When you look at the list of some of the most famous fighters in history, they all have a mark or two in the loss column throughout their career. There are not many who have retired as undefeated champions, but here is a list of a few:

Sven Ottke (34-0-0):

Ottke was a German professional boxer who is better known as “The Phantom”. He was the IBF/WBA Super Middleweight Champion who successfully defended his title 21 times. What is unusual about his career is that he was 256-47-5 as an amateur, a far cry from his storied professional career.  He was the East Germany Middleweight Champion from 1985 to 1989, German National Middleweight Champion from 1990 to 1991 and 1995 to 1996, and the German National Light Heavyweight Champion from 1992 to 1993. He also fought in the Olympics in 1988, 1992, and 1996.

Tracy Beasley (26-0-1):

Tracy “Bad News” Beasley won a National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Championship at the age of 17. He was also a representative of the United States as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces for an Amateur Athletic Boxing Tour in Europe. He took his amateur record up a level by amassing a 26-0-1 record professionally. He was the 1989 IBA Light Heavyweight World Champion and had 19 of his wins by knockout. After retiring from the ring, he became an entrepreneur and boxing trainer. He continued his list of boxing awards by adding “Trainer of the Year in Houston” in 2002.

Rocky Marciano (49-0):

You can’t forget about Rocky Marciano, undoubtedly one of the best of the undefeated champions. As with Beasley, he had an amateur career in the military and amassed an 8-4 record while representing the United States Army. He won his first sixteen bouts by knockout, all before the fifth round. Nine of the first sixteen were in the first. He defended his title many times and also had a storied win over Roland La Starza (37-0), which was a split decision win and the closest anyone ever came to defeating Marciano.

Terry Marsh (26-0-1):

“The Fighting Fireman” was the first European boxer to retire as an undefeated world champion, Marsh’s career was ended at the age of twenty nine when he was diagnosed with epilepsy. Before that time, he added the British, European, and IBG Light Welterweight Championships to his name. This is in addition to the three ABA senior amateur championships. Although he had a few negative things happen to him after his career, it is what he did in the ring that he is known for. If not for him retiring, he would have eventually been matched against the likes of Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez latter in his career. With that aside, he is still an undefeated champion.

Jack McAuliffe (49-0):

McAuliffe was better known as “The Napoleon of the Ring.” He was Irish-American and inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995. He was the Lightweight Champion of the World from 1886 to 1893 during the bare knuckle boxing era. He immigrated to the US from Ireland and was said to not even train for a fight. His actual record is recorded differently depending on where you look, but it is undisputed that he retired as a champion. McAuliffe actually came back from retirement in 1896 (2 years after retirement) and fought for another year before retiring again. He can actually be attributed with being the only person to retire as an undefeated champion twice.

Robert Carl is a sport reporter for numerous local and region newspapers in the southern Florida area. He follows boxing, MMA, and martial arts.

Photo Credits: Wikipedia

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