Mark Anthony Breland (born May 11, 1963) is an American boxing trainer. As an amateur, he was a Gold Medal winner at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly 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 ...

, with a 110-1 record as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

and is regarded among the greatest amateur fighters ever. He competed as a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

from 1984 to 1997, and held the WBA

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

title twice between 1987 and 1990. He later became an

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

with a wide range of movie and television credits, having made his debut in '' The Lords of Discipline,'' and also appeared in the music video for

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

' 1985 hit single, " Dare Me".

Amateur career

Breland was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He began fighting when he was 7 years old, taking on challengers in the lobby and hallways of the housing project where he lived. At 9 years old, he earned a spot on Muhammad Ali's youth boxing camp at his Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, training camp. At 13 he entered the gym and embraced boxing as a way of life. He won five

New York Golden Gloves The New York Golden Gloves is an amateur boxing tournament. It has long been considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Chicago Golden Gloves. Named for the small golden Boxing glove, gloves ...

titles (1980–84) with a record of 21–0 (19 KO's), with 14 knockouts coming in the 1st round, surpassing

Sugar Ray Robinson Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarde ...

for the most wins in the history of the Golden Gloves. Breland is notably the only amateur boxer to have ever been featured on the cover of Ring magazine, and the only amateur whose picture hangs in Colorado Springs U.S. Olympic Training Center. The Smithsonian Museum for African American History and Culture in Washington, DC displays an honorary picture of Mark Breland & his coveted 1984 Olympic team in recognition of their achievements. At age 18 in 1981 Breland was already being offered huge sums up to $300,000 by boxing promoters to sign a professional contract. Still, he turned them down, partly in anticipation of participating in the 1984 Olympics (and the exposure the Games would bring), and in part scorn: "It's not 'cause I need the money. It's 'cause they need the money. Hey, I can get hurt." Breland always sought to take the fight game on his terms; even then he planned to leave the ring before turning 30. Breland compiled an impressive amateur ring record of 110–1 (with 73 knockouts). His single loss, to Darryl Anthony was even by a 3rd round TKO over Anthony as a professional in a scheduled 10 round bout. Plus one unaccounted loss by medical disqualification, due to withdrawal because of toxic poisoning, which caused Breland to spend most of the fight week in a New York hospital. Breland won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics, was awarded the 1982 ''Boxer of the Year'' by USAABF,Essett advances to USABC finals
by David Knight, ''The Indianapolis Star'', December 17, 1982, p. 68. and rated #1 amateur welterweight in the world by AIBA in 1984. Breland was so exceptional as an amateur that he had been having trouble getting sparring partners in the Bedford-Stuyvesant Boxing Association Gym. Fighters were known to delay their trip to the coveted NYC Daily News Golden Gloves during Mark Breland's five year consecutive reign in order to avoid facing him. In June 1984, when he was preparing himself for the forthcoming National Olympic Trials, he went to Grossinger, New York, to train with the Kronks, there he sparred with WBC Super Welterweight champion

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

, who in turn was preparing to fight

Roberto Durán Roberto Carlos Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held quadruple champion, world championships in four weight classes: Lightweight, welterweight, light middleweigh ...

. At that time Breland was being trained by Emanuel Steward. At that time he narrowly escaped bigger troubles, falling under destructive influence of his teammate Ricky Womack, who happened to be an authoritative figure for Breland, eventually was sentenced and jailed.

Professional career

Breland turned professional in 1984. In 1987 he won the vacant WBA welterweight title by defeating Harold Volbrecht by TKO in the seventh round. He lost it in his first defense to

Marlon Starling Marlon Starling (born August 29, 1959) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1990. He held the World Boxing Association, WBA welterweight title from 1987 to 1988 and the World Boxing Council, WBC welterweight title f ...

. In 1989 Breland again won the vacant WBA welterweight title by defeating another contender, Seung Soon Lee, by first round knockout on 4 February, 1989, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He made four successful title defenses (most notably, one against

Lloyd Honeyghan Lloyd Honeyghan (born 22 April 1960) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1995. He reigned as the undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed welterweight champion from 1986 to 1987, and held the World Boxing Counci ...

) before losing it to Aaron Davis in a back-and-forth 9-round contest that was nearly called off twice because of injuries to Davis' eye before Breland was knocked out in round 9. Breland retired in 1997 with a professional record of 35–3–1 (25 KOs). His losses were to Jorge Vaca, Aaron Davis, and Marlon Starling, with whom he also earned his only draw.

Boxing Trainer

Breland has served as a boxing trainer, having had Vernon Forrest and former WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder among other notable clients. In recent years, he has been an assistant trainer for Jermall Charlo.

Amateur highlights

*Won the 39th Intercity Golden Gloves in the welterweight division,

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, April 1981: **Defeated Efrain Bennett KO 1 *Participated in the United States National Championships, in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...

, May 1981: **1/4: Lost to Darryl Anthony by split decision, 2–3 *Won the U.S. National Sports Festival (Welterweight) in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, July 1981: **1/2: Defeated Roman George RSC 3 **Finals: Defeated Darryl Robinson RSC 1 *United States Welterweight Champion,

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, April 1982: **1/4: Defeated Ron Essett RSC 1 **1/2: Defeated Frank Warren by unanimous decision, 5–0 **Finals: Defeated Louis Howard RSCH 2 *Made the U.S. National Team at the World Champ Box-Offs in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

, April 1982: **Defeated Louis Howard *Gold medal at the World Championships (Welterweight) in Munich, West Germany, May 1982: **1/16: Defeated Vesa Koskela (Sweden) RET 2 **1/8: Defeated Mihai Ciubotaru (Romania) KO 1 **1/4: Defeated Jenő Danyi (Hungary) by unanimous decision, 5–0 **1/2: Defeated Manfred Zielonka (West Germany) by unanimous decision, 5–0 **Finals: Defeated

Serik Konakbayev Serik Kerimbekuly Konakbaev (, ''Serık Kerımbekūly Qonaqbaev''; ; born October 25, 1959, in Pavlodar, Kazakh SSR) is a retired Kazakh amateur boxer, who represented the USSR at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Unio ...

(Soviet Union) by unanimous decision, 5–0 *Won the USA–Poland Duals (Welterweight) in

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

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, October 1982: **Defeated Stanisław Marczyński (Poland) by unanimous decision, 3–0 *Withdrew from the United States National Championships, in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, December 1982: **1/16: Lost to Kurt Whitesell by medical walkover *Won the AIBA International Challenge (Welterweight) in Korakuen Hall,

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, May 1983: **Defeated Yong Beom Chung (South Korea) by unanimous decision, 5–0 *United States Welterweight Champion,

, November 1983: **1/16: Defeated Bill Harrington RSC 3 **1/8: Defeated Tony Golden RSC 2 **1/4: Defeated Larry Gentile by decision **1/2: Defeated Alton Rice by unanimous decision, 5–0 **Finals: Defeated James Mitchell RSC 2 *Won the AIBA International Challenge (Welterweight) in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, April 1984: **Defeated Luciano Bruno (Italy) by decision *Qualified as a Welterweight at the National Olympic Trials in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, June 1984: **1/4: Defeated Mylon Watkins KO 1 **1/2: Defeated Louis Howard by unanimous decision, 5–0 **Finals: Defeated Davey Gutierrez by unanimous decision, 5–0 *Made the U.S. National Team at the Olympic Box-Offs in

, July 1984: **Defeated Louis Howard by unanimous decision, 5–0 *Gold medal at the

(Welterweight) in

, July–August 1984: **1/32: Defeated Wayne Gordon (Canada) by unanimous decision, 5–0 **1/16: Defeated Carlos Reyes (Puerto Rico) RSC 3 **1/8: Defeated Rudel Obreja (Romania) by unanimous decision, 5–0 **1/4: Defeated Genaro Leon (Mexico) KO 1 **1/2: Defeated Luciano Bruno (Italy) by unanimous decision, 5–0 **Finals: Defeated Yong-Su Ahn (South Korea) by unanimous decision, 5–0

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Breland, Mark 1963 births Living people American male boxers Boxers from Brooklyn African-American boxers Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Welterweight boxers World welterweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions American boxing trainers 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen