Wikipedia

James Pritchard (boxer)

James Pritchard (born April 28, 1961, in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1997. He challenged once for the IBF cruiserweight title in 1991.

Amateur edit

Pritchard had a stellar amateur career, becoming the 1985 National Golden Gloves Super Heavyweight Champion.[1]

Professional career edit

Pritchard turned pro in 1985 and went undefeated in 17 bouts, including a draw with Mike 'The Bounty' Hunter, before facing ex-world heavyweight champion Mike Weaver in a crossroads fight. Pritchard was stopped by the big punching Weaver on his feet in six, but returned to win three fights in a row before meeting another former world champion, this time Michael Dokes. Pritchard was stopped in seven, but gained a reputation for toughness as Dokes, like Weaver, could not drop Pritchard.

Pritchard travelled to apartheid South Africa for several fights, boxing to a controversial draw with Johnny DuPlooy when he had apparently got the better of DuPlooy. He was stopped in 10 in a rematch, then stopped in eight by DuPlooy's rival Pierre Coetzer. Pritchard returned to the States where he was a chief sparring partner of Frank Bruno prior to his Tyson fight. He also put together a string of wins including a KO of novice Lionel Butler. A trip to England to face world ranked Gary Mason resulted in a 9th round stoppage loss, although yet again Pritchard gained respect for his durability - no one could knock him down.

World title fight edit

Having been relegated to opponent status in the heavyweights, the 26-5-2 Pritchard moved down to the Cruiserweight division. He beat two-time world title challenger Siza Makathini in his debut winning an IBF Intercontinental title, but in his 1991 fight with James Warring for the vacant IBF cruiserweight title he was dropped for the first time in his career and stopped in 36 seconds, a record for a world title fight.

Journeyman edit

Pritchard returned to the heavyweights after his cruiserweight title disaster, but was relegated to journeyman status. He knocked out undefeated West Turner to win the USBA heavyweight title, but lost to the likes of Tim Witherspoon, Orlin Norris, Michael Moorer and Herbie Hide.

By the mid to late 1990s he was an aged heavyweight and not much more than cannon fodder for Corrie Sanders, Brian Nielsen and Wladimir Klitschko. He retired in 1997 with a respectable record of 30-18-2 (25 KOs).

Professional boxing record edit

30 Wins (25 knockouts, 5 decisions), 18 Losses (12 knockouts, 6 decisions), 2 Draws [2]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 30–18–2   Darroll Wilson TKO 2 29/11/1997   Vineland, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss 30–17–2   Wladimir Klitschko TKO 3 20/09/1997   Aachen, Germany
Loss 30–16–2   Damon Reed UD 10 11/08/1997   Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Loss 30–15–2   Brian Nielsen (boxer) KO 3 13/06/1997   Slagelse, Denmark
Win 30–14–2   Greg Suttington TKO 4 13/05/1996   Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:14 of the fourth round.
Loss 29–14–2   Corrie Sanders TKO 1 05/08/1995   Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Loss 29–13–2   Brian Morgan SD 8 20/03/1995   Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 29–12–2   Ralph Jackson TKO 3 13/02/1995   Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Loss 28–12–2   Zeljko Mavrovic UD 10 18/06/1994   Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Loss 28–11–2   Kenny Keene PTS 10 05/12/1993   Caldwell, Idaho, U.S.
Loss 28–10–2   Michael Moorer TKO 3 22/06/1993   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss 28–9–2   Herbie Hide TKO 2 12/12/1992   London, England
Win 28–8–2   West Turner TKO 3 10/07/1992   Ringgold Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. USBA Heavyweight Title.
Loss 27–8–2   Tim Witherspoon UD 10 23/03/1992   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss 27–7–2   Orlin Norris PTS 8 13/12/1991   Bercy, France
Loss 27–6–2   James Warring KO 1 07/09/1991   Salemi, Italy IBF Cruiserweight Title. Pritchard knocked out at 0:36 of the first round.
Win 27–5–2   Siza Makathini DQ 6 06/04/1991   Darlington, England IBF Intercontinental Cruiserweight Title. Makathini disqualified for low blows.
Loss 26–5–2   Gary Mason (boxer) TKO 9 12/12/1990   London, England Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the ninth round.
Win 26–4–2   Rick Enis TKO 8 28/07/1990   Saint Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Win 25–4–2   Lorenzo Boyd KO 4 01/06/1990   Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
Win 24–4–2   Ladislao Mijangos TKO 6 08/05/1990   Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 23–4–2   Lee Moore TKO 2 02/03/1990   Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Win 22–4–2   Lionel Butler TKO 6 09/12/1989   Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
Win 21–4–2   Rodney Bolden KO 1 26/08/1989   Murray, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 20–4–2   Larry Givens TKO 2 25/05/1989   Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 19–4–2   Mike Russell KO 5 25/04/1989   Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Loss 18–4–2   Pierre Coetzer TKO 8 18/03/1989   Johannesburg, South Africa
Loss 18–3–2   Johnny DuPlooy TKO 10 22/10/1988   Sun City, Bophuthatswana
Draw 18–2–2   Johnny DuPlooy PTS 10 02/07/1988   Sun City, Bophuthatswana
Loss 18–2–1   Michael Dokes TKO 7 28/04/1988   New York City, U.S. WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title.
Win 18–1–1   Steve Zouski TKO 4 25/03/1988   Melrose Park, Illinois, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:28 of the fourth round.
Win 17–1–1   Mike Cohen KO 3 21/02/1988   Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S. Cohen knocked out at 2:28 of the third round.
Win 16–1–1   Bruce Johnson KO 5 05/01/1988   Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Johnson knocked out at 2:09 of the fifth round.
Loss 15–1–1   Mike Weaver (boxer) TKO 6 24/08/1987   Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:30 of the sixth round.
Win 15–0–1   Frankie Hines KO 2 28/07/1987   Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Hines knocked out at 2:08 of the second round.
Win 14–0–1   Kevin Casimier TKO 7 20/04/1987   Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 13–0–1   Darryl Peppers TKO 2 17/03/1987   Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:20 of the second round.
Win 12–0–1   Larry Phelps TKO 2 24/02/1987   Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the second round.
Draw 11–0–1   Mike Hunter (boxer) PTS 6 20/02/1987   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 11–0   Bobby Crabtree TKO 2 25/11/1986   Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 10–0   Warren Thompson (boxer) PTS 6 31/10/1986   Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 9–0   Michael Johnson KO 1 03/10/1986   Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 8–0   Robert Evans PTS 6 28/08/1986   New York City, U.S.
Win 7–0   Melvin Epps UD 6 29/07/1986   Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 6–0 Louis Brooks TKO 1 10/07/1986   Houston, Texas, U.S.
Win 5–0   Tim Miller KO 2 24/06/1986   Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 4–0   John Morton TKO 1 25/04/1986   Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 3–0   Allen Hudson KO 4 22/03/1986   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Hudson knocked out at 1:03 of the fourth round.
Win 2–0   Jack Jackson UD 4 17/01/1986   Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Win 1–0   Vince Parker KO 2 21/09/1985   Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

Criminal record edit

Pritchard has been imprisoned on two separate occasions in the Kentucky state prison system, both times for robbery. He was sentenced to 10 years in 1982, paroled the following year, and released from parole in 1991. He was sentenced to 20 years in 2003 and released on parole in 2009. As of January 5, 2012 he was back in jail for parole violations following a guilty plea to a theft case to which a relative, Glenn Pritchard, was a co-defendant.

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Louisville heavyweight free to box while he sues management firm". The Courier-Journal. July 3, 1985. p. 5. Retrieved October 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "James Pritchard - Boxer". Archived from the original on 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
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