Rick Myers – The Columbia, Illinois heavyweight active from 1979 to 2010, died January 26, 2026, at age 69. He was born Richard Alan Myers in Belleville, Illinois, on September 24, 1957, and compiled a record of 14-16-1 (KO 7/KO by 7). A heavyweight journeyman, he fought notable boxers such as Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Evander Holyfield, and Leon Spinks. He returned to the boxing ring at the age of 52 on June 18, 2010, after a 17-year break in Missouri, earning the title of the world’s oldest active professional boxer. BoxRec
Tommy Fix – The Shelby, Ohio, bantamweight/featherweight, active from 1961-1977, died on January 23, 2026, at age 88. He was born Thomas Monroe Fix in Clifton Forge, Virginia, on June 11, 1937, and compiled a record of 9-28-0 (KO 5/KO by 12). During his career, he engaged Frankie Crawford, Kenny Weldon, Ray Jutras, Cowboy Billy Smith, Gene Young, Marion Thomas, and Bobby Rodriguez. BoxRec
Giampaolo Gabanetti – The former Italian junior middleweight champion, active from 1963 to 1969, died on January 7, 2026, at age 84. He was born in Cignano di Offlaga, Lombardia, Italy on November 18, 1941, and compiled a record of 17-3-2 (KO 9/KO by 6). During his career, he defeated Giancarlo Raccagni, Ciro Cipriano, Elio Niero, Vid Stilija, and engaged Jean-Claude Bouttier, Domenico Tiberia, Luciano Piazza, Antonio Aguilar, and Aldo Battistutta. BoxRec
Bonifacio Avila – The Cartagena, Colombia, welterweight and former Olympian, active from 1973-1979, died January 5, 2026, at age 75. Avila represented Colombia as a light middleweight at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, losing to Dieter Kottysch (West Germany). He was born Bonifacio Ávila Berrío in Colombia on June 5, 1950, and compiled a record of 17-9-3 (KO 14/KO by 7). He defeated Carlos Marks, Roy Edmonds, Don Lutz, Nelson LaSalle, John Harris, Garry Broughton, and JT Dowe. He also engaged Ayub Kalule, Carlos De Leon, Jean Claude LeClair, Elijah Makhathini, Alfredo Horacio Cabral, Lenny Harden, Eddie Melo, and Bob Patterson. BoxRec
Benjamin William Johnson – The 18-year-old amateur boxer was hailed as a hero after tragically dying on January 1, 2026, while trying to save a friend from a bar fire at a Swiss ski resort. Johnson, the son of a British expatriate, was one of the 40 victims of the New Year’s Eve inferno that devastated the popular Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, as reported by the Daily Mail. Daily Mail.com BoxRec