Lamar Eugene Parks (born March 17, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1993. He challenged for the WBA middleweight title in 1992, but was forced to retire from the sport the following year after testing positive for HIV.
Parks had a successful amateur career, winning multiple regional titles and reaching the semifinals of the 1988 Olympic Trials. After making his professional debut in 1988, he collected minor titles from the WBC and IBF en route to a 22-fight win streak to begin his career. In 1992, he unsuccessfully challenged Reggie Johnson for his WBA middleweight title, losing by unanimous decision. Consequently, Parks won five consecutive bouts in 1993 to earn another world title fight against Gerald McClellan, but was barred from competing when it was revealed he had contracted HIV.
Early life
Parks was born on March 17, 1970. His family moved to Greenville, South Carolina when he was three years old. His father, David, resisted the idea of his son fighting because he was afraid he would get hurt, but he eventually let him train under Silas Epps at the Phillis Wheatley Community Center in 1983. David was a former amateur boxer who had to cut his career short due to rheumatic fever; he eventually quit his job at Duke Power to help train his son.
Parks made his amateur debut at the age of 13, scoring a second-round knockout. Within a year, he became the South Carolina state champion in his age group. In 1984 he reached the semifinals of a regional Junior Olympic tournament in Sumter, South Carolina, then won a gold medal at the Palmetto State Games. In 1985 he returned to the same Junior Olympic tournament in Atlanta, taking first place and qualifying for the National Junior Olympics. He won the Southern Golden Gloves title at light middleweight in 1986. At the 1987 Southern Golden Gloves, Parks captured the middleweight title and was named the best boxer of the tournament. He was named best boxer again the following year after winning yet another Southern title. He also reached the semifinals of the 1988 Olympic Trials, where he lost a decision to John Scully of New England. Parks won 175 of his 188 amateur bouts, claiming five South Carolina Golden Gloves championships and three Southeast regional titles.
Parks graduated from Greenville High School and briefly studied electronics engineering at Greenville Technical College.
Professional career
Parks made his professional debut on October 4, 1988, defeating Lennell Stroman by unanimous decision (UD) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His father doubled as his manager and trainer, but he also brought along his childhood trainer Silas Epps. Parks defeated former National Golden Gloves champion Fabian Williams in his fourth pro bout, losing the opening four rounds before stopping Williams in the fifth. In his tenth fight, he defeated Chris Sande by fifth-round technical knockout (TKO) to hand the 1988 Olympic bronze medallist his first pro defeat. Parks quit the sport following the win due to his discouragement over a lack of exposure and opportunities, but returned about six months later. He connected with a friend in Memphis, Tennessee, where he met Madison Square Garden promoter Bobby Goodman and was able to secure a one-year deal.
After 16 straight wins to start his career, Parks captured the vacant WBC Continental Americas middleweight title when he scored a UD victory over Lenzie Morgan on July 6, 1991 in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. He then stopped Donny Giron five months later via sixth-round TKO for the vacant WBC–NABF middleweight title. In his next fight, he knocked out two-time Olympian Francisco de Jesus in a lopsided bout in New York City to improve his record to 20–0. On April 16, 1992, Parks defeated Percy Harris to retain his NABF belt and win the vacant IBF–USBA middleweight title, forcing a referee stoppage in the tenth round. By this time he was ranked as the second-best middleweight in the world by the WBC, as well as the fourth-best by both the WBA and IBF.