Phil Jackson (boxer)

Phil Jackson, born May 11, 1964 in Miami Beach, FL, was a professional heavyweight boxer, best known for challenging Lennox Lewis for the WBC Heavyweight Title in 1994.

Amateur career

Jackson was the Heavyweight alternate on the 1988 United States Olympic team

Pro career

Known as "The Enforcer", Jackson began his career in 1988 on a tear, winning his first 25 fights mostly by KO, setting up a bout with hard-punching Canadian top contender Razor Ruddock in 1992. Ruddock dominated, and Jackson was knocked down once in the 3rd, and once in the 4th, staying down for the 10 count. He then fought no-name opposition to set up the fight in 1994 with Lewis.

Lewis received a lot of flak for the fight, given Jackson's loss to Ruddock who had been destroyed by Lewis but Jackson was Top 10 in the Ring Magazine at the time. The fight was shown on HBO and was unimpressive, with Lewis plodding after Jackson en route to an 8th round TKO. In 1995 his career began to sputter as he slipped to a journeyman. He lost bouts against future contenders Chris Byrd, Brian Nielsen, and Jeremy Williams (boxer). In 1998 he beat Alex Stewart, setting up a shot at a fringe belt in 1999 against Monte Barrett. Barrett won easily, and Jackson went on to lose to a "who's who" list of heavyweight contenders, including Fres Oquendo, Wladimir Klitschko, Larry Donald, Derrick Jefferson, and Dominick Guinn. The loss to Guinn in 2004, a fight in which Guinn knocked Jackson out in twenty-three seconds, was Jackson's last bout.

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