Courtney Burton
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Courtney Lee Burton (born June 28, 1978) 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 fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
from
Benton Harbor, Michigan Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County, Michigan, Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 2 ...
. Throughout his career Burton was known as a switch-hitter being able to fight either
orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
or southpaw, he stood 5' 9" though many boxing records have him listed at 5' 7". He held the
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...
NABO lightweight title.


Early life

At the age of eight, Burton was involved in a street fight on the hard streets of Benton Harbor when three boys jumped on him in which one pulled out a bat and struck Burton across his back.
Napoleon Lark Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
(a local boxing trainer) was driving around in his car and spotted the fight and stopped it. Lark drove Burton home and asked Burton would he like to learn how to defend himself and Burton agreed. Courtney began competing in amateur boxing, and Lark and his wife Thelma eventually became Courtney and his younger brother's legal guardians.


Amateur career

Burton was an amateur boxer, winning the
Silver Gloves The Silver Gloves is an annual competition for amateur boxing in the United States. The contest is sponsored by Ringside, Inc. The National Silver Gloves Association was started in Illinois in 1967 by Frank Hess and Frank Granados. The Silver ...
competition three times, the Junior Olympics back to back (in 1993 at 139 lbs. and 1994 at 147 lbs.), he was a two time International World Champion, and in 1994 he won the 156 lbs. title and was voted the "Outstanding Boxer of the Event" at 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 ...
in Germany. Burton earned a spot on the famous 1996 Olympic boxing team but suddenly declined participating in the
1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
. He finished his amateur career with a record of (87-4) although he states he had a lot more fights as an amateur and had a career record of (139-16).


Professional career

Burton began his professional career in 1996 against Sam Mahmoud in Waukegan, Illinois, Burton won by majority decision. After his debut fight Burton would quit boxing for a while due to his longtime trainer and father-figure Napoleon Lark convincing Burton to go back to school and receive his G.E.D., after Burton dropped out of high school when he was 16 (in which at the time he had quit boxing too.) Burton agreed to do so and completed his schooling and returned to the ring 3 years later in 1999 and faced Nelson Hernandez at the Civic Center in La Porte, Indiana, Burton won by unanimous decision. Burton would go on to win 14 of his next 15 fights with one being a no contest before losing his first fight to Eleazar Contreras Jr. in
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, Burton was knocked out in the 5th round after being knocked down five times in the fight. In his next fight in February 2003, he knocked out Tomas Barrientes in the 1st round and knocked out ex-champion Gabriel Ruelas a month later. He then faced veteran and Indiana native
Angel Manfredy Angel Manfredy (born October 30, 1974) is a Puerto Rican-American former professional boxer. Angel Manfredy was a popular fighter in the late 1990s. Personal Manfredy, nicknamed ''El Diablo'' (''The Devil'') because of his reckless lifestyl ...
on July 29, 2003 at the Civic Center in Hammond, Indiana. Burton floored Manfredy in the 7th round and knocked him out in the 8th round, this would become Burton's most glorified and celebrated victory of his career. After beating Manfredy in his backyard Burton immediately shot up in the ranks, during the post fight interview Courtney called out
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...
on the nationally televised fight. His next bout he faced
Francisco Lorenzo Francisco Lorenzo (born October 27, 1971) is a Dominican former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014. He challenged for the WBC super featherweight title in 2008, and originally won the WBC interim title that year, but was not awa ...
in the
U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...
for the vacant WBO NABO Lightweight title. The fight was promoted by legend
Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning quintuple c ...
after the great seen Burton's previous breakthrough victory over Angel Manfredy, Burton struggled with Lorenzo but edged his way to a split decision victory.


Decline

In his next fights he would hit a hiatus, he was knocked out by Julio Diaz in 2004 in an IBF title eliminator in the 11th round, and would win a highly disputed bout against
Emanuel Augustus Emanuel Augustus (born Emanuel Ya'kov Burton, January 2, 1975) is an American former professional boxer from Brownsville, Texas who competed from 1994 to 2011. He was known for his entertaining boxing style and showboating manner designed to con ...
in which many critics felt Augustus was robbed due to Augustus outboxing Burton throughout the whole fight and leading tremendously on
compubox CompuBox is a computerized punch-tracking system widely used in professional boxing to provide statistical analysis of matches. Established in 1985, it has become an integral tool for broadcasters and analysts, offering viewers quantitative data o ...
after the fight, and because the bout was in Burton's home state of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. He lost a grueling match against Ebo Elder on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
which by many was one of the greatest fights ever showcased on Showtime's network, Elder knocked out Burton in the last round of their 12 round bout (after this bout Burton ended his relationship with his longtime trainer Napoleon Lark.) He lost his next three fights by knockout as well to Rolando Reyes, Juan Lazcano, and Emanuel Augustus (in their second fight, in which Augustus earned his revenge.)


Retirement

Burton retired from boxing in 2006 after his loss to Emanuel Augustus in their second fight after being knocked out five times in his previous six fights. Courtney made a short comeback to boxing at the end of February 2010, and beat Angel Hernandez by split decision. In his last fight he fought Detroit's
Vernon Paris Vernon Paris (born January 5, 1988) is an American professional boxer who fights at light welterweight division. He had three fights result with no contests because he tested positive for marijuana at the post-fight drug tests. Personal life P ...
; Burton lost by unanimous decision though many felt he won. Burton ended his career with a record of 22–7 with 11 knockouts and 1 no-contest. During his professional career Burton won the NABO Lightweight title and was a two-time Indiana State Boxing Champion at Lightweight and Welterweight.


Personal life

Burton lives in his hometown of Benton Harbor, Michigan, he is married, and also has a son from his ex-wife named Courtney Burton Jr. (born in 2000.)


Professional boxing record


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Courtney Living people 1978 births Boxers from Michigan American male boxers Welterweight boxers