Michael Moorer

Not to be confused with Michael Moore.

Michael Moorer
Statistics
Real name	Michael Lee Moorer
Nickname(s)	Double M
Rated at	Heavyweight Light-Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Reach	78 in (198 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	November 12, 1967 (1967-11-12) (age 44) Brooklyn, New York
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	57
Wins	52
Wins by KO	40
Losses	4
Draws	1

Michael Lee Moorer (born November 12, 1967) is a retired American boxer who is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight World Champion.

Biography

Moorer is a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Professional career

Moorer had a fast but steady rise through the professional boxing ranks. He debuted on March 4, 1988, knocking out Adrian Riggs in the first round. He spent the year taking on a rather ambitious fight schedule, in terms of quantity if nothing else. Before the year's end, he was undefeated in eleven bouts (winning all by way of early round knockouts) and fighting for the world title for the first time. He acquired the newly created WBO light heavyweight title with a five round knockout of Ramzi Hassan.

In 1989, he retained the title six times, beating Freddie Delgado, Frankie Swindell, Mike Sedillo and former WBA champion Leslie Stewart, among others.

In 1990, he retained the title three times before the end of the year, beating Mario Melo and former Michael Spinks challenger Jim McDonald, among others.

1991 saw Moorer commence his campaign at the Heavyweight division. He rolled through the competition en route to securing an opportunity to fight for the vacant WBO heavyweight championship the following year. He knocked out Bert Cooper in the fifth round.

He did not defend the WBO heavyweight belt. Moorer and trainer Emanuel Steward parted ways after the Cooper fight. Moorer eventually joined Lou Duva's team, and was trained by Georgie Benton for three fights in 1993, including a 10-round decision win over former champion James "Bonecrusher" Smith.

Moorer then parted ways with the Duvas and Benton, and hired New York-based trainer Teddy Atlas in late 1993. Moorer closed the year with a 10-round decision over Mike Evans. Moorer then challenged Evander Holyfield for the Lineal, IBF and WBA title belts. On April 22, 1994, Moorer overcame a second-round knockdown and went on to win a majority decision over Holyfield.

In his first defense of those belts, on November 5, 1994, Moorer was ahead on all three judges' scorecards when he received a right hand to the chin by George Foreman in round 10, getting knocked out and losing the world championship. In addition to the belts, he also lost his undefeated record that night.

The following year, Moorer re-grouped by winning against fringe contender Melvin Foster. Meanwhile, Foreman retained the title with a close and controversial decision against Axel Schulz.

Because of the controversial nature of the Foreman-Schultz bout, the IBF ordered Foreman to travel to Germany for a rematch, but Foreman refused, choosing to leave the IBF belt vacant instead. South African Francois Botha travelled to Germany instead and beat Schultz with another close decision to claim the title, but he was stripped of it when he tested positive for illegal substances shortly after.

Moorer was then given the opportunity to fight Schultz for the vacant crown in Berlin. On June 22, 1996, Moorer won the IBF heavyweight crown once again, beating Schultz by a 12 round split decision.

He thus technically became a three-time heavyweight champion, WBO (1992), WBA/IBF (1994) and IBF (1996–1997). It should be noted that during Moorer's career, the WBO wasn't considered an authentic belt, and he was generally regarded as a two-time heavyweight champ. Since around 2004, the WBO has become recognized by some as a major belt.

Moore's first defense came against Botha on November 9, 1996. In a brutal one-sided bout, Moorer, leading on the cards going into the 12th, ended with a flourish, knocking Botha out with 18 seconds left in the bout.

In March 1997, Moorer retained his belt with a 12 round decision over previously undefeated Vaughn Bean before parting ways with trainer Teddy Atlas, with whom he'd been experiencing increasing tension since the beginning of their professional relationship. He replaced him with Freddie Roach. On November 8, Moorer visited the canvas five times in his rematch with Evander Holyfield before ringside doctor Flip Homansky advised referee Mitch Halpern to stop the bout in round eight.

Comeback

After this, he retired from boxing for three years before returning with a knockout of journeyman Lorenzo Boyd. He won three more fights, then seemingly retired again when he was knocked out only 30 seconds into round one by David Tua on August 17, 2002. However, he returned to the ring once again on March 29, 2003, beating Otis Tisdale on points over 10 rounds. On August 23, 2003, he beat Brazil's Rodolfo Lobo by knockout in only 64 seconds.

After a layoff of almost one year, he returned on July 3, 2004, losing a ten-round unanimous decision to Eliseo Castillo in Miami, Florida. In December of that year, Moorer rallied from a severe deficit on the scorecards to hand former cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov his first knockout loss. He continued fighting, winning all of his bouts against limited opposition, his last fight was a KO win over Shelby Gross in 2008.

Following the fight Moorer retired from professional boxing and began to train up and coming fighters.

He served as chief assistant trainer to Freddie Roach, during the training camp for Manny Pacquiao's fight against Ricky Hatton.

In June 2009, Roach fired Moorer from the Wild Card Gym due to the lack of concentration.

Trivia

Moorer was the first universally-recognized southpaw world heavyweight champion. He scored knockouts in each of his first 26 bouts, placing him in the exclusive list of boxers who have won at least 20 fights in a row by knockout, alongside such other fighters as Foreman, Wilfredo Gómez, Carlos Zarate, John Mugabi, Aaron Pryor and Edwin Valero.

After Boxing

Since his retirement, Moorer has frequently done guest commentating on ESPN's fight cards, and also is a boxing trainer.

On December 5, 2007, he was reportedly working as a body guard for golfer Tiger Woods.^[1] But in 2009, he became Freddie Roach's assistant trainer in the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California. He worked with Manny Pacquiao for a week before his fight with Ricky Hatton and has recently worked with British lightweight Amir Khan for his fight against Marco Antonio Barrera.^[2]

He is also a former boxer of the year in Harlem.

Amateur Achievements

• 1986 United States Amateur Light Middleweight (156 pound) champion.

Professional boxing record

52 Wins (40 knockouts, 12 decisions), 4 Losses (3 knockouts, 1 decision), 1 Draw [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	52-4-1	Shelby Gross	KO	1 (10)	08/02/2008	Shaikh Rashid Hall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Win	51-4-1	Roderick Willis	SD	10	31/10/2007	Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Win	50-4-1	Rich Boruff	TKO	1 (8)	16/08/2007	Centro de Convenciones Figali, Panama City, Panama	Boruff was knocked down three times.
Win	49-4-1	Sedreck Fields	UD	10	16/03/2007	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida, United States	Fields lost a point for holding in both the 5th & 10th rounds.
Win	48-4-1	Cliff Couser	KO	1 (10)	09/12/2006	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida, United States
Win	47-4-1	Vassiliy Jirov	TKO	9 (12)	09/12/2004	Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, United States	Won vacant WBC Continental Americas, WBA North American & NABA Heavyweight titles.
Loss	46-4-1	Eliseo Castillo	UD	10	03/07/2004	American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, United States
Win	46-3-1	Jose Arimatea Da Silva	TKO	7 (10)	17/01/2004	Seminole Casino, Coconut Creek, Florida, United States
Win	45-3-1	Rogerio Lobo	KO	1 (10)	23/08/2003	Seminole Casino, Coconut Creek, Florida, United States
Win	44-3-1	Otis Tisdale	UD	10	29/03/2003	Seminole Casino, Coconut Creek, Florida, United States
Loss	43-3-1	David Tua	KO	1 (10)	17/08/2002	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Tua pinned Moorer to the ropes and began pounding away. Moorer was knocked halfway out of the ring between the bottom and second ropes by right hook, and the fight was ended in 30 seconds.
Win	43-2-1	Robert Davis	UD	10	16/02/2002	Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win	42-2-1	Terry Porter	UD	10	09/12/2001	Great Plains Coliseum, Lawton, Oklahoma, United States
Draw	41-2-1	Dale Crowe	TD	5 (10)	27/07/2001	Soaring Eagle Casino, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States	Technical Draw when ringside doctor stopped the bout due to Crowe cut caused by accidental headbutt.
Win	41–2	Terrence Lewis	TKO	2 (10)	12/01/2001	Lucky Star Casino, Concho, Oklahoma, United States
Win	40–2	Lorenzo Boyd	TKO	4 (9)	17/11/2000	Memorial Auditorium, Burlington, Iowa, United States
Loss	39–2	Evander Holyfield	RTD	8 (12)	08/11/1997	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Lost IBF Heavyweight title. Holyfield's WBA World Heavyweight title was on the line. Moorer down 5 times during the fight.
Win	39–1	Vaughn Bean	MD	12	29/03/1997	Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retained IBF Heavyweight title.
Win	38–1	Francois Botha	TKO	12 (12)	09/11/1996	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retained IBF Heavyweight title.
Win	37–1	Axel Schulz	SD	12	22/06/1996	Westfalen Stadion, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	Won vacant IBF Heavyweight title.
Win	36–1	Melvin Foster	UD	10	13/05/1995	Arco Arena, Sacramento, California, United States
Loss	35–1	George Foreman	KO	10 (12)	05/11/1994	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Lost Lineal, WBA & IBF Heavyweight titles. Shortly after this fight, Foreman was stripped of his WBA title for refusing to face Tony Tucker.
Win	35–0	Evander Holyfield	MD	12	24/04/1994	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Won Lineal, WBA & IBF Heavyweight titles. Moorer down in 2nd round.
Win	34–0	Mike Evans	UD	10	04/12/1993	Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, United States
Win	33–0	James Pritchard	TKO	3 (10)	22/06/1993	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	32–0	Frankie Swindell	TKO	3 (10)	27/04/1993	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States	Fight stopped on cuts.
Win	31–0	James Smith	UD	10	27/02/1993	Showboat Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	30–0	Billy Wright	TKO	2 (10)	13/11/1992	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	29–0	Bert Cooper	TKO	5 (12)	15/05/1992	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Won vacant WBO Heavyweight title. Moorer down in 1st and 3rd; Cooper down in 1st and 5th.
Win	28–0	Everett Martin	UD	10	17/03/1992	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States	Moorer was knocked down in round 3.
Win	27–0	Mike White	UD	10	01/02/1992	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	26–0	Bobby Crabtree	TKO	1 (10)	23/11/1991	The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Win	25–0	Alex Stewart	TKO	4 (10)	27/07/1991	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Win	24–0	Levi Billups	TKO	3 (10)	25/06/1991	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States
Win	23–0	Terry Davis	TKO	2 (10)	19/04/1991	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Heavyweight debut by Moorer.
Win	22–0	Danny Stonewalker	TKO	8 (12)	15/12/1990	Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States	Retained WBO Light Heavyweight title.
Win	21–0	Jim MacDonald	TKO	3 (10)	21/08/1990	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States
Win	20–0	Mario Oscar Melo	KO	1 (12)	28/04/1990	Taj Mahal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Retained WBO Light Heavyweight title.
Win	19–0	Marcellus Allen	RTD	9 (12)	03/02/1990	Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Retained WBO Light Heavyweight title.
Win	18–0	Mike Sedillo	TKO	6 (12)	12/12/1989	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States	Retained WBO Light Heavyweight title.
Win	17–0	Jeff Thompson	TKO	1 (12)	16/11/1989	Resorts International, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Retained WBO Light Heavyweight title.
Win	16–0	Leslie Stewart	TKO	8 (12)	25/06/1989	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Retained WBO Light Heavyweight title.
Win	15–0	Freddie Delgado	TKO	1 (12)	22/04/1989	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States	Retained WBO Light Heavyweight title.
Win	14–0	Frankie Swindell	TKO	6 (12)	19/02/1989	Monessen High Gym, Monessen, Pennsylvania, United States	Retained WBO Light Heavyweight title.
Win	13–0	Victor Claudio	TKO	2 (12)	14/01/1989	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States	Retained WBO Light Heavyweight title.
Win	12–0	Ramzi Hassan	TKO	5 (12)	03/12/1988	Brook Park, Ohio, United States	Won vacant WBO Light Heavyweight title. Inaugural title.
Win	11–0	Glenn Kennedy	KO	1 (?)	04/11/1988	Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	10–0	Carl Williams	TKO	1 (?)	17/10/1988	Tucson, Arizona, United States
Win	9–0	Jorge Suero	TKO	2 (?)	07/10/1988	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States
Win	8–0	Jordan Keepers	TKO	2 (?)	12/08/1988	Eagles Club, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Win	7–0	Terrence Walker	TKO	4 (10)	06/08/1988	Showboat Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	6–0	LaVelle Stanley	TKO	2 (?)	25/06/1988	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, United States	Walker down in 1st round.
Win	5–0	Keith McMurray	TKO	2 (?)	06/06/1988	Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	4–0	Dennis Fikes	TKO	2 (?)	10/05/1988	Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	3–0	Brett Zwierzynski	KO	1 (6)	29/04/1988	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Win	2–0	Bill Lee	TKO	1 (?)	25/03/1988	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Win	1–0	Adrian Riggs	TKO	1 (4)	04/03/1988	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Pro debut for Moorer.

See also

• List of heavyweight boxing champions

References

1. ^ Woods gears up to defend his title at the Target World Challenge
2. ^ Moorer the merrier - SkySports.com

External links

• Michael Moorer's Website
• Professional boxing record for Michael Moorer from BoxRec
• Boxing Scene: Michael Moorer Leads "Night of The Heavyweights"

Awards and achievements
Preceded by N/A Inaugural champion	WBO Light Heavyweight Champion 3 Dec 1988–1991 Vacated	Succeeded by Leeonzer Barber
Preceded by Ray Mercer Vacated	WBO Heavyweight Champion 15 May 1992–2 Feb 1993 Vacated	Succeeded by Tommy Morrison
Preceded by Evander Holyfield	WBA/IBF/Lineal Heavyweight Champion 22 Apr 1994–5 Nov 1994	Succeeded by George Foreman
Preceded by George Foreman Stripped	IBF Heavyweight Champion 22 Jun 1996–8 Nov 1997	Succeeded by Evander Holyfield

Persondata
Name	Moorer, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 12, 1967
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death