Highlights
- Daniel Dubois trained at a mansion with luxurious amenities, not for financial gains.
- Chris Algieri boxed out of love, holding degrees and a successful career as a nutritionist.
- Issac Dogboe boxed despite coming from a royal family in Ghana, with expectations of a different career.
Boxing is often viewed as a tough working-class sport. Athletes from lower income backgrounds attempt to fight their way out of poverty to create a better life for themselves and their families.
However, not everyone's journey is the same. Some boxers aren't necessarily fighting for financial gains because they were born into less stressful environments.
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Dubois Had Access To A Jacuzzi As A Kid
- The big puncher's road to glory was carved in his father's lush residence.
Daniel Dubois hopes to follow in the footsteps of Lennox Lewis and Tyson Fury as Britain's next great heavyweight. Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) is a former WBA champion who pushed unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to the limit. Dubois has been able to train comfortably because of his father's wealth. Dubois's father amassed a small fortune as a successful art trader.
9 Chris Algieri Boxed Because He Loved It
Boxing Was Not Viewed As A Way Out Of Poverty
- Algieri has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree.
Former WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri was also an undefeated world champion kickboxer. Algieri (25-4, 9 KOs) has a successful career outside the ring as a nutritionist. He grew up in an upper middle-class part of New York. Both of Algieri's parents had stable jobs: his father worked as a highway supervisor for over 40 years, while his mother worked as a secretary at the local hospital.
8 Issac Dogboe Boxed To Help Deal With Bullies
Dogboe's Family Was Disappointed When He Turned Pro
- Boxing is viewed as a lower class sport in Ghana.
The former WBO junior featherweight champion, Issac Dogboe (24-4, 16 KOs) comes from a royal family in Ghana. Dogboe's grandfather is a ruler in the Volta region of Ghana. With the resources available to Dogboe, his family hoped that he would become a lawyer or doctor. When Dogboe was a small child, he was sent to England to live with his father and study. Despite becoming world champion, Dogboe still plans to eventually secure his academic degree.
7 Billy Joe Saunders Is A Two-Division World Champion
Saunders Is Proud Of His Romanical Heritage
- Saunders is the first boxer from traveling communities to win world titles in multiple weight classes.
A crafty southpaw, Billy Joe Saunders won the WBO middleweight and super middleweight titles. Saunders (30-1, 14 KOs) is of Romani descent. Saunders grew up in a traveling community. His family carries a boxing lineage, as his father and great-grandfather also boxed. Saunders's family accumulated wealth through working lots of skilled trade jobs.
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Welsh Had A Privileged Childhood In Wales
- Welsh didn't want to become a pro boxer because he knew his family wouldn't be happy.
Freddie Welsh had a three-year run at the top of the lightweight division. Welsh (74-5-7, 34 KOs) was raised in a working-class family, which is why he was committed to pursuing his dreams. Welsh attended several private schools in Wales while helping at his parent's luxury hotel. Welsh eventually left and worked odd jobs across the UK, Canada, and the United States before finally pursuing a professional boxing career. Welsh's hard work paid off when he beat Johnny Summers to win the European lightweight title and Hall of Famer Willie Ritchie to win the recognized world lightweight title.
5 Azumah Nelson Is One Of Africa's Greatest Fighters
Nelson Grew Up In An Affluent Area Of Ghana
- Nelson achieved stardom when he knocked out Wilfredo Gomez to win the featherweight title.
Hall of Famer Azumah Nelson is a former WBC featherweight and lineal super featherweight champion. While his parents had great good jobs and a stable income, Nelson (39-6-2, 28 KOs) notes that there were some occasional struggles due to the size of their family. Nelson is the oldest of his parents' six children. Nelson also fought fellow Hall of Famers Pernell Whitaker and Salvador Sanchez.
4 Ken Norton Is One Of The Greatest American Heavyweights
Norton Admits That He Was Spoiled As A Kid
- The Hall of Famer gave Muhammad Ali some of the toughest fights of his career.
Known for his rivalry with Muhammad Ali, former heavyweight champion Ken Norton also faced George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and Earnie Shavers. Norton (42-7-1, 33 KOs) grew up in the working-class community of Jacksonville, Illinois. Norton's father was an engineer and his mother was a therapist. Norton enlisted in the marines and was unsure what to do with his life until he discovered boxing.
3 Tyson Fury Is The Son Of Irish Travelers
Fury Has Been Open About His Privileged Childhood
- Fury worked at his father's car shop as a teenager to learn discipline.
The lineal heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury is one of the sport's top boxers. Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) grew up in a luxury neighborhood near Cheshire, England. Fury attended Styal Primary School, which is considered an elitist learning environment. Boxing has always been in Fury's blood though.
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Barrera's Father Is A Mexican Film Legend
- The three division world champion is known for his epic trilogy with Erik Morales.
Marco Antonio Barrera was one of boxing's top warriors. The Hall of Famer grew up in Mexico City, one of the country's most prosperous areas. Barrera (67-7, 44 KOs) pursued boxing as a passion, not for survival. He actually studied law at the local university. Barrera would occasionally work and assist his father on movie sets in Mexico City in between training for his next fight.
1 Beibut Shumenov Is A Lawyer
Shumenov's Family Is Worth Millions
- Shumenov's father made several successful investments to become a multi-millionaire.
Beibut Shumenov is a former WBA light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion. Shumenov (18-2, 12 KOs) took up boxing to get stronger. His father is a wealthy accountant and his mother worked as a school teacher. Shumenov earned his law degree while pursuing his boxing career. Unfortunately, Shumenov's career was cut short due to a serious eye injury he suffered while training. Shumenov works as a lawyer and helps manage his parents' construction sites and marketplaces.
