Gerald Arthur Cooney is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1990. He challenged twice for world heavyweight titles in 1982 and 1987. He is widely regarded as one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history.He beat Champions Ken Norton and S. T. Gordon as well as top contenders Ron Lyle and Jimmy Young. He boasts an impressive 85.7% knockout to win percentage.
George Edward Foreman is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997 and was nicknamed "Big George". He is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. As an entrepreneur, he is known for the George Foreman Grill.
Michael Spinks is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985, and the lineal heavyweight title from 1985 to 1988. As an amateur he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Matthew Saad Muhammad was an American professional boxer who was the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World for two-and-a-half years.
Jerry Quarry, nicknamed "Irish" or "The Bellflower Bomber", was an American professional boxer. During the peak of his career from 1968 to 1971, Quarry was rated by The Ring magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport. His most famous bouts were against Muhammad Ali. He is often seen as being one of the Best Heavyweight Boxers never to be Champion. He beat Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson and top contenders Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Brian London, Thad Spencer, Buster Mathis, Randy Neumann, Jack Bodell, Mac Foster and Eduardo Corletti. He accumulated damage from lack of attention to defense against larger men at the top level, no head guard sparring, and attempted comebacks in 1977, 1983 and 1992 resulted in Quarry developing an unusually severe case of dementia pugilistica.
Sir Henry Cooper was an English heavyweight boxer. He was undefeated in British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship contests for twelve years and held the European heavyweight title for three years. In a 1963 fight against a young Cassius Clay, he knocked Clay down in Round 4, before the fight was stopped in Round 5 because of a cut to Cooper's eye.
Ernest Terrell was an American professional boxer who competed from 1957 to 1973. He held the World Boxing Association's heavyweight title from 1965 to 1967, and was one of the tallest heavyweights of his era, at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall. He unsuccessfully fought the other world heavyweight champion of the era, Muhammad Ali, in a heavyweight title unification contest in 1967, losing by a unanimous decision. Terrell was the elder brother of the Supremes' early 1970s lead singer Jean Terrell. In the 1960s, Jean sang with Ernie's group Ernie Terrell & the Heavyweights.
Randall Craig "Tex" Cobb is an American actor, martial artist, and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to possess one of the greatest boxing chins of all time, Cobb was a brawler who also packed considerable punching power. He began his fighting career in full contact kickboxing in 1975 before making the jump to professional boxing two years later. He unsuccessfully challenged Larry Holmes for the WBC and lineal world heavyweight title in November 1982, losing by a one-sided unanimous decision. Cobb took wins over notable heavyweights of his era such as Bernardo Mercado, Earnie Shavers, and Leon Spinks. He was ranked in the global top 10 heavyweight boxers by The Ring and BoxRec.
William Thomas Wells, better known as Bombardier Billy Wells, was an English heavyweight boxer. Fighting under the name "Bombardier Billy Wells", he was British and British Empire Champion from 1911 until 1919, defending his title fourteen times. In 1911 he became the first Heavyweight to win the Lonsdale Belt, which had been introduced for British champions at all weights in 1909. Phil Grant held his Lonsdale belt when he was in the TA.
Michael Bentt is a British-born American film and television actor, and former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 1994. Of Jamaican heritage, he was born in East Dulwich, London, but raised in the Cambria Heights section of Queens in New York City. Bentt won the WBO heavyweight title from Tommy Morrison in 1993, losing the title in his first defense in 1994 to Herbie Hide.
Billy Joiner, was an American professional boxer from Cincinnati, U.S.
James William "Iron" Hague was a boxer born in Mexborough, West Riding of Yorkshire. He was the British heavyweight champion between 1909 and 1911. After retiring from boxing, Hague took the King's shilling in the First World War and joined the Grenadier Guards. On discovering his former boxing glory they had him box once more on behalf of the regiment. He saw military action in several battles such as the Somme and Passchendaele. "Iron" Hague died in his daughter's arms in Mexborough aged 65 on 18 August 1951. He is buried in Mexborough Cemetery.
Joseph Erskine was a heavyweight boxer from the Butetown district of Cardiff, Wales. He was an Amateur Boxing Association Champion, Inter-Services Champion, and British Army Champion in 1953. He began fighting as a professional in 1954 and was trained by Freddie Elvin. He held the British heavyweight title from August 1956 to June 1958. In all, he won 45 of his 54 professional bouts, losing 8, with one drawn. His best wins were against George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Dick Richardson, Uli Ritter, Jack Bodell, Johnny Williams, Joe Bygraves, and Willie Pastrano.
Travis Walker is an American professional boxer. As an amateur, he won the 2003 National Golden Gloves.
Matt Godfrey is a Wampanoag former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2012. He challenged for the WBO cruiserweight title in 2010.
Lew Yates also known as Wild Thing, was a boxer, doorman, bareknuckle and unlicensed fighter and all-round hardman, associated with the fighting and criminal fraternity.
George Alfred Walker was a British businessman and founder of Brent Walker.
Golden Gloves is a 1940 American crime film directed by Edward Dmytryk.
Sean Monaghan is an American professional boxer of Irish descent competing in the light-heavyweight division.
Dennis Jeffrey Avoth was an Egyptian-born British heavyweight boxer. Avoth was a promising amateur boxer who turned professional in 1967. He held the Welsh Heavyweight Championship title from 1971 to 1973. He was the brother of Eddie Avoth, who was also a boxer and who became British, and Commonwealth Light-heavyweight champion, and European Light-heavyweight challenger. Dennis Avoth died in Glamorgan on 20 December 2023, at the age of 76.
