There have been many boxing brothers.
Currently the towering Ukranian stars Wlad and Vitali Klitschko are regarded as the two best heavyweight's in the world.
Some of the boxing brothers include a famous fighter and a lesser-known sibling. Muhammad Ali's brother, Rudy, boxed as a pro but never became a contender.
The brothers I am going to list here were champions or contenders in their respective weight classes.
- Mike and Tommy Gibbons -
The only pair of brothers elected to the International boxing hall of fame.
Mike fought at middleweight from 1908 to 1922, losing only 9 of 133.
Tommy started as a welter in 1911 but finished at heavy in 1925. He lost a 15 round decision to Jack Dempsey for the world title. Tommy retired at 96-5 after being stopped for the only time in his career by Gene Tunney.
- Leon and Michael Spinks -
Both brothers captured gold in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Leon at lightheavy and Mike at middleweight.
Leon won the world title, beating Muhammad Ali in only his ninth pro fight in 1978. It was a massive upset. He lost in the rematch seven months later. He lost against Larry Holmes for the title in 1981. He finished at 26-17 in 1995, after only winning 9 of his last 23 fights.
Michael had a much better career. He beat Mustafa Muhammad for the WBA light heavyweight title in 1981. He unified with a win over Dwight Muhammad Qawi in 1983. He beat Larry Holmes in 1985 for the IBF heavyweight title in a big upset. The ring mag awarded it upset of the year. He beat Holmes again in the rematch in '86. He retired after being hammered in one by a rampant Iron Mike Tyson in 1988. This was his only loss and he finished at 31-1.
- Khaosai and Khaokor Galaxy -
The first pair of twins to become world champions.
Khaosai, known as the "Thai Tyson", dominated the 115lb division from 1984 till 1991, defending his world title 19 times (16ko). He retired in '91 with a fantastic record of 49-1(43ko). His only loss, a points loss over ten rounds in his seventh pro fight.
Khaokor had terrible luck. He beat Wilfredo Vazquez for the WBA 118lb title in 1988. He lost it in his next fight, on a technical decision to Sung-Kil Moon. Khaokor beat Moon for the title in the rematch in 1989. He again lost it in his 1st defence, getting knocked out in one by Lisito Espinosa. He then retired with a record of 24-2 (18ko).
- Max and Buddy Baer -
Max was the better fighter. He was a great talent and had tremendous power in his right hand.In 1934, he beat the giant Primo Carnero, putting Primo on the canvas 11 times over 7 rounds. Unfortunately for Max, he was a notorious playboy, who didn't train properly. He lost the title in his 1st defence against the "Cinderella Man", James J Braddock. He got koed by Joe Louis in 4 in his next bout. He retired at 68-13 (52ko) in 1941.
Buddy had 2 shots at the world title. Unfortunately for him, both fights were against Joe Louis. He lost the first bout by dq in the seventh. He got koed by Louis in one, going down three times, in the rematch seven months later. He retired after these 2 losses in 1942, with a record of 52-7 (46ko).
- Donald and Bruce Curry -
The first pair of brothers to hold world titles at the same time, in the 1980s.
Donald was clearly the better fighter. He had fast hands, flashy feet and power.He dominated the welterweight division, capturing all three major belts. His best performance was his spectacular ko over fellow champ Milton McCrory in 1985. He beat the undefeated Tony Montgomery for the WBC junior middleweight title in 1987 but lost it via ko to Mike McCallum in his first defence. With his skills in deline, in '90/91 he lost to Michael Nunn and Terry Norris in back to back title shots. He then retired, returning six years later in early 1997 for two bouts. In his last fight, he fought a fighter by the name of Emmett Linton. Curry had been Linton's trainer and manager. The two had a falling out in 1993. Linton said he didn't like the way Curry was handling his career. Their feud really erupted when Curry accused Linton of giving information to the mother of one of Curry's children, which Linton denied. The two got into a fight, and guns were drawn but not used. Curry filed charges, but they were later dropped. Shortly afterwards, Curry went to jail for not paying child support. When Curry made his comeback to the ring, he asked Bob Arum to get him a fight with Linton. Knowing that a good feud can sell a fight, Arum made the match, which was dominated by Linton. Curry was dropped in the first round and stopped in the seventh. Curry retired for good at 34-6 (25ko).
Bruce Curry was a perennial contender until 1983 when he beat Leroy Hayley for the WBC light welterweight title. He defended the title twice before losing it to Billy Costello in 1984. He fought once more in 1986 winning a ten rounder against journey man Tomas Negro Garcia. He retired at 35-8 (17ko).
I would be very interested to here your views on these and other boxing brothers.
