Willi Besmanoff

William David Besmanoff (October 4, 1932 – October 20, 2010[1]) was a German boxer who was a heavyweight contender in the 1950s. He was born in Munich, Germany). His father was Jewish American. When Willi was 11, he was imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp for a short time. In the 1950s he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and became an American citizen.[2]

Willi Besmanoff
Statistics
Real nameWilliam David Besmanoff
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
NationalityGerman
Born(1932-10-04)October 4, 1932
Munich, Germany
DiedOctober 20, 2010(2010-10-20) (aged 78)
Jacksonville, Florida
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights93
Wins51
Wins by KO19
Losses34
Draws8
No contests0

Making his professional debut in 1952, Besmanoff mainly fought in Germany for the first half of his career, before subsequently relocating to the United States. Besmanoff fought many top contenders of the era, including Sonny Liston, Archie Moore, George Chuvalo, Zora Folley, Eddie Machen, Roy Harris, Willie Pastrano and Bob Foster. He was also an early opponent of Cassius Clay. He retired in 1967, with a final record of 51–34–8.

Professional boxing record
51 Wins (19 knockouts, 32 decisions), 34 Losses (11 knockouts, 23 decisions), 8 Draws [3]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 53–32–8 Dave Zyglewicz TKO 3 01/08/1967 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas Referee stopped the bout at 2:47 of the third round.
Loss 53–31–8 George Chuvalo RTD 2 27/05/1967 Cocoa Expo Sports Center, Cocoa, Florida
Loss 53–30–8 George Chuvalo TKO 3 04/04/1967 Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida
Win 53–29–8 Mike Lanum KO 9 09/12/1966 Civic Auditorium, Melbourne, Florida
Loss 52–29–8 Mike Lanum PTS 10 09/11/1966 Melbourne, Florida
Win 52–28–8 Mike Lanum SD 10 01/11/1966 Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida
Win 51–28–8 Gene Idelette SD 10 22/09/1966 Melbourne, Florida
Win 50–28–8 Willie "The Invader" Johnson UD 10 12/08/1966 Civic Auditorium, Melbourne, Florida
Win 49–28–8 Aaron Beasley KO 1 22/07/1966 Civic Auditorium, Melbourne, Florida
Win 48–28–8 Joe Louis White SD 10 01/07/1966 Civic Auditorium, Melbourne, Florida
Loss 47–28–8 Amos Johnson TKO 6 17/12/1963 Akron Armory, Akron, Ohio
Loss 47–27–8 Bob Foster KO 3 11/12/1963 Norfolk, Virginia
Draw 47–26–8 Duke Sabedong PTS 10 14/11/1963 Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
Win 47–26–7 Herb Siler TKO 4 05/07/1963 Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Loss 46–26–7 Cassius Clay TKO 7 29/11/1961 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky Referee stopped the bout at 1:55 of the seventh round.
Loss 46–25–7 Alejandro Lavorante TKO 7 28/08/1961 San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Loss 46–24–7 George Chuvalo TKO 4 27/06/1961 Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
Loss 46–23–7 Young Jack Johnson SD 10 18/02/1961 Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah 95-96, 95-96, 96-88.
Loss 46–22–7 Pete Rademacher UD 10 13/12/1960 Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio 43-47, 42-48, 42-49.
Win 46–21–7 Howard "Honeyboy" King SD 10 21/11/1960 Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada 43-49, 47-46, 47-46.
Win 45–21–7 Jimmy McCarter UD 10 18/10/1960 Seattle Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington
Loss 44–21–7 Zora Folley UD 10 16/09/1960 Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, Centralia, Washington 94-99, 96-98, 96-98.
Loss 44–20–7 George Logan UD 10 08/08/1960 Boise, Idaho 96-98, 96-98, 96-97.
Loss 44–19–7 Archie Moore TKO 10 25/05/1960 Indiana State Fair Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana Non-title bout.[4] Referee stopped the bout at 1:32 of the tenth round.
Loss 44–18–7 Tom McNeeley PTS 10 14/03/1960 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Loss 44–17–7 Bob Cleroux UD 10 05/02/1960 Madison Square Garden, New York City 3-6, 3-7, 4-5.
Loss 44–16–7 Sonny Liston TKO 7 09/12/1959 Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Loss 44–15–7 Eddie Machen UD 10 16/09/1959 Auditorium, Portland, Oregon 94-100, 94-99, 96-99.
Win 44–14–7 Marty Marshall UD 10 01/08/1959 Harding Stadium, Steubenville, Ohio
Win 43–14–7 Mike DeJohn UD 10 16/06/1959 Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 97-94, 99-92, 98-92.
Win 42–14–7 "Chief" Alvin Williams UD 10 18/05/1959 Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 98-89, 100-86, 99-91.
Loss 41–14–7 Zora Folley UD 10 07/04/1959 Denver, Colorado
Loss 41–13–7 Donnie Fleeman UD 10 26/01/1959 Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 87-98, 90-98, 85-97.
Loss 41–12–7 Mike DeJohn UD 10 28/11/1958 Madison Square Garden, New York City 3-6, 4-5, 4-5.
Win 41–11–7 Alex Miteff RTD 1 23/09/1958 Seattle Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington
Loss 40–11–7 Hal Carter UD 10 13/06/1958 Madison Square Garden, New York City 3-6, 2-6, 2-8.
Loss 40–10–7 Archie Moore SD 10 02/05/1958 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Win 40–9–7 Pat McMurtry SD 10 04/02/1958 Seattle Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington 97-95, 98-96, 93-99.
Loss 39–9–7 Willie Pastrano UD 10 27/11/1957 Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida 95-99, 92-99, 93-99.
Loss 39–8–7 Roy Harris UD 10 29/10/1957 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas 91-97, 91-100, 91-100.
Loss 39–7–7 Yvon Durelle UD 10 25/09/1957 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan 44-47, 45-56, 37-38.
Loss 39–6–7 Alex Miteff UD 10 10/06/1957 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City 2-7, 3-6, 1-9.
Loss 39–5–7 Archie McBride UD 10 20/05/1957 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City 1-8, 2-8, 4-5.
Win 39–4–7 Bob Baker UD 10 01/04/1957 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City 5-4, 5-4, 5-4.
Win 38–4–7 Calvin Wilson UD 10 25/02/1957 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City 7-2, 7-3, 9-1.
Win 37–4–7 Don Ellis PTS 8 20/10/1956 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 36–4–7 Albert Westphal TKO 5 21/09/1956 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 35–4–7 Artenio Calzavara PTS 8 15/09/1956 Velodromo Vigorelli, Milan, Lombardy
Win 34–4–7 Maurice Mols TKO 9 07/09/1956 Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein
Win 33–4–7 Eugene D'Alessio PTS 8 28/06/1956 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 32–4–7 Erwin Hack PTS 8 09/06/1956 Rheinlandhalle, Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 31–4–7 Uwe Janssen KO 8 11/05/1956 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 30–4–7 Simon Ayankin PTS 8 02/03/1956 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 29–4–7 Jacques Bro PTS 8 04/02/1956 Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse
Win 28–4–7 Alex Buxton PTS 8 22/01/1956 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 27–4–7 Maurice DeMulder KO 4 13/01/1956 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Loss 26–4–7 Jacques Bro PTS 6 05/12/1955 Luxembourg City
Loss 26–3–7 Willi Hoepner PTS 10 25/11/1955 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg Germany BDB Light Heavyweight Title.
Win 26–2–7 Heinz Sachs KO 6 14/10/1955 Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein
Win 25–2–7 　José González Sales PTS 8 09/09/1955 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 24–2–7 Ed "Polly" Smith PTS 8 22/07/1955 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Draw 23–2–7 Heinz Sachs PTS 8 12/06/1955 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Loss 23–2–6 Franz Szuzina PTS 8 04/06/1955 Eisstadion, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 23–1–6 Roland Guille KO 3 20/05/1955 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Draw 22–1–6 Ed "Polly" Smith PTS 8 27/03/1955 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 22–1–5 Wim Snoek PTS 8 11/03/1955 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 21–1–5 Clair Redmond KO 2 11/02/1955 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 20–1–5 Winfried Henne TKO 4 21/01/1955 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 19–1–5 Artenio Calzavara PTS 8 10/12/1954 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 18–1–5 Domingo Lopez DQ 8 25/09/1954 Weser-Ems-Halle, Oldenburg, Lower Saxony
Win 17–1–5 Franz Szuzina PTS 10 27/08/1954 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Draw 16–1–5 Franz Szuzina PTS 8 11/07/1954 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 16–1–4 Marcel Limage PTS 8 10/06/1954 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 15–1–4 Austin Jones PTS 8 09/04/1954 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Draw 14–1–4 José González Sales PTS 8 05/03/1954 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Loss 14–1–3 Hans Friedrich PTS 8 22/01/1954 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 14–0–3 Emile DeGreef KO 3 15/01/1954 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 13–0–3 Jean Serres TKO 5 27/12/1953 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 12–0–3 Ray Schmit PTS 6 04/12/1953 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 11–0–3 Hans Baumann PTS 6 13/11/1953 Seeback Saal, Bremerhaven, Bremen
Win 10–0–3 Karl Ameisbichler TKO 8 07/10/1953 rnst-Merck-Halle, Hamburg
Win 9–0–3 Willy Schagen KO 2 28/08/1953 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 8–0–3 Paul Schirrmann PTS 4 05/07/1953 Waldbühne, Westend, Berlin
Draw 7–0–3 Hans Strelecki PTS 6 16/05/1953 Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Draw 7–0–2 Karl Ameisbichler PTS 6 17/04/1953 Funkturmhalle, Westend, Berlin
Draw 7–0–1 Otto Bastian PTS 6 15/02/1953 Ausstellungshalle, Berlin
Win 7–0 Heinz Schreiber KO 2 26/12/1952 Funkturmhalle, Westend, Berlin
Win 6–0 Bruno Junkuhn KO 2 21/11/1952 Winterhalle, Munich, Bavaria
Win 5–0 Robert Sapion PTS 6 09/11/1952 Funkturmhalle, Westend, Berlin
Win 4–0 Willy Schmauser PTS 6 17/10/1952 Messehalle, Munich, Bavaria
Win 3–0 Franz Schoepgens TKO 2 14/09/1952 Praelat Schoeneberg, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 2–0 Emil Dimmer PTS 4 05/09/1952 Ausstellungshalle, Munich, Bavaria
Win 1–0 Heinz Schreiber KO 4 15/08/1952 Funkturmhalle, Westend, Berlin

References
  1. Obituary in The St. Augustine Record.
  2. A Salute to Willi Besmanoff.
  3. http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9371&cat=boxer
  4. Collins, Bob (1960-05-25). "Nontitle Bout To Draw 7,000". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
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