Michael John Nunn (born April 14, 1963) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF middleweight title from 1988 to 1991, and the WBA super middleweight title from 1992 to 1994. During both those reigns, he also held the lineal championship. In 2004, Nunn was sentenced to 24 years in prison for drug trafficking; he was released in February 2019. Nunn was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2025.https://ringmagazine.com/en

Amateur career Nunn won three Iowa Golden Gloves titles and posted an amateur record of 168-8. At the 1984 Olympic trials, U.S. boxing officials asked Nunn, who was boxing as a 156-pounder, to move up to the 165-pound division. They wanted to clear the way for Frank Tate, the eventual Olympic gold medalist, who was being heralded as America's next great middleweight. Tate's last loss was to Nunn.

After agreeing to move up in weight, Nunn boxed Virgil Hill at the Olympic trials in Fort Worth, Texas. Hill defeated Nunn by a 4-1 decision. Nunn and Hill boxed again at the Olympic box-offs in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nunn won the first box-off by a 5-0 decision. In the second box-off, Hill dropped Nunn and won by a 5-0 decision to make the Olympic team as the U.S. representative in the 165-pound division.

Professional career Middleweight

Nunn turned professional in 1984. After winning his first thirty fights, he fought IBF middleweight title-holder Frank Tate, who was 23-0. The fight took place on July 28, 1988 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Nunn won the title by a ninth-round knockout.

In his first title defense, he knocked out Juan Roldan in the eighth round. His second defense was a stunning first-round knockout of Sumbu Kalambay to capture the vacant lineal middleweight championship. Nunn's next two title defenses were twelve-round majority decision wins over Iran Barkley and Marlon Starling. For his fifth defense, Nunn went to France and knocked out Donald Curry in ten rounds. On May 10, 1991, in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa, Nunn lost his title in a big upset to James Toney. Nunn, well ahead on points after ten rounds, was knocked out after being dropped by a left hook in the eleventh round.

Super middleweight

After the loss, Nunn moved up a weight division to super middleweight and won the NABF title with a tenth-round stoppage against Randall Yonker. On September 12, 1992, Nunn won the WBA and lineal super middleweight titles with a controversial twelve-round split decision over Victor Cordoba. The WBA ordered a rematch, which took place on January 30, 1993. Nunn fought much better in the rematch, winning by a one-sided twelve-round unanimous decision.Lakeland (FL) Ledger February 2, 1993

In his fifth title defense, Nunn lost the title to Steve Little by a twelve-round split decision on February 26, 1994, in another huge upset.Reading (PA) Eagle March 3, 1994 On December 17, 1994, Nunn traveled to Ecuador to fight Frankie Liles in an attempt to regain the lineal and WBA super middleweight titles. In a very close fight, Liles, who had defeated Little in his previous fight to win the title, defeated Nunn by a twelve-round unanimous decision.

Light heavyweight After nine consecutive wins, Nunn got another title shot. On March 21, 1998, he fought Graciano Rocchigiani for the vacant WBC light heavyweight title in Germany. Nunn lost by a twelve-round split decision, with the judges favouring Rocchigiani's fewer, more solid punches over Nunn's much higher volume of lighter shots.

On January 23, 2002, Nunn defeated Vinson Durhan by a ten-round unanimous decision at Caesars Indiana in Bridgeport, Indiana. It would be his last fight. He finished with a record of 58-4 with 37 knockouts.

Arrest and sentencing On August 6, 2002, at a hotel in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa, Nunn was arrested after paying an undercover agent $200 for one kilogram of cocaine, which had a street value of $24,000. In May 2003, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The following January, Nunn was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge William Gritzer, who agreed to a higher sentencing guideline after considering Nunn's long history of drug trafficking and the likelihood that he used a firearm during drug deals.

During the three-day sentencing hearing, prosecutors called witnesses who testified about Nunn's drug activity dating back to 1993. Nunn, who accepted responsibility for buying drugs in August 2002, denied his involvement in drug trafficking. He pointed out that several of the witnesses were in prison and could have their sentences reduced for providing testimony.

Nunn, who was defiant throughout the hearing, accused government lawyers of lying and scheming against him. "You guys haven't shown me nothing," Nunn said in his statement to the judge. "Where are your facts, Mr. Prosecutor?"

Nunn was released from federal prison on August 8, 2019.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes62Win58–4 Vinson DurhamUD10Jan 23, 2002 61Win57–4 Matthew CharlestonTKO5Dec 8, 2001 60Win56–4 Kenny CravenTKO6 (10), Oct 26, 2001 59Win55–4 Carlos BatesKO1 (10), Sep 29, 2001 58Win54–4 William GuthrieTKO7 (10), May 9, 1999 57Win53–4 Glenn ThomasUD10Sep 4, 1998 56Loss52–4 Graciano RocchigianiSD12Mar 21, 1998 55Win52–3 Lonnie HornKO1 (10), Jul 5, 1997 54Win51–3 Booker T WordTKO7 (10), May 10, 1997 53Win50–3 Rudy NixTKO2 (12), Jan 17, 1997 52Win49–3 Everardo Armenta Jr.TKO8 (10), Jun 23, 1996 51Win48–3 John ScullyUD12Dec 8, 1995 50Win47–3 Charles OliverUD10Oct 13, 1995 49Win46–3 Cecil McKenzieTKO4 (10), Aug 15, 1995 48Win45–3 Terry BeeTKO3 (10), Jul 14, 1995 47Win44–3 Earl ButlerUD10Jun 13, 1995 46Loss43–3 Frankie LilesUD12Dec 17, 1994 45Win43–2 Salvador MacielKO1 (10), Sep 12, 1994 44Loss42–2 Steve LittleSD12Feb 26, 1994 43Win42–1 Merqui SosaUD12Dec 18, 1993 42Win41–1 Crawford AshleyTKO6 (12), Apr 23, 1993 41Win40–1 Danny MorganKO1 (12), Feb 20, 1993 40Win39–1 Víctor CórdobaUD12Jan 30, 1993 39Win38–1 Víctor Córdoba12Sep 12, 1992 38Win37–1 Randall YonkerTKO10 (12), Nov 29, 1991 37Loss36–1 James ToneyTKO11 (12), May 10, 1991 36Win36–0 Donald CurryKO10 (12), Oct 18, 1990 35Win35–0 Marlon StarlingMD12Apr 14, 1990 34Win34–0 Iran Barkley12Aug 14, 1989 33Win33–0 Sumbu KalambayKO1 (12), Mar 25, 1989 32Win32–0 Juan RoldánKO8 (12), Nov 4, 1988 31Win31–0 Frank TateTKO9 (15), Jul 28, 1988 30Win30–0 Ron DanielsKO2 (10), May 31, 1988 29Win29–0 Curtis ParkerKO2 (12), Mar 19, 1988 28Win28–0 Kevin WattsUD12Jan 2, 1988 27Win27–0 Darnell Knox4 (12), Oct 29, 1987 26Win26–0 Dale JacksonUD10Sep 11, 1987 25Win25–0 Franklin OwensTKO9 (10), Aug 11, 1987 24Win24–0 Jose DuarteTKO2 (10), Jul 2, 1987 23Win23–0 Cecil PettigrewTKO5 (10), Apr 24, 1987 22Win22–0 Charles CampbellTKO9 (10), Apr 4, 1987 21Win21–0 Willie HarrisTKO6 (10)Feb 6, 1987 20Win20–0 Alex RamosUD12Nov 21, 1986 19Win19–0 Orlando PauldingKO1 (10), Oct 28, 1986 18Win18–0 Mike TinleyUD10Sep 19, 1986 17Win17–0 Charles BostonUD10Jul 25, 1986 16Win16–0 Randy SmithUD10Jun 25, 1986 15Win15–0 Felipe VacaTKO3 (10), May 19, 1986 14Win14–0 Carl JonesUD10Mar 9, 1986 13Win13–0 Charles CarterTKO3 (10)Feb 10, 1986 12Win12–0 Alvaro GranilloTKO2 (10), Jan 28, 1986 11Win11–0 Billy RobertsonUD10Dec 10, 1985 10Win10–0 Jorge AmparoUD8Nov 13, 1985 9Win9–0 Charles Campbell8Sep 25, 1985 8Win8–0 Marcos GeraldoTKO5 (8), Aug 27, 1985 7Win7–0 James WaireTKO3 (8), Jul 29, 1985 6Win6–0 Larry DavisTKO2 (6), Jun 27, 1985 5Win5–0 J W JohnsonKO1 (8), May 21, 1985 4Win4–0 Sergio CamposKO1 (6), Apr 13, 1985 3Win3–0 Robert JacksonKO1 (8), Mar 26, 1985 2Win2–0 Ismael Templos4 (6)Feb 8, 1985 1Win1–0 John Borman1 (4), Dec 20, 1984

Personal Nunn's brother in law is Roger Craig, a professional American football player who married Nunn's sister.

See also List of middleweight boxing champions List of super middleweight boxing champions List of WBA world champions List of IBF world champions

References

External links