Lennox Claudius Lewis is a former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and remains the last heavyweight to hold the undisputed championship. Holding dual British and Canadian citizenship, Lewis represented Canada as an amateur at the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division after defeating Riddick Bowe in the final.
Larry Holmes is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the Easton Assassin.
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.
Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and remains the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes in the three belt era. Nicknamed "the Real Deal", Holyfield is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992, the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994, the WBA title a third time from 1996 to 1999; the IBF title a third time from 1997 to 1999 and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.
Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu is a Soviet-born Australian former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2005. He held multiple light-welterweight world championships, including the undisputed and lineal titles between 2001 and 2005. Tszyu was an exceptional all-around boxer-puncher who relied heavily on accuracy and timing, and carried formidable punching power; he is often regarded as one of the hardest-punching light-welterweights in the division's history.
Thomas David Morrison was an American professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1996, and held the WBO heavyweight title in 1993. He was ranked as the world's No.10 heavyweight by BoxRec at the conclusion of 1992. He retired from boxing in 1996 when he tested positive for HIV. Morrison is also known for his acting career, having starred alongside Sylvester Stallone in the 1990 film Rocky V as Tommy Gunn.
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2008. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1992, and as an amateur he won a silver medal in the super heavyweight division at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Dariusz Tomasz Michalczewski is a Polish-German former professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2005. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA, IBF, WBO and lineal light-heavyweight titles between 1994 and 2003, and the WBO junior-heavyweight title from 1994 to 1995. BoxRec currently ranks him No.63 in its ranking of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time.
Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American retired professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC title again from 2005 to 2006. He was ranked as the world's top 10 heavyweight by BoxRec from 2000 to 2005, and reached his highest ranking of world No.6 at the conclusion of 2004.
Larry Merchant is an American sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO Sports presentations of HBO World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, called "the greatest television boxing analyst of all time" by some, including ESPN Boxing analyst Dan Rafael.
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Faumuina To'aletai Mafaufau David Tua, best known as David Tua, is a Samoan-born former New Zealand professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua was known for his formidable punching power, especially in his devastating left hook. He scored sixteen wins by knockout in the first round, which included knockouts of world heavyweight champions John Ruiz and Michael Moorer within thirty seconds of the first round, as well as late stoppages of world champions Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's top 10 heavyweight from 1996 to 2003, reaching his highest ranking of No.3 in 1998. Tua ended his career with a knockout-to-win ratio of 82.6%. In a 2003 article by The Ring magazine, Tua was ranked 48th on a list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
Tyrell Biggs is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1998, and challenged once for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1987. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, having previously won bronze at the 1983 Pan American Games and gold at the 1982 World Championships, all in the super heavyweight division.
Kevin Rooney is an American former boxer and a current boxing trainer. He was portrayed by Clark Gregg in the 1995 movie Tyson and by Aaron Eckhart in the 2016 movie Bleed for This.
Mark Anthony Breland is an American retired world champion boxer who won five New York Golden Gloves titles, surpassing Sugar Ray Robinson for the most wins in the history of the Golden Gloves. He is currently in 6 Halls of Fame: The Connecticut Boxing Hall of Hame, The New York State Boxing Hall of Hame, The New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, The Golden Gloves Hall of Fame, The African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame, and The USA Boxing Olympics Alumni Association Hall of Fame. Additionally, Breland received The 2018 Emanuel Steward Trainer of the Year Award. Breland is notably the only amateur boxer to have ever graced the cover of Ring magazine, and the only amateur whose picture hangs in Colorado Springs U.S. Olympic Training Center. The Smithsonian Museum for African American History and Culture in Washington, DC displays an honorary picture of Mark Breland in recognition of his achievements.
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.
Joe Lewis was an American kickboxer, point karate fighter and actor. As a fighter, Lewis gained fame for his matches in the 1960s and 1970s. He has twice been voted the greatest fighter in karate history, having won innumerable karate tournaments, and has attained the titles of "United States Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion," "World Heavyweight Full Contact Karate Champion," and "United States National Black Belt Kata Champion." Bruce Lee also considered him "The Greatest Karate Fighter Of All Time" and The Iron Sheik assented that "Joe Lewis was no jabroni." and "The Greatest Fighter Of His Time". He was also named by the STAR System Records as the "STAR Historic Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion" and is credited on their site as the "Father of Modern Kickboxing".
Odlanier Solís Fonte is a Cuban professional boxer. He has challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2011, and is a former top-rated contender in that division. As an amateur heavyweight, Solis was one of the most celebrated and decorated amateur stars of the 2000s, winning a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, and three consecutive golds at the World Championships in 2001, 2003, and 2005.
Phil Jackson is a retired professional heavyweight boxer, best known for challenging Lennox Lewis for the WBC Heavyweight Title in 1994.
