Joseph Salvatore Gilbert (born June 5, 1976) is an American retired professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, attorney, and

sports agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...

Biography

Gilbert was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and raised in

Sparks, Nevada Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno, Nevada, Reno. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 108,445 residents in the city. It is the List of citi ...

. Gilbert earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English literature and political science from the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

. Gilbert spent six months living, training and traveling in northern Europe during the summer and fall of 1998 through a study abroad program based in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. Gilbert was a collegiate fighter at the

, National Champion from 1998 through 2000 (named outstanding boxer all 3 years), a four-time Regional Champion, a four-time All American, and was the Nevada State

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves of America is an organization that promotes annual competitions of amateur boxing in the United States, in which winners are awarded a belt and a ring, and the title of national champion. The organization currently owns 30 fr ...

Super Middleweight Champion in 2000. Gilbert earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from Thomas Jefferson Law School in San Diego, California, and passed the Nevada bar exam in 2004. He has practiced law since that time. Gilbert participated in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol to overturn the 2020 election results and has denied that President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

won the election. Gilbert is the Director of Strategy for America's Frontline Doctors. Gilbert's actions have spread misinformation that has driven distrust in the efficacy of

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elect ...

and

vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. A vaccine typically contains an ag ...

. In June 2021, Gilbert announced he was running for

Governor of Nevada A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

in the 2022 election. Gilbert placed second and lost in the Republican primary to Clark County Sheriff

Joe Lombardo Joseph Michael Lombardo ( ; born November 8, 1962) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer serving as the 31st governor of Nevada since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 17th sheriff of Clark County from 20 ...

who won handily; despite this, he made baseless claims of election fraud and challenged the results.

Boxing career

Gilbert began boxing as an amateur at the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

. During his time at the University of Nevada, Gilbert was a three-time National Champion, a four-time Regional Champion, a four-time All American, and was the Nevada State Golden Gloves Super Middleweight Champion in 2000. He finished his amateur career with a record of 27–1. In 2004, Gilbert was cast on NBC's

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

show ''The Contender''. He was placed on the West Coast Team and beat Jimmy Lange in the first round of this competition. He then had his friend turned rival Jesse Brinkley place him in a fight against Peter Manfredo Jr. in the quarter finals, which he lost in a divided decision. The fight was stopped in the fifth round due to an accidental head-butt from his opponent. After ''The Contender'', Gilbert won a six-round unanimous decision in the super middleweight division against James North on the undercard of the Jeff Lacy vs. Scott Pemberton card. Gilbert won the rematch with Jimmy Lange at the

EagleBank Arena EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C. Opened in 1985, it is the home of Patrio ...

for the vacant middleweight NABO title on February 18 and won the WBC-USNBC middleweight title shortly after. On September 21, 2007, Gilbert scored a first-round knockout over Charles Howe, however, the ruling was later changed to a no-decision. Gilbert was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission after testing positive for a number of illegal substances including a steroid, methamphetamine and amphetamine resulting from testing conducted before and after the fight.

Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...

Executive Director Keith Kizer told Channel 2 Sports Director J.K. Metzker that Gilbert tested positive for illegal substances in urine tests taken before and after Gilbert's September 21 middleweight title fight against Charles Howe at the

Grand Sierra Resort Grand Sierra Resort (formerly MGM Grand Reno, Bally's Reno and Reno Hilton) is a hotel and casino located approximately three miles east of Downtown Reno, Nevada. The hotel has 1,990 guest rooms and suites, 27 floors, 12 restaurants, including Ch ...

. On August 12, 2008, Gilbert agreed to pay a $10,000 (~$ in ) fine for a positive steroid test as part of a settlement with the Nevada Athletic Commission which included dropping the charges for amphetamine, methamphetamine, oxazepam, diazepam and nordiazepam in exchange for the fine and a one-year retroactive suspension. On February 14, 2009, Gilbert challenged former rival Jesse Brinkley for the WBC USNBC super middleweight title, but was defeated by unanimous decision. After suffering a six-round technical knockout loss to former IBF light middleweight champion

Kassim Ouma Kassim Ouma (born 12 December 1978) is a Ugandan professional boxer. He held the IBF junior middleweight title from 2004 to 2005, and has challenged twice for a world middleweight title in 2006 and 2011. Early life Born into poverty, at the age ...

, Gilbert retired from professional boxing in 2010 and now practices criminal defense and personal injury law in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

Professional boxing record

References

External links

Joey's Personal Website

Joey's Law Firm
*
Gubernatorial Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Joey 1976 births American people of Italian descent American male boxers Living people Middleweight boxers The Contender (TV series) participants Protesters in or near the January 6 United States Capitol attack Sigma Alpha Epsilon members Thomas Jefferson School of Law alumni