Derrick Lavon Jefferson was born on March 10,1968 and is an American former professional boxer.
19 Facts About Derrick Jefferson
1.
2.
Derrick Jefferson challenged once for the WBO title in 2001, and is perhaps best remembered for his brutal left hook-knockout of Maurice Harris in 1999.
3.
In high school, Derrick Jefferson played basketball and football, and was a Division I basketball player during his college years.
4.
Derrick Jefferson dropped from college after being shot in the leg during an argument at a party store in November 1993, ending his basketball career.
5.
Derrick Jefferson took up boxing in 1994, after a coach of the local boxing gym, Claude Strickland, spotted him shooting hoops at YMCA.
6.
That same year, Derrick Jefferson won the National Golden Gloves super heavyweight championship, defeating Michael Grant on points in semifinals, and DaVarryl Williamson by TKO in the final.
7.
Derrick Jefferson made his professional boxing debut on 19 June 1995 against Ismail Muhammad, knocking him out in the first round.
8.
Derrick Jefferson then stepped up in competition, knocking out former world heavyweight title challenger Bert Cooper in the second round.
9.
Six months later, Derrick Jefferson was scheduled to face Maurice Harris.
10.
Izon continued throwing unanswered shots on tired Derrick Jefferson, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
11.
At the time of the stoppade, Derrick Jefferson was unanimously winning on scorecards.
12.
Four months later, Derrick Jefferson was scheduled to fight highly ranked contender Oleg Maskaev.
13.
Derrick Jefferson managed to hurt Maskaev with an overhand right in the third, but was unable to capitalize on it as he could not put weight behind most of his shots.
14.
Maskaev continued his assault on injured Derrick Jefferson, prompting the referee to stop the fight in the fourth round.
15.
Derrick Jefferson was knocked down twice more in round two, once with a straight right hand and again with another left hook, with the fight being stopped after the last knockdown, declaring Klitschko the winner by TKO in the second round.
16.
Each boxer, including Derrick Jefferson, was guaranteed $5,000 and the purse for the tournament winner was $100,000.
17.
Derrick Jefferson was scheduled to face Chris Byrd on April 17,2004 at Madison Square Garden for the IBF world heavyweight championship, however he was forced to pull out of the fight due to a cut suffered in training.
18.
Derrick Jefferson made one last world heavyweight title run, facing DaVarryl Williamson in an IBF eliminator.
19.
Williamson made quick work of Derrick Jefferson, winning by TKO in the 2nd, effectively ending Derrick Jefferson's career.