BOXING'S HALL OF FAN FAVORITES

Nickname: Desert Storm    Akron Ohio's Robert C. Davis Jr. was successful in the amateur ranks and turned professional at what is considered a "late age" - in 1997.  He was 26 years old when he made his professional Debut - a first round knockout of fellow Ohioan Don Davis at a place called "The Trap Nightclub" in Nashville, TN.    The U.S. Military Veteran known as "Desert Storm" ran his record up to 14-0, with 8 knockouts and got his first big test in highly regarded Sherman "The Tank" Williams (13-2) at the Grand Casino in Tunica, MS. Davis passed his test with flying colors as he stopped "The Tank" in round 5 of a bout scheduled for 8 rounds.  It was a big win that opened the door onto the stage of heavyweight Prospect-to-Contenders for Robert Davis. From this point on, the level of competition was raised.    Less than 2 months later, Davis was put in with 46 fight respected journeyman - Reggie Miller (27-15-1) and it was no pr...

 Nickname: THE BOSS    Joe Hipp opened his career against Steve Cortez on August 29, 1987 at the County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Oregon. His pro debut bout was on the undercard of Leon Spinks vs Jim Ashard.  Hipp dropped Cortez in the first round, and cruised on to a 4 round unanimoous win.  He would lose his next bout against Veti Katoa, after suffering a fractured jaw and having the bout stopped by the rinside physician. The Southpaw heavyweight Hipp started at 1-1, and that is when he went on a 16-fight winning streak that included two wins over the man who handed Joe his only loss - Veti Katoa - winning a 5 round decision in their 2nd meeting, and then sealing it with a 3rd round tko stoppage in the 3rd and final fight of the trilogy.    That winning streak included wins over Cleveland Woods, Sean McClain, and fellow Montana Native, and former IBF World Cruiserweight champion Marvin Camel. Joe Hipp fought for his first title belt on Jan. 14. 1991. He...

 Nickname: "Council of War"    Washington D.C.'s Andrew Council opened his pro boxing career on Nov. 14, 1990 and started with a 1st round knockout win over fellow DC'er Michael Duncan.    He won his next fight and at 2-0, he was put in a battle of young east coast unbeatens against Brooklyn, NY's Lonnie Davis (3-0) on the undercard of Frank Tate vs Uriah Grant.  Council took his first loss by a unanimous decision over 4 rounds.    Andrew was now 2-1, and he came back with a unanimous 6-round decision win over 26-fight veteran Robert Sawyer. Next was a 2nd round knockout win over Mark Simmons who also came into that fight with amark of 3-1, and then a surprising draw against South Africa's Mpush Makambi, followed by a mild upset loss to tough and well respected Ricky "Time Bomb" Thomas by decision.  Council's place in the landscape of possible title contenders looked a little unclear as he now stood at 4-2-1.    Council's record may...

    Sacramento's Pete Ranzany enjoyed a short, but excellent amateur boxing career fighting for the U.S. Army boxing team.  He went as far as the semi-finals of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials, defeating Carlos Palomino in the quarter-finals, but then losing to Sugar Ray Seales in the semi-final match. He fought at the top level in the amateurs, and that wouldn't change as a pro.      His professional campaign opened on Oct. 2, 1973 and he gave a hint as to the excitement to come as he went down in round 1, only to get off of the deck and come roaring back to stop Marc Thomas in round 3 by knockout. He stopped his next 4 opponents, and then won a decision over Jimmy "Mean Machine" Jackson by decision. That 5 round decision win over Jackson was a good one, and called for a rematch. It was Oct. 22, 1974 that Ranzany tasted defeat for the first time - losing an 8-round unanimous decision in the rematch with Jackson. That loss didn't sit well with Ranzany, an...

 Nickname: "Downtown"        Indiana's "Downtown" Jerry Brown turned professional on June 2, 1987 with a 3rd round tko over 24 fight veteran - George Reedy, and then followed that with a 7-fight win streak before tasting his first defeat at the hands of a much bigger Bill Robinson on the undercard of the Marlon Starling/Fujio Ozaki WBA Welterweight title bout held at the Atlantic City Convention Center. After that promising 8-0, 5 ko start, Brown stepped onto a pretty big stage only to taste an upset defeat. Brown followed his first loss with a draw, and then took his 2nd loss by decision to a young 1-0 midwest circuit upstart named Tim Dendy.  Starting 8-0 and then going 0-2-1, Brown's record now stood at 8-2-1.  Still promising and having shown plenty of good skills, Jerry battled on.       The popular Indiana fighter battled on and ran off a nice 6-0-1 streak fighting on local midwest Jerry Brown was a welcomed additon to every l...

   Wilibaldo Salazar opened his professional career on Dec. 14, 1979 in his home town of Jalisco, Guadalajara Mexico with a 4 round decision loss to fellow Jalisco pro debuter Librado Moran.  He won his 2nd pro fight and then won his 3rd pro fight via knockout before being stopped his self in fight number 4.  His record stood at a non-de script 2-2 and he was not seen as anything "special" by local boxing fans.    He was improving though, and ran off a 7-fight win streak including 5 wins by knockout. He then labored with an up-and-down career that saw 3 straight losses, leading to a streak of fights in which he went 6-9-1 against mostly local talent. His record stood at a respectable 20-12-1 when he got his first shot at a title belt.  It was for the Mexico National Flyweight title, and he went the 12-round distance to earn that title with a decision win over fellow Jalisco resident - Adolfo Anguiano.  That belt probably felt pretty good arou...

Rosemead, California's Rudy Zavala made his professional debut in march of 1990, opening with a unanimous decision win over Rafael Martinez.  Just 3 weeks later, they fought a rematch at the Forum in Inglewood, CA and this time Zavala stopped Martinez in round 3. Just like that, the 21 year old was off to a 2-0 start, and he became a local favorite of The Forum as he ran his record to 11-0, 9 by KO before taking a big step-up fight against former WBC International Title challenger Virgilio Openo (18-2-4) of The Phillipines.  That bout was scheduled for 12 rounds, but it only took Zavala 6 to stop his first world class opponent. On that night, Rudy went from Prospect to Contender. 3 more fights against good solid mid-level opponents netted 3 more KO wins, and now with an impressive record of 15-0, 13 by KO, Zavala traveled to Phoenix, Arizona for a big 8-Round fight against ranked contender Johnny "The Torch" Vasquez (17-2) in Vasquez's home town. ...