Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960) is an American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1984 to 1998, and challenged once for the

undisputed Undisputed may refer to: Film * ''Undisputed'' (film), a 2002 action-thriller-drama film ** ''Undisputed'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the film * Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, a 2006 American martial arts film * Undisputed III: Redempt ...

heavyweight title in 1987. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

, having previously won bronze at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

and gold at the 1982 World Championships, all in the super heavyweight division.

Early life

Biggs was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Pennsylvania, making his sporting debut playing basketball at

West Philadelphia High West Philadelphia High School is a secondary school located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the intersection of 49th Street and Chestnut Street. History The original West Philadelphia High School (WPHS) building ...

. He was a starting forward for the Speedboys' Public League and City champions in 1978, a team that extended a state-record winning streak to 68 before a regular season loss to Overbrook. In '77, one of Biggs' teammates was Gene Banks, who went on to excel at Duke and play in the NBA. After his initial boxing successes, he changed his name to "Tyrell."

Amateur career

Biggs' first major success as an amateur boxer was winning the gold medal at the 1981

United States National Boxing Championships The United States National Boxing Championships bestow the title of United States Champion on Olympic boxers for winning the annual national Olympic boxing tournament organized by USA Boxing, which is the national governing body for Olympic boxin ...

in the super-heavyweight division. He repeated this feat the next year, and also in 1982 he won the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

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, where in the final he defeated

Francesco Damiani Francesco Damiani (born 4 October 1958) is an Italian former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1993. He was the first WBO heavyweight champion, having held the title from 1989 to 1991, as well as the European heavyweight title from 19 ...

from Italy on points, who beat the legendary Teofilo Stevenson earlier in the competition. In 1983 Biggs won a bronze medal on the Pan American Games, losing to future professional challenger Jorge Luis Gonzalez in the semi-final. In addition, Biggs won a 3–2 split decision over Cuban Angel Milian, who had beaten Greg Page five years earlier. In 1984 Biggs won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, defeating future Olympic gold medallist and professional world champion Lennox Lewis in the quarter-finals. In the Olympics final Biggs beat Damiani on points again. Biggs finished his amateur career with an outstanding record of 108-6-4.

Professional career

He turned professional soon after his Olympic victory, scoring a 6-round unanimous decision over Mike Evans on November 15, 1984 at Madison Square Garden in

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in his first bout. Besides Mike Tyson, Lewis and Damiani he went on to face such other

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

luminaries as James "Quick" Tillis, Ossie Ocasio, Riddick Bowe,

Tony Tubbs Tony Tubbs (born February 15, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2006, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1985 to 1986. Amateur career As an amateur, Tony Tubbs competed in 253 bouts, compiling a reco ...

, Buster Mathis, Jr., and Larry Donald before ending his career with a second-round knockout of Carlton Davis in 1998. He did not win a title, but stalked the rankings of contendership for much of the mid- to late 1980s.

Biggs vs. Tyson

Biggs' biggest professional fight was against Tyson, for the latter's undisputed heavyweight title. Biggs and Tyson disliked each other, and Biggs derided Tyson before the fight. Biggs attempted to outbox Tyson, using his jab and movement. But Tyson kept coming in and landing big punches, wearing him down until the fight was stopped in the seventh. Tyson admitted after the fight to "carrying" Biggs so as to inflict more damage, in retaliation for Biggs' pre-match comments. Unfortunately the talented Biggs' life has been a constant fight against drug and alcohol addiction. He had to enter rehabilitation only a few months after turning professional, and some declare that his career at the time of the Tyson fight was already effectively over. Biggs' robe was sometimes emblazoned with, "Realize your potential", a drug rehabilitation mantra. An article published when he was 40 years old characterized him as "still fighting between stints in rehabilitation."

Outside the ring

Biggs competed in the '' American Gladiators'' season 5 Gold Medal Challenge of Champions in 1993, losing to 1984 Gold Downhill Skiing medalist Bill Johnson. A feature documentary about Tyrell Biggs' life is currently in production.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biggs, Tyrell 1960 births Living people African-American boxers Boxers from Philadelphia Super-heavyweight boxers Heavyweight boxers Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing National Golden Gloves champions Boxers at the 1983 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States American male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics American Gladiators contestants Pan American Games medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople