Virgil "Quicksilver" Hill

This is a man I have admired a long time. One of boxing's true greats, who one can say never got his full due, despite making 20 world title defences altogether and winning four world titles at two different weights. Hill was a tricky and clever boxer who had a very sneaky left hook with which he scored most of his knockouts, some of them sudden and spectacular. He was only defeated by the best boxers, and only twice was he stopped in 58 fights. He definitely belongs on the list of the best light heavyweights of all time. Hill had longevity and fought till the age of 43, also making a brief comeback at 51. His record is 51 wins (24 by ko) and 7 losses.

Even though he would become famous as North Dakota's only world champion in his time, Hill was born in Clinton, Missouri, 18 January 1964. His ethnic background is very mixed and he has a portion of Native American blood, making him one of very few world champions of Native American ethnicity. Hill relocated to Williston in North Dakota to start boxing. First he won the Golden Gloves at middleweight in 1984, then he competed in the Olympics in Los Angeles that year. He came to the final, eliminating Brian Schumacher of UK and Damir Skaro of Yugoslavia among his most notable opponents. In the final he lost 2-3 to South Korean Shin Joon-Sup and so had to settle for a silver medal. He turned pro in November that year, with a TKO 2 against Arthur Wright. His first belt that he won was the WBC Intercontinental lhw title, by UD 12 against Clarence Osby, 11 December '86. Next year he faced another Native American fighter and the first world champion of that ethnicity, Marvin Camel, at City Arena in Grand Forks. He brutally dispatched the older Camel by a first round knockout. Since Camel was a cruiserweight, the fight was above the 175-limit. That fight was on 1 May and Hill then got a chance to win the WBA title against champion Leslie Stewart from Trinidad and Tobago. It was 5 September in Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City when Hill entered history books, stopping Stewart by TKO 4 after catching Stewart flush with a left hook which sent him down. Stewart got up but was again put down with a great left hook, after which the fight was over. Hill was a big underdog since he was relatively unknown and since Stewart was coming off a stoppage win over Marvin Johnson.

Hill had a long and distinguished first reign, making 10 defenses over a period of almost 4 years. Most notably he decisioned Bobby Czyz and stopped James Kinchen in 1 round, after catching him with that cagey left hook. His first reign ended on 3 June '91, when he faced a legend, Tommy "Hitman" Hearns. Hill put on a good performance in a close fight, but was eventually the loser by a close unanimous decision. His slow and cautious start cost him the fight. In his second comeback fight after that, he stopped the faded former world class contender Lottie Mwale by KO 4. After Hearns lost the WBA belt to Iran Barkley and Barkley then vacated it, Hill fought the former IBF middleweight champion and Olympic gold medallist from 1984, Frank Tate, for it. Fighting in his adopted home state, Bismarck, North Dakota, Hill reclaimed his title with a decisive unanimous verdict against the skilled Tate. His first defense in the second reign would end remarkably; he fought against the promising Adolpho Washington, later a world cruiserweight champion and after 11 rounds was well ahead, after giving Washington a beating. Going back to his corner, an obviously groggy Washington bumped his head against a television camera and was unable to continue, thus losing by a technical decision. On 3 April '93 Hill would first face one of his best opponents: Fabrice Tiozzo of France. He even went to Paris to fight the 25-0 Tiozzo, of same height as he and very strong physically. Despite putting Tiozzo down in each of the first two rounds, Hill had to fight hard to earn a split deciison in the end. He faced Frank Tate again in another defense in 1994 and again beat him by UD. This time the scores were wider. He also decisioned Drake Thadzi, Crawford Ashley and Lou Del Valle, before going to Germany to fight their best light heavyweight and perhaps best fighter overall at the time: Henry Maske.

It was 23 November '96 in Olympiahalle in Munich when Hill produced perhaps his best victory, getting a split decision nod in Germany, which was always very difficult, especially against their most popular fighter. Maske retired after that, although it wouldn't be the last time the two would meet. With this victory, Hill also captured the IBF belt, which Maske had defended 10 times. However, this triumph wouldn't last and Hill again went to Germany for his next fight, which was a big title unification against Polish-born and German-based WBO champion Dariusz "Tiger" Michalczewski. It was 13 June '97 at the Arena Oberhausen in Oberhausen and the two exchanged frequently in a fast-paced and excellent fight. It turned out Hill's style was suited for Tiger Dariusz, as he also liked coming forward and was mobile like Hill. In the end, the home favorite got the nod this time with the scores of 118-110, 117-112 and 116-113. Hill would later praise Michalczewski as one of the best boxers he ever fought. After that, Hill landed a fight against the best boxer on the planet at the time: Roy Jones jr. The two faced off 25 April '98 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Hill fought smart for the first 3 rounds and Jones had trouble landing and getting past his guard. In the fourth, he then decided to go for the body and found an opening, hitting Hill with a brutal right to the kidney. Hill fell to the canvas in agony and was counted out, suffering his first knockout loss. He earned a million for his pain. After this, Hill decided his days as a light heavyweight were over, now 34 and not being able to make the weight anymore. He thus became a cruiserweight.

After 2 easier fights in the new division, he signed to fight a rematch against Tiozzo, now the reigning WBA champion. The fight was on 9 December 2000 in Villeurbanne, France and Hill produced his last great victory against the pudgy-looking Tiozzo when he caught him with an overhand right and dropped him in the first round. Tiozzo got up but was put down again with a combination. Hill then finished him off with a body-head combination and Tiozzo was down for the third time and stopped at 2:59 of the first round. Tiozzo would not lose again and Hill became the only man to defeat him-twice. He was named The Ring Comeback Fighter of the Year for that achievement. Hill then didn't fight for 14 months when he defended for the first time against Jean-Marc Mormeck, 23 February 2002, again in France, Marseille. Hill, now 38, held his own for the first 6 rounds against the 8-years younger Mormeck, but in the 7th he started taking punishment and in the 8th he received a bad beating and was cut up badly, bleeding from cuts over both eyes. His corner then stopped the fight, leading to Hill's second and last stoppage loss. Even worse, in July that year, the French Anti-Doping Council found traces of a banned diuretic and a drug used to treat inflammation in Hill's blood test. He was then banned from fighting in France for 2 years. He would never fight there again. In November that year he won the minor IBC title by decisioning former super middleweight and light heavyweight world title challenger Joey De Grandis. He also had a fight against former light heavyweight WBC champion Donny Lalonde in July 2003 and won on points after dropping Lalonde briefly in round one. The fight was in Winnipeg, Lalonde's hometown. He then signed to fight Mormeck again, hoping for a revenge. The fight was in South Africa, as Hill was still under the ban in France. It was 22 May 2004 in Brakpan and the fight was entertaining for several reasons. Hill landed a jab after the bell in round 2 which made Mormeck hit him and send him flying into a corner. Hill was also down in round 8 but fought better than in their first fight and made it a close one. He lost by the very close scores of 115-113 twice and 115-114.

Aged 40 now, everyone thought that was it for Hill. But he surprised everyone by recapturing his favorite belt, although it was the "regular" version since Mormeck had been promoted into a "super champion". It was 27 January 2006, just after his 42nd birthday, when the ever-vital Hill decisioned the 30-0 Russian Valery Brudov and thus became a four-time world champion. But, like his first reign at cruiserweight, this one didn't last that long and Hill lost the title in Germany to Firat Arslan. However, before that, he had a rematch against Henry Maske, who came out of retirement after 10 years to fight him on 31 March 2007 in Munich. Hill suffered a cut during the eight round, due to an accidental headbutt. This made it difficult for him to fight as the blood kept flowing and Maske took over, in the end winning with the scores of 117-110 twice and 116-113, After the fight against Arslan, 24 November that year, Hill was once again caught with a positive test and decided to retire at almost 44. Although his reputation was somewhat tarnished, he had still had a very good career and couldn't hope to achieve more.

Surprisingly, he came back one more time on 28 February 2015, winning a fight against journeyman Jimmy Campbell by TKO 2, showing he still wasn't completely rusty. With that, he concluded his career on a good note. His son Virgil jr now fights as a light heavyweight and currently has a record of 5-0. Hill was trained by some of the best trainers during his career, including Eddie Futch and Freddie Roach. He was known for his jab and his constant movement and the unorthodox way he threw his punches. He was wrongly assumed to "have no right hand" but he proved that wrong on several occasions, like against Tiozzo the second time. Although he didn't score that many knockouts, Hill definitely had power. But he was first and foremost a boxer. His insistance to fight in North Dakota may have hampered his career and led to him not being as a famous as he should have and could have been. But, his accolades are there and in 2013 he was inducted into the IBHOF. He thus became perhaps the only fighter (to my knowledge at least) to have a professional fight after being inducted.