Edward Mills "Eddie" Machen was an American professional boxer. He was one of 6 children of a rural mail carrier. Machen dropped out of high school and became an amateur boxer. However, after just 3 bouts he was arrested and convicted of armed robbery. After his release, he became a professional boxer, determined never to return to prison again. His 64-bout career began on March 22, 1955, and he went on to win his first 24 bouts. He was highly rated and fought most of the big names of his era and He defeated the important names of his period such as Bob Baker, Jerry Quarry, Niño Valdés, Joey Maxim, Willi Besmanoff, Tommy Jackson, Brian London, Howard King and Doug Jones (boxer)

Niño Valdés was a Cuban professional boxer who was Cuba's national heavyweight boxing champion in the 1940s and 1950s. Statistical boxing website BoxRec rates Valdés as the 8th best Cuban boxer ever across all weight divisions.