Ring Facts

By Enrique Gonzalez

 Here`s a review of some facts and figures, which sum up the extraordinary achievements in Boxing.

The youngest champion in history:

Puerto Rican Wilfred Benítez still holds the record for being the youngest boxer to win a world title after defeating Antonio Cervantes by split decision in 1976, aged just seventeen.  Benítez managed to defend the welterweight title twice before vacating it.

Sugar gone sour for Muhammad Ali:

During his childhood, Muhammad Ali had a bad-sad time with one of his ring heroes. Sugar Ray Robinson denied him an autograph and that changed everything. What happened next? The G.O.A.T. never denied an autograph to anyone!

From boxer to… actor:

Actor born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, in the United Kingdom, and well known for the “Taken” film trilogy, Liam Neeson, was once an amateur boxer and managed to become three times junior champion in Northern Ireland and was runner-up a couple times.

Best heavyweight KO Ratio:

The best KO ratio in the heavyweight division continues to be held by Deontay Wilder. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ has fought 45 times and has won 41 of them by way of KO, which means a 91% Ratio. It is still better than the percentage of Rocky Marciano, who retired undefeated with a record of 43 KO`s in his 49 bouts.

Longest reign of a heavyweight champion: 

Heavyweight champion Joe Louis has the most title defences of all time in the division, with  25 title fights in which he defended his belt against 21 different fighters. He held the heavyweight division for eleven and a half years. The brilliant “Brown Bomber.”

Who is the oldest champion?

At the age of 46, Bernard Hopkins became the oldest fighter to win a title. It was in 2011, when he faced Canadian Jean Pascal for the WBC light heavyweight belt. Hopkins won the fight in Montreal by unanimous decision!

Longest knockout streak by a champion

Wilfredo Gómez is the fighter with the longest KO’s streak of a world champion. After drawing his first fight, Gomez knocked out the next 32 opponents he faced, including winning the WBC super bantamweight title and stopping 13 fighters in his 4-year reign.