Boxing championships are divided into different weight divisions based on the boxer’s weight. At the collegiate, Olympic, and Commonwealth Games levels, amateur boxing is observed. World Championships and extended bouts with ten to twelve rounds are examples of professional matches. The heavyweight division includes fighters weighing more than 200 pounds. Professional boxing is governed by four major sanctioning bodies. Performance is compared to weight in pound-for-pound rankings. The number of people watching boxing on HBO has dropped from 1,051,000 in the first quarter of 2014 to 551,000 in the first quarter of 2017.
Insider Monkey explores the 20 best boxers of all time. In the 1968 Olympics, George Foreman won the gold medal in amateur boxing in the heavyweight division. After defeating Joe Frazier in 1973, he became the world heavyweight champion. In 1977, Muhammad Ali defeated Foreman in “the Rumble of the Jungle”; he retired in 1977 but returned to fighting. Stanley Ketchel, often known as “the Michigan Assassin,” is the middleweight division’s champion. He won 52 matches in his career, 49 of which were knockouts, while he lost four. In 1910, at the age of 24, Ketchel was fatally murdered by his husband. Archie Moore’s career spanned 35 years, during which time he won 183 fights, 131 of which were knockouts. Before going for the title, he had to fight 168 battles. Moore defeated Joey Maxim and won the light-heavyweight title at the age of 39. After Mickey Walker’s boxing career, he became a wonderful painter and founded a restaurant. Walker won 93 fights, 60 of which were knockouts and 46 of which were disputed. The “Fighting Marine,” Gene Tunney, was undefeated in the heavyweight division for 11 months. Tunney’s professional life spanned the years 1915 through 1928. The “Long Count,” in which he was knocked down and came closer to the ten-second countdown, is one of his most memorable moments. Jimmy Wilde is widely recognized as the most lethal pound-for-pound boxer in history. In 1916, he defeated Young Zulu Kid to become the first flyweight champion. Wilde also set the record for most knockouts in any weight class, with 131 victories out of a possible 130. For more details on the boxers on this list with their wins, losses, draws, and no contests, click 20 Best Boxers of All Time.
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