Peter McNeeley (born 6 October 1968) is an American former heavyweight boxer. He is best known for facing Mike Tyson in Tyson's first fight after his release from prison in 1995.

Early life John Peter Smith McNeeley was born on 6 October 1968 in Medfield, Massachusetts, U.S.; the child of Nancy McNeeley, (née Gray) (1944–2018) and Tom McNeeley (1937–2011). McNeeley grew up in Medfield, alongside his three brothers Bryan, Tom, and Shawn. His father was a former heavyweight contender who challenged Floyd Patterson for the world heavyweight championship, and later served eight years as the boxing commissioner of the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission. McNeeley's grandfather, Thomas McNeeley Sr. was a New England boxing champion and fought on the 1928 Olympic boxing team. McNeeley graduated from Bridgewater State College with a bachelors degree in political science.

Early boxing and amateur career McNeeley became interested in boxing at age seven after finding a box of his father's boxing memorabilia, including his father's November 1961 ''Sports Illustrated'' cover. His parents split when he was 10 years old, during his visits with his father he began getting involved in sport of boxing with his father taking him and his younger brother to the Catholic Youth Organization program in Newton, Massachusetts, additionally he would train with the equipment his father had at his house.

McNeeley then stepped away from boxing during high school instead focusing his time playing on the school’s football team. During his first year at Bridgewater State College, he struggled academically and was later readmitted on academic probation. This is when he decided to start boxing once again to help eliminate alcohol and drugs from his life.

McNeeley had 21 amateur fights, finishing his amateur career with the record 15–6.Peter McNeeley Amateur Record at the BoxingRecords. Last updated : March 1, 2006. Albeit a brief amateur career, he successfully represented the United States, wherein he defeated Wayne Bernard, the world Maritime heavyweight champion; and the first round knockout of No. 1 ranked US amateur James Johnson. He won the New England Golden Gloves in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1989 and the New England Diamond Belt Tournament later that year.

Pro career During his last year of college in 1987, McNeeley met his manager Vinnie Vecchione who had been out of the fight game for nearly a decade. McNeeley stated "Vinnie basically taught me how to fight all over again. Between my heart and my determination and Vinnie's teaching, I got better even quicker now."

McNeeley made his pro debut on August 23, 1991 at Nickerson Field in Boston, Massachusetts, where he defeated Van Dorsey by technical knockout in the first round after 50 seconds. McNeeley fought two more times in 1991, both in his home state of Massachusetts. The first came on October 24, where he got a first round TKO of Fabian Arroyo, he then scored another first round TKO vs. Kevin Chisolm on December 7. He started out 1992 with another first round TKO over Phil Prince on February 15. This was shortly followed by two more round one TKO’s in his following bouts. His next fight vs John Basil Jackson on June 13, was his first to go the distance and was won via PTS after four rounds, breaking his streak of 13 straight Knockouts to start his career. His next fight came just 6 days later vs. Jimmy Harrison which he won via unanimous decision, he then rematched Harrison 2 months later and scored a third round TKO.

McNeeley fought 4 more times from September 28 to December 10, scoring 3 more KOs in the process and improving his record to 13-0. His first bout of 1993 came on January 30, vs. Ron Drinkwater where he scored yet another first round TKO. His next 6 fights also ended via stoppage improving his record to 20-0. He then fought three more times from September 10, to November 24 all resulting in unanimous decision victories. Following a first round TKO victory vs. Larry Davis on January 21, 1994 Neely then got his first title shot vs. Stanley Wright for the then vacant USA New England heavyweight title. The bout which took place on February 18, seen McNeeley suffer the first loss of his career via a 8 round TKO. McNeeley then bounced back scoring 3 straight TKO victories bringing his record to 28-1. In June 1994 McNeeley signed with Don King Productions, he then followed this up with one of his biggest wins of his career on June 24, when he scored a second round RTD victory over the former WBC light heavyweight champ J. B. Williamson. Following two more KO victories McNeeley then faced Williamson in a rematch and once again beat him via first round KO.

Following Williamson rematch McNeeley won an additional 5 bouts all by TKO/KO, with a record of 36-1. During this time he also had his first nationwide exposure on Showtime, March 17, 1995. The St. Patrick's Day boxing special was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he faced Danny Lee Wofford and got a second round KO. He also set an at the time world record for fastest knockout in a pro match on April 22, 1995 when he KO Frankie Hines in 6 seconds.

McNeeley was originally scheduled to get a WBC World Heavyweight title shot vs Oliver McCall following McCall’s upset win over Lennox Lewis, however organization blocked the bout due to McNeeley not being ranked in the top 10 at that point.

Around the time of his fight with Mike Tyson he had gained a No. 7 ranking by the World Boxing Association and a No. 10 rank by the WBC by early 1995.

Fight with Mike Tyson Main Article Mike Tyson Vs. Peter McNeeley

Following getting denied a title shot Don King then offered McNeeley a bout vs. Mike Tyson who was set to be released from prison.

McNeeley is best known for his bout with Tyson that took place on August 19, 1995, Tyson’s first fight after being released from prison, before which McNeeley had said he would wrap Tyson in a "cocoon of horror." McNeeley fought aggressively but was knocked down twice within the first two minutes. McNeeley was disqualified after his manager Vinnie Vecchione stepped into the ring to stop his fighter from taking any more punishment after the second knockdown. TV Guide included the fight in their list of the 50 Great TV Sports Moments of All Time in 1998."50 Greatest TV Sports Moments of All Time", TV Guide, July 11, 1998

Despite losing the bout McNeeley gained decent exposure and started appearing in TV commercials and making speaking appearances.

Post Tyson fights Following his bout with Tyson, McNeeley returned to the ring on October 27, 1995 at the TD Garden where he defeated Mike Sams via second round KO to win the USBF heavyweight title. He then fought 3 more times between December 12, 1995 and June 22, 1996 winning all 3 fights by KO. his win streak was then stopped on July 13, 1996 when he was stopped by club fighter Louis Monaco in the fifth round. McNeeley then went on another win streak which was started on August 12, 1996 in a DQ victory over Domingo Monroe an additional four wins came from then till October 8, 1998 three coming via unanimous decision and one by DQ. This brought his record to 43-3 overall.

McNeeley then flew to Denmark for his first international bout to challenged at the time undefeated 47-0 fighter Brian Nielsen on February 12, 1999. He lost the bout via third round KO. He then dropped his following bout to Eric Esch better known as Butterbean on June 26, via first round TKO. McNeeley then took five months off before returning to the ring to face Jeff Jones and quickly won the bout via first round knockout. McNeeley didn’t fight again to June 2000 when he faced Joe Siciliano once again winning by first round KO, this would mark the final win of his career.

McNeeley then faced Henry Akinwande on March 17, 2001 for the vacant WBC International heavyweight title he lost the bout via second round KO. On June 1 of the same year McNeeley travelled to South Africa for his final bout vs. Mike Bernardo for the WBF heavyweight title however he lost the match via first round KO. Putting a end to his 10 year career, he finished with a total record of 47-7 with 36 knockouts.

Personal life McNeeley has one daughter named Nadiya. His wife Annarita Petrosillo-McNeeley died unexpectedly in 2023. He still resides in Massachusetts and is involved with the local boxing scene.

In 1995, McNeeley was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. In March 2006, McNeeley was arrested in Norwood, Massachusetts, after he punched a man and stole his wallet containing $200. In June 2006, McNeeley was arrested for driving the getaway car used in a robbery of a Walgreens in Stoughton, Massachusetts. After searching the car, police recovered $180 in cash and a black fanny pack which had also been stolen from the store. The charges were later reduced to larceny.

Titles in boxing

Regional titles

USBF heavyweight Champion (one time)

Amateur titles

New England Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion 1989 New England Diamond Belt Tournament Champion 1989

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes54Loss47–7Mike BernardoTKO1 (12), 8 Jun 200153Loss47–6Henry AkinwandeKO2 (12), 17 Mar 200152Win47–5Joe SicilianoTKO1 (4), 17 Jun 200051Win46–5Jeff JonesTKO1 (10), 18 Nov 199950Loss45–5Eric EschTKO1 (4), 26 Jun 199949Loss45–4Brian NielsenKO3 (8), 12 Feb 199948Win45–3Harry FunmakerUD68 Oct 199847Win44–3Dan KosmickiUD617 Apr 199846Win43–3Larry MenefeeDQ8 (8), 10 Jan 199845Win42–3Doug DavisUD65 Dec 199744Win41–3Domingo MonroeDQ4 (10), 12 Aug 199643Loss40–3Louis MonacoTKO5 (6), 13 Jul 199642Win40–2Marc MachainTKO1 (6)22 Jun 199641Win39–2Juan QuintanaKO2 (6), 27 Apr 199640Win38–2Harold ReitmanTKO1 (10), 12 Dec 199539Win37–2Mike SamsKO2 (12), 27 Oct 199538Loss36–2Mike TysonDQ1 (10), 19 Aug 199537Win36–1Frankie Hines1 (10), 22 Apr 199536Win35–1Danny WoffordRTD1 (10), 17 Mar 199535Win34–1Jerry BarnesKO1 (8), 10 Feb 199534Win33–1Kevin WyrickTKO1 (8), 20 Jan 199533Win32–1Lorenzo BoydTKO1 (8), 11 Nov 199432Win31–1J.B. WilliamsonTKO1 (8), 8 Oct 199431Win30–1Quinton HardyKO1 (8), 29 Aug 199430Win29–1Dwayne HallTKO1 (8), 22 Jul 199429Win28–1J.B. WilliamsonRTD2 (10), 24 Jun 199428Win27–1Wayne PerdueTKO1 (6), 30 Apr 199427Win26–1Lopez McGeeTKO1 (8)13 Apr 199426Win25–1Herman JacksonTKO2 (8)8 Apr 199425Loss24–1Stanley WrightTKO8 (10), 18 Feb 199424Win24–0Larry DavisTKO1 (8), 21 Jan 199423Win23–0Howard KellyUD824 Nov 199322Win22–0Dwayne HallUD66 Nov 199321Win21–0Juan QuintanaUD810 Sep 199320Win20–0Robert Pagan Perez2 (6)14 Aug 199319Win19–0Miguel RosaTKO2 (8), 7 Jun 199318Win18–0Marc MachainKO7 (8), 8 May 199317Win17–0Phil PrinceTKO1 (6)9 Apr 199316Win16–0John Basil JacksonTKO5 (6), 5 Mar 199315Win15–0Jesus RohenaTKO2 (6), 20 Feb 199314Win14–0Ron DrinkwaterTKO1 (8), 30 Jan 199313Win13–0Jimmy HarrisonUD610 Dec 199212Win12–0Lorenzo PooleKO2 (6)13 Nov 199211Win11–0Shawn BryantTKO1 (6)21 Oct 199210Win10–0Van DorseyTKO1 (5), 28 Sep 19929Win9–0Jimmy HarrisonTKO3 (6)12 Sep 19928Win8–0Jimmy Harrison419 Jun 19927Win7–0John Basil Jackson413 Jun 19926Win6–0Jerry ArentzenTKO1 (4), 23 Apr 19925Win5–0Jesus RohenaTKO1 (4), 28 Feb 19924Win4–0Phil PrinceTKO1 (4), 15 Feb 19923Win3–0Kevin ChisolmTKO1 (4), 7 Dec 19912Win2–0Fabian Arroyo1 (4), 24 Oct 19911Win1–0Van Dorsey1 (4), 23 Aug 1991

Pay-per-view bouts +DateFightBillingBuysNetworkAugust 19, 1995Tyson vs. McNeeleyHe's Back1,600,000Showtime/King Vision

References

External links

Official Website Tyson vs. McNeeley, an in-depth look at the fight