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The Invincibles: Know the names of 12 boxers who retired undefeated

Brazil became enchanted by boxing thanks to the great Brazilian names in the sport, such as Popó, Maguila and Robson Conceição. However, details about the fight are unknown by many, as is the case with the name of the undefeated.

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Meet the fighters who made boxing history

Conheça os lutadores de boxe que se aposentaram invictos. Fonte: Pexels.
Meet the boxers who retired undefeated. Source: Pexels.

Brazil became enchanted by boxing thanks to the great Brazilian names in the sport, such as Popó, Maguila and Robson Conceição. However, details about the fight are unknown by many, as is the case with the name of the undefeated.

If we asked you who are the boxing fighters who retired undefeated, would you know how to answer? Most likely not, but the time has come to change this by reading our text!

With great fighters in Brazil, it is a fact that the Brazilian people fell in love with boxing. Names like Popó, Maguila and Robson Conceição, the first in the country to win a gold medal at the Olympics, made the sport popular in the four corners of the national territory.

However, few know the details of boxing, as is the case with the names of boxers who retired undefeated.

And detail:

There is not even a Brazilian among them.

It sounds impressive, considering the great athletes we have, but it's true! Anyway, how about we know more about these invincible boxers?

What are the 12 boxers who retired undefeated?

12 lutadores de boxe que terminaram a carreira com vitórias. Fonte: Pexels.
12 boxers who ended their careers with victories. Source: Pexels.

1. Jack McAuliffe

Jack McAuliffe was an Irish-American boxer and world lightweight champion from 1886 to 1893.

Nicknamed “The Napoleon of the Ring”, the boxer is one of the only boxing world champions to retire without a loss in his professional career.

The boxer made his first appearance as an amateur in 1883, turning professional soon after when he fought Jem Carney over 78 rounds in Revere Beach, Massachusetts.

For those who don't know, Jack McAuliffe was known as a strong two-handed fighter with cat-like reflexes. He retired in 1897 after 11 years holding his belt.

2. Jimmy Barry

jimmy barry was an American boxer who held the bantamweight championship of the world between 1894 and 1899.

Like Jack McAuliffe, he is one of the few boxers to have ended their careers without a loss in the sport.

The American began his sporting career in 1891, and soon became one of the most popular fighters of his time, due to his immense superiority over his opponents.

However, there was a tragedy in his history as a boxer: in his fight against English champion Walter Croot, he fell lifeless on the canvas after being knocked out.

With this, unable to recover from the trauma, Barry fought for only two more years, never again trying to knock out an opponent.

3. Rocky Marciano

In 10th place on the list of boxing fighters who retired undefeated, we have the American Rocco Francis Marchegiano, better known as Rocky Marciano.

Maybe you don't know, but this fighter's professional life inspired the 1976 movie "Rocky", which starred Sylvester Stallone, actor of the famous fictional character "Rocky Balboa“.

Professional boxer from 1947 to 1955, Rocky Marciano was heavyweight champion of the world from 1952 to 1956, being the only one in this category that ended his career without any defeat.

Known for his relentless fighting style, the sportsman is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time.

The honorable mention, however, is not for nothing. Marciano has one of the highest winning knockout percentages in heavyweight boxing history: 87,76%.

4. László Papp

Among the boxers who retired undefeated, one name stands out: László Papp.

This Hungarian boxer, in addition to not having lost a fight, became the first to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals: London (1948), Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956).

However, although he became a three-time Olympic champion at just 30 years old, Laszlo Papp failed to achieve his goal of becoming world champion.

This is because, when he was closer to achieving it, he was a victim of the Hungarian regime, which denied him authorization to leave the country and fight abroad.

This, in turn, was the only “defeat” in his career as a professional.

5. Terry Marsh

Another name that makes the list of boxers who retired undefeated is Terry Marsh, also known as None Of The Above X.

For those who don't know him, he is an English former professional boxer who was a British, European and IBF welterweight world champion.

In addition, Terry Marsh was also a three-time ABA amateur champion and the first European boxer to retire without a loss in his professional career.

However, its days of glory later became days of defeat. This is because the former boxer was accused of the attempted murder of his former manager, promoter Frank Warren, spending 10 months in pretrial detention before being released.

6. Mihai Leu

We already know who was the first European boxer to retire as world champion undefeated, but who would be the second?

If you don't know, then it's time to meet him: pleasure, Mihai Leu, Romanian boxer former WBO Welterweight champion in 1987.

Leu's retirement came after his title defense against Michael Carruth – and, as we all know, the Romanian won. But don't be fooled into thinking that he retired because of his age!

In fact, the former boxer withdrew from the sport due to an injury, being forced to abandon his professional life. Today, Mihai Leu has become a rally driver.

7. Sven Ottke

Sven Ottke is a German former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2004, being the third European boxer to retire as an undefeated world champion.

With 21 successful title defenses, the athlete was a unified super middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2004 and the WBA title from 2003 to 2004.

After 308 fights as an amateur, Ottke turned pro in 1997 and, in less than a year, he won the IBF super middleweight championship from Charles Brewer.

After defending his title 21 times in a durable and grueling fashion, as most of his wins came by points decision rather than knockouts, Ottke relinquished the world championship title undefeated on March 27, 2004.

8. Joe Calzaghe

Now 48 years old, Joseph William Calzaghe, better known as Joe Calzaghe, is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008 and is one of the boxers to have retired undefeated.

In his case, he is recognized as the fourth European to win such a “title”.

Joe Calzaghe has held world championships in two weight divisions, including the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal super middleweight titles, and the ring light heavyweight title.

He retired in February 2009 with an undefeated record in 46 career fights, including 32 wins by knockout. In 2014, Calzaghe was inducted into the “International Boxing Hall of Fame”.

9. Dmitry Pirog

Known as The Grandmaster, Dmitry Pirog is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2012.

In sport, he held the WBO Middleweight Title from 2010 to 2012, being one of the few professional boxers to win a world title and retire undefeated.

In sport, Dmitry Pirog had to interrupt his career in 2012 after suffering a debilitating back injury while training for his fight against Gennady Golovkin, OIB and IBF world champion since October 2019.

There were several comeback attempts by Pirog, but they were all thwarted, effectively forcing his early retirement.

10. Gennady Golovkin

Coming to the final stretch of our text about boxing fighters who retired undefeated, we have Gennady Golovkin.

Yes, he himself, who was indirectly responsible for the premature retirement of Russian Dmitry Pirog.

Often known by his nickname “GGG” or “Triple G”, Gennady Golovkin is a Kazakh professional boxer who has won the OIB and IBF world since October 2019. IBF from 2010 to 2018.

In the last year of his professional life, Golovkin was ranked the best middleweight in the world by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the best pound-for-pound fighter by The Ring magazine.

11. Ricardo “El Finito” Lopez

Ricardo “El Finito” Lopez is a former Mexican boxer and invincible, by the way. With 51 wins, 38 of them by knockout and 1 draw in the 52 fights he fought, the boxer is part of the list of the few fighters who ended their careers without any defeat.

No wonder, in 2014, he was named the “Greatest Strawweight” in boxing history by the “Houston Hall Boxing Hall of Fame”.

The Mexican won the strawweight world title on October 25, 1990, after defeating Japan's Hideyuki Ohashi. The most impressive thing about his history is that Ricardo “El Finito” López successfully defended his belt until he retired in 2001. Well, that was 11 years of consecutive victories. It's jaw dropping, isn't it?!

12. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

To end our text on boxing fighters who retired undefeated, we could not fail to mention Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Furthermore, the former American boxer is widely recognized as the best boxer of his generation and ranks among the greatest fighters of all time.

But know that this recognition has merit! Of the 50 fights he participated, Floyd Mayweather Jr. he didn't lose any of them, being one of the few fighters to end his career without any defeat.

With this, you must imagine that he made a lot of money, but know that the former athlete, who even became known by the pseudonym “Money”, ended up almost bankrupt due to his excessive and extravagant consumption. Who knew, huh?

Discover the 15 celebrities who left the country

Did you know that there are several Brazilian artists that you didn't even imagine didn't live in Brazil anymore? So, read this post and check out who these celebrities are.

About the author  /  Priscilla de Cassia

Graduated in business administration and tax auditor, she has been a freelance writer since 2016 to cultivate her hobby for writing and to earn extra income. Currently, he writes about financial life, credit cards, air miles and travel, as well as curiosities in general.

Reviewed by  /  Junior Aguiar

Senior Editor

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