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Looking back - Chicago's Anthony Ivory

In short, Anthony was a highly skilled, elite level opponent who earned the respect of everyone he fought.   

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Anthony Ivory
Anthony Ivory

The Windy City’s Anthony Ivory would fight from the fall of 1989 until 2006, accumulating (a throwback era-like)116 bouts, (32-78-6, 12 KO’s), in 17 years between the ropes. A seasoned professional. And, while his loss column certainly outweighed his wins, numbers can be misleading - and in this case they are. Over the course of his career, Ivory would prove to be a crafty, talented boxer who could go rounds with the very best in the sport, giving them more than a few problems in the ring.

 

Before television dates demanded that fighter’s records were viewer friendly, and over-zealous commissions regulated the sport out of existence at the development/club level, fighters like Anthony were understood, and respected, by real boxing people. Talented, skillful, and possessing a very difficult ring style, Anthony could box anyone, at any level, in the world.

 

In short, Anthony was a highly skilled, elite level opponent who earned the respect of everyone he fought.

 

Ivory would kick off his pro career in 1989 going 8-4-1 in his first 13 bouts. And, while his record wasn’t going to turn any heads, he was fast proving to be a very talented fighter who could go the distance with boxing’s best, successfully competing against any variety of ring styles.

 

By 1991, 2 years into his career, he was now facing some of the top fighters in the game. Over the next 15 years he would accumulate an incredible list of elite level opposition and every one of them left the ring knowing they had faced a very talented fighter.

 

From 1991, on through the next decade and a half, he would face a who’s who list of contenders and world title challengers including Brett Laly, Lonnie Beasley, Syd Vanderpool, Robert Frazier, Santos Cardona, Silvio Branco, Sebastien Demers and Marco Antonio Rubio.

 

Even more impressive is the list of world champions he faced including, Dave Hilton, Carl Daniels, Julio Caesar Vasquez (twice), Simon Brown, Antwun Echols (twice, going 1-1, he KO’d Antwun in Echols’ pro debut), Ramon “Yori Boy” Campos (twice), Winky Wright (twice), Diosbelys Hurtado, Harry Simon, Ahkmed Kotiev, Mikkel Kessler, Vincent Pettway, Howard Eastman, Felix Sturm, Wilfredo Rivera, Keith Holmes, Yuri Foreman and Kelly Pavlik.

 

Ivory by the numbers

 

-Faced 34 unbeaten fighters in his career,

 

-8 bouts against fighters who challenged for a world title

 

-22 bouts against fighters who won world titles (many of the fighters winning multiple world championships).

 

-Against the 22 world champions he faced, he was never KO’d and was only stopped in 2 of the 22 bouts.

 

-Of the 22 world champions he did face, only 2 bouts were on neutral territory, the rest were in their hometown.

 

Very impressive statistics to say the least.

 

In a recent chat, fellow Chicago area fighter (from close by Whiting, Indiana) Marty Jakubowski, who himself racked up over 100 wins and challenged for a world title on 3 occasions during his outstanding career, reflected on Ivory, a fighter he knew well.

 

“If he didn’t want to get hit, you couldn’t hit him” said Jakubowski. “I know, I tried one time, all day long, at the Fuller Park Gym”, he said with a laugh. “But, this guy was a genius that really knew how to fight. He could do everything very well. They don’t make guys like that anymore”, he continued. “Unfortunately, we will never see another guy like him because of the ridiculous rules and regulations they put on the fighters. Anthony is truly the last of something we will never see again. A true journeyman”, said Jakubowski .

 

Ivory had a slick, professional style that allowed him to read fighters and adapt as fights progressed, allowing him to compete with some of the best. And compete he did with boxing’s top players. There was a time when records played less of a role in dictating the value of a fighter - fighters like Chicago’s Anthony Ivory.

 

Tough, talented, and more than capable of competing with boxing’s elite.

 

Anthony Ivory - a throwback, a fighter’s fighter, and the consummate pro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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