Rico Hoye (born November 9, 1974) is an American professional boxer who current competes in the Cruiserweight division. He resides

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, and is a former number one ranked light heavyweight contender (

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

) and a former world title challenger in the light heavyweight division. Hoye was a Cruiserweight division contestant in the fourth season of the Contender, boxing three 5-round bouts and one 8-round bout on Versus, winning three.

Early life and professional career

Hoye was raised in Monroe, Michigan and Detroit, Michigan. His father, Bobby Hoye (1951–1996) was a professional super middleweight contender. Rico was raised by his grandfather Robert Hoye (1930–1999) a United States Army and Golden Gloves middleweight boxer. Both his father and grandfather brought him to the gym as an infant and he first competed at 7 years old. As a teenager, he was trained by his grandfather, and he was able to amass a 68-12 amateur record, including junior Olympic titles and Golden Gloves titles in Toledo and Detroit, and was hopeful for an opportunity to make the 1992 Olympic team. At that time, however, his grandfather was injured and wasn't able to train him and he strayed from the sport and became involved in street activity around his Detroit neighborhood. In a 1992 altercation at 17 years old, he shot and killed someone and spent 9 years in prison. While in prison, both his father and grandfather died. Upon his release from prison, he immediately began seriously training and was soon back in the ring competing. Hoye made his professional debut in June 2001 with a third round stoppage of Omar Pucci in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Over the next two years, Hoye scored twelve consecutive wins. He won the vacant IBA Continental Light Heavyweight title by decisioning Prince Badi Ajamu over 12 rounds in June 2003.

Defenses and challenges

Hoye made three defenses of his IBA regional title. He defeated Etienne Whitaker in October 2003, Donnell Wiggins in March 2004, and

Montell Griffin Montell Julian Griffin (born June 6, 1970) is an American former professional boxer. He held the WBC light heavyweight title in 1997, and challenged twice for a world title. Early life Montell Griffin was born June 6, 1970 in Chicago. By age 22 ...

in September 2004 in a bout which was also an International Boxing Federation eliminator for a world title shot. In March 2005, the 18-0 Hoye traveled to England to challenge

Clinton Woods Clinton Woods (born 1 May 1972) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2009, and held the IBF light-heavyweight title from 2005 to 2008. At regional level he held the Commonwealth super-middleweight title from 1997 t ...

for the vacant IBF title, losing on a fifth-round technical knockout. In May 2007, Hoye challenged unbeaten Romanian boxer Adrian Diaconu for the WBC International light heavyweight title, an eliminator for the full WBC world title, and lost when the fight was stopped in the 3rd round.

Contender

In late 2008, Hoye moved up to the cruiserweight division to compete in the fourth season of the boxing reality show, The Contender. Hoye defeated Mike Alexander and Joell Godfrey by decision in separate five round bouts. In the semifinal, Hoye lost by unanimous decision to

Ehinomen Ehikhamenor Ehinomen Ehikhamenor (born 1 April 1980) is a Nigerian professional boxer who fights in the cruiserweight division. Professional career Ehikhamenor turned professional in February 2004 at the Mohegan Sun Casino, Connecticut, U.S.. In his debut ...

of Nigeria. In February 2009, Hoye defeated

Akinyemi Laleye The fourth season of ''The Contender'' was recorded in Singapore (with the exception of the live finale), and premiered on Versus on December 3, 2008. The show was on its third network, with the first season being broadcast on NBC and second and ...

by 8 round unanimous decision to win third place in the televised competition.

Return from retirement

Hoye, who lived in Los Angeles and then

, with his wife and children, operated a boxing and fitness gym in Phoenix during his four years of inactivity, working with clients on physical conditioning, including training such professional athletes as baseball player Troy O'Leary and football running back Marcel Shipp. Hoye has also sparred with heavyweights

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� ...

and

Chris Arreola Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American professional boxer who has challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweight fro ...

. Hoye returned to the ring on November 2, 2013, at heavyweight with a 1st-round TKO of Brandon Winner and then lost by unanimous decision to cruiserweight contender Lucasz Janik in Poland June 28, 2014.

Professional boxing record

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoye, Rico 1974 births Living people People from Monroe, Michigan Boxers from Michigan Light-heavyweight boxers Cruiserweight boxers The Contender (TV series) participants American male boxers