Bobby Joe Young (born March 4, 1959) is a former boxer from

Steubenville Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. Young is best known as the only man to have a professional win over

Aaron Pryor Aaron Pryor (October 20, 1955 – October 9, 2016) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 1990. He was a two-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 1980 to 1983, and the IBF title from 1984 ...

Amateur career

Young had a solid amateur career, and allegedly lost two close fights in the amateurs to

Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allowe ...

Professional career

Young turned professional in 1980 amidst high expectations, and lost his first bout to Pedro Vilella in the

Felt Forum The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden. It seats between 2,000 and 5,600, and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is located beneath the main Madis ...

. In 1987 he dealt Pryor his lone loss, by a knockout in seven. In 1989, Young got his first and only title shot, against Simon Brown for the IBF welterweight title. Young was knocked out in the 2nd round. He retired after the loss with 31 wins, 7 losses and 23 wins by knockout. At one point, Young was considered one of the welterweights of the future, along with Milton McCrory,

Donald Curry Donald Curry (born September 7, 1961), is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1991, and in 1997. He held the WBA world welterweight title from 1983 to 1986, the undisputed world welterweight title from 1985 to 1986 ...

, and

Marlon Starling Marlon Starling (born August 29, 1959) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1990. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1987 to 1988 and the WBC welterweight title from 1989 to 1990. Professional boxing career ...

. Bobby Joe Young now works at Curtis High School in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Bobby Joe 1959 births Living people Boxers from Ohio Sportspeople from Steubenville, Ohio American male boxers Welterweight boxers