Best Boxers With A College Degree

Boxing fans often talk about how skilled or tough their favorite boxers are. One important attribute that many fans forget is intelligence there have been many highly intelligent fighters in boxing history and here we look at five of the best boxers with a college degree

Chris Algieri 

Former world champion Chris Algieri is easily one of the best boxers with a college degree. During the 2010s, Algieri was one of the world’s top junior welterweight boxers.

Chris fought numerous world champions during his career in front of huge crowds. It was well documented during Algieri’s career that he was one of the most educated fighters in the sport’s history.

Before fighting for world titles, Chris earned a Master’s degree in clinical nutrition and a Bachelor’s in healthcare science. He now works as a clinical nutritionist in his home state of New York.

Laila Ali 

Laila Ali is most known for being the daughter of the legendary Muhamad Ali. The daughter of the legend also had a distinguished fighting career where she went undefeated and won four world titles.

One thing that Ali has over her father is she is one of the best boxers with college degrees. On top of being a world champion, Laila is highly educated and holds a Bachelor’s degree in business. Whether you are an aspiring boxer or a seasoned professional a college degree can greatly enhance your prospects, if you are short of time to do homework and essays why not consider an essay writing service?

Since retiring from fighting, Laila has gone on to many successful business ventures, including a popular salon in California.

Vitali Klitschko

Vitali Klitschko is considered one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. During his stellar career, Vitali won numerous world titles and beat fifteen opponents in title fights.

Klitschko is also one of the best boxers with college degrees and actually holds two of them. A PhD in sports and physical education and a Master’s degree in social development management.

The highly educated former champion has used his education and fame to get into politics. He is the current mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine.

James “Bonecrusher” Smith

Another one of the best boxers with a college degree is former world champion James “Bonecrusher” Smith. “Bonecrusher” holds the honor of being the very first world champion with a college degree.

Before Smith went into boxing full time, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Shaw University. He then went on to win the WBA world title by 1st round KO in a rematch against champion Tim Witherspoon.

After a successful boxing career, James went on to open various businesses and work as a pastor. All of his children are also highly educated college graduates.

Nathan Cleverly

Last up on our list of the best boxers with a college degree is former 2x light-heavyweight champ Nathan Cleverly. During his 12-year boxing career, Cleverly was one of the best Welsh boxers in the world. 

He went on to win two world titles before calling it a career in 2017. Life after fighting hasn’t been a problem for Nathan as he is highly educated.

Cleverly holds a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Cardiff University.