Legends of Boxing: Archie Moore

The 'Old Mongoose' fought anyone and everyone for almost 30 years

Name: Archie Moore

Nickname: Old Mongoose

Date of First Fight: 3rd September 1935

Date of Retirement: 15th March 1963

Titles: World light-heavyweight champion

Biography:

Archie Moore was born as Archibald Lee Wright on 13th December 1913, in Benoit, Mississippi. Moore had a tough upbringing and was abandoned by his father at a young age, leaving him and his sister to move in with other family members, adopting the surname Moore.

Growing up in segregation, Archie fell into the world of street gangs and brushes with the law that led to a spell in reform school. After catching the boxing bug, Moore is reportedly flitted between amateur and semi-professional contests early on.

Campaigning around middleweight, he quickly learned his trade, and Moore’s fierce punching power set him apart. In 1940, he was based in Australia and won seven bouts, six by knockout, before returning to the States.

In 1942, Moore drew with Eddie ‘Black Dynamite’ Booker for a regional title. He lost to Charley Burley and Ezzard Charles in the late 1940s but kept on pitching towards a world title opportunity. In 1952, Moore outpointed future Hall-of-Famer Joey Maxim to win the light-heavyweight world title. He went on to defeat Maxim twice more before knocking out Harold Johnson and Bobo Olson.

Moore ventured up to heavyweight and mixed with the likes of Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali. He was too small to cause any major damage to these champions, but remained competitive.

He still dropped back down to defend his light-heavyweight crown, in London and twice in Canada, winning all those bouts by knockout. Moore was a true throwback fighter who would often travel down to South America or over to Europe to fight in non-title bouts.

Many respected boxing lists hold Moore in high regard. He often appears on best fighters of all-time lists and is one of boxing’s greatest finishers, having 132 KOs across a 28-year career.

Moore is the longest-reigning light-heavyweight champion ever. He was the man to beat for nearly 10 years. That all came after being denied a world title shot for many years due to his colour.

Moore had an impressive style, with moves that were ahead of his era. A good strategist, with excellent defensive instincts, Moore was an accurate puncher with a solid chin. His ability to soak up punishment and avoid shots was an asset for the man known as the ‘Old Mongoose’ as he regularly fought younger fighters.

Moore was always active in training the youth in boxing, encouraging them to become better people. Although he never moved fully into training professional fighters, he did work with George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, as well as 1980s contender James ‘Quick’ Tillis, who was the first man to take Mike Tyson the distance.

He campaigned politically as a civil rights activist during his long career and made appearances in films and television features. Moore suffered from stomach ulcers during his prime, and one operation saw him lose a lot of weight and announce a brief retirement. Archie’s daughter Jeanne Marie had two professional contests, in 1997 and 2000, winning both.

Image Credits: WBC, The Fight City.

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