Wesley Watson

Wesley Page Watson Jr. (born September 16, 1962, in Bristol, Tennessee) is a retired American heavyweight boxer best known for his successful amateur boxing career.

Early years

Watson, former Howard Career Center and Dickinson High basketballer, fought of Wilmington, Delaware. He played three years of varsity basketball at Howard before transferring to Dickinson High his senior year, where he was a starter on 'Coach Jim Realer's Rams. Watson never fought officially before he joined the military in August 1981, two months after he graduated from Dickinson. "I first started boxing in April 1983," said Watson in an interview. Though his actual first fight appeared to be an unsanctioned fight against fellow Howard teammate named Arthur Carter, for which they both were being detained in the school disciplinarian's office. Lee Roy DeShazor, school disciplinarian, told, "When I walked into Lee Roy's office and saw Watson crying, I was completely shocked, and also a little disappointed," said Lee, never dreaming that a few years later Wesley Watson would surface as a national, amateur, super heavyweight boxing champion.[1]

Charlie Messina, fight promoter manager, said Watson lived on Washington Street before joining the Army. "I remember he came to the West Center City Community Center one night and sparred against Henry Milligan," Messina said.[2]

Military service

Wesley Watson started boxing while serving in the U.S. Army, he was stationed in Fort Bragg, his latest military rank was corporal.

Amateur career

Watson became the 1985 U.S. Army and inter-service super heavyweight champion, 1985 National AAU Super Heavyweight Champion (201 lbs. or more), representing the Army. He qualified to the All-American Boxing Team by the United States Amateur Boxing Committee. Watson qualified for the 1986 Goodwill Games, but neither he nor the remaining eight Army boxers, who qualified for the U.S. Goodwill Team,[3] participated in the Games for non-specified political reasons.

Highlights

Watson finished his amateur career with a record of 42 wins, 7 losses.[4] He was rated the #1 American amateur superheavyweight by the United States Amateur Boxing Federation in February 1987.[5] He turned pro soon after being discharged from the Army.

Professional career

Watson turned pro in 1987 and won his first 10 bouts before stepping up in class and losing to Bernardo Mercado in 1988. After another string of victories he faced Michael Dokes but lost via third-round TKO. In December 1989, he fought an exhibition against Gerry Cooney. In his next fight he was TKO'd by Ray Mercer and retired. He returned to the sport five years later but retired again after two victories.

Professional boxing record
17 Wins (13 knockouts, 4 decisions), 3 Losses (3 knockouts, 0 decisions)
Result Opp Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 4-12 Dwayne Hall TKO 1 16 Apr 1996 Wilmington, Delaware, United States
Win 3-11 William "Gladiator" Campudani KO 1 19 Dec 1995 Columbia, South Carolina, United States
Loss 12-0 "Merciless" Ray Mercer TKO 5 15 Jan 1990 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Referee stopped the bout at 0:44 of the fifth round.
Loss 38-2-2 Michael "Dynamite" Dokes TKO 3 24 Aug 1989 New York City, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:25 of the third round.
Win debut Anthony Green KO 1 12 Jun 1989 Erlanger, Kentucky, United States
Win 0-4 Randy Davis KO 2 22 May 1989 Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States
Win 3-17 James Holly KO 2 13 May 1989 Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Win 25-15 Danny Sutton PTS 10 24 Mar 1989 Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Win 3-25 Larry Givens UD 8 12 Nov 1988 Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Loss 32-4 Bernardo Mercado TKO 1 13 Aug 1988 Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Win 1-6 John "The Salt" Morton PTS 10 23 Jul 1988 Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Win 10-24-1 Frankie Hines TKO 1 25 Jun 1988 Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Win 0-1 Calvin "Concrete" Jones TKO 2 16 Jan 1988 Bristol, Tennessee, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:27 of the second round.
Win 0-7 Jeff Burg TKO 1 28 Nov 1987 Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Win 1-5 "Mean" Joe Adams TKO 3 19 Nov 1987 Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Win 1-0 Darryl Rouse TKO 4 29 Sep 1987 Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Win 4-15-1 Wesley Smith PTS 6 19 Sep 1987 Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Win 0-4 Ray Sims TKO 2 24 Aug 1987 Louisville, Kentucky, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:57 of the second round.
Win 0-3 Mark "The Spark" Green KO 1 11 Jul 1987 Bristol, Tennessee, United States
Win debut Troy Whitehead KO 1 9 May 1987 Bristol, Tennessee, United States

References
  1. Watson met his match in Delaware, The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware, December 22, 1985, p. 43.
  2. Fighting for the U.S. Army, The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware, November 7, 1984, C8.
  3. Goodwill Boxers, Wilson Daily Times, July 3, 1986, p. 16.
  4. Salesianum turns back Wilmington, The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware, January 18, 1987, p. 50.
  5. USAABF Amateur boxing ratings, Lowell Sun, February 23, 1987, p. 23.
Preceded by
Nathaniel Fitch		 United States Amateur Super Heavyweight Champion
1985		 Succeeded by
Alex Garcia
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