Zach Walters, alias ''Jungle Boy'', (born February 4, 1981) is an American former professional
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 competed from 2002 to 2009, holding the
African
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
and
NABA light heavyweight
Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
titles. Walters is now a boxing trainer and promoter. He owns the Jungle Boy Boxing Gym, a non-profit organization in Duluth and promotes fights as Jungle Boy Fights.
Personal life
Zach Walters was born in
Taolagnaro
Fort-Dauphin (Malagasy Tolagnaro or Taolagnaro) is a city (''commune urbaine'') on the southeast coast of Madagascar. It is the capital of the Anosy Region and of the Taolagnaro District. It has been a port of local importance since the early 1500 ...
,
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
, and spent the first eleven years of his life in the country as the son of missionary parents. He now calls
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
his home.
Professional career
Walters' professional career began on June 7, 2002 with a first round TKO victory over
Lonzie Pembleton. The fight was part of a show staged at
Wade Stadium
Wade Stadium is a baseball park located near the intersection of Grand Avenue and 34th Avenue West in the West Duluth neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota. The stadium was built in 1941 and holds 4,200 people. It is the home of the Duluth Huskies o ...
in Duluth, Minnesota.
After five wins to open his career, Walters suffered his first career loss to
Robert Linton by unanimous decision. Another victory for the 'Jungle Boy' earned a shot at the vacant Minnesota Light Heavyweight State Title, where Walters (7-1) defeated Marty Lindquist (11-3) by Round 2 TKO.
Walters strung together ten-straight wins before losing again to
Hugo Pineda (38-3-1) in November 2006. Walters soldiered on and after six-consecutive wins to earn a shot at the vacant
African light-heavyweight title. Walters' original announced opponent was
Marlon Hayes, but Hayes pulled out and was replaced by veteran
Carl Daniels
Carl Bryant Daniels (born August 26, 1970 in St. Louis, Missouri), is an American professional boxer in the Light Middleweight (154 lb) division. He held the WBA Light Middleweight title in 1995.
Amateur
Southpaw Daniels won the junior world ...
(50-11-1). The fight took place on February 23, 2008 and resulted in an 8th round TKO win for Walters.
On June 7, 2008 Walters defeated
Aaron Norwood by second round knockout. In so doing, Walters claimed his second regional title, the vacant NABA United States Light Heavyweight belt. The victory improved Walters pro record to 23-2.
In August 2008 Walters lost to tough journeyman
Shawn Hammack (16-6-2) in a bout that he seemed to be well on his way to winning, getting caught in the final round and stopped with 30 seconds to go. Another loss followed to
Byron Mitchell
Byron Deangelo-Tarone Mitchell (born October 31, 1973) is an American former professional boxer who fought from 1996 to 2012. He was the Lineal and two-time WBA super middleweight champion, winning the titles in 1999 and 2001.
Amateur career ...
(26-4-1) in February 2009 for the NABA United States Light Heavyweight title. Walters returned four months later to win in Duluth, but after a December 2009 loss to Larry Sharpe by 1st round TKO he announced his retirement.
Walters' career record was 24-5 with 19 wins by
knockout
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 striking, a ...
.
References
External links
*
Jungle Boy Boxing Gym
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Zach
1981 births
Living people
American male boxers
Light-heavyweight boxers
African Boxing Union champions
Boxers from Minnesota
People from Anosy
Sportspeople from Duluth, Minnesota