Tracy Callis | |
---|---|
Born | Roanoke, Virginia, USA |
Nationality | American |
Education | Master in Research (MRes) C.a.g.s. in Research Master's degree in Mathematics (MMath) |
Alma mater | Virginia Tech Virginia Western Community College |
Occupation(s) | Boxing historian, sports writer, journalist |
Years active | 1960s – Present |
Spouse | Barbara Callis |
Children | 3 |
Website | ibroresearch.com |
Tracy Callis is an American boxing historian, writer and journalist. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] He is the director of the historical research boxing website Cyber Boxing Zone (CBZ) and International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO). He is also an elector to the International Boxing Hall Of Fame (IBHoF) and a member of the World Boxing Historians Association (WBHA).
In 1963, Callis earned a master's degree in mathematics at Virginia Tech and worked at NASA's Langley Research Center as a mathematician for three years and later as a computer systems engineer for five years with IBM Corporation. He retired after serving thirty two years as a professor of information technology at Virginia Western Community College. [6]
Callis became interested in boxing and began profiling many boxers particularly the pre-1900 fighters. He is recognized as one of the leading experts on 19th-century fighters including those who fought in the bare-knuckles era. Callis is a member of the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) and has provided historical data to many well-known boxing historians, journalists and editors such as Herb Goldman of The Ring magazine, Mike DeLisa and Dan Cuoco of Cyber Boxing Zone, Bert Sugar, Hank Kaplan and British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) writer Barry Hugman. [7]
Callis has been a boxing historian for more than 45 years researching boxing's history. Among the research he discovered as an IBRO member are: 4 additional knockout wins for Archie Moore (increased his KO record to 132), an additional 13 fights for Mickey Walker and 23 knockout wins for Jimmy Wilde. [8] [9]
Callis is the author of the book A Brief History of the Heavyweights and the co-author of Boxing in the Los Angeles Area: 1880-2005, Philadelphia's Boxing Heritage: 1876-1976 and More tales from Ringside. [10] [11] [12] He has also written reviews on boxing books, including A Man Among Men, Bareknuckles, Blood and Broken Bones, Famous Pugilists of the English Prize Ring 1719-1870, The First Black Boxing Champions, "'Uncrowned Champions and John L. Sullivan: The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion. [13]
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing-oriented publication. The magazine is currently owned by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Enterprises division of Golden Boy Promotions, which acquired it in 2007. Ring began publishing annual ratings of boxers in 1924. With its November/December 2022 issue, the magazine stopped publication of its regular monthly print issues and will remain a digital publication, offering occasional special interest print issues.
Walker Smith Jr., better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarded as the greatest boxer of all time, pound-for-pound.
Henry Jackson Jr. was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong.
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.
Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and was the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes in the "three belt era", a feat later surpassed by Terence Crawford, Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk, who became two-weight undisputed champions in the four-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.
Robert James Fitzsimmons was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, and he is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the lightest heavyweight champion, weighing just 167 pounds when he won the title. Nicknamed Ruby Robert and The Freckled Wonder, he took pride in his lack of scars and appeared in the ring wearing heavy woollen underwear to conceal the disparity between his trunk and leg-development.
Edward Patrick "Mickey" Walker was an American professional boxer who held both the world welterweight and world middleweight championships at different points in his career. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he was also an avid golfer and would later be recognized as a renowned artist. Walker is widely considered one of the greatest fighters ever, with ESPN ranking him 17th on their list of the 50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time and boxing historian Bert Sugar placing him 11th in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue. Statistical website BoxRec rates Walker as the 6th best boxer to have ended his career at middleweight, while The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at No. 4 among greatest middleweights of all time. The International Boxing Research Organization ranked Walker as the No. 4 middleweight and the No. 16 pound-for-pound fighter of all-time. Walker was inducted into the Ring magazine Hall of Fame in 1957 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a first-class member in 1990.
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.
Eder Jofre was a Brazilian professional boxer and architect who was both bantamweight and featherweight world champion. He is considered by many to be the greatest bantamweight boxer of all time.
Pernell Whitaker Sr. was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and light middleweight; the undisputed lightweight title; and the lineal lightweight and welterweight titles. In 1989, Whitaker was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He currently holds the longest unified lightweight championship reign in boxing history at six title defenses. Whitaker is generally regarded as one of the greatest defensive boxers of all-time.
Charley Burley was an American boxer who fought as a welterweight and middleweight from 1936 to 1950. Archie Moore, the light-heavyweight champion who was defeated by Burley in a 1944 middleweight bout, was one of several fighters who called Burley the greatest fighter ever. Burley was the penultimate holder of both the World Colored Welterweight Championship and the World Colored Middleweight Championship.
Theodore "Tiger" Flowers was an American professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Georgia Deacon", he rose to prominence in the early 20th century, becoming the first African-American World Middleweight Boxing Champion after defeating Harry Greb to claim the title in 1926. He was inducted into The Ring Hall of Fame in 1971, The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, The World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, and The International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993. A left-handed fighter, Flowers was fast and elusive, usually avoiding heavy punishment while landing quick, sharp blows.
John Arthur Root, known professionally as Jack Root was an American boxer. He was the first world light heavyweight champion as well as a challenger for the world heavyweight title. He fought out of Chicago. He was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
Michael J. Gibbons was an American boxer from 1908 to 1922. The brother of heavyweight Tommy Gibbons, he claimed Middleweight Champion of the World status in 1909 following Stanley Ketchel's murder. Although he never won the title, Gibbons is regarded as one of the all-time best welter and middleweight boxers by historians. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Gibbons as the #18 ranked middleweight of all time, while The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #9. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Gibbons as the 17th best middleweight ever and boxing historian Bert Sugar placed him 92nd in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue. Gibbons retired due to deteriorating vision. Following his boxing career he entered business in his native St. Paul, and became a member of the Minnesota Athletic Commission. Gibbons was elected to the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1958, the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.
Barney Lebrowitz, better known as Battling Levinsky, was an American boxer who 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.
Joseph Francis Hagan was an American world light heavyweight boxing champion in 1905 when he defeated Bob Fitzsimmons for the universal world title. Rather than defending his title, O'Brien instead abandoned it in order to fight at heavyweight. Nat Fleischer, founder and editor of The Ring Magazine, ranked O'Brien as the No. 2 All-Time Light Heavyweight, and famed boxing promoter Charley Rose ranked him as the No. 3 All-Time Light Heavyweight.
George Godfrey, nicknamed Old Chocolate by the press of the day in the last stage of his long career, was a Black Canadian heavyweight boxer who held the distinction of being World 'Colored' Heavyweight Champion during his career. Godfrey was inducted into the PEI Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
In combat sports where champions are determined by challenge, the lineal championship in a weight class represents an intangible world title first held by the victor of a bout between top contenders in the division. Some argue that vacancies in divisional championships can only be filled by an undisputed champion. A fighter who defeats the reigning champion in a match within the same weight class becomes the next lineal champion. In professional boxing, the lineal champion is informally known as "the man who beat the man."
Wesley "Wes" Ramey was an American boxer who was dubbed the "Uncrowned Champion of the Lightweights". Although he was ranked as a top-10 lightweight contender for 10 consecutive years, he was never given a chance to fight for a world title. Over the course of his career he defeated Hall of Famers Tony Canzoneri, Benny Bass, Lew Jenkins and Cocoa Kid. He also faced the likes of Sammy Angott and Pedro Montanez in defeat.