Tony Tubbs (born February 15, 1958) is an American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1980 to 2006, and held the WBA

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

title from 1985 to 1986.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Tony Tubbs competed in 253 bouts, compiling a record of 240 wins and 13 losses—primarily in the heavyweight division. In a 1976 match between the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

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, Tubbs lost by knockout in the second round to future Soviet Heavyweight Champion Igor Vysotsky. In 1978 Tubbs lost in the quarterfinals of the world Cup to Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson. Tubbs was the only opponent who managed to go the distance with Stevenson. Tubbs trained with the Muhammad Ali Amateur Boxing Team in Santa Monica, CA. In 1979, Tubbs became the National AAU Heavyweight Champion by defeating

Mitch Green Mitch Green (born January 13, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. He is best known for having gone the distance with Mike Tyson in 1986, who was undefeated at the time. Two years later, in 1988, Green ...

and Greg Page, both contests were rematches of previous defeats. In the match-up meetings

versus the

Tubbs defeated the two-time amateur European champion Yevgeni Gorstkov and the future silver medalist of the Olympic games Pyotr Zayev. In 1979 Tubbs won the AIBA Boxing World Cup, defeating Khoren Indzhyan, and finally avenged his loss to

Marvis Frazier Marvis Frazier (born September 12, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who fought in the heavyweight division. The son of Joe Frazier, he challenged once for the heavyweight title. Early life Marvis was born September 12, 1960, in Phil ...

, who prior to that upset went unbeaten with a 42–0 (21 KOs) record. Tony fought as a member of the Muhammad Ali Amateur Boxing Team. By 1980 the conclusion of Tubbs's amateur career was the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, but Tubbs was unable compete due to the US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Among his other notable Amateur victories were defeating

James Broad James Broad (January 27, 1958 – November 20, 2001) was an American heavyweight boxer who was a Notable Contender throughout the 1980s, who beat Future World Champion James Smith and gave Heavyweight Champion Greg Page a very tough fight only ...

and Jimmy Clark, and 1980 Olympic bronze medalist Stephen Left. As an amateur, Tubbs worked as a sparring partner to

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, helping the former to prepare for his rematch with

Leon Spinks Leon Spinks (July 11, 1953 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a s ...

for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Highlights

1976: USA–USSR Duals, Sahara Hotel Space Center,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

(Heavyweight) *Lost to Igor Vysotsky (Soviet Union) RSC 2 1977: USA–USSR Duals,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

(Heavyweight) *Defeated Pyotr Zayev (Soviet Union) by decision 1977:

National 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 ...

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(Heavyweight) *1/2: Lost to Jimmy Clark by decision 1978: National Sports Festival, Fort Carson (Heavyweight) *Finals: Lost to

by decision 1978: United States National Championships,

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

(Heavyweight) *1/2: Defeated Woody Clark by decision *Finals: Lost to Greg Page by decision 1978:

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Belgrade, Yugoslavia Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. The population of the Belgrade metropolitan area is 1,685, ...

(Heavyweight): *1/8: Defeated Istvan Levai (Hungary) by unanimous decision, 5–0 *1/4: Lost to

Teófilo Stevenson Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence (; 29 March 1952 – 11 June 2012) was a Cuban amateur boxer who competed from 1966 to 1986. Stevenson won the Val Barker Trophy (1972) as well was honored with the Olympic Order (1987) and is one of only three bo ...

(Cuba) by unanimous decision, 0–5 1979: USA–USSR Duals,

(Heavyweight) *Defeated Yevgeniy Gorstkov (Soviet Union) by decision 1979:

(Heavyweight) * (no data available) 1979: United States National Championships,

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

(Heavyweight) *Finals: Defeated Phillip Brown 1979: Frazier–Ali teams match-up,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

*Lost to

by decision 1979:

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 name is ...

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(Heavyweight): *1/4: Defeated Narciso Maldonado (Puerto Rico) KO 1 *1/2: Defeated Luk Tchoula (Gabon) KO 3 *Finals: Defeated Khoren Indzhyan (USSR) by unanimous decision, 5–0 1980: Frazier–Ali teams match-up,

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

(Heavyweight): *Defeated

by decision Tubbs finished his career having 253 fights, with a record of 240 wins, 13 losses.

Professional career

Early years

Tubbs made his professional debut on June 14, 1980, with a first-round knockout of Bruce Scott. After 11 fights, he fought fellow undefeated prospect Clarence Hill on August 7, 1982 and won by a ten-round unanimous decision. After out-pointing Jimmy Young (who had defeated

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

) on April 10, 1983, he was signed by

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...

and began rising up the rankings while appearing on several King undercards. On March 15, 1985, he faced future WBA Heavyweight Champ

James "Bonecrusher" Smith James "Bonecrusher" Smith (born April 3, 1953) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1999 and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1986 to 1987. Early life Smith was born in Magnolia, North Carolina. After graduati ...

in a WBA title eliminator. Tubbs won by a unanimous decision, taking his record to 20-0 (15 knockouts).

World heavyweight title fights

On April 29, 1985, Tubbs challenged Greg Page for the WBA Heavyweight Championship. Page and Tubbs fought seven times as amateurs, with Page winning six of them, but for their only meeting as professionals, Tubbs won by a fifteen-round unanimous decision. On January 17, 1986, Tubbs made his first title defense against former WBC Heavyweight Champion

Tim Witherspoon Tim Witherspoon (born December 27, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2003. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title in 1984, and the WBA title in 1986. He beat heavyweight ...

. Tubbs weighed-in at , 15 more than he weighed for the Page fight, and lost the title by a fifteen-round majority decision. Tubbs and Witherspoon had a rematch scheduled for December 12, 1986, but Tubbs pulled out of the fight and was replaced by Bonecrusher Smith, who knocked Witherspoon out in the first round. Tubbs said he had an injured shoulder, but promoter

accused Tubbs of trying to get more money. On March 21, 1988, Tubbs challenged

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship; after out-boxing Tyson in the first round, Tubbs was knocked out in the second. On November 21, 1989, Tubbs out-pointed top contender Orlin Norris, winning the North American Boxing Federation title. However, Tubbs tested positive for cocaine. Tubbs was stripped of the title and the victory was changed to a "no contest". On April 20, 1991, a 34-year-old Tubbs lost a highly controversial ten-round decision to future Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion,

Riddick Bowe Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer and professional kickboxer who competed between 1989 and 2008 in boxing, and from 2013 to 2016 in kickboxing (Muay Thai). He held the undisputed world heavyweig ...

. The general consensus in the media was that Tubbs had easily outboxed Bowe. On August 8, 1992, Tubbs was upset by Lionel Butler in a first-round knockout. Tubbs came back to out-point future WBA Heavyweight Champion

Bruce Seldon Bruce Samuel Seldon (born January 30, 1967) is an American former professional boxer and current boxing trainer, who competed from 1988 to 1996, and 2004 to 2009. He held the WBA heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996, most notably losing to Mike ...

, knocking him down in the 1st round, and the undefeated Alexander Zolkin, but then suffered another first-round knockout—this one to clubfighter Jimmy Ellis.

People's Choice Heavyweight Tournament

In December 1993, Tubbs took part in the one-night People's Choice Heavyweight Tournament in Bay Saint Louis,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. He knocked out Willie Jackson in the first round and won three-round decisions over 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist

Tyrell Biggs Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1998, and challenged once for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1987. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, havin ...

, Jose Ribalta, and Daniel Dăncuţă to win the tournament. Depending on pay-per-view revenue, he had a chance to win $1 million. He was paid $170,000.

Late career

From 1994 to 1997, Tubbs went 3–3 with one no-contest. He retired but came back in 2002. He lost two of his first three comeback fights, but then won his next five, including a win over 18-0

Brian Minto Brian Matthew Minto (born January 27, 1975) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2016. He challenged once for the WBO cruiserweight title in 2010. Professional career Minto turned pro in 2002 and won his first 18 ...

. His last fight was a six-round unanimous decision over clubfighter Adam Smith on November 4, 2006.

California Boxing Hall of Fame

Tubbs was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame on June 25, 2011 in Studio City, CA. Tubbs attended the induction with his family, mother and children

Professional boxing record

References

Sources

*''Toledo Blade'' February 3, 1980 *''The Pittsburgh Press'' April 7, 1983 *''Gettysburg Times'' April 30, 1985 *''Philadelphia Inquirer'' January 18, 1986 *''Daily News'' December 5, 1986 *''Los Angeles Times'' March 22, 1988 *''Sports Illustrated'' March 29, 1988 *''New York Times'' July 22, 1992 *''Philadelphia Inquirer'' December 8, 1993

External links

*
BoxingRecords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tubbs, Tony 1958 births World heavyweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers Boxers from Cincinnati Living people American male boxers African-American boxers 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen