James Onque Scott Jr. (October 17, 1947 – May 8, 2018) was an American boxer and convicted murderer. He became the number 2 ranked contender in the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

's (WBA) light heavyweight division while incarcerated at Rahway State Prison in

Avenel, New Jersey Avenel is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Trenton State Prison, he was granted parole to work as a boxer for a manager in Florida. He fought 11 professional fights in Miami. While on a visit to New Jersey, in violation of his parole, he was arrested and charged with the murder of Everett Russ, as well as armed robbery. Convicted of the robbery but with a

hung jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. T ...

on the murder charge, Scott was sent back to prison in New Jersey. After being transferred to Rahway State Prison, Scott formed the Rahway State Boxing Association with prison warden Robert Hatrak, and was allowed to continue boxing professionally at Rahway after connecting with promoter Murad Muhammad. Muhammad convinced Eddie Gregory, the WBA number 1 contender for the light heavyweight championship, to fight Scott at Rahway in a match televised by HBO. Despite being an underdog, Scott won the fight, leading to him being ranked by the WBA. He fought several more nationally televised matches and rose as high as number 2, but was later stripped of the ranking because of his criminal record and incarceration. After losing his rank and a brief retirement, Scott defeated another number 1 contender in

Yaqui López Álvaro López (born May 21, 1951, in Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico) is a Mexican former boxer and current member of the Boxing Hall of Fame. A native of Zacatecas, Zacatecas, López was very popular among Mexicans and is considered by many as ...

. After suffering his first loss more than five months after the López fight, Scott was retried for the murder of Russ and was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. He fought twice more, winning the first fight and losing the second. Scott was paroled in 2005 after serving 28 years. He was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012, and died in 2018.

Early life

Scott was born on October 17, 1947, to Ursaleen and James Onque Scott, Sr., in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Felix Fuld Felix Fuld (19 July 1868 – 20 January 1929) built one of America's well-known department stores – L. Bamberger & Company with his partner, Louis Bamberger. He was an early 20th century philanthropist contributing to many local, regional, and ...

public housing complex and later in the central ward. In 1978, he described his family as "a typical black family." He also stated that his parents were divorced and that his mother was on welfare. Scott's brother Malcolm was serving life in prison for murder. According to Scott, "I wasn't attracted to pimps or narcotic dealers; I was attracted to the gangs and their leaders." Scott was given his first pair of boxing gloves by his uncle at age 10. He spent much of his time behind bars starting at the age of 13, when he was sent to a reformatory for

truancy Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not refe ...

. At the age of 18, he was declared an incorrigible and sent to Trenton State Prison. While at Trenton, Scott befriended former Army boxer Al Dickens, who was serving a 51-year sentence for armed robbery. Dickens claimed that he convinced Scott to consider boxing instead of "running around breaking heads with an iron pipe". One of Scott's early amateur fights at Trenton was against

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (May 6, 1937 – April 20, 2014) was an American-Canadian middleweight boxer, wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for murder, until released following a petition of habeas corpus after almost 20 years in prison. I ...

, against whom he lasted three rounds. Scott stated that he only pursued boxing seriously after being released in 1968 and subsequently being arrested and convicted of armed robbery. He was sentenced to 13 to 17 years in prison. During this time, Scott became the light heavyweight champion of the New Jersey prison system. According to Pat Putnam of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'', Scott "destroy dopponents until there were no more challengers".

Professional career

Parole and initial fights

During his time in prison, Scott sent letters to various boxing promoters and reached out to them via

collect call A collect call in Canada and the United States, known as a reverse charge call in other parts of the English-speaking world, is a telephone call in which the calling party wants to place a call at the called party's expense. In the past, collect c ...

s. This led to Scott being offered to be managed by an architect named Murray Gaby, who was based in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. Gaby made arrangements using political connections to have Scott paroled and allowed to live in Florida. On January 8, 1974, Scott was granted work-parole. He trained at the

5th Street Gym The 5th Street Gym (also known as World Famous 5th St. Gym) is a boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as h ...

, the same gym where Muhammad Ali trained, and fought at the

Miami Beach Auditorium The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015-2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhance ...

. According to Ali's personal physician, who was present at Scott's first sparring session, Scott did not have money and arrived in a pair of cut-off denim shorts and basketball shoes, and had to have boxing gear put together from available equipment at the gym. Gaby said of Scott's performance in his first sparring session, "When Scott started throwing punches, there was dead silence in the gym. Other fighters stopped and watched. He went two rounds, had the guy out on his feet. Everybody gave him an ovation. Very dramatic." Scott's first professional fight was against John L. Johnson, who was undefeated at the time and weight 35 pounds more. Although Johnson knocked Scott down in the first round, Scott rebounded and

knocked out 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 strikin ...

Johnson in a later round. Scott fought twice against fellow light heavyweights in February, defeating both opponents Hydra Lacy and Willie "The Invader" Johnson. As Scott defeated more and more opponents and subsequently was fighting in the

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

, Gaby recalls that it was becoming more difficult for the promoter to find opponents willing to fight Scott. During this time in his life, Scott found adjusting to life outside of prison to be difficult, oftentimes being confrontational with others. He found it difficult to cope or communicate his feelings, except to his common-law wife. Having won his first eight fights, Scott was ranked as the number 8 light heavyweight contender according to '' The Ring''. In his next match, he fought to a draw against Dave Lee Royster. In the sixth round of the fight, Royster headbutted Scott, and Scott responded with a low blow, resulted in the referee deducting two points from Scott. Royster headbutted Scott again in the eighth round and cut him open above the right eye with the blow. Neither headbutt by Royster resulted in a points deduction. Scott would later claim that he was not inspired to win the fight because he did not receive a letter before the bout from Dickens, who had written to Scott before every professional fight with a plan to defeat his opponent. After the bout, Scott's promoter Chris Dundee called out Bob Foster and publicly offered him $100,000 for a fight with Scott. Scott fought twice more in Miami, earning two more victories. At this point, he had earned approximately $15,000 and was living with a woman in an apartment and had a vehicle. Scott also had a title bout scheduled against

John Conteh John Anthony Conteh, (born 27 May 1951) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980. He held the WBC light-heavyweight title from 1974 to 1978, and regionally the European, British and Commonwealth titles between 1 ...

, the

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

(WBC) light heavyweight champion, with a $100,000 purse. Despite warnings from Gaby and that it was a parole violation, Scott was driving to Newark for visits home.

Arrest for murder and armed robbery

While in New Jersey on a visit to the state on May 8, 1975, Scott was arrested and charged with murder and armed robbery. Sources vary on how Scott was arrested. In one account, Scott heard that Newark police wanted to speak with him. Deciding not to speak with an attorney first, Scott went to the Newark police headquarters. In another account, Scott was picked up by the police for a parole violation. After initially being held as a

material witness In American criminal law, a material witness is a person with information alleged to be material concerning a criminal proceeding. The authority to detain material witnesses dates to the First Judiciary Act of 1789, but the Bail Reform Act of ...

, he was arrested. According to Scott, the arrest occurred the day before his fight with Conteh was to be announced at a press conference. According to the Essex County prosecutor's office, Scott and others with him picked up Everett Russ, who was standing outside a bar with a friend. Scott asked Russ to take him to a drug dealer, so Russ led Scott to an apartment belonging to Leo Skinner, who planned to buy drugs from a building next door. While in the next building, Scott, Russ, Skinner, and William Spinks—one of the men traveling with Scott—took the elevator up but held it for Yvonne Barrett, who was headed to the same apartment they were. Skinner did not want a crowd at this apartment, so he stopped the elevator at the eighth floor. Spinks then pulled out a handgun and ordered Barrett and Skinner out; Scott stepped off as well, while Russ took the elevator down to wait in the car with another member of Scott's group. Scott received the gun from Spinks and pistol-whipped Skinner, ordered him to strip, and threatened to throw him off the building over concerns he would tell police. Afterward, Spinks pointed the gun at Barrett and took her to her sister's tenth-floor apartment, where $283 and bags containing a white powder substance were stolen. Scott then shot Russ in his car to prevent him from telling police. Russ' body was pushed out of the car, which then sped off, and a nearby motorist wrote down the license plate number, which came back to Scott's car. Newark police located the car and found blood stains and bullet holes. At his second trial in 1981, the prosecutor presented a slightly different version of events, attesting that Scott went into the building alone, robbed Barrett and assaulted Skinner before shooting Russ, who was expecting to receive drugs as well. Scott's version of events varies based on the source. In one account, he let Spinks borrow the car, and that Spinks partnered with someone from Newark with the nickname "Black Jack", whom Scott stated that he resembled. He also alleged that Newark police were conspiring against him. In another account, Scott claimed he was taking the fall for the robbery for a friend and refused to talk about who borrowed his car, saying, " rrible things happen to stool pigeons," referencing informants. Spinks was killed in an armed robbery one month later, before he could speak to police about Russ' death. Skinner stated that while "Black Jack" and Scott did look alike, he identified differences in their appearances and identified Scott as the man who beat him. In March 1976, Scott was found guilty of armed robbery, but the jury was

hung Hung may refer to: People * Hung (surname), various Chinese surnames * Hùng king, a king of Vietnam People with the given name Hung include: * Hung Huynh, Vietnamese-American chef, winner of the third season of the television show ''Top Chef'' ...

on the murder charge. As Scott was a repeat offender, judge Ralph L. Fusco sentenced him to 30 to 40 years in prison. Initially imprisoned at Trenton, he was transferred to Rahway State Prison on May 27, 1977. He was assigned the inmate number 57735.

Rahway State Boxing Association and fight with Eddie Gregory

At Rahway, the prison warden was Robert Hatrak, who had a reputation considered controversial for sympathy toward inmates and an openness toward rehabilitation. Several programs aimed at rehabilitation were operated by Hatrak, including vocational training such as automotive repair and barbershop skills, as well as a singing group and a " scared straight" program. He then conceived of a boxing program, not simply for recreation but where inmates could train to be fighters, corner men, referees, and

cutmen A cutman is a person responsible for preventing and treating physical damage to a fighter during the breaks between rounds of a full contact match such as a boxing, kickboxing or a mixed martial arts bout. Cutmen typically handle swelling, nose ...

as a profession. Upon hearing that Scott was being transferred to Rahway, Hatrak planned to partner with him to utilize Scott's connections in the sport. Scott was placed in charge of the new Rahway State Boxing Association. Inmates in the program received pay and credit toward a reduction of their sentence or parole. Scott's training regimen at Rahway was intense, and other inmates trained with him as well. He would begin by running for an hour every morning in the prison yard; according to one inmate, he was so focused that he would not break formation with the inmates running with him. He would then do a thousand pushups. According to Dickens, who was now serving time in Rahway with Scott, he estimated in 1978 that Scott had run nearly 900 miles in total, performed 51,000 pushups, 16,000 situps, and completed his daily routine with speed bag and heavy bag training. Scott would also spar with inmates and others as part of the program, but problems were found in locating sparring partners. Trenton State Prison's heavyweight champion was brought to Rahway to spar, only to have Scott break three of his ribs. Dave Lee Royster, who fought Scott to a draw in Miami and was an outside visitor, was knocked out by him during sparring and did not return. Seeing the progress of the boxing program, Hatrak extended an offer to Scott to allow him to continue his professional boxing career if he could secure a promoter. However, Scott could not receive temporary release from the prison for fights unless he was a minimum-security prisoner, so all of the fights would have to take place at the prison. Scott began making phone calls and writing letters, including to promoters

Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...

and

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

. An inmate at Rahway reached out to Murad Muhammad, a boxing promoter. Muhammad came to Rahway and met with Scott, and marveled at his physique. According to Muhammad, he asked Scott if he could fight, and Scott answered, "Yes, I can fight. Can you promote?" Muhammad identified Scott's skill at body punching and called him "the Great Scott", his boxing nickname. Muhammad arranged Scott's two first professional bouts in Rahway, both of which were not televised. In those fights, Scott defeated Diego Roberson and Fred Brown by knockouts. For the Brown fight, Scott earned $600. Muhammad began work on a major fight for Scott against Eddie "The Flame" Gregory, who was then the

(WBA) number 1 light heavyweight contender. As Rahway's prison auditorium would only hold 450 people, Muhammad needed to find a television network willing to host the fight, so he went to HBO. According to HBO's sports department head at the time, Dave Meister, he found the idea of the fight at Rahway "both off-putting and intriguing and enticing". In addition to securing HBO, Muhammad offered $15,000 to Gregory for the fight, while Scott was scheduled to make $2500. Gregory was lined up to make money from this fight in preparation for a bout against WBA light heavyweight champion

Mike Rossman Mike Rossman (born Michael Albert DePiano on July 1, 1955) is an American former professional boxer who was the WBA light heavyweight champion of the world. He is of both Italian and Jewish descent, which led to his monikers "The Kosher Butcher ...

. Though initially scheduled to be 10 rounds, the bout was set for 12 rounds only five days before the fight. On fight day, October 12, 1978, Rahway's auditorium was at full capacity, with an additional 1,150 inmates watching on screens in the drill hall. HBO Sports sent

Don Dunphy Don Dunphy (July 5, 1908 – July 22, 1998) was an American television and radio sports announcer specializing in boxing broadcasts. Dunphy was noted for his fast-paced delivery and enthusiasm for the sport. It is estimated that he did "blow-by ...

Larry Merchant Larry Merchant (born Larry Kaufman; February 11, 1931) is an American sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO sports presentations of ''HBO World Championship Boxing'', ''Boxing After Dark'' and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, called "the grea ...

, and

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professional ...

to commentate the fight. Gregory was a 4:1 favorite in betting odds, while inmates bet cartons of cigarettes on similar lines. Scott came out swinging at the start of the fight, and made a bump under Gregory's eye in the fourth round. According to Scott, he then realized he had to pace himself because this fight was likely to go the full scheduled 12 rounds. During the last round, Gregory's corner screamed at him to go for a knockout. The bout ended without one and went to the judge's scores, where all three judges awarded the victory to Scott. After the fight, Scott called out Rossman. Rossman's father and manager, who was in attendance, said, "It's going to take an awful awful lot of money before I'll let my son in the same ring with that monster." Scott identified that money would be a factor in his ability to compete for a championship. He received his first ranking from the WBA for the victory.

Nationally televised bouts and WBA ranking

Following his bout with Gregory, Scott had fights hosted on national television. In his first fight after the win against Gregory, Scott defeated Richie Kates by TKO in the 10th round. When asked if he thought the referee did the right thing in stopping the fight, Scott said, "Yes, I do. I was trying to kill him." Scott earned $8000 for the fight, 10% of which was donated to a crime victims' fund. A month after the Kates fight, Hatrak was reassigned and no longer was the warden at Rahway. The new warden, Sidney Hicks, was a guard who had pressed assault charges on Scott at Trenton State Prison for hitting another inmate with a pipe. Shortly after Hatrak was replaced, Scott hired an attorney with what money he had and appealed to be released on bail. This request was denied. Scott was still allowed to fight professionally after Hatrak's departure. His next fight against Bunny Johnson, aired nationally on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, resulted in Scott winning by knockout in the seventh round. Johnson was the fifth choice for an opponent for Scott. Ranked number 3, Scott knocked out Italian light heavyweight champion at the end of the fifth round. In his entire career, at least four of Scott's professional bouts held in prison were broadcast by NBC Sports, two by

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

and one by HBO.

ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Televisi ...

declined to provide Scott with national television coverage due to his felony conviction and incarceration. Scott was ranked as high as number 2 in the WBA rankings. However, he started to receive controversy on why he should be allowed to fight and make money while incarcerated. While Scott was paid for his fights, his earnings were sent to the

New Jersey Department of Corrections The New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) is responsible for operations and management of prison facilities in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The department operates 13 major institutions—seven adult male correctional facilities, three ...

, and he was given strict limitations on how he could use the money. Approved uses included hiring attorneys for his appeals and paying back his public defenders, donations to a crime victim's fund, and training expenses. Scott said of the situation in a 1980 phone interview, "A lot of people resented the idea of my making money while I was in prison. They didn’t feel I was being punished enough. What am I going to spend it on, anyway? People on the outside just want the people on the inside to be punished all the time."

Loss of ranking and fight with Yaqui López

Scott's next fight was scheduled for December 1, 1979, against

, the WBA number 1 contender for the light heavyweight championship. Shortly before the fight, WBA light heavyweight champion

Víctor Galíndez Víctor Emilio Galíndez (2 November 1948 in Vedia – 25 October 1980 in Veinticinco de Mayo, Buenos Aires) was an Argentine boxer who was the third Latin American to win the world Light Heavyweight championship, after Puerto Rico's José ...

was stripped of the title, so Muhammad asked the WBA if Scott's fight with López could be a 15-round bout for the championship. Then, in September 1979, the WBA decided to reconsider whether Scott should have a ranking at all based on his criminal record. The major concern at the WBA was the championship being held by someone in prison; the competing WBC had never ranked Scott due to his incarceration. According to boxing promoter Bob Arum, the WBA had only then found out that Scott's incarceration was scheduled for 30–40 years. The WBA removed Scott from its rankings in October 1979. The vote on the issue was 60 to 1 in favor of removal, with the lone vote for retention coming from New Jersey deputy boxing commissioner Bob Lee. The WBA cited concerns that as an imprisoned convict, Scott did not set a "good example", and that his opponents were disadvantaged because they had to come to the prison for all of his bouts. ''

'' questioned whether those were the real motives for removing Scott from the rankings, given that the same conditions had applied when the WBA had started to rank him the year before. Scott speculated that the removal of his ranking had to do with the influence of Arum on the WBA, and that Arum offered a contract to Scott in 1979 but Muhammad convinced Scott not to accept it. Scott blamed Muhammad for not looking out for his best interest, while Muhammad claimed that he had exclusive rights to Scott via an agreement with the Department of Corrections. Without being ranked, Scott was not allowed to compete for a championship. Afterward, the WBA reinstated Galíndez as the light heavyweight champion. As a result of losing his ranking, Scott announced his retirement from boxing. Nevertheless, Scott changed his mind shortly afterward and announced that he was "unretired" and would fulfill his contracts. His next fight was against Jerry Celestine, who he defeated by decision and claimed he was not trying to score a knockout to preserve his hand for a fight with López. After the fight, Scott spelled out his issues with Muhammad and discussed working with his lawyer for permission to fight outside Rahway. Muhammad expressed support for Scott and a desire to continue to help him, as well as optimism that the WBA decision to strip his ranking would be overturned. The next month, Scott fought López, and defeated him by decision in a fight broadcast on NBC. No knockdowns occurred in the bout, but Scott cut López open as early as the first round. After the match, Scott declared that he should be the number 1 contender and called out new WBA light heavyweight champion Marvin Johnson and WBC heavyweight champion

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "Ea ...

. López stated that he wanted a rematch.

Murder conviction and later career

On May 25, 1980, five and a half months after the López fight, Scott had his first professional loss, an upset in which he was defeated by Jerry "The Bull" Martin. Scott was knocked down twice by Martin during the fight, once in the first round and once in the fifth. He was defeated by decision. Scott was paid $40,000 for the fight, of which 10% was donated to a crime victims' fund. After being ordered by a judge to stand trial, in 1981, he was retried for the murder of Everett Russ and was found guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison on March 20, 1981. Scott continued to maintain his innocence, insisting he was appealing the verdict and would continue to pursue the light heavyweight championship, though the loss to Martin and subsequent conviction for murder marked the functional end of Scott's consideration as a serious contender. In August, Scott defeated Dave Lee Royster, who had fought Scott to a draw in 1974. Scott's last professional fight was on September 5, 1981, when he lost a unanimous decision to Dwight Braxton. Braxton had formerly been an inmate at Rahway State Prison, serving five and a half years for armed robbery, and he knew Scott at the prison. Scott finished his boxing career with a record of 19 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw.

Later life, death, and legacy

In 1984, Scott was transferred back to Trenton State Prison, and later to

South Woods State Prison South Woods State Prison is a state prison for male offenders located in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. It is operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. History In the 1990s state officials planned to open a ...

. He was released from prison on parole in 2005 after serving 28 years. Scott's parole officer, trying to find a way to fill his time, took Scott to a boxing gym with a youth program. There, Scott worked with kids on training and gave tips on boxing to them. He would also travel to watch their matches around the state. On November 8, 2012, Scott was inducted in the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame. President of the Hall of Fame, Henry Hascup, stated that Scott's boxing alone would have qualified him for the Hall of Fame much earlier, but his questionable past made entry difficult. Hascup was swayed to make it happen after speaking with the trainers and kids from the boxing gym. In his final years, Scott suffered from

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

and at the end of his life lived in a New Jersey nursing home. He died on May 8, 2018, at the age of 70. According to Hascup, Scott would have been a household name in boxing had he not been in trouble most of his life. Boxing analyst Steve Farhood has expressed doubt that Scott's story could happen in the modern day. "I don’t think people would be as lenient and as understanding," he said. "For that matter, I think without the willpower James Scott had maybe none of this would have ever happened maybe it never would have been launched in the first place. To think of how far this guy took this mission given his circumstances was amazing. It throws stereotypes out the window and it’s a lesson I think in understanding the kind of man that is behind bars. You just can’t generalize."

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 19 Wins (11 knockouts, 8 decisions), 2 Losses (0 knockouts, 2 decisions), 1 Draw , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , -align=center , Loss , , align=left, Dwight Braxton , UD , 10 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Woodbridge Township is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is both a regional hub for Central New Jersey and a major bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area located within the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Dave Lee Royster , TKO , 7 , 1981-08-10 , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Loss , , align=left, Jerry "The Bull" Martin , UD , 10 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left,

Yaqui Lopez The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are a Native American people of the southwest, who speak a Uto-Aztecan language. Their homelands include the Río Yaqui valley in Sonora, Mexico, and the area below the Gila River in Arizona, Southwestern United Stat ...

, UD , 10 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Jerry Celestine , UD , 10 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, , TKO , 5 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Bunny Johnson , TKO , 7 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Richie Kates , TKO , 10 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Eddie Gregory , UD , 12 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Fred "Cleveland" Brown , KO , 4 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Diego Roberson , KO , 2 , , align=left, Rahway State Prison,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Jesse Burnett , UD , 10 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Raul Arturo Loyola , PTS , 10 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Draw , , align=left, Dave Lee Royster , PTS , 10 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, "Beautiful" Bobby Lloyd , PTS , 10 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Koli Vailea , KO , 5 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, "Sugar" Ray Anderson , UD , 10 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, "Fabulous" Frank Evans , PTS , 10 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Kirkland "Baby Boy" Rolle , TKO , 8 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Willie "The Invader" Johnson , TKO , 4 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, Hydra Lacy , KO , 3 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

, -align=center , Win , , align=left, John L Johnson , KO , 6 , , align=left,

, Miami Beach, Florida,

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James 1947 births 2018 deaths American sportspeople convicted of crimes American people convicted of robbery Boxers from Newark, New Jersey Prisoners and detainees of New Jersey American male boxers Light-heavyweight boxers