Jimmy Ellis (40-12-1, 24) was born in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. on February 24, 1940. At the age of 21 years on April 19, 1961, he made his professional boxing debut against Arley Seifer, winning the fight via 3rd-round TKO.
On his 31st career fight at 28 years old, Ellis became a heavyweight world champion on April 27, 1968 after defeating Jerry Quarry via 15-round majority decision to win the vacant WBA title.
Ellis' last fight was a 1st-round KO win against Carl Baker at age 35 on May 6, 1975. He was on a 1-fight winning streak by his last fight.
Some of Jimmy Ellis' best fights have been against Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, George Chuvalo and Leotis Martin.
Ellis has 12 losses on his boxing record.
| # | Date | Opponent | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
53 | May 6, 1975 35 years, 2 months 40-12-1 (24) | Carl Baker | 1 | KO | WIN | |
52  | Mar 2, 1975 35 years 39-12-1 (23) | 31 years, 1 months 31-2 (26) | 9 | TKO | LOSS | |
51  | Nov 12, 1974 34 years, 8 months 39-11-1 (23) | 24 years, 7 months 48-6-1 (29) | 10 | PTS | LOSS | |
50  | Jul 16, 1974 34 years, 4 months 39-10-1 (23) | 33 years, 5 months 27-1-1 (19) | 12 | UD | LOSS | |
49 | Mar 4, 1974 34 years 39-9-1 (23) | Larry Middleton | 10 | SD | DRAW | |
48 | Dec 12, 1973 33 years, 9 months 39-9 (23) | Boone Kirkman | 10 | SD | LOSS | |
47 | Oct 23, 1973 33 years, 7 months 39-8 (23) | Al Jones | 7 | TKO | WIN | |
46  | Jun 18, 1973 33 years, 3 months 38-8 (22) | 28 years, 9 months 44-2 (43) | 1 | KO | LOSS | |
45 | May 5, 1973 33 years, 2 months 38-7 (22) | Rico Brooks | 5 | KO | WIN | |
44 | Apr 14, 1973 33 years, 1 months 37-7 (21) | Joe Tiger Harris | 2 | KO | WIN | |
43 | Mar 6, 1973 33 years 36-7 (20) | Charlie Harris | 1 | TKO | WIN | |
42 | Feb 21, 1973 32 years, 11 months 35-7 (19) | Bob Felstein | 2 | KO | WIN | |
41 | Oct 26, 1972 32 years, 8 months 34-7 (18) | Harold Carter | 7 | TKO | WIN | |
40 | Sep 21, 1972 32 years, 6 months 33-7 (17) | Ollie Wilson | 6 | TKO | WIN | |
39 | Jun 13, 1972 32 years, 3 months 32-7 (16) | Rico Brooks | 2 | KO | WIN | |
38 | May 16, 1972 32 years, 2 months 31-7 (15) | Dick Gosha | 6 | TKO | WIN | |
37  | Jul 26, 1971 31 years, 5 months 30-7 (14) | 29 years, 6 months 31-1 (25) | HW | 12 | TKO | LOSS |
36  | May 10, 1971 31 years, 2 months 30-6 (14) | 33 years, 7 months 63-16-2 (55) | 10 | UD | WIN | |
35 | Mar 2, 1971 31 years 29-6 (14) | Tony Doyle | 10 | KO | WIN | |
34 | Nov 10, 1970 30 years, 8 months 28-6 (13) | Roberto Davila | 7 | TKO | WIN | |
33 | Feb 16, 1970 29 years, 11 months 27-6 (12) | 26 years, 1 months 24-0 (21) | HW | 4 | RTD | LOSS Lost WBA For WBC |
32  | Sep 14, 1968 28 years, 6 months 27-5 (12) | 33 years, 8 months 46-6-1 (35) | HW | 15 | PTS | WIN Defended WBA |
31  | Apr 27, 1968 28 years, 2 months 26-5 (12) | 22 years, 11 months 26-1-4 (15) | HW | 15 | MD | WIN Won WBA Vacant |
30  | Dec 2, 1967 27 years, 9 months 25-5 (12) | 25 years, 2 months 31-3 (25) | 12 | UD | WIN | |
29  | Aug 5, 1967 27 years, 5 months 24-5 (12) | 28 years, 4 months 24-1 (14) | 9 | TKO | WIN | |
28 | Mar 22, 1967 27 years 23-5 (11) | Johnny Persol | 1 | KO | WIN | |
27 | Nov 14, 1966 26 years, 8 months 22-5 (10) | Tommy Sims | 1 | KO | WIN | |
26 | Oct 27, 1966 26 years, 8 months 21-5 (9) | Eddie Dembry | 1 | KO | WIN | |
25 | Sep 10, 1966 26 years, 6 months 20-5 (8) | Billy Daniels | 6 | PTS | WIN | |
24 | May 21, 1966 26 years, 2 months 19-5 (8) | Leweni Waqa | 1 | KO | WIN | |
23 | Mar 29, 1966 26 years, 1 months 18-5 (7) | Hubert Hilton | 8 | PTS | WIN | |
22 | Nov 15, 1965 25 years, 8 months 17-5 (7) | Chuck Leslie | 10 | UD | WIN | |
21 | May 25, 1965 25 years, 3 months 16-5 (7) | Joe Blackwood | 1 | KO | WIN | |
20  | Nov 30, 1964 24 years, 9 months 15-5 (6) | 31 years, 6 months 52-9-1 (30) | 10 | MD | LOSS | |
19 | Oct 21, 1964 24 years, 7 months 15-4 (6) | Don Fullmer | 10 | SD | LOSS | |
18 | Apr 21, 1964 24 years, 1 months 15-3 (6) | Joe Spencer | 1 | KO | WIN | |
17 | Feb 28, 1964 24 years 14-3 (5) | Rubin Carter | 10 | UD | LOSS | |
16 | Sep 27, 1963 23 years, 7 months 14-2 (5) | Luis Gutierrez | 10 | PTS | WIN | |
15 | Jun 18, 1963 23 years, 3 months 13-2 (5) | Johnny Halafihi | 1 | KO | WIN | |
14 | Dec 3, 1962 22 years, 9 months 12-2 (4) | LeRoy Green | 10 | UD | WIN | |
13 | Sep 1, 1962 22 years, 6 months 11-2 (4) | Henry Hank | 10 | UD | LOSS | |
12 | Jun 13, 1962 22 years, 3 months 11-1 (4) | Charlie Glover | 4 | PTS | WIN | |
11 | Jun 13, 1962 22 years, 3 months 10-1 (4) | Sammy Poe | 4 | PTS | WIN | |
10 | Jun 7, 1962 22 years, 3 months 9-1 (4) | Rudolph Bent | 2 | TKO | WIN | |
9 | May 4, 1962 22 years, 2 months 8-1 (3) | Holley Mims | 10 | UD | WIN | |
8 | Feb 17, 1962 21 years, 11 months 7-1 (3) | Johnny Alford | 6 | MD | WIN | |
7 | Jan 11, 1962 21 years, 10 months 6-1 (3) | Rory Calhoun | 1 | KO | WIN | |
6 | Nov 29, 1961 21 years, 9 months 5-1 (2) | Holley Mims | 10 | UD | LOSS | |
5 | Oct 7, 1961 21 years, 7 months 5-0 (2) | Clarence Riley | 1 | RTD | WIN | |
4 | Aug 22, 1961 21 years, 5 months 4-0 (1) | Wilf Greaves | 10 | MD | WIN | |
3 | Jul 22, 1961 21 years, 4 months 3-0 (1) | Johnny Morris | 6 | SD | WIN | |
2 | May 6, 1961 21 years, 2 months 2-0 (1) | Gene Leslie | 8 | UD | WIN | |
1 | Apr 19, 1961 21 years, 1 months 1-0 (1) | Arley Seifer | 3 | TKO | WIN |
