Elmer Ray
American boxer (1911-1987)
- Born
- 3 March 1911, Hastings
- Died
- 20 May 1987
- Citizenship
- United States
- Sport
- boxing
- Discipline
- heavyweight
- Occupation
- boxer
Elmer "Violent" Ray (March 3, 1911 – May 20, 1987) was an American professional boxer who fought from 1933 to 1949. Ray, also known as "The Florida Thumper," was one of the hardest-hitting heavyweights of the 1940s. During a boxing career that included battle royals and alligator wrestling, he scored 69 knockouts. Ray never fought for the title, but did fight multiple exhibition bouts against Joe Louis. He also fought Jersey Joe Walcott, Lee Savold, and Ezzard Charles. In 2003, Ray made The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all-time at No. 44.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q5366651 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.