Archie Moore
Encyclopedia
Archie Moore, born Archibald Lee Wright (December 13, 1916 – December 9, 1998), was light heavyweight
world boxing
champion (1952–1959 and 1961) who had one of the longest professional careers in the history of that sport.
Nicknamed "The Old Mongoose", Moore holds the record for the most career knockouts (131). He ranks #4 on The Ring
's list of "100 greatest punchers of all time", and is rated by prominent boxing website BoxRec as the greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time.
A native of Benoit, Mississippi
, Moore was raised in St. Louis, Missouri
. An important figure in the American black community, he became involved in African American
causes once his days as a fighter were over. He also established himself as a successful character actor in television and film. Moore died in his adopted home of San Diego, California.
during that time, and his no contest was against Jack Coggins
, in eight rounds. In 1940, Moore made a tour of Australia and fought in Melbourne, Tasmania, Adelaide and Sydney. He won all of his seven bouts there, including six by knockout. Upon returning to the United States, he defeated Pancho Ramirez by a knockout in five, but lost to Shorty Hogue
on a six round decision.
. By then, however, he had suffered through several stomach
ulcers, with the resulting operations, and he announced his retirement from boxing.
His retirement was brief, however, and by 1942 he was back in the ring. He won his first six bouts that year, including a second round knockout of Hogue in a rematch, and a ten round decision over Jack Chase
. He met Booker in a rematch, and reached the same conclusion as their first meeting had: another 10 round draw.
In 1943, Moore fought seven bouts, winning five and losing two. He won and then lost the California State Middleweight title against Chase, both by 15 round decisions, and beat Chase again in his last bout of that year, in a ten round decision. He also lost a decision to Aaron Wade
that year.
by a decision, and to Booker by a knockout in eight.
He won his first eight bouts of 1945, impressing Atlantic coast boxing experts, and earning a fight with future IBHOF enshrinee Jimmy Bivins
, who defeated Moore by a knockout in six at Cleveland
. He returned to the Eastern Seaboard to fight five more times before that year was over. He met, among others, future IBHOF enshrinee Holman Williams
during that span, losing a ten round decision, and knocking him out in eleven in the rematch.
By 1946, Moore had moved to the light heavyweight division, and he went 5-2-1 that year, beating contender Curtis Sheppard
, but losing to future world heavyweight champion and Hall of Famer Ezzard Charles
by a decision in ten, and drawing with old nemesis Chase. By then, Moore began complaining publicly that, according to him, none of boxing's world champions would risk their titles fighting him.
1947 was essentially a year of rematches for Moore. He went 7-1 that year, his one loss being to Charles. He beat Chase by a knockout in nine, Sheppard by a decision in ten and Bivins by a knockout in nine. He also defeated Burt Lytell, by a decision in ten.
He fought a solid 14 fights in 1948, losing again to Charles by a knockout in nine, losing to Leonard Morrow by a knockout in the first, to Henry Hall
by a decision in ten and to Lloyd Gibson by a disqualification in four. But he also beat Ted Lowry
, by a decision in ten, and Hall in a rematch, also by decision.
1949 was also a good year for Moore: He had 13 bouts that year, going 12-1. He defeated the Alabama Kid twice; by knockout in four and by knockout in three, Bob Satterfield
by a knockout in three, Bivins by a knockout in eight, future world Light Heavyweight champion and IBHOF inductee Harold Johnson
by a decision, Bob Sikes by a knockout in three, and Phil Muscato by a decision. He lost to Clinton Bacon by a disqualification in six.
By Moore's standards, 1950 was a vacation year for him: he only had two fights, winning both, including a 10 round decision in a rematch with Lydell.
In 1951, Moore boxed 18 times, winning 16, losing one, and drawing one. He went on an Argentinian
tour, fighting seven times there, winning six and drawing one. In between those seven fights, he found time for a trip to Montevideo
, Uruguay
, where he defeated Vicente Quiroz by a knockout in six. He knocked out Bivins in nine, and split two decisions with Johnson.
, Bob Dunlap, and Clarence Henry and light heavyweight Clinton Bacon (knocked out in four in a rematch), Moore was finally given an opportunity at age thirty-nine to fight for the title of world light heavyweight champion and future IBHOF honoree Joey Maxim
.
Maxim had just defeated the great Sugar Ray Robinson
by a technical knockout in 14 rounds, forcing Robinson to quit in his corner due to heat exhaustion. Against Maxim, Moore consistently landed powerful right hands, hurting him several times en route to a fifteen round decision. After sixteen long years he had finally achieved his dream.
He was far from done, however. The next year, Moore won all nine of his bouts, including a 10 round non title win against then fringe heavyweight contender Nino Valdez
of Cuba
, and a 15 round decision over Maxim in a rematch to retain the belt. He made two more bouts in Argentina before the end of the year.
In 1954, he had only four fights, retaining the title in a third fight with Maxim, who once again went the 15 round distance, and versus Johnson, who he knocked out in 14. He also beat highly ranked heavyweight Bob Baker.
In 1955, Moore again beat Valdez, who by that time was the no. 1 heavyweight contender, and defended against Bobo Olson
, the world middleweight champion and future Hall of Famer who was coming off a decision victory over Joey Maxim, by a knockout in three.
On September 21, 1955, Moore went up in weight to face future Hall of Famer Rocky Marciano
for Marciano's heavyweight championship. Moore briefly dropped Marciano in the second round (the second and last time Marciano had ever been knocked down), but Marciano recovered and knocked Moore down five times, knocking him out in the ninth to retain the belt. It was Marciano's sixth and last title defense before retiring in 1956.
In 1956, Moore fought mostly as a heavyweight but did retain his light heavyweight title with a ten round knockout over Yolande Pompey in London. He won 11 bouts in a row before challenging again for the world heavyweight crown. The title was left vacant by Marciano, but Moore lost to Floyd Patterson
by a knockout in five. (Patterson, yet another future Hall of Famer, himself made history that night, becoming, at the age of 21, the youngest world heavyweight champion yet, a record he would hold until 1986.)
Moore won all six of his bouts during 1957. Among those wins was an easy 10-round decision over heavyweight contender Hans Kalbfell in Germany, a KO-7 over highly ranked Tony Anthony
to retain the light heavyweight title, a one-sided 10-round decision over light heavyweight contender Eddie Cotton
in a non-title bout, and a 4th round knockout of future top ten heavyweight contender Roger Rischer.
In 1958, Moore had 10 fights, going 9-0-1 during that span. His fight with Yvon Durelle
in particular was of note: defending his world light heavyweight title in Montreal, he was felled three times in round one, and once again in round five, but then dropped Durelle in round 10 and won by a knockout in the 11th.
1959, his last full year as uncontested champion, was another rare low-profile year; in his two fights, he beat Sterling Davis
by a knockout in three, and then Durelle again, also by a knockout in three, to once again retain his world light heavyweight title.
During 1960, Moore was stripped of his world light heavyweight title by the National Boxing Association (NBA)
, but continued to be recognized by most major boxing authorities including the New York State Athletic Commission and Ring Magazine. Moore won three of his four bouts in 1960, one by decision against Buddy Turman
in Dallas, Texas
, his lone loss coming in a ten-round decision versus Giulio Rinaldi in Rome.
In 1961, he defeated Turman again by decision in Manila, Philippines before defending his lineal world light heavyweight championship for what would be the last time, beating Rinaldi by a 15 round decision to retain the belt. In his last fight that year, he once again ventured into the heavyweights, and met Pete Rademacher
, a man who had made history earlier in his career by becoming the first man ever to challenge for a world title in his first professional bout (when he lost to Patterson by a knockout in six). Moore beat Rademacher by a knockout in nine.
In 1962, the remaining boxing commissions that had continued to back Moore as the world light heavyweight champion withdrew their recognition. He campaigned exclusively as a heavyweight from then on, and beat Alejandro Lavorante by a knockout in 10 and Howard King by a knockout in one round in Tijuana
. He then drew against future world light heavyweight champion Willie Pastrano
in a 10-round heavyweight contest. Interestingly enough on the posters advertising that fight, Moore was billed as the "world light heavyweight champion." The bout took place in California which had not yet withdrawn recognition from Moore at the time the Moore-Pastrano fight was signed. By the time the bout took place, the California commission, like New York, Massachusetts, the EBU, and Ring Magazine, had recognized Harold Johnson
, who had beaten Doug Jones
16 days earlier, as the new light heavyweight champ. Johnson had reigned as the NBA's (WBA's) champion since February 7, 1961.
Then, in his last fight of note, Moore faced a young heavyweight out of Louisville
named Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)
. Moore had been Clay's trainer for a time, but Clay became dissatisfied and left Moore because of Moore's attempts to change his style, and his insistence that Clay do dishes and help clean gym floors.
In the days before the fight, Clay had rhymed that "Archie Moore...Must fall in four." Moore replied that he had perfected a new punch for the match: The Lip-Buttoner.
Nonetheless, as Clay predicted Moore was beaten by a knockout in four rounds. Moore is the only man to have faced both Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali.
After one more fight in 1963, a third round knockout win over Mike DiBiase in Phoenix
, Moore announced his retirement from boxing, for good.
. In 1970, he was named "Man of The Year" by Listen Magazine, and received the key to the city of Sandpoint, Ohio.
He was elected in 1985 to the St. Louis city Boxing Hall of Fame, and he received the Rocky Marciano Memorial Award in the city of New York
in 1988. In 1990, he became a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame
in Canastota, being one of the original members of that institution.
At one point, the oldest boxer to win the world's light heavyweight crown, he is believed to have been the only boxer who boxed professionally in the eras of Joe Louis
, Marciano and Muhammad Ali. He is one of only a handful of boxers whose careers spanned four decades; his final record was an extraordinary 185 wins, 23 losses, 11 draws and 1 no contest, with 131 official knockouts.
However, at least three of Moore's record 131 knockouts came in less-than-competitive matches against pro wrestlers: "Professor" Roy Shire in 1956, Sterling Davis
in 1959, and Mike DiBiase in 1963 (Moore's 131st and final knockout). All three matches are officially listed as third-round TKO stoppages. But even if one amends Moore's career numbers, he would still hold the record. The second-highest amount of knockouts in boxing history is 125, a total shared by light heavyweight Young Stribling
and welterweight Billy Bird.
's film adaptation of Mark Twain
's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, opposite Eddie Hodges
as Huck. Moore garnered positive reviews for his sympathetic portrayal of Jim, which some viewers still consider the best interpretation of this much-filmed role.
Moore did not choose to pursue a full-time career as an actor, but he did appear in 1960s films such as The Fortune Cookie
and The Carpetbaggers
and on television in episodes of Family Affair
, Perry Mason
, Wagon Train
, The Reporter
, Batman
and the soap opera One Life to Live
. He made a brief return to film in 1975, playing a chef in Breakheart Pass
with Charles Bronson
, and had a cameo role as himself in the 1982 Jamaa Fanaka film Penitentiary II, along with Leon Isaac Kennedy and Mr. T
.
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
world boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
champion (1952–1959 and 1961) who had one of the longest professional careers in the history of that sport.
Nicknamed "The Old Mongoose", Moore holds the record for the most career knockouts (131). He ranks #4 on The Ring
The Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
's list of "100 greatest punchers of all time", and is rated by prominent boxing website BoxRec as the greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time.
A native of Benoit, Mississippi
Benoit, Mississippi
Benoit is a town in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 611 at the 2000 census. The 1956 movie Baby Doll was shot on location in Benoit; many local residents played in minor roles.-Geography:...
, Moore was raised in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. An important figure in the American black community, he became involved in African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
causes once his days as a fighter were over. He also established himself as a successful character actor in television and film. Moore died in his adopted home of San Diego, California.
Before boxing
Moore often found himself in trouble as a youngster, and was in a reformatory until 1934. In 1935 he began his boxing career with nine fights as a boxer, winning 5 and losing 4. (He also claimed to have boxed under the name "Fourth of July Kid", so he may have had even more fights.)Professional boxing career
He turned professional in 1938 and boxed all but one of his 12 bouts that year in San Diego. Moore had eight bouts in 1939, going 5-2 during that span, with one "no contest". He lost to former middleweight champion and future Hall of Famer Teddy YaroszTeddy Yarosz
Teddy Yarosz was an American athlete in boxing. He held the world middleweight boxing championship during 1934-1935.-Personal life:Yarosz was born in Monaca, Pennsylvania. His brother Tommy Yarosz also became a boxer....
during that time, and his no contest was against Jack Coggins
Jack Coggins
Jack Banham Coggins was an artist, author, and illustrator. He is known in the United States for his oil paintings, which focused predominantly on marine subjects. He is also known for his books on space travel, which were both authored and illustrated by Coggins...
, in eight rounds. In 1940, Moore made a tour of Australia and fought in Melbourne, Tasmania, Adelaide and Sydney. He won all of his seven bouts there, including six by knockout. Upon returning to the United States, he defeated Pancho Ramirez by a knockout in five, but lost to Shorty Hogue
Shorty Hogue
Ross 'Shorty' Hogue was a boxer in California during the 1940s, along with Lloyd Marshall, Charley Burley, Jack Chase , Archie Moore and Eddie Booker. He had an older brother known as "Big Boy" Hogue, who also boxed in this era. No complete record exists for either brother, but Shorty Hogue was...
on a six round decision.
First retirement and comeback
Moore had four fights in 1941, during which he went 2-1-1, with the draw against Eddie BookerEddie Booker
Hilton Edward "Eddie" Booker was an American boxer who was active during the 1930s and 1940s.Booker was one of the famous "Murderers Row" group of black boxers, along with the likes of Charley Burley, Holman Williams and Jack Chase, avoided by other elite fighters of the era because of their...
. By then, however, he had suffered through several stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
ulcers, with the resulting operations, and he announced his retirement from boxing.
His retirement was brief, however, and by 1942 he was back in the ring. He won his first six bouts that year, including a second round knockout of Hogue in a rematch, and a ten round decision over Jack Chase
Jack Chase (American Boxer)
Jack Chase was an African-American middleweight, who boxed in the 1930s and 40s. He was born in Texas and fought mainly on the west coast of the United States. He boxed under the name ‘Young Joe Lewis’ for the first part of his career, before changing to Jack Chase in 1942...
. He met Booker in a rematch, and reached the same conclusion as their first meeting had: another 10 round draw.
In 1943, Moore fought seven bouts, winning five and losing two. He won and then lost the California State Middleweight title against Chase, both by 15 round decisions, and beat Chase again in his last bout of that year, in a ten round decision. He also lost a decision to Aaron Wade
Aaron Wade
Aaron Wade was an American Middleweight boxer who fought from 1935-1950.-External links:*...
that year.
The Atlantic coast
In 1944, he had nine bouts, going 7-2. His last bout that year marked his debut on the Atlantic Coast, and the level of his opposition began to improve. He beat Jimmy Hayden by a knockout in five, lost to future Hall of Famer Charlie BurleyCharley Burley
Charley Burley was a boxer of the 1940s, compiling a record of 83 wins , 12 losses, and 2 draws with 1 "no contest"...
by a decision, and to Booker by a knockout in eight.
He won his first eight bouts of 1945, impressing Atlantic coast boxing experts, and earning a fight with future IBHOF enshrinee Jimmy Bivins
Jimmy Bivins
James Louis Bivins, is a former American heavyweight boxer whose professional career ran from 1940 to 1955. He was born in Dry Branch, Georgia...
, who defeated Moore by a knockout in six at Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. He returned to the Eastern Seaboard to fight five more times before that year was over. He met, among others, future IBHOF enshrinee Holman Williams
Holman Williams
Holman Williams was a world welterweight boxing contender.-Boxing career:Williams began boxing as an amateur in 1928 as a bantamweight and had a successful 38-bout career...
during that span, losing a ten round decision, and knocking him out in eleven in the rematch.
By 1946, Moore had moved to the light heavyweight division, and he went 5-2-1 that year, beating contender Curtis Sheppard
Curtis Sheppard
Curtis Sheppard is a former American boxer who was from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sheppard was a popular fighter during the 1940s, especially when television technology arrived in his homeland during the late years of that decade...
, but losing to future world heavyweight champion and Hall of Famer Ezzard Charles
Ezzard Charles
Ezzard Mack Charles was an African-American professional boxer and former world heavyweight champion. He holds wins over numerous Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. Charles retired with a record of 93 wins, 25 losses and 1 draw.-Career:He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia,...
by a decision in ten, and drawing with old nemesis Chase. By then, Moore began complaining publicly that, according to him, none of boxing's world champions would risk their titles fighting him.
1947 was essentially a year of rematches for Moore. He went 7-1 that year, his one loss being to Charles. He beat Chase by a knockout in nine, Sheppard by a decision in ten and Bivins by a knockout in nine. He also defeated Burt Lytell, by a decision in ten.
He fought a solid 14 fights in 1948, losing again to Charles by a knockout in nine, losing to Leonard Morrow by a knockout in the first, to Henry Hall
Henry Hall (boxer)
Henry "William" Hall was a boxer from Louisiana.-Pro career:At one point in 1948 he beat Archie Moore, the future world light-heavyweight champion.He is from Shreveport, Louisiana-External links:...
by a decision in ten and to Lloyd Gibson by a disqualification in four. But he also beat Ted Lowry
Ted Lowry
Tiger' Ted Lowry , was an American boxer.- Boxing career :Ted Lowry's career started out strong, with 8 successful fights , before losing to Sam Shumway, whom he had previously beaten before, and would defeat again in their next fight. Afterwards, he fought regularly, winning some and losing some...
, by a decision in ten, and Hall in a rematch, also by decision.
1949 was also a good year for Moore: He had 13 bouts that year, going 12-1. He defeated the Alabama Kid twice; by knockout in four and by knockout in three, Bob Satterfield
Bob Satterfield
Bob "Bombardier" Satterfield , was a heavyweight boxer who fought from 1945-1957. Satterfield, who never fought for the title, retired with a record of 50 wins , 25 losses and 4 draws. He is in Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time at number 58...
by a knockout in three, Bivins by a knockout in eight, future world Light Heavyweight champion and IBHOF inductee Harold Johnson
Harold Johnson (boxer)
Harold Johnson , is a former professional boxer.Johnson was born in Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He won his first twenty-four fights before losing a ten round decision to Archie Moore, who would be Johnson's biggest career rival...
by a decision, Bob Sikes by a knockout in three, and Phil Muscato by a decision. He lost to Clinton Bacon by a disqualification in six.
By Moore's standards, 1950 was a vacation year for him: he only had two fights, winning both, including a 10 round decision in a rematch with Lydell.
In 1951, Moore boxed 18 times, winning 16, losing one, and drawing one. He went on an Argentinian
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
tour, fighting seven times there, winning six and drawing one. In between those seven fights, he found time for a trip to Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, where he defeated Vicente Quiroz by a knockout in six. He knocked out Bivins in nine, and split two decisions with Johnson.
World Light Heavyweight Champion
1952 was one of the most important years in Moore's life. After beating Johnson, heavyweight contenders Jimmy SladeJimmy Slade
Jimmy Slade is a fictional character from the TV series Baywatch. He was played by American professional surfer Kelly Slater from 1992 to 1993.Kelly Slater appeared in 6 episodes of the third season and in 2 episodes of the fourth season....
, Bob Dunlap, and Clarence Henry and light heavyweight Clinton Bacon (knocked out in four in a rematch), Moore was finally given an opportunity at age thirty-nine to fight for the title of world light heavyweight champion and future IBHOF honoree Joey Maxim
Joey Maxim
Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli was an American boxer. He was a light heavyweight champion of the world. He took the ring-name Joey Maxim from the Maxim gun, the world's first self-acting machine gun, based on his ability to rapidly throw a large number of left jabs.-Early career:Maxim was born in...
.
Maxim had just defeated the great Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
by a technical knockout in 14 rounds, forcing Robinson to quit in his corner due to heat exhaustion. Against Maxim, Moore consistently landed powerful right hands, hurting him several times en route to a fifteen round decision. After sixteen long years he had finally achieved his dream.
He was far from done, however. The next year, Moore won all nine of his bouts, including a 10 round non title win against then fringe heavyweight contender Nino Valdez
Nino Valdez
Nino Valdez was the Cuban heavyweight boxing champion in the 1940s and 1950s...
of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and a 15 round decision over Maxim in a rematch to retain the belt. He made two more bouts in Argentina before the end of the year.
In 1954, he had only four fights, retaining the title in a third fight with Maxim, who once again went the 15 round distance, and versus Johnson, who he knocked out in 14. He also beat highly ranked heavyweight Bob Baker.
In 1955, Moore again beat Valdez, who by that time was the no. 1 heavyweight contender, and defended against Bobo Olson
Bobo Olson
Carl Olson was an American boxer. He was the world middleweight champion between October 1953 and December 1955, the longest reign of any champion in that division during the 1950s, although he is probably best remembered for his three knockout losses against Sugar Ray Robinson.His nickname, Bobo,...
, the world middleweight champion and future Hall of Famer who was coming off a decision victory over Joey Maxim, by a knockout in three.
On September 21, 1955, Moore went up in weight to face future Hall of Famer Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano , born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was an American boxer and the heavyweight champion of the world from September 23, 1952, to April 27, 1956. Marciano is the only champion to hold the heavyweight title and go undefeated throughout his career. Marciano defended his title six times...
for Marciano's heavyweight championship. Moore briefly dropped Marciano in the second round (the second and last time Marciano had ever been knocked down), but Marciano recovered and knocked Moore down five times, knocking him out in the ninth to retain the belt. It was Marciano's sixth and last title defense before retiring in 1956.
In 1956, Moore fought mostly as a heavyweight but did retain his light heavyweight title with a ten round knockout over Yolande Pompey in London. He won 11 bouts in a row before challenging again for the world heavyweight crown. The title was left vacant by Marciano, but Moore lost to Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson was an American heavyweight boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by...
by a knockout in five. (Patterson, yet another future Hall of Famer, himself made history that night, becoming, at the age of 21, the youngest world heavyweight champion yet, a record he would hold until 1986.)
Moore won all six of his bouts during 1957. Among those wins was an easy 10-round decision over heavyweight contender Hans Kalbfell in Germany, a KO-7 over highly ranked Tony Anthony
Tony Anthony
Darrell W. "Tony" Anthony is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known as Dirty White Boy, who wrestled primarily for independent promotions in the Southeastern United States...
to retain the light heavyweight title, a one-sided 10-round decision over light heavyweight contender Eddie Cotton
Eddie Cotton
Eddie Cotton was a former boxer. Cotton was a resident of Seattle, Washington until his death on June 25, 1990 following a second liver transplant.- Career :...
in a non-title bout, and a 4th round knockout of future top ten heavyweight contender Roger Rischer.
In 1958, Moore had 10 fights, going 9-0-1 during that span. His fight with Yvon Durelle
Yvon Durelle
Yvon Durelle , born in Baie-Ste-Anne, New Brunswick, Canada, was a French Canadian champion boxer.-Early life and career:...
in particular was of note: defending his world light heavyweight title in Montreal, he was felled three times in round one, and once again in round five, but then dropped Durelle in round 10 and won by a knockout in the 11th.
1959, his last full year as uncontested champion, was another rare low-profile year; in his two fights, he beat Sterling Davis
Sterling Davis
Sterling Davis is a professional basketball player, currently at British Basketball League club Glasgow Rocks, where he is currently player/head coach....
by a knockout in three, and then Durelle again, also by a knockout in three, to once again retain his world light heavyweight title.
During 1960, Moore was stripped of his world light heavyweight title by the National Boxing Association (NBA)
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
, but continued to be recognized by most major boxing authorities including the New York State Athletic Commission and Ring Magazine. Moore won three of his four bouts in 1960, one by decision against Buddy Turman
Buddy Turman
Reagan Garth "Buddy" Turman was an American professional heavyweight boxer. He was born in the rural community of Noonday, Texas.-Boxing career:...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, his lone loss coming in a ten-round decision versus Giulio Rinaldi in Rome.
In 1961, he defeated Turman again by decision in Manila, Philippines before defending his lineal world light heavyweight championship for what would be the last time, beating Rinaldi by a 15 round decision to retain the belt. In his last fight that year, he once again ventured into the heavyweights, and met Pete Rademacher
Pete Rademacher
Thomas Peter Rademacher is a former boxer who made boxing history by being the only man to fight for the world heavyweight championship in his first professional fight.-Amateur career:...
, a man who had made history earlier in his career by becoming the first man ever to challenge for a world title in his first professional bout (when he lost to Patterson by a knockout in six). Moore beat Rademacher by a knockout in nine.
In 1962, the remaining boxing commissions that had continued to back Moore as the world light heavyweight champion withdrew their recognition. He campaigned exclusively as a heavyweight from then on, and beat Alejandro Lavorante by a knockout in 10 and Howard King by a knockout in one round in Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
. He then drew against future world light heavyweight champion Willie Pastrano
Willie Pastrano
Wilfred Raleigh Pastrano was a light heavyweight boxer who held the world crown from 1963 until 1965.-Early life:...
in a 10-round heavyweight contest. Interestingly enough on the posters advertising that fight, Moore was billed as the "world light heavyweight champion." The bout took place in California which had not yet withdrawn recognition from Moore at the time the Moore-Pastrano fight was signed. By the time the bout took place, the California commission, like New York, Massachusetts, the EBU, and Ring Magazine, had recognized Harold Johnson
Harold Johnson (boxer)
Harold Johnson , is a former professional boxer.Johnson was born in Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He won his first twenty-four fights before losing a ten round decision to Archie Moore, who would be Johnson's biggest career rival...
, who had beaten Doug Jones
Doug Jones (boxer)
Doug Jones is a former American heavyweight boxer.- Boxing career :Doug "Pugilism" Jones started off his career successfully with 18 consecutive wins against mostly lightly regarded opponents, until his first loss occurred at the hands of Eddie Machen. He lost his next two fights, and the third a...
16 days earlier, as the new light heavyweight champ. Johnson had reigned as the NBA's (WBA's) champion since February 7, 1961.
Then, in his last fight of note, Moore faced a young heavyweight out of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
named Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
. Moore had been Clay's trainer for a time, but Clay became dissatisfied and left Moore because of Moore's attempts to change his style, and his insistence that Clay do dishes and help clean gym floors.
In the days before the fight, Clay had rhymed that "Archie Moore...Must fall in four." Moore replied that he had perfected a new punch for the match: The Lip-Buttoner.
Nonetheless, as Clay predicted Moore was beaten by a knockout in four rounds. Moore is the only man to have faced both Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali.
After one more fight in 1963, a third round knockout win over Mike DiBiase in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Moore announced his retirement from boxing, for good.
Final retirement
Despite retiring, Moore couldn't escape the limelight, and received numerous awards and dedications. In 1965, he was given the key to the city of San Diego, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In 1970, he was named "Man of The Year" by Listen Magazine, and received the key to the city of Sandpoint, Ohio.
He was elected in 1985 to the St. Louis city Boxing Hall of Fame, and he received the Rocky Marciano Memorial Award in the city of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1988. In 1990, he became a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
in Canastota, being one of the original members of that institution.
At one point, the oldest boxer to win the world's light heavyweight crown, he is believed to have been the only boxer who boxed professionally in the eras of Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
, Marciano and Muhammad Ali. He is one of only a handful of boxers whose careers spanned four decades; his final record was an extraordinary 185 wins, 23 losses, 11 draws and 1 no contest, with 131 official knockouts.
However, at least three of Moore's record 131 knockouts came in less-than-competitive matches against pro wrestlers: "Professor" Roy Shire in 1956, Sterling Davis
Sterling Davis
Sterling Davis is a professional basketball player, currently at British Basketball League club Glasgow Rocks, where he is currently player/head coach....
in 1959, and Mike DiBiase in 1963 (Moore's 131st and final knockout). All three matches are officially listed as third-round TKO stoppages. But even if one amends Moore's career numbers, he would still hold the record. The second-highest amount of knockouts in boxing history is 125, a total shared by light heavyweight Young Stribling
Young Stribling
Young Stribling was a professional boxer in the Heavyweight division.He was the elder brother of fellow boxer Herbert Stribling.- Background :...
and welterweight Billy Bird.
Acting career
In 1960, Moore was chosen to play the role of the runaway slave Jim in Michael CurtizMichael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
's film adaptation of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, opposite Eddie Hodges
Eddie Hodges
Eddie Hodges is a United States former child actor and recording artist who left show business as an adult.-Early life and career:Hodges was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S. Hodges traveled to New York City with his family in 1952...
as Huck. Moore garnered positive reviews for his sympathetic portrayal of Jim, which some viewers still consider the best interpretation of this much-filmed role.
Moore did not choose to pursue a full-time career as an actor, but he did appear in 1960s films such as The Fortune Cookie
The Fortune Cookie
The Fortune Cookie is a 1966 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their first on-screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder.- Plot :...
and The Carpetbaggers
The Carpetbaggers
The Carpetbaggers is the title of a 1961 bestselling novel by Harold Robbins, which was adapted into a 1964 film of the same title.The term "carpetbagger" refers to an outsider relocating to exploit locals . It derives from post-bellum South usage, where it referred specifically to opportunistic...
and on television in episodes of Family Affair
Family Affair
Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...
, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
, Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
, The Reporter
The Reporter (TV series)
The Reporter is an American drama series that aired on CBS from September 25 to December 18, 1964. The series was created by Jerome Weidman and developed by executive producers Keefe Brasselle and John Simon.-Synopsis:...
, Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
and the soap opera One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
. He made a brief return to film in 1975, playing a chef in Breakheart Pass
Breakheart Pass (1975 film)
Breakheart Pass is an American 1975 western adventure film that stars Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, and Jill Ireland. The movie was based on the novel by Alistair MacLean of the same title, and was filmed in north central Idaho.-Plot:...
with Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
, and had a cameo role as himself in the 1982 Jamaa Fanaka film Penitentiary II, along with Leon Isaac Kennedy and Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
.
Personal life
In 1997, J'Marie Moore, became the first daughter of a famous boxer to herself become a professional boxer.Death
Archie Moore died of heart failure in 1998 four days before his 82nd birthday. He was cremated and is interred in a niche at Cypress View Mausoleum and Crematory, in San Diego.Accolades
- In 1965, Moore was also inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame.
- In 2002, Archie Moore was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of FameSt. Louis Walk of FameThe St. Louis Walk of Fame honors well-known people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there...
. - In 2006, Moore was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame
- The RingThe Ring (magazine)The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
ranked Moore #4 on its "Best Punchers of all time" list in 2003 and #14 on its list of the "80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years"