William Bernard "Willy" Wise (born January 29, 1967) is a retired American professional boxer from

Onancock, Virginia Onancock ( ) is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,263 at the 2010 census. History According to a nearby Virginia state highway marker, Onancock was founded in 1680. A courthouse was established some years ...

. Wise has an IBO world title, but is best known for his 1999 upset of Julio Cesar Chavez. Wise was partially reared in

Westbury, New York The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a Village (New York), village in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is located a ...

, from where he quickly rose to the top of the international amateur ranks and subsequently launched his professional career.

Amateur career

Wise was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including: 1983 Virginia State Golden Gloves Champion

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

1987

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

State Golden Gloves Champion
1987 Mayor's Cup in

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1987 Empire State Champion

Wise ended his amateur career with an 87–10 record.

Professional career

Shortly after entering the ranks of professional fighting, "Slick Willy" was given to him by his New York fans as a tribute to his ability to fight his way off of the ropes. One of the high points of his career was the October 1999 win over then number five ranked

Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...

. It was "Upset of the Year" He later lost to him in a 2003

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re-match. In the year 2000, he took IBO World Champion Belt which was one of the final highlights of his

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 hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

career, and also fought

Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF l ...

with a loss in the third round. His boxing career ended in 2003 with a 26-11-4 professional record. 2001 IBO World Champion

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Post Retirement Endeavors

Today Wise trains and promotes other fighters at his training facility, allowing troubled youth and aspiring boxers to attend his residential training camp to teach them the lessons of boxing and discipline for life in and outside the ring. He also works closely with young people in the local community near his home, using his own resources to take them to boxing competitions around the country. He currently resides on the

Eastern Shore of Virginia The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties ( Accomack and Northampton) on the Atlantic coast detached from the mainland of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is se ...

where he enjoys his favorite pastime of fishing for crabs off of the pier of his beachfront backyard and cooking them for sport.

Injury in Car Accident

In October 2014, Wise was seriously injured in a single car accident when he crashed his Maserati on a road near his home in Harborton, Virginia. He was airlifted by helicopter to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, VA with several broken vertebrae in his neck and back and traumatic brain injury. He was released from the hospital eight days later to begin physical therapy. A statement was released on social media stating that he hoped to return to the Wise Choice Boxing Fitness and Training Center in 2015.

Release of DVD/Launch of Fitness Brand

In July 2015, Wise announced that he would be releasing his first boxing fitness DVD, entitled W3P: Willy Wise Workout: 3 Degrees of Power. The DVD release marked the launch of Wise's W3P Fitness brand, which includes apparel, water among other products. , -

References

External links

* http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Willy_Wise {{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Willy 1967 births Living people American male boxers Welterweight boxers People from Westbury, New York People from Onancock, Virginia Boxers from Virginia