Boxer Reggie Strickland is called the main loser in the history of sports. The American spent almost 20 years in the professional ring, but his entire career was riddled with pain and defeat. In total, Reggie had 359 fights, in which he suffered 276 defeats, 66 fights ended in his victory, and a draw was recorded in 17 fights.
Lost 21 fights in a row
Strickland began his professional career at the age of 19, and before that he competed among amateurs. Data on these fights has not been preserved, but the American assured that he had 90 amateur fights and won 72 of them, though almost no one believes in this.
At the beginning of his career, no one imagined that Reggie would become the object of ridicule in the future. He won one of his first two fights, but then a series of eight defeats followed. «/
At one point in his career, Strickland lost 21 fights in a row, but even that couldn't make him quit what he loved. He also had good streaks. In 1993, the boxer won four fights in a row, which never happened to him again. In the American press, Reggie received the nickname «professional loser», although he himself never agreed with this «vocation».
«
"I never considered myself a failure. Anyone who talks like that about me can shut up. I've fought in almost every state in the US and several other countries, making tens of thousands of dollars and hardly getting hurt. Everyone who went into the ring with me knows that I can fight,” Strickland answered the critics.
Reggie is right about one thing. He managed to fight several times a month and do without damage. He was ready to come to any corner of the country for the sake of a duel. Strickland almost never refused promoters, for which he was really appreciated and respected. At the same time, he almost never looked like a whipping boy in the ring. Of the 276 defeats, only 25 were knockouts. All other fights ended with a referee's decision.
So frequent fights at a certain stage of his career became a real problem for Reggie. In several states, boxers are required to pause for 60 days before the next entry into a professional fight. This categorically did not suit Strickland, which is why he performed several times under assumed names.It got to the point that in several states the boxer was banned from performing at once. Local athletic commissions simply did not want to take responsibility for the health of a boxer who enters the ring so often. At the same time, Strickland never received serious injuries.
It can be said that Reggie sacrificed his career for the sake of other boxers. He was most often invited as an opponent for some local talented opponent who needed to win in front of his audience and improve his statistics. Local favorites were often sued, which led to the defeats of the «professional loser». my favor. Because of dishonest judges, I lost a lot of fights where I was really better than my opponents. You may notice that I lost a lot of fights by decision to boxers who were considered to be strong punchers. But they couldn't knock me out,» Reggie said.
Sometimes Strickland managed to really surprise. During his career, he defeated boxers 14 times, who had never lost before. And sometimes he came across extremely powerful opponents. Reggie fought five future world champions. Among them, for example, was the future absolute champion Cory Spinks.The whole Reggie family was engaged in boxing, speaking in a professional ring. Surprisingly, his relatives were also unlucky. His first wife lost 28 out of 30 fights, and his brother Jack won 13 wins with 122 losses. Strickland's half-brother named Josh lost 68 fights out of 74, and one of the nephews had 28 fights in which he was never recognized as the winner. br>For one fight, Reggie received from 500 to 2500 dollars, and his record fee was 3500 dollars. He almost always asked for money in advance so that the promoter would not deceive him. But with some organizers he had the most trusting relationship. One of these was the legendary Don King, with whom he spent time in training camps as a sparring partner for titled boxers.
On average, Strickland earned from boxing from 20 to 25 thousand dollars a year. But he still didn’t always have enough of this money, because he gave part of his income for alimony and tried to help his family. Reggie took on various part-time jobs that brought additional income. He managed to be roofers, a painter, a shoe salesman and a waiter.
«
«I have always loved boxing. But, first of all, I did it for the money. If they offered me a good fee, I would even fight my own mother,» Reggie once said.
Now Strickland is 54 years old, but he continues to work at several jobs. He works as a manager in a real estate firm and organizes boxing matches for a small promotion. Enough to live on, but no extra money. The fact is that Reggie has ten children from three different women, and he tries to help everyone. on the number of losses in his career, preferring to blame corrupt referees for most of them. But no one has the right to take away from him the uniqueness of his career and the staggering number of fights that he had. At least for such a long and intense career, he should not be called a «professional loser».
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.