- Moore, Archie
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orig. Archibald Lee Wrightborn Dec. 13, 1913, Benoit, Miss., U.S.died Dec. 9, 1998, San Diego, Calif.U.S. boxer.Moore began boxing in the 1930s but had difficulty advancing because contending fighters thought him too formidable. In 1952 he defeated Joey Maxim to win the world light-heavyweight championship. He held the crown until 1962, when he was disqualified for failing to meet the leading contender, Harold Johnson. From 1936 to 1963 he fought 229 bouts and won 194 of them, 141 by knockouts. He later became a film actor and youth worker.
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▪ 1999American boxer (b. Dec. 13, 1913?, Benoit, Miss.—d. Dec. 9, 1998, San Diego, Calif.), won 194 of his estimated 228 bouts—141 by knockout—in a record 27-year professional career and held the world championship title for light heavyweight boxing from 1952 to 1962. His parents separated while he was an infant, and Moore went to live with an aunt and uncle, taking on their name. After his uncle's death the teenaged Moore was arrested for stealing and sent to a reform school, where he learned to box. Moore turned professional as a middleweight in the mid-1930s, but few organizers during that era would give a black boxer a title shot. He finally captured the light heavyweight title on Dec. 17, 1952, by defeating Joey Maxim. During a bout in 1958 with Yvon Durelle, Moore was forced to the canvas several times but made an astonishing comeback, knocking out the contender in the 11th round. He defended his title eight times, but he was stripped of it in 1962 when he failed to answer a challenge by Harold Johnson. In two hard-fought attempts to become heavyweight champion, Moore was knocked out in 1955 by Rocky Marciano and in the following year by Floyd Patterson; in November 1962 he was defeated by the 21-year-old Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali). The self-monikered "the Mongoose" fought his last professional bout in 1963. After retiring from the ring, he founded and directed the Any Boy Can (ABC) Club, an organization for inner-city youth. He retained an interest in boxing, training Clay for a brief period and, later, George Foreman. In the 1980s he worked for the Los Angeles branch of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Moore portrayed the slave Jim in the 1960 motion picture The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His autobiography, The Archie Moore Story, was published in 1960.* * *
▪ American athletebyname of Archibald Lee Wrightborn Dec. 13, 1913, Benoit, Miss., U.S.died Dec. 9, 1998, San Diego, Calif.American boxer, world light-heavyweight champion from Dec. 17, 1952, when he defeated Joey Maxim in 15 rounds in St. Louis, Mo., until 1962, when he lost recognition as champion for failing to meet Harold Johnson, the leading 175-lb (80-kg) challenger.A professional boxer from the 1930s, Moore for many years was avoided by middleweight and light-heavyweight champions who considered him too formidable. From 1936 to 1963 he had 229 bouts, winning 194, of which 141 were by knockouts. In attempts to win the heavyweight title, he was knocked out by Rocky Marciano (Marciano, Rocky) in 1955 and by Floyd Patterson (Patterson, Floyd) in 1956. One of his last fights was in 1962 against Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali (Ali, Muhammad)), who knocked him out in the fourth round. A colourful and popular champion, he called himself “the Old Mongoose” and encouraged controversy about his age.Moore became a film actor, receiving critical praise for his portrayal of the slave Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1959). His autobiography, The Archie Moore Story, appeared in 1960. Later in his life he turned to youth work, while still occasionally training or coaching boxers into the 1990s.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
