Celebrities who were boxers [Archive] - East Side Boxing Forum

Thread Stealer

06-25-2007, 03:38 PM

and then became famous in another field.

Oscar-winning actor Jack Palance boxed under the name Jack Brazzo, as a heavyweight. He lost to future contender Joe Baksi.

Tony Danza used to box professionally.

Billy Joel was a boxer too.

Who else?

Relentless

06-25-2007, 03:41 PM

oscar de la hoya is a big celebrity

Thread Stealer

06-25-2007, 03:47 PM

Mickey Rourke

I hear a rumour that De Niro boxed for a while to get used to what he was going to do in Raging Bull but I'm not sure if that's true or not

He did. Not professionally or in the ammys, but he did a whole lot of training in boxing for the role.

He even broke one of Joe Pesci's ribs and Scorsese kept it in the movie.

Drew101

06-25-2007, 03:54 PM

Victor McLaglen.

He went six rounds with Jack Johnson, and lost to contender Denver Ed Martin during his professional career. He went on to become an actor, and won an Oscar in 1935.

chliJs

06-25-2007, 04:12 PM

norbert grupe, "wilhelm von homburg". crazy german boxer who later became actor. had a few roles here and there, should be especially known for that vigo guy he played in ghostbusters 2.

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T.S.

06-25-2007, 04:27 PM

Chris Kristopherson (sp?) I believe was in the Golden Gloves.
He won his first fight by KO so many people came to see his 2nd fight and he lost by KO.

MilesP

06-25-2007, 04:40 PM

Gary Stretch

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- boxer / male model..actually won the British light-middleweight championship

...the highlight of his career being a vicious beatdown at the hands of Chris Eubank in 1991.

He's doing pretty well for himself in acting nowadays:

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Mrboogie23

06-25-2007, 04:45 PM

50 cent didnt manny said on the dlh/pbf fight

who cares 50 cent is gay.

Mrboogie23

06-25-2007, 04:53 PM

Manny Pacqiou

Manny Pacquiao cares that 50 cent is gay?

:huh

Motor City Sam

06-25-2007, 05:11 PM

John Diehl, a B level actor who starred on TV's Miami Vice and recently had a recurring role on The Shield actually left MV to try his hand at pro boxing. He had a couple of fights.

RDJ

06-25-2007, 05:37 PM

Manny Pacquiao cares that 50 cent is gay?

:huh

Manny is in love with Floyd too? :think

brooklyn1550

06-25-2007, 05:38 PM

Manny Pacquiao cares that 50 cent is gay?

:huh

:rofl :rofl :rofl

Stinky gloves

06-25-2007, 05:43 PM

Stalone?

Rollo

06-25-2007, 06:23 PM

Bob Hope boxed as a professional under the name Packy East.

venbox

06-25-2007, 08:50 PM

Academy Award winner and legendary filmmaker John Huston used to box when he was in his teens. He even won the Amateur Lightweight Boxing Championship of California. He later developed into a boxing fan, attending to huge fights such as Dempsey-Firpo. His boxing experience helped him make of Fat City (1972), one of the best boxing movies ever released, with Stacy Keach as a shot journeyman and Jeff Bridges as an up-and-coming prospect.

Illmatic

06-25-2007, 09:22 PM

Dictator Idi Amin
basketball player Kendall Gill has had 3 cruiserweight bouts

C Money

06-25-2007, 09:22 PM

Art Rooney Sr. Founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL was an AAU welterweight and middleweight Champion who also made the USA 1920 Olympic Boxing team.

Not too shabby:good

aliwasthegreatest

06-25-2007, 09:23 PM

tex cobb

rekcutnevets

06-25-2007, 09:25 PM

Damn. I was going to say Bob Hope.

So......uh...Tony Danza.

Arthur

06-25-2007, 10:15 PM

fitness guru Richard SImmons boxed and had a pretty good record before he had to quit due to an injury. He boxed Roberto Duran to a draw...

jazzboy

06-25-2007, 10:54 PM

Martin Lawrence

Nokstar

06-25-2007, 11:09 PM

"Cane" from menace to society was a boxer...

4eyes

06-25-2007, 11:11 PM

Bob Hope boxed pro

benhazin

06-25-2007, 11:18 PM

James Brown and Jackie Wilson boxed before becoming singers.

Butch Coolidge

06-26-2007, 12:09 AM

Roy Scheider, Ryan O'Neil, Dick Miller, Errol Flynn, Liam Neeson and that guy on JAG who died from drugs, can't remember his name, Terrance Trent D'arby, Donny Osmond all boxed at one time or another.

I think the best of all the celebrity boxers was Danza followed by O'Neill.

betyar

06-26-2007, 04:52 AM

As the first post in the thread stated Jack Palance was a boxer. Hiss record can be found on boxrec. On there there is only one match, though he had at least four, but it was deleted because of them being unconfirmed. ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

He's one of the two Oscar-winner actors who once was a professional prize-fighter before. The other one is Victor McLaglen who fought Jack Johnson and lost, though it's not clear wether it was a title fight or not, officialy not, I think. There are photos taken on the fight.

Jack Warden from President's man also had a brief pro career.([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Frank Sinatra's father was a boxer, fought under the name of Marty O'Brien. ([Only registered and activated users can see links]). Sinatra Jr also had some amateur fight but he is more famous about being a reporter of the Ali-Frazier I. with Norman Mailer at ringside. He even made the Life magazine cover-photo on that day. ( [Only registered and activated users can see links])

Mickes Rourke, Tony Danza had well-documented pro career, too.

betyar

06-26-2007, 05:14 AM

continue..

Dean Martin fought under the name of Kid Crochet, however, I think boxrec doesn't contain any fight of him.

And yes, Bob Hope was a fighter with the alias 'Packy East'. His friend was Packy West, of course. :)

Though not as a fighter, western-hero Wyatt Earp had an important role in a prize-fight, too. He wasn't a manager or a VIP spectator. He was the ref. That happened at the Tom Sharkey vs Bob Fitzsimmons I. fight and Earp made a famous mistake by ruling a knockdown as a foul by Fitzsimmons.

Napuis

06-26-2007, 05:55 AM

Idi Amin

Wayne Rooney

Ronnie & Reggie Kray

Dale Winton

MachineGunMitch

06-26-2007, 06:13 AM

Boxing killed Mickey Rourke's career,WTF happened to his face

betyar

06-26-2007, 06:16 AM

Boxing killed Mickey Rourke's career,WTF happened to his face

That's botox, not boxing!:)
Boxing didn't hurt his once pretty face.
Some drink and some surgeons and botox did.

joe the great

06-26-2007, 06:18 AM

Tanya Harding.

Ashstrodamus

06-26-2007, 06:20 AM

Charles Bronson was said to be one tough cookie in the ring. I've never seen Tennessee Boxer but this is a pic from him in that.

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thunder06

06-26-2007, 06:24 AM

actually i do think sly stallon throws his punches decent for a boxer..espically in "Rocky Balboa" looks alot better then will smith or russel crowe....speakinf of crowe..I heard him talking all kinds of shyt on charlie rose along while back about how he could have beaten the actualy james j braddock..what a joke..then i heard he did some actual sparring for the movie with some second rate middleweight pro..and got played with abused.

Braddock KO1 Crowe.

Ashstrodamus

06-26-2007, 06:30 AM

hmmm i dont know..bronsan is from close to my home town...im in johnstown pa...but from what i remember he never actually boxed...i could be wrong..i dont really care enough to look it up...but hey.I think Bronson was more of a gym rat than anything. I think he used it to stay tough and in shape. I have since forgotten the info I received on him.

Darien

06-26-2007, 06:35 AM

Joe Bugner:

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Ashstrodamus

06-26-2007, 06:37 AM

screech powers, manute bol, refrigerator perry, horseshack from welcome back kotterToo bad they did away with celebrity boxing. I'd like to have seen Gary Coleman vs Emmanuel Lewis, Tommy Lee vs Kid Rock, Andy Dick vs David Spade, etc.

x-51

06-26-2007, 06:49 AM

Hemmingway.

martay

06-26-2007, 07:00 AM

Mickey Rouke was a pro

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grayggr

06-26-2007, 07:21 AM

Football (Soccer) player Curtis Woodhouse gave up the game in his 20's to don the gloves.

Then went back to playing football.

tills9191

06-26-2007, 07:50 AM

Anthony Mundine, former rugby player

AllyT

06-26-2007, 08:03 AM

Lee Evans boxed as an amateur
(Americans will remember him as the English guy pretending to be disabled in Something about Mary)

George Galloway also boxed as an amateur
(Americans will remember him as the Scottish politician you tried to frame over Iraq)

Napuis

06-26-2007, 08:09 AM

No Blocky you gay porn star its not true...he did some sparring..him and joe peschie sparred and he broke little joes rips..he also sparred the real jake lamotta...at that point jake was about 60 and old and fat...but Bobby got his ass beat..so no De Niro did not box...sparring and actually being a competive boxer are two different things.

De Niro sparred over 1,000 rounds with LaMotta, who told him he could box professionally after learning from him over a year. De Niro at the time wasn't a famous actor, but preferred to act and make millions without having his face re-arranged, but he was good enough nonetheless.

Titan1

07-05-2007, 01:56 PM

Superstar Billy Graham
Marc Bannerman(Gianni DiMarco)

bigjake

07-05-2007, 02:27 PM

dwilson

07-05-2007, 02:34 PM

The lead singer of Steriophonics was a decent amature i think his name is kelly jones.

Also Roy Keane famous gay pride activist was a amature back in ireland.

Ricky Gervais does not count i guess.

Bigcat

07-05-2007, 02:43 PM

The recording artist Terrence Trent D'arby...........

quite a welterweight i heard.......

ChuckYoungblood

07-05-2007, 02:46 PM

Richard Pryor boxed in the golden gloves. This clip always cracks me up - so funny:

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sandwichsurgeon

07-05-2007, 02:49 PM

Taken from wiki

Winstone was also a fan of boxing. Known to his friends as Winnie, at home he was called Little Sugs (his dad already being known as Sugar - after Sugar Ray Robinson). At age 12, Winstone joined the famous Repton Amateur Boxing Club and, over the next 10 years, won 80 out of 88 bouts. At welterweight, he was London Schoolboy Champion of three occasions, fighting twice for England. The experience gave him a perspective on his later career: "If you can get in a ring with 2000 people watching and be smacked around by another guy, then walking onstage isn't hard."

- Ray Winston