Going on long winning streaks at the top of the sport of boxing is not exactly an easy achievement.
Although Roberto Duran went on an impressive 40-fight run, as well as Mike Tyson starting his career with a knockout streak, such feats are by no means common.
Fighting for world titles and against top contenders, fighters are bound to slip up. This is why it is a rare occurrence to see fighters like Rocky Marciano retire undefeated.
However, one former world champion was able to have an incredible calendar year where he escaped defeat on 45 occasions in 12 months.
Harry Greb had an unbeaten record of 45-0 in 1919
The ‘Pittsburgh Windmill’ Harry Greb had a remarkable 301 fights to his name by the time he retired in 1926.
Making his debut in 1913, Greb was just 18 years old when he began his career in Pittsburgh. However, it would take some time for Greb to find winning form, as he had a record of 5-2-1 after his first eight fights.
As he began to find more consistency, Greb would have an incredible year in 1919. Fighting for the first time that year on January 14th, Greb scored a points victory over Leo Houck (113-27-24) to begin his impressive run.
By the time January ended, Greb had racked up five wins across 17 days. However, he was not done there.
Continuing with his activity, Greb would also be able to maintain excellent form. Despite facing 100-fight veterans like Battling Lewinsky and Willie Meehan, no man was able to get the better of Greb throughout 1919.
In this 45-fight winning streak, five of his wins came by way of stoppage. Some of the notable victories for the American came against Mike Gibbons (88-4-11) and Jeff Smith (65-20-3).
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Harry Greb became a middleweight world champion in 1923
It wouldn’t be until Greb had over 200 professional fights that he would be able to call himself a world champion.
Fighting Johnny Wilson in August 1923, the middleweights fought over 15 rounds in New York. The result would go in Greb’s favor, as he won the bout via unanimous decision.
Greb claimed the world middleweight title at the age of 29, 10 years after making his professional debut.
His final bout would come in 1926, when he lost a split decision to Tiger Flowers at Madison Square Garden. Greb’s final career record, including ‘Newspaper Decisions’, was 265-19-17.