Kennedy McKinney

Kennedy McKinney (born January 10, 1966) is an American former professional boxer, who won the bantamweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he won the IBF and WBO super bantamweight titles.

Kennedy McKinney
Born	(1966-01-10) January 10, 1966 Hernando, Mississippi, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	King
Statistics
Weight(s)	Super bantamweight
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Reach	68 in (173 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	43
Wins	36
Wins by KO	19
Losses	6
Draws	1
Medal record Men's boxing Representing the United States Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Bantamweight

Military service

McKinney took up boxing while serving in the U.S. Army, private first class stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

Amateur career

• 1985 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Flyweight, was stopped by Arthur Johnson
• 1986 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Flyweight, losing by decision to Arthur Johnson
• 1987 3rd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Bantamweight, losing by decision to Michael Collins
• 1988 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Bantamweight, losing by decision to Jemal Hinton
• Prior to the 1988 Olympics had several international duals where he fought Alexei Artemiev of the Soviet Union, Rene Breitbarth of East Germany, Aleksandar Hristov of Bulgaria and Byun Jung-il of South Korea, to whom he lost.
• 1988 qualified as a Bantamweight for the United States Olympic Team, avenging previous defeats versus Michael Collins, whom he beat three times and Jemal Hinton, all by decision.
• Won the Bantamweight Olympic Gold Medal at the Seoul Olympic Games. Results were:
  • Defeated Erick Perez (Guatemala) TKO 1
  • Defeated Shahuraj Birajdor (India) forfeit
  • Defeated Steve Mwema (Kenya) points
  • Defeated Phajol Moolsan (Thailand) TKO 1
  • Defeated Aleksandar Hristov (Bulgaria) points

McKinney claimed an amateur record of 214 wins, 13 losses.

Professional career

Known as "King", McKinney was a cautious yet exciting junior featherweight (super bantamweight) fighter who captured the IBF title by beating Welcome Ncita in 1992 in a spectacular bout that saw him staggered and taking a standing eight count before knocking the African cold with a perfect right hand.

After five defenses, among others a KO over Rudy Zavala and a points win over Ncita, he lost his belt to future star Vuyani Bungu, a fight which was deemed 1994 Upset of the Year by Ring Magazine.

Two years later he challenged undefeated Marco Antonio Barrera for the WBO super bantamweight title, a vicious battle in which he dropped Barrera in the 11th, but lost via TKO in the 12th. McKinney later took a rematch against Bungu, but lost a narrow split decision. Later that year, he did battle with Junior Jones who had upset Barrera in an exciting war, one which McKinney won via TKO.

McKinney then moved up a weight class to challenge Luisito Espinosa for the WBC featherweight title in 1998. Espinosa made quick work of McKinney, winning via a 2nd-round TKO.

After the loss to Espinosa, McKinney quickly lost steam. He would fight only five more times against scattered and limited opposition, three of which took place during a brief comeback run in 2002-03.

Life after boxing

Kennedy now resides in Olive Branch, Mississippi, where he is simply known as "Coach McKinney". He is the Head Boxing Coach at the Prize Fight Gym in Southaven, Mississippi.

References

• Boxing record for Kennedy McKinney from BoxRec (registration required)
• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kennedy McKinney". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by Sugar Baby Rojas	USBA super bantamweight champion February 9 – December 2, 1992 Won IBF title	Vacant Title next held by Rudy Zavala
Vacant Title last held by Maui Diaz	USBA super bantamweight champion May 5, 1996 – December 19, 1997 Won WBO title	Vacant Title next held by Jason Pires
Minor boxing titles
New title	WBU super bantamweight champion August 26, 1995 – 1996	Vacant Title next held by Max Gomez
World boxing titles
Preceded by Welcome Ncita	IBF super bantamweight champion December 2, 1992 – August 20, 1994	Succeeded by Vuyani Bungu
Preceded by Junior Jones	WBO super bantamweight champion December 19, 1997 – May 30, 1998 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Marco Antonio Barrera