Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time.
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, as well as fighting-based video games. A full knockout is considered any legal strike or combination thereof that renders an opponent unable to continue fighting.
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.
Rocco Francis Marchegiano, better known as Rocky Marciano, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and remains the only heavyweight champion to finish his career undefeated. His six title defenses were against Jersey Joe Walcott, Roland La Starza, Ezzard Charles (twice), Don Cockell and Archie Moore.
Archie Moore was an American catch wrestler and professional boxer and the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time. He had one of the longest professional careers in the history of the sport, competing from 1935 to 1963. Nicknamed "The Mongoose", and then "The Old Mongoose" in the latter half of his career, Moore was a highly strategic and defensive boxer. As of December 2020, BoxRec ranks Moore as the third greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time. He also ranks fourth on The Ring's list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". Moore was also a trainer for a short time after retirement, training Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Bob Foster, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Earnie Shavers and James Tillis.
Floyd Patterson was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He has been named among the top 15 heavyweights of all time.
Riddick Lamont Bowe is an American former professional boxer and former professional kickboxer who competed between 1989 and 2008 in boxing, and from 2013 to 2016 in kickboxing. He held the undisputed world heavyweight championship in 1992, and won the super heavyweight silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Ezzard Mack Charles, known as the Cincinnati Cobra, was an American professional boxer and world heavyweight champion, reigning from 1949 to 1951. Known for his slick defense and precision, Charles is often regarded as the greatest light heavyweight of all time, defeating numerous Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes.
During the 1950s, a couple of relatively new developments changed the world: World War II had only been over for five years when the 1950s began, and television was beginning to make a major impact internationally. In boxing, changes connected to these developments could be seen too, as boxers who fought at the 1940s conflict returned to their homes and many of them were back in the ring. Television producers were in love with sports, which provided the viewer with an opportunity to observe sporting events live, and boxing was not the exception to the rule; many television networks began to feature fights live during the weekends, and the Gillette Friday Night Fights proved to be one of the most popular boxing television series in American history.
Boxing in the 1940s in many ways reflected worldwide events that affected other endeavors as well.
Harold Johnson was a professional boxer. He held the NYSAC, NBA/WBA, and The Ring light heavyweight titles from 1962 to 1963.
Bob "Bombardier" Satterfield was a heavyweight boxer who fought from 1945–1957. Satterfield, a top rated contender who never fought for the title, retired with a record of 50 wins, 25 losses and 4 draws. Known for his punching power, he is listed in Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time at number 58. Satterfield later died from cancer at the age of 53.
Duilio Spagnolo was an Italian boxer who was a heavyweight contender during the Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott and Rocky Marciano eras.
The Super Fight was a fictional boxing match between Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali shot in 1969 and released in 1970. At the time, Ali and Marciano were the only undefeated heavyweight champions in history and fans often debated who would win had they met in their primes. Ali and Marciano were filmed sparring for 75 one-minute rounds producing several possible scenarios for a genuine fight, with the result claimed to have been determined using probability formulas entered into a computer.
The distance, in boxing, refers to the full number of rounds in a match. It is frequently used in the expression "going the distance", which means fighting a full bout without being knocked out.
Lee Savold was an American heavyweight boxer who held the British and European (EBU) version of the World Heavyweight championship between 1950 and 1951 and was a leading contender in the 1940s and early 1950s. During his career he fought storied Heavyweight Champions Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano. Savold was inducted into the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012.
Ken Overlin, was an American-born middleweight boxer who fought professionally from 1931 to 1944, compiling a record of 131 wins, 18 losses, and 9 draws. He took the World middleweight championship as recognized by the New York State Athletic Commission in a win against Ceferino Garcia in New York on May 23, 1940, and held it until May 9, 1941. Overlin was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the 2015 class.
Mike Mollo is an American former professional boxer. A fan favorite for his aggressive style in Chicago, Mollo is perhaps best known for his bouts with Polish fighters Art Binkowski, Artur Szpilka, Andrew Golota, and Krzysztof Zimnoch. He was managed by Darnell Nicholson.
Attilio N. "Rocky" Castellani was an American boxer. He fought as a middleweight and was the top rated contender for the world middleweight crown in 1954 when he fought Bobo Olson, a year later Castellani lost to Sugar Ray Robinson. These two exceptional fights were featured on ESPN's "Classic Fights of the Century".
Heavyweight champions Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott fought two historic boxing matches in 1952 and 1953. The first fight saw Marciano, the undefeated challenger, take on the world heavyweight champion Jersey Joe in a hard-fought championship fight. The fight culminated in a 13th round knockout scored by Marciano, in a major comeback victory after Walcott stacked up a wide lead throughout the majority of the bout. The fight and the final round were ranked as 1952's fight and round of the year respectively by The Ring, and is considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship bouts of all time.
