Jameel McCline (born May 20, 1970) 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 ...

. He challenged for the world

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

title on an unprecedented four occasions, losing all four attempts to

Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in , . (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held multiple heavyweight world championships betwe ...

Chris Byrd Christopher Cornelius Byrd (born August 15, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over ...

Nikolai Valuev Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev ( rus, Никола́й Серге́евич Валу́ев, p=vɐˈlujɪf; born 21 August 1973) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1993 to 2009, and held the World Boxing ...

and

Samuel Peter Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980) is a Nigerian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title in 2008. At regional level, he held multiple heavyweight championships, ...

. Despite never winning a world title, McCline did defeat former champions and top contenders in Michael Grant,

Lance Whitaker Lance Whitaker (born May 29, 1971) is an American former professional boxer. As an amateur in the super heavyweight division, he won a bronze medal at the 1995 Pan American Games. Nicknamed "Mount", or more recently "Goofi", Whitaker was known f ...

, Al Cole, Cedric Boswell and

Shannon Briggs Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1992 and 2016. He held the lineal heavyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title from 2006 to 2 ...

. McCline retired in 2012 at the age of 42.

Championship titles held

* WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion (2001) * WBO-NABO Heavyweight Champion (2006)

Life before boxing

McCline grew up in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, New York City, living in group homes, foster homes, and orphanages where he learned to live independently. Graduating from Comsewogue High School in

Port Jefferson Station, New York Port Jefferson Station is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, in Suffolk County, in New York, United States. The population was 7,838 as of the 2010 census. History The area now known as Port Jefferson Station ...

, McCline spent five years in prison for gun running prior to becoming a professional fighter. Big Time Beckons

Professional career

Starting at the late age of 25 years and having no amateur experience, McCline took straight to the pro ranks taken part in four world Heavyweight title clashes with

and

, losing all four times. Uniquely, each of these title bouts was for a different version of the world title. He has captured several wins against notable fighters, including Alfred Cole, Michael Grant,

, Charles Shufford, Cedric Boswell, but has been unable to replicate these performances in title fight situations, although the loss to

was by only one point in a very controversial split decision. Also losing a championship fight in which he had the champion (Sam Peter) down three times during the fight. In addition to the aforementioned title fight losses, he has lost to Greg Pickrom,

Calvin Brock Calvin Vance Brock (born January 22, 1975) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2007. He was ranked as the world's No.7 heavyweight by '' The Ring'' at the conclusion of 2005. Calvin Brock was trained by Tom Yankell ...

and was upset by the underdog Zuri Lawrence in 2005. After which, he went on a six fight win streak that led him back to a World Title fight yet another two times. On January 20, 2007 McCline challenged WBA heavyweight title holder

, in what was the first ever heavyweight title fight on Swiss soil. The fight was also reportedly the "biggest" championship fight in history, with the two fighters having a combined weight of approximately 600 pounds (270 kilograms) on fight night. Valuev was declared the winner by TKO when McCline suffered a patellar tendon rupture of his left knee at the end of the third round while throwing a punch and was unable to continue. At the time of the stoppage McCline was behind on only 1 of the judges scorecards. Fighter introductions on Showtime

McCline was most recently set to face

Vitali Klitschko Vitalii Volodymyrovych Klychko (; ; born 19 July 1971), known as Vitali Klitschko, is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He serves as mayor of Kyiv,Samuel Peter Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980) is a Nigerian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title in 2008. At regional level, he held multiple heavyweight championships, ...

on 6 October 2007 for Peter's WBC Interim title. Despite managing to put Peter on the canvas 3 times in the early rounds of the fight (the first knockdowns of Peter's career) McCline would go on to lose to a controversial unanimous decision on the judges scorecards. On March 8, 2008 McCline faced former two-time WBA heavyweight title holder

John Ruiz John Ruiz (born January 4, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2010, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2001 and 2005. Ruiz is of Puerto Rican descent, and is the first Latino boxer to win a ...

in Mexico. McCline lost a unanimous decision in a 12-round scheduled bout. McCline defeated Mike Mollo by unanimous decision on November 7, 2008. He fought

Chris Arreola Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American former professional boxer who challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweigh ...

on April 11, 2009 on the undercard of the

Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) (1948–2013), American music and science fiction journalist; founder of ''Crawdaddy'' and the Philip K. Dick Society * Paul Williams (Irish journalist) (born 1964), Irish journalis ...

vs.

Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...

bout but lost the fight by 4th-round knockout. He made a comeback on December 3, 2011, where he defeated Dennis McKinney by TKO in the 4th round. The venue for the fight was

Greensboro Coliseum First Horizon Coliseum (formerly Greensboro Coliseum) is an arena in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959 as the first building of the Greensboro Complex, the 22,000-seat arena is the home arena of the UNC Greensboro Spartans basketball t ...

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCline, Jameel Living people 1970 births African-American boxers American sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in boxing Heavyweight boxers Boxers from New York City Sportspeople from Manhattan American male boxers 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen