Forrest Ward (born January 11, 1949) is a retired amateur
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
.
Early life
Ward was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1949.
Amateur career
In 1966 Ward won the
New York Golden Gloves
The New York Golden Gloves boxing tournament was considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Chicago Golden Gloves. Named for the small golden gloves given out to the winners of each weigh ...
175-lb Open Championship by defeating Houston Williams of the Police Athletic League Howard Houses in the finals. In 1967 Ward won the New York Golden Gloves Heavyweight Open Championship after beating Thomas Connelly in the finals. Later that year Ward won the Pan American Heavyweight Championship. Ward won the 1967
National AAU Heavyweight Championship
Below is a list of National Amateur Boxing Heavyweight Champions, also known as US Amateur Champions, along with the state or region which they represented. The United States National Boxing Championships bestow the title of United States Amateu ...
, beating Clay Hodges by a split decision in the semifinals and
Ken Norton
Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. (August 9, 1943 – September 18, 2013) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981, and held the WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978. He is best known for his fights with Muhammad Ali, i ...
in the finals.
Pro career
Ward had a disappointing and short career as a professional, which began in 1967 after a banner year as an amateur propelled him to professional territory. After six professional fights, he stepped up in class to face
Chuck Wepner in 1968 and lost after being dropped three times in the 7th round, triggering a three knockdown stoppage. After four consecutive wins, he faced
Bill Drover and lost via a
technical knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
. Ward retired after the loss.
References
External links
*
1949 births
Boxers from Brooklyn
Heavyweight boxers
Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers
Living people
American male boxers
Boxers at the 1967 Pan American Games
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in boxing
Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games
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