Eddie Chambers

Edward Chambers (born March 29, 1982) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for a unified world heavyweight title in 2010. He was ranked as the fourth best heavyweight in the world by '' The Ring'' at the conclusion of 2009. A defensively-oriented fighter, Chambers has been widely credited for his counterpunching skills and particularly praised for his hand speed and footwork. He has also been one of the first heavyweights with ability to switch between fighting orthodox and southpaw.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Chambers was trained by his father Eddie Chambers, Sr. In total, Chambers won over 80 bouts, winning the 1999 amateur Pennsylvania state heavyweight title.Boehm, Mike (2009)
"Eddie Chambers"
proboxing-fans.com. Retrieved February 23, 2017.

Professional career

Eddie made his professional boxing debut in 2000 at the age of 18, defeating Tyrone Austin by second-round TKO. In the span of five years, Chambers won 22 fights in a row before facing his first notable opponent, Ross Puritty, who had faced another prospect Alexander Dimitrenko six months prior in a losing effort. Chambers won the fight by unanimous decision (UD), with scores 99–91, 98–92 and 99–91. He then defeated local rival Robert Hawkins, winning the Pennsylvania heavyweight title. In 2006, Chambers faced another notable fighter, former WBO world heavyweight title challenger Ed Mahone. Coming into the fight, Mahone had 23–6–2 record, with all of his wins coming inside the distance. Chambers won the fight by fourth-round TKO.

With a perfect 27–0 record, Chambers faced another undefeated fighter, 15–0 Derric Rossy, for the USBA heavyweight title. Chambers dominated Rossy throughout the fight, ultimately giving him his first career loss after the referee stopped the fight in round 7, preventing battered and bruised Rossy from continuing absorbing punishment. Rossy eventually suffered his second loss at the hands of Alexander Dimitrenko by fifth-round TKO. Meahwhile, Chambers faced his toughest challenge to date in Dominick Guinn just three months later. Guinn, once described as "hot prospect" and viewed as one of the top-rising American heavyweight contenders, was 3–2–1 in his last six fights, losing to James Toney and Tony Thompson by unanimous decisions but defeating then-highly regarded prospest, Olympic Gold medalist Audley Harrison. Guinn was also known for his durability, having never been stopped in his entire career. Chambers defeated Guinn by a lopsided unanimous decision.

The win over Dominick Guinn earned Chambers a spot in the 4-man elimination tournament to face Wladimir Klitschko for the IBF world heavyweight championship. In semifinals, Chambers faced Calvin Brock, who had challenged Klitschko for the IBF title a year prior. Brock, who had beaten a handful of heavyweight contenders and prospects throughout his career, such as Jameel McCline, Timur Ibragimov and Clifford Etienne, claimed to be in the best shape of his career. Brock weighed in at 241 lbs, the heaviest in his entire career and almost 17 lbs heavier than in his bout against Klitschko. The additional weight appeared to be muscle.

The fight took place at Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington and was aired live on Showtime. Chambers appeared to have the upper hand in the fight, effectively using his hand speed and upper-body movement, and was declared the winner by split decision, with two judges scoring the bout 115–113 in favor of Chambers, while the third judge had the same score but in favor of Brock. Chambers damaged Brock's right eye during the bout, which, after subsequent botched surgery, prompted Brock to retire from the sport.

In the final, which took place less than three months later, Chambers faced undefeated Alexander Povetkin, who had beaten former IBF world champion Chris Byrd in semifinals by eleventh-round TKO. The bout took place in Berlin, Germany. Chambers was doing the better work in early rounds, landing cleaner, harder shots, but was eventually overwhelmed by Povetkin's relentless pressure. Ultimately the bout went the distance, with Povetkin being declared the winner by unanimous decision. The scores were 117–111, 116–112 and 119–109.

After his fight with Povetkin he won three more bouts, including one against Raphael Butler, before facing Samuel Peter on March 27, 2009. Peter, ranked No.6 heavyweight in the world by ''The Ring'', was 5-1 in the last six bouts, having had scored wins over James Toney (twice) and former heavyweight contender Jameel McCline before beating Oleg Maskaev by sixth-round TKO to become WBC world heavyweight champion. Prior to facing Chambers, however, Peter had lost the world championship to Vitali Klitschko

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