Moore, Archie (1913?-1998), an American boxer, knocked out more opponents than any other fighter in professional boxing history. During a long career that lasted more than 27 years, Moore won 131 fights by a knockout. Moore held the world light heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1962.
Moore was born in Benoit, Mississippi, probably on Dec. 13, 1913. His real name was Archibald Lee Wright. His parents separated while he was an baby, and Archie went to live with an aunt and uncle, taking their name. Moore grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was sent to reform school for two years for stealing. Moore learned to box while serving his sentence. He turned professional in 1936 and fought as a middleweight. After boxing for more than 15 years, Moore finally got a title fight against defending light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim in 1952. He defeated Maxim in a 15-round decision.
Moore fought Rocky Marciano for the world heavyweight championship in 1955 but lost on a ninth-round knockout. In 1956, after Marciano retired, Moore fought Floyd Patterson for the vacant heavyweight title and was knocked out in the fifth round. Moore retained the light heavyweight title, except for the National Boxing Association (NBA) version, until 1962. The NBA stripped him of its version of the championship in 1960 for failure to defend his title. The state of New York and the European Boxing Union did the same in 1962. Moore retired in 1963.
Moore had a career record of 183 victories, 24 defeats, and 10 draws. After his retirement, Moore was a boxing trainer and a motion-picture actor. He also worked with young people, starting a program called ABC (Any Boy Can) to encourage teen-agers to take part in boxing and other sports, and to build character. He wrote an autobiography, The Archie Moore Story (1960). Moore died on Dec. 9, 1998.
See also Marciano, Rocky .
