Steven Ormain Cunningham (born July 15, 1976) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF cruiserweight title twice between 2007 and 2011. His nickname, "USS", is a reference to his US Navy service on the aircraft carriers and between 1994 and 1998.Mladinich, Robert (December 28, 2007) Steve Cunningham Confident In Germany. The Sweet Science
Early life A native of Philadelphia, Cunningham gained a reputation as a tough fighter on the streets of Philly, but he began his amateur career while based at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia. Cunningham served in the Navy from 1994 to 1998, serving on the aircraft carriers and .
Amateur career Cunningham started boxing at the age of 19, and won the National Golden Gloves title in 1998 as an amateur.
Professional career Cunningham began his professional career in 2000 with a 19 fight winning streak including a split decision over Guillermo Jones.
On November 26, 2006, he challenged Krzysztof Włodarczyk for the Vacant IBF Cruiserweight Title but lost by a disputed split decision in front of Wlodarczyk's fans in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. Later, Cunningham challenged Wlodarczyk again in the summer of 2007. With a majority decision in his favor, Cunningham at last won the title. He stopped undefeated Marco Huck in Germany in December 2007.
Cunningham lost the IBF title against Tomasz Adamek in Newark, New Jersey, on December 11, 2008. He lost the fight via split decision. One judge scored the fight 114–112 for Cunningham, while the other two judges scored it 116–110 and 115–112 for Adamek. Fight was close although Cunningham was knocked down in the second, fourth, and eighth rounds.
Cunningham faced former WBC Cruiserweight Champion Wayne Braithwaite, at the BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Florida on the July 11, 2009, and won the fight via a twelve-round unanimous decision 119–109, 117–111, and 118–110. On June 5, 2010, Cunningham regained the IBF Cruiserweight title with a fifth round stoppage on cuts of Troy Ross in Germany. Cunningham returned to Germany to defend his IBF title against challenger Enad Licina on February 12, 2011.
Cunningham vs. Fury Cunningham was knocked out in the seventh round by Tyson Fury, a British boxer, in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator on April 20, 2013. Cunningham had the much bigger Fury down in the second round. At the time of the stoppage, Cunningham was winning the fight with 56–56, 57–55, and 57–55. In an interview with Joe Rogan, Fury claimed Cunningham was the toughest opponent of his career.
After being promoted by Kathy Duva and Main Events for several years, he was now advised by Al Haymon. Cunningham was trained by Naazim Richardson.
Cunningham vs. Glowacki On April 16, 2016, Cunningham fought Krzysztof Glowacki for his WBO world cruiserweight belt. Glowacki dropped Cunningham four times, twice in the second round, and once in both the tenth and the twelfth round en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Cunningham vs. Tabiti On August 26, 2017, Cunningham fought Andrew Tabiti. Tabiti was ranked #4 by the WBC, #9 by the IBF and #12 by the WBA at cruiserweight, while Cunningham was ranked #10 by the IBF at the time. Tabiti won the fight via unanimous decision, 100–90, 97–93 and 97–93.
Cunningham vs. Mir Cunningham defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir by unanimous decision in Mir's boxing debut on April 17, 2021, on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren. Cunningham served as a replacement for Antonio Tarver who was denied clearance by the Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission.
Outside of boxing He joined light-middleweight Boyd Melson, Shawn Estrada, Demetrius Andrade and other boxers in Team Fight to Walk, an organization focused on increasing awareness in boxing of the importance of stem cell research for spinal cord injuries.
Cunningham is a practicing Black Hebrew Israelite.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes40WinFrank MirUD6Apr 17, 202139Loss29–9–1Andrew TabitiUD10Aug 26, 201738Win29–8–1Felipe RomeroUD6Mar 17, 201737Loss28–8–1Krzysztof GłowackiUD12Apr 16, 201636Draw28–7–1Antonio Tarver12Aug 14, 201535Loss28–7Vyacheslav GlazkovUD12Mar 14, 201534Win28–6Natu Visinia7 (10), Oct 18, 201433Win27–6Amir MansourUD10Apr 4, 201432Win26–6Manuel QuezadaUD8Dec 14, 201331Loss25–6Tyson FuryKO7 (12), Apr 20, 201330Loss25–5Tomasz AdamekSD12Dec 22, 201229Win25–4Jason GavernUD10Sep 8, 201228Loss24–4Yoan Pablo HernándezUD12Feb 4, 201227Loss24–3Yoan Pablo Hernández6 (12), Oct 1, 201126Win24–2Enad LicinaUD12Feb 12, 201125Win23–2Troy RossTKO5 (12), Jun 5, 201024Win22–2Wayne BraithwaiteUD12Jul 11, 200923Loss21–2Tomasz AdamekSD12Dec 11, 200822Win21–1Marco HuckTKO12 (12), Dec 29, 200721Win20–1Krzysztof WłodarczykMD12May 26, 200720Loss19–1Krzysztof WłodarczykSD12Nov 25, 200619Win19–0Lloyd BryanTKO5 (10), Jan 7, 200618Win18–0Kelvin DavisUD12Sep 3, 200517Win17–0Guillermo JonesSD10Apr 2, 200516Win16–0Forrest NealTKO4 (8), Oct 2, 200415Win15–0Sebastiaan Rothmann10May 22, 200414Win14–0Terry McGroomUD8Sep 20, 200313Win13–0Demetrius JenkinsUD8Mar 29, 200312Win12–0Joseph Awinongya8Jul 27, 200211Win11–0Caseny TruesdalePTS4Sep 29, 200110Win10–0Shawn TownsendTKO3Aug 30, 20019Win9–0Shawn TownsendTKO6Jul 26, 20018Win8–0John BattleKO1Jun 28, 20017Win7–0Mike WilliamsTKO6May 24, 20016Win6–0Richard PerryKO1May 12, 20015Win5–0Jeff Bowman1Apr 28, 20014Win4–0Kanovas AlexanderKO1Apr 12, 20013Win3–0Nate Frazier1Mar 10, 20012Win2–0Robert Marsh4Feb 17, 20011Win1–0Norman Jones4Oct 28, 2000
References
External links
Steve Cunningham profile at Premier Boxing Champions Steve Cunningham - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live