Michael Bennett (born March 26, 1971 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

) is an American former

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 ...

who won the amateur world championships in 1999 and represented 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 territorie ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

in the heavyweight division (limit 201 lbs).

Early years

He began boxing in 1996, 25 years old, while in prison, as a way of staying in shape while serving a sentence for

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

. He spent seven years in prison, was just happy to have the opportunity to compete.Just happy to be free: Once jailed, American boxer Bennett can't complain after quarterfinal loss
By Tim Dahlberg (The Associated Press,) ''Doylestown Intelligencer'', September 27, 2000, p. 22.

Amateur career

Bennett had a stellar amateur career prior to turning professional. He won the world championships in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

1999 with wins over Patrick Mesters, Uzbek Serik Umirbekov and German

Steffen Kretschmann Steffen Kretschmann (born 8 June 1980 in Köthen) is a German boxer best known for winning the bronze medal 1999 and 2003 at the amateur world championships in the 201 lbs/91 kg division. Amateur The southpaw won bronze 1999 in Houst ...

but won the final by

forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from ''Wonder What's Next'' * ''Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers L ...

only because Cuban superstar

Félix Savón Félix Savón Fabre (born 22 September 1967) is a retired Cuban amateur boxer, who competed from 1980 to 2000. Considered one of the all-time greatest amateur boxers, he became three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the World Champion six times ...

boycotted the final. As a member of the 2000 US Olympic team, he beat Poland's

Wojciech Bartnik Wojciech Stanisław Bartnik (born 2 December 1967 in Olesnica) is a former southpaw boxer from Poland, who won a Light Heavyweight Bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Amateur career *1992 – Bronze Medal (Light Heavyweight) at the ...

in the 1st round of matches on an 11–2 decision before losing to Cuban

on a 23–8 points stoppage (RSCO) in the 3rd round in his next match. "I can't be anything but pleased with. I reached for my star. I just fell short. I gave him too many straight shots and he's a one-punch guy. I did my best but he was the best. I wasn't in awe of him, but he's just a great guy and he deserves everything he's got. I've been able to live a lot of men's and women's dreams by coming and competing," Bennett said on his loss to Savón. In addition to his Olympic accomplishments, Bennett was also a National Amateur Heavyweight Boxing Champion in 2000 with a win over

Jason Estrada Jason Moses Estrada (born November 30, 1980) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2015. As an amateur, he competed at the 2004 Olympic Games in the super heavyweight division. He also won the gold medal at the 2003 ...

Professional career

Bennett turned professional in 2000 at cruiserweight, but his career did not last long. After a series of knockout losses against limited opposition, Bennett retired in 2003.

Professional boxing record

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Michael 1971 births Living people Former gang members Boxers from Chicago Super-heavyweight boxers Olympic boxers for the United States Boxers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers American male boxers African-American boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople