ED DONALDSON


   Mobile Alabama Police Officer Ed Donaldson turned professional in May of 1992 with an impressive 1st round knockout over fellow Alabama boxer Ben Green.
   Donaldson was then stepped up to a tougher opponent in Michigan's Warren Williams who came in with an impressive record of 6-1, with 4 wins by knockout.  It was a tough battle, but Donaldson got the split decision win over 4 rounds to move to 2-0, and gain a little attention from boxing insiders.
   
  The "Fighting Policeman" from Mobile, Alabama was then put in against a highly regarded boxer named James Gaines (1-0).  Although Gaines appeared overweight and not to be in great shape, he was in fact a very highly skilled boxer who would go on to fight some big names, score some upsets, and fight for a minor title belt.  Gaines came through and handed Donaldson his first loss in this battle of young fringe prospects.  It was a split decision loss for Donaldson that put his record at 2-1.

   They eased back on his level of competition, and Donaldson performed well running off a 4 knockout win streak, again finding his self in a battle of contenders, this time against Canadian amateur standout Kirk Johnson who was 2-0 and the favorite, but expected to be tested against Ed Donaldson.  The bout was on the undercard of Tommy Morrison vs Tim Tomashek at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO. It was Kirk Johnson scoring the 5th round stoppage of Donaldson, and while Donaldson took his 2nd loss, his reputation was solid in giving a top prospect a good test.

   Ed returned to the friendly confines of Mobile, Alabama and blasted out Florida's David Farnham in 2 rounds to get back on the winning track, and securing an April 14, 1994 showdown fight with undefeated Quinn Navarre (10-0-1) of Slidell, Louisiana.  The fight was a co-feature along with Bert Cooper vs Larry Donald.  Donaldson not only "tested" the unbeaten Navarre, but scored a shocking 2nd round knockout over the favored undefeated fighter!  It was a huge win for Ed Donaldson who moved his record to 8-2 and now was considered more than just a "test" for the bigger named contenders, but he was now an actual "threat" to these prospects, and was now a bit of a prospect his self!

   Donaldson scored two more easy knockouts over unheralded opponents, and brought his 10-2 record into a pretty big showdown fight with former NABF Heavyweight Champion, and world ranked contender - "The San Fernando Hammer" Alex Garcia (35-4-1, 26 KO).  The evening was a "Night of Heavyweights" in Albuquerque, New Mexico that featured Garcia/Donaldson in the main event along with Tim Puller, Marion Wilson, Mike "The Bounty" Hunter, Jimmy Thunder, Sean McClain, and some other contending heavyweights.  Garcia was coming off of his rematch win over Mike Dixon, which had avenged Garcia's first loss, and was looking for a big win over the respected Donaldson, to get back into title contention.  The fight went the full 10 rounds, and was a very close fight.  When the final bell rang, and the judges scorecards were tallied up, it was Garcia getting the unanimous decision nod on scores of: Rocky Burke 98-94, Albert Gutierrez 96-95, and my own scorecard also 96-95 for Garcia.
  
Donaldson battles Alex Garcia in a 10-round main event

   Less than a month later, Donaldson stepped right back into the ring against another world ranked contender, as he was stopped in round 2 by heavy handed James Thunder in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in a nationally televised bout.  Donaldson probably came back a little too soon after the greuling bout with Garcia, but losing to some bigger names in the division didn't hurt his popularity with fans or promoters.

   Just 5 months later, Donaldson returned to the ring in front of his Mobile, Alabama fans, and scored what would be his final victory with a 10 round decision win over Memphis Tennessee's Mike Faulkner.

   The popular fighter from Mobile would end his career with 3 losses, against top names in the heavyweight division.  Larry Holmes, Michael Grant, and Keith McKnight had a combined record of 108-6, and they were the final trio that Ed Donaldson would face.  He was stopped in the 3rd round
Ed Donaldson's final bout against Keith McKnight
against red-hot unbeaten contender Michael Grant (18-0), and took both legendary former champion Larry Holmes (61-5), and top prospect Keith McKnight (29-1) - the full 10-round distance.

   Eddie Donaldson finished his pro campaign with a record of 11-7 scoring 9 knockouts. He never fought for a title belt, but took on some big names in the heavyweight division, and became a respected journeyman professional boxer that was loved by his fans in Mobile, Alabama, and picked up quite a few fans around the world in his wars with some pretty big names in the heavyweight division!

Check out Ed Donaldson's complete record on Boxrec: ED DONALDSON'S complete record

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