Billy Bird (1 January 1899 – 6 February 1951) was a British professional
boxer who was active from 1920 to 1948 and boxed in the
welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
division. He fought a recorded 356 times in his 28 year-career and was regarded as one of the most active boxers of his time. He holds the record of the most knockouts in any fighting career.
Career
Bird has 356 recorded fights, but has been rumored to have even more fights during his career which were not professional matches. Bird currently holds the
knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
world record at 138; the second closest is
Archie Moore
Archie Moore (born Archibald Lee Wright; December 13, 1913 – December 9, 1998) was an American professional boxer and the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time (December 1952 – May 1962). He had one of the longest ...
with 132 knockouts. Ian Palmer of ''Goliath'' listed Bird's achievement as ''"10 Boxing Records That Will (Probably) Never Be Broken"''.
Robert Aaron Contreras of
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London.
Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Au ...
believes this record will "never be repeated" as the current active boxer has a knockout record of 51.
On 30 September 1929 Bird won a fight against Leo Wax by decision after a 15-round bout.
Bird worked as a taxi driver when he was not boxing.
Bird died on 6 February 1951.
Professional boxing record
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Billy
1899 births
1951 deaths
Boxers from Greater London
Welterweight boxers
British male boxers
British taxi drivers