Bruce Seldon

Bruce Seldon
Bruce Seldon (left) and son Isiah Seldon (right) ringside at Trump Taj Mahal in 2010 after Isiah's KO win
Statistics
Nickname(s)	"The Atlantic City Express"
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 1 ^1⁄2 in (1.87 m)
Reach	78 in (198 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	January 30, 1967 Atlantic City, New Jersey
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	48
Wins	40
Wins by KO	36
Losses	8
Draws	0

Bruce Samuel Seldon (born January 30, 1967) is a one-time world heavyweight champion, having won the World Boxing Association title in 1995. In forty-eight career fights, Seldon won forty with thirty-six knockouts.

Seldon fought from 1988 until 1996, and again from 2004 until 2009.

Amateur career

Seldon compiled an amateur record of 20–4 and won the New Jersey Golden Gloves Super Heavyweight Championship.

Professional career

Known as "The Atlantic City Express", Seldon began his career on October 4, 1988 with a first-round knockout of Joel McGraw and won his first 18 fights without a blemish. During his winning streak he defeated some notable boxers: Ezra Sellers (future world cruiserweight title challenger), Ossie Ocasio (former cruiserweight champion and heavyweight title challenger), David Bey (former world rated contender), and Jose Ribalta (former world title contender).

On April 18, 1991 future WBC heavyweight champion Oliver McCall handed Bruce his first defeat. Seldon was ahead on the scorecards but tired and was knocked down by McCall three times in the ninth. In his next fight Seldon was matched with future undisputed world heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe who defeated him.

Seldon returned in 1992 with a victory over Jesse Ferguson whom he stopped on an eye injury, but was knocked down and outpointed the same year by ex-champion Tony Tubbs. Seldon signed with promoter Don King in 1993 and boxed on a series of his undercards, most notably in August 1993 when he stopped ex-champion Greg Page in nine rounds.

WBA heavyweight title

In 1995, world heavyweight champion George Foreman was stripped of the WBA title for declining to defend it against Tony Tucker. As Seldon was the second-ranked contender, a fight between him and Tucker was arranged for the vacant belt on April 8, 1995 in Las Vegas. Seldon, the underdog, used his jab to great effect and swelled Tucker's eye shut, to the point where the fight was stopped by the ringside doctor after seven rounds.^[1]

On August 18, 1995, Seldon fought on the undercard of the Mike Tyson-Peter McNeeley fight that marked Tyson's return to boxing. In the first defense of his title, Seldon again used his jab to control Joe Hipp and stop him in the tenth round.^[2]

Seldon vs Tyson

Seldon's next defense was scheduled against Tyson, who in early 1996 won the WBC title for a second time by knocking out Frank Bruno. The bout was originally to be a title unification fight, with both Seldon's WBA belt and Tyson's WBC belt at stake. However, the WBC mandated that Tyson defend his belt against former champion Lennox Lewis first. Since the fight with Seldon was already signed, Tyson vacated his belt and only Seldon's was on the line when the two fought on September 7, 1996.

The fight was marred by controversy as Seldon lost by knockout in the first round. His performance in the fight was vastly criticized, as he was knocked down twice on what appeared to be light or "phantom" punches from Tyson. Rumors started that Seldon had been paid to take a dive against Tyson, with the fans chanting "fix" following the decision. Although Seldon claimed in a post fight interview with Jim Gray that he did not take a dive, the criticism of his performance (including accusations that he took a dive) did not stop and Seldon elected to retire following the fight. The late rapper Tupac Shakur attended the fight on that night, and was shot on the journey home, leading to his death 5 days later

Comeback

Seldon attempted a comeback at age 37 in 2004.^[3] He defeated two journeymen before gaining a high profile fight on HBO with Gerald Nobles. Abandoning his jab and boxing style for a punch out, Seldon decked Nobles in the second and was ahead on points but ended up throwing in the towel due to an eye injury in the ninth. In his next bout, an overweight Seldon was stopped in two rounds by Tye Fields.

Seldon launched a second comeback in 2007, now into his 40s, and knocked out a series of journeymen before being knocked out himself by ranked contenders Kevin Johnson and Fres Oquendo. He was also KO'd in four during an exhibition with Alexander Povetkin.

Seldon is currently training his super middleweight son Isiah Seldon. While not officially 'retired', Seldon is more involved with his son's career at this time. Bruce Seldon's career record stands at 40 Wins and 8 losses, with 36 knockouts.

Professional boxing record

References

1. Beaver County Times. "Seldon wins heavyweight crown". April 9, 1995, p. B2. Retrieved on May 26, 2013.
2. Dahlberg, Tim. "Seldon bloodies Hipp to retain title". Eugene Register-Guard, August 20, 1995, p. 1F. Retrieved on May 26, 2013.
3. Lawrence Journal-World. "Seldon wants Tyson next". March 9, 2004, p. 2C. Retrieved on May 26, 2013.

External links

• Professional boxing record for Bruce Seldon from BoxRec