The Most Famous
BOXERS from Hungary
Top 8
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Hungarian Boxers of all time. This list of famous Hungarian Boxers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. László Papp (1926 - 2003)
With an HPI of 58.98, László Papp is the most famous Hungarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages on wikipedia.
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.
2. Joe Bugner (b. 1950)
With an HPI of 50.26, Joe Bugner is the 2nd most famous Hungarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
József Kreul Bugner (born 13 March 1950) is a Hungarian born British–Australian former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division and actor. He holds triple nationality, originally being a citizen of Hungary and a naturalised citizen of both Australia and the United Kingdom. He unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight championship in 1975, losing by a unanimous decision. As an actor, he is best known for his role in the 1994 action film Street Fighter alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia. Born in Szőreg, a southeastern suburb of Szeged in southern Hungary, Bugner and his family fled after the 1956 Soviet invasion and settled in Britain. Standing at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) with a prime weight of 225 pounds (102 kg), Bugner twice held the British and British Commonwealth heavyweight titles and was a three-time European heavyweight champion. He was ranked among the world's top ten heavyweights of the 1970s, fighting such opponents as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ron Lyle, Jimmy Ellis, Manuel Ramos, Chuck Wepner, Earnie Shavers, Henry Cooper, Brian London, Mac Foster, Rudie Lubbers, Eduardo Corletti, Jurgen Blin and George Johnson. The Telegraph also ranked him among the top ten British heavyweight boxers of all time. Bugner retired from boxing in 1976 but made sporadic comebacks over the next two decades with varying success. He moved to Australia in 1986, adopting the nickname "Aussie Joe," beating fighters such as Greg Page, David Bey, Anders Eklund and James Tillis before retiring again after a TKO loss to Frank Bruno in 1987. He made a final comeback during the 1990s, winning the Australian heavyweight title in 1995 and the lightly regarded World Boxing Federation (WBF) heavyweight championship in 1998 at the age of 48 against James "Bonecrusher" Smith. He retired for the last time in 1999 with a final record of 69–13–1, including 43 wins by knockout.
3. Július Torma (1922 - 1991)
With an HPI of 49.58, Július Torma is the 3rd most famous Hungarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Július Torma (7 March 1922, Budapest – 23 October 1991, Prague) was a Slovak boxer competing for Czechoslovakia. He won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1948 for Czechoslovakia in the category up to 67 kg. He competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics (1948, 1952 and 1956). Torma defeated Hank Herring of the United States in the 1948 final. Torma also competed as a welterweight in 1952, losing in the quarterfinals; and in 1956, as a Middleweight. He was born in Budapest and died in Prague.
4. István Énekes (1911 - 1940)
With an HPI of 47.29, István Énekes is the 4th most famous Hungarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
István Énekes (20 February 1911 – 2 January 1940) was a Hungarian boxer who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics.
5. Antal Kocsis (1905 - 1994)
With an HPI of 44.15, Antal Kocsis is the 5th most famous Hungarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Antal Kocsis (17 November 1905 – 25 October 1994) was a Hungarian boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. In 1928 he won the gold medal in the flyweight class after winning the final against Armand Apell of France. He was born in Budapest-Kispest and died in Titusville, United States. His character plays a small but memorable role in Vilmos Kondor's 2012 novel Budapest Noir.
6. Tibor Csík (1927 - 1976)
With an HPI of 44.03, Tibor Csík is the 6th most famous Hungarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Tibor Csík 2 September, 1927-22 June 1976(1976-06-22) (aged 48) was a bantamweight professional boxer from Hungary, who won the gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He was born in Jászberény into a poor family. He began boxing in featherweight and later changed to bantamweight. A two-time Hungarian champion from 1946 and 1948, his biggest success was the Olympic Games gold medal he won in London. Csik had an easy route to the semi-finals, as his first opponent was disqualified, and his quarter final opponent Jimmy Carruthers of Australia, was forced to withdraw due to an eye injury. In the final, Csik won a decision over Giovanni Zuddas of Italy, to win the gold medal. After his return to Hungary he was awarded the honorary citizenship of Jászberény. He actively participated in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which eventually was struck down by the invading Soviet Army and Csík had to flee Hungary. He settled in Australia, where he died in 1976. He was buried in Sydney.
7. Zsolt Erdei (b. 1974)
With an HPI of 37.20, Zsolt Erdei is the 7th most famous Hungarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Zsolt Erdei (born 31 May 1974) is a Hungarian former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO and lineal light-heavyweight titles from 2004 to 2009 (making eleven consecutive defences against ten different opponents), and the WBC cruiserweight title from 2009 to 2010. Erdei is the first boxer from Hungary to win world titles in two weight divisions. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the middleweight division at the 2000 Olympics. He also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
8. István Kovács (b. 1970)
With an HPI of 36.42, István Kovács is the 8th most famous Hungarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
István Kovács (born August 17, 1970), nicknamed Ko-Ko or sometimes The Cobra, is a Hungarian retired world champion boxer. He is a Secretary General of the AIBA. As an amateur, he won the bantamweight gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and was a world champion at the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships in flyweight and at the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships in featherweight. He was a world champion as a professional, winning the WBO featherweight title in 2001.
People
Pantheon has 8 people classified as Hungarian boxers born between 1905 and 1974. Of these 8, 3 (37.50%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Hungarian boxers include Joe Bugner, Zsolt Erdei, and István Kovács. The most famous deceased Hungarian boxers include László Papp, Július Torma, and István Énekes. As of April 2024, 1 new Hungarian boxers have been added to Pantheon including Joe Bugner.
Living Hungarian Boxers
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Joe Bugner
1950 - Present
HPI: 50.26
Zsolt Erdei
1974 - Present
HPI: 37.20
István Kovács
1970 - Present
HPI: 36.42
Deceased Hungarian Boxers
Go to all RankingsLászló Papp
1926 - 2003
HPI: 58.98
Július Torma
1922 - 1991
HPI: 49.58
István Énekes
1911 - 1940
HPI: 47.29
Antal Kocsis
1905 - 1994
HPI: 44.15
Tibor Csík
1927 - 1976
HPI: 44.03
Newly Added Hungarian Boxers (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Boxers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Boxers since 1700.
