László Papp

Lore & Background

László Papp was a left-handed professional boxer from Budapest, Hungary. Standing as a middleweight and later light middleweight, he possessed exceptional punching power, scoring 55 first-round knockouts during his amateur career, which concluded with a record of 301 wins, 12 losses, and 6 draws. He became the first boxer in Olympic history to win three consecutive gold medals, a feat achieved at the 1948 London Games (middleweight), the 1952 Helsinki Games (light middleweight), and the 1956 Melbourne Games (light middleweight). In his final Olympic bout, he dropped only a single round across all 13 of his Olympic fights, losing that one round to American José Torres in the gold medal match. He was also a European amateur champion, winning the middleweight title in 1949 and the light middleweight title in 1951. After turning professional in 1957, Papp fought out of Vienna, Austria, because professional boxing was banned in Communist Hungary. Despite this restriction, he compiled an undefeated professional record of 27 wins, 2 draws, and no losses, with 15 knockouts, defeating top contenders for the European middleweight title. His career was forcibly ended in 1964 when Hungarian authorities denied him an exit visa for a world championship bout against Joey Giardello. Papp died in Budapest in 2003.

Reader's Guide

László Papp, a left-handed boxer from Budapest, competed as an amateur from 1948 to 1956, during which he achieved a record of 301 wins, 12 losses, and 6 draws, with 55 of those wins coming by first-round knockout. He won Olympic gold medals in three successive Games: as a middleweight in London in 1948, and as a light middleweight in Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956. In his final Olympic bout, he defeated American José Torres by a 2–1 decision, the only round he lost across his entire 13-fight Olympic career. This made him the first boxer in Olympic history to win three consecutive gold medals, a feat not repeated for twenty years until Cuba’s Teófilo Stevenson matched it. Papp also won European amateur titles at middleweight in 1949 and light middleweight in 1951. Turning professional in 1957 despite chronic hand problems, he fought out of Vienna because Hungary, then a Communist state, banned professional boxing. He remained undefeated as a professional, with 27 wins, 2 draws, and no losses, 15 by knockout. His professional career ended in 1964 when Hungarian authorities denied him an exit visa for a world title fight against Joey Giardello. Papp was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001 and was named honorary world champion by the WBC in 1989. His unique achievement of three Olympic gold medals places him among the most decorated amateur boxers in history, alongside only Stevenson and Félix Savón.

Did You Know?

• László Papp is one of only three boxers to win three Olympic gold medals.
• He won the Val Barker Trophy in 1972.
• He was honored with the Olympic Order in 1987.
• The other two boxers with three Olympic gold medals are Teófilo Stevenson and Félix Savón.