Jimmy Young (boxer)

Jimmy Young
Statistics
Real name Jimmy Young
Rated at Heavyweight
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Nationality American
Born November 16, 1948
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died February 20, 2005 (aged 56)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 56
Wins 34
Wins by KO 11
Losses 19
Draws 2
No contests 1

Jimmy Young (November 14, 1948 – February 20, 2005) was an American boxer who had his greatest success in the heavyweight division during the 1970s, when he most notably beat George Foreman and lost a disputed decision against Muhammad Ali. He also fought many significant fighters of his era.

Professional career

Early fights

In his 11th professional fight, Young was matched against contender Earnie Shavers, who had a 42-2 record at the time and suffered his first KO loss. After this Young went undefeated for three years which included a win over contender Ron Lyle and a controversial draw in a re-match with Shavers (many observers scored the bout for Young).[1] It would not be the last time Young lost a decision in a big fight. He had worked better on defense against this known devastating hitter. It was still enough to earn him a title fight with Heavyweight Champion of the World Muhammad Ali.

The Young-Ali fight

Young made his name with the Public when he fought Muhammad Ali in Landover, Maryland in April 1976 for the world heavyweight title, although boxing circles had already noted his ability. Ali weighed in at 230 pounds, the highest for any of his fights up to that point (he would weigh 236.25 pounds in his fight against Trevor Berbick), and was consequently slow and immobile throughout the bout. Seven years younger and 21 pounds lighter, Young adopted a strategy of fighting aggressively from a distance, landing numerous light blows while dodging and parrying Ali's counterpunches, and using his body blows, which had little power behind them but were effective at scoring points. At close quarters, Young would turn passive. He retreated whenever possible, and often kept his head ducked very low to avoid serious blows when Ali would fight from the inside.

On several occasions when Ali was inside and Young had his back to the ropes, Young would intentionally put his head or upper body out of the ring to compel the referee to separate the fighters. To some, Young's was a brilliant strategy of neutralizing his opponent's strengths and forcing the bout to be fought on his own terms, exposing Ali's inability to fight a counterpuncher. To others, it seemed cowardly as he forced a stoppage to the fight every time Ali held the advantage.

The referee did at one point during the fight initiate a count due to Jimmy Young being outside the ropes. The fight went the full 15 rounds with a controversial one-sided unanimous decision going to Ali. Referee Tom Kelly scored it 72-65; judges Larry Barrett and Terry Moore had it 70-68 and 71-64, respectively.[2]

Ken Norton (a rival of Ali) who was commentating at ringside had the fight even on his own scorecard. Lester Bromberg (former Ring magazine editor) called the decision a "travesty". New York Daily News reporter Dick Young said: "[Ali won] by the grace of three hero worshipping fight officials. I believe many people, the voting officials among them, refuse to believe what they see when one of their super-heroes doesn't function as expected." As the fight was televised, many viewers called to the network to complain about the decision. Even Ali's ever loyal trainer Angelo Dundee went on record as saying this was the champion's "worst fight". Afterwards, many started calling on Ali to retire.[3] According to boxing historian Monte Cox, Young should have been awarded the Heavyweight Title based on "clean punching, defense and ring generalship".[4] Some claimed that Young's performance should have earned him a rematch. The WBC for one agreed this and set about organising it in 1977 as below.

Versus Lyle and then George Foreman

In November 1976 Young again beat top contender Ron Lyle in a rematch, winning 11 of 12 rounds on one judge's card. In March 1977, Young then fought George Foreman in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Foreman was on his own 5-0-0 comeback after losing the title to Muhammad Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle", including victories over top contenders Ron Lyle and Joe Frazier.

The Young-Foreman fight was somewhat steady until the sixth round. The early rounds were punctuated by complaints from Young and his corner about the use of elbows by Foreman, which was punished by the referee by a point deduction. For the first half of the fight, Young used his somewhat unorthodox boxing skills and good defense to keep out of harms way, while using his punching speed to counter. In the sixth round he became somewhat more aggressive himself and landed a number of clean punches on Foreman.[5] Eleven seconds into the seventh round, Foreman caught Young with a left-handed body punch, and immediately followed with a powerful swinging left hand to the head. Young reeled and turned away and seemed about to go down, while Foreman tried to pursue his advantage, but somehow Young survived to the end of the round. In his after-match comments on TV, he described it as 'desperation'. But Young sallied, and landed a number of good punches of his own, as Foreman's eyes became puffy and his punches lost their menace. For the rest of the contest, Foreman continued to move forward, trying to cut off the ring and looking for the big knock out, while taking punches from the elusive Young. Young even managed a momentary knockdown over Foreman in the final round, and earned a unanimous win by 12-round decision. Ring Magazine named the Young-Foreman bout its 1977 "Fight of the Year". Jimmy Young joined Ali in being the only two men to ever beat a peak George Foreman in over 40 contests.

The Young-Norton Fight

Now the number 2 contender, Young's next opponent in November 1977 was in a big mandatory world title eliminator against Ken Norton the number 1 contender - Jimmy had won five straight since his loss to Ali, including another unanimous decision over Ron Lyle. Young lost the Norton match on a controversial split decision in which many observers watching in attendance felt Young should have been declared the winner in a clever fight from both boxers in Las Vegas. While Young boxed, cleverly drawing Norton onto useful sneak right hands, Norton himself pressed forward dangerously, always his best style, using a heavy two-handed attack pounding away to the ribs, then lobbing wicked head shots. The fight was set at 15 rounds, unheard of for a non-title match but it was due to its importance as an eliminator (and later retro-designated as a WBC title match). It attracted big money and Ali himself was ringside. The winner of the fight was later awarded the WBC championship belt as the mandatory title defence didn't materialise when Leon Spinks (who had taken the title from Ali in an upset win on February 15, 1978) chose a rematch against Ali instead of fighting Norton for the WBC-title.

The slide; Ocasio twice

Demoralised at having lost another close decision, Young went on a gradual downward spiral. In June 1978 You're only as good as your last fight, boxing's old saying seemed to apply. Poor condition let him be outpointed to prospect Ossie Ocasio. But in a direct rematch in early 1979 Ocasio again showing talent clinched the win and went on to fight world champion Larry Holmes.

Later career

He won a short 3 round brutal battle with unranked Wendell Bailey, flashes of old form. But other matches of note; Young was stopped 'on cuts' to new heavyweight contender Gerry Cooney after 4 rounds in an about evens match. He'd also lost on points to another rising prospect and future heavyweight champion Michael Dokes. In the 1979 Dokes match Young had scaled 229 lbs., a near career heaviest and was simply way out of shape.

But slimmed down again he later in the same year December 1979 outpointed British champion John L. Gardner effectively, even decking Gardiner in the 10th. That and the Marvin Stinson and Jeff Sims matches were probably his last notable wins.

Biography

Young's biography was published in 1979, Jimmy Young, heavyweight contender by Edward Dolan and Richard Lyttle, Doubleday pub, ISBN 0-385-14097-5.

Comeback chance

Young began a comeback, going 5-0-0 including a TKO over previously unbeaten Gordon Racette. In 1982, Young's comeback was cut short when he was defeated on points by future champion Greg Page. He became a "trial horse" for emerging contenders, dropping decisions to more future champions in Tony Tucker and Tony Tubbs. He continued fighting with mixed results until 1988.

Later years and death

After his boxing career, Young had financial, drug, and legal problems. During a court hearing on a drug possession charge, it was argued by his Philadelphia public defender that Young had symptoms of chronic traumatic brain injury (due to the sport).[6]

Young died on February 20, 2005 of a heart attack, after six days in the hospital.

Professional boxing record

34 Wins (11 knockouts), 19 Losses, 2 Draws, 1 No Contest [7]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 34-19-2
1 NC		 United States Frank Lux TKO 10 (10) 13/08/1988 United States Saint Joseph, Missouri, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 33-19-2
1 NC		 United States Tim Anderson SD 10 04/06/1988 United States Lee County Civic Center, Fort Myers, Florida, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 33-18-2
1 NC		 United States Rick Kellar UD 10 09/04/1988 United States Joplin, Missouri, United States
NC 32-18-2
1 NC		 United States Mike Jameson NC 2 (?) 09/08/1987 Brazil Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil Referee decreed both fighters "faking".
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 32-18-2 United States Eddie Richardson SD 10 07/01/1987 United States Community Center, Tucson, Arizona, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 32-17-2 United States Chuck Gardner PTS 8 15/10/1986 United States Hamel, Minnesota, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 32-16-2 United States Rocky Sekorski MD 10 12/03/1986 United States Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 31-16-2 United States Rocky Sekorski UD 10 20/01/1986 United States Marshall, Minnesota, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 30-16-2 Tonga Tony Fulilangi PTS 10 01/11/1985 United States Marshall, Arizona, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 30-15-2 United States Tony Tucker UD 10 22/09/1984 United States Gerald R Ford Fieldhouse, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 30-14-2 United States Tony Tubbs UD 10 10/04/1983 United States Hilton Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 30-13-2 United States Philipp Brown PTS 10 29/08/1982 United States Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 30-12-2 United States Pat Cuillo PTS 10 13/07/1982 United States Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 30-11-2 United States Greg Page UD 12 02/05/1982 United States Playboy Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States For USBA heavyweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 30-10-2 United States Tommy Thomas UD 10 06/11/1981 United States Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 29-10-2 United States Tom Fischer PTS 10 26/09/1981 United States Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 28-10-2 United States Jeff Sims SD 10 10/07/1981 United States Auditorium, West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 27-10-2 United States Marvin Stinson UD 10 30/06/1981 United States Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 26-10-2 Canada Gordon Racette TKO 10 (10) 10/04/1981 Canada Frank Crane Arena, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 25-10-2 United States Gerry Cooney TKO 4 (10) 25/05/1980 United States Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States A cut over Young's left eye, led to a stoppage at the end of 4th round.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 25-9-2 United States Don Halpin TKO 2 (?) 08/03/1980 United States Great Gorge Resort, McAfee, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 24-9-2 United Kingdom John Lewis Gardner PTS 10 04/12/1979 United Kingdom Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 23-9-2 United States Michael Dokes UD 10 28/09/1979 United States Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 23-8-2 United States Wendell Bailey TKO 3 (10) 22/06/1979 United States Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States Bailey was down once in the 3rd round.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 22-8-2 Puerto Rico Ossie Ocasio UD 10 27/01/1979 Puerto Rico Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 22-7-2 Puerto Rico Ossie Ocasio SD 10 09/06/1978 United States Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 22-6-2 United States Ken Norton SD 15 05/11/1977 United States Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States WBC Heavyweight Title Eliminator. Shortly after this fight, Norton was awarded the WBC title as Leon Spinks chose to defend against Muhammad Ali instead of Norton, who was their #1 contender.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 22-5-2 United States Jody Ballard UD 10 14/09/1977 United States Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 21-5-2 United States George Foreman UD 12 17/03/1977 Puerto Rico Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico 1977 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine. Foreman was knocked down in round 12. After the loss Foreman left boxing for 10 years.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 20-5-2 United States Ron Lyle UD 12 16/11/1976 United States Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 19-5-2 United States Mike Boswell TKO 4 (10) 11/09/1976 United States Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 18-5-2 United States Lou Rogan TKO 2 (10) 02/09/1976 United States Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 17-5-2 United States Muhammad Ali UD 15 30/04/1976 United States Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, United States For WBC & WBA World heavyweight titles
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 17-4-2 Puerto Rico Jose Roman PTS 10 20/02/1976 Puerto Rico Roberto Clemente Coliseum, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 16-4-2 United States Memphis Al Jones TKO 2 (10) 11/11/1975 United States Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 15-4-2 The Bahamas Bobby Lloyd KO 5 (10) 16/08/1975 United States Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 14-4-2 United States Ron Lyle UD 10 11/02/1975 United States International Center Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Draw 13-4-2 United States Earnie Shavers PTS 10 26/11/1974 United States Capitol Center, Landover, Maryland, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 13-4-1 Venezuela Jose Luis Garcia PTS 10 06/07/1974 Venezuela Caracas, Venezuela
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 12-4-1 United Kingdom Les Stevens PTS 10 22/01/1974 United Kingdom World SC,Grosvenor House, Mayfair, London, England, United Kingdom
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 11-4-1 United States John Jordan UD 6 04/03/1974 United States Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 10-4-1 United Kingdom Richard Dunn TKO 8 (10) 18/02/1974 United Kingdom World Sporting Club, Mayfair, London, England, United Kingdom
Draw 9-4-1 United Kingdom Billy Aird PTS 8 22/10/1973 United Kingdom World Sporting Club, Mayfair, London, England, United Kingdom
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 9–4 United States Mike Boswell PTS 6 14/08/1973 United States Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 8–4 United States Obie English PTS 6 23/04/1973 United States Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 7–4 United States Earnie Shavers TKO 1 (10) 19/02/1973 United States Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 7–3 United States Randy Neumann PTS 10 10/03/1972 United States Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 7–2 United States Jasper Evans PTS 6 11/02/1972 United States Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 6–2 United States Lou Hicks PTS 8 26/10/1971 United States Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 5–2 Andy Geiger KO 1 (?) 27/09/1971 United States Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 4–2 United States Roy Williams PTS 4 22/02/1971 United States Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 4–1 United States Howard Darlington PTS 6 24/11/1970 United States Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 3–1 United States Jimmy Gilmore PTS 4 22/06/1970 United States San Diego, California, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 2–1 United States Clay Hodges UD 6 03/04/1970 United States Coliseum, San Diego, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2–0 United States Johnny Gause PTS 6 09/12/1969 United States Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1–0 United States Jim Jones KO 1 (4) 28/10/1969 United States Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

References

  1. ↑ http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/1752/jimmy-young-career-worth-remembering/
  2. ↑ http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=000276
  3. ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A7-hzOuI2KQC&dat=19760501&printsec=frontpage
  4. ↑ http://coxscorner.tripod.com/beat_ali.html
  5. ↑ Video on YouTube
  6. ↑ "Jimmy Young, 56, Fighter Who Beat Foreman but Lost to Ali, Is Dead". The Associated Press. February 24, 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  7. ↑ http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=00276&cat=boxer

External links