Boxing: History

See also Boxing: Rules.

Code that governs the conduct of professional boxing – named after John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, who publicly endorsed them in 1867		Queensberry rules
Punch that lands on the back of the opponent's neck		Rabbit punch
Boxer who leads with the right (i.e. a left–hander)		Southpaw

Muhammad Ali

Timeline

14 January 1942	Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky
1960	Wins the light heavyweight gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rome
29 October 1960	Professional debut: beats Tunney Husaker on a unanimous points decision (six rounds)
18 June 1963	Defeats Henry Cooper on a technical knockout (TKO), at Wembley, in his first professional fight outside the USA, after being saved by the bell when floored by a left hook at the end of round four
25 February 1964	Beats Sonny Liston in six rounds, in one of the biggest shocks in boxing history, to become world heavyweight champion
1964	Changes his name to Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam
19 June 1964	Stripped of the WBA world heavyweight title for refusing the draft
21 May 1966	Defeats Henry Cooper by a TKO, at Highbury stadium (this time in a world title fight)
6 August 1966	Knocks out Brian London in the third round
6 February 1967	Defeats Ernie Terrell to regain the WBA title
1967	Convicted of draft evasion and banned from boxing for three years
26 October 1970	Knocks out Jerry Quarry in the third round, on his return to the ring (Atlanta)
8 March 1971	First professional defeat: loses on points to Joe Frazier in the "Fight of the Century" (Madison Square Garden, New York) – fails to win the world title
1971	Conviction for draft evasion overturned
31 March 1973	Second pro defeat: Ken Norton, split decision – loses NABF title, and suffers a broken jaw
January 1974	Defeats Frazier in 12 rounds (Madison Square Garden)
30 October 1974	The Rumble in the Jungle (Kinshasa, Zaire): Ali knocks out George Foreman in the eighth round to regain the WBC and WBA titles; featured in the 1996 Academy Award winning documentary film When We Were Kings
30 June 1975	Defeats Joe Bugner on a unanimous points decision (Kuala Lumpur)
1 October 1975	The Thriller in Manila: defeats Frazier by a TKO in the 14th round, to retain the WBC and WBA titles
24 May 1976	Defeats Yorkshire's Richard Dunn by a TKO in the 5th round
15 February 1978	Now aged 36, loses the title to 24–year–old Leon Spinks, in a split decision after 15 rounds (Las Vegas)
15 September 1978	Regains the title from Spinks in a unanimous points decision, becoming the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title for a third time
June 1979	Announces his retirement
2 October 1980	Returns to the ring against Larry Holmes; trainer Angelo Dundee throws in the towel at the end of the 10th round
11 December 1981	Loses to Trevor Berbick; retires for a second and final time with a record of 56 wins (37 knockouts) and 5 defeats
1984	Revealed to be suffering from Parkinson's disease
1996	Lights the Olympic flame at the climax of the opening ceremony (Atlanta); presented with a new Olympic gold medal to replace the one he lost
3 June 2016	Dies, from septic shock, in hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he had lived for several years with his fourth wife Lonnie

Opponents (selected)

First professional opponent (October 1960)		Tunney Husaker
Defeated by Clay in six rounds, making him world heavyweight champion for the first time (February 1964)		Sonny Liston
Ali's first opponent after the expiry of his ban for draft evasion (October 1970) – knocked out in the third round		Jerry Quarry
Won the "Fight of the Century" (8 March 1971) on points – Ali's first professional defeat. Lost the rematch at Madison Square Garden (January 1974). Also lost the 'Thriller in Manila' (1 October 1975)		Joe Frazier
Knocked out by Ali in the eighth round, in the "Rumble in the Jungle" (October 1974)		George Foreman
Defeated Ali on a split decision (Las Vegas, 15 February 1978); lost the rematch, exactly seven months later, on a unanimous decision – when Ali became the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title for a third time		Leon Spinks
Won on a TKO at the end of the 10th round, on Ali's return to the ring after announcing his retirement 16 months earlier (October 1980). Only boxer to stop Muhammad Ali 'inside the distance'		Larry Holmes
Defeated Ali in his last professional fight, on a unanimous points decision (11 December 1981)		Trevor Berbick

Defeats

Ali suffered five defeats in his 61 professional fights.

	Joe Frazier	8 March 1971	Fight of the Century
	Ken Norton	31 March 1973	Split decision. Ali suffers a broken jaw
	Leon Spinks	15 February 1978	Split decision – Ali won the (unapproved) rematch, 9 months later, on a unanimous decision
	Larry Holmes	2 October 1980	TKO (corner decision) at the end of the 10th round. Only boxer to stop Ali 'inside the distance'
	Trevor Berbick	11 December 1981	Unanimous decision

British Opponents

	Henry Cooper	18 June 1963	TKO (Round 5 of 10)
	Henry Cooper	21 May 1966	TKO (Round 6 of 15)
	Brian London	6 August 1966	KO (Round 3 of 15)
	Joe Bugner	30 June 1975	Unanimous decision (12 rounds)
	Richard Dunn	24 May 1976	TKO (Round 5 of 15)

Frank Bruno

Born

16 November 1961

Hammersmith, London

First professional fight

17 March 1982

Lupe Guerra (Mexico)

Won – 1st round k.o.

First professional defeat

13 May 1984

James 'Bonecrusher' Smith (USA)

10th round k.o.

World title fights

19 July 1986		Tim Witherspoon (USA)	WBA title	Lost – 11th round k.o.
25 February 1989		Mike Tyson (USA)	WBC title	Lost – 5th round t.k.o.
1 October 1993		Lennox Lewis (GBR)	WBC title	Lost – 7th round t.k.o.
3 September 1995		Oliver McCall (USA)	WBC title	Won on points
16 March 1996		Mike Tyson (USA)	WBC title	Lost – 3rd round t.k.o.

The five defeats listed here were the only ones that Bruno suffered in his 45 professional fights. The second defeat by Tyson was his last fight.

Lennox Lewis

Born

2 September 1965

Stratford, West Ham, London

Lewis's family moved to Canada (Kitchener, Ontario) when he was 12. He represented Canada in the 1988 Olympics (Seoul) in the Super Heavyweight division, reaching the quarter–finals where he was beaten by the USA's Tyrell Biggs – the eventual gold medallist.

Lewis and Biggs met again on 23 November 1991. This was Lewis's 18th fight as a professional, and he won by a technical knockout in the third round.

First professional fight

27 June 1989

Al Malcolm (UK)

Won – 2nd round k.o.

Al Malcolm was a 'journeyman' heavyweight from Birmingham – 30 years old when he became the first professional opponent of the 23–year–old Lennox Lewis.

World title eliminator

31 October 1992

Donovan 'Razor' Ruddock

Won – 2nd round k.o.

This win gave Lewis the right to fight Riddick Bowe for the WBC world title. But Bowe refused to fight him, holding a press conference to relinquish his title. The WBC declared Lewis its champion on 14 December 1992, making him the second British world heavyweight champion – the first being Bob Fitzsimmons (1897–9).

World title fights

8 May 1993		Tony Tucker (USA)	WBC title	Won on points
1 October 1993		Frank Bruno (England)	WBC title	Won – 7th round t.k.o.
6 May 1994		Phil Jackson (USA)	WBC title	Won – 8th round k.o.
24 September 1994		Oliver McCall (USA)	WBC title	Lost – 2nd round t.k.o.
7 February 1997		Oliver McCall (USA)	WBC title	Won – 5th round t.k.o.
12 July 1997		Henry Akinwande (England)	WBC title	Won – 5th round disqualification
4 October 1997		Andrew Golota (Poland)	WBC title	Won – 1st round k.o.
28 March 1998		Shannon Briggs (USA)	WBC title	Won – 5th round t.k.o.
26 September 1998		Zeljko Mavrovic (Croatia)	WBC title	Won on points
13 March 1999		Evander Holyfield (USA)	Undisputed	Draw (retained WBC title)
13 November 1999		Evander Holyfield (USA)	Undisputed	Won on points
29 April 2000		Michael Grant (USA)	WBC and IBF titles	Won – 2nd round k.o.
15 July 2000		Francois Botha (South Africa)	WBC and IBF titles	Won – 2nd round t.k.o.
11 November 2000		David Tua (New Zealand)	WBC and IBF titles	Won on points
21 April 2001		Hasim Rahman (USA)	WBC and IBF titles	Lost – 5th round k.o.
17 November 2001		Hasim Rahman (USA)	WBC and IBF titles	Won – 4th round k.o.
8 June 2002		Mike Tyson (USA)	WBC and IBF titles	Won – 8th round k.o.
21 June 2003		Vitali Klitschko (Ukraine)	WBC title	Won – 6th round t.k.o.

Lewis relinquished the IBF title in September 2002 at the request of promoter Don King, who wished to stage a championship bout between Evander Holyfield and Chris Byrd (USA) for the vacant title. King reportedly paid Lewis $1 million "in consideration".

Lewis announced his retirement in February 2004 – declining a rematch against Klitschko, who defeated Corrie Sanders (South Africa) in April 2004 to win the vacant title.

Lewis won 41 of his 44 professional fights – the two defeats and one draw listed above being the only ones he didn't win.

Nicknames

The Dark Destroyer		Nigel Benn
The Celtic Warrior (Irish world champion boxer, 1990s)		Steve Collins
Gentleman Jim (born 1866)		James John Corbett
The Fleetwood Assassin		Jane Couch
The Golden Boy (US boxer, born 1973 – Super Featherweight to Middleweight)		Oscar de la Hoya
Kid Blackie, The Manassa Mauler		Jack Dempsey
Stone Fist		Roberto Duran
The Gipsy King		Tyson Fury
The Fen Tiger		Dave 'Boy' Green
Marvelous (US Middleweight, 1980s)		Marvin Hagler
The Hitman (US welterweight, 1980s)		Thomas Hearns
The Real Deal (undisputed world heavyweight champion, 1990–2)		Evander Holyfield
The Dancing Destroyer (British heavyweight and cruiserweight, born in Nigeria in 1971)		Herbie Hide
The Galveston Giant (see below)		Jack Johnson
The Bronx Bull, or the Raging Bull		Jake LaMotta
The British Bulldog, The Blackpool Rock (British heavyweight champion, 1958–9)		Brian London
The Brown Bomber		Joe Louis
The Brockton Blockbuster		Rocky Marciano
The Clones (clone–iss) Cyclone		Barry McGuigan
The (Old) Mongoose (US light–heavyweight, 1950s)		Archie Moore
The Fighting Marine (world heavyweight champion, 1926–8)		Gene Tunney

Other

British flyweight (51 kg): Olympic champion 2012, Commonwealth champion 2014, European champion 2015; the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing; the first British woman to win a major boxing title (European Amateur Championships, 2011); named the most influential LGBT person in Britain by The Independent, 2012		Nicola Adams
Widely regarded as one of the greatest female boxers of all time: won all 24 of her professional fights (1999–2007), and held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF and IBA female super middleweight titles, and the IWBF light heavyweight title		Laila Ali
Jamaican heavyweight, the last to fight Muhammad Ali, inflicting his fifth professional defeat (1981); won the WBC title 1986, but lost it 8 months later to 20–year–old Mike Tyson; beaten to death with a steel pipe, 2006, in his home town in Jamaica, apparently over a land dispute		Trevor Berbick
"Uniquely awkward" heavyweight from Swadlincote, Derbyshire: won the British title in October 1969, two years after it was vacated by Henry Cooper, but lost it to Cooper in his first defence (March 1970); regained it in September 1971 by beating Joe Bugner; knocked out in 64 seconds by Jerry Quarry two months later; lost the British and Commonwealth titles to Danny McAlinden in June 1972		Jack Bodell
Sheffield–born welterweight (also fought at light–middleweight and middleweight): IBF world champion 2014–17; retired in 2022 after a crushing victory over Amir Khan in a catchweight fight		Kell Brook
English bare–knuckle fighter, heavyweight champion of England 1734–50; set out 7 rules of boxing in 1743, which were known as the London Prize Ring Rules and formed the basis of Queensberry's rules; invented "muffles", the first boxing gloves (used in training); buried in Westminster Abbey in 1789; the inscription "Champion of England" was added to his tomb in 1988		Jack Broughton
World lightweight champion, 1970–2; controversially beaten by Roberto Duran; considered by many to be Scotland's greatest ever boxer		Ken Buchanan
Took Henry Cooper's British and Commonwealth titles in 1971		Joe Bugner
Canadian heavyweight, world champion 1906–8; defended the title twice in one night in 1906		Tommy Burns
London–born Welsh–based super middleweight (of mixed Welsh and Italian parentage) – beat Chris Eubank for the vacant WBO title in 1997; unified the WBO and IBF titles in 2006 by beating Jeff Lacy (US); retired in 2009 as light heavyweight world champion, undefeated after 46 fights (32 ko's, 14 decisions)		Joe Calzaghe
Italian heavyweight, world champion 1933–4		Primo Carnera
Took the world heavyweight title from Joe Louis (1950); the only man to go the distance with Marciano in a world title fight		Ezzard Charles
Mexico's greatest ever boxer: active 1980–2005, a world champion in three different weight divisions (super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight); made a record 27 successful world lightweight title defences (breaking the record set in the Heavyweight division by Joe Louis)		Julio César Chávez
Zimbabwe–born British heavyweight: stripped of his licence to box in 2012, because of his behaviour before and after a fight with Vitali Klitschko, but regained it in 2013		Dereck Chisora
The only British boxer to face Rocky Marciano in a world title fight, losing on a TKO in the 9th round (1955); he took "a terrific beating", Marciano saying afterwards "He's got a lot of guts. I don't think I ever hit anyone else any more often or harder."		Don Cockell
Irish boxer, became WBO super middleweight champion in 1995 by becoming the first to defeat Chris Eubank; retired in 1997		Steve Collins
British WBC light heavyweight champion, 1974		John Conteh
Henry Cooper's twin brother (coached Henry when he quit boxing)		George
The only man to win three Lonsdale Belts outright		Henry Cooper
Winner of Britain's first licensed women's boxing match (1998)		Jane Couch
US boxer, took the WBA featherweight title from Barry McGuigan in Ring magazine's "fight of the year" for 1986		Steve Cruz
US boxer – Super Featherweight to Middleweight – nicknamed The Golden Boy; various world titles, 1994–2005; lost the last one (WBC light–middleweight) to Floyd Mayweather		Oscar de la Hoya
World heavyweight champion, 1919–26: sparred with John Paul Getty, who was reputedly the only man ever to knock him out		Jack Dempsey
Manager/trainer/corner–man to Muhammad Ali (also George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard) – opened up a tear in Ali's glove during his fight with Henry Cooper, to give Ali time to recover while a replacement was found – Cooper claimed that it cost him the fight, but in reality it probably caused only a few seconds' delay. Died in 2012 aged 90		Angelo Dundee
Panamanian world lightweight champion, 1972–80; defended the title 12 times, and vacated it to move up to welterweight		Roberto Duran
Best known for his stunning upset of the previously–undefeated Mike Tyson in Tokyo, February 1990, to win the undisputed heavyweight title; won by a knockout, after himself being down for a long count; lost to Evander Holyfield eight months later		James 'Buster' Douglas
Refereed a fight between Britain's Bob Fitzsimmons and Irish–American Tom Sharkey, at San Francisco in 1896; controversially awarded the fight to Sharkey by calling a foul against Fitzsimmons (which no one else saw) after Fitzsimmons knocked Sharkey down		Wyatt Earp
Won the vacant world title after it was stripped from Muhammad Ali, 1968; lost it to Joe Frazier, 1970		Jimmy Ellis
Undefeated in his first 43 professional fights, over a nine–year period (1985–94 – drew the 36th and 37th, in 1993); became WBO middleweight champion in 1990; finally lost his 44th fight and 20th defence to Ireland's Steve Collins in 1995; regained the title twice, defeated by Joe Calzaghe in 1997, in a fight for the vacant title; retired in 1998; entered the ring to Tina Turner's Simply the Best		Chris Eubank
Welsh heavyweight, nicknamed the Tonypandy Terror: the only British boxer to face Joe Louis in a world title fight, losing controversially on points after 15 rounds (1937)		Tommy Farr
Born Helston, Cornwall 1863; the lightest ever World Heavyweight Champion (1897–9); Britain's only World Heavyweight Champion, before Lennox Lewis; became a US citizen in 1898; Wayne Rooney claims to be distantly related to him (not a descendant)		Bob FitzSimmons
Olympic heavyweight champion 1968; took the world heavyweight title on his 25th birthday, January 1973, by knocking out Frazier in round 2 (in Kingston, Jamaica); became the oldest–ever world champion in 1994, aged 45, with a surprise victory over Michael Moorer to take the WBA and IBF titles; lost both in 1995 by refusing to fight the nominated challengers		George Foreman
Fought Mike Tyson in Manchester, 2000; lost in less than 1½ rounds (London–born)		Julius Francis
Seen as a favourite for the world heavyweight title after it was stripped from Muhammad Ali, but refused to contest it; beat the successful contender, Jimmy Ellis, to become WBC and WBA champion, February 1970; beat Ali in "the Fight of the Century" (March 1971 – Ali's first professional defeat); lost the world titles to George Foreman, January 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica; lost to Ali, January 1974; lost to Ali again in the "Thriller in Manila", October 1975; derided by Ali as an "Uncle Tom"; died in 2011, aged 67, from cancer		Joe Frazier
Defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to become undisputed world heavyweight champion; relinquished the titles in 2016 following drug (both performance–enhancing and recreational) and mental health issues; drew with Denotay Wilder in a WBC title fight, Dec 2018; beat Wilder in Feb 2020 to become WBC, Ring and lineal champion		Tyson Fury
Trained four of the five boxers that defeated Muhammad Ali (Frazier, Norton, Holmes, Berbick; the one he didn't train was Spinks). Died in 2001, aged 90		Eddie Futch
Defeated Alan Minter in 1980, to become undisputed (WBA, WBC, and The Ring) world middleweight champion; became the inaugural IBF champion in 1983; knocked out Thomas 'Hitman' Hearns in a classic encounter in 1985; lost the WBC title to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987; widely regarded as the best middleweight of all time; legally changed his name in 1982 to incorporate his nickname; died in 2021, aged 66, after complaining of chest pains and difficulty breathing		Marvin Hagler
First to win world titles at four different weights, eventually holding five. Basically a welterweight; also held light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight titles		Thomas Hearns
WBC heavyweight champion, 1978–83: successfully defended the title against Muhammad Ali, 1980, by a TKO (Ali's last world title fight and fourth professional defeat – the only one not on points).  Relinquished the WBC title in December 1983, and accepted recognition as champion by the newly–created IBF; lost that title to Michael Spinks, September 1985		Larry Holmes
Had both ears bitten by Mike Tyson in 1997		Evander Holyfield
Jamaican–born British world welterweight champion, 1986–7		Lloyd Honeyghan
British heavyweight, beat Tony Tucker 1997 to become WBO champion; lost to Vitali Klitschko 1999		Herbie Hide
Swedish heavyweight, beat Floyd Patterson 1959, lost to him 1960		Ingemar Johansson
The first black World Heavyweight Champion (1908)		Jack Johnson
First British heavyweight to win both an Olympic gold medal and a major world title (2012 and 2016 respectively)		Anthony Joshua
Ukrainian heavyweight (but initially German–based, moving to USA 2003): took the WBO title from Herbie Hide, 1999, losing it in 2000; Lennox Lewis' last opponent (2003 – lost by a technical k.o.); won the WBC title 2004 after Lewis retired; retired 2005, but regained the WBC title 2008		Vitali Klitschko
Younger brother of Vitali Klitschko: won the WBO title 2003, and as of 2008 was IBF, WBO and IBO champion (making them the first brothers to hold world heavyweight champions simultaneously)		Vladimir Klitschko
World Middleweight champion, 1949–50: known for his fierce style of fighting and his ability to take punishment; fought Sugar Ray Robinson six times, winning one and losing five		Jake LaMotta
Super Heavyweight champion in the Commonwealth Games 1986 (Edinburgh) and Olympics 1998 (Seoul) – representing Canada		Lennox Lewis
Muhammad Ali's opponent in his first (successful) world title fight – the only one he fought as Cassius Clay		Sonny Liston
First British heavyweight to have two world title attempts: lost both, to Paterson in 1959 and Ali 1966		Brian London
The longest reigning world heavyweight champion (1937–49); retired after 25 successful defences – a record, until broken in the Lightweight division by Julio César Chávez		Joe Louis
The first world heavyweight champion to retired undefeated (1956 – but see Gene Tunney); defeated Joe Louis in his (Louis') last professional fight		Rocky Marciano
Jamaican–born British heavyweight, won 37 of 38 pro fights (34 by KO), beaten only by Lennox Lewis; retired in 1994, died in a cycling accident in 2011 aged 48		Gary Mason
US welterweight, rated 2005–8 as the world's best pound–for–pound boxer; won world titles at six different weights; beat Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas, Dec 2007; listed by Forbes Magazine as the highest–earning sportsman of 2012, 2013 and 2014; trained by his father, who was a US champion welterweight in the 1980s, and also briefly trained Ricky Hatton; also at one time trained by his uncle Roger (his father's brother)		Floyd Mayweather (Jr.)
First to defeat Lennox Lewis in a professional fight, taking his WBC heavyweight title in 1994; Frank Bruno took it from him in 1995; fought Lewis again for the vacant title in 1997, after Mike Tyson relinquished it (preferring to fight Evander Holyfield rather than Lewis) – but lost on a t.k.o. in the 5th round, when he apparently refused to fight in the 4th or 5th		Oliver McCall
WBA world featherweight champion, 1985–6; BBC Sports Personality of 1985		Barry McGuigan
Won the world middleweight title from Italy's Vito Antuofermo, 1980; lost it to Marvin Hagler, 164 days later after saying "no black man will take my title"		Alan Minter
Argentinian middleweight; World Champion 1970–77, retired as champion 1977. Died Jan 1995, 5 years into an 11–year prison sentence for the murder of his lover		Carlos Monzon
US light heavyweight, world champion for a record 9 years 5 months (1952–62): regularly ranked as one of the best punchers ever, and one of the best pound–for–pound boxers ever		Archie Moore
Barry McGuigan won the WBA Featherweight title in 1985 from		Eusebio Pedrosa
Filipino boxer, first to hold world titles at seven different weights (2009); named fighter of the decade (2000s) by US boxing writers; beat Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas, 2009; lost to Floyd Mayweather, also in Las Vegas, 2015		Manny Pacquiao
Won the vacant world heavyweight title following Marciano's retirement; lost to Johansson 1959, but became the first to regain the title 1960. First to use the "peek–a–boo" style, later adopted by Mike Tyson amongst others		Floyd Patterson
Beaten by Muhammad Ali in his first comeback fight, October 1970		Jerry Quarry
1951: Randolph Turpin took the World Middleweight title (for 64 days) from		Sugar Ray Robinson
German world heavyweight champion 1930–2 – the first European champion since Bob Fitzsimmons (1897–9); first man to defeat Joe Louis in a professional fight (1936); later tried unsuccessfully to take the world heavyweight title from Louis (1938)		Max Schmeling
Frank Bruno's first professional defeat (1984, US opponent – became WBA world champion 1986)		James 'Bonecrusher' Smith
Muhammad Ali's third professional defeat, and his last in a world title fight (WBA/WBC, 1978; Ali regained the WBA title from him later in 1978, but vacated it in 1979)		Leon Spinks
Olympic middleweight gold, 1976; later won world light heavyweight (1981) and heavyweight (1985) titles		Michael Spinks
British World Welterweight champion in 1976		John H. Stracey
Last bare–knuckle Champion of the World		John L. Sullivan
Irish boxer: Olympic women's lightweight champion London 2012, later becoming undisputed world champion; also became WBO junior welterweight champion in 2019, but relinquished the title soon after; undefeated in her first 22 professional fights, before losing to light–welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron (England) in May 2023; previously won 11 caps in football		Katie Taylor
First heavyweight world champion to retire undefeated as a heavyweight (1928); beat Jack Dempsey twice (1926 and 1927)		Gene Tunney
British world middleweight champion, 1951: defeated Sugar Ray Robinson		Randolph Turpin
The youngest ever world heavyweight champion (20 years, 145 days – 22 November 1986)		Mike Tyson
7–foot Russian from whom David Haye took the WBA heavyweight title, 2009; the tallest and heaviest world champion ever		Nikolai Valuev
Beat Ezzard Charles 1951, aged 37, becoming the oldest boxer to win the world heavyweight title – record broken by George Foreman in 1994 (aged 45)		Jersey Joe Walcott
Henry Cooper's manager		Jim Wicks
Popular British heavyweight, defeated Brian London in 1945 (at White Hart Lane football ground) to take the British and Empire titles. Fought Lee Savold (USA) for the vacant world title after Joe Louis's retirement (1950), although this was recognised in the USA		Bruce Woodcock

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23