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.
Brian Nielsen is a Danish former professional boxer and Olympic bronze medalist. He held the IBO heavyweight title from 1996 to 1999 successfully defending it five times, including against Larry Holmes and Phil Jackson, the second highest number of defenses behind Wladimir Klitschko's record of 18. At one point of time, he equaled Rocky Marciano's record of 49 successive wins with no losses. While he never held a world title from any of the main four sanctioning bodies, he did defeat several former world champions who had, including Orlin Norris, Carlos De León, Jeff Lampkin, and Tony Tubbs.
Archie Moore was an American 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.
Arnold Raymond Cream, best known as Jersey Joe Walcott, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1930 to 1953. He held the NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring heavyweight titles from 1951 to 1952, and broke the record for the oldest man to win the title, at the age of 37. That record would hold for over three decades until it was eventually broken in 1994 by 45-year-old George Foreman. Despite holding the world heavyweight title for a relatively short period of time, Walcott was regarded among the best heavyweights in the world during the 1940s and 1950s.
Ezzard Mack Charles, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1959. Known as the Cincinnati Cobra, Charles was respected for his slick defense and precision, and is often regarded as the greatest light heavyweight of all time, and one of the greatest fighters pound for pound, having defeating numerous Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. Charles was the world heavyweight champion from 1949 to 1951, and made eight successful title defenses in under two years.
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.
Jens Ingemar "Ingo" Johansson was a Swedish professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1963. He held the world heavyweight title from 1959 to 1960, and was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. Johansson won the title by defeating Floyd Patterson via third-round stoppage, after flooring him seven times in that round. For this achievement, Johansson was awarded the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year—the only non-American in its entire 27-year first run—and was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
Joe Walcott, also known as Barbados Joe Walcott to distinguish him from the more recent American boxer known by the same name, was a professional boxer from Barbados who reigned as the World Welterweight Champion from 1901 to 1906, becoming the first black man ever to capture the title. He was elected to The Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1955 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
Duilio Spagnolo was an Italian boxer who was a heavyweight contender during the Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott and Rocky Marciano eras.
Donald John Cockell was an English boxer who competed from 1946 to 1956. One of the most well known boxers from the UK during the era, Cockell held the British and European light heavyweight titles, and later moved up in weight to become the British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion. He is best remembered for fighting against Rocky Marciano for the world heavyweight championship.
Roland La Starza was an American boxer and actor. La Starza was a top rated heavyweight contender in the early 1950s and is best known for his two fights with heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.
Rex Gessel Layne was an American heavyweight professional boxer. Sometimes termed the "Lewiston Larruper" and later "Poor Ole Rex", Layne became a top contender in the early 1950s, although he never fought for the heavyweight title. Despite this he notched victories over many top rated boxers of his era, including heavyweight champions Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott.
Harry Haft also known as Herschel Haft, was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp where he boxed fellow inmates to survive. He was briefly a professional boxer in post-war Germany, and boxed as a light heavyweight in the United States from 1948–1949.
Abraham Simon was an American professional heavyweight boxer. He fought Joe Louis for the world heavyweight title twice. He was managed for most of his career by Jimmy Johnston, and trained by Freddie Brown. In 1940, he was rated the sixth best heavyweight in the world, and would rise higher in the next two years. After retiring, he became an actor and had roles in two of America's best-known movies about boxers, Academy Award winner On the Waterfront and Requiem for a Heavyweight.
Carmine Vingo was a world ranked heavyweight boxer best remembered for his career-ending bout with future world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, culminating in his knockout and resulting brain injury.
William "Honey" Mellody was an American boxer who took the Welterweight Championship of the World on October 16, 1906, defeating former champion Joe Walcott in a fifteen-round points decision in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Rocky Marciano fought two celebrated boxing matches with Ezzard Charles. The first match took place on 17 June 1954; and the second on 17 September 1954. The first fight went the distance with Marciano winning on points through a unanimous decision. In the second bout Marciano knocked out Charles in the eighth round.
Harry "Kid" Matthews was an American professional boxer who competed from 1938 to 1956. He climbed to the top contender rank at both light-heavyweight and heavyweight, and at his peak, won 50 consecutive fights. Although he never fought for a world title, he scored victories over several top contenders along with former champions Al Hostak and Ezzard Charles.
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.
Rocky Marciano and Archie Moore fought for the world heavyweight boxing title on September 21, 1955. The fight pitted Marciano, the undefeated heavyweight champion against Moore, the light-heavyweight champion. Marciano knocked Moore out in the ninth round, winning his 49th and final fight before retiring.
