WBRZ - Baton Rouge

CLEVELAND - Jimmy Bivins, a heavyweight boxer in the 1940s and 1950s who defeated some of the greatest fighters of his time, has died at 92.

Bivins' family says he died of complications from pneumonia Wednesday at an East Cleveland nursing home. Jerry Nelson, the wife of Bivins' nephew, says Bivins entered the home in 2009.

The Georgia-born Bivins retired from boxing in 1955 after more than 100 professional fights.

He never was able to compete for a world title, but he was ranked at one point as the number one contender in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999.

He is survived by a daughter, five grandchildren and several great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.