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James Pritchard (boxer)

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James Pritchard (born April 28, 1961, in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1997. He challenged once for the IBF cruiserweight title in 1991.

Amateur

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Pritchard had a stellar amateur career, becoming the 1985 National Golden Gloves Super Heavyweight Champion.[1]

Professional career

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Pritchard turned pro in 1985 and went undefeated in 17 bouts, including a draw with Mike 'The Bounty' Hunter, before facing ex-world heavyweight champion Mike Weaver in a crossroads fight. Pritchard was stopped by the big punching Weaver on his feet in six, but returned to win three fights in a row before meeting another former world champion, this time Michael Dokes. Pritchard was stopped in seven, but gained a reputation for toughness as Dokes, like Weaver, could not drop Pritchard.

Pritchard travelled to apartheid South Africa for several fights, boxing to a controversial draw with Johnny DuPlooy when he had apparently got the better of DuPlooy. He was stopped in 10 in a rematch, then stopped in eight by DuPlooy's rival Pierre Coetzer. Pritchard returned to the States where he was a chief sparring partner of Frank Bruno prior to his Tyson fight. He also put together a string of wins including a KO of novice Lionel Butler. A trip to England to face world-ranked Gary Mason resulted in a 9th-round stoppage loss, although yet again Pritchard gained respect for his durability – no one could knock him down.

World title fight

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Having been relegated to opponent status in the heavyweights, the 26–5–2 Pritchard moved down to the Cruiserweight division. He beat two-time world title challenger Siza Makathini in his debut winning an IBF Intercontinental title, but in his 1991 fight with James Warring for the vacant IBF cruiserweight title he was dropped for the first time in his career and stopped in 36 seconds, a record for a world title fight.

Journeyman

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Pritchard returned to the heavyweights after his cruiserweight title disaster, but was relegated to journeyman status. He knocked out undefeated West Turner to win the USBA heavyweight title, but lost to the likes of Tim Witherspoon, Orlin Norris, Michael Moorer and Herbie Hide.

By the mid to late 1990s he was an aged heavyweight and not much more than cannon fodder for Corrie Sanders, Brian Nielsen and Wladimir Klitschko. He retired in 1997 with a respectable record of 30–18–2 (25 KOs).

Professional boxing record

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30 Wins (25 knockouts, 5 decisions), 18 Losses (12 knockouts, 6 decisions), 2 Draws [2]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 30–18–2 United States Darroll Wilson TKO 2 29/11/1997 New Jersey Vineland, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss 30–17–2 Ukraine Wladimir Klitschko TKO 3 20/09/1997 Germany Aachen, Germany
Loss 30–16–2 United States Damon Reed UD 10 11/08/1997 Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Loss 30–15–2 Denmark Brian Nielsen (boxer) KO 3 13/06/1997 Denmark Slagelse, Denmark
Win 30–14–2 United States Greg Suttington TKO 4 13/05/1996 Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:14 of the fourth round.
Loss 29–14–2 South Africa Corrie Sanders TKO 1 05/08/1995 New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Loss 29–13–2 United States Brian Morgan SD 8 20/03/1995 Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 29–12–2 United States Ralph Jackson TKO 3 13/02/1995 Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Loss 28–12–2 Croatia Zeljko Mavrovic UD 10 18/06/1994 Illinois Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Loss 28–11–2 United States Kenny Keene PTS 10 05/12/1993 Idaho Caldwell, Idaho, U.S.
Loss 28–10–2 United States Michael Moorer TKO 3 22/06/1993 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss 28–9–2 United Kingdom Herbie Hide TKO 2 12/12/1992 United Kingdom London, England
Win 28–8–2 United States West Turner TKO 3 10/07/1992 Pennsylvania Ringgold Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. USBA Heavyweight Title.
Loss 27–8–2 United States Tim Witherspoon UD 10 23/03/1992 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss 27–7–2 United States Orlin Norris PTS 8 13/12/1991 France Bercy, France
Loss 27–6–2 United States James Warring KO 1 07/09/1991 Italy Salemi, Italy IBF Cruiserweight Title. Pritchard knocked out at 0:36 of the first round.
Win 27–5–2 South Africa Siza Makathini DQ 6 06/04/1991 United Kingdom Darlington, England IBF Intercontinental Cruiserweight Title. Makathini disqualified for low blows.
Loss 26–5–2 United Kingdom Gary Mason (boxer) TKO 9 12/12/1990 United Kingdom London, England Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the ninth round.
Win 26–4–2 United States Rick Enis TKO 8 28/07/1990 Florida Saint Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Win 25–4–2 United States Lorenzo Boyd KO 4 01/06/1990 Mississippi Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
Win 24–4–2 Mexico Ladislao Mijangos TKO 6 08/05/1990 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 23–4–2 United States Lee Moore TKO 2 02/03/1990 Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Win 22–4–2 United States Lionel Butler TKO 6 09/12/1989 Mississippi Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
Win 21–4–2 United States Rodney Bolden KO 1 26/08/1989 Kentucky Murray, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 20–4–2 United States Larry Givens TKO 2 25/05/1989 Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 19–4–2 United States Mike Russell KO 5 25/04/1989 Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Loss 18–4–2 South Africa Pierre Coetzer TKO 8 18/03/1989 South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa
Loss 18–3–2 South Africa Johnny DuPlooy TKO 10 22/10/1988 Bophuthatswana Sun City, Bophuthatswana
Draw 18–2–2 South Africa Johnny DuPlooy PTS 10 02/07/1988 Bophuthatswana Sun City, Bophuthatswana
Loss 18–2–1 United States Michael Dokes TKO 7 28/04/1988 New York (state) New York City, U.S. WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title.
Win 18–1–1 United States Steve Zouski TKO 4 25/03/1988 Illinois Melrose Park, Illinois, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:28 of the fourth round.
Win 17–1–1 United States Mike Cohen KO 3 21/02/1988 Kentucky Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S. Cohen knocked out at 2:28 of the third round.
Win 16–1–1 United States Bruce Johnson KO 5 05/01/1988 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Johnson knocked out at 2:09 of the fifth round.
Loss 15–1–1 United States Mike Weaver (boxer) TKO 6 24/08/1987 Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:30 of the sixth round.
Win 15–0–1 United States Frankie Hines KO 2 28/07/1987 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Hines knocked out at 2:08 of the second round.
Win 14–0–1 United States Kevin Casimier TKO 7 20/04/1987 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 13–0–1 United States Darryl Peppers TKO 2 17/03/1987 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:20 of the second round.
Win 12–0–1 United States Larry Phelps TKO 2 24/02/1987 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the second round.
Draw 11–0–1 United States Mike Hunter (boxer) PTS 6 20/02/1987 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 11–0 United States Bobby Crabtree TKO 2 25/11/1986 Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 10–0 United States Warren Thompson (boxer) PTS 6 31/10/1986 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 9–0 United States Michael Johnson KO 1 03/10/1986 Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 8–0 United States Robert Evans PTS 6 28/08/1986 New York (state) New York City, U.S.
Win 7–0 United States Melvin Epps UD 6 29/07/1986 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 6–0 Louis Brooks TKO 1 10/07/1986 Texas Houston, Texas, U.S.
Win 5–0 United States Tim Miller KO 2 24/06/1986 Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 4–0 United States John Morton TKO 1 25/04/1986 Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Win 3–0 United States Allen Hudson KO 4 22/03/1986 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Hudson knocked out at 1:03 of the fourth round.
Win 2–0 United States Jack Jackson UD 4 Jan 17, 1986 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Win 1–0 United States Vince Parker KO 2 21/09/1985 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

References

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  1. ^ "Louisville heavyweight free to box while he sues management firm". The Courier-Journal. July 3, 1985. p. 5. Retrieved October 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "James Pritchard - Boxer". Archived from the original on 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
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