Chris Byrd


Christopher Cornelius Byrd is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over then-undefeated Vitali Klitschko. In his first title defense later that year, he lost to Vitali's brother Wladimir Klitschko. In 2002, Byrd defeated Evander Holyfield to win the IBF heavyweight title for his second reign as world champion. He made four successful defenses until losing his title again to Wladimir Klitschko in a 2006 rematch. He was ranked by BoxRec in the world's top 10 heavyweight from 1998 to 2004, reaching his highest ranking of No.3 in 2000.
As an amateur, Byrd represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the middleweight division. His father Joe W Byrd was the coach for the Olympic boxing team, which also included future world champions Oscar De La Hoya and Vernon Forrest, amongst others.
He is also a three-time amateur boxing championships|national amateur champion], winning the light middleweight title in 1989, and the middleweight title in 1991 and 1992.
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Early life

Chris Byrd was the youngest of eight children growing up in Flint, Michigan. He began boxing at age 5, training in his father's Joe Byrd Boxing Academy. His father continued to train and manage Byrd as a professional. Byrd attended Flint Northwestern High School.

Amateur career

Byrd began competing in the ring at age 10, since then he had 285 amateur fights in various weight classes, compiled an impressive record of 275 wins, 10 losses. He was a three-time U.S. amateur champion. He was on the 1991 U.S. National boxing Team that became the first U.S. team to score a tie against the heralded Cuban team.
Byrd won the silver medal in the 1992 Barcelona summer Olympics as a middleweight, losing to Cuba's Ariel HernΓ‘ndez in the final.

Amateur highlights

Professional career

1993–1998: early career

Byrd turned professional on January 28, 1993, knocking out 10 of his first 13 opponents. Byrd moved up to heavyweight three fights into his professional career.
Byrd remained undefeated for his first 26 fights, knocking off then-notable opponents like Phil Jackson, Lionel Butler, Uriah Grant, Bert Cooper, Craig Peterson, Frankie Swindell, Jimmy Thunder, undefeated Eliecer Castillo and Ross Puritty.

1999: Byrd vs. Ibeabuchi, comeback victories

However, in 1999, Byrd's undefeated record came to a dead end when he fought undefeated Ike Ibeabuchi. With 48 seconds left in the fifth round, a left-handed bolo punch followed with a right hook sent Byrd to the canvas, face first.

2000: first world title, facing the Klitschkos

During the last week of March 2000, Byrd was offered the chance to be the replacement against undefeated champion Vitali Klitschko in Berlin, Germany for the WBO Heavyweight Title. He therefore had only seven days to prepare for the fight. Byrd was trailing after nine rounds by scores of 88–83 and 89–82, i.e. losing seven or eight of those rounds. However, Byrd was arguably Vitali's most difficult opponent as he landed clean shots and made him miss regularly, resulting Klitschko severely injured his shoulder and being unable to continue after the ninth round. The injury that Klitschko suffered was a torn shoulder rotator cuff, which required major surgery and a 7-month lay-off. Despite trailing on all three of the judges' scorecards, Byrd walked away the winner by a technical knockout due to the injury to Klitschko. Vitali landed at a much lower percentage and while he threw more, Byrd almost landed as many punches as him.
Six months later, Byrd was back in Germany to defend the title against Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali's younger, more agile brother. Twelve rounds later, Byrd had lost a lopsided unanimous decision and the WBO belt after being knocked down twice.

2001–2002: comeback victories, second world title

Byrd returned to the U.S., signed with Don King and beat Maurice Harris to win the United States Boxing Association heavyweight belt in Madison Square Garden. He was now a top-five contender for the IBF title. After winning his next match Byrd eventually received his mandatory shot at the vacant IBF world Heavyweight Championship against Evander Holyfield in Atlantic City. On December 14, 2002, Byrd won a unanimous decision and the IBF title.

2003–2005: four successful title defenses

Byrd has successfully defended the IBF belt against: Fres Oquendo in 2003, a highly entertaining draw with Andrew Golota and a decision win over friend Jameel McCline in 2004, and DaVarryl Williamson in 2005. Byrd's fight with Golota did 75,000 buys on pay-per-view.

2006: Klitschko rematch

On April 22, 2006, Byrd faced Wladimir Klitschko for the second time. Byrd was making his fifth defense of his IBF title and the fight was also sanctioned by the International Boxing Organization for its title, which had been vacated upon the retirement of Lennox Lewis. The fight took place at SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. Byrd was heavily dominated throughout the fight, was down in the fifth, and again in the seventh. Referee Wayne Kelly stopped the fight after the second knockdown when Byrd had an open cut near his eyes. Klitschko won in a TKO.

2007–2010: Povetkin bout, move to light heavyweight, and retirement

After losing to Alexander Povetkin, Byrd would drop about 40 pounds to return to the light heavyweight division. He fought Shaun George on May 16, 2008, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Byrd was dropped by George in round one and rocked again in round two. George then hammered Byrd with his right hand at will, finally flooring Byrd twice in the ninth round. Byrd beat the count after the first knockdown, but was then battered down again and the bout was waved off by the referee.
In 2010, Byrd officially announced his retirement from boxing.

Life outside boxing

Byrd hosts a weekly video podcast, entitled "Byrd's Eye View", which showcases former boxers as well as current professional and champion-level fighters.

Additional information

  • Byrd's hometown is Flint, Michigan, where he trained along with his brother Patrick Byrd and sister Tracy Byrd. Byrd's other sister, Laurie Byrd, is a professional basketball coach. Byrd is also a first cousin of Lamon Brewster, himself a former world heavyweight champion and two-time Klitschko opponent.
  • Byrd's corner consisted entirely of family members.
  • Byrd made an appearance in the 2008 documentary Beyond the Ropes.
  • Byrd also makes an appearance in the 2011 documentary Klitschko, in which he discusses his trio of title bouts with the brothers.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
47WinMatthias SandowTKO4, 1:30Mar 21, 2009Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany
46Loss40–5–1Shaun GeorgeTKO9, 2:42May 16, 2008Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
45Loss40–4–1Alexander PovetkinTKO11, 1:52Oct 27, 2007Messe, Erfurt, Germany
44Win40–3–1Paul MarinaccioRTD7, 0:01Apr 18, 2007Clifford Park, Nassau, Bahamas
43Loss39–3–1Wladimir KlitschkoTKO7, 0:41Apr 22, 2006SAP Arena, Mannheim, GermanyLost IBF heavyweight title;
For vacant IBO heavyweight title
42Win39–2–1DaVarryl WilliamsonUD12Oct 1, 2005Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.Retained IBF heavyweight title
41Win38–2–1Jameel McClineSD12Nov 13, 2004Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained IBF heavyweight title
40Draw37–2–1Andrew Golota12Apr 17, 2004Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained IBF heavyweight title
39Win37–2Fres OquendoUD12Sep 20, 2003Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.Retained IBF heavyweight title
38Win36–2Evander HolyfieldUD12Dec 14, 2002Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Won vacant IBF heavyweight title
37Win35–2Jeff PeguesTKO3, 2:43Jun 8, 2002Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S.
36Win34–2David TuaUD12Aug 18, 2001Cox Pavilion, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained IBF–USBA heavyweight title
35Win33–2Maurice HarrisUD12May 12, 2001Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant IBF–USBA heavyweight title
34Win32–2David VedderUD10Jan 19, 2001Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S.
33Loss31–2Wladimir KlitschkoUD12Oct 14, 2000KΓΆlnarena, Cologne, GermanyLost WBO heavyweight title
32Win31–1Vitali KlitschkoRTD9, 3:00Apr 1, 2000Estrel Hotel, Berlin, GermanyWon WBO heavyweight title
31Win30–1David WashingtonTKO10 Jan 19, 2000Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S.
30Win29–1Val SmithKO2, 2:39Oct 22, 1999Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
29Win28–1Jose RibaltaRTD3, 3:00Jun 3, 1999Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S.
28Win27–1John SargentTKO2, 2:03May 8, 1999Silver Star Casino, Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.
27Loss26–1Ike IbeabuchiTKO5, 2:59Mar 20, 1999Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
26Win26–0Ross PurittyUD10Jul 14, 1998Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S.
25Win25–0Eliecer CastilloUD10May 30, 1998Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
24Win24–0Derek AmosTKO6 Mar 28, 1998Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
23Win23–0Jimmy ThunderTKO9, 1:07Dec 13, 1997Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.
22Win22–0Frankie SwindellUD10Jun 20, 1997Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
21Win21–0Bert CooperUD10Mar 18, 1997IMA Sports Arena, Flint, Michigan, U.S.
20Win20–0Craig PetersenTKO6, 2:22Jan 28, 1997The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
19Win19–0Levi BillupsUD10Oct 8, 1996IMA Sports Arena, Flint, Michigan, U.S.
18Win18–0Uriah GrantUD10Aug 6, 1996IMA Sports Arena, Flint, Michigan, U.S.
17Win17–0Biko BotowamunguUD10May 17, 1996Stock Arena, Monroe, Michigan, U.S.
16Win16–0Lionel ButlerTKO8, 0:57Apr 23, 1996The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
15Win15–0Jeff WoodenUD10Jan 30, 1996The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
14Win14–0Phil JacksonUD12Nov 21, 1996The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
13Win13–0Nathaniel FitchKO7 Oct 3, 1995IMA Sports Arena, Flint, Michigan, U.S.
12Win12–0Tim PullerTKO5, 2:55Jul 18, 1995IMA Sports Arena, Flint, Michigan, U.S.
11Win11–0Arthur Williams10May 23, 1995The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
10Win10–0Joel Humm4 Apr 26, 1995The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
9Win9–0Mike RouseTKO6, 1:56Mar 28, 1995IMA Sports Arena, Flint, Michigan, U.S.
8Win8–0Frankie HinesTKO2, 0:59Jan 1, 1995Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S.
7Win7–0Ron GulletteTKO5Nov 1, 1994Flint, Michigan, U.S.
6Win6–0Waxxen FikesTKO4, 2:49Oct 4, 1994The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
5Win5–0Max Key1Aug 30, 1994Flint, Michigan, U.S.
4Win4–0Gerard O'NealTKO2 Jun 7, 1994Flint, Michigan, U.S.
3Win3–0Exum SpeightUD6Mar 22, 1994Flint, Michigan, U.S.
2Win2–0Mike Sullivan1May 15, 1993Flint, Michigan, U.S.
1Win1–0Gary Smith6Jan 28, 1993IMA Sports Arena, Flint, Michigan, U.S.