When world heavyweight champion Rocky “The Brockton Blockbuster” Marciano fought his last fight on September 21, 1955 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, his final record was 49-0 with 43 stoppages.
Marciano came off the canvas in that last fight, and was dropped in the second round for a two count by ‘knockout king’ light heavyweight champion Archie ‘Old Mongoose’ Moore, 149-19-8 with 108 stoppages. He came back and dropped Moore twice in the sixth round, once in the eighth, and was counted out by referee Harry Kessler at 1:19 of the ninth round.
Since then, there have been three boxers before Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. retired with a 50-0 record on August 26, 2017, when he stopped MMA fighter Conor McGregor and made his bow at 1:05 of the tenth round by referee Robert Byrd.
Mayweather was encouraged by former heavyweight champion “Big” George Foreman to go for the record. He was smart enough to only average about three punches per round for nine rounds, carrying the rookie McGregor before unloading on him in the tenth and final round.
Before that, on February 5, 2009, WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF world super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe went 46-0 with 32 stoppages and retired with “bad hands”.
Another was Denmark’s “Super” Brian Nielsen, IBO world heavyweight champion, who went 48-0 when former WBC and WBA world champion “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon, 55-12-1, admitted to this writer that he took a “dive” for supporters of Nielsen, who was stopped in four rounds. Nielsen, in his next fight, was stopped in the tenth and final round by Dicky Ryan, 47-4, who he had on the canvas in the fourth round. Eighteen months later, Nielsen turned it around and lost by decision in December 2000.
The other boxer was Larry “The Easton Assassin” Holmes, who was 48-0 when he was the light heavyweight champion, and 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Spinks, 27-0, defeated him on September 21, 1985. Seven months later, Holmes again lost to Spinks on a controversial decision.
Current WBC, WBO and IBF super middleweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, with a record of 42-0 with 31 stoppages, may be looking for one more fight before he retires.
Last updated on 29/11/2025
