David Bey

David Bey
Born
David Bey

(1957-03-11)March 11, 1957
DiedSeptember 13, 2017(2017-09-13) (aged 60)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesHand Grenade
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights30
Wins18
Wins by KO14
Losses11
Draws1
No contests0

David Bey (March 11, 1957 – September 13, 2017) was a heavyweight boxer who held the USBA title. He unsuccessfully challenged Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title in 1985.

Bey was an outstanding amateur boxer who had taken up the sport to lose weight and eventually competed on the U.S. All Army Boxing Team. He made his professional debut in 1981, defeating future undisputed world heavyweight champion James "Buster" Douglas by a second-round knockout. He built up a record of 14–0, becoming the first man to stop the durable veteran contender George Chaplin (TKO4) as well as defeating future WBA heavyweight champion Greg Page (W12) to capture the United States Boxing Association heavyweight championship.

In March 1985 Bey was given a title shot by IBF heavyweight champion Larry Holmes. After a strong start, Holmes knocked Bey down twice in the 8th round and the referee stopped the fight in the 10th round.

Bey never regained his confidence, losing his USBA title by 11th-round TKO to Trevor Berbick in his comeback fight, then being relegated to 'opponent' status for the remainder of his career, matched against the likes of James "Bonecrusher" Smith, Joe Bugner in Australia, Tyrell Biggs, and Johnny DuPlooy in South Africa. He retired in 1987 after losing to DuPlooy, but made a comeback in 1990 in which he went 3-5-1. In 1994 in his final fight he knocked out David Jaco in China. He lived in China for a time before returning to the States and his old construction job.

Bey died in a construction accident in Camden in 2017.[1]

Professional boxing record[edit]

18 Wins (14 knockouts, 4 decisions), 11 Losses (8 knockouts, 3 decisions), 1 Draw [2]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 18–11–1 United States David Jaco TKO 8 1994-09-17 China Macao, China
Loss 17–11–1 Croatia Zeljko Mavrovic TKO 4 1993-10-16 Germany Koblenz, Germany
Loss 17–10–1 United States Terry Davis UD 12 1993-02-27 China Beijing, China NBA Continental Americas Heavyweight Title.
Loss 17–9–1 United Kingdom Derek Williams TKO 6 1991-09-30 United Kingdom London, England
Draw 17–8–1 United States David Jaco PTS 10 1991-09-07 United States Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Loss 17–8 United States Joe Hipp TKO 7 1991-02-26 United States Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:07 of the seventh round.
Loss 17–7 United States Bruce Seldon TKO 10 1990-11-01 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:38 of the tenth round.
Win 17–6 United States Terry Miller KO 2 1990-08-21 United States Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Win 16–6 United States Paul Bradshaw TKO 3 1990-02-17 Canada Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Loss 15–6 South Africa Johnny DuPlooy KO 9 1987-04-27 South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa
Loss 15–5 United States Tyrell Biggs TKO 6 1987-03-07 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:15 of the sixth round.
Loss 15–4 Australia Joe Bugner UD 10 1986-11-14 Australia Sydney, Australia
Loss 15–3 United States James Smith UD 10 1986-08-23 United States Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
Win 15–2 United States Wesley Smith SD 10 1986-01-17 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Split Decision win 10 Rounds.
Loss 14–2 Canada Trevor Berbick TKO 11 1985-06-15 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. USBA Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:30 of the 11th round.
Loss 14–1 United States Larry Holmes TKO 10 1985-03-15 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. For IBF, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles.
Win 14–0 United States Greg Page UD 12 1984-08-31 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. USBA Heavyweight Title.
Win 13–0 United States Leroy Caldwell PTS 10 1984-03-09 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 12–0 United States Alf Coffin KO 2 1983-08-17 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 11–0 United States Grady Daniels KO 1 1983-07-16 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Daniels knocked out at 2:01 of the first round.
Win 10–0 United States Chuck Johnson TKO 3 1983-02-12 United States Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Win 9–0 United States George Chaplin TKO 4 1982-11-26 United States Houston, Texas, U.S.
Win 8–0 United States Larry Beilfuss TKO 1 1982-10-02 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 7–0 United States Jack Watkins KO 2 1982-08-14 United States Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Win 6–0 United States Larry Sims PTS 6 1982-06-27 United States Highland Heights, Ohio, U.S.
Win 5–0 United States Laverne Bumpers TKO 1 1982-05-02 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 4–0 D.B. Johnson KO 1 1982-04-09 United States Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Win 3–0 United States Steve Flemester TKO 2 1982-03-20 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 2–0 Larry Ham TKO 1 1982-02-24 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 1–0 United States James Douglas TKO 2 1981-11-06 United States Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Industrial accident reportedly kills former boxer who fought Larry Holmes". September 18, 2017.
  2. ^ Boxing record for David Bey. BoxRec.com.

External links[edit]