About Archie Moore

Born Archibald Lee Wright
December 13, 1913 in Benoit, MS
Died December 9, 1998
Career record: 185 wins (131 KO), 23 defeats, 11 draws, 1 no contest
"The Old Mongoose"

The 1952 World Light Heavyweight Champion had one of the longest professional careers in the history of boxing, and holds the record for most career knockouts at 131. He was stripped of his title by the National Boxing Association in 1960 but continued to be recognized by most major boxing authorities. Finally, in 1962, the remaining boxing commissions that had backed Moore withdrew their recognition and from then on, he fought as a heavyweight. The last notable fight of his career was against Cassius Clay. Moore had been Clay's trainer for a while and during that time, he tried to change Clay's style and also insisted that he do menial chores. As a result, Clay became unhappy with Moore's methods and moved on to a different trainer.

Before the fight, Clay's poetic prediction "Archie Moore must fall in four" irritated Moore. He responded that he had developed and perfected a new punch called "The Lip Buttoner". However, Clay was correct and defeated Moore with a fourth round knockout.

During a career that spanned four decades, Moore became the oldest boxer to win the World Light Heavyweight crown, the only boxer to have faced both Rocky Marciano and Cassius Clay, and the only known boxer to have fought professionally in the Joe Louis, Marciano and Ali eras. He also enjoyed a successful career as a character actor in both TV and the movies. Moore ranks number four on Ring Magazine's list of 100 Greatest Punchers of All Time. The prominent boxing website BoxRec named him the greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time. And in 1999, the Associated Press voted him the Light Heavyweight Fighter of the Century.

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