John Tate (January 29, 1955 – April 9, 1998) was an American professional boxer, and held the WBA

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

championship from 1979 to 1980. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

he won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Amateur career

"Big John" Tate (named due to his height) captured a bronze medal at the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, losing to Olympic boxing legend

Teófilo Stevenson Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence (29 March 1952 – 11 June 2012) was a Cuban amateur boxer who competed from 1966 to 1986. He won the Val Barker Trophy (1972) and was honored with the Olympic Order (1987). Stevenson is one of only three boxers t ...

in a semifinal bout.

1976 Olympic results

*Round of 16: Defeated Andrzej Biegalski (Poland) by decision, 5-0 *Quarterfinal: Defeated

Peter Hussing Peter Hussing (15 May 1948 – 8 September 2012) was a West German heavyweight boxer. He won a bronze medal at the 1972 Olympics and placed fifth in 1976 and 1984; he missed the 1980 Moscow Games due to their boycott by West Germany. Huss ...

(West Germany) by decision, 3-2 *Semifinal: Lost to

(Cuba) KO round 1 (was awarded bronze medal) Tate lost in the finals of the 1975 National

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

to Emory Chapman. He lost in the quarterfinals the next year in a split decision to

Michael Dokes Michael Marshall Dokes (August 10, 1958 – August 11, 2012) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 1997, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1982 to 1983. As an amateur he won a silver medal in the heavyweight division ...

. He avenged his loss to Dokes in the Olympic Trials by decision, and beat 1976 National AAU Champion Marvin Stinson to advance to the Olympic team. He also beat future heavyweight champion Greg Page by two close decisions, one in the quarterfinals of the 1975 National Golden Gloves tournament. Tate met his future trainer, Ace Miller, during an amateur tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tate and Miller worked together through 1983.

Professional career

Tate turned pro in 1977 and scored a series of high-profile wins, knocking out highly ranked contenders

Duane Bobick Duane Bobick (born August 24, 1950) is a retired boxer from the United States. As an amateur he won the gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games and fought at the 1972 Olympics. He then turned professional in 1973 and retired in 1979 with a rec ...

Bernardo Mercado Bernardo Mercado (January 16, 1952 – June 11, 2021) was a Colombian professional boxer briefly ranked as the top contender for the title of champion in 1980 by the WBC. Born in Montería, Colombia, Mercado won a bronze medal in the light-heav ...

, and

Kallie Knoetze Kallie Knoetze (born as Nikolaas Jacobus Knoetze on 24 April 1953) is a retired South African heavyweight boxer and actor. Boxing career As an amateur Knoetze fought future professional world champion fellow South African Gerrie Coetzee six t ...

. He captured the vacant WBA title on October 20, 1979 by defeating

Gerrie Coetzee Gerhardus Christian Coetzee (born 8 April 1955) is a South African former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1986, and in 1993 and 1997. He was the first African ever to fight for, and win, a world heavyweight championship, having hel ...

by decision, succeeding

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

, who had relinquished the title that summer. Tate's fights with Knoetze and Coetzee were held in

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, the latter before 80,000 fans. Tate lost the title to Mike Weaver in his first defence just five months later. Tate was well ahead on all scorecards going into the 15th and final round when the big hitting Weaver landed a left hook punch to the chin that left the champion twitching unconscious on the canvas for several minutes. Tate came back from the loss on June 20, 1980 against up and coming

Trevor Berbick Trevor Berbick (1 August 1954 – 28 October 2006) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 2000. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, then lost it in his first defense in the same year to M ...

. This was on the undercard of the legendary fight between

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professiona ...

and

Roberto Durán Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as wel ...

. The former champion started well, but tired throughout the bruising battle and was defeated by Berbick early in the 9th round—being knocked out by a punch that caught him on the back of the head and left him unconscious. Tate was in the frame to challenge

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 ...

for the heavyweight title in 1984, but the fight fell apart due to injury. Tate boxed on and off for the remainder of the 1980s but was often grossly overweight. He weighed in at an astonishing prior to losing a points decision to journeyman Noel Quarless in London, in his final fight in 1988. Tate's professional career record was 34-3, with 23 wins by knockout.

Unsanctioned Bouts

John Tate took part in three unsanctioned bouts, all of which took place in Beaconsfield, California in 1994. Tate won the first two by KO, which included

Marvin Camel Marvin Camel (born December 24, 1951) is a retired boxer and member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Northwestern Montana. He was born in Ronan and fought out of Missoula. He was the first p ...

before losing the final one against the exciting British heavyweight David Pearce who defeated him by a third round knockout.

Outside the ring

Tate's life after his championship reign was brief and troubled, suffering from a

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

addiction during the 1980s, being convicted on petty theft and assault charges, serving time in prison, and at times panhandling on the streets of

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

. He was rumored to have ballooned to over in his post-fighting years.

Death

On April 9, 1998, Tate died of injuries sustained following a one-car automobile accident. It was determined that he suffered a massive stroke, caused by a brain tumor, while driving. The pickup truck crashed into a utility pole. Two other passengers were not seriously injured.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, John 1955 births 1998 deaths Boxers from Arkansas Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in boxing Boxers at the 1976 Summer Olympics World heavyweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions People from Marion, Arkansas Sportspeople from Knoxville, Tennessee Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Road incident deaths in Tennessee American male boxers