Davey Moore (boxer, born 1959)
Davey Moore | |
---|---|
Statistics | |
Real name | Davey Moore |
Nickname(s) | Bronx |
Weight(s) | Light Middleweight |
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Reach | 180 cm (71 in) |
Nationality | ![]() |
Born | Bronx, New York | 9 June 1959
Died | 3 June 1988 Holmdel, New Jersey | (aged 28)
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 23 |
Wins | 18 |
Wins by KO | 14 |
Losses | 5 |
Draws | 0 |
No contests | 0 |
Davey Moore (9 June 1959 – 3 June 1988) was an American world junior middleweight champion boxer, the second of two professional champions who shared the name in the second half of the 20th century. Each died around the age of thirty, the first, Davey S. Moore (born 1933), as a result of punishment in a fight, the second in an accident at his home.
The latter was born in New York during the championship reign of the first. As a boxer, he rose quickly through the junior middleweight ranks—perhaps too quickly, according to some boxing writers and critics.
Notable amateur fights[]
Davey Moore won four New York Golden Gloves Championships. Moore won the 1976 135 lb Sub-Novice Championship. Moore also won the 1977, 1978 and 1979 147 lb Open Championships. He was defeated in the 1980 147 lb Open division by Pedro Vilella who was a three time New York Golden Gloves Champion. Moore was trained at the Morrisania Youth Center in the Bronx, New York by Leon Washington a former professional Middleweight.
Professional career[]
Moore earned a spot on the 1980 US Olympic Team, but did not compete due to the US boycott of the Moscow Olympics.
One of Moore's early wins was in June 1981 over Kevin Rooney, who would later train Mike Tyson. Moore entered the fight with a 6–0 record, while Rooney was 15–0. Moore won by a TKO in the seventh round of an eight-round fight.
After winning eight professional fights, five by knockout, the WBA named him their No.10 challenger, and in February 1982, he traveled to Japan, where he knocked out defending champion Tadashi Mihara in six, winning the WBA world junior middleweight title.
In April 1982 he defended his world title against Charlie Weir in Johannesburg, South Africa, taking five rounds to knock him out. Then in July 1982 he fought former world champion Ayub Kalule, whom he stopped in the tenth round.
Moore started 1983 by beating challenger , by knockout in the fourth round. He had been scheduled to fight Tony Ayala Jr. but Ayala was convicted of burglary and rape and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Next, Moore defended against former two-division world champion Roberto Durán. Moore appeared to be overconfident against an aging 'Hands of Stone' Duran but Duran totally outclassed him and dished out vicious punishment, hammering shut one of Moore's eyes and stopping him in eight brutal rounds at Madison Square Garden. The beating was so one-sided that Moore's mother and girlfriend were both said to have fainted at ringside. Many knowledgeable observers believed that referee Ernesto Magana should have stopped the fight far earlier. This was proven to be correct by the fact that Moore was never the same fighter after this contest. In 1992, Colombo crime family Caporegime Michael Franzese testified that Moore was handled by himself and other Colombo mobsters, and that although they knew that Moore was in poor physical condition, they decided to proceed with the fight due to the profitability of betting on Duran. Franzese believed that bribery may have taken place for Moore to pass the physical examination. [1]
Moore won his next two fights, the second in Monte Carlo over Wilfred Benítez but then he was disqualified in the ninth round against Louis Acaries in Paris. In 1985, he won one more fight and was in line to challenge Carlos Santos for the IBF World Junior Middleweight title. That fight did not materialize, but eventually he did get to challenge for the IBF title against Buster Drayton in August 1986. Moore lost by TKO in the tenth round and only fought 5 more times, winning 3 and losing 2.
Death[]
![]() | This section does not cite any sources. (December 2015) |
Moore was killed at his home in Holmdel, New Jersey one morning in early June 1988 when his four-wheel drive vehicle began to roll down the driveway. Caught off guard, he attempted to stop it but was dragged under and pinned there. Paramedics arrived to find him lifeless, the official cause of death being recorded as asphyxiation induced by a compressed chest. He left behind his wife and two children.[2]
See also[]
- Davey Moore (boxer, born 1933), a champion boxer who also died prematurely
- Anton Yelchin, an American actor who died in a similar manner to the subject of this article
Professional boxing record[]
23 fights | 18 wins | 5 losses |
---|---|---|
By knockout | 14 | 3 |
By decision | 4 | 1 |
By disqualification | 0 | 1 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | Win | 18–5 | ![]() |
TKO | 6 (10) | Apr 30, 1988 | ![]() |
|
22 | Win | 17–5 | ![]() |
TKO | 4 (10) | Mar 18, 1988 | ![]() |
|
21 | Loss | 16–5 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | Jul 21, 1987 | ![]() |
|
20 | Loss | 16–4 | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (10) | Apr 6, 1987 | ![]() |
|
19 | Win | 16–3 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | Mar 11, 1987 | ![]() |
|
18 | Loss | 15–3 | ![]() |
TKO | 10 (15) | Aug 24, 1986 | ![]() |
For IBF light-middleweight title |
17 | Win | 15–2 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (10) | Apr 4, 1986 | ![]() |
|
16 | Loss | 14–2 | ![]() |
DQ | 9 (12) | Dec 10, 1984 | ![]() |
Moore disqualified for landing a punch after the bell to end round 9 |
15 | Win | 14–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (10) | Jul 14, 1984 | ![]() |
|
14 | Win | 13–1 | ![]() |
KO | 3 (10) | Mar 14, 1984 | ![]() |
|
13 | Loss | 12–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 8 (15) | Jun 16, 1983 | ![]() |
Lost WBA light-middleweight title |
12 | Win | 12–0 | ![]() |
KO | 4 (15) | Jan 29, 1983 | ![]() |
Retained WBA light-middleweight title |
11 | Win | 11–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 10 (15) | Jul 17, 1982 | ![]() |
Retained WBA light-middleweight title |
10 | Win | 10–0 | ![]() |
KO | 5 (15) | Apr 26, 1982 | ![]() |
Retained WBA light-middleweight title |
9 | Win | 9–0 | ![]() |
KO | 6 (15) | Feb 2, 1982 | ![]() |
Won WBA light-middleweight title |
8 | Win | 8–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 7 (8) | Oct 31, 1981 | ![]() |
|
7 | Win | 7–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 7 (8) | Jun 1, 1981 | ![]() |
|
6 | Win | 6–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 1 (6) | May 23, 1981 | ![]() |
|
5 | Win | 5–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 4 (6) | Mar 28, 1981 | ![]() |
|
4 | Win | 4–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 (6) | Feb 8, 1981 | ![]() |
|
3 | Win | 3–0 | ![]() |
UD | 6 | Jan 17, 1981 | ![]() |
|
2 | Win | 2–0 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Dec 20, 1980 | ![]() |
|
1 | Win | 1–0 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Nov 1, 1980 | ![]() |
References[]
- ^ Michael Franzese Testifies About Organized Crime and Professional Boxing - 1992, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 19 May 2021
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/05/obituaries/davey-moore-28-is-dead-in-accident-held-boxing-title.html?mcubz=0
External links[]
- 1959 births
- 1988 deaths
- Boxers from New York City
- Sportspeople from the Bronx
- American male boxers
- Light-middleweight boxers