Ernie Terrell (46-9, 21) was born in Belzoni, Mississippi, U.S. on April 4, 1939. At the age of 18 years on May 15, 1957, he made his professional boxing debut against Norman Bolden, winning the fight via 4-round unanimous decision.
On his 41st career fight at 25 years old, Terrell became a heavyweight world champion on March 5, 1965 after defeating Eddie Machen via 15-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBA title.
Terrell's last fight was a 1st-round TKO loss to Jeff Merritt at age 34 on September 10, 1973. He was on a 2-fight losing streak by his last fight.
Some of Ernie Terrell's best fights have been against Doug Jones, George Chuvalo, Zora Folley, Cleveland Williams, Muhammad Ali and Bob Foster. For details about these fights refer to "Best fights of Ernie Terrell".
Terrell has 9 losses on his boxing record. For details about these losses refer to "Ernie Terrell Losses".
| # | Date | Opponent | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
55 | Sep 10, 1973 34 years, 5 months 46-9 (21) | Jeff Merritt | 1 | TKO | Loss | |
54  | Jun 23, 1973 34 years, 2 months 46-8 (21) | 34 years, 3 months 26-9-2 (9) | HW | 12 | PTS | Loss |
53 | Feb 19, 1973 33 years, 10 months 46-7 (21) | Bill Drover | 1 | TKO | Win | |
52 | Oct 23, 1972 33 years, 6 months 45-7 (20) | Jose Luis Garcia | 6 | KO | Win | |
51 | Jul 24, 1971 32 years, 3 months 44-7 (19) | Roberto Davila | 10 | UD | Win | |
50 | May 10, 1971 32 years, 1 months 43-7 (19) | Luis Faustino Pires | 10 | UD | Win | |
49 | Apr 28, 1971 32 years 42-7 (19) | Vic Brown | 10 | UD | Win | |
48 | Apr 3, 1971 31 years, 11 months 41-7 (19) | John Hudgins | 1 | TKO | Win | |
47 | Dec 15, 1970 31 years, 8 months 40-7 (18) | Sonny Moore | 10 | UD | Win | |
46 | Oct 14, 1967 28 years, 6 months 39-7 (18) | Manuel Ramos | 10 | UD | Loss | |
45 | Aug 5, 1967 28 years, 4 months 39-6 (18) | Thad Spencer | 12 | UD | Loss | |
44  | Feb 6, 1967 27 years, 10 months 39-5 (18) | 25 years 27-0 (22) | HW | 15 | UD | Loss Lost WBA |
43  | Jun 28, 1966 27 years, 2 months 39-4 (18) | 29 years, 4 months 29-6-1 (19) | HW | 15 | UD | Win Defended WBA |
42  | Nov 1, 1965 26 years, 6 months 38-4 (18) | 28 years, 1 month 33-9-2 (27) | HW | 15 | UD | Win Defended WBA |
41 | Mar 5, 1965 25 years, 11 months 37-4 (18) | Eddie Machen | HW | 15 | UD | Win Won WBA Vacant |
40 | Oct 23, 1964 25 years, 6 months 36-4 (18) | Henry Wallitsch | 6 | RTD | Win | |
39  | Jul 10, 1964 25 years, 3 months 35-4 (17) | 22 years, 2 months 14-2 (10) | 7 | TKO | Win | |
38 | Jun 17, 1964 25 years, 2 months 34-4 (16) | Jefferson Davis | 10 | UD | Win | |
37 | Mar 6, 1964 24 years, 11 months 33-4 (16) | Gerhard Zech | 10 | UD | Win | |
36  | Jul 27, 1963 24 years, 3 months 32-4 (16) | 32 years, 2 months 63-6-3 (35) | 10 | UD | Win | |
35  | Apr 13, 1963 24 years 31-4 (16) | 29 years, 9 months 56-4-1 (46) | 10 | SD | Win | |
34 | Mar 7, 1963 23 years, 11 months 30-4 (16) | Herb Siler | 3 | TKO | Win | |
33 | Jan 5, 1963 23 years, 9 months 29-4 (15) | Young Jack Johnson | 10 | UD | Win | |
32 | Dec 14, 1962 23 years, 8 months 28-4 (15) | Young Jack Johnson | 10 | UD | Win | |
31 | Sep 25, 1962 23 years, 5 months 27-4 (15) | Reiniero Rey Lopez | 3 | KO | Win | |
30 | Aug 24, 1962 23 years, 4 months 26-4 (14) | Eddie Jackson | 2 | TKO | Win | |
29 | Jun 9, 1962 23 years, 2 months 25-4 (13) | Amos Lincoln | 6 | UD | Win | |
28 | Apr 3, 1962 22 years, 11 months 24-4 (13) | 28 years, 9 months 51-4 (42) | 7 | TKO | Loss | |
27 | Feb 28, 1962 22 years, 10 months 24-3 (13) | Herb Siler | 10 | PTS | Win | |
26 | Dec 4, 1961 22 years, 8 months 23-3 (13) | Ernie Cab | 3 | RTD | Win | |
25 | May 15, 1961 22 years, 1 months 22-3 (12) | Chuck Garrett | 10 | UD | Win | |
24 | Apr 17, 1961 22 years 21-3 (12) | Willie Coleman | 1 | KO | Win | |
23 | Feb 6, 1961 21 years, 10 months 20-3 (11) | Ernie Cab | 8 | TKO | Win | |
22 | Dec 5, 1960 21 years, 8 months 19-3 (10) | Wayne Bethea | 10 | SD | Loss | |
21 | Jul 20, 1960 21 years, 3 months 19-2 (10) | Joe Hemphill | HW | 8 | UD | Win |
20 | May 18, 1960 21 years, 1 months 18-2 (10) | Frankie Daniels | 7 | KO | Win | |
19 | Mar 30, 1960 20 years, 11 months 17-2 (9) | Lee Williams | 10 | UD | Win | |
18 | Jan 6, 1960 20 years, 9 months 16-2 (9) | Clay Thomas | 1 | KO | Win | |
17 | Nov 11, 1959 20 years, 7 months 15-2 (8) | Chuck Garrett | 6 | PTS | Win | |
16 | Jul 24, 1959 20 years, 3 months 14-2 (8) | Tunney Hunsaker | 8 | PTS | Win | |
15 | Feb 25, 1959 19 years, 10 months 13-2 (8) | Johnny Gray | 8 | SD | Loss | |
14 | Jan 14, 1959 19 years, 9 months 13-1 (8) | Willie Coleman | 8 | PTS | Win | |
13 | Nov 3, 1958 19 years, 6 months 12-1 (8) | Sid Peaks | 8 | UD | Win | |
12 | Oct 7, 1958 19 years, 6 months 11-1 (8) | John Hobart | 1 | KO | Win | |
11 | Sep 24, 1958 19 years, 5 months 10-1 (7) | Joe Hemphill | 1 | TKO | Win | |
10 | Jul 1, 1958 19 years, 2 months 9-1 (6) | Billy Pickett | 2 | KO | Win | |
9 | Apr 30, 1958 19 years 8-1 (5) | Johnny Gray | 8 | SD | Loss | |
8 | Mar 11, 1958 18 years, 11 months 8-0 (5) | Johnny Harper | 1 | TKO | Win | |
7 | Feb 4, 1958 18 years, 10 months 7-0 (4) | Emil Brtko | 2 | TKO | Win | |
6 | Jan 8, 1958 18 years, 9 months 6-0 (3) | Calvin Butler | 6 | SD | Win | |
5 | Oct 30, 1957 18 years, 6 months 5-0 (3) | Ted Poole | 1 | TKO | Win | |
4 | Aug 21, 1957 18 years, 4 months 4-0 (2) | Neal Welch | 6 | UD | Win | |
3 | Jul 24, 1957 18 years, 3 months 3-0 (2) | Ray Griggs | 1 | KO | Win | |
2 | Jun 26, 1957 18 years, 2 months 2-0 (1) | Andy Bond | 1 | TKO | Win | |
1 | May 15, 1957 18 years, 1 months 1-0 (0) | Norman Bolden | 4 | UD | Win |
