1. Karl Mildenberger was a German heavyweight boxer.
12 Facts About Karl Mildenberger
1. 2.
Karl Mildenberger was the European Heavyweight Champion from 1964 to 1968, during which he retained the title six times.
3.
Karl Mildenberger unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the World Heavyweight title in September 1966.
4.
Karl Mildenberger eventually displayed enough promise to be sent to Mannheim for training, as Mildenberger lived in the French Sector of the occupation, which forbade the practice of prizefighting; Mannheim, in the American Sector, had no such restriction.
5.
Karl Mildenberger rebounded with wins over Joe Erskine, Archie McBride, Joe Bygraves and a knockout win over Billy Daniels.
6.
Karl Mildenberger then got a draw with highly ranked Zora Folley in April 1964.
7.
Later that year, Karl Mildenberger scored a first-round knockout over Sante Amonte to capture the European Heavyweight title.
8.
In 1967, Karl Mildenberger participated in a tournament staged by the World Boxing Association to determine the new heavyweight champion after Ali was stripped of the title for refusing induction into the US military draft.
9.
Karl Mildenberger was not the same afterwards, and was knocked out by contender Leotis Martin in seven rounds.
10.
Subsequently, in September 1968, Karl Mildenberger's career ended when he lost the European Heavyweight title to Henry Cooper by eighth round disqualification after headbutting his opponent.
11.
Karl Mildenberger worked as a lifeguard after his retirement from boxing.
12.
Karl Mildenberger died at the age of 80 on 4 October 2018.