Ricky Young (born 1960) is an American former professional

super lightweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

boxer from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, who had 21 fights with 6 KO's and 17 wins.

Early life

Born in July 1960 in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

, U.S., Ricky Young spent most of his early life in a housing project 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 Harl ...

. After graduating high school, Young lived with his parents and two younger sisters while working as a carpenter's assistant. Young's father worked as a bookkeeper and his mother worked as a trimmer in a clothing factory.

Career

Young started his career after deciding to start going to the gym to get in shape. Young quickly started to discover his talent for boxing and began to nurture it. Ricky Young says he was influenced by the success of

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 regarded ...

and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

, and used this inspiration to fuel his discipline to train on a daily basis. Ricky's trainer was Bobby McQuillar, an American former professional lightweight boxer, who had 44 fights with 17 KO's and 38 wins. McQuillar is known for beating three men who went on to hold world titiles, Joe Brown,

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

and

Sandy Saddler Joseph "Sandy" Saddler (June 23, 1926 – September 18, 2001) was an American professional boxer. He was a two-time featherweight world champion, having also held the super featherweight title. Over his twelve-year career (1944–56), Saddler ...

. McQuillar trained Young at Gleason's Gymnasium on West 30th Street and 8th Avenue. Some of Young's notable fights included a 1986 fight against

Buddy McGirt James Walter "Buddy" McGirt (born January 17, 1964) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1997, and has since worked as a boxing trainer. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF junior we ...

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 and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

with

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

on undercard. Young also retired

Leroy Haley Leroy "Irish" Haley Jr. (December 27, 1952 – November 1, 2018) was an American light welterweight boxer. Early life Born in Garland County, Arkansas, he was the fourth child of Leroy Haley Sr. and Bobbie Wallace-Haley. Haley moved to Las Vega ...

in 1985 at the Madison Square Garden Felt Forum where Mike Tyson was undercard and co-featured by

Iran Barkley Iran Barkley (born May 6, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1999. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBC middleweight title from 1988 to 1989, the IBF super middleweight ti ...

. Young also fought Angel Cruz in 1985 at the Madison Square Garden Felt Forum for USA NYS Super Lightweight Title with Iran Barkley on undercard. After his boxing career, Ricky went on to run the boxing program at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

from 1996 - 2007.

Professional boxing record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Ricky 1960 births Living people Light-welterweight boxers American male boxers Boxers from New York (state) People from Harlem Columbia University faculty