About Jimmy Young

Born November 14, 1948 in Philadelphia, PA
Died February 20, 2005
Career record: 34 wins (11 KO), 19 defeats (2 KO), 2 draws

By the time Philadelphia-native Jimmy Young stepped into the ring, Joe Frazier was Philly's hometown boxing hero. Young was a great heavyweight, but he had the misfortune of fighting in an era that was abundant with heavyweights who were even greater. After suffering his first knockout loss to heavyweight contender Earnie Shavers, he was undefeated for the next three years, a record that was good enough to earn him a title fight with Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali. The fight went the full 15 rounds, but Young lost to Ali in a controversial unanimous decision. He went on to fight more of the era's great heavyweights. He defeated George Foreman with a 12-round decision a year after his loss to Ali; Ring Magazine named it the "Fight of the Year" in 1977. A year later, he lost a split decision to Ken Norton in a 1977 WBC elimination bout. Young retired in 1988, and by the 1990s, he was homeless and suffering from both dementia pugilistica and alcoholism. Young died of a heart attack in February 2005.

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