Tony Tucker
| Tony Tucker | |||||||||||||
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| Statistics | |||||||||||||
| Real name | Tony Craig Tucker | ||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | TNT | ||||||||||||
| Rated at | Heavyweight | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) | ||||||||||||
| Reach | 82 in (208 cm) | ||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||
| Born |
December 27, 1958 Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
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| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||
| Total fights | 65 | ||||||||||||
| Wins | 57 | ||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 47 | ||||||||||||
| Losses | 7 | ||||||||||||
| No contests | 1 | ||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Tony Craig Tucker (born December 27, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1998. He won the IBF heavyweight title in 1987, but holds the unenviable distinction of being the shortest-reigning world heavyweight champion in history, at only 64 days. As an amateur, Tucker won the 1979 United States national championships and a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games, both in the light heavyweight division.
After turning pro in 1980, Tucker's early fights were often shown on NBC, as part of a collection known as "Tomorrow's Champions".
Tucker's progress in the professional ranks was slow. He was injury prone, and he changed managers and trainers several times. Eventually his father Bob Tucker performed both roles. After enjoying a high-profile upon his professional debut, Tucker spent the majority of the 1980s boxing in off-TV bouts. In addition, he injured his knee in a bout against Danny Sutton, which caused him to miss a little over a year.
In June 1984, he scored a win by knocking out Eddie "The Animal" Lopez in 9 rounds on the undercard of the Tommy Hearns–Roberto Durán fight. It was the first time Lopez had ever been knocked down. In September 1984, he followed it up by outpointing Jimmy Young .
In September 1986, Tucker finally landed a big fight, against 242 lb James "Broad-Axe" Broad, for the USBA belt and a world title eliminator. Tucker won by unanimous decision.
Home Box Office and Don King Productions orchestrated a Heavyweight unification series for 1987, planning among its bouts a match between reigning IBF champion Michael Spinks and Tucker. Spinks refused to face Tucker, opting instead for a more lucrative bout with Gerry Cooney. The IBF withdrew its championship recognition of Spinks on February 19, mandating that Tucker (as the IBF's number 1-ranked contender) face its number 2 contender, Buster Douglas. Tucker won the bout, and the vacant IBF crown, via 10th-round technical knockout.
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