Derrick Lavon Jefferson (born March 10, 1968) is an American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He challenged once for the WBO title in 2001, and is perhaps best remembered for his brutal left hook-knockout of

Maurice Harris Wilbur Maurice Harris (born February 21, 1976), nicknamed "Sugar Moe", is the former United States Boxing Association heavyweight champion. A professional competitor since 1992, he holds notable victories over Siarhei Liakhovich, David Izon, Jam ...

in 1999.

Early life

Jefferson grew up in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, having attended Martin Luther King High School. In high school, Jefferson played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and football, and was a Division I basketball player during his college years. Jefferson dropped from college after being shot in the leg during an argument at a party store in November 1993, ending his basketball career. His brother Kenyatta, a football player, was shot in the head and ended up partially paralyzed.

Amateur career

Jefferson took up boxing in 1994, after a coach of the local boxing gym, Claude Strickland, spotted him shooting hoops at YMCA. That same year, Jefferson won the

National Golden Gloves super heavyweight championship This is a list of United States national Golden Gloves champions in the super heavyweight division, along with the state or region they represented. There was originally no weight limit for heavyweights until 1982, when the super heavyweight div ...

, defeating Michael Grant on points (and handling Grant his only amateur loss) in semifinals, and

DaVarryl Williamson DaVarryl Jerome Williamson (born July 25, 1968) is an American former professional boxer. A highly-touted amateur, he challenged once for the IBF world heavyweight title in 2005. Early and personal life Williamson was raised in poverty in th ...

by TKO in the final. Overall, Jefferson spent 1.5 years at amateur level, before turning professional in 1995.

Professional career

Jefferson made his professional boxing debut on 19 June 1995 against Ismail Muhammad, knocking him out in the first round. Within three years Jefferson had won 16 fights, winning all but two of them by knockout inside three rounds. Jefferson, at 6'6" and generally weighing 240 pounds, quickly rose to prominence by combining explosive power with furious combinations. In 1998, he faced his first formidable opponent Marion Wilson. With 11–27–3 record, Wilson was known for his durability and toughness, having never lost inside the distance and occasionally pulling upsets, such as wins over Corey Sanders and Paea Wolfgramm or split draw against

Ray Mercer Raymond Anthony Mercer (born April 4, 1961) is an American former professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist who competed from 1989 to 2009. Best known for his boxing career, Mercer won a heavyweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer O ...

. Jefferson won the fight by unanimous decision, with two judges scoring the bout 79–73 and one judge having a score 77–75. Having been described as a brawler and a fan friendly attraction, Jefferson became a frequently featured fighter on HBO. Jefferson then stepped up in competition, knocking out former world heavyweight title challenger

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 ...

in the second round. Within two months, Jefferson faced once-highly regarded prospect

Obed Sullivan Obed Benjamin Sullivan (born January 17, 1968) is an American former professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Fighting Marine", Sullivan was at times a highly ranked heavyweight who fought many significant fighters of his era. Sullivan turned pro in 1 ...

. This was the first twelve-round fight in Jefferson's professional career. He won the fight by split decision, with the scorecards being 117–112, 117–113 in favor of Jefferson and 115–114 in favor of Sullivan. Six months later, Jefferson was scheduled to face

. Despite having 16–9–2 record, Harris was considered a formidable fighter, with

Jim Lampley James Lampley (born April 8, 1949) is an American sportscaster, news anchor, film producer, and restaurant owner. He was best known as a blow-by-blow announcer on ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' for 30 years. He also had covered a record 14 O ...

describing him as "the best 16–9 fighter out there". Harris' record included wins over then-undefeated David Izon and popular gatekeeper

Jimmy Thunder Ti'a James Senio Peau (3 February 1966 – 13 February 2020), known professionally as Jimmy Thunder, was a Samoan-born New Zealand professional boxer who held the IBO heavyweight title from 1994 to 1995. He held multiple regional heavyweight ti ...

and a split decision loss against faded

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "Ea ...

. Coming into the bout, Harris was on a seven-fight winning streak, which included a wide UD win over Jeremy Williams. The fight took place at the

Convention Hall Convention Hall was a convention center in Kansas City, Missouri that hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention and 1928 Republican National Convention. It was designed by Frederick E. Hill and built at the corner of 13th and Central and cos ...

in Atlantic City, in the undercard of the fight between

Oleg Maskaev Oleg Alexandrovich Maskayev (russian: Олег Александрович Маскаев; also Maskaev; born 2 March 1969) is a Russian-American former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2013, and held the WBC heavyweight title from 2 ...

and

Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC t ...

. The first round started with both fighters standing toe-to-toe and landing hard shots. In the second round, Jefferson dropped Harris twice. A few seconds after the second knockdown, Harris turned the tide, dropping Jefferson with a right hand. The round ended with fighters landing hard shots at each other. For the majority of the third round, Harris appeared to be more active, attacking Jefferson's body. At the end of the round, Jefferson landed an uppercut that knocked Harris' mouthpiece off. After relatively less action-packed fourth and fifth rounds, Jefferson dropped Harris again in the sixth with a series of body shots. Near the end of the round, Jefferson countered a left hand with the left hook of his own, knocking Harris unconscious. The fight was widely praised for being a slugfest. HBO commentator

Larry Merchant Larry Merchant (born Larry Kaufman; February 11, 1931) is an American sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO sports presentations of ''HBO World Championship Boxing'', ''Boxing After Dark'' and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, called "the grea ...

called the second round "the best in heavyweight boxing since Bowe vs. Holyfield". The KO was voted by '' The Ring'' as "

Knockout of the Year '' The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Knockout of the Year since 1989, based on the magazine's writers' criteria. Knockouts of the Year by decade 1980s * 1989: Michael Nunn ''KO 1'' Sumbu Kalambay 1990s * 1990: Terr ...

". At the conclusion of 1999, Jefferson was ranked No.9 in heavyweight rankings by ''The Ring''. This win lined up a shot against David Izon. Throughout the fight, Jefferson was soundly outboxing Izon, confidently winning rounds. By the seventh round, HBO commentators suggested the fight to be stopped due to Izon absorbing too much punishment. In the eighth round, however, Jefferson appeared to have punched himself out. With 42 seconds left, Izon dropped Jefferson with a right hook. It appeared as if Jefferson have fallen down mostly due to exhaustion rather than Izon's punch. Izon continued throwing unanswered shots on tired Jefferson, prompting the referee to stop the fight. At the time of the stoppade, Jefferson was unanimously winning on scorecards (78–72, 78–73 and 78–74). Four months later, Jefferson was scheduled to fight highly ranked contender

. In the first round, Maskaev dropped Jefferson with the right hand. During the fall, Jefferson broke his ankle and was limping for the rest of the fight, struggling to put weight on his left leg. Jefferson was dropped again in the second. He managed to hurt Maskaev with an overhand right in the third, but was unable to capitalize on it as he could not put weight behind most of his shots. Maskaev continued his assault on injured Jefferson, prompting the referee to stop the fight in the fourth round. After a quick knockout of an unknown journeyman Marcus Johnson, Jefferson, with 4–2 record in the last six fights, was given a shot at the WBO world heavyweight title against

Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол� ...

. For the bout, Jefferson weighed in at 260.25 lbs, the heaviest in his professional career and 20 pounds heavier than in his previous bout. The additional weight appeared to be muscle. The fight lasted only two rounds. In the first round, Klitschko knocked Jefferson down with a short left hook. After the first round Jefferson's left eye was swollen. Jefferson was knocked down twice more in round two, once with a straight right hand and again with another left hook, with the fight being stopped after the last knockdown, declaring Klitschko the winner by TKO in the second round. Jefferson earned $400,000 for the fight. After defeating former WBC world heavyweight title challenger

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...

(43–10 with 38 KOs coming into the bout) and Sedreck Fields, Jefferson was allowed to participate in Thunderbox Heavyweight Tournament on November 30, 2002, promoted by

Cedric Kushner Cedric Kushner (July 18, 1948 – January 29, 2015) was a South African-born American boxing promoter and manager. In the late 1990s he was one of the most significant promoters in the sport. Boxers he promoted and/or managed included Hasim Rahman, ...

. The tournament consisted of eight participants, which included two-time world heavyweight champion

Tim Witherspoon Tim Witherspoon (born December 27, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2003. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title in 1984, and the WBA title in 1986. Witherspoon also wo ...

, former and future world heavyweight title challengers Tony Thompson, Ray Austin and Jeremy Williams, experienced journeyman

, who had entered the tournament after knocking out future world champion Siarhei Liakhovich, and undefeated, hard-hitting Gerald Nobles. Each boxer, including Jefferson, was guaranteed $5,000 and the purse for the tournament winner was $100,000. All bouts took place at

Trump Taj Mahal The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly Trump Taj Mahal) is a casino and hotel on the Boardwalk, owned by Hard Rock International, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The casino, originally known as the ''Trump Taj Mahal,'' was inaugu ...

in Atlantic City, New Jersey and were scheduled for three rounds. The bouts were aired in the UK on

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territories, ...

. In the first round, Jefferson defeated Ray Austin by second-round stoppage, but was beaten by Tony Thompson on points in semifinals. Jefferson was scheduled to face

Chris Byrd Christopher Cornelius Byrd (born August 15, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over th ...

on April 17, 2004 at Madison Square Garden for the IBF world heavyweight championship, however he was forced to pull out of the fight due to a cut suffered in training. Jefferson made one last world heavyweight title run, facing

in an IBF eliminator. Williamson made quick work of Jefferson, winning by TKO in the 2nd, effectively ending Jefferson's career.

Professional boxing record

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Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

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Julius Long Julius Lloyd-Long (born 28 May 1977) is an American-born New Zealander professional boxer who resides in Auckland. He is best known for his physical stature, standing and having a reach. Outside of the ring, Long is a professional chef. Profe ...

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was original ...

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Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Bayern Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

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, TKO , 4 , 20/05/2000 , align=left, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left,

David Izonritei David Izonritei (born 29 April 1968) is a Nigerian former boxer. Also known as David Izon, Izonritei won the Heavyweight silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. During his professional career, he defeated world title challengers D ...

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Melvin Foster Melvin Foster (born February 23, 1971, in Washington, DC) is an American former heavyweight boxer best known for his amateur boxing career. He most notably defeated former world champion Mike Weaver and two-time title challenger Carl Williams. ...

, TKO , 4 , 10/09/1999 , 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, Michigan, Isabella County. The population was 21,688 as of the 2020 United States census. It is surrounded by Unio ...

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Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcas ...

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Parma, Ohio Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern edge of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 81,146. Parma is the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio, the largest suburb in the state, an ...

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Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

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Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Derrick 1968 births National Golden Gloves champions Living people American male boxers People from Oak Park, Michigan Boxers from Michigan Heavyweight boxers