Boxing is a combat sport and a martial art in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time in a boxing ring.
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.
John Arthur Johnson, nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). His 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century". Johnson defeated Jeffries, who was white, triggering dozens of race riots across the U.S. According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African American on Earth". He is widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers in history. Transcending boxing, he became part of the culture and history of racism in the United States.
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. A cultural icon of the 1920s, Dempsey's aggressive fighting style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million-dollar gate. He pioneered the live broadcast of sporting events in general, and boxing matches in particular.
Jesús Carlos Zárate Serna is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1970 to 1988, and held the WBC bantamweight title from 1976 to 1979.
Primo Carnera, nicknamed the Ambling Alp, was an Italian professional boxer and wrestler who reigned as the boxing World Heavyweight Champion from 29 June 1933 to 14 June 1934. He won more fights by knockout than any other heavyweight champion in boxing history.
Luis Ramón "Yori Boy" Campas Medina is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 2019. He held the IBF light middleweight title from 1997 to 1998.
Boxing in the 1920s was an exceptionally popular international sport. Many fights during this era, some 20 years away or so from the television era, were social events with many thousands in attendance, both men and women.
Samuel Edgar Langford was a Black Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows", by ESPN, Langford is considered by many boxing historians to be one of the greatest fighters of all time. Originally from Weymouth Falls, a small community in Nova Scotia, he was known as "the Boston Bonecrusher", "the Boston Terror", and his most famous nickname, "the Boston Tar Baby". Langford stood 5 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.69 m) and weighed 185 lb (84 kg) in his prime. He fought from lightweight to heavyweight and defeated many world champions and legends of the time in each weight class. Considered a devastating puncher even at heavyweight, Langford was rated No. 2 by The Ring on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". One boxing historian described Langford as "experienced as a heavyweight James Toney with the punching power of Mike Tyson".
Jeremiah "Joe" Jeannette was an American boxer, considered one of the best heavyweight boxers of the early 20th century. Because he was African-American, he was not given a shot at the world heavyweight title, though he did win the World Colored Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.
Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the Rocky franchise, played by Carl Weathers. He appeared in the first four Rocky films. Creed is the main antagonist in Rocky and Rocky II, and one of the protagonists in Rocky III and Rocky IV. Sylvester Stallone, the writer and star of Rocky, said "[Jack] Johnson served as the inspiration for the character of Apollo Creed."
Brian Sidney Harper, better known by the ring name Brian London, was an English professional boxer who competed from 1955 to 1970. He held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight title from 1958 to 1959, and twice challenged for the world heavyweight title, losing to Floyd Patterson in 1959 and Muhammad Ali in 1966, both times via knockout. He was one of a quartet of British boxers, with Henry Cooper, Joe Erskine, and Dick Richardson, who dominated the British boxing scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
Samuel A. Mossberg or Mosberg was an American lightweight professional boxer who competed in the early 1920s. He was managed by Billy Gibson and Jack Bulger for most of his professional career.
The Game is a 1905 novel by Jack London about a twenty-year-old boxer, Joe, who meets his death in the ring. London was a sports reporter for the Oakland Herald and based the novel on his personal observations.
Conflict is a 1936 American drama sport film directed by David Howard and starring John Wayne, Ward Bond and Jean Rogers.
Arthur Lakofsky, also known as Art Lasky, was a heavyweight professional boxer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Nipper Pat Daly, real name Patrick Clifford Daley, was a British boxer who fought professionally between 1923 and 1931. He made his professional debut at the age of nine or 10, achieved widespread fame in his mid teens as British boxing's 'Wonderboy', then retired from pro boxing at age 17.
Joe Joyce is a British professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim heavyweight title from 2022 to 2023. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the Commonwealth title twice between 2018 and 2021; the British title from 2020 to 2022; and the European title from 2020 to 2021.
Knockout Reilly is a lost 1927 American silent drama film directed by Malcolm St. Clair and written by Pierre Collings, John W. Conway, and Kenneth Raisbeck based upon a story by Albert Payson Terhune. The film stars Richard Dix, Mary Brian, Jack Renault, Harry Gribbon, Osgood Perkins, and Lucia Backus Seger. The film was released on April 16, 1927, by Paramount Pictures.
The Abysmal Brute is a 1923 American silent sports drama film directed by Hobart Henley and starring Reginald Denny, Mabel Julienne Scott, and Charles K. French. It is an adaptation of the 1911 novel The Abysmal Brute by Jack London. The film received mixed reception, with one reviewer stating that the film was not a perfect adaptation of the novel. Comedic scenes, that were not in the novel, were added to the film by leading actor Reginald Denny.
