James Broad

James Broad
Statistics
Real name James W. Broad
Nickname(s) Broad Axe
Weight(s) Heavyweight
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Nationality American
Born (1958-01-27)January 27, 1958
Greensboro, North Carolina
Died November 20, 2001(2001-11-20) (aged 43)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 33
Wins 23
Wins by KO 15
Losses 10
Draws 0

James Broad (January 27, 1958 – November 20, 2001) was an American heavyweight boxer who was an amateur star and, prior to the boycott, set to represent America in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. As a pro he won the NABF heavyweight title and was a regular sparring partner of a peak Mike Tyson.

Amateur

Broad took up boxing when he joined the army in 1976. He beat Chris McDonald in the 1980 Olympic Trials finals, where he qualified for the 1980 US Olympic Boxing team which ultimately did not compete due to political reasons. He also beat top amateur Chris McDonald and lost a decision to Tony Tubbs.

Professional

Nicknamed "Broad-Axe", Broad turned pro in 1981 and put together 12 wins, including a 4th round knockout of future Heavyweight Champ James "Bonecrusher" Smith. His weight was already a problem at this early stage of his career, but Broad worked down to 228 for his first big fight, against fellow undefeated prospect Marvis Frazier. Broad rocked Frazier with his signature uppercuts but was unable to replicate his knockout victory in the amateurs, and he was outworked over 10 rounds.

Broad bounced back to outpoint Larry Alexander over 12 rounds in 1983 then knockout contender Eddie Gregg in 8 rounds to win the NABF title in 1984. For his first title defense Broad scaled a whopping 260 lbs and was knocked out in 2 rounds by once and future world champion Tim Witherspoon in 1985.

Downward Spiral

Broad was unable to get back into serious shape for the remainder of his career, and his results suffered. He lost a 12 round decision to top contender and future world champion Tony Tucker for the USBA title in 1986, and in 1987 was twice outpointed over 10 rounds, by Francesco Damiani in Italy and then by ex-world champ Greg Page, in a fight where both men were down.

Broad outpointed future cruiserweight world title-challenger Patrick Lumumba but went to South Africa and was poleaxed in 4 rounds by Johnny DuPlooy. In his next fight he was stopped on his feet, in questionable circumstances, by rising contender Donovan "Razor" Ruddock. During all this time Broad was a sparring partner for a peak Mike Tyson and took many punches in the gym.

Death

In 1992 Boxing Illustrated reported that Broad intended to make a comeback and wanted to be world champion, despite the fact he was banned in Nevada and California both for failing a neurological exam and testing positive for Hepatitis. He somehow managed to get 4 more fights, losing 3 of them. By 2000 Broad was said to be homeless in Las Vegas and badly brain damaged, but when he died in 2001, aged only 43, he was back in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Professional boxing record

23 Wins (15 knockouts, 8 decisions), 10 Losses (3 knockouts, 7 decisions)
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 13-8 United States Calvin "Concrete" Jones MD 10 20/08/1993 Illinois Melrose Park, Illinois, United States
Win 30-10-2 United States Philipp Brown PTS 8 26/06/1993 Utah Saint George, Utah, United States
Loss 3-0 Romania Daniel Dăncuţă UD 4 14/02/1993 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 11-1 United States Billy "Bronco" Wright UD 6 06/10/1992 Florida Miami Beach, Florida, United States 54-60, 55-59, 56-58.
Win -- United States Maurice Smith TKO 4 05/10/1991 Canada Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Referee stopped the bout at 1:26 of the fourth round.
Loss 20-1-1 Canada Donovan "Razor" Ruddock TKO 1 06/12/1988 Canada Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the first round.
Loss 17-1 South Africa Johnny du Plooy KO 4 27/02/1988 South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa
Win 6-1 Kenya Patrick Lumumba PTS 10 01/08/1987 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 26-6 United States Greg Page MD 10 30/05/1987 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 94-95, 93-96, 94-94.
Loss 16-0 Italy Francesco Damiani UD 10 11/04/1987 Italy Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy 95-99, 95-99, 95-99.
Loss 32-0 United States Tony "TNT" Tucker UD 12 26/09/1986 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States USBA Heavyweight Title. 111-118, 109-117, 110-117.
Win 3-11-1 United States Wesley Smith KO 2 28/06/1986 New York (state) Troy, New York, United States
Win 23-8-1 United States Bobby Crabtree KO 5 03/05/1986 New York (state) Glens Falls, New York, United States Crabtree knocked out at 1:27 of the fifth round.
Win 13-1 United States Rodney Frazier TKO 1 25/01/1986 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Referee stopped the bout at 0:55 of the first round.
Loss 19-2 United States "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon KO 2 29/04/1985 New York (state) Buffalo, New York, United States NABF Heavyweight Title. Broad knocked out at 2:35 of the second round.
Win 5-2-1 United States Sterling Benjamin TKO 2 14/12/1984 New York (state) New York City, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the second round.
Win 20-0-1 United States Eddie Gregg TKO 8 23/08/1984 New York (state) New York City, United States NABF Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:48 of the eighth round.
Win 32-4 United States Tommy Franco Thomas TKO 3 03/05/1984 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 22-9-2 United States Larry Alexander SD 12 17/11/1983 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 12-7-4 United States Leroy Diggs TKO 8 18/08/1983 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:43 of the eighth round.
Loss 8-0 United States Marvis Frazier UD 10 10/04/1983 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States 3-6, 4-5, 4-5.
Win 19-11-1 Tonga Tony Pulu KO 3 10/03/1983 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 19-10 United States Walter Santemore UD 12 06/01/1983 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States ESPN Heavyweight Title.
Win 12-0 United States Donnie "Master of Disaster" Long MD 10 17/10/1982 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States 6-3, 5-4, 5-5.
Win 16-5-2 United States Randy Mack TKO 8 16/09/1982 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 5-9 United States Art Robinson DQ 4 04/08/1982 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 2-2 United States Lonnie Chapman KO 2 18/07/1982 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 5-3-1 United States Harold Rice PTS 8 02/04/1982 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 13-3-2 United States Lou Benson, Jr. PTS 8 11/02/1982 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 4-4-3 United States Robert Evans TKO 6 17/12/1981 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win -- United States James "Bonecrusher" Smith TKO 4 05/11/1981 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Referee stopped the bout at 1:07 of the fourth round.
Win -- United States Greg Stephany KO 3 16/09/1981 New York (state) New York City, United States Referee stopped the bout at 1:21 of the third round.
Win 0-4 United States Albert Collins KO 1 11/08/1981 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Collins knocked out at 0:59 of the first round.
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