Karl Mildenberger (23 November 1937 – 4 October 2018) was a German

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. He was the European Heavyweight Champion from 1964 to 1968, during which he retained the title six times. He unsuccessfully challenged

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

for the World Heavyweight title in September 1966.

Biography

Mildenberger learned the fight trade, growing up in Occupied Germany. A cousin of his father's, a former boxing champion during the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, began Karl's fistic education; he then joined the boxing program run by FC Kaiserslautern. He eventually displayed enough promise to be sent to Mannheim for training, as Mildenberger lived in the French Sector of the occupation, which forbade the practice of prizefighting; Mannheim, in the American Sector, had no such restriction. Mildenberger lost his first fight for the European Heavyweight title when he was knocked out by Welsh boxer Dick Richardson in one round in April 1962. Karl rebounded with wins over Joe Erskine, Archie McBride,

Joe Bygraves Joe Bygraves (26 May 1931 – 16 January 2012) was a British heavyweight boxer. Bygraves turned professional in 1953, and after an impressive early career he successfully challenged Kitione Lave for the vacant Commonwealth Heavyweight b ...

and a knockout win over Billy Daniels. Mildenberger then got a draw with highly ranked

Zora Folley Zora "Bell" Folley (May 27, 1931 – July 7, 1972) was a mid-20th century American heavyweight boxer, known for his defensive game and punching ability. Early life Born in Dallas, Texas on 27 May 1931, Folley moved with his family to Chandler ...

in April 1964. Later that year, Mildenberger scored a first-round knockout over Sante Amonte to capture the European Heavyweight title. left, 240px, Mildenberger (right) fighting Ulrich Ritter in 1963 After defending his European title three times, Mildenberger fought

for the World Heavyweight Title in September 1966. Mildenberger, the first southpaw to fight for the World Heavyweight title, frustrated the champ for most of the fight, but ultimately lost by TKO when the referee stopped the fight at 1:28 of the twelfth round following a flurry of punches by Ali. Years later,

Angelo Dundee Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger". People People with the given name *Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church *Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Rom ...

said an eighth round punch to the liver area hurt Ali, whose ability to withstand body blows was legendary. In 1967, Mildenberger participated in a tournament staged by the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

to determine the new heavyweight champion after Ali was stripped of the title for refusing induction into the US military draft. In the first round of the tournament, getting off the deck, he lost to

Oscar Bonavena Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena (September 25, 1942 – May 22, 1976) was an Argentine heavyweight professional boxer with a career record of 58 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw. A rugged, wild-swinging puncher, he was nicknamed "Ringo" because of his Bea ...

by a clear twelve-round decision. Mildenberger was not the same afterwards, and was knocked out by contender Leotis Martin in seven rounds (April 1968). Subsequently, in September 1968, Mildenberger's career ended when he lost the European Heavyweight title to

Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer, best remembered internationally for a 1963 fight in which he knocked down a young Cassius Clay before the fight was stopped because of a cut eye from Clay's punches. Coo ...

by eighth round disqualification after headbutting his opponent. Mildenberger has said of his timing of retirement, "If I had retained the title, I would have relinquished it. Win, lose or draw, I would have retired, anyway. ...This was the end. I was unharmed. No terrible things had happened to me." Mildenberger worked as a lifeguard after his retirement from boxing. He died at the age of 80 on 4 October 2018.

Professional boxing record

, - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 53 wins (19 knockouts, 34 decisions), 6 losses (4 knockouts, 1 decision, 1 DQ), 3 drawsKarl Mildenberger
. BoxRec. Retrieved on 11 September 2017. , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Loss , 53–6–3 , align=left,

, DQ , 8 , 18 September 1968 , align=left, Empire Pool,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , align=left, , - , Loss , 53–5–3 , align=left, Leotis Martin , KO , 7 , 5 April 1968 , align=left,

Festhalle Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt is a multi-purpose arena located in Frankfurt, Germany. The interior of the dome at its highest reaches a height of 40 meters. It provides an area of 5,646 square metres, offering by a variable grandstand system space for up t ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 53–4–3 , align=left, Gerhard Zech , PTS , 15 , 30 December 1967 , align=left,

Sportpalast Berlin Sportpalast (; built 1910, demolished 1973) was a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Schöneberg section of Berlin, Germany. Depending on the type of event and seating configuration, the Sportpalast could hold up to 14,000 people ...

, Schoeneberg,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, align=left, , - , Loss , 52–4–3 , align=left,

, UD , 12 , 16 September 1967 , align=left, Waldstadion,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 52–3–3 , align=left, Amos Lincoln , TKO , 6 , 6 May 1967 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 51–3–3 , align=left, Billy Walker , TKO , 8 , 21 March 1967 , align=left, Empire Pool,

, England , align=left, , - , Win , 50–3–3 , align=left, Piero Tomasoni , PTS , 15 , 1 February 1967 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Loss , 49–3–3 , align=left,

, TKO , 12 , 10 September 1966 , align=left, Waldstadion,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 49–2–3 , align=left, Ivan Prebeg , PTS , 15 , 15 June 1966 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 48–2–3 , align=left,

Eddie Machen Edward Mills "Eddie" Machen (June 15, 1932 – August 8, 1972) was an American professional boxer. He was one of 6 children of a rural mail carrier. Machen dropped out of high school and became an amateur boxer. However, after just 3 bouts he wa ...

, PTS , 10 , 3 February 1966 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 47–2–3 , align=left, Gerhard Zech , PTS , 15 , 26 November 1965 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 46–2–3 , align=left, David E. Bailey , PTS , 10 , 10 September 1965 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 45–2–3 , align=left, Piero Tomasoni , PTS , 15 , 14 May 1965 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 44–2–3 , align=left, Kirk Barrow , KO , 5 , 9 April 1965 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 43–2–3 , align=left, Jefferson Davis , PTS , 10 , 22 January 1965 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 42–2–3 , align=left, Ollie Wilson , TKO , 4 , 4 December 1964 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Draw , 41–2–3 , align=left, Amos Johnson , PTS , 10 , 20 November 1964 , align=left,

Deutschlandhalle Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 2011. History Buil ...

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 41–2–2 , align=left, Santo Amonti , KO , 1 , 17 October 1964 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Draw , 40–2–2 , align=left,

, PTS , 10 , 17 April 1964 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 40–2–1 , align=left, Archie McBride , PTS , 10 , 25 January 1964 , align=left,

, Schoeneberg,

, align=left, , - , Win , 39–2–1 , align=left, Billy Daniels , KO , 3 , 29 November 1963 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 38–2–1 , align=left, Joe Erskine , PTS , 10 , 13 October 1963 , align=left,

Westfalenhallen Westfalenhallen (English: Halls of Westphalia) is a commercial complex composed of conference (Kongresszentrum Dortmund) and exhibition centers (Messe Dortmund) with an indoor arena (Westfalenhalle), located in Dortmund, Germany. It is surroun ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 37–2–1 , align=left, Wayne Bethea , PTS , 10 , 6 July 1963 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 36–2–1 , align=left, Von Clay , PTS , 10 , 10 May 1963 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 35–2–1 , align=left, Ulli Ritter , PTS , 10 , 20 April 1963 , align=left, Ostseehalle,

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Draw , 34–2–1 , align=left, Archie McBride , PTS , 10 , 26 January 1963 , align=left,

, Schoeneberg,

, align=left, , - , Win , 34–2 , align=left,

, PTS , 3 , 30 November 1962 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 33–2 , align=left, Alonzo Johnson , PTS , 10 , 17 November 1962 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 32–2 , align=left, John Robert Henry , PTS , 8 , 6 October 1962 , align=left, Messesporthalle,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 31–2 , align=left, Federico Friso , PTS , 10 , 1 September 1962 , align=left, Messesporthalle,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Loss , 30–2 , align=left, Dick Richardson , KO , 1 , 24 February 1962 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 30–1 , align=left,

Pete Rademacher Thomas Peter Rademacher (November 20, 1928 – June 4, 2020) was an American heavyweight boxer. A gold medalist at the 1956 Olympics, he became the only person to challenge for the world heavyweight championship in his first professional bo ...

, PTS , 10 , 20 January 1962 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 29–1 , align=left, Howard King , PTS , 10 , 24 November 1961 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 28–1 , align=left, Wayne Bethea , PTS , 10 , 3 November 1961 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 27–1 , align=left, Young Jack Johnson , PTS , 10 , 29 September 1961 , align=left,

, Schoeneberg,

, align=left, , - , Win , 26–1 , align=left, José González Sales , KO , 2 , 10 September 1961 , align=left, Eisstadion,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 25–1 , align=left, Walter Haufft , TKO , 2 , 3 June 1961 , align=left, Eisstadion,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 24–1 , align=left, Frankie Daniels , PTS , 10 , 28 April 1961 , align=left,

, Schoeneberg,

, align=left, , - , Win , 23–1 , align=left, Törner Åhsman , TKO , 4 , 17 March 1961 , align=left,

, Schoeneberg,

, align=left, , - , Win , 22–1 , align=left, Hal Carter , TKO , 8 , 20 January 1961 , align=left,

, Schoeneberg,

, align=left, , - , Win , 21–1 , align=left, Franco Cavicchi , PTS , 10 , 7 December 1960 , align=left,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, Italy , align=left, , - , Win , 20–1 , align=left, Hans Friedrich , TKO , 3 , 26 November 1960 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 19–1 , align=left, Robert Archie Moore , PTS , 8 , 29 October 1960 , align=left, Ostseehalle,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 18–1 , align=left, Alain Cherville , TKO , 4 , 1 October 1960 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 17–1 , align=left,

Alex Buxton Alex Laurell Buxton (10 May 1926 – May 2004) was an English boxer who was British light-heavyweight champion between 1954 and 1955. Career Born in Watford, Alex Buxton's father Claude was from Antigua and his mother Edith from Bushey.

, PTS , 8 , 6 May 1960 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle,

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuzb ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 16–1 , align=left, Francois Kania , KO , 3 , 22 April 1960 , align=left, Ostseehalle,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 15–1 , align=left, Sammy Langford , TKO , 3 , 8 April 1960 , align=left,

, Schoeneberg,

, align=left, , - , Win , 14–1 , align=left, Ron Redrup , TKO , 7 , 13 February 1960 , align=left,

Killesbergpark The Killesbergpark (Höhenpark Killesberg) is an urban public park of half a square kilometre (123 acres) in Stuttgart, Germany. It is just north of the state capital, where Killesberg is a quarter of the borough of ''Stuttgart-Nord'' (North). ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 13–1 , align=left, Jimmy Slade , PTS , 8 , 30 December 1959 , align=left,

, Schoeneberg,

, align=left, , - , Win , 12–1 , align=left, Wim Snoek , PTS , 8 , 12 December 1959 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Loss , 11–1 , align=left, Helmut Ball , KO , 7 , 7 November 1959 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Arthur Howard , PTS , 8 , 4 July 1959 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Wim Snoek , PTS , 8 , 6 June 1959 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Jacques Bro , KO , 5 , 9 May 1959 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Pedro Klijssen , PTS , 8 , 24 April 1959 , align=left,

Grugahalle The Grugahalle is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at the edge of the Botanischer Garten Grugapark in Essen, Germany. Opened on 25 October 1958, its seating capacity is about 7,700 people and about 10,000 for unseated events. The building w ...

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Alain Cherville , PTS , 8 , 14 March 1959 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Louis DeBolster , KO , 3 , 14 February 1959 , align=left, Landwirtschaftshalle,

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Andre Wyns , PTS , 8 , 13 December 1958 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Jose Mariano Moracia Ibanes , PTS , 8 , 5 December 1958 , align=left, Bayernhalle,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Andre Oueille , TKO , 5 , 15 November 1958 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Guenter Huber , PTS , 4 , 9 November 1958 , align=left, Schwarzwaldhalle,

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Manfred Striemer , KO , 1 , 15 October 1958 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left,

Exhibition boxing record

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mildenberger, Karl Mildenberger,Karl 2018 deaths Heavyweight boxers European Boxing Union champions German male boxers People from Kaiserslautern Sportspeople from Rhineland-Palatinate