Junior Anthony Wright


Junior Anthony Wright Jr. is an American professional boxer who challenged for the WBA cruiserweight title in 2016. As an amateur, he was a three-time Chicago Golden Gloves champion and also fought in the National Golden Gloves tournament.

Early life

Wright was born in Evanston, Illinois, on the northern outskirts of Chicago, where he currently resides and trains. At age 16, he was introduced to boxing when he played the video game Knockout Kings, and joined a boxing gym in Chicago shortly thereafter.

Amateur career

In 2008, at age 21, Wright made his amateur boxing debut. As an amateur, he trained out of the Loyola Boxing Club under Steve Hoffman where he won his first two Chicago Golden Gloves titles, and later with the Evanston Boxing Club where he won his third Chicago Golden Gloves title; winning twice at middleweight and once as a light heavyweight. He also competed in the 2008 National Golden Gloves tournament, losing to Denis Douglin three rounds to two, who ultimately won the tournament.

Professional career

On October 7, 2011, at age 25, Wright made his professional debut in Burbank, Illinois in a cruiserweight bout in which he defeated Darrion Fletcher by first-round knockout. He went on to win his next nine fights to accumulate a professional record of 10–0, earning him a chance at the vacant WBC International cruiserweight title against Stivens Bujaj on May 15, 2014. In the ten-round fight, held at the Millennium Theater in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, Wright fought to a split draw with the judges' scorecards reading 96–94, 95–95, and 94–96. Following his fight against Bujaj, Wright signed with Dmitry Salita's Star of David Promotions.
In 2014, Wright joined the training camp of world champion Adonis Stevenson to assist him in his preparation for his WBC light heavyweight title defense against Dmitry Sukhotsky, which Stevenson went on to win via fifth-round KO.
Wright won his next three fights to improve his professional record to 13–0–1. He dedicated one of these fights, his technical knockout victory over Rayford Johnson, to a pair of NYPD officers who were shot and killed in the month leading up to the fight. his 2015 fight for the vacant IBO cruiserweight title, in which he suffered his first professional defeat to Rakhim Chakhkiev.
On May 21, 2016, after winning his next two cruiserweight fights, Wright fought Beibut Shumenov for the WBA cruiserweight title in Las Vegas. Shumenov defeated Wright via tenth-round TKO. After the Shumenov fight, Wright moved up to the heavyweight division – fighting only more time as a cruiserweight in a unanimous decision loss to undefeated Ruslan Fayer in 2017. Since the Shumenov fight, Wright has won all three of his heavyweight fights by TKO or KO to improve to a professional record of 18–3–1.
Rick Wilson and Steve Clemente have both trained Wright during his professional boxing career.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
28WinCassius ChaneyUD10Mar 22, 2025Royale Nightclub, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
27Loss20–6–1Andrew TabitiKO1, 2:29Apr 27, 2024Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
26Loss20–5–1Arslanbek MakhmudovTKO1, 1:10Oct 28, 2023Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaFor WBC–NABF and vacant WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight titles
25Win20–4–1Brian HowardKO1, 2:17Apr 14, 2023Clarion Hotel, Tinicum, Pennsylvania, U.S.
24Win19–4–1Colby MadisonKO3, 0:27Oct 1, 20222300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
23Loss18–4–1Joe JonesKO2, 0:13Dec 2, 2021Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, U.S.
22Win18–3–1Alfredo TrevinoTKO1, 0:36Aug 28, 2021New England Sports Center, Derry, New Hampshire, U.S.
21Win17–3–1Antwaun TubbsTKO4, 2:29Mar 22, 2019Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
20Loss16–3–1Ruslan FayferUD12Aug 18, 2017Usadba Familiya, Plastunovskaya, Russia
19Win16–2–1Damon McCrearyKO2, 2:04Jan 22, 2017Masonic Temple, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
18Loss15–2–1Beibut ShumenovTKO10, 1:04May 21, 2016Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.For vacant WBA cruiserweight title
17Win15–1–1Jim FranklinTKO1, 1:50Feb 19, 2016WinnaVegas Casino Resort, Sloan, Iowa, U.S.
16Win14–1–1Harvey JollyUD6Aug 25, 2015MCU Park, New York City, New York, U.S.
15Loss13–1–1Rakhim ChakhkievKO8, 2:39May 22, 2015Luzhniki Stadium Moscow, RussiaFor vacant IBO cruiserweight title
14Win13–0–1Rayford JohnsonTKO2, 1:32Jan 22, 2015Webster Hall, New York City, New York, U.S.
13Win12–0–1Lucas St. ClairTKO3, 0:44Nov 1, 2014Milwaukee Harley-Davidson, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
12Win11–0–1Marlon HayesUD6Aug 15, 2014Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.
11Draw10–0–1Stivens BujajSD10May 15, 2014Millenium Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.For vacant WBC International cruiserweight title
10Win10–0Galen BrownKO4, 0:20Feb 7, 2014UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
9Win9–0Harley KilfianTKO3, 2:50Dec 6, 2013UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
8Win8–0Nick KisnerSD6Aug 16, 2013U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
7Win7–0Chris ThomasTKO3, 2:30Apr 13, 2013Radisson Star Plaza, Merrillville, Indiana, U.S.
6Win6–0Tim JohnsonKO2, 0:56Feb 1, 2013UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
5Win5–0Nick ReederTKO2, 1:30Dec 14, 2012Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois, U.S.
4Win4–0Covon GrahamKO1, 2:58Jul 13, 2012UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
3Win3–0Rogelio SaldanaKO1, 1:14Feb 24, 2012UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
2Win2–0Brandon BennettTKO1, 1:33Jan 13, 2012Horseshoe Casino, Elizabeth, Indiana, U.S.
1Win1–0Darrion FletcherKO1, 0:58Oct 7, 2011The Club Chicago, Burbank, Illinois, U.S.

Personal life

Starting at age 11, Wright worked for his father's landscaping company. As an amateur boxer, Wright balanced his training with working approximately 65 hours per week at Home Depot while also helping with his father's business. He continued to work at Home Depot through much of his professional boxing career. He briefly enrolled in community college, but dropped out in order to earn money.