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James Broad
Statistics
Real name James W. Broad
Nickname(s) Broad Axe
Rated at Heavyweight
Height 6 ft 4 in
Nationality American
Born (1958-01-27)January 27, 1958
Greensboro, North Carolina
Died November 20, 2001(2001-11-20) (aged 43)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 33
Wins 23
Wins by KO 15
Losses 10

James Broad (January 27, 1958 – November 20, 2001) was an American heavyweight boxer who was an amateur star and, prior to the boycott, set to represent America in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. As a pro he won the NABF heavyweight title and was a regular sparring partner of a peak Mike Tyson. He fought the likes of James Smith, Razor Ruddock, Tony Tucker, Tim Witherspoon, Johnny du Plooy, Francesco Damiani, and Greg Page.

Military service

James Broad took up boxing while serving in the U.S. Army, being a Specialist 4th class stationed at Fort Ord.

Amateur career

Broad took up boxing when he joined the army in 1976. He beat Chris McDonald on points, and scored a first-round-knockout victory over Marvis Frazier in the 1980 Olympic Trials finals, where he qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Boxing team which ultimately did not compete due to President Jimmy Carter's order to boycott the Olympics. He also lost a decision to Tony Tubbs.

Highlights

Professional career

Nicknamed "Broad-Axe", Broad turned pro in 1981 and put together 12 wins, including a 4th-round knockout of future Heavyweight Champ James "Bonecrusher" Smith. His weight was already a problem at this early stage of his career, but Broad worked down to 228 for his first big fight, against fellow undefeated prospect Marvis Frazier. Broad rocked Frazier with his signature uppercuts but was unable to replicate his knockout victory in the amateurs, and he was outworked over 10 rounds.

Broad bounced back to outpoint Larry Alexander over 12 rounds in 1983 then knockout contender Eddie Gregg in 8 rounds to win the NABF title in 1984. For his first title defense Broad scaled a whopping 261 lbs and was knocked out in 2 rounds by once and future world champion Tim Witherspoon in 1985.

Later years

Broad was unable to get back into serious shape for the remainder of his career, and his results suffered. He lost a 12-round decision to top contender and future world champion Tony Tucker for the USBA title in 1986, and in 1987 was twice outpointed over 10 rounds, by Francesco Damiani in Italy and then by ex-world champ Greg Page, in a fight where both men were down.

Broad outpointed future cruiserweight world title-challenger Patrick Lumumba but went to South Africa and was poleaxed in 4 rounds by Johnny DuPlooy. In his next fight he was stopped on his feet, in questionable circumstances, by rising contender Donovan "Razor" Ruddock. During all this time Broad was a sparring partner for a peak Mike Tyson and took many punches in the gym.

Death

In 1992 Boxing Illustrated reported that Broad intended to make a comeback and wanted to be world champion, despite the fact he was banned in Nevada and California both for failing a neurological exam and testing positive for Hepatitis. He somehow managed to get 4 more fights, losing 3 of them. By 2000 Broad was said to be homeless in Las Vegas and badly brain damaged, and James died in 2001 aged only 43.

Professional boxing record

23 Wins (15 knockouts, 8 decisions), 10 Losses (3 knockouts, 7 decisions) [1]
Result Opp
Record
Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 13-8 United States Calvin Jones MD 10 20/08/1993 United States Melrose Park, Illinois, U.S.
Win 30-10-2 United States Philipp Brown PTS 8 26/06/1993 United States Saint George, Utah, U.S.
Loss 3-0 Romania Daniel Dăncuță UD 4 14/02/1993 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss 11-1 United States Billy Wright UD 6 06/10/1992 United States Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Win -- United States Maurice Smith TKO 4 05/10/1991 Canada Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Referee stopped the bout at 1:26 of the fourth round.
Loss 20-1-1 Canada Donovan Ruddock TKO 1 06/12/1988 Canada Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the first round.
Loss 17-1 South Africa Johnny du Plooy KO 4 27/02/1988 South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa
Win 6-1 Kenya Patrick Lumumba PTS 10 01/08/1987 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss 26-6 United States Greg Page MD 10 30/05/1987 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss 16-0 Italy Francesco Damiani UD 10 11/04/1987 Italy Bologna, Italy
Loss 32-0 United States Tony "TNT" Tucker UD 12 26/09/1986 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. USBA Heavyweight Title.
Win 3-11-1 United States Wesley Smith KO 2 28/06/1986 United States Troy, New York, U.S.
Win 23-8-1 United States Bobby Crabtree KO 5 03/05/1986 United States Glens Falls, New York, U.S. Crabtree knocked out at 1:27 of the fifth round.
Win 13-1 United States Rodney Frazier TKO 1 25/01/1986 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:55 of the first round.
Loss 19-2 United States "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon KO 2 29/04/1985 United States Buffalo, New York, U.S. NABF Heavyweight Title. Broad knocked out at 2:35 of the second round.
Win 5-2-1 United States Sterling Benjamin TKO 2 14/12/1984 United States New York City, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the second round.
Win 20-0-1 United States Eddie Gregg TKO 8 23/08/1984 United States New York City, U.S. NABF Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:48 of the eighth round.
Win 32-4 United States Tommy Franco Thomas TKO 3 03/05/1984 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 22-9-2 United States Larry Alexander SD 12 17/11/1983 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 12-7-4 United States Leroy Diggs TKO 8 18/08/1983 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:43 of the eighth round.
Loss 8-0 United States Marvis Frazier UD 10 10/04/1983 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 19-11-1 Tonga Tony Pulu KO 3 10/03/1983 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 19-10 United States Walter Santemore UD 12 06/01/1983 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. ESPN Heavyweight Title.
Win 12-0 United States Donnie Long MD 10 17/10/1982 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 16-5-2 United States Randy Mack TKO 8 16/09/1982 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 5-9 United States Art Robinson DQ 4 04/08/1982 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 2-2 United States Lonnie Chapman KO 2 18/07/1982 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 5-3-1 United States Harold Rice PTS 8 02/04/1982 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 13-3-2 United States Lou Benson, Jr. PTS 8 11/02/1982 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 4-4-3 United States Robert Evans TKO 6 17/12/1981 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win -- United States James "Bonecrusher" Smith TKO 4 05/11/1981 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:07 of the fourth round.
Win -- United States Greg Stephany KO 3 16/09/1981 United States New York City, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:21 of the third round.
Win 0-4 United States Albert Collins KO 1 11/08/1981 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Collins refused to continue at 0:59 of the first round.
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