The Greatest Boxing Match In The History Of BoxingAfter putting on weight to make a challenge for the Heavyweight crown and lost, Archie Moore went down to light heavyweights and won all six of his bouts during 1957. Moore retained his light heavyweight title against Tony Anthony winning the fight by a knockout in round seven. He won two fights in Germany one in Canada. In 1958 Archie Moore was on the rampage in the boxing ring winning nine fights and drawing one. Moore's fight with Yvon Durelle in particular, was a classic in boxing history. Archie Moore defending his world Light Heavyweight title in Montreal was dropped twice in the first round and once in round five, but Moore rallied round in the ring to dropped Yvon Durelle in round ten and went on to win the fight by a knockout in the 11th round. That fight came out amongst the greatest fights of all time in many scriptwriter's books and since that time it has become a regular feature fight on ESPN Classic's boxing shows all over the USA and Canada. Archie Moore Title Taken Away By The National Boxing Association In 1959, Moore only had two boxing bouts knocking out Sterling Davis in round three of that fight, then went on to beat Yvon Durelle also by a knockout in third round of a  15 round rematch, to retain his world Light Heavyweight title once again. At the beginning of 1960 the National Boxing Association (NBA) stripped Archie Moore of his world Light Heavyweight title but he won three of his four bouts that year, his lone loss against an Italian boxer by the name of Giulio Rinaldi in a ten rounder in Rome. The NBA promptly re-instated him as world Light Heavyweight champion in 1961 in which Moore won two fights before defending his crown by beating the Italian Giulio Rinaldi in 15 round of championship boxing to retain his title belt. This was to be the last time Archie Moore fought to defend his world title. Archie Moore Stripped of His Title AgainIn 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 round six. Moore beat Rademacher by a knockout in nine. A year later in 1962, he was stripped again of his world Light Heavyweight title, by the National Boxing Association this time for good. Archie Moore decided to campaign exclusively as a Heavyweight from there on and beat Alejandro Lavorante by a knockout in 10 and Howard King by a knockout in one at Tijuana. Then, he drew with former world Light Heavyweight champion Willie Pastrano in a 10 rounder. In his second to last fight he faced the then young up and coming Heavyweight Cassius Clay out of Louisville. In that fight Cassius Clay knockout Archie Moore in round four. Archie Moore Received The Rocky Marciano Memorial Award After one more fight, in 1963 against Mike DiBiase in Phoenix Arizona, Archie Moore won by a knockout in the third round of that fight, afterwards Archie Moore announced his retirement from the boxing ring for good. Despite Archie Moore's retirement from the pugilist arena Moore couldn't escape from the limelight being the recipient of numerous awards and dedications. In 1965, he received the key to the city of San Diego. In 1970 Archie Moore was chosen as the Man of The Year by Listen Magazine, and he 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 |
Moore is the Oldest Boxer Ever To Win A TitleArchie was one of a handful of boxers whose careers spanned over four decades, and he had a final record of 194 wins, 26 losses, 9 draws, 1 no contest, with 145 official knockout wins which has never been equalled nor will his boxing record ever be equalled. Moore is on record as the oldest boxer ever to win the world's Light Heavyweight crown and is the only boxer to have boxed professionally in the epoch of Louis, Marciano, Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali. Moore held the World Light Heavyweight Boxing title for 11 years. Archie Moore became assistant coach of the Nigerian boxing team at the 1976 Olympics. Elected to International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.Died in San Diego, 9th Dec 1998 aged 85 of a heart-related illness. Great Man. | |
