Waldemar Holberg


Waldemar Birger Holberg was a Danish boxer. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 29, 1883, he won the World Welterweight Championship on January 1, 1914, defeating Ray Bronson in Melbourne, Australia in a twenty round points decision. He was a fierce boxer with a KO percentage of 40% in the virtually complete boxing record displayed on BoxRec.

Boxing career

Prior to his entry into the Olympics, Holberg was a five time amateur champion of Denmark. He won the featherweight division in 1902, and the lightweight division in 1903, 1905, 1907, and 1908. He qualified for the 1908 Summer Olympics, but was eliminated in the first round after losing to future welterweight world champion Matt Wells.
After the Olympics, Holberg turned professional making his debut in Denmark. He had a number of wins in Denmark and Germany but moved to England in 1912. After losing two bouts on disqualification, Holberg moved to Australia in 1913 fighting for the Australian lightweight title.

Taking the Australian version of the world welterweight title

He had limited success in Australia, losing 6 out of 9 matches but on New Years Day, 1914 met American Ray Bronson in Melbourne in a bout recognized by the Australian boxing authorities as a World Welterweight title. Holberg won easily on points after 20 rounds. He held the title for only twenty-three days, losing it in Melbourne to Irishman Tom McCormick in a sixth round foul on January 24. By several accounts, Holberg sometimes fought with questionable tactics, and had lost five previous fights to fouls. For some reason, McCormick is more often recognized as a world welterweight boxing champion than Holberg.
After having lost the world title, he returned to Denmark only to lose two matches in Copenhagen to Danish veteran Dick Nelson on December 2, 1914, and February 14, 1915, one for the Scandinavian Welterweight title. Holberg had his last professional fight on August 29, 1921 when he was stopped in Vienna by Austrian Hans Hirschberger.
Holberg retired from professional boxing in 1921 after his loss to Hirschberger. He died in Vienna on March 18, 1927, at age 43.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
70Loss39–27–4 Hans HirschbergerTKO9 Aug 29, 1921 Sportplatz, Vienna
69Loss39–26–4 Willi SpoeriTKO7 Jul 07, 1921 Sportplatz, Vienna
68Win39–25–4 Holger HansenPTS12Feb 22, 1921 Circus, Stockholm
67Loss38–25–4 Emanuel JacobsenDQ5 Sep 13, 1919 Cirkus Variete, Copenhagen
66Win38–24–4 Johan EkerothDQ15 Aug 01, 1919 Copenhagen
65Loss37–24–4 Georg BrustadPTS15May 26, 1919 Trondheim
64Win37–23–4 Johan EkerothPTS10Feb 02, 1919 Oslo
63Win36–23–4 Holger HansenTKO7 Dec 15, 1918 Oslo
62Win35–23–4 Fred BostonKO6 Nov 02, 1918 Oslo
61Win34–23–4 Dick NelsonPTS15Apr 09, 1918 Turnhallen, Oslo
60Win33–23–4 Frithjof HansenKO3 Feb 26, 1918 Turnhallen, Oslo
59Win32–23–4 Sam BrownKO11 Jan 22, 1918 Turnhallen, Oslo
58Win31–23–4 Willy CarlsenKO2 Nov 18, 1917 Oslo
57Win30–23–4 Johan EkerothTKO11 Jun 06, 1917 Oslo
56Win29–23–4 Calle SvenssonTKO7 Sep 24, 1916 Stockholm
55Win28–23–4 Calle SvenssonPTS10Sep 10, 1916 Stockholm
54Win27–23–4 Emil KjellbergTKO7 Aug 11, 1916 Idrottsplatsen, Råsunda
53Loss26–23–4 Jack Kid GreenstockPTS10Feb 21, 1916 Golder's Green Hippodrome, Golder's Green
52Loss26–22–4 Willie FarrellTKO7 Jan 03, 1916 Hoxton Baths, Hoxton
51Loss26–21–4 Willie FarrellPTS15Oct 07, 1915 Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool
50Loss26–20–4 Billy WilliamsPTS20Jul 19, 1915 The Ring, Blackfriars Road, Southwark
49Loss26–19–4 Jim PrendyPTS20Jun 12, 1915 The Ring, Blackfriars Road, Southwark
48Loss26–18–4 Dai RobertsKO7 Apr 24, 1915 Location Unknown
47Win26–17–4 Young NipperPTS10Apr 12, 1915 The Ring, Blackfriars Road Matinee, Southwark
46Loss25–17–4 Sapper McNeilDQ13 Mar 20, 1915 Location Unknown
45Loss25–16–4 Dick NelsonKO15 Feb 14, 1915 Cirkus Bech-Olsen, Copenhagen
44Loss25–15–4 Dick NelsonPTS20Dec 06, 1914 Cirkus Bech-Olsen, Copenhagen
43Loss25–14–4 Tom McCormickDQ6 Jan 24, 1914 Baker's Stadium, MelbourneLost lineal welterweight title
42Win25–13–4 Ray BronsonPTS20Jan 01, 1914 Baker's Stadium, MelbourneWon vacant lineal welterweight title
41Loss24–13–4 Alf GoodwinDQ14 Dec 20, 1913 Baker's Stadium, Melbourne
40Win24–12–4 Frank PicatoTKO11 Nov 29, 1913 Baker's Stadium, Melbourne
39Win23–12–4 Len PorterTKO8 Nov 15, 1913 Baker's Stadium, Brisbane
38Loss22–12–4 Young NipperPTS20Nov 01, 1913 Sydney Stadium, Sydney
37Loss22–11–4 Hock KeysPTS20Oct 18, 1913 Olympic Stadium, Brisbane
36Win22–10–4 Harry PuieKO6 Oct 01, 1913 Baker's Stadium, Brisbane
35Loss21–10–4 Harry ThomasDQ20 Sep 13, 1913 Baker's Stadium, Brisbane
34Loss21–9–4 Herb McCoyPTS20Aug 30, 1913 Sydney Stadium, Sydney
33Loss21–8–4 Hughie MeheganKO17 Jul 12, 1913 Sydney Stadium, Sydney
32Loss21–7–4 Paul BrevieresDQ11 Dec 20, 1912 Élysée Montmartre, Paris
31Loss21–6–4 Bill JohnsonDQ11 Dec 16, 1912 Birmingham
30Loss21–5–4 Bill JohnsonDQ10 Nov 04, 1912 Sparkbrook Stadium, Birmingham
29Win21–4–4 Jack WardKO1 Sep 30, 1912 Birmingham
28Draw20–4–4 Dick LeePTS10Aug 24, 1912 The Ring, Blackfriars Road, Southwark
27Loss20–4–3 Dick NelsonPTS20Jun 33, 1912 Cirkus Bech-Olsen, Copenhagen
26Win20–3–3 Bobby DobbsPTS20Feb 03, 1912 Vienna
25Win19–3–3 Jerry PetersonKO10 Dec 09, 1911 Vienna
24Win18–3–3 Billy GordonKO15 Sep 17, 1911 Copenhagen
23Win17–3–3 Holger HansenKO4 Sep 03, 1911 Copenhagen
22Draw16–3–3 Jack SlimPTS15Aug 22, 1911 ?‍♂️
21Win16–3–2 Jimmy ButlerKO4 Aug 20, 1911 Copenhagen
20Win15–3–2 Paul MondKO4 Jul 23, 1911 Location Unknown
19Win14–3–2 Kid McGordonPTS15Apr 23, 1911 Vienna
18Win13–3–2 Eugen LegardKO7 Dec 19, 1910 Location Unknown
17Win12–3–2 Erik MosukKO2 Dec 15, 1910 Location Unknown
16Win11–3–2 H PaullianKO4 Dec 05, 1910 Location Unknown
15Win10–3–2 Alf ElreichKO6 Sep 12, 1910 Mannheim
14Win9–3–2 M LechleitnerKO2 Sep 09, 1910 Mannheim
13Win8–3–2 Alf ElreichKO4 Sep 04, 1910 Mannheim
12Win7–3–2 M MullerKO3 Apr 28, 1910 Location Unknown
11Win6–3–2 E Van DykKO5 Feb 07, 1910 Location Unknown
10Win5–3–2 Billy JacksonKO5 Jan 27, 1910 Budapest
9Loss4–3–2 Dick NelsonKO5 Jun 25, 1909 Copenhagen
8Win4–2–2 FrankKO1 May 29, 1909 Copenhagen
7Win3–2–2 Emil Hemming HansenKO5 May 29, 1909 Copenhagen
6Draw2–2–2 Holger HansenPTS10Apr 25, 1909 Copenhagen
5Win2–2–1 John JordanPTS10Feb 21, 1909 Copenhagen
4Loss1–2–1 Jim SmithPTS?Dec 15, 1908 Copenhagen
3Win1–1–1 Johannes HindsbergPTS?Dec 05, 1908 Copenhagen
2Draw0–1–1 Holger HansenPTS?Dec 02, 1908 Copenhagen
1Loss0–1 Jim SmithPTS?Dec 01, 1908 Copenhagen