Lonnie Bradley
Lonnie Sterling Bradley ( born September 16, 1968 in Charleston, South Carolina ) is a former American professional boxer and former world champion of the WBO middleweight.
Amateur career
Lonnie Bradley won the 1990 New York Golden Gloves in Light Middleweight, the most prestigious in addition to the Chicago Golden Gloves and National Golden Gloves Amateurboxturnier the United States. For the first time the age limit for participating athletes from 25 had been raised to 34 years. No 1991 New York Golden Gloves were held for financial reasons, but Bradley won the tournament in 1992 again in the light middleweight. In addition, he won in the same year, the National Golden Gloves in this weight class.
At the U.S. Olympic excretion in June 1992 for the Summer Games in Barcelona, he reached after a win against Keith Mullings ( later WBC champion ) the semi-finals, where he however was defeated Raúl Márquez (Bronze winner of the World Cup 1989) just after points. He then became a professional.
Professional career
Between November 1992 and June 1994, he won each of his 15 bouts against opponents construction, including 13 by knockout. On August 7, 1994, he was in Sullivan County with a points win over Ron Morgan (15-1 ), New York middleweight champion. In November the same year, he also won by KO in the second round against Matthew Charleston ( 21-3 ) and in January 1995 by TKO in the third round to eventual IBO champion Karl Willis (21-1 ). That same month, he beat the former Mexican champion Luis Vázquez ( 26-8 ) early.
On 19 May 1995 he won in Primm by a TKO win in the twelfth round against the North American champion David Méndez, the vacant WBO world middleweight championship. The title became vacant after title holder Steve Collins had risen to super middleweight. Bradley thus became the first world champion boxer from Harlem for more than 37 years ago, when then Sugar Ray Robinson won the middleweight world championship against Carmen Basilio in March 1958.
Already on 15 July 1995, he defended the title in Inglewood by TKO in the first round against undefeated Argentine Dario Victor Galindez ( 18-0 ). On February 6, 1996, he defeated also the North American Champion Randy Smith (16-1 ) by TKO in the second round. In May 1996, he won by unanimous decision against Lonnie Beasley ( 27-2 ) and in August 1996, also unanimously against former IBF and WBC champion Simon Brown ( 45-5 ).
In his fifth title defense on 4 March 1997 against Otis Grant (28-1 ), he remained true world champion, but reached only a draw. His sixth and last title defense, he denied on June 28, 1997 compared John Williams and won this early in the eighth round.
In sparring against Australian Troy Waters finally visual disturbances were felt at Bradley and he is diagnosed with a detached retina, which forced him to lie down the title and ending his boxing career. In August 1999, he attempted a comeback attempt, however, ended his career in November 2003 after a TKO loss to David Alonso López final.