Lee Savold
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Lee Savold (born Lee Hulver; March 22, 1915 – May 14, 1972) was an American heavyweight boxer who held the British and European (EBU) version of the World Heavyweight championship between 1950 and 1951 and was a leading contender in the 1940s and early 1950s. During his career he fought storied Heavyweight Champions
Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...
and
Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only ...
.Lee Savold's Professional Boxing Record
BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.
Savold was inducted into the
Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame The Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame is a commemorative organization with plans to create a museum. It celebrates the history of boxing in the state of Minnesota by honoring individuals whose achievements within the sport are noteworthy. History Thou ...
in 2012.Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame - Lee Savold
MNBHOF.org Retrieved on 2014-04-30
Savold has the most fights and wins of any heavyweight champion in boxing history.


Personal life

Savold was born in Canby, Minnesota (his birth was recorded in the nearby town of Marshall). His parents were farmers and ranchers of Norwegian ancestry. In his youth, he broke horses and herded cattle on his family ranch. At one time or another he was a bouncer, bartender, road laborer, and stockyard worker. In 1943 he joined the merchant marine and took part in several convoys to
Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...
. After retiring from boxing, he worked for Local 825 of the Operating Engineers Union.


Boxing career

On September 16, 1940, Lee Savold KO’d Andy Miler in round 1 (1:43).
Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...
, former heavyweight champion, who was at ringside, presented the Iowa State Heavyweight Championship trophy to Savold after the bout. On May 25, 1942, he KO'd
Lou Nova Lou Nova (March 16, 1913 – September 29, 1991) also called ''Cosmic punch'' was an American boxer and actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, the Nova was the U.S. and World Amateur Boxing Champion in 1935. After turning pro, he remained ...
in the eighth round in a bout which was named ''The Ring'' magazine Upset of the Year. On March 19, 1948, Savold set the record for the quickest knockout in a main event bout at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
by knocking out Italy's Gino Buonvino. He was the underdog, and had been substituted for
Joe Baksi Joe Baksi (January 14, 1922 – August 6, 1977) was a top heavyweight contender who defeated fighters such as Tami Mauriello, Lee Savold, Lou Nova, and Freddie Mills, while losing decisions to Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles. Background J ...
, who had injured his ankle, on only 48 hours' notice. The record stood until
Gerry Cooney Gerald Arthur Cooney (born August 24, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1990, and challenged twice for world heavyweight titles in 1982 and 1987 (for the WBC and lineal title in 1982 and 1987, and for the ...
tied the record by KO'ing
Ken Norton Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. (August 9, 1943 – September 18, 2013) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981, and held the WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978. He is best known for his fights with Muhammad Ali, i ...
in 1981. It was finally broken on March 10, 2007, when
Sultan Ibragimov Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov (russian: Султан-Ахмед Магомедсалихович Ибрагимов, av, Султан-АхӀмад МухӀаммадсалихӀазул вас Ибрагьимов; born 8 March 1975 ...
KO'd Javier Mora in 46 seconds. On June 6, 1950, he defeated Bruce Woodcock on a fourth round cut eye stoppage to win the EBU version of the World Heavyweight title, Savold had lost on a foul in their first meeting in 1948. On June 17, 1951 he fought
Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...
in what was the first professional prizefight carried to theaters on closed-circuit TV. He was knocked out in 2 minutes 29 seconds of the sixth round. Although it was a non-title match, after this bout the EBU withdrew recognition of Savold as "world" champion. In his last fight, he lasted 7 rounds before being TKO'd by legendary boxer
Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only ...
on February 13, 1952.


Death

Savold died on May 14, 1972, aged 57, at the Jersey Shore Medical Center in
Neptune City, New Jersey Neptune City is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,869,Spring Lake, New Jersey Spring Lake is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 2,993,BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...
, unless otherwise stated.


Official record

All
newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club o ...
s are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.


Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of
newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club o ...
s in the win/loss/draw column.


References


External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Savold, Lee Boxers from Minnesota Heavyweight boxers 1915 births 1972 deaths American male boxers