Long-time career

Palais · Post by **Palais** » 25 Dec 2003, 09:30

Aldo Pravisani, Italian Lightweight Champion, fought from 1950-07-03 to 1970-11-14, over twenty years. He also held the Australian Lightweight Title.
:) Palais

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 25 Dec 2003, 19:13

I'm also fascinated by fighters who fought for two decades or more.... Roberto Duran has to be one of the longest serving and most successful boxers of all time... he was a pro from '67 to 2001.... 34 years!.... and was still mixing in pretty good company till the end.
Others who fought into 3rd decade are Robinson, Pep, Holmes and Foreman. One old-timer who fought for about 30 years was Billy Bird who fought from 1920 to 1950 I think..... need to look at his record to make sure!

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 25 Dec 2003, 19:13

I'm also fascinated by fighters who fought for two decades or more.... Roberto Duran has to be one of the longest serving and most successful boxers of all time... he was a pro from '67 to 2001.... 34 years!.... and was still mixing in pretty good company till the end.
Others who fought into 3rd decade are Robinson, Pep, Holmes and Foreman. One old-timer who fought for about 30 years was Billy Bird who fought from 1920 to 1950 I think..... need to look at his record to make sure!

Palais · Post by **Palais** » 26 Dec 2003, 05:19

Harold Johnson, Light Heavyweight Champion, 1946-1971.

Eric the Viking · Post by **Eric the Viking** » 26 Dec 2003, 12:08

Archie Moore, 1935-1963. Had that memorable war with Yvon Durelle for the World Light Heavyweight Title in 1958, just 3 days shy of his 45th birthday, beat 1956 Olympic Heavyweight Gold Medalist Pete Rademacher when he was nearly 48 years old (Moore, not Rademacher ;)), fought Ali in November 1962, when he was nearly 49.

Broncano · Post by **Broncano** » 26 Dec 2003, 13:08

Livingstone Bramble, made his pro debut in 1980 and is still fighting six rounders around Idaho, Montana and Utah.
What a great appearance he made into the boxing scene in 1984 beating Ray Mancini to a bloody pulp.

Eric the Viking · Post by **Eric the Viking** » 29 Dec 2003, 11:51

George Foreman, 1969-1997, with a teensy gap from March '77 to March '87. Like Archie Moore, George was special in that he was still fighting competitively at a world-class level after the age of 45.

Palais · Post by **Palais** » 04 Jan 2004, 15:22

Heavyweight journeyman Archie McBride deserves to be mentioned with a 20 years career that spanned from Jan, 14, 1947 to June, 28 1967. He met many greats such as; Ingemar Johansson, Floyd Patterson, Nino Valdes, Tommy Jackson, Bob Satterfield, Alex Miteff, Jimmy Slade, Willi Besmanoff, Tony Anthony, Karl Mildenberger, Doug Jones...
His record status shows 24 (10 KO's) -20-2
Palais

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 04 Jan 2004, 20:57

Freddie Pendleton 1981 - 2001.

lamphey · Post by **lamphey** » 05 Jan 2004, 15:00

It was quite common for the old-timers to have fight careers spanning over two decades, like Benny Leonard, Sam Langford, Johnny Dundee, Jack Britton, Len Harvey, Max Schmeling, and so on.

A few who come to mind with careers lasting over 25 years:
Bob Fitzsimmons 1883-1914
Jack Johnson 1897-1928
Tommy Farr 1926-1953
Kid Azteca 1932-1961 (something like 17 years as welterweight champion of Mexico)

Gianfranco Rosi has recently fought again giving him a career span of 1979-2003

Eric the Viking · Post by **Eric the Viking** » 05 Jan 2004, 18:15

lamphey wrote:It was quite common for the old-timers to have fight careers spanning over two decades, like Benny Leonard, Sam Langford, Johnny Dundee, Jack Britton, Len Harvey, Max Schmeling, and so on.

A few who come to mind with careers lasting over 25 years:
Bob Fitzsimmons 1883-1914
Jack Johnson 1897-1928
Tommy Farr 1926-1953
Kid Azteca 1932-1961 (something like 17 years as welterweight champion of Mexico)

Gianfranco Rosi has recently fought again giving him a career span of 1979-2003

To mention Rosi's name alongside those others smacks of heresy. Even more dimaying was to see him getting ranked in the BoxRec top 20 at 168 lbs. after his nearly-seven-year layoff and "comeback" win over the immortal 4-12 Romanian, Mugurel Sebe.

lamphey · Post by **lamphey** » 05 Jan 2004, 19:28

Some of the 70's heavyweights just couldn't walk away.

Joe Bugner 1967-1999
Ron Lyle 1971-1995
Jerry Quarry 1965-1992
Earnie Shavers 1969-1995

enrique · Post by **enrique** » 05 Jan 2004, 21:21

CHECK OUT ANGEL ROBINSON GARCIA -FROM THE FIFTIES TO THE LATE SEVENTIES - THE GREATEST GLOBE TROTTER OF ALL TIME.

THERE'S ALSO KID TUNERO, THE SUPERMAN OF LONGETIVITY KID AZTECA AND THE GREAT SAM LANGFORD.

Palais · Post by **Palais** » 08 Jan 2004, 01:41

George Benton, former middleweight contender and trainer. Inducted to the International Hall of Fame in 2001, boxed 1949-70, with a 62 (36 KO's)-13-1 record.
Tommy Tibbs, Boston Lightweight, 1950-72, 58-77-4
:) Palais

TonyJ · Post by **TonyJ** » 08 Jan 2004, 03:35

Julio Cesar Chavez 1980-present

Palais · Post by **Palais** » 09 Jan 2004, 15:23

Dutch Welterweight Bep van Klaveren fought almost 25 years. Maybee longer?

Palais

Eric the Viking · Post by **Eric the Viking** » 09 Jan 2004, 16:10

I think it would be better to focus on the question

Which guys fought the longest at a world-class level?

That would eliminate from the discussion the guys who staged comebacks against patsies or fellow oldsters purely for money's sake or in some desperate attempt to stay in the limelight long after their heyday was past.

Palais · Post by **Palais** » 09 Jan 2004, 16:41

Well Eric, why don't you post it?

Palais

Eric the Viking · Post by **Eric the Viking** » 09 Jan 2004, 17:22

palle wrote:Well Eric, why don't you post it?
Palais

Well, it certainly doesn't include guys like Camacho Sr. and Rosi.

But Archie Moore certainly would be on it ... maybe even George Foreman, though he came back when the HW division was quite weak. (But I just have a soft spot in my heart for big George, so my objectivity there is questionable.)

Basically, I just want to focus on the guys (and most of the names thrown out in this thread qualify) who wre still fighting and beating top guys after 2 decades or more - that is a remarkable accomplishment.

Palais · Post by **Palais** » 09 Jan 2004, 19:11

Non-come-back-ers;

Archie Moore - 28
Joe Brown - 27
Harold Johnson - 25
Joe Walcott - 23
Carl Bobo Olson - 22
Willie Pep - 20
Floyd Patterson - 20
Evander Holyfield - 19?
Ezzard Charles - 19
Emile Griffith - 19
Rocky Balboa - ??

:) Mike McMurtry

TonyJ · Post by **TonyJ** » 12 Jan 2004, 02:55

Eder Jofre 1957-76

muray · Post by **muray** » 12 Jan 2004, 20:05

Phil Zwick has to have the longest ring record in years-1923-1951

Palais · Post by **Palais** » 15 Jan 2004, 05:07

Giancarlo Garbelli, Italian lightweight, 1952-172

barry · Post by **barry** » 15 Jan 2004, 18:36

Bobby Dobbs fought over 30 years, I think. Of course Sam Langford had a long career, as did Kentucky Rosebud, Jack Britton, Johnny Dundee, Tiger Jack Fox, Alabama Kid, Billy Bird, Ted "Kid" Lewis, Benny Bass.

barry · Post by **barry** » 15 Jan 2004, 19:42

Here's a list of several fighters who fought 20+ years. I don't know how well the format will be though.

Longest Careers
(20+ Years)

Name W L D KO TB Active Years

Jack Johnson 83 14 14 50 130 1894-1938 44
Roberto Duran 104 15 0 69 119 1967-2001 34
Kid Azteca -- -- -- -- -- 1929-1961 32
Bob Fitzsimmons 79 11 3 68 117 1883-1914 31
Primo Carnera 89 14 0 70 103 1928-1959 31
Billy Bird 237 69 20 124 328 1920-1950 30
Phil Zwick 101 32 5 52 142 1923-1951 28
George Foreman 76 5 0 68 81 1969-1997 28
Archie Moore 182 24 9 129 216 1935-1963 28
Joe Brown 104 42 13 47 161 1943-1970 27
Alexis Arguello 80 8 0 64 88 1968-1995 27
Bobby Dobbs 108 36 29 65 182 1888-1914 26
Willie Pep 230 11 1 65 242 1940-1966 26
Earnie Shavers 73 14 1 67 88 1969-1995 26
“Sugar” Ray Robinson 173 19 6 109 200 1940-1965 25
Jack Britton 219 53 51 27 341 1905-1930 25
“Tiger” Jack Fox 197 24 11 134 232 1925-1950 25
“Torpedo” Billy Murphy 89 51 22 76 195 1882-1907 25
Kid McCoy 87 6 7 65 113 1891-1916 25
Martin Vargas 90 15 3 62 108 1973-1998 25
Sam Langford 212 43 45 137 322 1902-1926 24
Ruben Olivares 88 13 3 78 104 1964-1988 24
Julio Cesar Chavez 103 6 2 83 111 1980-2003 23
Charley White 89 15 5 58 148 1907-1930 23
Jorge Vaca 66 23 2 51 91 1978-2001 23
Angel “Robinson” Garcia 131 80 21 50 232 1955-1978 23
Alabama Kid 197 55 18 116 274 1928-1950 22
Jack Blackburn 118 23 20 35 165 1901-1923 22
Tod Morgan 132 44 29 27 206 1920-1942 22
Johnny Dundee 217 58 32 22 339 1910-1932 22
Ceferino Garcia 117 30 14 72 161 1923-1945 22
Frank Moody 127 50 15 69 200 1914-1936 22
George Chuvalo 73 18 2 64 93 1956-1978 22
George Gunther 75 21 11 62 138 1899-1921 22
Karel Sys 117 16 10 59 144 1932-1954 22
Len Harvey 112 13 9 52 134 1920-1942 22
Battling Levinsky 192 52 34 34 287 1909-1930 21
Benny Bass 186 44 9 69 244 1919-1940 21
Benny Leonard 180 21 6 69 213 1911-1932 21
Jack “Kid” Berg 157 26 9 57 192 1924-1945 21
George Daly 131 36 16 28 183 1930-1951 21
Rocky Kansas 117 28 14 35 165 1911-1932 21
Johnny King 160 49 14 74 224 1926-1947 21
Benny Leonard 149 14 4 71 215 1911-1932 21
“Barbados” Joe Walcott 105 30 30 62 169 1890-1911 21
Elisha Obed 88 20 4 59 114 1967-1988 21
Gustav Eder 122 16 23 58 162 1928-1949 21
Jack “Kid” Berg 157 26 9 57 192 1924-1971 21
Young Corbett III -- -- -- -- -- 1919-1940 21
Elmer Ray 68 14 1 56 84 1928-1949 21
Jorge Ramirez 70 15 3 55 88 1982-2003 21
Mike McTigue 80 27 8 54 167 1909-1930 21
Ignacio Ara 127 23 17 54 168 1926-1947 21
Miguel Angel Arroyo 76 14 5 50 95 1982-2003 21
Harold Brazier 105 16 1 64 125 1982-2003 21
Ted “Kid” Lewis 193 28 14 81 251 1909-1929 20
Albert “Chalky” Wright 150 41 16 75 208 1928-1948 20
Fred Fulton 81 15 4 72 116 1913-1933 20
Tommy Ryan 87 3 7 71 108 1887-1907 20
Young Otto 107 26 14 70 197 1903-1923 20
“Panama” Al Brown 140 19 15 66 177 1922-1942 20
Jupp Besselmann 96 8 12 61 117 1930-1950 20
Cleveland Williams 78 13 1 58 94 1951-1971 20
Bennie Briscoe 66 24 5 53 96 1962-1982 20
Dixie Kid 75 29 13 53 148 1900-1920 20
Betulio Gonzalez 76 12 4 52 92 1968-1988 20
Otilio “Zurdo” Galvan 94 38 5 16 138 1941-1961 20
Bernabe “Baby” Vasquez 101 39 4 33 145 1950-1970 20

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