John Henry Lewis was a hall of fame American boxer who held the World Light Heavyweight Boxing Title from 1935 to 1938. The Ring boxing magazine named Lewis the 16th greatest light heavyweight of all-time. His trainer was Larry Amadee, and his managers included Ernie Lira, Larry White, Frank Schuler, and Gus Greenlee.
Billy Papke was an American boxer who held the World Middleweight Championship from September 7 to November 26, 1908. In 1910-12, he also took the Australian and British versions of the World Middleweight Championship, though American boxing historians generally take less note of these titles. With a solid and efficient punch, 70 percent of his better publicized career wins by decision were from knockouts, and roughly 40% of his reported fights were as well. Papke was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. Sportswriter Nat Fleischer, original owner of "Ring" Magazine, ranked Papke as the seventh best middleweight of all time. Announcer Charley Rose ranked him as the tenth greatest middleweight in boxing history. He was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1972.
At the 1908 Summer Olympics, five boxing events were contested. All of the boxing was conducted on 27 October. The event was held in the Northampton Institute in Clerkenwell, East London.
Pete Herman was one of the all-time great bantamweight world champions. An American of Italian heritage and descent, Herman was born Peter Gulotta in New Orleans, Louisiana, and fought from 1912 until 1927. He retired with a record of 69 wins, 11 losses, 8 draws and 61 no-decisions in 149 bouts. His managers were Jerome Gargano, Doc Cutch, Sammy Goldman and Red Walsh. Nat Fleisher, Ring Magazine editor and founder, impressively rated Herman as the #2 best all time bantamweight.
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory authority to guarantee the fighters' safety. Most high-profile bouts obtain the endorsement of a sanctioning body, which awards championship belts, establishes rules, and assigns its own judges and referees.
Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations.
The bantamweight was one of five boxing weight classes contested on the boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other boxing events, it was open only to men. The boxing competitions were all held on October 27. The bantamweight was the lightest class, allowing boxers of up to 116 pounds (52.6 kg). Six boxers from two nations competed. Each NOC could enter up to 12 boxers. France entered 3 boxers, 2 of whom withdrew; Great Britain entered 5 boxers.
The featherweight was one of five boxing weight classes contested on the boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other boxing events, it was open only to men. The boxing competitions were held on October 27. The featherweight was the second-lightest class, allowing boxers of up to 126 pounds (57.2 kg). Eight boxers from two nations competed. Each NOC could enter up to 12 boxers. France entered 5 boxers, 3 of whom withdrew; Great Britain entered 8 boxers, 2 of whom withdrew.
The lightweight was one of five boxing weight classes contested on the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other boxing events, it was open only to men. The boxing competitions were held on October 27. The lightweight was the middle class, allowing boxers of up to 140 pounds (63.5 kg). Twelve boxers from three nations competed. Each NOC could enter up to 12 boxers. Australasia entered 1 boxer, who withdrew; France entered 3 boxers, 2 of whom withdrew; Denmark entered 2 boxers; and Great Britain entered 9 boxers.
The middleweight was one of five boxing weight classes contested on the boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other boxing events, it was open only to men. The boxing competitions were all held on October 27. The middleweight was the second-heaviest class, allowing boxers of up to 158 pounds (71.7 kg). It was the only boxing event in which a non-British boxer won a bout. Reginald Baker from Australia won three before losing to Johnny Douglas in the final. Ten boxers from three nations competed. Each NOC could enter up to 12 boxers. Australasia entered 1 boxer; France entered 5 boxers, 2 of whom withdrew; and Great Britain entered 6 boxers.
The freestyle heavyweight was one of five freestyle wrestling weight classes contested on the Wrestling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other wrestling events, it was open only to men. The heavyweight was the heaviest weight class, allowing wrestlers over 73 kilograms (161 lb). Eleven wrestlers competed; nine from Great Britain, one from Norway, and one from the United States. The competition was held on July 23, 1908. Each nation could enter up to 12 wrestlers.
Joseph Goss was an English bare knuckle boxer. After defeating Tom Allen in Boone County, Kentucky, he held the American and what many boxing historians now consider the World Heavyweight boxing championship from 7 September 1876 to 30 May 1880. Although he rarely scaled more than 160 pounds, the clever and aggressive Goss routinely fought men both bigger and heavier than himself.
Barney Lebrowitz, better known as Battling Levinsky, was the world light heavyweight champion from 1916 to 1920. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Levinsky as the #12 ranked light heavyweight of all-time, while The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #9. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Levinsky as the 20th best light heavyweight ever. He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1966, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1982, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2000.
Floyd Johnson, nicknamed "The Auburn Bulldog", was an American heavyweight boxer who was known for his stiff punch. His (incomplete) boxing record comes out to: 38 wins, 13 losses, and 11 draws. In 1923, he was considered a leading contender, and described in Time magazine as "possibly the fifth-best heavyweight in the ring." His manager was Alec Greggains. After his boxing career ended, he went into promotion in White Center, Washington. and served as a deputy sheriff in King County, Washington in the mid-1920s.
Charles Henry "Jack" Blackburn was an American boxer and boxing trainer. Fighting in the first half of his career as a lightweight and later a welterweight, he was known for an exceptional defense and fought many men above his weight class, including six bouts with the great Sam Langford. He fought Joe Gans three times in no-decision bouts, defeating him once according to newspaper accounts and made good showings against Harry Lewis, Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, and Harry Greb. He found most of his fame training 1937 World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis, but also had a significant role in training 1926 Lightweight Champion Sammy Mandell. He helped to train World Bantamweight Champion Bud Taylor and World Light-Heavyweight Champion John Henry Lewis as well.
Arthur Lakofsky, also known as Art Lasky, was a heavyweight professional boxer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Tom Allen was a British bare-knuckle boxer who claimed the Heavyweight Championship from 1873, when he defeated Mike McCoole, until 1876, when he lost to Joe Goss. For much of his earlier career he fought just above the middleweight range, around 165-75, making him smaller than most of the heavyweights he met, he became an American citizen later in life.
The boxing tournaments at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 21 August 2016 at the Pavilion 6 of Riocentro. However, boxing at the games was overshadowed with controversy after there were doubts raised that results in certain bouts had been manipulated. These concerns were upheld in a report published in 2021.
The men's light heavyweight boxing event at the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place between 25 July and 4 August 2021 at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. 22 boxers from 22 nations are expected to compete.
The men's super heavyweight boxing event at the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place between 24 July and 8 August 2021 at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. 17 boxers from 17 nations are expected to compete.
