Ray Leonard was born on May 17, 1956 in Wilmington, North Carolina. At age 20 he captured a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Exceptionally fast with his fists and quick on his feet, the charismatic youngster turned professional and immediately became one … Read More“Sugar” Ray Leonard (1956- )
Floyd Patterson was born on January 4, 1935 in Waco, North Carolina. A year later the family moved to Brooklyn, New York. Soft spoken and extremely shy, Patterson fell behind in school and at age ten was still unable to read or write. He became … Read MoreFloyd Patterson (1935-2006)
George Edward Foreman was born in Marshall, Texas on January 10, 1949 and raised in Houston’s Fifth Ward. He took up boxing in his teens while working in the Job Corps. A successful amateur career was capped with a gold medal in the 1968 Olympic … Read MoreGeorge Foreman (1949- )
Born on January 31, 1914 in Merchantville, New Jersey, Arnold Raymond Cream was the son of immigrants from Barbados. He took up boxing at age fourteen after his father died and debuted professionally at age 16 as a lightweight where on September 9, 1930 he defeated Cowboy … Read More“Jersey” Joe Walcott (1914-1994)
Charles “Sonny” Liston was born on May 8, 1932, in Sand Slough, Arkansas. He was the 24th of 25 children by a sharecropper named Tobe Liston, and one of ten by Tobe’s wife Helen. Sonny received little in the way of schooling and was essentially … Read MoreCharles “Sonny” Liston (1932-1970)
Jack Johnson, the first African American and first Texan to win the heavyweight boxing championship of the world, was born the second of six children to Henry and Tiny Johnson in Galveston on March 31, 1878. His parents were former slaves. To help support his … Read MoreJack Johnson (1878-1946)
Joe Louis Barrow, known popularly as Joe Louis, was the second African American heavyweight boxing champion in the 20th Century. Louis was born on May 13, 1914 in Chambers County Alabama to sharecropper parents Monroe and Lilly Reese Barrow. He was the seventh of eight … Read MoreJoe Louis [Barrow] (1914-1981)
Ezzard Charles, also known as “The Cincinnati Cobra,” was a quiet, modest individual who went on to become a relatively unheralded world heavyweight champion. Born in Lawrenceville, Georgia on July 7, 1921, Ezzard moved to Cincinnati at the age of nine to live with his … Read MoreEzzard Mack Charles (1921-1975)
“Sugar” Ray Robinson is generally acknowledged as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in boxing history. Born Walker Smith, Jr. on May 3, 1921, in Detroit, Michigan, to parents Walker Smith, Sr., and Lelia (Hurst) Robinson. His father was a cotton, peanut, and corn farmer near Ailey, … Read More“Sugar” Ray Robinson (1921-1989)
Sam Langford was one of the greatest fighters in boxing history. Born in Weymouth Falls, Nova Scotia on March 4, 1886, the 5’ 7” dynamo migrated to Boston, Massachusetts, and engaged in close to 300 officially-recorded professional contests from 1902 to 1926. He was an … Read MoreSam Langford (1886-1956)
