the sixth round, becoming middleweight champion of the world. Their last fight was held in New Jersey the following year (June 10, 1948). Zale regained his crown, winning the match by a knockout in the third round. The knockout blows consisted of a perfect combination of a right to Graziano's body, then a left hook to Graziano's jaw. Graziano was knocked unconscious. This fight was Zale's last hurrah. His age and the many ring wars he fought seemed to catch up with him in his next fight against European Champion Marcel Cerdan later that year, who stopped him in the eleventh round to win the middleweight championship of the world (September 21, 1948). Graziano commented that years later he would wake up in a cold sweat having had the recurring nightmare of being back in the ring with Zale, who he said really was a man of steel. Edith Piaf, who at the time was having an affair with Cerdan, was in the audience, praying to Saint Therese for his victory. Two of the three Graziano fights and the Cerdan fight were named The Ring magazine Fight of the Year. Zale was a 1991 inductee to the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF). In November 2015, his championship belts were stolen from the IBHOF. The belts were on loan from Zale's family, and have yet to be... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Zale TAGS: Tony Zale, American military personnel of World War II, American male boxers, American people of Polish descent, Sportspeople from Gary Indiana, Boxers from Indiana, Middleweight boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #TonyZale

Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, repeating the knockout the following year in defense of the title; in the latter fight he also became the inaugural WBC heavyweight champion. Liston was particularly known for his immense strength, formidable jab, long reach, toughness, and his infamously intimidating appearance. Although Liston was widely regarded as unbeatable, he lost the title in 1964 to Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay), who entered as a 7 to 1 underdog. Liston retired in his corner due to an inflamed shoulder. Controversy followed with claims that Liston had been drinking heavily the night before the fight and had entered the bout with a lame shoulder. In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix. He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died in mysterious circumstances in 1970. Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. The Ring magazine ranks Liston as the tenth greatest heavyweight of all time, while boxing writer Herb Goldman ranked him second and Richard O'Brien, Senior Editor of Sports Illustrated, placed him third. Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. EARLY LIFE FAMILY Charles "Sonny" Liston was born c. 1930 into a sharecropping family that farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas. His father, Tobe Liston, was in his mid 40s when he and his wife, Helen Baskin, who was almost 30 years younger than Tobe, moved to Arkansas from Mississippi in 1916. Helen had one child before she married Tobe, and Tobe had 13 children with his first wife. Tobe and Helen had 12 children together; Sonny was the second youngest child. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Liston TAGS: Sonny Liston, National Golden Gloves champions, The Ring (magazine) champions, American male boxers, World heavyweight boxing champions, World Boxing Association champions, People from St. Francis County Arkansas, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Boxers from Missouri, American people convicted of robbery, African-American boxers, Age controversies, Year of birth uncertain #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #SonnyListon

Félix Juan Trinidad García, popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is considered to be one of the greatest Puerto Rican boxers of all time. After winning five national amateur championships in Puerto Rico, Trinidad debuted as a professional when he was seventeen, and won his first world championship by defeating Maurice Blocker to win the IBF welterweight title in 1993, a title he would hold for almost seven years with fifteen defenses. As his career continued, he defeated Oscar De La Hoya to win the WBC and lineal welterweight titles in 1999; Fernando Vargas to win the unified WBA and IBF light middleweight titles in 2000; and William Joppy for the WBA middleweight title in 2001. Trinidad's first professional loss was against Bernard Hopkins later in 2001, and following this, he retired from boxing for the first time. Trinidad made his ring return by defeating Ricardo Mayorga in 2004. After a losing effort against Winky Wright in 2005, he retired for a second time. In 2008 he returned once more and lost to Roy Jones Jr. Subsequently, Trinidad entered a hiatus without clarifying the status of his career. Trinidad is frequently mentioned among the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time by sports journalists and analysts, along with Juan Laporte, Esteban De Jesús, Wilfredo Vázquez, Miguel Cotto, Wilfred Benítez, Wilfredo Gómez, Héctor Camacho, Edwin Rosario and Carlos Ortíz. In 2000, Trinidad was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is ranked number 30 on The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time and in 2002 named him the 51st greatest fighter of the past 80 years. In 2013, Trinidad became eligible and was voted into the 2014 Class of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He was officially inducted into the hall during a ceremony held on June 4, 2014, becoming the tenth Puerto Rican to receive such an honor. AMATEUR CAREER Trinidad was champion in the International Boxing Federation, in the World Boxing Association, and the World Boxing Council. He had an impressive record with 42 wins and 3 losses, with 35 by knockout. His career as an athlete in this discipline began at 12 years of age, as he has won five awards at the amateur championships in his home country (100, 112, 119, 126, and 132 pounds), his amateur sheet was a record of 51–6. PROFESSIONAL CAREER LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Félix_Trinidad TAGS: Félix Trinidad, World light-middleweight boxing champions, World welterweight boxing champions, Puerto Rican male boxers, People from Fajardo Puerto Rico, Living people, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, International Boxing Federation champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #FélixTrinidad

Thomas Rocco Barbella, better known as Rocky Graziano, was an American professional boxer and actor who held the World Middleweight title. Graziano is considered one of the greatest knockout artists in boxing history, often displaying the capacity to take his opponent out with a single punch. He was ranked 23rd on The Ring magazine list of the greatest punchers of all time. He fought many of the best middleweights of the era including Sugar Ray Robinson. His turbulent and violent life story was the basis of the 1956 Oscar-winning drama film, Somebody Up There Likes Me, based on his 1955 autobiography of the same title. EARLY LIFE Graziano was the son of Ida Scinto and Nicola Barbella. The elder Barbella, nicknamed Fighting Nick Bob, was a boxer with a brief fighting record. Born in Brooklyn, Rocky later moved to an Italian enclave centered on East 10th Street, between First Avenue and Avenue A in Manhattan's East Village. He grew up as a street fighter and learned to look after himself before he could read or write. He spent years in reform school, jail, and Catholic protectories. Barbella, sr., who got occasional work as a horseback rider, kept boxing gloves around the house and encouraged Rocky and his brothers to fight one another. When he was three years old, Barbella would make Rocky and his brother, Joe (three years his senior), fight almost every night. At age 18 Rocky won the Metropolitan A.A.U. welterweight championship. Despite the fame and money that professional fighting seemed to offer, Rocky didn't want to become a serious prize fighter. He didn't like the discipline of training any more than he liked the discipline of school or the Army. AMATEUR CAREER Graziano heard from a couple of his friends about a tournament going on with a gold medal for the winner. He fought four matches and ended up winning the New York Metropolitan Amateur Athletic Union Boxing Competition (1939). He sold the gold medal for $15 and decided that boxing was a good way to make cash. In 1940, just weeks into his amateur fighting career, Graziano was arrested for stealing from a school. He went to Coxsackie Correctional Facility, where he spent three weeks, with boyhood friend Jake LaMotta, and then he went on to the New York City Reformatory where he spent five months. After he got out of the reformatory, he headed back to the gym to earn money and while there, met Eddie Cocco who started his professional career. He entered the ring under the name Robert Barber. A couple of weeks later, Graziano was charged with a probation violation and sent back to reform school where he was charged with starting a minor riot. He was then sent to Rikers Island. When Graziano got out of jail he enlisted in the military but went AWOL after punching a captain. He escaped from Fort Dix in New Jersey and started his real boxing career under the name of "Rocky Graziano". He won his first couple of bouts. After gaining popularity under the name of Graziano, he was found by the military. After his fourth bout, he was called into manager's office to speak with a couple of military personnel. Expecting to be prosecuted and sent back to the military or jail, he fled. He returned to the military a week later. In 1941, he turned himself in, was court-martialed and dishonorably discharged from the Army then sent to The federal penitentiary (nicknamed the “Big Top” for its dome), founded in 1875 as a military prison ( Now known as USP Leavenworth), is located at Fort Leavenworth is where "Rocky" Graziano started his boxing career while housed at the FCP (Minimum/Low)building adjacent to the main facility. Ultimately he was pardoned and given the opportunity to fight under the army's aegis. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Graziano TAGS: Rocky Graziano, Boxers from New York City, American male boxers, Recipients of American presidential pardons, Sportspeople from Brooklyn, People from the Lower East Side, Middleweight boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Deaths from respiratory failure, Burials at Locust Valley Cemetery, American boxers of Italian descent #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #RockyGraziano

Julian Jackson is a former professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who competed from 1981 to 1998. He is a three-time world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA super welterweight title from 1987 to 1990, and the WBC middleweight title twice between 1990 and 1995. Possessing formidable knockout power, Jackson is regarded by many as one of the hardest punchers in boxing history, pound for pound, and was ranked number 25 by The Ring magazine in a 2003 list of "100 Greatest Punchers". Jackson's knockout-to-win ratio stands at 89%. Jackson was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019. AMATEUR CAREER Jackson represented the United States Virgin Islands at the 1979 Pan American Games, losing his first fight to Jose Baret of the Dominican Republic. Jackson reportedly completed his amateur career with a record of 15 wins, 2 losses. PROFESSIONAL CAREER Jackson turned professional in February 1981 and had many of his early fights in Puerto Rico, where he lived for a short time, and gained a shot at WBA super welterweight champion Mike McCallum in August 1986. Jackson hurt the champion on a couple occasions in the first round, but McCallum came storming back with a barrage that forced the referee to stop matters in the second round. After McCallum moved up to middleweight, Jackson got his second shot at the now-vacant WBA title in November 1987 against Korean Baek In-chul, winning in three rounds. Baek would go on to win the WBA super-middleweight title a year later. Jackson made three defenses of his crown, against former IBF title-holder Buster Drayton (TKO 3), Francisco DeJesus (KO 8), and future three-time champion Terry Norris (TKO 2). All these defenses were won with a single knockout punch. Jackson then vacated his crown, moved up to 160 lb (73 kg), and was matched against Herol 'Bomber' Graham for the vacant WBC middleweight title. Due to Jackson's recent retina damage which had required surgery, the British Boxing Board of Control felt that Jackson was returning to boxing too soon and didn't allow him to box in the UK, so the bout was held at Torrequebrada Hotel and Casino, Benalmádena, Andalucía, Spain on 24 November 1990. Graham was putting on his typical savvy performance against Jackson: countering, slipping, and dancing out of the way, targeting Jackson's vulnerable eye which started to swell. After being consistently beaten to the punch for three and a half rounds, Jackson then unleashed one of the great right hands in boxing history. After Jackson connected with the punch, Graham was unconscious before he hit the canvas, and was revived only after five alarming minutes. Defenses against Dennis Milton (KO 1), Ismael Negron (KO 1), and Ron Collins (TKO 5) ended quickly, but Thomas Tate would make Jackson work longer and harder in their August 1992 encounter – Julian had to go to the scorecards for the first time in a title bout in winning a 12-round unanimous decision, scoring a knockdown along the way. At this point Jackson was in the middle of the pound-for-pound rankings. This would lead to his showdown in May 1993 with another big hitter, Gerald McClellan. This time the challenger prevailed, as Jackson failed to find the knockout blow when hitting McClellan with hard punches and controlling Rounds 2 and 3, with McClellan turning the fight around and knocking Jackson down twice in the fifth round. The second knockdown prompted the referee to stop the fight, after Jackson made it to his feet yet remained unsteady. After winning his next three fights, Jackson had another shot at the title in May 1994 in a rematch with McClellan. In a very brief fight, Jackson hit McClellan with some hard punches, but Jackson was then hurt himself and put under heavy pressure by McClellan, with... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Jackson_(boxer) TAGS: Julian Jackson (boxer), Pan American Games competitors for the United States Virgin Islands, Boxers at the 1979 Pan American Games, World light-middleweight boxing champions, World middleweight boxing champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, American male boxers, People from Saint Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands, United States Virgin Islands male boxers, World boxing champions, Living people #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #JulianJackson(boxer)

Danny Lopez is an American former professional boxer who was the WBC featherweight champion of the world from November 1976 to February 1980. His nickname was Little Red. Known for his tremendous punching power, in 2003 The Ring magazine rated Lopez at number 26 on their list of "100 Greatest Punchers". In 2010, Lopez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. BACKGROUND Lopez is of Ute Indian, Mexican, and Irish heritage. He had been moved from one foster home to another, and coming off a Ute Indian Reservation in Utah, he finally found a home in Southern California. He is also the brother of welterweight contender Ernie Lopez. He is married to Bonnie Lopez and has three sons, Bronson, Jeremy, and Dylan. PRO CAREER Lopez began boxing professionally on May 27, 1971, knocking out Steve Flajole in one round at Los Angeles. He won his first 21 fights in a row by knockout, in one of the longest knockout win streaks ever. During that streak, all but one of his fights were in Los Angeles, a fact which could be credited for his popularity in the area. The only one of those 21 fights to be held outside Los Angeles took place in Honolulu, where he beat Ushiwakamaru Harada by knockout in three. On January 17, 1974, Genzo Kurosaw became the first person to go the distance with Lopez, Lopez winning by a ten-round decision. His next fight, a month later, in Mexicali, Mexico, was his first fight abroad. He beat Memo Rodriguez by a knockout in nine rounds. People in Los Angeles were eager to see Lopez and another up-and-coming Los Angeleno, Bobby Chacon, square off inside a ring. The fight took place on May 24, and Lopez was knocked out in the ninth round in a thrilling fight. In his next fight of note, he lost once again by a knockout in round nine, this time to Shig Furuyama. After losing to Octavio Gómez to begin 1975, Lopez went on a roll, beginning with a knockout of Chucho Castillo in two rounds. Two more wins, and he was faced with Rubén Olivares, whom he beat by a knockout in seven rounds, after recovering from a first round knockdown himself. In 1976, he beat Sean O'Grady by knockout in four, Gómez by knockout in three and Art Hafey by knockout in seven. Finally ranked number one by the WBC, he travelled to Ghana to challenge world Featherweight champion David Kotei in front of an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 Kotei partisans. Lopez became world champion by outpointing Kotei over 15 rounds on November 6. Due to all communication systems having been cut down in Ghana, Lopez could not get his message through to his family; they only learned he was World Champion when they picked him up at the airport one week later. Lopez won three fights in 1977, retaining the title once, against José Torres by a knockout in round seven. He and Kotei had a rematch on February 15 of 1978, as part of the undercard where Leon Spinks dethroned Muhammad Ali of the world Heavyweight title. Lopez knocked Kotei out in round six of their rematch, and then he retained the title against Jose DePaula by knockout in round six, and Juan Malvares (on the undercard where Ali regained the title from Spinks) by knockout in two, after recovering from a first round knockdown himself. On October 21, he had a fight with Fel Clemente, against whom he retained the world title with a four-round disqualification in Italy. By the end of 1978, there was much talk of a "super-fight" against world Jr. Featherweight champion Wilfredo Gómez, but the bout never materialized. His fight on March 10 of 1979 against Spain's Roberto Castañón in Salt Lake City, not only marked the first time he defended his world title in his home-state, but the first time he fought in his home-state as a professional period. He retained the crown with a two-round knockout.... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Lopez_(boxer) TAGS: Danny Lopez (boxer), World boxing champions, Ute people, People from Uintah County Utah, Native American boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Featherweight boxers, Boxers from Utah, American people of Native American descent, American people of Irish descent, American male boxers, American boxers of Mexican descent, 21st-century Native Americans, 20th-century Native Americans, Living people #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #DannyLopez(boxer)

Maximilian Adelbert Baer was an American professional boxer and the world heavyweight champion from June 14, 1934, to June 13, 1935. Two of his fights (a 1933 win over Max Schmeling and a 1935 loss to James J. Braddock) were rated Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. Baer was also a boxing referee, and had occasional roles on film or television. He was the brother of heavyweight boxing contender Buddy Baer and father of actor Max Baer Jr. Baer is rated #22 on The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. EARLY LIFE Baer was born on February 11, 1909, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Jacob Baer (1875 to 1938) and Dora Bales (1877 to 1938). His father was the son of Aschill Baer and Fannie Fischel, who were Jewish emigrants from Alsace-Lorraine and Bohemia, respectively; his mother was of Scots-Irish descent. His elder sister was Frances May Baer (1905 to 1991), his younger sister was Bernice Jeanette Baer (1911 to 1987), his younger brother was boxer-turned-actor Jacob Henry Baer, better known as Buddy Baer (1915 to 1986), and his adopted brother was August "Augie" Baer. For a period Jacob Baer worked as the manager of the meat packing concern of the Graden Mercantile Co. in Durango, Colorado. MOVE TO CALIFORNIA In May 1922, tired of the winters that aggravated Frances's rheumatic fever and Jacob's high blood pressure, the Baers drove to the milder climes of the West Coast, where Dora's sister lived in Alameda, California. Jacob's expertise in the butcher business led to numerous job offers around the San Francisco Bay Area. While living in Hayward, Max took his first job as a delivery boy for John Lee Wilbur. Wilbur ran a grocery store and bought meat from Jacob. The Baers lived in the Northern Californian towns of Hayward, San Leandro and Galt before moving to Livermore in 1926. Livermore was cowboy country, surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of rangeland which supported large cattle herds that provided fresh meat to the local area. In 1928, Jacob leased the Twin Oaks Ranch in Murray Township, where he raised more than 2,000 hogs and worked with daughter Frances's husband, Louis Santucci. Baer often credited working as a butcher boy, carrying heavy carcasses of meat, stunning cattle with one blow, and working at a gravel pit, for developing his powerful shoulders (an article in the January 1939 edition of The Family Circle Magazine reported that Baer also took the Charles Atlas exercise course.) LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Baer_(boxer) TAGS: Max Baer (boxer), 20th-century American Jews, Jewish American boxers, 20th-century American male actors, International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees, Sportspeople from Omaha Nebraska, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, American people of German descent, American people of Czech-Jewish descent, American male film actors, American male boxers, World heavyweight boxing champions, World Boxing Association champions, Heavyweight boxers, Boxers from Nebraska #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #MaxBaer(boxer)

Rodrigo Valdez was a Colombian professional boxer who competed from 1963 to 1980. He was a two time middleweight champion, having held the WBC title from 1974 to 1976 and the undisputed WBA, WBC, and The Ring titles from 1977 to 1978. His rivalry with Carlos Monzón has long been considered among the most legendary boxing rivalries. Valdez was trained by International Boxing Hall of Fame coach Gil Clancy. Many people consider him, Antonio Cervantes and Miguel "Happy" Lora to be the three greatest boxers ever to come from that country. He is 29th on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. PROFESSIONAL BOXING CAREER Born in Bolívar, Colombia, Rodrigo Valdez began his professional boxing career with a win over Orlando Pineda in a four-round decision on October 25, 1963, at Cartagena. He won his next eight bouts, but on October 2, 1965, he lost his undefeated record, beaten by knockout in six by Rudy Escobar. After that defeat, he went on another undefeated streak of fifteen fights, of which he won thirteen and tied two. However, on his first fight abroad, February 16, 1969, in Ecuador, he lost a ten-round decision to Daniel Guanin. After one more fight in Cartagena, he moved to the United States. Trying to gain more recognition, he campaigned, from 1969 to 1970, in the states of New York, Nevada and California, winning seven fights and losing two. Then, he returned to South America for four more fights in his homeland, winning all. HEPATITIS In his next match, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, with Bobby Cassidy on August 9, 1971, Valdez won by knockout in round six, because the fight doctor deemed Cassidy not fit to continue from a cut around his eye which had been ruled as produced by a Valdez punch. At the time, nobody knew that Cassidy had hepatitis A. As a consequence of this, Valdez also became affected by the disease. Given a quarantine, he refused to quit boxing periodically and continued training during his time of illness. Separated from most of the world, he was fit enough to win two more fights within three months of his initial diagnosis of hepatitis. Valdez had nineteen wins in a row when he met Philadelphia legend Bennie Briscoe for the NABF middleweight title, in Nouméa, New Caledonia, on September 1, 1973, beating Briscoe in a 12-round decision to capture the regional championship and becoming a world-ranked middleweight contender. After this win, Valdez claimed for a world title shot at Monzon. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Valdéz TAGS: Rodrigo Valdéz, World boxing champions, Middleweight boxers, Sportspeople from Cartagena Colombia #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #RodrigoValdéz

Carlos Zárate Serna is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1970 to 1988, and held the WBC bantamweight title from 1976 to 1979. He and fellow Mexican and world Bantamweight champion Rubén Olivares have the distinction of being the only two professional boxers in history to put together two streaks of 20 or more knockout wins in a row. Zárate was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine in 1977. Zárate was ranked #21 in The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. and voted as the #1 bantamweight (along with Rubén Olivares) of the 20th century by the Associated Press in 1999. In 1994, Zárate was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He is also the father of once-defeated Light Welterweight prospect, Carlos Zárate, Jr. PERSONAL LIFE Carlos Zárate has family members who have followed him into boxing. His son Carlos, now retired, fought in the Light Welterweight division and his nephew, Joel Luna Zárate, is the former WBO Latino Super Flyweight champion. AMATEUR CAREER Zárate, considered along with rival Wilfredo Gómez to be among the better punchers of the lighter divisions, had an amateur record of 33 wins and 3 losses, with 30 knockout wins, and he won the Mexican Golden Gloves, or Guantes de Oro, in 1969. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Zárate_Serna TAGS: Carlos Zárate Serna, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, World Boxing Association champions, World Boxing Council champions, World bantamweight boxing champions, World boxing champions, Boxers from Mexico City, Super-bantamweight boxers, Bantamweight boxers, Living people #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #CarlosZárateSerna

Robert Wayne Foster was an American professional boxer who fought as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. Known as "The Deputy Sheriff", Foster was one of the greatest light heavyweight champions in boxing history. He won the world light heavyweight title from Dick Tiger in 1968 via fourth-round knockout, and went on to defend his crown fourteen times against thirteen different fighters in total from 1968 to 1974. Foster challenged Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali during his career, but was knocked out by both (the fight with Ali was not for a world heavyweight title, but for the regional NABF version). He was named to Ring Magazine's list of 100 Greatest Punchers. He was also named to Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years, ranking at #55. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990. EARLY LIFE Foster was born at Borger, Texas on April 27, 1942. In his childhood years his family moved to Albuquerque in New Mexico, and he received his formal education at Albuquerque High School. On leaving school he enlisted with the United States Air Force, in which he served with the rank of Airman Second Class. He began boxing on the Golden Gloves amateur circuit, and also took part in competitive inter-service matches for the U.S. Air Force. BOXING CAREER Foster started his professional career on the night of March 27, 1961, against Duke Williams, in Washington, D.C., winning by knockout in two rounds. The first 12 bouts of his career were spent campaigning in the United States' Eastern coast and in Canada. In his tenth bout, he made his first of multiple forays into the heavyweight division, and suffered his first loss, at the hands of Doug Jones, by a knockout in the eighth round. After two more wins, he went in 1963 to Peru, where he lost to South American champion Mauro Mina by a decision in ten rounds at Lima. This was his first major Light Heavyweight bout, but it wouldn't be his last. Three more fights back in the States resulted in quick knockout wins for him, and then, in 1964, he made his second attempt at entering the heavyweight rankings, being knocked out in the seventh by future world Heavyweight champion Ernie Terrell. He finished the year by posting three more knockout wins at Light Heavyweight, two of them in the month of November. The night of November 11 was Foster's first win of note as a light-heavyweight. One month after knocking out Don Quinn in the first round, he stepped up in the ring again and faced former world title challenger Henry Hank. He beat Hank by a knockout in the tenth. In 1965, he had five fights, winning four and losing one. He beat Hank again, by decision in 12 rounds, and lost to Zora Folley, by a decision in ten rounds, in another attempt at joining the heavyweight top ten. In 1966 he defeated Leroy Green in two rounds. By 1967, Foster, although his attempts to become a top heavyweight were being frustrated, was a ranked light heavyweight. He decided to stick to the light-heavyweight division for the time being, and he won all seven of his fights, six by knockout. Among the fighters he beat were Eddie Cotton, Eddie Vick, and Sonny Moore. After defeating Moore, Foster was the world's number one ranked light heavyweight challenger. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Foster_(boxer) TAGS: Bob Foster (boxer), Pan American Games medalists in boxing, Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States, Boxers at the 1959 Pan American Games, World light-heavyweight boxing champions, American male boxers, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, Boxers from Albuquerque New Mexico, Light-heavyweight boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #BobFoster(boxer)

Gerald Allen McClellan is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1995. He is a two-time middleweight world champion, having held the WBO title from 1991 to 1992, and the WBC title from 1993 to 1995. McClellan was forced to retire from boxing after a severe brain injury suffered during his final fight in 1995, a loss to WBC super middleweight champion Nigel Benn. Known for his formidable punching power and one of the highest 1st-round-knockouts ratio in the history of boxing, McClellan was dubbed "a miniature Mike Tyson" by his promoter, Don King (Tyson himself, while incarcerated, reportedly called McClellan "the best fighter in the world").) The Ring magazine rated McClellan No. 27 on their list of the "100 Greatest Punchers Of All Time". In 2007, McClellan was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in California, not to be confused with the more widely recognized International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota. AMATEUR CAREER As an amateur, McClellan was a four-time Wisconsin Golden Gloves champion, 1984 to 1987, competing mostly in the junior middleweight division. HIGHLIGHTS He trained with Kronk Gym being trained by Emanuel Steward. After turning pro, he also fought out of a Palmer Park gym run by Sugar Ray Leonard. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_McClellan TAGS: Gerald McClellan, World Boxing Organization champions, World Boxing Council champions, American male boxers, American blind people, World middleweight boxing champions, People from Freeport Illinois, Living people, Boxers from Illinois #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #GeraldMcClellan

Matthew Saad Muhammad (born Maxwell Antonio Loach) was an American professional boxer who was the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World for two-and-a-half years. BACKGROUND Saad Muhammad's mother died when he was an infant, and he and his elder brother were sent to live with an aunt. When he was five, his aunt could not afford to look after both of them and she instructed his brother to get rid of him. His brother took him to Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway and then ran away. Saad Muhammad was taken in by Catholic Social Services. The nuns gave him the name Matthew Franklin (after the saint and the parkway where he was found). Matthew lived in foster care until a couple from Philadelphia adopted him, raised him, and took care of him like he was their own. Saad Muhammad was very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s among boxing fans because of his particularly action-oriented style. Saad Muhammad was known for his ability to take punishment and mount comebacks, and because of this, he was nicknamed Miracle Matthew. Saad Muhammad was also part of a group of world light heavyweight champions who became Muslims and changed their names during his era as a Light-Heavyweight, the others being Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (born as Eddie Gregory), and Dwight Muhammad Qawi (born as Dwight Braxton). Saad Muhammad confirmed this in interviews following his boxing career, stating that he was inspired to convert by Muhammad Ali's conversion. AMATEUR CAREER Saad Muhammad had a relatively short amateur career, consisting of only 20 amateur bouts. He won the Trenton (NJ) Golden Gloves in 1973 and turned pro the following year. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Saad_Muhammad TAGS: Matthew Saad Muhammad, World Boxing Council champions, World light-heavyweight boxing champions, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia), Deaths from motor neuron disease, Sportspeople with a vision impairment, African American adoptees, African-American former Christians, African-American Muslims, Converts to Islam, Boxers from Philadelphia, African-American boxers, American male boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #MatthewSaadMuhammad

Khaosai Galaxy is a Thai former professional boxer who competed between 1980 and 1991. He was also a Muay Thai practitioner. He held the WBA super-flyweight title between November 1984 and December 1991. He is listed #19 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time and named him the 43rd greatest fighter of the past 80 years in 2002. As of 2022, BoxRec rates him as the best Thai boxer of all time, pound for pound. MUAY THAI CAREER Khaosai was born as Sura Saenkham in Phetchabun Province, Northern Thailand. He was a Muay Thai fighter in the early 1980s, and took the professional name Galaxy from a restaurant and nightclub owned by his manager's friend. Khaosai had tremendous punching power, particularly in his soon-to-be legendary left hand. On the advice of his manager and trainer, he switched to Marquis of Queensbury style and began training as a western style boxer. In Muay Thai his ring names are Daoden Muangsithep and Khaosai Wangchomphu. He praised his mother as the first trainer, because she was fond of boxing and Muay Thai. Due to he and his twin brother Khaokor Galaxy were born during the time that Pone Kingpetch, the first Thai world champion, was becoming famous. His mother would wake them up at 4.00 a.m. for a run before school, along with supporting everything for the twins to fight. BOXING STYLE Lacking the amateur boxing experience common to most Western professional boxers, Khaosai's skills originally were limited, and he relied on toughness and his fearsome punching power to win. His southpaw style was based on closing his opponent and firing his left hand whenever he saw an opening. His right hand was used mainly to judge the distance for his left. All of his knockouts came by his left, which is arguably the hardest single punch in the history of the lower weight classes. As he gained experience, Khaosai began to develop into a more refined boxer, learning combination punching to complement his deadly left. His favorite punch, a straight left to the midsection, translates roughly as "the left hand that drills intestines." Incredibly strong, he was never out-muscled, while opponents who tried the traditional stick-and-move techniques found he had quick feet and was able to block their movements. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaosai_Galaxy TAGS: Khaosai Galaxy, Boxing trainers, Muay Thai trainers, Thai male boxers, People from Phetchabun province, Thai twins, Thai sportsperson-politicians, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, World Boxing Association champions, World super-flyweight boxing champions, World boxing champions, Super-flyweight boxers, Thai male Muay Thai practitioners, Living people #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #KhaosaiGalaxy

Earnie Dee Shaver, best known as Earnie Shavers, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1969 and 1995. A two-time world heavyweight championship challenger, he is known as one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight boxing history. He scored 70 knockout wins, including 23 in the first round, for a 76.7% overall knockout rate. Shavers challenged unsuccessfully twice for the heavyweight championship, losing to Muhammad Ali in 1977 and to Larry Holmes in 1979. He hurt Ali in the second round and knocked down Holmes in the seventh round. Shavers defeated former world champions Vicente Rondón, Jimmy Ellis, and Ken Norton, as well as three-time European heavyweight champion Joe Bugner and top heavyweight contender Jimmy Young. In 2001, Shavers released an autobiography called Welcome to the Big Time. After retiring from boxing he continued to attend boxing events as a special guest, autograph signer, and motivational speaker. AMATEUR CAREER Shavers started boxing at the late age of 22. Before turning professional, he had a short but notable amateur career, winning the 1969 National AAU heavyweight title. In March 1969, National Golden Gloves director Tony Mange said Shavers "carries a hefty punch". He had nine straight knockout wins before he was himself knocked out by the 230-pound (104 kg) West German Horst Koschemann. HIGHLIGHTS Shavers posted a 20 to 6 amateur record as a heavyweight and recorded 14 knockouts (with half of those losses also by knockout.) LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earnie_Shavers TAGS: Earnie Shavers, 21st-century African-American people, Boxers from Alabama, People from Butler County Alabama, Sportspeople with a vision impairment, American male boxers, African-American boxers, Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers, Professional wrestling referees, Heavyweight boxers, American Christian clergy #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #EarnieShavers

Robert James Fitzsimmons was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sullivan), and he is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the lightest heavyweight champion, weighing just 165 pounds when he won the title. Nicknamed Ruby Robert and The Freckled Wonder, he took pride in his lack of scars and appeared in the ring wearing heavy woollen underwear to conceal the disparity between his trunk and leg-development. Considered one of the hardest punchers in boxing history, Fitzsimmons is ranked as No. 8 on The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. EARLY LIFE Robert James Fitzsimmons was born on 26 May 1863 in Helston, Cornwall, England, the youngest of seven boys and five girls born to James and Jane (née Strongman) Fitzsimmons. Not long before his birth, his parents had moved from his father's native Ireland to Cornwall, where his mother came from, in order for his father to find work as a policeman. Fitzsimmons received his early education at the National school in Helston. In 1873, the family moved again; James, Jane and their youngest five children sailed on the Adamant for the 93-day journey to Lyttelton, New Zealand. They settled in Timaru, a town 147 km (91 miles) south-west of Lyttelton populated mainly by Cornish immigrants, and James Fitzsimmons established a blacksmith's forge in the town. Once Fitzsimmons had completed his education at the Timaru Main School, he took on a range of jobs. He wanted to join the crew of the Isabella Ridley, and do some service as a sailor, hoping that it would toughen him up for a career in boxing, but the ship was badly damaged in storms while still docked in Timaru. Instead, he took on a range of jobs; as a butcher's delivery boy, a carriage painter, striker at an iron foundry, and a decorator, before becoming an apprentice at his family's blacksmith's forge with his brother Jarrett. His time working in the blacksmith's forge helped to develop his upper body, particularly his arms and shoulders. During his time working in the blacksmith's forge, there are stories that Fitzsimmons was not averse to fighting quarrelsome, often drunk, customers, and it was suggested that this even boosted business, as customers returned to the forge, hoping to see a fight. AMATEUR CAREER In the early 1880s Jem Mace, an English bare-knuckle boxer, travelled to New Zealand, and Timaru hosted both his boxing school, and the first boxing championships held in New Zealand. Fitzsimmons entered the tournament and knocked out four opponents on his way to winning the competition. He successfully defended his title in the subsequent competition. During one of these tournaments, it is often suggested that Fitzsimmons defeated Herbert Slade, a professional heavyweight boxer who was touring with Mace, but Slade was touted as being undefeated in 1883, and it is possible that it was Slade's brother that Fitzsimmons beat. After these tournaments, Fitzsimmons boxed at least six times in New Zealand, including some bare knuckle bouts, but it is unclear if he received payment for his fights during this time. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Fitzsimmons TAGS: Bob Fitzsimmons, World middleweight boxing champions, New Zealand world boxing champions, World heavyweight boxing champions, World boxing champions, People from Helston, People associated with physical culture, New Zealand people of English descent, New Zealand emigrants to the United States, New Zealand male boxers, Middleweight boxers, Light-heavyweight boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Heavyweight boxers, English people of Irish descent, English male boxers, British emigrants to the United States, American people of Cornish descent, New Zealand people of Cornish descent, British emigrants to New Zealand, Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago), Bare-knuckle boxers, 19th-century British people #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #BobFitzsimmons

Michael Gerard Tyson 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 boxing history. In 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison, although he was released on parole after three years. After his release in 1995, he engaged in a series of comeback fights, regaining the WBA and WBC titles in 1996 to join Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Tim Witherspoon, Evander Holyfield and George Foreman as the only men in boxing history to have regained a heavyweight championship after losing it. After being stripped of the WBC title in the same year, Tyson lost the WBA title to Evander Holyfield by an eleventh round stoppage. Their 1997 rematch ended when Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield's ears, one bite notoriously being strong enough to remove a portion of his right ear. In 2002, Tyson fought for the world heavyweight title, losing by knockout to Lennox Lewis. Tyson was known for his ferocious and intimidating boxing style as well as his controversial behavior inside and outside the ring. With a knockout-to-win percentage of 88%, he was ranked 16th on The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time, and first on ESPN's list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History". Sky Sports described him as "perhaps the most ferocious fighter to step into a professional ring". He has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. EARLY LIFE Michael Gerard Tyson was born into a Catholic family in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City on June 30, 1966. He has an older brother named Rodney (born c. 1961) and an older sister named Denise, who died of a heart attack at age 24 in February 1990. Tyson's mother, born in Charlottesville, Virginia was described as a promiscuous woman who might have been a prostitute. Tyson's biological father is listed as "Purcell Tyson", a "humble cab driver" (who was from Jamaica) on his birth certificate but the man Tyson had known as his father was a pimp named Jimmy Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick was from Grier Town, North Carolina (a predominantly black neighborhood that was annexed by the city of Charlotte), where he was one of the neighborhood's top baseball players. Kirkpatrick married and had a son, Tyson's half-brother Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, who would help to integrate Charlotte high school football in 1965. In 1959, Jimmy Kirkpatrick left his family and moved to Brooklyn, where he met Tyson's mother, Lorna Mae (Smith) Tyson. Kirkpatrick frequented pool halls, gambled and hung out on the streets. "My father was just a regular street guy caught up in the street world," Tyson said. Kirkpatrick abandoned the Tyson family around the time Mike was born, leaving Tyson's mother to care for the children on her own. Kirkpatrick died in 1992. The family lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant until their financial burdens necessitated a move to Brownsville when Tyson was 10... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson TAGS: Mike Tyson, Participants in Argentine reality television series, WWE Hall of Fame inductees, Writers from Brooklyn, World heavyweight boxing champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, The Ring (magazine) champions, Sportspeople from Las Vegas, Sportspeople from Brooklyn, Prisoners and detainees of Indiana, People with speech impediment, People with bipolar disorder, People from Trumbull County Ohio, People from Henderson Nevada, People from Catskill New York, People from Brownsville Brooklyn, People from Bernardsville New Jersey, People from Bedford–Stuyvesant Brooklyn, Participants in Bulgarian reality television series, National Golden Gloves champions, Mixed martial arts referees, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, International Boxing Federation champions, D-Generation X members, Criminals from New York City #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #MikeTyson