Livingstone Bramble

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Livingstone Ras-I Bramble

Born	September 3, 1960 Saint Kitts and Nevis

Ras-I Alujah Bramble (born Livingstone Bramble on September 3, 1960 in Saint Kitts and Nevis) is a boxer. However, Bramble was raised on Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He became the first world champion from Saint Kitts and Nevis. As of 2005, Bramble is still active in professional boxing. Although his last recorded fight occurred on June 26, 2003, he has never officially announced his retirement, and constantly hints that he wishes to fight on. His current record stands at 40-26-3(25).

Bramble began boxing professionally on October 16, 1980, knocking out Jesus Serrano in round one. Later, he beat Serrano again, by a six round decision. In his fourth fight, he would face the more experienced, fringe contender Jorge Nina, winning by a disqualification in the second round.

On June 4, 1981, he beat Ken Bogner by a knockout in seven, but later that year, on August 31, he lost for the first time, outpointed over eight rounds by Anthony Fletcher. After that loss, he built a streak of thirteen wins in a row, including wins over former world title challengers James Busceme and Gaetan Hart, as well as top ten ranked fighters like Jerome Artis and Rafael Williams.

He was given a shot at a world title when the WBA pit him and Ray Mancini for the organization's world Lightweight title on June 1, 1984. Despite the fact Bramble entered the ring sporting a record of 20 wins and only one loss, with thirteen knockouts, Mancini was widely expected to win: He had fought fourteen rounds with Alexis Arguello before, and he was coming off a successful title defense on January 14 against two time world champion Bobby Chacon, who had been beaten in three rounds by Mancini. Furthermore, talks about a super-fight between Mancini and IBF world Jr. Welterweight champion Aaron Pryor were under way. Nevertheless, Bramble cut Mancini in round one and went on to become the WBA world Lightweight champion by a fourteenth round knockout in Buffalo, New York. After this, Ring Magazine published a cover of him, WBA Jr. Lightweight world champion Rocky Lockridge and their trainer, Lou Duva. The cover read: The championship season.

When Bramble became a world champion, rumors of him practicing witchcraft became widespread. He did not deny these rumors. It was said that he would cut off either a dog or rabbit's ears before fights, for good luck. It was also said that he often cut off bird heads to offer their blood to witch spirits so that he would not shed any blood of his own during the upcoming fights. Bramble did enjoy walking around with a snake, he used to walk into the boxing ring with one on his neck, and he was pictured, again on the cover of Ring Magazine, with his snake.

After defeating Edwin Curet by a ten round decision in a non-title bout, he and Mancini met again. In what marked the debut of the Compubox system, he defeated Mancini by an extremely close but unanimous fifteen round decision to retain his world title at Reno, Nevada, in front of an HBO Boxing audience, on February 16, 1985.

After that, and more specifically after Hector Camacho defeated Jose Luis Ramirez to claim the WBC title on August 10 of that year, there was widespread talks about a series of fights between Bramble, Camacho and IBF world Lightweight champion Jimmy Paul, to see who would become the unified world champion.

Bramble was not able to fight, however, for exactly one year after defeating Mancini for the second time. On February 16, 1986, he defeated the WBA's number one challenger, Tyrone Crawley, by a knockout in round thirteen.

Bramble's next defense was supposed to be a preparation fight for him to meet Camacho in his next fight. He and Camacho defended their world title crowns on September 26, in what was nicknamed, as a matter of a fact, The Preamble to Bramble. Once again fighting in front of an HBO Boxing audience, however, he was defeated in what many saw as a surprise by Edwin Rosario, who knocked him out in two rounds at Miami.

After this loss, Bramble never regained his status as a top Lightweight. He fought on, and met some future or former world champions such as Freddie Pendleton, Charles Murray, James "Buddy" McGirt, Roger Mayweather, Rafael Ruelas and Kostya Tszyu, as well as world title challengers like Wilfredo Rivera, Oba Carr and Darryl Tyson. On most of these fights, he came on the losing end.

During the 1990s Bramble went through several name changes, often fighting under the names of Ras-I-Bramble or Abuja Bramble. This caused some boxing magazines to make mockery of him, including one that said Bramble would soon be known as The boxer formerly known as Livingstone Bramble, in an obvious reference also to the singer, Prince.

An avid marathon runner, Bramble competes each year at the International Boxing Hall of Fame's celebrity marathon. He is one of the most sought after autograph signers there every year.