Waldemar Holberg


Waldemar Birger Holberg was a Danish boxer. Born in Copenhagen, he won the World Welterweight Championship on January 1, 1914, defeating Ray Bronson in Melbourne, Australia in a twenty round points decision. He was a fierce boxer with a KO percentage of 40% in the virtually complete boxing record displayed on BoxRec.

Boxing career

Prior to his entry into the Olympics, Holberg was a five time amateur champion of Denmark. He won the featherweight division in 1902, and the lightweight division in 1903, 1905, 1907, and 1908. He qualified for the 1908 Summer Olympics, but was eliminated in the first round after losing to future welterweight world champion Matt Wells.
After the Olympics, Holberg turned professional making his debut in Denmark. He had a number of wins in Denmark and Germany but moved to England in 1912. After losing two bouts on disqualification, Holberg moved to Australia in 1913 fighting for the Australian lightweight title.

Taking the Australian version of the world welterweight title

He had limited success in Australia, losing 6 out of 9 matches but on New Years Day, 1914 met American Ray Bronson in Melbourne in a bout recognized by the Australian boxing authorities as a World Welterweight title. Holberg won easily on points after 20 rounds. He held the title for only twenty-three days, losing it in Melbourne to Irishman Tom McCormick in a sixth round foul on January 24. By several accounts, Holberg sometimes fought with questionable tactics, and had lost five previous fights to fouls. For some reason, McCormick is more often recognized as a world welterweight boxing champion than Holberg.
After having lost the world title, he returned to Denmark only to lose two matches in Copenhagen to Danish veteran Dick Nelson on December 2, 1914, and February 14, 1915, one for the Scandinavian Welterweight title. Holberg had his last professional fight on August 29, 1921 when he was stopped in Vienna by Austrian Hans Hirschberger. Holberg retired from professional boxing in 1921 after his loss to Hirschberger.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
70Loss39–27–4Hans HirschbergerTKO9 Aug 29, 1921Sportplatz, Vienna, Austria-Hungary
69Loss39–26–4Willi SpoeriTKO7 Jul 7, 1921Sportplatz, Vienna, Austria-Hungary
68Win39–25–4Holger HansenPTS12Feb 22, 1921Circus, Stockholm, Sweden
67Loss38–25–4Emanuel JacobsenDQ5 Sep 13, 1919Cirkus Variete, Copenhagen, Denmark
66Win38–24–4Johan EkerothDQ15 Aug 1, 1919Copenhagen, Denmark
65Loss37–24–4Georg BrustadPTS15May 26, 1919Trondheim, Norway
64Win37–23–4Johan EkerothPTS10Feb 2, 1919Oslo, Norway
63Win36–23–4Holger HansenTKO7 Dec 15, 1918Oslo, Norway
62Win35–23–4Fred BostonKO6 Nov 2, 1918Oslo, Norway
61Win34–23–4Dick NelsonPTS15Apr 9, 1918Turnhallen, Oslo, Norway
60Win33–23–4Frithjof HansenKO3 Feb 26, 1918Turnhallen, Oslo, Norway
59Win32–23–4Sam BrownKO11 Jan 22, 1918Turnhallen, Oslo, Norway
58Win31–23–4Willy CarlsenKO2 Nov 18, 1917Oslo, Norway
57Win30–23–4Johan EkerothTKO11 Jun 6, 1917Oslo, Norway
56Win29–23–4Calle SvenssonTKO7 Sep 24, 1916Stockholm, Sweden
55Win28–23–4Calle SvenssonPTS10Sep 10, 1916Stockholm, Sweden
54Win27–23–4Emil KjellbergTKO7 Aug 11, 1916Idrottsplatsen, Råsunda, Sweden
53Loss26–23–4Jack Kid GreenstockPTS10Feb 21, 1916Golders Green Hippodrome, Golders Green, London, England
52Loss26–22–4Willie FarrellTKO7 Jan 3, 1916Hoxton Baths, Hoxton, London, England
51Loss26–21–4Willie FarrellPTS15Oct 7, 1915Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England
50Loss26–20–4Billy WilliamsPTS20Jul 19, 1915The Ring, Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London, England
49Loss26–19–4Jim PrendyPTS20Jun 12, 1915The Ring, Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London, England
48Loss26–18–4Dai RobertsKO7 Apr 24, 1915London, EnglandLocation unknown
47Win26–17–4Young NipperPTS10Apr 12, 1915The Ring, Blackfriars Road Matinee, Southwark, London, England
46Loss25–17–4Sapper McNeilDQ13 Mar 20, 1915London, EnglandLocation unknown
45Loss25–16–4Dick NelsonKO15 Feb 14, 1915Cirkus Bech-Olsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
44Loss25–15–4Dick NelsonPTS20Dec 6, 1914Cirkus Bech-Olsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
43Loss25–14–4Tom McCormickDQ6 Jan 24, 1914Baker's Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaLost world welterweight title
42Win25–13–4Ray BronsonPTS20Jan 1, 1914Baker's Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaWon vacant world welterweight title
41Loss24–13–4Alf GoodwinDQ14 Dec 20, 1913Baker's Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
40Win24–12–4Frank PicatoTKO11 Nov 29, 1913Baker's Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
39Win23–12–4Len PorterTKO8 Nov 15, 1913Baker's Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
38Loss22–12–4Young NipperPTS20Nov 1, 1913Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
37Loss22–11–4Hock KeysPTS20Oct 18, 1913Olympic Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
36Win22–10–4Harry PuieKO6 Oct 1, 1913Baker's Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
35Loss21–10–4Harry ThomasDQ20 Sep 13, 1913Baker's Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
34Loss21–9–4Herb McCoyPTS20Aug 30, 1913Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
33Loss21–8–4Hughie MeheganKO17 Jul 12, 1913Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
32Loss21–7–4Paul BrevieresDQ11 Dec 20, 1912Élysée Montmartre, Paris, Paris, France
31Loss21–6–4Bill JohnsonDQ11 Dec 16, 1912Birmingham, West Midlands, England
30Loss21–5–4Bill JohnsonDQ10 Nov 4, 1912Sparkbrook Stadium, Birmingham, West Midlands, England
29Win21–4–4Jack WardKO1 Sep 30, 1912Birmingham, West Midlands, England
28Draw20–4–4Dick LeePTS10Aug 24, 1912The Ring, Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London, England
27Loss20–4–3Dick NelsonPTS20Jun 33, 1912Cirkus Bech-Olsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
26Win20–3–3Bobby DobbsPTS20Feb 3, 1912Vienna, Austria-Hungary
25Win19–3–3Jerry PetersonKO10 Dec 9, 1911Vienna, Austria-Hungary
24Win18–3–3Billy GordonKO15 Sep 17, 1911Copenhagen, Denmark
23Win17–3–3Holger HansenKO4 Sep 3, 1911Copenhagen, Denmark
22Draw16–3–3Jack SlimPTS15Aug 22, 1911Berlin, Germany
21Win16–3–2Jimmy ButlerKO4 Aug 20, 1911Copenhagen, Denmark
20Win15–3–2Paul MondKO4 Jul 23, 1911Berlin, Germany
19Win14–3–2Kid McGordonPTS15Apr 23, 1911Vienna, Austria-Hungary
18Win13–3–2Eugen LegardKO7 Dec 19, 1910 Berlin, Germany Location unknown
17Win12–3–2Erik MosukKO2 Dec 15, 1910 Berlin, Germany Location unknown
16Win11–3–2H PaullianKO4 Dec 5, 1910United States of AmericaLocation unknown
15Win10–3–2Alf ElreichKO6 Sep 12, 1910Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
14Win9–3–2M LechleitnerKO2 Sep 9, 1910Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
13Win8–3–2Alf ElreichKO4 Apr 7, 1910 Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
12Win7–3–2M MullerKO3 Apr 28, 1910Hamburg, Germany
11Win6–3–2E Van DykKO5 Feb 7, 1910Location unknown
10Win5–3–2Billy JacksonKO5 Jan 27, 1910Budapest, Austria-Hungary
9Loss4–3–2Dick NelsonKO5 Jun 25, 1909Copenhagen, Denmark
8Win4–2–2FrankKO1 May 29, 1909Copenhagen, Denmark
7Win3–2–2Emil Hemming HansenKO5 May 29, 1909Copenhagen, Denmark
6Draw2–2–2Holger HansenPTS10Apr 25, 1909Copenhagen, Denmark
5Win2–2–1John JordanPTS10Feb 21, 1909Copenhagen, Denmark
4Loss1–2–1Jim SmithPTS?Dec 15, 1908Copenhagen, Denmark
3Win1–1–1Johannes HindsbergPTS?Dec 5, 1908Copenhagen, Denmark
2Draw0–1–1Holger HansenPTS?Dec 2, 1908Copenhagen, Denmark
1Loss0–1Jim SmithPTS?Dec 1, 1908Copenhagen, Denmark