William Joppy
| William Joppy | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | William Torelle Joppy |
| Rated at | Light heavyweight |
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| Reach | 184 cm (72 in) |
| Nationality |
 U.S. |
| Born |
September 11, 1970 Lincoln Park, Maryland, U.S. |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 49 |
| Wins | 40 |
| Wins by KO | 30 |
| Losses | 7 |
| Draws | 2 |
| No contests | 0 |
William Torelle Joppy (born September 11, 1970) is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on three occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown. However, on August 23, 1997, Joppy lost a controversial decision to Julio César Green. Joppy's very next fight, on January 31 of the next year, saw him avenge that loss with a decision win by a wide margin. This fight won Joppy the WBA title for the second time. After recovering from a neck injury, Joppy stopped Green on cuts in the seventh round in a rubber match (Green had been the interim champion while Joppy recovered), and made a few more defenses, including a 3rd round TKO of a 47-year-old Roberto Durán.
Joppy lost the title a second time, however, on May 12, 2001, to Félix Trinidad in the middleweight unification tournament. Joppy was knocked down in rounds one and four before finally being stopped in the fifth. After the WBA title was vacated due to Bernard Hopkins beating Trinidad, Joppy had the chance to fight for it again. He claimed the title from British contender Howard Eastman in a close majority decision where he was knocked down by Eastman in the final few seconds.
On December 14, 2003, Joppy lost his title to Bernard Hopkins, losing by a wide points margin on all three judges' cards. A year later, Joppy lost another lopsided unanimous decision against Jermain Taylor.
Joppy returned as a Super Middleweight on July 29, 2005 knocking out journeyman Rashaan Blackburn in the third round. Joppy said then that he hoped to have one final title run as a Super Middleweight before retirement. After a string of five victories against lesser opponents, Joppy obtained a title fight against the new IBF champion Lucian Bute on February 29, 2008. Bute won by way of technical knockout in round 10 and Joppy retired after the bout, only to come back two years later.
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