Verno Jeremias Phillips (born November 29, 1969) is a

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

an 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 ...

who competed from 1988 to 2008. He is a three-time

junior middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the International Boxing Federation, IBF or ...

world champion, having held the WBO title from 1993 to 1995, and the IBF title twice in 2004 and 2008.

Professional career

Phillips turned professional in 1988 and captured the Vacant WBO light middleweight title in 1993 with a win over Lupe Aquino. He defended the title four times before losing a decision to Paul Jones of England. In 2004 Phillips captured the vacant IBF light middleweight title by beating Carlos Bojorquez via a TKO, but lost the belt in his next fight to

Kassim Ouma Kassim Ouma (born 12 December 1978) is a Ugandan professional boxer. He held the International Boxing Federation, IBF junior middleweight title from 2004 to 2005, and has challenged twice for a world middleweight title in 2006 and 2011. Early li ...

. He lost his next bout to

Ike Quartey Isufu "Ike" Quartey (born 27 November 1969) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2006. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1994 to 1998, and challenged once for IBF junior-middleweight title in 2000. Early year ...

, but in 2006 rallied with wins over Juan Carlos Candelo and Teddy Reid, televised by ESPN. On March 27, 2008, Phillips beat

Cory Spinks Cory Spinks (born Cory Calvin; February 20, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2013. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed welterweight title from 2003 to 200 ...

by disputed split decision to regain the IBF light middleweight title. Philips signed to fight the young Paul Williams on November 29, 2008 on HBO for the vacant WBO interim light middleweight title, vacating his IBF title in the process. Phillips ended up losing the bout the after his cornerman,

Trevor Wittman Trevor Wittman (born March 5, 1974) is an American boxing and MMA trainer. Training career Compelled to retire from boxing after being diagnosed with a hyperinflated lung, Wittman transitioned to training boxers in the Denver metropolitan area. ...

, stopped the fight at the end of the eighth round, resulting in only the second loss via TKO in his career.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Verno 1969 births Belizean male boxers International Boxing Federation champions Living people World Boxing Organization champions People from Belize City Middleweight boxers World light-middleweight boxing champions