David Jaco

David Jaco
Statistics
Real name	David Lee Jaco
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Nationality	American
Born	January 24, 1954 Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	50
Wins	24
Wins by KO	19
Losses	25
Draws	1

David Lee Jaco (born January 24, 1954^[1]) is a retired heavyweight boxer. He spent his career as a journeyman fighting boxers to build up their career records. He retired in 1994 with 24 wins (19 by knockout), 25 losses (18 by knockout), and 1 draw.^[2] He lost bouts to Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Tommy Morrison, Carl Williams, Tony Tucker, Buster Douglas, Mike Weaver and Oliver McCall.^[2]

Jaco was once profiled on ABC's Prime Time Live as a "Palooka",^[3] or someone who never refused a fight for the money.^[4] Jaco later said, "I was a palooka, one of those guys who basically goes in there looking for a big payday. I made thousands when I fought, but I didn't consider myself a palooka. I was a decent fighter."^[3]

Career

After winning a local amateur Toughman competition, Jaco trained for a year to turn pro.^[1] His first fight was on January 6, 1981, and he defeated Vic Wallace by knockout in four rounds.^[1] He went on to win his next eleven fights before a 1983 first round knockout defeat at the hands of future title contender Carl "The Truth" Williams.^[1]

Jaco continued to fight journeymen like himself for the next several months and won five more fights before his next defeat, a unanimous decision against Carlos Hernandez.^[1] Jaco was dominated in that fight, losing all ten rounds on one judge's scorecard, eight on a second, and seven on a third.^[5]

Jaco's first high profile victory (and perhaps his only one) came against young Canadian fighter and future title contender Donovan Ruddock, whom he beat on April 30, 1985 under controversial circumstances when Ruddock's corner threw in the towel in the eighth round.^[1] Ruddock later was found to have a respiratory illness that almost ended his career, which contributed to breathing problems that caused his corner to stop the fight.

The victory over Ruddock was the last Jaco would see until 1988 as he was beaten in his next nine fights, seven times by knockout. Among the fighters he took on were contender Jose Ribalta, future titleholders Tony Tucker, Buster Douglas, and Mike Tyson, and former champion Mike Weaver.^[1]

Jaco's losing streak was finally broken on March 11, 1988, when he knocked out previously unbeaten Zambian Michael Simuwelu in the first round. Again, it would be his last victory for an extended period. Six defeats followed, including fights against future champion Oliver McCall, an on-the-comeback trail George Foreman, and Tommy Morrison.

After his loss to Morrison Jaco went unbeaten in his next five fights, winning four times and drawing against former contender David Bey. After defeating Danny Sutton in the last of those five fights, Jaco never won again. His retirement fight resulted in him getting knocked out by Bey.^[1]

Former manager Richard Conti said "David fought on guts. That was his biggest strength. He was never the quickest or the strongest fighter. He took a lot of beatings, but he always gave everything he ever had."^[1]

Personal life

Jaco was born in Oregon, Ohio,^[4] and grew up in Toledo where he worked at Interlaken Steel after graduating from Clay High School.^[3][4] He was laid off in 1979, to earn money for his wife and two young sons he entered into an amateur "Toughman" competition.^[3] He was so successful that he quickly turned pro and won every fight until his first loss to Carl "The Truth" Williams in June 1983.^[3]

In 1986, Jaco used the money he made fighting Tyson to move to Florida where his twin boys lived from his first marriage.^[6] He remarried and had an addition four girls. Today he is an independent contractor, transporting workers' compensation recipients to their doctor appointments.^[6] He published a memoir of his boxing experiences titled Spontaneous Palooka and Mr. Mom (2012).^[3]

Jaco's two sons also boxed.^[2] His son Aaron runs a boxing gym in Sarasota, Florida; Aaron's first appearance on ESPN was in a fight against Hilario Guzman in 2004.^[7]

In 2003, it was reported that Jaco ran a youth boxing program at the Manatee County Police Athletic League.^[1] In October 2005, Jaco was fired from the position after he was arrested in a McDonalds parking lot for possessing 30 grams of marijuana.^[8] Jaco said "I know the harm in taking medication in pills and painkillers, so I took to smoking marijuana to ease my pain and help me sleep at night."^[8] The program head Michael Polin said Jaco was an "excellent" boxing instructor.^[8]

Professional boxing record

References

1. Steven Ponall (June 22, 2003). "The Fights of His Life". The Bradenton Herald (Database: NewsBank Retrieved January 26, 2014).
2. Graham, Tim (2005-06-09). "'Palooka' Jaco gained from suffering Tyson pain". ESPN.
3. Robert Mladinich (April 26, 2012). "Book Review: David Jaco, Spontaneous Palooka". Boxing.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
4. Mark Monroe (August 12, 2011). "Oregon native has a story to tell". Toledo Blade. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
5. "David Jaco - Boxer". Boxrec.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
6. Pablo Torre (August 2, 2010). "life After Mike". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
7. Ryan Boyd (July 24, 2004). "Network Debut: Aaron Jaco, Whose Dad Fought 50 Pro Bouts, Gets First Televised Fight". The Bradenton Herald (Database: NewsBank Retrieved January 26, 2014).
8. Roger Mooney (October 4, 2005). "Pot-Smoking PAL Boxer: I'm Sorry". The Bradenton Herald (Database: NewsBank Retrieved January 26, 2014).
9. Ric Russo (May 12, 1991). "Jaco Rocks Payne - Fabrizzio Draws". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 26, 2014.

External links

• Professional boxing record for David Jaco from BoxRec