Who are the top ten German boxers of all time?

By Scott Shaffer

06/01/2021

Who are the top ten German boxers of all time?

Top ten rankings compiled by: box-sport.de
 
1. Max Schmeling - Former world heavyweight champion knocked out Joe Louis in 1936 and was a true German hero who defied Adolf Hitler. Schmeling lived one of the most fascinating lives of the 20th century: at first a personal friend of Hitler, he quickly distanced himself from the Fuhrer and hid some Jewish people in his house to protect them from Nazi destruction. Was eventually a prisoner of war in World War II, but became a multi-millionaire businessman who struck up a late-life friendship with Louis and lived to 99.
 
2. Henry Maske - Only one career loss for Henry Maske, and that was avenged after a decade of retirement when he beat the great Virgil Hill in 2007. Maske also has two wins over the third man on this list, Graciano Rocchigiani, plus victories  over Iran Barkley and Charles Williams.
 
3. Graciano Rocchigiani - two-division champ defeated Michael Nunn in 1998 and then his lawsuit nearly bankrupted the WBC when he was corruptly stripped in favor of Roy Jones. He never got to fight Jones due to imprisonment and passed away at age 54. 
 
4. Gustav "Bubi“ Scholz - post-war German idol fought from 1948-1962 when world championships were scarce. Two-division European champion lost a light heavyweight title shot to Harold Johnson. Went on to become a popular actor.
 
5. Arthur Abraham - held titles at middle and super middle, he was a huge puncher and always game, though he could be outboxed. He had an unforgettable KO of Jermain Taylor in a packed house in Berlin to kick off the Showtime Super Six series.
 
6. Sven Ottke - retired undefeated at 34-0 with both the WBA and IBF super middleweight championships, but some controversial decisions weigh him down in the rankings. 
 
7. Eckhard Dagge -  former WBC junior middleweight champion campaigned from 1973-1981 and was fortunate to catch former champions Emile Griffith and Denny Moyer at the tail end of their careers.
 
8. Markus Beyer - had three reigns as super middleweight title holder in a career the spanned 1996-2008
 
9. Karl Mildenberger - Former European heavyweight champion got stopped in the twelfth round by a prime Muhammad Ali in 1967
 
10. Axel Schultz - A beloved German Rocky who many feel was robbed against George Foreman in 1995. He was rewarded for the Foreman effort with a shot at the vacant IBF title, but saw a loss to Frans Botha changed to a no contest after Botha tested positive for steroids. Subsequent title shot vs. Michael Moorer and a late-career date with Wladimir Klitschko ended in failure. 
 
Boxingtalk's honorable mentions: Eric Seelig, Felix Sturm, Marco Huck, Jurgen Braehmer, Walter Neusel, Erich Schoppner.