William MEYERS

The 16-years-old “Boela” Meyers from Booysens Club from Johannesburg surprised everyone by winning the South African 1960 Olympic trials and was selected to the South African 1960 Olympic team. At the Olympics, Meyers defeated his first three opponents easily, but was then stopped by Pole Jerzy Adamski in a semifinal and the young South African fighter earned a bronze medal. As of 2014, Meyers remains at 17 years and 45 days, the youngest male South African to win an Olympic medal. In 1963, Meyers was selected to the South African team that participated at the AAU (the US amateur championships) boxing tournament held in Utica, New York, where he reached the final, losing a closely fought bout to Wade Smith from Indiana. A four-time South African amateur champion, Meyers turned professional in summer 1963, but had a very brief and undistinguished professional career, fighting only four local bouts and finishing his career in April 1964 with a record of 3 wins (KO 1) and 1 loss (KO 1).