🥊 Boxing · Heavyweight
United States · 1934–1951
Twenty-five title defences across nearly twelve years as champion.
Louis held the heavyweight title longer than anyone and defended it more often, with a compact, economical punching style. His 1938 rematch victory over Germany's Max Schmeling, in front of 70,000 people at Yankee Stadium, carried political weight far beyond boxing.
Three-time heavyweight champion, and the most famous athlete alive for decades.
Heavyweight · 1960–1981
173 wins, and the fighter every other fighter is measured against.
Welterweight / middleweight · 1940–1965
Youngest heavyweight champion in history, at twenty.
Heavyweight · 1985–2005