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 Siarhei Piatrovich Liakhovich ( be, Сяргей Пятровіч Ляховіч, Siarhiej Piatrovič Lachovič; russian: Серге́й Петро́вич Ляхо́вич, Sergey Petrovich Lyakhovich; also Siarhiej Piatrovič Liachovič or Siar ...

David Izon 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 ...

, James Thunder, and Jeremy Williams. As a professional, Harris also faced world champions and contenders

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 "Eas ...

Vaughn Bean Vaughn Bean (born September 3, 1974) is an American former professional boxer. Nicknamed "Shake & Bake", Bean challenged twice for world heavyweight titles in 1997 and 1998. Professional career Bean began his career with 27 victories over extre ...

Derrick Jefferson Derrick Lavon Jefferson (born March 10, 1968) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for the WBO title in 2001, and is perhaps best remembered for his brutal left hook-knockout of Maurice Harris in 1999. Early life Jefferso ...

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 ...

Henry Akinwande Henry Adetokunboh Akinwande (born 12 October 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 1996 to 1997, as well as the Commonwealth heavyweight title in 1993, and the Euro ...

Fres Oquendo Fres Oquendo (born April 1, 1973) is a Puerto Rican professional heavyweight boxer. He had a successful amateur record before turning professional in 1997. He has challenged three times for world heavyweight titles. Amateur career He had an amat ...

, Tony Thompson,

Kubrat Pulev Kubrat Venkov Pulev ( bg, Кубрат Венков Пулев; born 4 May 1981) is a Bulgarian professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the unified heavyweight title in 2014 and 2020. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight ...

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Alexander Ustinov Alexander "Sasha" Ustinov (russian: Александр Устинов; born 7 December 1976) is a Russian professional boxer,. Retrieved 1 October 2016. former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In boxing, he has challenged once for the WBA (Re ...

, and

Albert Sosnowski Albert Dariusz Sosnowski (born 7 March 1979) is a Polish former professional boxer who challenged for the WBC heavyweight title in 2010. Professional career Sosnowski made his professional debut in July 1998, defeating Czech fighter Jan Droben ...

Professional career

Maurice Harris turned pro at 16 as a light heavyweight in 1992, and faced many up-and-coming prospects and comebacking champions. In his early professional years, he lost to future number one contender Vaughn Bean, and defeated 18-0-0 David Izon. In 1992, Harris lost a 12-round decision in his first attempt to win the vacant

United States Boxing Association 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 ...

(USBA) heavyweight title against future world heavyweight champion

. In 1997 he lost a disputed split decision to former champion

. He followed the Holmes bout with a seven fight winning streak in 1998-99. This included defeating former number one heavyweight contender Jeremy Williams, and culminated in a fight on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

with Derrick Jefferson. In what was labeled as the 1999

Ring Magazine 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: Terry ...

, Harris was brutally knocked out by a vicious left hook. In 1998 Harris was the chief sparring partner for heavyweight world champion

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...

and maintained this position for several years. In 2002, Harris knocked out future heavyweight champion 19-0

in the 9th round. Later that year, Harris won the

Thunderbox Heavyweight Tournament Thunderbox may refer to: *Thunderbox, a slang word for a portable toilet * ''Thunderbox'' (album), by the group Humble Pie * Thunderbox Gold Mine, a disused gold mine in Leinster, Western Australia * Thunderbox Heavyweight Tournament, a former bo ...

"Fistful of Dollars" in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. The round-robin exhibition event consisted of eight heavyweights doing battle in three, three-minute rounds. Harris outpointed Gerald Nobles, future number one contender Tony Thompson and Israel Garcia in the same evening to win the $100,000 purse.

Comeback

After a three-year layoff, Harris made a comeback in 2010 in the heavyweight division. Under the guidance of promoter Mario Yagobi of Boxing360, Harris returned to the ring. Harris won the vacant United States Boxing Association heavyweight title in his second opportunity with a 12-round unanimous decision over Nagy Aguilera at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota. However, on May 27, 2011, Harris lost an eliminator bout for the IBF # 2 position at Reno Events Center in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. On July 16, 2011, Harris defended his USBA heavyweight title in

on July 16, 2011, with a 12th-round knockout over challenger

Derric Rossy Derric Rossy (born July 2, 1980) is an American former professional boxer and a former defensive end at Boston College. He enrolled in the Lynch School of Education with a major in human development. Rossy knocked out Gary Bell in the second r ...

Professional boxing record

External links

*
Maurice Harris - Boxing360 Biography
''

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

''
USBA Heavyweight Champion Maurice Harris on Brink of Living his Dream
April 28, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Maurice 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from East Orange, New Jersey Boxers from New Jersey African-American boxers Heavyweight boxers American male boxers 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople