James Kenty, also known as Hilmer Kenty (born July 30, 1955 in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

) is the former WBA

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

(135 lb) champion of the world. He was selected a member of the All-American AAU boxing team for 1973, and was named the top lightweight amateur boxer in the nation in 1973 by the National AAU Boxing Committee.

Early years

Kenty was raised in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, and graduated from Linden McKinley High school, where he played on the reserve football team his sophomore year. Kenty started his amateur boxing career at age 12. He was coached by the greatest amateur coach in history of amateur boxing, Bill Cummings Jr. Kenty won his first Golden Golves title at age 13. In 1972 Kenty went to the finals of the US Olympic trials in the Bantam weight division(119 pounds),losing on a decision to US Olympic Representative Ricardo Carreras. In 1973 Kenty moved up to the 132 pound lightweight division. In 1974 and 1975 Kenty became the National AAU lightweight champion. In 1975 he was considered and awarded the “Outstanding boxer” of the National AAU tournament.

Amateur career

Kenty won the National AAU Lightweight championship in 1974 and 1975. He beat

Aaron Pryor Aaron Pryor (October 20, 1955 – October 9, 2016) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 1990. He was a two-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 1980 to 1983, and the IBF title from 1984 ...

in the 1974 National A.A.U.

Professional career

Kenty turned pro in 1977. In 1980, Kenty captured the WBA Lightweight Title with a TKO over Ernesto España, becoming

Emanuel Steward Emanuel "Manny" Steward (July 7, 1944 – October 25, 2012) was an American boxer, trainer, and commentator for HBO Boxing. He was also called the Godfather of Detroit Boxing. Steward trained 41 world champion fighters throughout his care ...

's first world champion, and the first world champion from Detroit since

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

decades earlier. Kenty and

Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allowe ...

both won WBA belts together and became known as the Motor City Cobras. Kenty defended his belt three times before losing it to Sean O'Grady in 1981, and retired in 1984. His only other loss in 31 fights came at the hands of fellow Texan,

Roberto Elizondo Roberto Elizondo (born December 8, 1955) is an American former professional boxer of Mexican descent. Elizondo competed in the sport of professional boxing from 1977 to 1987, and he fought for the World Boxing Council's world Lightweight title twic ...

, by a second round technical knockout when the bout was stopped after Kenty felt ill during the contest.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenty, Hilmer 1955 births Lightweight boxers Living people World lightweight boxing champions World boxing champions American male boxers