Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1998, and challenged once for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1987. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, having previously won bronze at the 1983 Pan American Games and gold at the 1982 World Championships, all in the super heavyweight division.

Early life Biggs was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, making his sporting debut playing basketball at West Philadelphia High. He was a starting forward for the Speedboys' Public League and City champions in 1978, a team that extended a state-record winning streak to 68 before a regular season loss to Overbrook. In '77, one of Biggs' teammates was Gene Banks, who went on to excel at Duke and play in the NBA. After his initial boxing successes, he changed his name to "Tyrell".USA vs. The World match-up, YouTube.com. Accessed November 8, 2022.

Amateur career

Biggs' first major success as an amateur boxer was winning the gold medal at the 1981 United States National Boxing Championships in the super-heavyweight division. He repeated this feat the next year, and also in 1982 he won the World Championships in Munich, West Germany, where in the final he defeated Francesco Damiani from Italy on points, who beat the legendary Cuban veteran Teofilo Stevenson earlier in the competition. In 1983, Biggs won a bronze medal at the Pan American Games, losing to future professional challenger Jorge Luis Gonzalez in the semi-final. In addition, Biggs won a 3–2 split decision over Cuban Angel Milian, who had beaten Greg Page five years earlier.

In 1984, Biggs won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, defeating future Olympic gold medallist and professional world champion Lennox Lewis in the quarter-finals. In the gold medal bout, Biggs beat Damiani on points again.

Biggs finished his amateur career with an outstanding record of 108–6–4.

Professional career He turned professional soon after his Olympic victory, scoring a 6-round unanimous decision over Mike Evans on November 15, 1984 at Madison Square Garden in New York City in his first bout. Besides Mike Tyson, Lewis and Damiani he went on to face such other boxing luminaries as James "Quick" Tillis, Ossie Ocasio, Riddick Bowe, Tony Tubbs, Buster Mathis, Jr., and Larry Donald before ending his career with a second-round knockout of Carlton Davis in 1998. He did not win a title, but stalked the rankings of contendership for much of the mid- to late 1980s.

Biggs vs. Tyson

Biggs' biggest professional fight was against Tyson, for the latter's undisputed heavyweight title. Biggs and Tyson disliked each other, and Biggs derided Tyson before the fight. Biggs attempted to outbox Tyson, using his jab and movement. But Tyson kept coming in and landing big punches, wearing him down until the fight was stopped in the seventh. Tyson admitted after the fight to "carrying" Biggs so as to inflict more damage, in retaliation for Biggs' pre-match comments.Olympic Heavyweights – A History – Part Three, maxboxing.com. Accessed November 8, 2022.

He undertook drug rehabilitation a few months after turning professional, and some declare that his career at the time of the Tyson fight was already effectively over. Biggs' robe was sometimes emblazoned with, "Realize your potential", a drug rehabilitation mantra. An article published when he was 40 years old characterized him as "still fighting between stints in rehabilitation."BOXER'S ORDEAL: JEERS, DRUGS, nytimes.com. Accessed November 8, 2022.Golden amateurs who never made talent pay, nytimes.com. Accessed November 8, 2022.

Outside the ring Biggs competed in the American Gladiators season 5 Gold Medal Challenge of Champions in 1993, losing to 1984 Gold Downhill Skiing medalist Bill Johnson. A feature documentary about Tyrell Biggs' life is currently in production.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes40Win30–10 Carlton DavisKO2Aug 27, 1998 39Loss29–10 Larry DonaldKO2 (10), Sep 11, 1997 38Win29–9 Alonzo Hollis6Feb 19, 1997 37Win28–9 Andre CrowderTKO1Jan 11, 1997 36Loss27–9 Ray AnisTKO3 (10), Apr 4, 1994 35Loss27–8 Buster Mathis Jr.UD12Feb 5, 1994 34Win27–7 Evgeny Sudakov3Dec 3, 1993 33Win26–7 Shane SutcliffeTKO2 (3), Dec 3, 1993 32Loss25–7 Tony TubbsUD3Dec 3, 1993 31Loss25–6 Mike HunterUD12Jan 17, 1993 30Win25–5 Marion WilsonUD10Dec 8, 1992 29Win24–5 John JonesKO2Nov 19, 1992 28Win23–5 Roy JobeKO1Jul 18, 1992 27Win22–5 Mike FaulknerTKO2May 29, 1992 26Win21–5 Charles WoolardTKO1 (8), May 7, 1992 25Win20–5 Alan JamisonKO1Apr 18, 1992 24Loss19–5 Lennox LewisTKO3 (10), Nov 23, 1991 23Loss19–4 Riddick BoweTKO8 (10), Mar 2, 1991 22Win19–3 Rodolfo MarinUD10Dec 8, 1990 21Win18–3 Rick KellarTKO2Apr 5, 1990 20Win17–3 Ossie OcasioUD10Jan 11, 1990 19Win16–3 Bobby CrabtreeTKO5 (10)Nov 29, 1989 18Loss15–3 Gary MasonKO7 (10), Oct 4, 1989 17Loss15–2 Francesco DamianiTKO5 (10), Oct 29, 1988 16Loss15–1 Mike TysonTKO7 (15), Oct 16, 1987 15Win15–0 Lorenzo BoydTKO3, Jul 31, 1987 14Win14–0 David BeyTKO6 (10), Mar 7, 1987 13Win13–0 Renaldo SnipesUD10Dec 12, 1986 12Win12–0 Robert EvansKO5 (10), Oct 29, 1986 11Win11–0 Percell DavisUD10Sep 14, 1986 10Win10–0 Rodney SmithRTD7 (8)Aug 14, 1986 9Win9–0 Jeff SimsUD10Mar 23, 1986 8Win8–0 James TillisUD8Jan 25, 1986 7Win7–0 Tony Anthony1, Dec 21, 1985 6Win6–0 Danny SuttonTKO7 (8)Nov 19, 1985 5Win5–0 Sterling BenjaminTKO7Aug 29, 1985 4Win4–0 Eddie RichardsonTKO3 (6), Jul 13, 1985 3Win3–0 Grady Daniels2 (6)May 17, 1985 2Win2–0 Mike Perkins1 (6), Apr 20, 1985 1Win1–0 Mike Ronay Evans6Nov 15, 1984

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