Leo Randolph (born February 27, 1958) is an American former boxer, who won the Flyweight Gold medal 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 P ...

Amateur career

Randolph had a very good amateur career. Randolph was a product of the Tacoma Boys Club amateur program, along with fellow Olympic Gold Medalist Sugar Ray Seales, and future world champions

Rocky Lockridge Rick "Rocky" Lockridge (January 10, 1959 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional boxer. He is perhaps best known for having handed Roger Mayweather his first defeat—a first-round knockout in just 98 seconds—earning him the WBA a ...

and

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. Randolph was trained as an amateur and professional by Joe Clough, the head trainer at the Tacoma Boys Club. In 1975 he was the National Golden Gloves Flyweight champion. He was a National AAU flyweight champion, and was the 1976

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Flyweight Gold Medalist. Leo Randolph's 1976 Montreal Olympic boxing results were as follows: * 1st round bye * Defeated Massoudi Samatou (Togo) walkover * Defeated Constantin Gruiescu (Romania) 4-1 * Defeated Davy Larmour (Ireland) 4-1 * Defeated Leszek Błażyński (Poland) 4-1 * Defeated Ramón Duvalón (Cuba) 3-2

Professional career

Randolph turned pro in 1978. In 1980, with a record of 16-1, he challenged Ricardo Cardona for the WBA Super Bantamweight Title in a bout held in Seattle. Randolph won via TKO in the 15th round. In his next fight, he lost his title to

Sergio Victor Palma Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Se ...

via TKO in the 5th. Randolph retired after the bout. He currently holds the record for the earliest retirement ever by a former professional world boxing champion, and at two years and fifty days, Randolph also holds the record for the shortest career for any world boxing champion.

Randolph-Palma fight

After winning the World Boxing Association super bantamweight championship from Ricardo Cardona on May 4, 1980, Randolph made his first title defense versus Argentina's Sergio Palma three months later in Spokane, WA on August 9, 1980. The bout was nationally televised. Palma was not generally known to have an aggressive style or be a hard puncher, but he immediately went on the offensive from the opening bell. Palma staggered Randolph early in the first round, staggered him again, and then floored the champion twice before the round ended. Pressing his advantage, Palma dominated round two, clearly overwhelming the young champion. Randolph rallied in both rounds three and four by boxing defensively, but Palma reasserted himself in round five. Randolph was knocked down for the third time in the contest and rose on shaky legs. Referee Stanley Christodoulou counted beyond the mandatory eight count as Randolph stood groggily with his right hand draped over the top rope. He stopped the fight at 1:12 of the round, ruling that Randolph was in no condition to continue. According to an article written by Jim Benagh in the November 1980 edition of The Ring magazine, Randolph, a deeply religious man, said he did not have the necessary killer instinct to continue as a professional boxer and voluntarily chose to retire from the ring at age 22.

Personal

Leo now resides in his hometown of Tacoma. After boxing, he started working for the

Pierce Transit Pierce Transit, officially the Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation, is an operator of public transit in Pierce County, Washington. It operates a variety of services, including fixed-route buses, dial-a-ride transportat ...

public bus company in 1988. He works as a Transit Operator and supervisor.

Honors

* 2005 Inductee into the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame

References

* July 3, 2006 ''Sports Illustrated'', "A Flurry of Punch Lines" (for update)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Randolph, Leo 1958 births Living people Boxers from Washington (state) Boxers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Tacoma, Washington People from Columbus, Mississippi Super-bantamweight boxers World super-bantamweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers American male boxers African-American boxers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople