Meet the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion 

• Archie Moore is undoubtedly one of the greatest boxers the world has ever seen. 
• The American international is in history as the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time. 
• Before his retirement, Archie Moore trained boxers like James Tillis, George Foreman and the legendary Muhammad Ali.

Archie Moore is undoubtedly one of the greatest boxers in history. He is the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time. 

Nicknamed The Mongoose and then The Old Mongoose in the latter stages of his career, Archie Moore had one of the longest professional careers in boxing.

Archie Moore is one of the greatest boxers of all time. Photo/ Fight Game Media.

The legend competed between 1935 and 1963, holding the World Light Heavyweight Championship between December 1952 and May 1962. 

Before his retirement, Moore trained boxers like James Tillis, George Foreman and the legendary Muhammad Ali. 

Archie Moore ranks fourth on The Ring’s list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. 

The legend passed away as a result of heart failure in 1998. 

Early Life 

Archie Moore was born on December 13, 1913, in Benoit, Mississippi, US, to Thomas Wright and Lorena Wright. 

Archie’s father, Thomas Wright, worked as a drifter and a farm labourer. He abandoned the family when Archie was still an infant. 

Archie’s mother could not afford to provide for her two children, so she gave them to her relatives in St. Louis. 

Archie, the future longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion, attended several all-Black schools, including Lincoln High School. However, he never graduated from high school. 

Archie Moore wanted to become a boxer since his childhood days. 

The African-American joined a street gang after the death of his uncle in a freak accident around 1928. He began stealing at home and from other people on the streets. 

Young Moore was sentenced to three years at a reform school after trying to steal from a motorman’s box on a streetcar. He served for 22 months and then got released because of good behaviour. 

The American international joined the Civilian Conservation Corps working for the forestry division, and began training to be a boxer. 

Boxing Career 

Archie Moore organized a boxing team while working with the Civilian Conservation Corps. The team competed in Golden Gloves tournaments in Illinois and Missouri. 

Archie made his professional boxing debut against Billy Simms on September 3, 1935. He was 21 years 264 days when he defeated Billy to record his first pro boxing win in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. 

Moore suffered his first loss in his 18th professional fight, which was against Billy Adams on September 1, 1937. 

The future longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion won the California state middleweight title on May 8, 1943, after defeating Jack Chase. He lost the title to Jack two months later. 

Archie Moore won the vacant USA California state light heavyweight title in July 1947 after defeating Bobby Zander. He lost the title one year later to Leonard Morrow. 

The legendary boxer defeated Joey Maxim in December 1952 to win the NYSAC, NBA and The Ring light heavyweight titles. He defended his titles for ten years, making him the reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time.

Archie Moore became the World Light Heavyweight Champion after defeating Joey Maxim in December 1952. Photo/ Wikipedia.

Archie Moore’s last professional fight was against Mike DiBiase at Madison Square Garden on March 15, 1963. Moore, who was 49 years and 92 days at that time, won the fight through TKO. 

According to Wikipedia, Archie Moore was involved in 220 fights. He won 186 fights, lost 23 and drew 10. 

The legend fought in three different categories – Middleweight, Light heavyweight and Heavyweight. 

Moore holds the record for the most knockout wins in boxing, as 132 out of his 186 wins were knockouts. His high knockout rate can be attributed to the fact that he was a highly strategic and hard puncher. 

As of December 2020, BoxRec ranks the Old Mongoose as the third greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time. 

Achievements 

The San Diego Hall of Champions inducted the legendary boxer into the Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1965. 

He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1980 and 1990, respectively. 

The International Boxing Research Organization ranked Archie Moore as the number one light heavyweight of all time in 2005.

Archie Moore. Photo/ The Famous People.