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Tony Tucker-TNT Man


BoztheMadman
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Another heavyweight who was a part of the 80's scene but also extended his career well into the 90's, Tony Tucker was a very capable, hard-hitting and tough boxer. At 6'5, he was a giant for that time, one of the largest boxers, especially among the elite. Only Gerry Cooney was larger among the elite 80's heavies, and only slightly. Tucker was a promising amateur who had a very long pro career, but only briefly held a world title, mostly due to the presence of Mike Tyson and later Lennox Lewis. He only lost twice in his first 50 fights, and that was to the two aforementioned guys, but later on his career unravelled after getting stopped for the first time by Bruce Seldon. Here is the story of TNT Tony Tucker.

 

His full name is Anthony Dean Tucker and he was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on 27 December 1958-same day as Tim Witherspoon, but a year later. His father Bob was an amateur boxer and that was the decisive factor in him choosing that path. His father was also his first trainer and manager and invested all his wealth into the development of his son's career. Young Tony won the 1979 Pan American Games as a light heavy and also that year he won the World Cup and the national title. Robert Surkein, the boxing chairman of AAU, said of him:"Believe me, he's better than Leon Spinks. Spinks couldn't hold this kid's gloves at a comparable stage." He really had it all, both the boxing iq, the size, the power and the savvy. He ended his amateur career with a record of 115-6. He was supposed to go to Poland in 1980 to take part in an exhibition there, but missed his flight and was the only member of the national team alongside Bobby Czyz who didn't get killed in the plane crash that happened. At that point he became religious, believing he was spared by God for a purpose. He turned pro 1 November that year and beat Chuck Gardner by KO3. He scored 13 straight knockouts. His early fights were shown as a part of NBC's "Tomorrow's Champions" broadcasts. On 26 September '86, he beat the equally large James Broad by UD12 to win the USBA title. He was 33-0 with 28 ko's when he was given the chance to win the vacant IBF belt, after Michael Spinks was stripped of it. His opponent was James "Buster" Douglas, 22-3-1 at the time. The stage was Las Vegas Hilton Outdoor Arena and the date 30 May '87. Tucker was slim and not too muscular back then, so he came in at 222 pounds, while Douglas weighed in at 228. It was a good and close fight but Douglas was ahead on one of the cards going into round 10, when he seemed to tire. One had Tucker ahead and the third was even. It was then that TNT produced his greatest victory, catching Douglas with a big right and then following it up with a flurry that put Douglas out of the game, 1:36 into the round.

 

He was now the champion but didn't get that much publicity, since the medias focused intensely on Mike Tyson. He therefore decided to challenge Iron Mike, in order to show everyone what he was made of. The fight was shown on HBO and got Tucker his first big purse, 1.9 million. The stage was once again Las Vegas Hilton, this time indoors, and the date 1 August '87. It was a part of HBO's unification tournament. Unlucky for TNT, he injured his hand in the fourth round and despite lifting Tyson off his feet with a big right in the first round and hitting him with some more good punches in the next two, he was unable to follow up after the fourth round due to the injury. He therefore spent the rest of the fight in survival mode, running around and grabbing and holding. It was therefore not a candidate for the fight of the year, but Tucker became only the second man to go 12 with the fearsome destroyer Tyson. He lost by the scores of 117-112, 118-113 and 119-111. Afterwards, Tyson said that it was the first time he was hurt by a single punch and called Tucker a very hard puncher. "It was a classic fight between two undefeated guys with punching power. I'm looking for a rematch. Mike is a great fighter. He put on a helluva show." Tucker said. But the rematch never happened. Tucker didn't return until 2 years later, in December '89 and he was now significantly more buff and weighed 25 pounds more than against Tyson. He won the California State title by KO1 against Lionel Washington in January '91 and then fought the much smaller Orlin Norris on 3 June for the NABF title. The quicker and nimbler Norris gave him some trouble but in the end Tucker was slightly busier and won by a split decision. On 26 June next year, he also beat Oliver McCall by SD12 in his first defense of the title. He finally landed another world title shot against Lennox Lewis, who had been handed the WBC belt after Riddick Bowe refused to fight him. It was 8 May '93 at Thomas & Mack Center and both guys weighed exactly the same and are of the same height. Lewis was however 28 while Tucker was 34. Tucker was dropped twice but had his moments and made it a fight, however he lost by clear unanimous decision. That fight marked the end of TNT's prime. After winning 4 easy fights by ko, he fought Bruce Seldon for the vacant WBA title, 8 April '95 at Caesars Palace and was beaten into submission by the younger and quicker Seldon, having to quit after 7 rounds due to bad swelling around his eyes. Tucker was supposed to fight George Foreman, but Foreman ducked him and was stripped of the title.

 

He also lost his next two fights, to Henry Akinwande by UD10 and Orlin Norris by MD10. His last success was winning the vacant NABF title for the second time by knocking out David Dixon in 1 round. 29 June '96. That was lucky, since the temperature was 120 degrees Fahrenheit! In his last world title fight almost exactly a year later, the 37-yearold Tucker was easily blown out by hard hitting Herbie Hide in 2 rounds, after being down three times. Thus Hide became the WBO champion. In January '98, he fought the young John Ruiz and lost to him by TKO11. He won one more fight by KO1 in May that year before finally calling it quits-after 18 years! He was 39 and his record is 57 wins, 47 by ko, 7 losses and 1 no contest. His license had been revoked due to sight problems. Tucker now works as a trainer at the Clearwater Boxing Center in Florida. He had the misfortune to be a world champion for only 2 months and also to injure his hand so early in his biggest fight, otherwise...who knows. TNT certainly had what it took to be a great champion, but being away from the ring too long after the Tyson fight might have ruined his chances.

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