Most Olympic boxing
gold medals won (female)
Claressa Shields (USA) and Nicola Adams (UK)
have each won two Olympic gold medals, at
London 2 012 and Rio 2 016. Flyweight Adams
successfully defended her title on 20 Aug
aged 33 years 299 days, becoming the oldest
Olympic boxing gold medallist (female).
Middleweight Shields matched Adams’
achievement, beating Nouchka Fontijn (NLD) on
21 Aug 2016. Shields won her first gold medal
aged just 17 years 145 days – the youngest
Olympic boxing gold medallist (female).
The most Olympic gold medals won in
boxing is three: achieved by László Papp (HUN)
in 1948–56, Teófilo Stevenson (CUB) in 1972–80,
and Félix Savón (CUB) in 1992–2000.Most consecutive Olympic boxing
gold medals at the same weight
category (county)
On 17 Aug 2016, Daniyar Yeleussinov won
Kazakhstan’s fourth consecutive Olympic
welterweight gold medal. This matched
Cuba’s four consecutive victories
at heavyweight, achieved between
1992 and 2004.Boxing
SPORTS
LONGEST-
REIGNING BOXING
WORLD CHAMPION
(FEMALE)
Momo Koseki’s win
over Chie Higano
(both JPN) on
11 Nov 2016 at
Korakuen Hall in
Tokyo, Japan, was
her 17th successful
defence of the World
Boxing Council (WBC)
atomweight title.
She had won the belt
with a second-round
technical knock-
out against Winyu
Paradorn Gym (THA)
on 11 Aug 2008 in
Tokyo. As of her 2016
win, Koseki’s reign
had lasted 8 years
92 days.MOST LINEAL WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT
CHAMPIONSHIP WINS
In 2016, boxing lost a true legend: Muhammad
Ali (USA), who won three “lineal” world titles
against undisputed champions at their weight
class. A “lineal” boxing title is one that is first held
by an undisputed champion but then passes to a
fighter who defeats him or her. Ali’s first win came
in 1964 against Sonny Liston (USA) and his second
with the “Rumble in the Jungle” bout against
George Foreman (USA) in 1974. Ali’s final lineal
title came when he beat Leon Spinks (USA, above
left with Ali) in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, on
15 Sep 1978. It is a fitting world record for the
fighter known simply as “The Greatest”.Longest time between lineal champions
On 16 Sep 2016, Shinsuke Yamanaka (JPN)
became the first lineal bantamweight champion
since 1987 – a gap of 29 years 171 days, as
measured by The Ring magazine. Yamanaka
beat Panama’s Anselmo Moreno at the Edion
Arena in Osaka, Japan, sealing victory in
the seventh round after a thrilling fight that
featured five knockdowns.Oldest boxing world champion
On 17 Dec 2016, nearing his 52nd birthday,
Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (USA,
b. 15 Jan 1965) fought his final professional fight
against Joe Smith Jr (USA), losing in the eighth
round. Hopkins won three titles aged 49 years
94 days when he outpointed Kazakhstan’s
Beibut Shumenov at the DC Armory in
Washington, DC, USA, on 19 Apr 2014.Highest annual earnings
for a boxer (current year)
According to Forbes, five-
division world champion
Floyd Mayweather Jr (USA)
earned $44 m (£30.1 m)
between 1 Jun 2015 and
1 Jun 2016. Of that total,
$32 m (£21.9 m) came directly
from Mayweather’s fight
earnings, while $12 m (£8.2 m)
was generated by sponsorship deals.MOST POWER PUNCHES THROWN IN
A SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT BOXING BOUT
A “power punch” is any punch not considered a jab. During
the bout between Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido
(both MEX) at the StubHub Center in Carson, California,
USA, on 4 Jun 2016, CompuBox counted a combined total
of 1,593 power punches thrown – 776 by Vargas, 817 by
Salido. Despite 615 of these punches landing, the contest
was declared a draw after 12 rounds, with two of the three
judges unable to separate the fighters on their scorecards.Only one man has ever fought for the world heavyweight title
in their first professional bout: Pete Rademacher (USA), in 1957.HIGHEST KNOCKOUT
(K/O) PERCENTAGE
BY A MIDDLEWEIGHT
BOXING CHAMPION
On 10 Sep 2016, Gennady
“Triple G” Golovkin (KAZ)
stopped the previously
undefeated
Kell Brook (UK) in
the fifth round at
the O2 Arena in
London, UK. It was
his 23rd consecutive
victory achieved inside
12 rounds. The hard-
hitting Kazakh boasted
a career k/o rate of
33 from 36 bouts,
or 91.67%.The Vargas
vs Salido
was preceded by a^ fight
traditional “ten count”
of the bell in tribute
to the boxing legend
Muhammad Ali, who had
died the previous day
at the age of 74.MOST CONSECUTIVE TITLE DEFENCES
WEIGHT NAME (NATIONALITY) DEFENCES DATES
Heavy Joe Louis (USA) 25 1937–48
Minimum Ricardo López (MEX) 21 1991–98
Middle Bernard Hopkins (USA) 20 1996–2005
Super fly Khaosai Galaxy (THA) 19 1985–91
Welter Henry Armstrong (USA) 18 1938–40
Light fly Yuh Myung-woo (KOR) 17 1986–91
Fly Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (THA) 17 2001–07
Bantam Orlando Canizales (USA) 16 1988–94
Cruiser Johnny Nelson (UK) =13 1999–2005
Marco Huck (DEU) =13 2009–14
Super light Julio César Chávez (MEX) 12 1989–93
Super feather Brian Mitchell (ZAF) 12 1987–91
Light middle Gianfranco Rosi (ITA) 11 1989–94
All figures correct as of 8 Nov 2016