A History of Olympic Champions in Professional Boxing (Heavy+)

I've taken a look at how Olympic champions in Boxing have done in their Professional Careers.

I've focused on the Heavyweight / Super Heavyweight divisions, as that's where my interests lie.

Boxing made it's Olympic debut in 1904 in the USA. The winner in the Heavyweight division was Sam Berger, who turned professional in 1905. He won 3 fights against fairly easy opposition, before stepping up in a big way against Philadelphia Jack O'Brien in 1906. O'Brien was coming off a win against Bob Fitzsimmons, and was a rival claimant to the Heavyweight title with Tommy Burns. Berger put on a great performance, with newspapers split as to who had won, and Boxrec noting this as a draw due to the varying opinions. He was then matched against Al Kaufman, who had a record of 7-1, his only loss being to O'Brien. Despite scoring some knockdowns of his own, Berger would lose when his corner threw in the towel in the 10th round having been outclassed. He would never fight again, finishing with a record of 3-1-1 at the age of 22. He would go on to manage Jeffries for his fight against Johnson, and died wealthy aged 40.

In 1908 the Olympics were in London, and the winner at Heavyweight was Albert Oldman. He did not turn professional, and served in the Army and the Police.

In 1912 the Olympics were in Sweden, and boxing was not included due to their dislike of the sport.

In 1916 the Olympics were cancelled due to World War 1.

In 1920 the Olympics were held in Belgium, and Ronald Rawson won the Heavyweight gold. He did not turn professional.

In 1924 the Olympics visited Paris, with Otto Von Porat winning the Heavyweight competition. He turned professional in 1926, winning his first 2 fights before losing to Martin Burke, who himself was coming off 2 consecutive losses. Von Porat rebounded from this loss with a string of 4 wins, before facing Young Stribling in 1927. This was a very one-sided affair, with Stribling winning easily over 10 rounds. Things would continue badly for Von Porat as he lost his next 2 fights against Big Boy Peterson. 1928 was better for him, as he won 8 fights and lost 2, those being against Jack Dorval and Paulino Uzcudun. His wins in this year included Pierre Charles and Chuck Wiggins. At the end of 1928 he was included in Ring Magazine's year-end ratings for the first time, being included at #10.
In early 1929 he beat Battling Levinsky and Tom Heeney amongst others, before losing to Johnny Risko in April. He beat Emmett Rocco, KO Christner and Tom Sayers before losing amongst some controversy by disqualification to Phil Scott, who claimed a low blow. He finished the year ranked at #6 by Ring Magazine.
1930 started poorly for Otto, losing in January for a second time to Paulino Uzcudun. He won his next 2 fights, but lost to Young Stribling for a second time in June 1930, this time by 1st round KO. A comeback fight in October resulted in a 1st round DQ loss to Angus Snyder for punching after the bell, but a split decision win over Jack Renault got things slightly back on track by November. After a disappointing year, he was not included in Ring's ratings for 1930, and never would be again.
In 1931 he won the Scandinavian Heavy title by beating Harry Persson by 1st round stoppage, and he spent 2 years in northern europe, winning 3 more fights before returning to the USA in a losing effort against Tuffy Griffiths in 1933. After 5 straight wins over unremarkable opposition, he lost once more to Pierre Charles by 2nd round KO in December of that year. He retired in 1934 with a final record of 37-11.

Amsterdam was the host of the 1928 Olympics, and the Heavyweight gold was won by Arturo Rodríguez Jurado. He did not turn professional, becoming the captain of the Argentinian National Rugby team.

In 1932 the Olympics returned to the USA, and another Argentinian won gold in the top division, Santiago Alberto Lovell. He turned pro in 1934, losing his debut to Eduardo Primo before going on a long winning streak. Many of his opponents were nothing to write home about, but in 1937 he fought Maxie Rosenbloom, who had been ranked at #5 by the Ring in their 1936 list. Lovell won a decision after a late rally, in which Maxie was cut badly near his eye which restricted his vision. Following this win, Lovell had some good wins against Hank Hankinson, Eddie Simms and Clarence Burman, before stepping up once more against Gunnar Barlund. Lovell would lose this fight on points over 10 rounds, having been knocked down in the third.
In 1938 Lovell had some good wins, including Arturo Godoy and Valentin Campolo, but remained unranked by Ring magazine. 1939 saw him lose a rematch to Godoy, but win again against Campolo. 1940 was an unbeaten year with 5 wins again easy opposition, and 1941 started well with a win over his rival Arturo Godoy but ended with a loss to Roscoe Toles.
In 1942, he would start the year with a win against Godoy, putting their record at 3-1 in his favour. Godoy had been ranked by Ring at #9 at the end of '41, so Lovell may have entered their monthly rankings at this point, but he drew with an then lost to their #10 fighter Roscoe Toles in the following month, putting their record at 1 draw and 2 losses. 1942 would see Toles ranked at #4, but Lovell and Godoy both unranked. Lovell fought 14 times in 1943, but lost his only significant fight against old foe Godoy in the February. In 1944 he was arrested along with Godoy following a no-contest bout, about the details of which I am unsure. 1945 was another unbeaten year against uninspiring opposition, and in 1946 he went 6-1, avenging his only defeat which was for a disqualification for a neck punch. A quiet 1947 saw him win twice in a visit to Spain, and 1948 saw him win 3 fights. His later career was a series of wins until 1951, when at the age of 39 in his final fight he was matched against Archie Moore, who was on a tour of Argentina. A 1st round knockout loss put a full stop on a career record of 76-8-3, in which he flirted with the top levels of the sport without ever really challenging the best men.

In 1936, the Olympics were hosted in Nazi Germany. and won by German Herbert Runge. He turned professional in 1946, having remained an amateur for some years, and had a very unsuccessful career. Never fighting outside Germany, he lost to boxers including Hein Ten Hoff and Heinz Neuhaus, retiring with a record of 5-14-6.

In 1940 and 1944, the Olympics were not held due to World War 2.

In 1948, the Olympics returned to London, and another Argentinian won the gold medal, Rafael Iglesias. In the shortest possible career, he turned pro in 1952, lost by KO to Bob Dunlap, and retired with a record of 0-1.

In 1952, Finland hosted the Olympics, and the heavyweight champion was Ed Sanders of the USA. He turned pro in 1954, whilst still in the Navy, and won his first 3 fights by early knockout. He lost a shock decision over 5 round to Willie Wilson, complaining of shoulder pain, but avenged this loss the next year and won several other fights. He complained of headaches and continuing shoulder pain, and in December 1954 he was knocked out by Willie James, his sparring partner and New England champion. He never regained consciousness, dying in December 1954. It was believed the knockout had aggravated a previous injury.

In 1956, the Olympics went down under to Australia, and the gold was won by Pete Rademacher of the USA. Peter turned pro in 1957, and made history as the first person to challenge for the World Heavyweight title in his first professional fight, losing by KO to Floyd Patterson. He also lost his second fight against Zora Folley, meaning he had fought 2 of the top 4 heavyweights in the world in his first 2 fights, losing to both, a feat which would be repeated by Francis Ngannou decades later. Following these losses he won 6 fights and had 1 draw against easier opposition, then lost in 1960 to Brian London, who had lost his last 3 fights. Rademacher bounced back with wins over George Chuvalo and Willi Besmanoff, but lost in 1961 to Doug Jones, George Logan and Archie Moore in succession, all by knockout. 1962 saw him lost to Karl Mildenberger, win against former middleweight Bobo Olsen with a 25 pound weight advantage, then retire with a record of 15-7-1.

In 1960, Rome hosted the Olympics, and an Italian by the name of Francesco de Piccoli won the gold. He turned pro that same year, and by 1963 had amassed a record of 25-0. He lost his 26th fight against Wayne Bethea by 4th round knockout, and also lost his 27th fight against Joe Bygraves by 2nd round knockout. Wounded by these losses, he returned to can-crushing, improving his record to 37-2 before losing his last 2 fights against Everett Copeland and Peter Weiland. He retired with a very padded record of 37-4.

Note: Muhammad Ali won the light-heavyweight gold in the 1960 Olympics.

1964 saw the Olympics travel to Tokyo, and the gold was won by Joe Frazier. I will assume he is well known enough that a career summary here is unnecessary.

In 1968 it was the turn of Mexico to host the games, and George Foreman won gold. As above, a summary here is unnecessary.

 

1972 was hosted by West Germany, and the heavyweight gold was won by cuban boxer Teófilo Stevenson. Despite being tempted by large offers to fight Ali, he refused to turn professional and remained an amateur until his retirement.

1976 was Canada's Olympic games, and Teófilo Stevenson became the first man to defend his gold medal, winning once more.

The 1980 Olympics were hosted in the Soviet Union, and won for an unprecedented third time by Teófilo Stevenson.

The 1984 games were back in the USA, and with Cuba boycotting the games the world was guaranteed a different heavyweight champion. This year saw the introduction of a Super-Heavyweight class. The heavy gold was won by Henry Tillman, and the Super-Heavy by Tyrell Biggs. Both men turned pro that year, with Tillman fighting as a Cruiserweight, and was ranked at #5 by Ring in 1986 before losing to Holyfield. In 1987 he entered the Heavyweight class, and was less successful, being perhaps best remembered for a 1st round KO loss to Mike Tyson in 1990. He retired in 1992 with a record of 25-6, and a heavyweight record of 11-4.
Biggs started as a heavyweight and won his first 15 fights, perhaps the best being against Renaldo Snipes. This was enough to get him installed as #10 in the Ring Ratings for 1986. He then fought unified champion Mike Tyson in 1987, and lost by 7th round TKO, losing every round according to 2 of the 3 judges. Undeterred, the Ring ranked him as #9 at the end of 1987, perhaps on the strength of his win over Lorenzo Boyd prior to his destruction by Tyson. 1988 saw Biggs lose his only fight in the year to the unbeaten Francesco Damiani, which was enough for Ring to drop him from their top-10 list. In 1989 Biggs lost again, this time to the unbeaten Gary Mason, before winning against the very much not unbeaten Bobby Crabtree. In 1990, Biggs beat Ossie Ocasio who was coming off 2 straight defeats, then after a stay-busy fight he beat the unbeaten Rodolfo Marin. This was enough to get him a fight in 1991 against the unbeaten Riddick Bowe, ranked at #8 by Ring. Bowe knocked out Biggs in the 8th round, and Lennox Lewis followed this up by knocking Biggs out in the 3rd round 8 months later. In search of easier work, Biggs won 6 fights against easy opponents, before losing to Mike Hunter and Tony Tubbs in 1993. In 1994 he lost to Buster Mathis Jr and Ray Anis, and after a 3-year break he returned to the ring, losing to Larry Donald in his last major fight in 1997. He retired with a record of 30-10.

1988 was in South Korea, and was won by Lennox Lewis (SH) and Ray Mercer (H). Lennox is well-known enough to not need covering here. Mercer turned pro in 1989 and won his first 18 fights. This included wins over Ossie Ocasio in 1989 and Bert Cooper in 1990, which were enough to rank him #9 in Ring Magazine's 1990 year-end list. His best wins in this initial run was against the unbeaten Francesco Damiani in January 1991, who was ranked at #7, and the unbeaten Tommy Morrison in October 1991. Mercer was rewarded with a #5 placing at the end of 1991 by Ring. In 1992, he took on unranked formed champion Larry Holmes, who since losing to Tyson in 1988 had taken 3 years off then come back and fought 5 easy opponents. Holmes was 42, and a big underdog, but he won a wide unanimous decision, handing Mercer his first loss. Mercer won 2 easy comeback fights in 1992, and had dropped to #8 in the year-end rankings. In 1993 he lost to Jesse Ferguson, but won a rematch later the same year after 2 easy wins. Now ranked at #7 by Ring, he only fought once in 1994 with an embarrassing draw against Marion Wilson. Many thought he should have lost this fight, and he was not included in Ring's 1994 list. In 1995 he was given a chance against Evander Holyfield, but lost by unanimous decision. In 1996 he lost a majority decision against Lennox Lewis in a close fight, which he followed up with a win over Tim Witherspoon. This was enough for a return to the rankings, at #6 in 1996. Despite not fighting at all in 1997 due to a neck injury, he was raised to #4 in the year-end list, then fought once in 1998 in an easy win, after which he was removed once more. Fighting illness around this time, 1999 was more of the same, with just 1 fight against an easy opponent, and he did not fight at all in 2000. A return in 2001 saw him win 3 fights, then in 2002 he took on Wladimir Klitschko and lost by 6th round TKO. He continued fighting, losing to Shannon Briggs in 2005 and Derric Rossy in 2008, finally retiring with a record of 36-7-1.

The 1992 Olympics were in Spain, and won by Cuban boxers Roberto Balado (SH) and Félix Savón (H). In keeping with the Cuban amateur tradition, neither man turned professional.

The 1996 Olympics were hosted by the USA once more, and won by Wladimir Klitschko (SH) and Félix Savón (H), who retained his title. Klitschko requires no summary.

The 2000 Olympics were back in Australia, and won by Audley Harrison (SH) and Félix Savón (H) for a third time. Harrison turned pro in 2001, and won his first 19 fights including wins over the unbeaten fighters Richel Hersisia and Tomasz Bonin. He lost in 2005 to Danny Williams by split decision, before losing to Dominick Guinn by unanimous decision in 2006. He avenged the loss to Williams in December 2006, before losing once more to Michael Sprott in 2007. He scored a decent win over George Arias in 2008, but lost in the same year to Martin Rogan. 4 wins followed, including avenging his loss to Sprott, but he would lose to David Haye in 2010 and David Price in 2012. He managed 2 more good wins against Martin Rogan and Derric Rossy in 2013, but lost to Deontay Wilder in 2013 and retired with a record of 31-7.

2004 saw the Olympics go to Greece, and gold was won by Alexander Povetkin (SH) and Odlanier Solis (H). Povetkin turned pro in 2005, winning 5 fight against easy opposition before beating Richard Bango and Friday Ahunanya in 2006. In 2007 he beat Larry Donald, then Chris Byrd, which was enough to get him ranked at #10 in Ring's 2007 list. In 2008 he beat the unbeaten Eddie Chambers, and was ranked at #4 by Ring in 2008. He won twice in 2009 against Jason Estrada and Leo Nolan, rising to #2 on Ring's 2009 list, then remained unbeated with 2 more wins in 2010 taking his record to 21-0 and being ranked at #3 in 2010. He beat the #5 ranked Ruslan Chagaev in 2011, then beat Cedric Boswell later that year, and was rewarded with a #2 ranking. He beat top cruiserweight Marco Huck in 2012, as well as former champion Hasim Rahman, and remained at #2. After beating Andrzej Wawrzyk in 2013, he was finally given a shot at the title, but lost to Wladimir Klitschko by unanimous decision in his first professional loss. He remained at #2 for 2013, then beat Mahmoud Charr and Carlos Takam which was enough to raise him to the #1 contender according to Ring in 2014. He won 2 more fights in 2015 against Mike Perez and Mariusz Wach, once again being listed as the #2 contender by Ring that year, then fought just once in 2016 in a win over Johann Duhaupas. Ring did not rank him in 2016, but a win over Christian Hammer in 2017 was enough for them to reinstate him at #4. In 2018 a win over David Price got him his second opportunity at a title, this time against Anthony Joshua. Povetkin was beaten by TKO in the 7th round, which was only his second loss as a professional and his first in 5 years. Despite the loss, he was ranked at #6 by Ring in their year-end list. In 2019, a win over Hughie Fury was followed by a draw with Michael Hunter, in a fight in which many thought Hunter did enough to win. Povetkin dropped to #7 in Ring's list for 2019. In 2020, Povetkin took on #4 ranked Dillian Whyte, who dropped him twice in the 4th round, but Povetkin scored an upset victory by knocking his opponent out in the 5th round. This put Povetkin up to #3 according to Ring, but a rematch with Whyte in 2021 proved to be Povetkin's last fight, as he was stopped in the 4th round and retired with a record of 36-3-1, having been a top contender for many years.
Solis turned pro in 2007, winning his first 17 fights including wins over Monte Barratt in 2009 and Ray Austin in 2010. As the Ring #10 contender he was given a shot at Vitali Klitschko, but lost by 1st round KO in 2011. A win in 2013 over Leif Larson was enough to get him to #8 in Ring's rankings, but a loss to Tony Thompson in 2014 saw him drop out again. Another loss to Thompson in 2015 followed, then he retired after 2 wins in 2016 with a record of 22-3.

2008 was China's year to host the games, and the winners were Roberto Cammarelle (SH) and Rakhim Chakhkiev (H). Cammarelle did not turn pro, and Chakhkiev fought only at cruiserweight after turning pro.

In 2012 the Olympics returned to London, and were won by Anthony Joshua (SH) and Oleksandr Usyk (H). Both men need no summary.

The 2016 Olympics in Brazil saw Tony Yoka (SH) and Evgeny Tishchenko (H) win gold. Yoka is still an active professional, but after 11 wins has lost his last 3 fights and may not become a real contender. Tishchenko is also an active professional, with 13 wins and 1 loss to date.

The 2020 Olympics saw professionals compete freely for the first time, and professional boxer Bakhodir Jalolov won gold (SH). Jalolov, who started his pro career in 2018, is currently 14-0 but has yet to test himself. The heavyweight gold medal was won by Julio Cesar la Cruz, who is competing as a professional cruiserweight with a 2-0 record to date.

 

In Summary then:

Including both Heavy and Super-Heavy champions at the Olympics, there have been 36 gold medals awarded, to 32 different fighters.

Of those 32, 7 did not turn professional, and 25 did.

Of those 25 who turned pro, 2 fought only at cruiserweight, while 23 fought at heavyweight.

On the 23 heavyweights, 10 were never ranked in the top 10 by the Ring, 10 made it into their rankings, and 3 are still in the early stages of their careers.

Of the 10 who were ranked, 2 never made it to the top 5, and 8 did.

The 8 who were ranked in the Top 5 at some point by Ring were: Frazier, Foreman, Lewis, Mercer, Klitschko, Povetkin, Joshua, Usyk

Special mention for Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks, who both won the Light-Heavyweight Olympic Gold and became world champion Heavyweights.