770 articles
Willie Pep
Willie Pep (Guglielmo Papaleo, 1922-2006), American featherweight boxing champion 1942-48 and 1949-50, nicknamed Will o' the Wisp; 230-11-1 with 65 KOs, famed for defense and four-fight Sandy Saddler rivalry.
Willie Smith (William Alexander "Willie"•Smith)
Willie Smith (William Alexander Smith, 1904-1955), South African boxer, 1924 Paris Olympic bantamweight gold medallist who beat Al Tripoli, and British version world bantamweight champion after outpointing Teddy Baldock in 1927.
Winky Wright
Winky Wright, ring name of Ronald Lamont Wright, is an American former boxer who held junior middleweight world titles and entered the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Wladimir Klitschko (Володимир Кличко)
Wladimir Klitschko (Володимир Кличко), Ukrainian heavyweight boxer, 1996 Olympic gold, 64-5 with 53 KOs, longest cumulative heavyweight reign (4,382 days), IBHOF 2021, now Ukraine envoy.
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tyson Fury
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tyson Fury: 28 November 2015 heavyweight title fight in Düsseldorf where unbeaten challenger Fury outpointed long-reigning champion Klitschko 115-112, 115-112, 116-111 to win the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts.
Wolfgang Behrendt
Wolfgang Behrendt (1936-2026), East German bantamweight boxer; won gold at Melbourne 1956, the first Olympic gold for the GDR, beating Song Soon-Chun 2-1; later a sports photographer for Neues Deutschland.
World Boxing Association
World Boxing Association (WBA), founded 1921 as the National Boxing Association and renamed 1962, is a major professional boxing sanctioning body sanctioning world titles, rankings, and Super/Regular champions, based in Panama.
World Boxing Council
World Boxing Council (WBC), Mexico City-based professional boxing sanctioning body founded February 14, 1963 under Adolfo López Mateos; one of four major bodies (with WBA, IBF, WBO) awarding green world-title belts, rankings, and 3% sanction fees.
World Boxing Organization
World Boxing Organization (WBO), professional boxing sanctioning body founded 1988 in San Juan, Puerto Rico; one of four major bodies with WBA, WBC, IBF; ranks fighters in 17 weight classes, 501(c)(3) non-profit, president Gustavo Olivieri.
Wu Yu
Wu Yu (吴愉) is a Chinese boxer, born 1995 in Guizhou, who won women's 50 kg gold at Paris 2024, the 2023 world title at 52 kg, and the 2023 Asian Games title; distinct from a speed skater and a runner of the same name.
Yegor Mekhontsev
Yegor Mekhontsev (Егор Леонидович Мехонцев), Russian boxer born 1984 in Asbest; 2012 Olympic light heavyweight (81 kg) champion, 2009 world amateur champion at 91 kg, last amateur to beat Oleksandr Usyk; pro from 2013 to 2017.
Yermakhan Ibraimov
Yermakhan Ibraimov (Ермахан Сағиұлы Ыбырайымов), Kazakh boxer born 1972, light-middleweight Olympic gold at Sydney 2000 and bronze at Atlanta 1996; later national head coach and Almaty Olympic training center administrator.
Yevgeny Tishchenko
Yevgeny Tishchenko (Евгений Тищенко), Russian heavyweight boxer born 1991, 2016 Olympic gold medalist at 91 kg; also 2015 world amateur champion; later professional with RCC, suspended after a December 2023 doping test.
Yordenis Ugás
Yordenis Ugás (54 Milagros), Cuban boxer born 1986 in Santiago de Cuba; 2005 amateur world and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist; WBA welterweight champion 2020-2022 who beat Manny Pacquiao in 2021.
Yuriorkis Gamboa
Yuriorkis Gamboa (El Ciclón de Guantánamo), Cuban boxer born 1981, 2004 Olympic flyweight gold medalist, defected 2006, unified WBA and IBF featherweight titles 2010, later lost to Crawford, Davis, Haney, and Cruz.
Zab Judah
Zab Judah (Zabdiel Judah, born 1977, Brooklyn) is a retired American southpaw boxer, undisputed welterweight champion 2005-2006, IBF light welterweight champion 2000, WBO 2003, active 1996-2019.
Zak Chelli
Zak Chelli, born 1997, is a British professional boxer from Fulham, London; former British, Commonwealth, English, and WBA Continental super-middleweight champion, current English light-heavyweight titleholder, known for his 2026 knockout upset of David Morrell.
Zhilei Zhang (张志磊)
Zhilei Zhang (张志磊), "Big Bang", Chinese heavyweight boxer born 1983 in Zhoukou; 2008 Olympic silver medalist, WBO interim champion, 27-3-1 with 22 KOs; beat Joe Joyce twice and Deontay Wilder, lost to Hrgovic, Parker, Kabayel.
Zuffa Boxing
Zuffa Boxing is Dana White's professional boxing promotion, a TKO Group Holdings and Sela joint venture launched January 2026, streaming exclusively on Paramount+ with 12 cards a year, Conor Benn its marquee signing.
Zygmunt Chychła
Zygmunt Chychła (1926-2009), Polish amateur boxer, 'Twardy Kaszub', won welterweight gold at Helsinki 1952, Poland's first postwar Olympic gold and first boxing gold; twice European champion (1951, 1953).