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Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Márquez photo by ian mcwilliams –

Top 10 Most Famous Undefeated Boxers

For a long time, boxing has been one of the most famous and intriguing sports worldwide. We have seen many fighters come and go throughout the history of the sport with achieving the perfect record being the ultimate pursuit. And without lying being an undefeated fighter is a pride that every fighter who steps into the ring aspires to boast about. It is something rare, one of a kind and the feeling comes second to none. The idea of a boxer retiring without ever being on the losing end, triumphing over all challengers and coming out as the champion is awe-inspiring.

For boxers to be of this calibre, they have to possess the psychological toughness and mindset that drives them to pursue perfection and how to ensure the maintenance of discipline and focus whenever they face challenges. To be at the pinnacle of their performance doesn’t come easily though, there are numerous challenges they face and sacrifices they make along the way for them to achieve the results they desire. The pressure faced to maintain a perfect record and the potential pitfalls of becoming complacent could drive a sane man bizarre. The constant media scrutiny could also have pressured these boxers but instead, they overcame the psychological toll that comes with constant media attention.

Along the way to staying undefeated, they won multiple championships across various divisions, setting and breaking records as the years went by. These athletes are widely celebrated and serve as an inspiration to the current and future generations of boxers. As we celebrate them, let us find out the 10 most famous boxers who have never been defeated.

1. Rocky Marciano

Black & White postcard of World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Marciano photo sourced from

Rocky Marciano, real name Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was a professional boxer in the United States from 1947 to 1955. He was the world heavyweight champion from 1952 through 1956.

Rocky Marciano is boxing’s only undefeated heavyweight champion. He finished with a record of 49-0 and 43 knockouts. Marciano defeated Louis in what was to be his final fight. “The Rock” as he was famously called defeated Jersey Joe Wolcott twice, and in his final battle in 1955, he defeated the legendary Archie Moore. Marciano considered making a comeback in 1959 but never did.

Read More: 15 Best Heavyweight Boxers Of All Time

2. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. 2015 photo by rcelis –

Floyd is referred to as “TBE” for a reason—he was the best in the sport. Floyd, who uses the orthodox stance, is frequently touted as the greatest defensive boxer in history. Competing between 1996 to 2017, he performed from the super featherweight to the light middleweight. He ended his career with an undefeated record and 15 major world titles. This covers the lineal championship in four weight divisions and the five weight classes for the Ring magazine title.

He achieved success in amateur boxing by taking home three U.S. Golden Gloves titles (at light flyweight, flyweight, and featherweight), the national featherweight title, and a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in the featherweight division. He retired after 50 bouts winning all of them and attaining 27 victories by knockout.

Related: Top 10 Richest Boxers of all times

3. Jimmy Barry

Jimmy Barry, American boxer. photo sourced from

Jimmy Barry held the world bantamweight championship from 1894 to 1899. Barry, also known as “The Little Tiger,” retired unbeaten with a 59-0-10 record. In 2000, he was admitted into the Hall of Fame of The Ring magazine.

4. Ricardo López

From 1985 to 2001, Mexican boxer Ricardo López competed as a professional. He held the WBC mini flyweight title from 1990 to 1998, successfully defending it against a record-breaking 21 opponents. He also held the WBA and WBO mini flyweight titles in 1997 and 1998, as well as the IBF junior flyweight title from 1999 until his retirement in 2001. He is one of only a handful of world boxing champions to go undefeated in his career.

5. Andre Ward

Andre Ward at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey photo by Chamber of Fear –

Andre Ward competed professionally in boxing from 2004 to 2017. He captured numerous world championships in two weight classes, including unified super middleweight titles from 2009 to 2015 and unified light heavyweight titles from 2016 to 2017, and he retired with an undefeated record. He fought in 32 fights and won all of them 16 coming from knockouts.

6. Joe Calzaghe

Joe Calzaghe photo by Ben Duffy –

A southpaw from Newbridge, Wales named Joe Calzaghe is one of the few world champions to have never lost a match. With 32 Kos, Calzaghe had a 46-0 career record between 1993 and 2008. He might not have faced the division’s top talent, but that could be true.

Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins, two of the greatest athletes of all time, were defeated by him, but they had already passed their prime. Through the course of his career, Calzaghe won the Lineal, WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC Super Middleweight Titles. He also held the title for a little over ten years. He defeated many top fighters, including Chris Eubank, Omar Sheika, Mikkel Kessler, Sakio Bika, Jeff Lacy, Mario Veit, Richie Woodhall, and Robin Reid. Calzaghe largely carried out the assignment given to him, which was to win every fight he entered. Few boxers can make that assertion.

Also Read: 10 of the most Famous British Boxers of all times

7. Harry Simon

Harry Simon is a retired boxer from Namibia. He held the WBO junior middleweight title from 1998 to 2001, and the WBO middleweight title in 2002, making him a two-weight world champion. He lost his world middleweight title owing to injuries acquired from a vehicle accident in 2002, getting stripped of the belt for failing to defend it.

In 2013 Simon won the vacant IBF International Light Heavyweight championship against Geard Ajetović and defended it against him again in 2014. He fought in 31 bouts and won all of them 23 coming from knockouts.

8. Edwin Valero

Edwin Valero photo by Bret “The Threat” Newton, –

Venezuelan professional boxer Edwin Valero competed from 2002 to 2010. He held the WBA super featherweight title from 2006 to 2008 and the WBC lightweight title from 2009 to 2010. He was a former unbeaten world champion in both weight classes. The only champion in WBC history to have won every fight of his career by knockout, Valero competed in 27 fights and was recognized for his extremely aggressive fighting style and excellent striking power. After being detained on accusations of killing his wife, Valero committed suicide in 2010 while he was incarcerated.

9. Sven Ottke

Sven Ottke at the Lambertz Monday Night 2017. photo by 9EkieraM1 –

 German retired professional boxer Sven Ottke competed from 1997 to 2004. He held the IBF championship from 1998 to 2004 and the WBA (Unified) belt from 2003 to 2004. He was the undisputed super-middleweight world champion. After Jack McAuliffe, Terry Marsh, and Michael Loewe, Ottke was the fourth European boxer to retire as an undefeated world champion with 21 successful title defences; Joe Calzaghe later became the fifth. Ottke shared a super-middleweight division record with Joe Calzaghe by defending the title against 20 opponents.

10. Mihai Leu

Mihai Leu giving an interview photo by AGERPRES –

 Romanian former professional boxer Mihai Leu competed between 1991 and 1997. In 1997, he held the WBO welterweight belt. Following Terry Marsh and Jack McAuliffe, Leu was the third European boxer to retire as the undisputed world champion following one title defence against Michael Carruth. Due to an injury, he was forced to stop boxing but refused to give up the world of sports and later on converted to a rally driver.

Also Read: Top 15 Best Female Boxers Of All Time