David Reid (boxer)


David Terrell Reid is a former boxer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Amateur career

Reid had a stellar amateur boxing career, culminating with a come-from-behind, one-punch knock out win to secure a gold medal at the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. This followed Reid's title victory a year earlier at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. Because he was, like Oscar De La Hoya four years before, the only Olympic gold medalist in boxing for the United States, comparisons by writers and critics to de la Hoya were practically inevitable. De la Hoya's nickname is "The Golden Boy"; Reid was dubbed as "The American Dream".

Amateur highlights

Pro career

Reid began his professional career, with much attention from boxing magazines, when he defeated Sam Calderon on March 21, 1997, by a unanimous four round decision, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
He followed his debut victory with four knockout wins in a row, before meeting former world Welterweight champion Jorge Vaca, on October 3 of the same year, also at Atlantic City. He knocked Vaca out in the first round.
His next bout, against Dan Conolly, was showcased on HBO Boxing, and it was also covered, round by round, by The Ring. Reid earned his sixth victory in a row, knocking out Conolly in five rounds.
On January 31, 1998, he dropped Robert Frazier in the first round. Despite losing a point in round six due to what the referee thought was dirty tactics, Reid went on to beat Frazier by an eight round unanimous decision.
After two more wins, he faced former world champion Simon Brown, knocking him out in four rounds on June 27, at Reid's hometown. On October 24, he claimed his first belt, defeating James Cocker by a twelve round unanimous decision, to win the WBC's Continental Americas light middleweight title.

WBA light middleweight champion

After that victory, he was deemed as ready for a world title try by his management team, and so, on March 6, 1999, Reid became a world champion in only his tenth professional bout, by beating WBA light middleweight champion Laurent Boudouani by a twelve round unanimous decision in Atlantic City.
Reid would defend his title successfully twice, one of them, a twelve round unanimous decision over Keith Mullings in Las Vegas.
By then, Reid had already made Las Vegas his new home. There was much talk about facing him against a number of opponents, including Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, De La Hoya and Félix Trinidad.

Trinidad vs Reid Bout

The only fight out of those four possible match-ups came on March 3, 2000, when he defended his crown against Trinidad in Las Vegas. Reid enjoyed some advantage during the first six rounds, having dropped Trinidad in the third, and with the fight being close on all three judges' scorecards. He was dropped in round seven, however, and subsequently suffered a detached retina and three more knockdowns in round eleven, before losing the world title by a twelve round unanimous decision.
Many fans then questioned his management's judgment by letting Reid defend his title against a veteran like Trinidad in only his fifteenth professional bout, a fact that reminded many of the case of the second Davey Moore 17 years before, when he defended the same WBA title, in only his thirteenth bout, against the far more experienced, boxing hall of famer Roberto Durán. Many critics say that the reason for Reid's falldown after his defeat to Trinidad could be due to a psychological break-down, but the fact is that his detached retina affected him for the rest of his short career.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
19Loss17–2Sam HillTKO9 2001-11-11Belterra Casino Resort, Elizabeth, Indiana, U.S.
18Win17–1Maurice BrantleyUD10 2001-07-08Texas Station, North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
17Win16–1Urbano GurrolaUD10 2001-04-01The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
16Win15–1Quirino GarciaUD10 2000-11-26Regent Hotel & Casino, Summerlin, Nevada, U.S.
15Loss14–1Félix TrinidadUD12 2000-03-03Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Lost WBA light middleweight title
14Win14–0Keith MullingsUD12 1999-08-28The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBA light middleweight title
13Win13–0Kevin KellyUD12 1999-07-16Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained WBA light middleweight title
12Win12–0Laurent BoudouaniUD12 1999-03-06Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Won WBA light middleweight title
11Win11–0James CokerUD12 1998-10-24Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Won Continental Americas WBC light middleweight title
10Win10–0Simon BrownKO4 1998-06-27Apollo Theater, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
9Win9–0Nick RupaTKO2 1998-05-09Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
8Win8–0Fidel AvendanoUD8 1998-03-03Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
7Win7–0Robert FrazierUD8 1998-01-31Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
6Win6–0Dan ConnollyTKO5 1997-11-22Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
5Win5–0Jorge VacaKO1 1997-10-03Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
4Win4–0Geoff YalenezianTKO2 1997-09-23Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.
3Win3–0John LongTKO2 1997-06-21War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York, U.S.
2Win2–0Robert KoonTKO6 1997-05-24Mammoth Events Center, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
1Win1–0Sam CalderonUD4 1997-03-21Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.

Retirement

He returned to the boxing ring for four bouts. He won three fights against insignificant opposition, then lost to Sam Hill by a knockout in nine rounds, in what would turn out to be his last bout, on November 11, 2001, at Elizabeth, Indiana. His retina was causing him more trouble, and he retired before losing his eyesight. Reid had first suffered an eye injury in the 1995 Olympic Trials, and after several surgeries as a professional, he continued to suffer from ptosis.