Maurice Harris

Wilbur Maurice Harris (born February 21, 1976), nicknamed "Sugar Moe", is the former United States Boxing Association heavyweight champion. A professional competitor since 1992, he holds notable victories over Siarhei Liakhovich, David Izon, James Thunder, and Jeremy Williams. As a professional, Harris also faced world champions and contenders Larry Holmes, Vaughn Bean, Derrick Jefferson, Chris Byrd, Henry Akinwande, Fres Oquendo, Tony Thompson, Kubrat Pulev, Amir Mansour, Alexander Ustinov, and Albert Sosnowski.

Maurice Harris
Maurice "Sugar Moe" Harris
Statistics
Real nameWilbur Maurice Harris
Nickname(s)Mo Bettah
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Light Heavyweight
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Reach80 in (203 cm)
Nationality United States
Born (1976-02-21) February 21, 1976
East Orange, New Jersey
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights52
Wins26
Wins by KO11
Losses22
Draws3
No contests1

Professional career

Maurice Harris turned pro at 16 as a light heavyweight in 1992, and faced many up-and-coming prospects and comebacking champions. In his early professional years, he lost to future number one contender Vaughn Bean, and defeated 18-0-0 David Izon.

In 1992, Harris lost a 12-round decision in his first attempt to win the vacant United States Boxing Association (USBA) heavyweight title against future world heavyweight champion Chris Byrd.

In 1997 he lost a disputed split decision to former champion Larry Holmes. He followed the Holmes bout with a seven fight winning streak in 1998-99. This included defeating former number one heavyweight contender Jeremy Williams, and culminated in a fight on HBO with Derrick Jefferson. In what was labeled as the 1999 Ring Magazine knockout of the year, Harris was brutally knocked out by a vicious left hook.

In 1998 Harris was the chief sparring partner for heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis and maintained this position for several years.

In 2002, Harris knocked out future heavyweight champion 19-0 Siarhei Liakhovich in the 9th round. Later that year, Harris won the Thunderbox Heavyweight Tournament "Fistful of Dollars" in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The round-robin exhibition event consisted of eight heavyweights doing battle in three, three-minute rounds. Harris outpointed Gerald Nobles, future number one contender Tony Thompson and Israel Garcia in the same evening to win the $100,000 purse.[1]

Comeback

After a three-year layoff, Harris made a comeback in 2010 in the heavyweight division. Under the guidance of promoter Mario Yagobi of Boxing360, Harris returned to the ring. Harris won the vacant United States Boxing Association heavyweight title in his second opportunity with a 12-round unanimous decision over Nagy Aguilera at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota. However, on May 27, 2011, Harris lost an eliminator bout for the IBF # 2 position at Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. On July 16, 2011, Harris defended his USBA heavyweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey on July 16, 2011, with a 12th-round knockout over challenger Derric Rossy.

Professional boxing record

52 fights 26 wins 22 losses
By knockout 11 15
By decision 14 7
By disqualification 1 0
Draws 3
No contests 1
Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
Loss 26–22–3 (1) Kazakhstan Ivan Dychko KO 1 (8), 1:39 06/07/2018 United States Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood FL
Loss 26–21–3 (1) Bulgaria Kubrat Pulev KO 1 (8), 1:59 05/12/2015 Germany Inselparkhalle, Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg
Loss 26–20–3 (1) Russia Alexander Ustinov KO 1 (10) 10/10/2015 Venezuela El Poliedro, Caracas, Venezuela
Draw 26–19–3 (1) United States Grover Young SD 8 05/09/2015 United States Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood
Loss 26–19–2 (1) Russia Andrey Fedosov KO 2 (8) 18/04/2014 United States Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, Indiana
Loss 26–18–2 (1) United States Amir Mansour UD 12 23/08/2013 United States Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, Dover, Delaware For vacant USBA heavyweight and World Boxing Federation Intercontinental heavyweight title
Win 26–17–2 (1) United States Jason Bergman SD 6 03/05/2013 United States University of California of PA Convocation Center, California, Pennsylvania
Loss 25–17–2 (1) Poland Albert Sosnowski SD 3 20/06/2012 United Kingdom London, England
Loss 25–16–2 (1) Germany Edmund Gerber UD 8 05/05/2012 Germany Erfurt, Germany
Win 25–15–2 (1) United States Derric Rossy TKO 12 16/07/2011 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States USBA Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:35 of the 12th round.
Loss 24–15–2 (1) United States Tony Thompson TKO 3 27/05/2011 United States Reno, Nevada, United States
Win 24–14–2 (1) Dominican Republic Nagy Aguilera UD 12 06/08/2010 United States Hinckley, Minnesota, United States USBA Heavyweight Title.
Win 23–14–2 (1) United States Robert Hawkins UD 8 15/04/2010 United States New York City, United States
Win 22–14–2 (1) United States Julius Long UD 6 26/03/2010 United States Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win 21–14–2 (1) United States Billy Zumbrun UD 6 29/01/2010 United States Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
NC 20–14–2 (1) United States Rodney Wallace NC 4 17/11/2007 United States Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
Loss 20-14-2 United States Tye Fields RTD 4 14/07/2006 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 20-13-2 United States Franklin Edmondson UD 8 26/01/2006 United States Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Loss 19-13-2 United States Fres Oquendo KO 10 01/03/2003 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 19-12-2 Belarus Sergei Liakhovich KO 9 01/06/2002 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 18-12-2 United Kingdom Henry Akinwande KO 1 16/06/2001 United States Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Loss 18-11-2 United States Chris Byrd UD 12 12/05/2001 United States New York City, United States USBA Heavyweight Title.
Win 18-10-2 United States Harold Sconiers UD 8 16/12/2000 United States Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 17-10-2 United States Bradley Rone UD 8 05/08/2000 United States Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Loss 16-10-2 United States Derrick Jefferson KO 6 06/11/1999 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 16-9-2 United States Israel Cole UD 10 11/09/1999 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 15-9-2 United States Jeremy Williams UD 10 19/06/1999 United States New York City, United States
Win 14-9-2 United States Louis Monaco TKO 1 22/05/1999 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 13-9-2 United States Artis Pendergrass TKO 4 19/12/1998 United States Miami, Florida, United States
Win 12-9-2 United States Orion Sistrunk KO 1 01/10/1998 United States Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win 11-9-2 United States Danny Wofford DQ 6 27/06/1998 United States Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Win 10-9-2 United States Rashid Latif KO 1 18/04/1998 United States Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Loss 9-9-2 United States Larry Holmes SD 10 29/07/1997 United States New York City, United States
Win 9-8-2 New Zealand Jimmy Thunder KO 7 20/05/1997 United States Lyndhurst, New Jersey, United States Thunder knocked out at 2:44 of the seventh round.
Win 8-8-2 United States Sam Hampton TKO 4 26/04/1997 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 7-8-2 United States Gerald Nobles KO 3 30/07/1996 United States Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Harris knocked out at 1:20 of the third round.
Win 7-7-2 United States Terrell Nelson UD 6 16/07/1996 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 6-7-2 United States Dayton Wheeler MD 6 19/06/1996 United States Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win 6-6-2 Nigeria David Izon UD 8 15/03/1996 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 5-6-2 Canada Dale Brown KO 3 16/08/1995 United States Newark, New Jersey, United States
Loss 5-5-2 United States Vaughn Bean KO 3 29/10/1994 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 5-4-2 United States John Andrade TKO 6 27/06/1994 United States Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Draw 5-3-2 United States Zuri Lawrence PTS 4 21/06/1994 United States Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Win 5-3-1 Barbados Richie Brown UD 4 23/04/1994 United States Schenectady, New York, United States
Win 4-3-1 United States Ettol Windham UD 4 22/03/1994 United States Pensacola, Florida, United States
Draw 3-3-1 United States Richie Brown PTS 4 21/01/1994 United States New York City, United States
Win 3-3 United States Tom Murray TKO 1 01/10/1993 United States New York City, United States
Loss 2-3 United States Scott Lopeck KO 3 07/05/1993 United States New York City, United States
Loss 2-2 United States Richard Frazier TKO 4 20/03/1993 United States New York City, United States
Win 2-1 United States Michael Taylor TKO 1 27/02/1993 United States Bushkill, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 1-1 United States Anthony Harris TKO 1 12/02/1993 United States Bushkill, Pennsylvania, United States
Loss 0-1 United States Joe Kenna UD 4 04/12/1992 United States Bushkill, Pennsylvania, United States

References

  1. "FOR Fe'ROZ--No Manny, No Floyd: Maurice Harris is Back!". Archived from the original on 2010-03-26. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.