James Shuler (May 29, 1959 – March 17, 1986) was a U.S. Olympic and professional boxer from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

known as "Black Gold."

Amateur career

Shuler was trained by

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure ...

.Sports
''Pacific Stars And Stripes'', September 15, 1980, p. 21. Shuler was the 1979 and 1980 National Golden Gloves Light Middleweight Champion. He qualified at 156 pounds and was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic boxing team that perished in an air crash in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, on March 14, 1980. Shuler was not with the team, however, as he had stayed in America due to injury. The team was en route to Warsaw, Poland for the USA vs. Poland Box-off as part of "USA vs. the World." event. Among the USA Boxing teammates who were killed in the plane crash were

Lemuel Steeples Lemuel is a Hebrew name, meaning "devoted to God", which may refer to: In religion * Lemuel (biblical king), mentioned in the Book of Proverbs, Chapter 31 * Lemuel (Book of Mormon), the second eldest of Lehi's sons and the brother of Laman, Sam, ...

from St. Louis; Calvin Anderson from Connecticut; Paul Palomino - the brother of

Carlos Palomino Carlos Palomino (born August 10, 1949) is a Mexican former professional boxer. Palomino is a former World Welterweight Champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Palomino is also an actor who has been featured in several te ...

;

George Pimentel LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 was an Ilyushin Il-62 that crashed near Okęcie Airport in Warsaw, Poland, on 14 March 1980, as the crew aborted a landing and attempted to go-around. All 87 crew and passengers died. It was caused by the disint ...

, and Olympic Coach, Sarge Johnson. Members of the team who were also not aboard included

Bobby Czyz Robert Edward Czyz ( ; born February 10, 1962) is an American retired boxer and commentator. Czyz was a two-division world titlist at light heavyweight and cruiserweight. Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey. He grew up in Wanaque, New Jersey a ...

and Alex Ramosbr>
Shuler did not participate in the 1980 Olympics due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, boycott. In 2007, he posthumously received one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes.

Highlights

National Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nationa ...

(156 lbs),

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

, March 1979: *1/2: Defeated Alfred Mayes by decision *Finals: Defeated Randy Smith by decision Pan Am Trials (156 lbs),

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and accordin ...

, May–June 1979: *1/2: Defeated James Rayford by decision *Finals: Defeated Alfred Mayes by decision

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

(156 lbs),

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ju ...

, July 1979: *1/4: Defeated Luis Felipe Martínez (Cuba) by split decision, 3–2 *1/2: Defeated Jorge Amparo (Dominican Republic) by decision *Finals: Lost to José Molina (Puerto Rico) RSC 2

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(156 lbs),

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, October 1979: *1/4: Defeated Jim Spencer (Australia) by unanimous decision, 5–0 *1/2: Defeated Khamzat Dzhabrailov (Soviet Union) by unanimous decision, 5–0 *Finals: Defeated Park Il Chun (South Korea) by unanimous decision, 5–0 Frazier–Ali teams match-up (156 lbs) Houston, Texas, February 1980: *Lost to

Jeff Stoudemire Jeff Stoudemire (born September 24, 1957 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American former professional boxer. Amateur career Stoudemire was a standout as an amateur, becoming the 1978 National Golden Gloves Welterweight champion and 1979 National AAU ...

by decision

(156 lbs), Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana, March 1980: *1/8: Defeated Shane Hoose by decision *1/4: Defeated Roy Sapp by decision *1/2: Defeated Charles Garner RSC 2 *Finals: Defeated Donald Bowers by decision Olympic Trials (156 lbs),

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, June 1980: *1/4: Defeated Alfred Mayes by unanimous decision, 5–0 *1/2: Defeated Donald Bowers by decision *Finals: Defeated Kenneth Styles RSC 2 USA–USSR Duals (156 lbs), Showboat Hotel,

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, January 1977: *Lost to

Alexander Koshkin Aleksandr Nikolayevich Koshkin (russian: Александр Николаевич Кошкин; 13 June 1959 – 16 October 2012) was a Russian amateur light-middleweight boxer. After placing second at the 1980 Summer Olympics, he won a European ...

(Soviet Union) KO 1 Shuler finished his amateur career with a record of 165–8.

Professional career

Shuler began his professional boxing career as a middleweight on September 12, 1980 with a second-round knockout of Chris Rogers in Philadelphia. During his five years as a pro, he won the NABF, national Middleweight championship with a win over

Sugar Ray Seales "Sugar" Ray Seales, (born September 4, 1952) is an American former boxer. He was the only American boxer to win a gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he fought middleweight champion Marvin Hagler three times. He is als ...

. He had a 22-1 record with sixteen knockouts. His first and only professional loss came on March 10, 1986 to

Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the " Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allow ...

when he was knocked out in the first round.

Death

Shuler died in a motorcycle accident in Philadelphia on 17 March 1986, just one week after his last fight.

Memory and tribute

Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...

, the promoter of Shuler's last fight, said that the boxer came to Arum's room a day after the Hearns fight and thanked him for promoting it. Arum, who had promoted many bouts, said that Shuler was the only fighter who had ever done that, adding, "He was a decent, decent young man." In 1995, his close friend Percy Custus opened the 'James Shuler Memorial Boxing Gym' in Shuler's native Philadelphia in honor of the fallen fighter. Custus met Shuler in the 1970s at the

Gym where they trained together and remained close friends for the rest of James’ life.

Professional boxing record

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Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

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Clint Jackson Clinton Jackson (born May 20, 1954) is an American former professional boxer. As an amateur, he competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He also won a silver medal at the 1974 World Championships and a gold at the 1975 Pan American Games. Biograph ...

, PTS , 12 , 17/01/1984 , align=left, Pennsylvania Hall,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

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Leroy Green, Jr. Leroy or Le Roy may refer to: People * Leroy (name), a given name and surname * Leroy (musician), American musician * Leroy (sailor), French sailor Places United States * Leroy, Alabama * Le Roy, Illinois * Le Roy, Iowa * Le Roy, Kansas * Le Roy ...

, KO , 1 , 25/11/1983 , align=left,

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, UD , 12 , 23/10/1982 , align=left,

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shuler, James 1959 births 1986 deaths African-American boxers Welterweight boxers Middleweight boxers National Golden Gloves champions American male boxers Boxers at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in boxing Congressional Gold Medal recipients Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania Motorcycle road incident deaths Boxers from Philadelphia Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games 20th-century African-American sportspeople