László Papp


László Papp 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

Papp was an Olympic gold medalist three times, 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.

Olympic results

1948 London
1952 Helsinki
1956 Melbourne
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

László Papp died in Budapest in 2003.

Honours

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.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
29WinMick LeahyPTS15Oct 9, 1964Stadthalle, Vienna, AustriaRetained EBU middleweight title
28Win26–0–2Christian ChristensenKO4 Jul 2, 1964Forum, Copenhagen, DenmarkRetained EBU middleweight title
27Win25–0–2Harry ScottPTS10Mar 13, 1964Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
26Win24–0–2Luis FolledoTKO8 Dec 6, 1963Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, SpainRetained EBU middleweight title
25Win23–0–2Charley CottonKO7 Jun 14, 1963Messesporthalle, Cologne, West Germany
24Win22–0–2Randy SandyPTS10May 17, 1963Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
23Win21–0–2Peter MüllerTKO4 Mar 30, 1963Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, West GermanyRetained EBU middleweight title
22Win20–0–2George AldridgeTKO15 Feb 6, 1963Stadthalle, Vienna, AustriaRetained EBU middleweight title
21Win19–0–2Hippolyte AnnexKO9 Nov 19, 1962Palais des Sports, Paris, FranceRetained EBU middleweight title
20Win18–0–2Christian ChristensenTKO7 May 16, 1962Stadthalle, Vienna, AustriaWon EBU middleweight title
19Win17–0–2Ralph 'Tiger' JonesPTS10Mar 21, 1962Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
18Win16–0–2Michel FrancoisTKO2 Dec 2, 1961Messesporthalle, Cologne, West Germany
17Win15–0–2Peter MüllerTKO4 Oct 13, 1961Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
16Win14–0–2Peter MüllerTKO8 Sep 10, 1961Eisstadion, Cologne, West Germany
15Win13–0–2Moussa SangarePTS10Apr 8, 1961Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
14Win12–0–2Sauveur ChioccaPTS10Feb 20, 1961Palais des Sports, Paris, France
13Draw11–0–2Giancarlo GarbelliPTS10Dec 26, 1960Palazzo dello Sport, Milan, Italy
12Win11–0–1Mohammed BoudibKO7 Oct 1, 1960Dinamo Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia
11Win10–0–1Erich WalterKO9 Sep 23, 1960Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
10Win9–0–1Lou PerryPTS10Feb 10, 1960Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
9Win8–0–1Bill TateKO3 Sep 18, 1959Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
8Draw7–0–1Germinal BallarinPTS10Apr 13, 1959Palais des Sports, Paris, France
7Win7–0Jean RuelletPTS10Mar 16, 1959Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
6Win6–0Andre DrillePTS10Feb 9, 1959Palais des Sports, Paris, France
5Win5–0Francois AnewyKO3 Dec 15, 1958Palais des Sports, Paris, France
4Win4–0Hugo KohlerKO6 Oct 17, 1958Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
3Win3–0Gerhard MollPTS6Jun 28, 1957Ernst Merck Halle, West Germany
2Win2–0Herbert SowaPTS4Jun 15, 1957Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, West Germany
1Win1–0Alois BrandPTS4May 18, 1957Eisstadion, Cologne, West Germany