Tony Tucker


Tony Craig Tucker is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1998. He won the IBF heavyweight title in 1987, and was the shortest-reigning world heavyweight champion, at 64 days. In an interview to Barry Tompkins, he referred to himself as to the "invisible champion," due to the press and general public largely neglecting him. He is best known for giving Mike Tyson in his prime a relatively close fight, in which he, in words of Larry Merchant, "rocked Tyson in the first round," but Mike managed to withstand pressure and won the decision. As an amateur, he won the 1979 United States national championships, the 1979 World Cup, and a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games, all in the light heavyweight division.

Amateur career

Tony Tucker became a boxer under influence of his father Bob Tucker, also a former amateur boxer, who became his trainer and manager, put all his wealth into the development of his son's boxing career. Tony fought out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, competing almost entire his amateur career in the light heavyweight division with his billed weight at the 1979 Pan American Games exactly matching the weight limit of the division.
Robert Surkein, the national boxing chairman for the Amateur Athletic Union, said of Tucker: “Believe me, he's better than Leon Spinks. Spinks couldn't hold this kid's gloves at a comparable stage.” Rollie Schwartz, past national chairman of the AAU Boxing Commission, said of Tucker prior to the Olympics, "Tucker is a combination boxer and puncher, much akin to Joe Louis. He comes right at you. I'd take him tomorrow over the two so-called light Heavyweight champs."

Highlights

, Biloxi, Mississippi, April 1978:
U.S. National Sports Festival, Fort Carson, Colorado, July 1978:
United States National Championships, Lake Charles, Louisiana, May 1979:
Pan Am Trials, Toledo, Ohio, May–June 1979:
Pan American Games, Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 1979:
World Cup, Felt Forum, New York City, October 1979:
; International Duals
Since 1979 Tony Tucker anticipated participating in the Moscow Olympics. Tucker was an alternate for the United States Olympic Team for the 1980 Summer Olympics President Jimmy Carter ordered to boycott the Olympics, which led the U.S. Team to cancel its participation in the Olympics, instead it embarked on a series of exhibitions in Europe. On March 14, 1980, en route to Poland, their plane Polish Airlines IL-62 crashed near Warsaw, with the U.S. boxing team aboard, consisting of 22 boxers, there were no survivors except for several people including Tony Tucker, who luckily missed the flight and stayed in the United States due to various injuries sustained just prior to the accident. At that point Tucker became religious, believing that God spared his life for a purpose, in order for him to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Shortly thereafter Tucker turned pro.
Tucker finished his amateur career having 121 fights under his belt, with a record of 115–6.

Professional career

After turning pro in 1980, Tucker's early fights were often shown on NBC, as part of a collection known as "Tomorrow's Champions".
Tucker's progress in the professional ranks was slow. He was injury prone, and he changed managers and trainers several times. Eventually his father Bob Tucker performed both roles. After enjoying a high-profile upon his professional debut, Tucker spent the majority of the 1980s boxing in off-TV bouts. In addition, he injured his knee in a bout against Danny Sutton, which caused him to miss a little over a year.
In June 1984, he scored a win by knocking out Eddie "The Animal" Lopez in 9 rounds on the undercard of the Tommy Hearns-Roberto Durán fight. It was the first time Lopez had ever been knocked down. In September 1984, he followed it up by outpointing Jimmy Young.
In September 1986, Tucker finally landed a big fight, against 242 lb James "Broad-Axe" Broad, for the USBA belt and a world title eliminator. Tucker won by unanimous decision.

IBF heavyweight champion

Home Box Office and Don King Productions orchestrated a heavyweight unification series for 1987, planning among its bouts a match between reigning IBF champion Michael Spinks and Tucker. Spinks refused to face Tucker, opting instead for a more lucrative bout with Gerry Cooney. The IBF withdrew its championship recognition of Spinks on February 19, mandating that Tucker face its number 2 contender, Buster Douglas. Tucker won the bout, and the vacant IBF crown, via 10th-round technical knockout.

Tucker vs. Tyson

Tucker, as the winner of the IBF title, was obliged to immediately defend his title in a unification bout with WBA and WBC champion Mike Tyson, in what would be the tournament final, where Tucker was a 10-to-1 underdog. Before Tucker was managed by Emmanuel Steward, who received a negotiated percent of each payday. By that time for that same purpose a joint venture named Tucker Inc. was formed by his promoters Cedric Kushner, and Josephine Abercrombie with Jeff Levine, partnering with Dennis Rappaport and Alan Kornberg and lastly Emmanuel Steward. His father Bob Tucker also secured a share in Tucker Inc.
Before the fight versus Tyson, Tucker has been on an eight-year-long winning streak, his last defeat was in 1979, while competing in amateurs.
Despite having a broken right hand, Tucker faced Tyson on August 1, 1987. Tyson defeated Tucker by unanimous decision to unify the three championship titles, in the process giving Tucker the distinction of having the shortest championship reign in the history of the Heavyweight division. According to the HBO Punch Statistics, Tucker landed 174 of 452 punches thrown, while Tyson landed 216 of 412, and in fact outjabbed Tucker, who had more than a 10-inch reach advantage.
The best praise for Tucker's performance at the ring came from one of the HBO hosts, and one of the greatest boxers of all time pound-for-pound, Sugar Ray Leonard, who said that: "What Tucker displayed tonight was the fact that he is a non-conformist. He did what a lot of us thought he couldn't do, and that's why I respect him so much, because he boxed, he clinched, he was very strategic, very tactical, very intelligent fighter."
Coincidentally, eight years later this exact scenario would unfold to give Tucker another title shot, as the WBA would withdraw its championship recognition of George Foreman on March 4, 1995 after Foreman refused to face Tucker. Unlike the 1987 scenario, this time Tucker would not earn a championship, as he would lose the match mandated by the WBA, against #2-ranked contender Bruce Seldon.

Comeback

Tucker returned to boxing in 1990, and by 1992 was back in Don King's stable. He won the NABF belt with a split decision over the highly ranked Orlin Norris, and successfully defended it against future world champion Oliver McCall, winning another 12-round decision. He finished 1992 with a 6th-round TKO of Frankie Swindell and set himself up for another world title shot.
By 1993, Tucker had run his record up to 48–1 and in May of that year he challenged Lennox Lewis for the WBC world heavyweight title. Lewis won a 12-round unanimous decision, knocking down Tucker twice It was the first time in 34-year-old Tucker's career that he had been off his feet.
In 1995, George Foreman, who beat Michael Moorer in November 1994 to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history, refused to defend his WBA world heavyweight title against Tucker, choosing to fight German Axel Schulz. For the noncompliance with the rules the WBA officials stripped Foreman of the title. Tucker and Bruce Seldon fought for the vacant WBA belt in April 1995. Seldon won by TKO after 7 rounds when doctors stopped the fight due to Tucker's eye closing shut.
Tucker lost his shot at a rematch when later that year he was outpointed by a newly signed Don King heavyweight, British-Nigerian boxer Henry Akinwande, over ten rounds.
In 1996 he was outpointed by old rival Orlin Norris. He scored two low-key wins in California, and in 1997 traveled to the U.K. to challenge Herbie Hide for the vacant WBO title. Tucker was dropped three times and knocked out in round 2.
In 1998 Tucker challenged John Ruiz for his NABF belt. Despite a big 6th round where he had Ruiz in trouble, Tucker was eventually stopped in the 11th round.
He came back in May to knock out journeyman Billy Wright in one round, but later had his license revoked due to medical concerns about Tucker's vision.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
65Win57–7 Billy WrightKO1, 2:08May 7, 1998 Sam's Town Hotel & Casino, Tunica, Mississippi, U.S.
64Loss56–7 John RuizTKO11, 0:58Jan 31, 1998 Ice Palace, Tampa, Florida, U.S.For NABF heavyweight title
63Win56–6 Jerry HaynesTKO3 Dec 16, 1997 Music City Mix Factory, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
62Win55–6 Abdul MuhayminUD10Nov 18, 1997 Music City Mix Factory, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
61Loss54–6 Herbie HideTKO2, 2:45Jun 28, 1997 Sports Village, Norwich, EnglandFor vacant WBO heavyweight title
60Win54–5 Tyrone CampbellKO3, 2:16Dec 16, 1996 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
59Win53–5 David DixonKO1, 2:24Jun 29, 1996 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.For vacant NABF heavyweight title
58Loss52–5 Orlin Norris10Feb 24, 1996 Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
57Loss52–4 Henry AkinwandeUD10Dec 16, 1995 CoreStates Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
56Loss52–3 Bruce SeldonRTD7, 3:00Apr 8, 1995 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.For vacant WBA heavyweight title
55Win52–2 Dan MurphyTKO3Dec 10, 1994 Estadio de Béisbol, Monterrey, Mexico
54Win51–2 Cecil CoffeeTKO2 Jul 2, 1994 The Mirage, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
53Win50–2 George StephensTKO1 Feb 19, 1994 Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
52Win49–2 David GravesTKO2Dec 18, 1993 Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla City, Mexico
51Loss48–2 Lennox LewisUD12May 8, 1993 Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.For WBC heavyweight title
50Win48–1 Frankie Swindell6, 3:00Dec 13, 1992 The Mirage, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
49Win47–1 Paul PoirierTKO4 Nov 7, 1992 Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S.
48Win46–1 Everett MartinPTS10Sep 12, 1992 Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
47Win45–1 Oliver McCallSD10Jun 26, 1992 CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.Retained NABF heavyweight title
46Win44–1 Jesus ContrerasTKO6, 1:27Apr 22, 1992 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.
45Win43–1 Mike FaulknerKO2Apr 10, 1992 Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
44Win42–1 Kimmuel OdumTKO2, 1:40Feb 15, 1992 The Mirage, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
43Win41–1 Orlin Norris12Jun 3, 1991 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Won NABF heavyweight title
42Win40–1 James Ray ThomasKO1, 1:43Apr 29, 1991 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
41Win39–1 Lionel WashingtonKO1, 1:11Jan 28, 1991 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Won California State heavyweight title
40Win38–1 Mike RouseTKO5, 2:27Jul 19, 1990 Kingdome, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
39Win37–1 Mike EvansUD10Mar 8, 1990 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
38Win36–1 Calvin JonesKO5, 2:09Jan 8, 1990 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
37Win35–1 Dino HomseyKO3, 1:37Dec 12, 1989 Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
36Loss34–1 Mike TysonUD12Aug 1, 1987 Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.Lost IBF heavyweight title;
For WBA and WBC heavyweight titles
35Win34–0 Buster DouglasTKO10, 1:36May 30, 1987 Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.Won vacant IBF heavyweight title
34Win33–0 James BroadUD12Sep 26, 1986 Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Won vacant USBA heavyweight title
33Win32–0 Otis BatesKO2Aug 7, 1986 Houston, Texas, U.S.
32Win31–0 Eddie RichardsonKO4 Jul 10, 1986 Houston, Texas, U.S.
31Win30–0 Eddie RichardsonUD10Feb 27, 1986 Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
30Win29–0 David JacoTKO3Oct 19, 1985 Stade Louis II, Monte Carlo, Monaco
29Win28–0 Bobby CrabtreeTKO4 Jun 28, 1985 Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
28Win27–0 Danny SuttonUD10Nov 2, 1984 Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
27Win26–0 O. T. DavisKO1, 1:58Nov 2, 1984 Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
26Win25–0 Jimmy Young10Sep 22, 1984 Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
25Win24–0 Eddie LopezKO9, 1:26Jun 15, 1984 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
24Win23–0 Dave JohnsonTKO2, 1:16May 9, 1984 Bismarck Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
23Win22–0 Walter SantemoreTKO1, 2:29Apr 19, 1984 Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
22Win21–0 Sam JeterKO1, 1:29Mar 15, 1984 Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
21Win20–0 Larry GivensKO4, 2:30Feb 24, 1984 Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
20Win19–0 James DixonTKO6, 2:58Dec 20, 1983 Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
19Win18–0 Lynwood JonesKO5, 2:12Dec 1, 1983 Da Vinci Manor, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
18Win17–0 James HollyTKO1 Nov 7, 1983 Da Vinci Manor, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
1716–0 Danny SuttonTKO3 Aug 12, 1982 Hyatt Regency, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.Originally a TKO win for Sutton after Tucker was unable to continue from an accidental clash of knees, later ruled an NC
16Win16–0 Richard CadeTKO7Jul 8, 1982 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
15Win15–0 Lupe GuerraTKO2, 1:36Jun 30, 1982 War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, New York, U.S.
14Win14–0 James Dixon8Jun 15, 1982 Tropicana, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
13Win13–0 Charles AtlasTKO1, 2:05Jun 5, 1982 War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, New York, U.S.
12Win12–0 Grady DanielsTKO5May 18, 1982 Tropicana, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
11Win11–0 Frank FarmerKO1Oct 17, 1981 Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.
10Win10–0 Harvey SteichenTKO3, 0:50Sep 16, 1981 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
9Win9–0 Jerry HunterKO1Aug 22, 1981 Glacier Arena, Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.
8Win8–0 Chip TylerTKO7 Apr 30, 1981 Hacienda Resort Hotel and Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
7Win7–0 Al JonesTKO1 Apr 9, 1981 Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
6Win6–0 Robert EvansTKO6 Feb 23, 1981 Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
5Win5–0 Willie KentsKO1 Jan 29, 1981 Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
4Win4–0 Victor Rodriguez2, 2:17Jan 16, 1981 HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
3Win3–0 Max SmithKO5 Dec 11, 1980 International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
2Win2–0 Jesse ClarkKO1, 2:04Dec 2, 1980 Sports Arena, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
1Win1–0 Chuck Gardner3, 2:58Nov 1, 1980 Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S.Professional debut