Tony Tucker

Tony Craig Tucker (born December 27, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1998. He won the IBF heavyweight title in 1987, and was the shortest-reigning world heavyweight champion at just 64 days. In an interview with Barry Tompkins, he referred to himself as the "invisible champion," due to the press and general public largely neglecting him. He is best known for giving Mike Tyson in his prime a relatively close fight, in which he, in the words of Larry Merchant, "rocked Tyson" in the first round. However, Tyson went on to win a unanimous decision. As an amateur, he won the 1979 United States national championships, the 1979 World Cup, and a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games, all in the light heavyweight division.

Amateur career
Tony Tucker became a boxer under influence of his father Bob Tucker, also a former amateur boxer, who became his trainer and manager, put all his wealth into the development of his son's boxing career. Tony fought out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, competing almost his entire amateur career in the light heavyweight division with his billed weight at the 1979 Pan American Games exactly matching the weight limit of the division (178 lbs).

Robert Surkein, the national boxing chairman for the Amateur Athletic Union, said of Tucker: “Believe me, he's better than Leon Spinks. Spinks couldn't hold this kid's gloves at a comparable stage.” Rollie Schwartz, past national chairman of the AAU Boxing Commission, said of Tucker prior to the Olympics, "Tucker is a combination boxer and puncher, much akin to Joe Louis. He comes right at you. I'd take him tomorrow over the two so-called light Heavyweight champs."

Highlights
United States National Championships, Biloxi, Mississippi, April 1978: U.S. National Sports Festival, Fort Carson, Colorado, July 1978: United States National Championships, Lake Charles, Louisiana, May 1979: Pan Am Trials, Toledo, Ohio, May–June 1979:
 * 1/8: Defeated Jerry Bennett by decision
 * 1/2: Lost to Charles Singleton by decision
 * Finals: Lost to Elmer Martin by decision
 * 1/2: Defeated Kelvin Anderson by decision
 * Finals: Defeated Andre McCoy by decision
 * 1/2: Defeated Elliott Chavis by decision
 * Finals: Defeated Andre McCoy by decision

Pan American Games, Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 1979: World Cup, Felt Forum, New York City, October 1979:
 * 1/4: Defeated Sixto Soria (Cuba) by majority decision, 4–1 (Tucker got cut over his left eye at 1:03 of the 3rd round)
 * 1/2: Defeated Patrick Fennel (Canada) RSC 3
 * Finals: Defeated Dennis Jackson (Puerto Rico) by unanimous decision, 5–0 (Jackson knocked down at 1:46 of the 1st rd)
 * 1/4: Defeated Benny Pike (Australia) by unanimous decision, 5–0
 * 1/2: Defeated Kurt Seiler (West Germany) by unanimous decision, 5–0
 * Finals: Defeated Albert Nikolyan (Soviet Union) by unanimous decision, 5–0


 * International Duals
 * February 1, 1979, Blackham Coliseum, Lafayette, Louisiana: Lost to Nikolay Yerofeyev (Soviet Union) by decision
 * February 11, 1979, Estadio Latinamericano, Havana, Cuba: Lost to Hermenegildo Báez (Cuba) by decision
 * February 24, 1979, Blackham Coliseum, Lafayette, Louisiana: Defeated Jacek Kucharczyk (Poland) by split decision, 2–1
 * February 10, 1980, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina: Defeated Orestes Pedroso (Cuba)
 * February 25, 1980, Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii: Defeated Ene Saipaia (Hawaii)
 * March 1980, Schwerin, East Germany: Lost to Herbert Bauch (East Germany) by walkover
 * March 1980, Schwerin, East Germany: Lost to Werner Kohnert (East Germany) by split decision, 1–2
 * March 1980, Rostock, East Germany: Lost to Jürgen Fanghänel (East Germany) DQ 1

1980 Olympics
Since 1979 Tony Tucker anticipated participating in the Moscow Olympics. Tucker was an alternate for the United States Olympic Team for the 1980 Summer Olympics (Lee Roy Murphy qualified as the prime.) President Jimmy Carter ordered to boycott the Olympics, which led the U.S. Team to cancel its participation in the Olympics, instead it embarked on a series of exhibitions in Europe. On March 14, 1980, en route to Poland, their plane Polish Airlines IL-62 crashed near Warsaw, with the U.S. boxing team aboard, consisting of 22 boxers, there were no survivors. Several people, including Tony Tucker, missed the flight and stayed in the United States due to various reasons, in Tucker's case an injury sustained just prior to the accident. At that point Tucker became religious, believing that God spared his life for a purpose, in order for him to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Shortly thereafter Tucker turned pro.

Tucker finished his amateur career having 121 fights under his belt, with a record of 115–6.

Professional career
After turning pro in 1980, Tucker's early fights were often shown on NBC, as part of a collection known as "Tomorrow's Champions".

Tucker's progress in the professional ranks was slow. He was injury-prone, missing more than a year with a knee injury suffered in a bout against Danny Sutton. Tucker also changed managers and trainers several times; his father, Bob Tucker, eventually performed both roles. After enjoying a high profile upon his professional debut, Tucker boxed in non-televised bouts for the majority of the 1980s.

In June 1984, he scored a win by knocking out Eddie "The Animal" Lopez in nine rounds on the undercard of the Tommy Hearns–Roberto Durán fight. It was the first time Lopez had ever been knocked down. Tucker followed it up in September by outpointing Jimmy Young.

In September 1986, Tucker finally landed a big fight, against 242 lb James "Broad-Axe" Broad, for the USBA belt and a world title eliminator. Tucker won by unanimous decision.

Tucker vs Douglas
Home Box Office and Don King Productions orchestrated a heavyweight unification series for 1987, planning among its bouts a match between Tucker and reigning IBF champion Michael Spinks. Spinks refused to face Tucker, opting instead for a more lucrative bout with Gerry Cooney. The IBF stripped Spinks of the championship on February 19, mandating that Tucker (as its #1-ranked contender) face its number-two contender, Buster Douglas, the very man who would eventually dethrone Tyson. As the co-feature of reining unified champion Mike Tyson and ex-champ Pinklon Thomas, Tucker won the bout and the vacant IBF crown via tenth-round technical knockout.

Tucker vs. Tyson
Tucker, as the winner of the IBF title, was obliged to immediately defend his title in a unification bout with WBA and WBC champion Mike Tyson 64 days after winning the title, in what would be the tournament final, where Tucker was a 10-to-1 underdog. Before Tucker was managed by Emmanuel Steward, who received a negotiated percent of each payday. By that time for that same purpose a joint venture named Tucker Inc. was formed by his promoters Cedric Kushner (18% of total share), and Josephine Abercrombie with Jeff Levine (also 18%), partnering with Dennis Rappaport and Alan Kornberg (13%,) and lastly Emmanuel Steward (6%). His father Bob Tucker also secured a share in Tucker Inc. (12%)

Before the fight versus Tyson, Tucker had been on an eight-year-long winning streak, his last defeat was in 1979, while competing in amateurs.

Despite having a broken right hand, Tucker faced Tyson on August 1, 1987. Tyson defeated Tucker by unanimous decision to unify the three championship titles, leaving Tucker with the shortest world championship reign in the history of the heavyweight division (64 days). According to the HBO Punch Statistics, Tucker landed 174 of 452 punches thrown, while Tyson landed 216 of 412, and in fact outjabbed Tucker, who had more than a 10-inch reach advantage (81$1/2$" to 71").

HBO host and boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard said: "What Tucker displayed tonight was the fact that he is a non-conformist. He did what a lot of us thought he couldn't do, and that's why I respect him so much, because he boxed, he clinched, he was very strategic, very tactical, very intelligent fighter."

Coincidentally, this exact scenario would unfold again eight years later to give Tucker another title shot.

Comeback
Tucker returned to boxing in 1989 and was back in Don King's stable by 1992. He won the NABF belt with a 12-round split decision over highly-ranked Orlin Norris and successfully defended it against future world champion Oliver McCall, winning another 12-round split decision. He finished 1992 with a sixth-round TKO of Frankie Swindell and set himself up for another world title shot.

Tucker had run his record up to 48–1 and challenged Lennox Lewis for the WBC world heavyweight title in May 1993. Lewis won a 12-round unanimous decision, knocking the challenger down twice in the process. The 34-year-old Tucker had never been off his feet in his pro career until this bout.

After beating Michael Moorer in November 1994 to become the oldest world heavyweight champion in history, George Foreman began negotiations in early 1995 to make the first defense of his WBA and IBF titles against German mid-level prospect Axel Schulz. As Schulz was not ranked by either organization, Foreman could not defend their championships against Schulz without their permission.

The IBF granted Foreman permission to face Schulz, which Foreman ultimately did. However, the WBA refused, insisting that Foreman instead face Tucker, their organization's #1-ranked contender.

The situation in which Tucker had found himself in 1987 now played out again: the WBA vacated the title due to Foreman's non-compliance, setting up an April 1995 title bout between Tucker and number-two contender Bruce Seldon. Seldon won by TKO after seven rounds when doctors stopped the fight due to Tucker's eye closing shut.

Tucker lost his chance at a rematch later that year when he lost a ten-round decision to a newly-signed Don King heavyweight, British-Nigerian boxer Henry Akinwande.

In 1996 he was outpointed by old rival Orlin Norris. He scored two low-key wins in California, and in 1997 traveled to the U.K. to challenge Herbie Hide for the vacant WBO title. Tucker was dropped three times en route to a second-round knockout.

In 1998 Tucker challenged John Ruiz for his NABF belt. Despite a big sixth round in which he had Ruiz in trouble, Tucker was eventually stopped in the 11th round.

He came back in May to knock out journeyman Billy Wright in one round, but later had his license revoked due to medical concerns about Tucker's vision.