Wilbur Maurice Harris (born February 21, 1976), nicknamed "Sugar Moe", is the former United States Boxing Association heavyweight champion. A professional competitor since 1992, he holds notable victories over

Siarhei Liakhovich Siarhei Piatrovich Liakhovich ( be, Сяргей Пятровіч Ляховіч, Siarhiej Piatrovič Lachovič; russian: Серге́й Петро́вич Ляхо́вич, Sergey Petrovich Lyakhovich; also Siarhiej Piatrovič Liachovič or Siar ...

, David Izon, James Thunder, and Jeremy Williams. As a professional, Harris also faced world champions and contenders

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "E ...

, Vaughn Bean,

Derrick Jefferson Derrick Lavon Jefferson (born March 10, 1968) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for the WBO title in 2001, and is perhaps best remembered for his brutal left hook-knockout of Maurice Harris in 1999. Early life Jeffers ...

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 the ...

Henry Akinwande Henry Adetokunboh Akinwande (born 12 October 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 1996 to 1997, as well as the Commonwealth heavyweight title in 1993, and the Eur ...

Fres Oquendo Fres Oquendo (born April 1, 1973) is a Puerto Rican professional heavyweight boxer. He had a successful amateur record before turning professional in 1997. He has challenged three times for world heavyweight titles. Amateur career He had an amat ...

, Tony Thompson, Kubrat Pulev,

Amir Mansour Amir Mansour (born Lavern Moorer; July 25, 1972) is an American professional boxer who fights at heavyweight. His professional debut came in 1997. He fought 9 fights, before he was sent to prison in 2001, serving 8 1/2 years on a controlled subs ...

, Alexander Ustinov, and Albert Sosnowski.

Professional career

Maurice Harris turned pro at 16 as a light heavyweight in 1992, and faced many up-and-coming prospects and comebacking champions. In his early professional years, he lost to future number one contender Vaughn Bean, and defeated 18-0-0 David Izon. In 1992, Harris lost a 12-round decision in his first attempt to win the vacant

United States Boxing Association The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

(USBA) heavyweight title against future world heavyweight champion

. In 1997 he lost a disputed split decision to former champion

. He followed the Holmes bout with a seven fight winning streak in 1998-99. This included defeating former number one heavyweight contender Jeremy Williams, and culminated in a fight on HBO with Derrick Jefferson. In what was labeled as the 1999 Ring Magazine knockout of the year, Harris was brutally knocked out by a vicious left hook. In 1998 Harris was the chief sparring partner for heavyweight world champion

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hol ...

and maintained this position for several years. In 2002, Harris knocked out future heavyweight champion 19-0

in the 9th round. Later that year, Harris won the Thunderbox Heavyweight Tournament "Fistful of Dollars" in

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 ...

. The round-robin exhibition event consisted of eight heavyweights doing battle in three, three-minute rounds. Harris outpointed Gerald Nobles, future number one contender Tony Thompson and Israel Garcia in the same evening to win the $100,000 purse.

Comeback

After a three-year layoff, Harris made a comeback in 2010 in the heavyweight division. Under the guidance of promoter Mario Yagobi of Boxing360, Harris returned to the ring. Harris won the vacant United States Boxing Association heavyweight title in his second opportunity with a 12-round unanimous decision over Nagy Aguilera at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota. However, on May 27, 2011, Harris lost an eliminator bout for the IBF # 2 position at Reno Events Center in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

. On July 16, 2011, Harris defended his USBA heavyweight title in

on July 16, 2011, with a 12th-round knockout over challenger

Derric Rossy Derric Rossy (born July 2, 1980) is an American former professional boxer and a former defensive end at Boston College. He enrolled in the Lynch School of Education with a major in human development. Rossy knocked out Gary Bell in the second ro ...

Professional boxing record

External links

*
Maurice Harris - Boxing360 Biography
''

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

''
USBA Heavyweight Champion Maurice Harris on Brink of Living his Dream
April 28, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Maurice 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from East Orange, New Jersey Boxers from New Jersey African-American boxers Heavyweight boxers American male boxers 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople