Zuri Lawrence (born June 22, 1970) is an American professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2009. He is most well known for having never scored a knockout win in 44 professional fights.

Zuri Lawrence
Born (1970-06-22) June 22, 1970 (age 53)
NationalityAmerican
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights44
Wins24
Wins by KO0
Losses15
Draws4
No contests1

Career edit

Lawrence has never fought for a major heavyweight title but he served an important test for up-and-coming prospects. Notable losses include a technical knockout loss in 11 (after being down 4 times)[1] to Russian prospect Sultan Ibragimov and being brutally rendered unconscious by Calvin Brock,[2] the latter of which was named The Ring magazine Knockout of the Year.

Notable wins include upsetting the comeback trail of Jameel McCline after McCline's second heavyweight title loss and being the first to defeat highly touted Italian Olympic medallist and prospect Paolo Vidoz.

Lawrence was rarely stopped and could give 12 rounds of technical boxing. This combined with his seeming inability to knock an opponent out made Lawrence a popular opponent amongst matchmakers looking to get their prospects noticed. Prior to their fight Calvin Brock gave an example of this thinking in an interview with Tiger Boxing: "Zuri Lawrence? Sure. He's good, but he doesn't have any power, so I wouldn't call it a high-risk fight."[3]

In November 2007 Lawrence took on Hasim Rahman on short notice on Versus. In a close battle in which Versus' viewers had Lawrence leading, he was knocked out by Rahman in the 10th and final round. The scores at the time of stoppage were 86-84 for Lawrence and 86–84, 88-82 for Rahman.[4] In a rare feat, Lawrence was knocked out of the ring and onto the arena floor, only to return to the ring prior to the 20 count and continue fighting.[5]

In July 2008 Lawrence won in a huge upset over heavyweight prospect Albert Sosnowski after taking the fight on late notice.

He fought Jason Estrada on September 2, 2009, and which Lawrence was knocked down once in the second and once in the seventh before the referee stopped the fight at 2:33.

Professional boxing record edit

24 Wins (0 knockouts, 24 decisions), 15 Losses (8 knockouts, 7 decisions), 4 Draws, 1 No Contest [1]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 24-15-4 (1)   Jason Estrada TKO 7 02/09/2009   Mohegan Sun Grandstand, Syracuse, New York, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:33 of the seventh round.
Win 24-14-4 (1)   Albert Sosnowski UD 8 06/08/2008   Aviator Sports Complex, New York City, New York, U.S.
Loss 23-14-4 (1)   Darrel Madison UD 8 30/05/2008   Monticello Raceway & Casino, Monticello, New York, U.S. For vacant New York heavyweight title.
Loss 23-13-4 (1)   Hasim Rahman TKO 10 15/11/2007   Sovereign Center, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. For WBCNABF heavyweight title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:20 of the tenth round.
Win 23-12-4 (1)   Jermaine Woods UD 8 26/10/2007   Monticello Raceway & Casino, Monticello, New York, U.S. Lawrence was knocked down in the first round.
Win 22-12-4 (1)   Jason Bergman UD 4 03/08/2007   Monticello Raceway & Casino, Monticello, New York, U.S.
Win 21-12-4 (1)   Harvey Jolly UD 6 29/06/2007   Connecticut Expo Center, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Loss 20-12-4 (1)   Dominick Guinn TKO 2 02/02/2007   Main Street Armory, Rochester, New York, U.S. Referee stopped the fight at 2:59 of the second round after Lawrence was knocked down twice in the round.
Loss 20-11-4 (1)   Calvin Brock KO 6 25/02/2006   Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Lawrence knocked out at 2:58 of the sixth round.
Win 20-10-4 (1)   Jameel McCline UD 10 21/10/2005   Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Loss 19-10-4 (1)   Sultan Ibragimov TKO 11 22/04/2005   Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. For WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title. Referee stopped the fight at 0:32 of the 11th round.
Win 19-9-4 (1)   Demetrice King UD 6 24/08/2004   Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.
Loss 18-9-4 (1)   Timo Hoffmann UD 12 22/11/2003   Erdgas Arena, Riesa, Germany For vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title.
Draw 18-8-4 (1)   Ray Austin MD 10 15/02/2003   Flamingo Hilton, Laughlin, Nevada, U.S.
Loss 18-8-3 (1)   Tony Thompson TKO 7 20/10/2002   Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Washington, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:06 of the seventh round.
Win 18-7-3 (1)   Paolo Vidoz UD 8 17/08/2002   Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 17-7-3 (1)   David Vedder UD 6 25/05/2002   Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 16-7-3 (1)   Louis Monaco UD 6 04/05/2001   Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S.
Win 15-7-3 (1)   King Ipitan DQ 9 24/08/2000   Coeur d'Alene Casino, Worley, Idaho, U.S. Ipitan was disqualified for repeated low blows.
Win 14-7-3 (1)   Anthony Moore PTS 8 29/04/2000   St John's, Antigua and Barbuda
Win 13-7-3 (1)   Mike Sedillo UD 10 06/04/2000   Coeur d'Alene Casino, Worley, Idaho, U.S.
Loss 12-7-3 (1)   David Bostice UD 10 02/03/2000   Ramada Inn, Rosemont, Illinois, U.S.
Loss 12-6-3 (1)   Brian Nix UD 8 07/10/1999   Soaring Eagle Casino, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S.
Win 12-5-3 (1)   Darroll Wilson UD 10 02/09/1999   City Center, Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S.
Win 11-5-3 (1)   Brian Watson DQ 6 09/07/1999   Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis, Massachusetts, U.S. Watson was disqualified after tackling Lawrence out of the ring.
Win 10-5-3 (1)   Domingo Monroe PTS 4 15/05/1999   Leominster, Massachusetts, U.S.
Win 9-5-3 (1)   Juan Quintana PTS 4 27/02/1999   Leominster, Massachusetts, U.S.
Win 8-5-3 (1)   Derek Williams PTS 6 02/10/1998   Hala Ludowa, Wrocław, Poland
Loss 7-5-3 (1)   Furkat Tursunov PTS 8 25/09/1998   Poznań, Poland
Loss 7-4-3 (1)   Willie Williams PTS 6 22/11/1997   Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss 7-3-3 (1)   Greg Pickrom TKO 5 11/09/1997   Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.
Win 7-2-3 (1)   Craig Tomlinson UD 6 12/06/1997   Martin's West, Woodlawn, Maryland, U.S.
Win 6-2-3 (1)   Josh Imardiyi PTS 6 30/03/1997   Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S.
Win 5-2-3 (1)   Exum Speight PTS 6 07/07/1996   ABC Sports Complex, Springfield, Virginia, U.S.
Win 4-2-3 (1)   Rashid Latif UD 4 28/06/1996   Ukrainian Cultural Center, Somerset, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 3-2-3 (1)   Dean Storey PTS 6 31/03/1996   Sullivan Gymnasium, Portland, Maine, U.S.
Win 2-2-3 (1)   Mike Whitfield UD 6 08/11/1995   Hyatt Regency Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Loss 1-2-3 (1)   Rodney Price PTS 4 22/09/1995   South Mountain Arena, West Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Draw 1-1-3 (1)   Derrick Lampkins PTS 4 18/08/1995   Middletown, New York, U.S.
Win 1-1-2 (1)   Georgy Peskov UD 4 02/06/1995   Starlite Theatre, Latham, New York, U.S.
Draw 0-1-2 (1)   Garth Hedger PTS 4 05/05/1995   Center City, Schenectady, New York, U.S.
NC 0-1-1 (1)   Domingo Monroe NC 2 28/01/1995   Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S.
Loss 0-1-1   Kasson Saxton TKO 1 28/07/1994   Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Draw 0-0-1   Maurice Harris PTS 4 21/06/1994   The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

References edit

  1. ^ Sultan Ibragimov vs. Zuri Lawrence - Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia
  2. ^ HBO: Boxing: Fighters: Bio: CALVIN BROCK
  3. ^ "TigerBoxing". Archived from the original on 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  4. ^ McMillan, Ken (November 16, 2007). "Zuri Lawrence shows grit in loss to Rahman". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "Hasim Rahman Stops Zuri Lawrence But Zuri Gains Respect". boxing247.com. November 16, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2021.

External links edit