Tony Tubbs (born February 15, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2006, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1985 to 1986.
Amateur career
As an amateur, Tony Tubbs competed in 253 bouts, compiling a record of 240 wins and 13 losses—primarily in the heavyweight division. In a 1976 match between the USSR and the United States, Tubbs lost by knockout in the second round to future Soviet Heavyweight Champion Igor Vysotsky.
In 1978 Tubbs lost in the quarterfinals of the world Cup to Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson. Tubbs was the only opponent who managed to go the distance with Stevenson. Tubbs trained with the Muhammad Ali Amateur Boxing Team in Santa Monica, CA. In 1979, Tubbs became the National AAU Heavyweight Champion by defeating Mitch Green and Greg Page, both contests were rematches of previous defeats. In the match-up meetings USSR versus the United States Tubbs defeated the two-time amateur European champion Yevgeni Gorstkov and the future silver medalist of the Olympic games Pyotr Zayev. In 1979 Tubbs won the AIBA Boxing World Cup, defeating Khoren Indzhyan, and finally avenged his loss to Marvis Frazier, who prior to that upset went unbeaten with a 42–0 (21 KOs) record.
By 1980 the conclusion of Tubbs's amateur career was the Olympic Games, but Tubbs was unable compete due to the US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Among his other notable Amateur victories were defeating James Broad and Jimmy Clark, and 1980 Olympic bronze medalist Stephen Left. As an amateur, Tubbs worked as a sparring partner to Muhammad Ali, helping the former to prepare for his rematch with Leon Spinks for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Highlights
1976: USA–USSR Duals, Sahara Hotel Space Center, Las Vegas, Nevada (Heavyweight) Lost to Igor Vysotsky (Soviet Union) RSC 2 1977: USA–USSR Duals, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Heavyweight) Defeated Pyotr Zayev (Soviet Union) by decision 1977: National Golden Gloves, Honolulu, Hawaii (Heavyweight) 1/2: Lost to Jimmy Clark by decision 1978: National Sports Festival, Fort Carson (Heavyweight) Finals: Lost to Mitch Green by decision 1978: United States National Championships, Biloxi, Mississippi (Heavyweight) 1/2: Defeated Woody Clark by decision Finals: Lost to Greg Page by decision 1978: World Championships, Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Heavyweight): 1/8: Defeated Istvan Levai (Hungary) by unanimous decision, 5–0 1/4: Lost to Teófilo Stevenson (Cuba) by unanimous decision, 0–5
1979: USA–USSR Duals, Las Vegas, Nevada (Heavyweight) Defeated Yevgeniy Gorstkov (Soviet Union) by decision 1979: National Golden Gloves (Heavyweight) (no data available) 1979: United States National Championships, Lake Charles, Louisiana (Heavyweight) Finals: Defeated Phillip Brown 1979: Frazier–Ali teams match-up, Atlantic City, New Jersey Lost to Marvis Frazier by decision 1979: World Cup, Madison Square Garden, New York City (Heavyweight): 1/4: Defeated Narciso Maldonado (Puerto Rico) KO 1 1/2: Defeated Luk Tchoula (Gabon) KO 3 Finals: Defeated Khoren Indzhyan (USSR) by unanimous decision, 5–0 1980: Frazier–Ali teams match-up, Houston, Texas (Heavyweight): Defeated Marvis Frazier by decision
Tubbs finished his career having 253 fights, with a record of 240 wins, 13 losses.
Professional career
Early years
Tubbs made his professional debut on June 14, 1980, with a first-round knockout of Bruce Scott. After 11 fights, he fought fellow undefeated prospect Clarence Hill on August 7, 1982 and won by a ten-round unanimous decision. After out-pointing Jimmy Young (who had defeated George Foreman) on April 10, 1983, he was signed by Don King and began rising up the rankings while appearing on several King undercards. On March 15, 1985, he faced future WBA Heavyweight Champ James "Bonecrusher" Smith in a WBA title eliminator. Tubbs won by a unanimous decision, taking his record to 20-0 (15 knockouts).
World heavyweight title fights
On April 29, 1985, Tubbs challenged Greg Page for the WBA Heavyweight Championship. Page and Tubbs fought seven times as amateurs, with Page winning six of them, but for their only meeting as professionals, Tubbs won by a fifteen-round unanimous decision. On January 17, 1986, Tubbs made his first title defense against former WBC Heavyweight Champion Tim Witherspoon. Tubbs weighed-in at , 15 more than he weighed for the Page fight, and lost the title by a fifteen-round majority decision.
