Darrin Van Horn

Darrin Van Horn (born September 7, 1968, in Morgan City, Louisiana) is a retired professional boxer. He was a world champion in two weight divisions.

Van Horn boxed as an amateur for four years, winning Golden Gloves and Junior Olympic titles. With his father as his manager and trainer, he made his professional debut in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 2, 1984. Van Horn was just five days short of his 16th birthday.

Since Van Horn was still a high school student when he turned professional, he was given the nickname "Schoolboy." In 1986, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky, to attend the University of Kentucky. Boxing with the letters "UK" on his trunks, the "Schoolboy" angle was played up heavily.[1]

He compiled a record of 38-0 before challenging for a world title. Van Horn, a 2-1 underdog, defeated Robert Hines by a 12-round unanimous decision to win the IBF Junior Middleweight Championship on February 5, 1989, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[2] On July 15, 1989, Van Horn returned to Atlantic City to make his first title defense against Gianfranco Rosi, the former WBC Super Welterweight Champion. Rosi, a decided underdog, took the title by winning by a 12-round unanimous decision.[3]

After five consecutive wins, Van Horn had a rematch with Rosi in Italy on July 21, 1990. Although Van Horn fought better than he did in the first fight against Rosi, he was unable to regain the title. Rosi once again won by a 12-round unanimous decision.[4]

Van Horn moved up in weight and won the IBF Super Middleweight Championship with an 11th-round knockout of Lindell Holmes in Italy on May 18, 1991. In his first title defense, he scored a third-round knockout of mandatory challenger John Jarvis in Irvine, California, on August 17, 1991.

On January 10, 1992, Van Horn lost the title to Iran Barkley, the former WBC Middleweight Champion, by a second-round technical knockout in New York City. Barkley, a 2-1 underdog, wobbled Van Horn with a left hook early in the first round and floored him three times in the second.

In May 1992, Van Horn graduated from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.[5]

Van Horn was scheduled to face James Toney for the IBF Super Middleweight Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on October 29, 1993, but he pulled out of the fight after claiming a shoulder injury. The Boston Globe reported: "Sadly, word around boxing says his real problem has been near-constant headaches that recently forced him to stay in a darkened room for days at a time." The Van Horn camp denied that was true, but one fight figure was quoted as saying: "It would be child abuse for his father to put him back in the ring. When I was with him, he knew me and why I was there, but every 15 or 20 minutes he'd ask, 'Why are you guys here?' It's pretty sad."[6]

Van Horn was scheduled to face Nigel Benn for the WBC Super Middleweight Championship in England on September 10, 1994, but the fight was called off. According to Boxing Monthly, it was cancelled after Van Horn failed a brain scan. However, during an interview with Boxing News in 2015, Van Horn said: "I never failed any scan, not ever. I have no idea where that came from. I fought a few times after the Barkley fight. Rumors and things come up, it's just ridiculous. I just became disenchanted with the sport. I said to myself I was going to step back for a while and get a few things done; like going back to college, and my intention was to come back to boxing. But I never did."[7]

Van Horn won his final six fights. His last bout took place in Harlingen, Texas, on August 3, 1994. He defeated journeyman Willie Bell by a second-round technical knockout.

After retiring from boxing, Van Horn became a state trooper.

Professional boxing record

53 Wins (29 knockouts, 24 decisions), 3 Losses (1 knockout, 2 decisions)[8]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 16-8-2 United States Willie Ball TKO 2 03/08/1994 Texas Harlingen, Texas, United States
Win 11-6-1 United States Ricky Thomas PTS 10 15/12/1992 Connecticut Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States
Win 22-15-1 United States Rollin "Chiller" Williams UD 10 16/10/1992 Idaho Boise, Idaho, United States
Win 23-9 United States Bill "Fireball" Bradley RTD 2 29/09/1992 North Dakota Bismarck Civic Center, Bismarck, North Dakota, United States Bradley retired at 3:00 of the second round.
Win 10-7 United States Martin Amarillas UD 10 04/09/1992 California Country Club, Reseda, California, United States 96-95, 97-93, 97-93.
Win 40-11-2 United States "Little" Nicky Walker UD 10 30/06/1992 Florida Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, Florida, United States
Loss 27-7 United States Iran Barkley TKO 2 10/01/1992 New York Paramount Theatre, New York City, United States IBF World Super Middleweight Title. The referee stopped the bout at 1:33 of the second round.
Win 25-2 United States "Big" John Jarvis KO 3 17/08/1991 California Bren Events Center, Irvine, California, United States IBF World Super Middleweight Title. Jarvis was knocked out at 1:11 of the third round.
Win 44-5 United States Lindell Holmes KO 11 18/05/1991 Italy Palazzo Dello Sport, Verbania, Italy IBF World Super Middleweight Title. Holmes was knocked out at 1:49 of the 11th round.
Win 12-1 United States "Very" Randy Williams PTS 10 28/12/1990 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Loss 48-3 Italy Gianfranco Rosi UD 12 21/07/1990 Italy Palazzo del Ghiaccio, Marino, Lazio, Italy IBF World Junior Middleweight Title. 112-115, 112-115, 113-116.
Win 18-35-1 United States Jake Torrance PTS 8 14/04/1990 Monaco Loew's Hotel, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Win 3-4 Mexico Ruben Cortina KO 1 02/03/1990 Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi, United States
Win 7-2-1 United States Salim Muhammad UD 10 09/10/1989 Missouri Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States 100-91, 100-91, 100-90.
Win 14-9 United States Mike Sacchetti PTS 10 25/09/1989 France Nogent-le-Phaye, France
Win 9-5-1 United States Steve Langley PTS 10 13/09/1989 Louisiana Metairie, Louisiana, United States
Loss 45-3 Italy Gianfranco Rosi UD 12 15/07/1989 New Jersey Trump Castle, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States IBF World Junior Middleweight Title. 109-117, 108-118, 109-116.
Win 24-1-1 United States Robert "Bam Bam" Hines UD 12 05/02/1989 New Jersey Trump Castle, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States IBF World Junior Middleweight Title. 118-110, 118-111, 116-112.
Win 11-5 Mexico Miguel Angel Hernandez TKO 5 03/11/1988 Nevada Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States The referee stopped the bout at 2:22 of the fifth round.
Win 17-24 United States Jake Torrance UD 10 20/09/1988 Kentucky Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Win 25-26-3 Mexico Juan Elizondo KO 3 05/05/1988 Kentucky Fairgrounds Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Win 24-1 Uganda John Munduga TKO 7 21/02/1988 Kentucky Hilton Hotel, Frankfort, Kentucky, United States The referee stopped the bout at 2:12 of the seventh round.
Win 7-1 United States Joe "Indian" Summers UD 10 05/12/1987 New Jersey Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 20-7 Mexico Juan Alonso Villa PTS 10 17/10/1987 New Jersey Harrah's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States 98-92, 98-93, 99-91
Win 11-8 Mexico Norberto Bueno KO 3 17/09/1987 New York Felt Forum, New York City, United States
Win 1-4 United States Greg "Tool Man" Taylor UD 8 25/08/1987 Kentucky Continental Inn, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Win 30-5-1 Dominican Republic Luis Santana UD 10 21/06/1987 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Win 33-2 Venezuela Elio Diaz UD 10 20/04/1987 Kentucky Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, United States 98-92, 98-92, 98-94.
Win 1-2 United States John "Papa" Moore TKO 6 24/02/1987 Kentucky Continental Inn, Lexington, Kentucky, United States The referee stopped the bout at 2:46 of the sixth round.
Win 2-3 United States "Dangerous" Danny Thomas PTS 10 13/01/1987 Kentucky Continental Inn, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Win 20-26-2 United States Sammy Floyd UD 10 09/09/1986 Kentucky Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky, United States Floyd took the fight on short notice after Bruce Curry pulled out.
Win 6-3-1 United States Keheven Johnson KO 8 01/07/1986 Louisiana Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win 9-10 United States Donald Gwinn TKO 5 24/06/1986 Kentucky Continental Inn, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Win debut David "Dexter" Ramsey KO 4 15/04/1986 Louisiana Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
Win 23-7 United States Norberto Sabater TKO 2 06/03/1986 Louisiana Landmark Hotel, Metairie, Louisiana, United States The referee stopped the bout at 2:00 of the second round.
Win 12-9 United States Ed Modicue UD 8 21/01/1986 Louisiana Landmark Hotel, Metairie, Louisiana, United States
Win 3-23 United States Reggie Dixon PTS 6 15/10/1985 Louisiana Landmark Hotel, Metairie, Louisiana, United States
Win debut Javier Muniz KO 5 02/10/1985 Louisiana Houma, Louisiana, United States
Win 2-3 United States Pablo Valdez TKO 4 17/09/1985 Louisiana Landmark Hotel, Metairie, Louisiana, United States
Win 1-0-1 United States Earl White KO 5 06/09/1985 Nebraska Terrytown, Nebraska, United States
Win 1-4 United States Robert "Hot Dog" Manous KO 3 11/07/1985 Louisiana Sports Palace, Morgan City, Louisiana, United States
Win 2-22 United States Reggie Dixon UD 6 26/06/1985 Louisiana Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
Win 0-2 United States Alonzo Stringfellow TKO 1 10/06/1985 Louisiana Landmark Hotel, Metairie, Louisiana, United States
Win 0-1-1 United States John Wesley Morton SD 6 07/05/1985 Louisiana Landmark Hotel, Metairie, Louisiana, United States
Win 0-2 United States Ronald Paige KO 1 18/04/1985 Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana, United States
Win 1-15 United States James "Colonel" Sanders KO 4 20/03/1985 Louisiana Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
Win debut United States Derrick Earvin SD 4 07/03/1985 Alabama Convention Hall, Gadsden, Alabama, United States
Win debut Jessie Hopkins KO 1 04/03/1985 Louisiana Landmark Hotel, Metairie, Louisiana, United States
Win 1-23 United States "Little" Jimmy Mitchell TKO 5 21/02/1985 Louisiana Morgan City, Louisiana, United States
Win debut David "Barber" Seville KO 2 08/02/1985 Louisiana Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
Win 0-1 United States Mike "The Spike" French TKO 1 16/01/1985 Louisiana Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
Win debut Jamie Hobbs KO 1 18/12/1984 Louisiana Morgan City, Louisiana, United States
Win debut Rodney "King" Jones KO 2 04/12/1984 Louisiana St Bernard Civic Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win debut United States Willie Rimmer PTS 6 20/11/1984 Missouri Jefferson City, Missouri, United States
Win 0-1 United States Richard "Zach" Morris TKO 2 13/11/1984 Louisiana Municipal Auditorium, Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
Win 0-2 United States Leon Kerlinger KO 2 02/09/1984 Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kentucky New Era, April 16, 1987
  2. ↑ Pittsburgh Pres, February 6, 1989
  3. ↑ Gainsville Sun July 16, 1989
  4. ↑ Gadsden Times, July 22, 1990
  5. ↑ UPI.com, January 8, 1992
  6. ↑ Boston Globe, October 3, 1993
  7. ↑ Boxing News, February 2, 2015
  8. ↑ BoxRec.com
Achievements
Preceded by
Robert Hines		 IBF Junior Middleweight Champion
5 Feb 1989–15 Jul 1989 		Succeeded by
Gianfranco Rosi
Preceded by
Lindell Holmes		 IBF Super Middleweight Champion
18 May 1991–10 Jan 1992 		Succeeded by
Iran Barkley
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Matthew Hilton		 Youngest Junior Middleweight Champion
5 February 1989 - present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
Graciano Rocchigiani		 Youngest Super Middleweight Champion
18 May 1991 - present
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