Born Kenneth Edward Overlin on August 15, 1910 in Decatur, IL. Overlin learned to box in the Navy and turned pro in 1931.
Managed by Hall of Famer Chris Dundee, in only his 25th bout he met future middleweight king Vince Dundee and dropped a 10-round decision. A crafty boxer, Overlin boxed many top contenders including Teddy Yarosz, Kid Tunero and Paul Pirrone before meeting Freddie Steele for the NBA-NY world middleweight title in 1937. Steele scored a 4th round KO but Overlin bounced back and racked up victories in 1938 and 1939, including two wins over Nate Bolden (W 10, W 10), to earn a crack at Ceferino Garcia's 160-pound belt. On May 23, 1940 he capitalized on his second opportunity and registered a 15-round decision to claim the title in Madison Square Garden. Overlin notched a non-title win over Ralph DeJohn (W 10) and successfully defended his strap against Steve Belloise (W 15, W 15) twice before losing the championship to Billy Soose (L 15) in 1941. Overlin's next contest was a 10-round win over future heavyweight king Ezzard Charles and later that same year he defeated Al Hostak (W 10). Following 10-round draws with Charles and Fred Apostoli in 1942, he was inactive for a year and retired from the ring after four more bouts in 1944 with a record of 135-19-9-2NC (23KOs).
Overlin died in Reno, NV on July 24, 1969
Born: Aug. 15, 1910
Died: July 24, 1969
Bouts: 165
Won: 135
Lost: 19
Draw: 9
NC: 2
KOs: 23
Induction: 2015
Ken Overlin
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