David Bey (March 11, 1957 – September 13, 2017) was a heavyweight boxer who held the USBA title. He unsuccessfully challenged Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title in 1985.

David Bey
Born
David Bey

(1957-03-11)March 11, 1957
DiedSeptember 13, 2017(2017-09-13) (aged 60)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesHand Grenade
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights30
Wins18
Wins by KO14
Losses11
Draws1
No contests0

Bey was an outstanding amateur boxer who had taken up the sport to lose weight and eventually competed on the U.S. All Army Boxing Team. He made his professional debut in 1981, defeating future undisputed world heavyweight champion James "Buster" Douglas by a second-round knockout. He built up a record of 14–0, becoming the first man to stop the durable veteran contender George Chaplin (TKO4) as well as defeating future WBA heavyweight champion Greg Page (W12) to capture the United States Boxing Association heavyweight championship.

In March 1985 Bey was given a title shot by IBF heavyweight champion Larry Holmes. After a strong start, Holmes knocked Bey down twice in the 8th round and the referee stopped the fight in the 10th round.

Bey never regained his confidence, losing his USBA title by 11th-round TKO to Trevor Berbick in his comeback fight, then being relegated to 'opponent' status for the remainder of his career, matched against the likes of James "Bonecrusher" Smith, Joe Bugner in Australia, Tyrell Biggs, and Johnny DuPlooy in South Africa. He retired in 1987 after losing to DuPlooy, but made a comeback in 1990 in which he went 3-5-1. In 1994 in his final fight he knocked out David Jaco in China. He lived in China for a time before returning to the States and his old construction job.

Bey died in a construction accident in Camden in 2017.[1]

Professional boxing record edit

18 Wins (14 knockouts, 4 decisions), 11 Losses (8 knockouts, 3 decisions), 1 Draw [2]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 18–11–1   David Jaco TKO 8 1994-09-17   Macao, China
Loss 17–11–1   Zeljko Mavrovic TKO 4 1993-10-16   Koblenz, Germany
Loss 17–10–1   Terry Davis UD 12 1993-02-27   Beijing, China NBA Continental Americas Heavyweight Title.
Loss 17–9–1   Derek Williams TKO 6 1991-09-30   London, England
Draw 17–8–1   David Jaco PTS 10 1991-09-07   Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Loss 17–8   Joe Hipp TKO 7 1991-02-26   Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:07 of the seventh round.
Loss 17–7   Bruce Seldon TKO 10 1990-11-01   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:38 of the tenth round.
Win 17–6   Terry Miller KO 2 1990-08-21   Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Win 16–6   Paul Bradshaw TKO 3 1990-02-17   Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Loss 15–6   Johnny DuPlooy KO 9 1987-04-27   Johannesburg, South Africa
Loss 15–5   Tyrell Biggs TKO 6 1987-03-07   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:15 of the sixth round.
Loss 15–4   Joe Bugner UD 10 1986-11-14   Sydney, Australia
Loss 15–3   James Smith UD 10 1986-08-23   Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
Win 15–2   Wesley Smith SD 10 1986-01-17   Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Split Decision win 10 Rounds.
Loss 14–2   Trevor Berbick TKO 11 1985-06-15   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. USBA Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:30 of the 11th round.
Loss 14–1   Larry Holmes TKO 10 1985-03-15   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. For IBF, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles.
Win 14–0   Greg Page UD 12 1984-08-31   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. USBA Heavyweight Title.
Win 13–0   Leroy Caldwell PTS 10 1984-03-09   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 12–0   Alf Coffin KO 2 1983-08-17   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 11–0   Grady Daniels KO 1 1983-07-16   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Daniels knocked out at 2:01 of the first round.
Win 10–0   Chuck Johnson TKO 3 1983-02-12   Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Win 9–0   George Chaplin TKO 4 1982-11-26   Houston, Texas, U.S.
Win 8–0   Larry Beilfuss TKO 1 1982-10-02   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 7–0   Jack Watkins KO 2 1982-08-14   Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Win 6–0   Larry Sims PTS 6 1982-06-27   Highland Heights, Ohio, U.S.
Win 5–0   Laverne Bumpers TKO 1 1982-05-02   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 4–0 D.B. Johnson KO 1 1982-04-09   Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Win 3–0   Steve Flemester TKO 2 1982-03-20   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 2–0 Larry Ham TKO 1 1982-02-24   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 1–0   James Douglas TKO 2 1981-11-06   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

References edit

  1. ^ "Industrial accident reportedly kills former boxer who fought Larry Holmes". September 18, 2017.
  2. ^ Boxing record for David Bey. BoxRec.com.

External links edit