New Jersey does not get enough credit as a boxing state. It produced two heavyweight champions of the world during an era when the heavyweight title was the most important prize in professional sports. It gave the sport one of its greatest trilogies, one of its most famous underdogs, and one of the most technically gifted young fighters competing today. From Camden to Bayonne to Newark, New Jersey has been putting fighters in the ring for over a century. Here are the 10 greatest.

1. Jersey Joe Walcott

Born Arnold Raymond Cream in Pennsauken and raised in Camden, Walcott became the oldest man to win the world heavyweight championship when he knocked out Ezzard Charles in 1951 at the age of 37. He had been fighting professionally since 1930, spent years in poverty, and was considered washed up before his late-career run to the title. His left hook that dropped Charles is one of the most famous punches in heavyweight history. After retiring, Walcott became the chairman of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and later the first Black sheriff in Camden County. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

2. James J. Braddock

“The Cinderella Man.” Braddock grew up in North Bergen and was on the relief rolls during the Great Depression, working the docks for whatever shifts he could get, before mounting one of the most improbable comebacks in boxing history. He upset Max Baer to win the world heavyweight championship in 1935, a victory that made him a national symbol of resilience during the darkest economic period in American history. Ron Howard’s 2005 film “Cinderella Man” starring Russell Crowe brought Braddock’s story to a new generation. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001.

3. Mickey Walker

“The Toy Bulldog” from Elizabeth was one of the most ferocious fighters of the 1920s and 1930s. He won the world welterweight title in 1922 and the world middleweight title in 1926, then spent the latter part of his career fighting light heavyweights and heavyweights despite being a natural middleweight. Walker feared nobody and fought everybody. His manager, Jack “Doc” Kearns, who had previously managed Jack Dempsey, guided Walker through a career that included over 100 professional fights. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

4. Arturo Gatti

Born in Italy, raised in Montreal, and forged in the boxing gyms and arenas of New Jersey. Gatti made Atlantic City his home and his battleground. He won world titles at super featherweight and light welterweight, but it was his trilogy with Micky Ward that made him immortal. Those three fights, fought between 2002 and 2003, are widely considered the greatest trilogy in modern boxing. All three were wars. All three are required viewing for anyone who wants to understand what courage looks like in a boxing ring. Gatti was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013. Atlantic City was his town, and the sport lost something irreplaceable when he died in 2009.

5. Dwight Muhammad Qawi

Camden’s Dwight Muhammad Qawi learned to box in prison and became one of the most devastating inside fighters in boxing history. He won the WBC light heavyweight title by stopping Matthew Saad Muhammad in 1981 and later won the WBA cruiserweight title. His 1986 fight with Evander Holyfield, a 15-round war that Holyfield won by split decision, is considered one of the best cruiserweight fights ever. Qawi stood only 5-foot-7 but fought with a ferocity that made his height irrelevant. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2024.

6. Ike Williams

Trenton’s Ike Williams was the undisputed world lightweight champion from 1947 to 1951, holding both the NBA and NYSAC titles simultaneously. He was a devastating puncher with a resume that includes victories over some of the best lightweights of his era. Williams was also one of the first fighters to publicly discuss the exploitation of boxers by managers and the mob, testifying before the Kefauver Committee in the 1950s about corruption in the sport. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2002. He remains one of the most underappreciated champions in boxing history.

7. Chuck Wepner

“The Bayonne Bleeder” never won a world title, but he might be the most famous New Jersey fighter who ever lived. In 1975, Wepner knocked down Muhammad Ali in the ninth round of their heavyweight title fight and lasted until 19 seconds remaining in the 15th round before being stopped. Sylvester Stallone watched the fight on closed circuit television and was inspired to write the screenplay for “Rocky.” Wepner eventually received a settlement from the Rocky franchise. His toughness, his personality, and his willingness to fight anyone made him a New Jersey folk hero. He may not have been the most talented fighter on this list, but no one embodied the Jersey fighting spirit more than Wepner.

8. Shakur Stevenson

Newark’s Shakur Stevenson is the future of this list. A 2016 Olympic silver medalist who turned professional and quickly established himself as one of the most technically skilled fighters in boxing. Stevenson has won world titles at featherweight and super featherweight and continues to compete at the top level of the sport. His defensive skills, ring intelligence, and counterpunching ability are elite. He is the standard-bearer for the current generation of New Jersey fighters and has the talent to climb higher on this list before his career is over.

9. Bobby Czyz

Czyz grew up in Wanaque and became a two-division world champion, winning the WBA light heavyweight title and the IBF cruiserweight title. He was an intelligent, well-spoken fighter who could box and brawl depending on what the fight required. Czyz fought his entire career out of New Jersey and was a regular on the Atlantic City cards that defined the era. His versatility and consistency across two weight classes make him one of the most accomplished fighters the state has produced.

10. Rocky Lockridge

Lockridge won the WBA super featherweight title in 1984 by knocking out Wilfredo Gomez with a single left hook in the first round. That knockout, one clean punch that sent Gomez crashing to the canvas unconscious, is one of the most replayed finishes in boxing history. Lockridge’s career after that peak was inconsistent, and his post-career life was tragic. He struggled with addiction and homelessness before his death in 2019. But inside the ring, at his best, Lockridge carried the kind of power that could end a fight in a heartbeat.

Honorable Mentions

Tony Galento of Orange knocked down Joe Louis in their 1939 title fight and told the press beforehand, “I’ll moider da bum.” Joey Giardello lived and fought out of Cherry Hill and held the world middleweight championship from 1963 to 1965. Tomasz Adamek moved from Poland to Jersey City and won world titles at light heavyweight and cruiserweight. Ray Mercer won Olympic gold in 1988 and the WBO heavyweight title, fighting extensively out of New Jersey throughout his career.

New Jersey is a state that has always been overshadowed by New York in boxing, the same way it gets overshadowed in everything else. But the fighters on this list did not care about being overshadowed. They showed up, they fought, and they won. That is what New Jersey does.