Joe "The Boss" Hipp (born December 7, 1962) is a retired professional Native American

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 ...

. A member of the

Blackfeet Tribe The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Monta ...

, he became the first Native American to challenge for a world heavyweight boxing championship on August 19, 1995 when he fought WBA champion

Bruce Seldon Bruce Samuel Seldon (born January 30, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1996, and 2004 to 2009. He held the WBA heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996, most notably losing to Mike Tyson via knockout in his se ...

at the

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. Sporting events From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...

. In May 2009, he was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Hipp began his professional career with a 4-round decision over Steve Cortez at the Lane County Fairgrounds in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

on August 29, 1987. For his second fight 2 months later, Hipp travelled to

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

to face

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

native Veti Katoa. The fight was stopped by the ringside doctor after Hipp suffered a broken jaw in the third round. Hipp rebounded successfully from the defeat by notching 3 consecutive first-round knockout victories before facing Katoa in a rematch at Gardnerville Park in

Gardnerville, Nevada Gardnerville is an unincorporated town in Douglas County, Nevada, adjacent to the county seat of Minden. The population was 6,211 at the time of th2020 Census U.S. Route 395 runs through the center of Gardnerville. State Route 207, known as Ki ...

on July 2, 1988. Hipp dominated the action on the inside with his hard-hitting, banging style to take a 5-round unanimous decision. Hipp then took a year-long hiatus from boxing before returning to face Andrew Matthews on the

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music) In music a fourth is an interval spanning four staff po ...

of the following year. Outweighing his opponent by over 30 pounds, Hipp punched his way to a first-round stoppage. Exactly two weeks later, Hipp scored a unanimous four-round decision over up-and-coming contender Cleveland Woods in what

Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...

referred to as "...the upset of the night" on the card for that evening. Hipp began another winning streak (including a brutal third-round knockout of Katoa in their third and final meeting) before facing

Bert Cooper Bertram Cooper (January 10, 1966 – May 10, 2019), nicknamed Smokin' Bert Cooper, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2012. He fought Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer, Chris Byrd, Ray M ...

in Cooper's final bout prior to his fight with

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...

for the world title one month later. Cooper outslugged Hipp en route to a fifth-round stoppage by referee

Joe Cortez Joe Cortez (born October 13, 1945) is an American former boxing referee who has officiated in many important world title bouts. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. Biography Cortez is of Puerto Rican descent. H ...

. Hipp again rebounded by winning 3 consecutive contests before facing

Tommy Morrison Tommy "The Duke" Morrison (January 2, 1969 – September 1, 2013) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2008, and held the WBO heavyweight title in 1993. He retired from boxing in 1996 when he tested positive for HIV. Mor ...

on June 27, 1992 in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. In a slugfest that saw Morrison break his jaw and one of his hands, Hipp lost by a 9th-round TKO, resulting in broken cheekbones for Hipp. After recovering from his injuries, Hipp fought once in 1993, earning a victory with a ten-round decision in a rematch with Kevin Ford. Hipp began 1994 with a victory over Alex Garcia for the fringe NABF heavyweight title and finished the year with two more wins. He began the following year by continuing his winning ways with a third-round TKO of journeyman Phillip Brown. This win would lead to Hipp's most important bout, the fight that would land him in the history books as the first Native American to challenge for one of the four recognized heavyweight title belts.

WBA Heavyweight Title Bout

On August 19, 1995 at the

in Las Vegas on the undercard of the infamous

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...

Peter McNeeley Peter McNeeley (born October 6, 1968) is an American former heavyweight boxer, best known for his 1995 fight with Mike Tyson, before which McNeeley had said he would wrap Tyson in a "cocoon of horror." McNeeley fought aggressively but was kno ...

fight (Tyson's first fight after being released from prison for rape), Hipp squared off against

for the WBA Heavyweight championship. With Seldon well ahead on all scorecards, the fight was stopped in the tenth round by referee

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''. Early life Steele was born in Du ...

after Hipp experienced massive swelling and bleeding on his face.

Career Decline

Hipp's career was rather undistinguished afterwards. He fired off a series of victories over third-rate competition before being knocked out by hard-hitting journeyman

Ross Puritty Ross Puritty (born December 18, 1966) is an American former professional boxer. A high-level journeyman and occasional heavyweight contender, Puritty is best remembered for his shocking upset of Wladimir Klitschko in 1998 that won him the WBC in ...

on June 15, 1997. Hipp had secured a comfortable lead on the scorecards before Puritty came out swinging for the tenth and final round of their bout. An exhausted Hipp was no match for Puritty in the last round and he suffered his first KO defeat. Hipp racked up three consecutive victories against nondescript competition after the Puritty fight, but then blew out his knee against

Jeff Pegues Jeffrey Pegues is a CBS News correspondent, author and host of the CBS News Podcast America Changed Forever. Pegues is based in Washington, D.C., where he reports for all CBS News platforms. Pegues was named Chief National Affairs and Justice Cor ...

in a fifth-round TKO loss on December 9, 1999. He attempted a comeback four years later, but that came to an abrupt end in his second fight as he dropped a six-round decision to journeyman Billy Zumbrun on November 14, 2003. Hipp, referred to as "The Boss" by his loyal fans, returned from another extended layoff to win a six-round decision over Ted Reiter on August 13, 2005, in what was his final fight.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 43 Wins (29 knockouts, 14 decisions), 7 Losses (6 knockouts, 1 decision) , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", 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" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Win , align=left, , align=left, Ted Reiter , MD , 6 , 13/08/2005 , align=left,

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Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Chris Brown , KO , 2 , 22/08/2003 , align=left,

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Jeff Pegues , TKO , 5 , 09/12/1999 , align=left,

Mount Pleasant, Michigan Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Central Michigan, the city is the county seat of Isabella County. The population was 21,688 as of the 2020 United States census. It is surrounded by Union Township but is politic ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Everett Martin , UD , 12 , 25/06/1999 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Jack Basting , UD , 10 , 27/03/1998 , align=left,

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, George McFall , TKO , 2 , 11/02/1998 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Marcus Rhode , TKO , 1 , 29/03/1997 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Lorenzo Boyd , KO , 1 , 10/03/1997 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Will Hinton , TKO , 1 , 13/12/1996 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bill Corrigan , KO , 1 , 04/08/1996 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Anthony Moore , TKO , 5 , 17/07/1996 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, José Ribalta , KO , 2 , 10/05/1994 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Keith McMurray , KO , 4 , 14/01/1994 , align=left,

Saint George, Utah St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northe ...

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Cleveland Woods , KO , 1 , 15/07/1991 , align=left,

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bill Duncan , KO , 1 , 02/07/1991 , align=left,

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David Bey David Bey (March 11, 1957 – September 13, 2017) was a heavyweight boxer who held the USBA title. He unsuccessfully challenged Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title in 1985. Bey was an outstanding amateur boxer who had taken up the sport to ...

, TKO , 7 , 26/02/1991 , align=left,

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Mike Cohen , KO , 4 , 14/01/1991 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Richard Cade , KO , 2 , 16/11/1990 , align=left,

Fort Lewis, Washington Fort Lewis was a United States Army post from 1917 to 2010 located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. Fort Lewis was merged with McChord Air Force Base on 1 February 2010 to form Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Fort Lewis, named after Meriweth ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Harry Terrell , KO , 2 , 11/09/1990 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Gerardo Valero , KO , 1 , 26/07/1990 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Tracy Thomas , UD , 10 , 12/06/1990 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Danny Wofford , PTS , 6 , 24/04/1990 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Veti Katoa , KO , 3 , 16/03/1990 , align=left,

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Dan Ross , KO , 1 , 12/02/1990 , align=left,

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Marvin Camel Marvin Camel (born December 24, 1951) is a retired boxer and member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Northwestern Montana. He was born in Ronan and fought out of Missoula Missoula ( ; f ...

, TKO , 6 , 02/12/1989 , align=left,

Lacey, Washington Lacey is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Olympia with a population of 53,526 at the 2020 census. Lacey is located along Interstate 5 between Olympia and the Nisqually River, which marks the border with ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Sean McClain , TKO , 4 , 26/09/1989 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Shaun Ayers , UD , 10 , 26/08/1989 , align=left,

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, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Andrew Matthews , TKO , 1 , 04/07/1989 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Veti Kotoa , UD , 5 , 02/07/1988 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Steve Cortez , TKO , 1 , 18/06/1988 , align=left,

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Paul Bradshaw , TKO , 1 , 04/06/1988 , align=left,

Albany, Oregon Albany is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the eleventh largest city in that state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, just ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, John Elkins , TKO , 1 , 02/06/1988 , align=left,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Veti Katoa , TKO , 3 , 24/10/1987 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Steve Cortez , UD , 4 , 29/08/1987 , align=left,

, U.S. , align=left,

Outside the Ring

In 2004,

Rocky Mountain College Rocky Mountain College (Rocky or RMC) is a private college in Billings, Montana. It offers 50 liberal arts and professional majors in 24 undergraduate disciplines. In fall 2013, the college had 1069 enrolled students. It is affiliated with the ...

and the Billings Writer's Voice sponsored a poetry reading held by various Native American groups in tribute to Hipp. In December 2005, Hipp was a FEMA worker for the

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

disaster. Responding to the call, he joined his fellow Blackfeet members who were called upon due to their experience in wildfires and search and rescue missions. By 2007 Hipp was working for his former manager Ray Frye at a Seattle area sweeping company. He also co-owned a small construction company.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hipp, Joe 1962 births 20th-century Native Americans Living people Boxers from Montana Native American boxers Southpaw boxers Heavyweight boxers People from Browning, Montana American male boxers