László Papp

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László Papp
Papp, 13 December 1955
Born
László Papp

(1926-03-25)25 March 1926
Died16 October 2003(2003-10-16) (aged 77)
Budapest, Hungary
NationalityHungarian
Other namesLaci Papp
Statistics
Weight(s)Middleweight
Light Middleweight
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights29
Wins27
Wins by KO15
Draws2
Medal record
Men's boxing
Representing  Hungary
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1948 London Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki Light Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Light Middleweight
European Amateur Championships
Gold medal – first place 1949 Oslo Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 1951 Milan Light Middleweight

László Papp (25 March 1926 – 16 October 2003) was a Hungarian professional boxer from Budapest. He was left-handed and won gold medals in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia. In his final Olympic competition he became the first boxer in Olympic history to win three successive gold medals. He won 12 of his 13 Olympic fights without losing a round, dropping only one, in his last Olympic final, to American boxer José Torres. There was not another triple gold medalist for 20 years, when Cuba's Teófilo Stevenson won three, followed by another Cuban Félix Savón as the third of the three men to accomplish the feat.

Amateur career[edit]

Papp was an Olympic gold medalist three times,[1] at middleweight in London in 1948, then as a light middleweight in Helsinki in 1952 and in Melbourne in 1956. Papp also was the European amateur middleweight champion as a middleweight in 1949 at Oslo and at light middleweight at Milan in 1951. He scored 55 first-round knockouts as an amateur, his record was 301-12-6.

No amateur has ever had a record like Papp's. He was only 5'5" with a 64" reach. He also beat many to whom he had lost, He fought in those days with no headgear etc, like professionals. Because of his great height and reach deficiencies, he HAS to have been the greatest amateur of all time. Most important, when the going got tough, he had a visible extra gear, and another on top of that. He always attacked.

Olympic results[edit]

1948 London (England)

1952 Helsinki (Finland)

1956 Melbourne (Australia)

Professional career[edit]

Papp, despite having hand trouble, turned professional in 1957 and immediately began rising in the Middleweight ranks. However, Hungary was a Communist country at the time and professional boxing was not permitted. Papp had to travel to Vienna, in Austria, for training and for his fights. In spite of this disadvantage, he beat several top-ranking contenders for the European Middleweight title, including veteran Tiger Jones, French champion Hippolyte Annex and Chris Christensen. After Christensen, Papp defeated Randy Sandy of the United States. In 1964, after Papp had already signed up for the world championship title bout against Joey Giardello, Hungary's Communist leadership brought his professional career to an end by denying him an exit visa.

Papp is one of the few boxers in history to ever retire undefeated in the ring. His fighting record was 27 wins, 2 draws, and no losses. 15 of his wins were by way of knockout.

Death[edit]

László Papp died in Budapest in 2003. [2]

Honours[edit]

Papp was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 2001. In 1989 WBC President José Sulaimán gave Papp an award for 'Best amateur and professional boxer of all time' and granted him honorary champion status of the World Boxing Council.

Budapest's Papp László Sportaréna, a multipurpose building best known as a concert venue and the home ice of the Hungarian national hockey team, is named in his honour.

Professional boxing record[edit]

29 fights 27 wins 0 losses
By knockout 15 0
By decision 12 0
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
29 Win 27–0–2 Mick Leahy PTS 15 Oct 9, 1964 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria Retained EBU middleweight title
28 Win 26–0–2 Christian Christensen KO 4 (15) Jul 2, 1964 Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained EBU middleweight title
27 Win 25–0–2 Harry Scott PTS 10 Mar 13, 1964 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
26 Win 24–0–2 Luis Folledo TKO 8 (15) Dec 6, 1963 Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Spain Retained EBU middleweight title
25 Win 23–0–2 Charley Cotton KO 7 (10) Jun 14, 1963 Messesporthalle, Cologne, West Germany
24 Win 22–0–2 Randy Sandy PTS 10 May 17, 1963 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
23 Win 21–0–2 Peter Müller TKO 4 (15) Mar 30, 1963 Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, West Germany Retained EBU middleweight title
22 Win 20–0–2 George Aldridge TKO 15 (15) Feb 6, 1963 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria Retained EBU middleweight title
21 Win 19–0–2 Hippolyte Annex KO 9 (15) Nov 19, 1962 Palais des Sports, Paris, France Retained EBU middleweight title
20 Win 18–0–2 Christian Christensen TKO 7 (15) May 16, 1962 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria Won EBU middleweight title
19 Win 17–0–2 Ralph 'Tiger' Jones PTS 10 Mar 21, 1962 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
18 Win 16–0–2 Michel Francois TKO 2 (10) Dec 2, 1961 Messesporthalle, Cologne, West Germany
17 Win 15–0–2 Peter Müller TKO 4 (10) Oct 13, 1961 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
16 Win 14–0–2 Peter Müller TKO 8 (10) Sep 10, 1961 Eisstadion, Cologne, West Germany
15 Win 13–0–2 Moussa Sangare PTS 10 Apr 8, 1961 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
14 Win 12–0–2 Sauveur Chiocca PTS 10 Feb 20, 1961 Palais des Sports, Paris, France
13 Draw 11–0–2 Giancarlo Garbelli PTS 10 Dec 26, 1960 Palazzo dello Sport (Pad. 3 Fiera), Milan, Italy
12 Win 11–0–1 Mohammed Boudib KO 7 (10) Oct 1, 1960 Dinamo Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia
11 Win 10–0–1 Erich Walter KO 9 (10) Sep 23, 1960 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
10 Win 9–0–1 Lou Perry PTS 10 Feb 10, 1960 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
9 Win 8–0–1 Bill Tate KO 3 (10) Sep 18, 1959 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
8 Draw 7–0–1 Germinal Ballarin PTS 10 Apr 13, 1959 Palais des Sports, Paris, France
7 Win 7–0 Jean Ruellet PTS 10 Mar 16, 1959 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
6 Win 6–0 Andre Drille PTS 10 Feb 9, 1959 Palais des Sports, Paris, France
5 Win 5–0 Francois Anewy KO 3 (10) Dec 15, 1958 Palais des Sports, Paris, France
4 Win 4–0 Hugo Kohler KO 6 (10) Oct 17, 1958 Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
3 Win 3–0 Gerhard Moll PTS 6 Jun 28, 1957 Ernst Merck Halle, West Germany
2 Win 2–0 Herbert Sowa PTS 4 Jun 15, 1957 Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, West Germany
1 Win 1–0 Alois Brand PTS 4 May 18, 1957 Eisstadion, Cologne, West Germany

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lewis, Mike (2003-10-18). "Laszlo Papp". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  2. ^ Lewis, Mike (18 October 2003). "Laszlo Papp". The Guardian.

External links[edit]