O'Neil Bell


O'Neil Bell was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2011. He held the undisputed cruiserweight title in 2006 and the lineal cruiserweight title from 2006 to 2007.

Professional career

Bell lost his second fight against Algerian amateur star but kept winning for years after that.
He defeated former IBF champion Arthur Williams twice by KO and climbed the rankings.
He defeated Canadian Dale Brown in a controversial but unanimous decision on May 20, 2005, on Friday Night Fights to capture the vacant IBF title.
He unified the title by beating Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck on January 7, 2006, for his WBA and WBC belts, making Bell the second undisputed champion of the division, with Evander Holyfield being the first.
The IBF later stripped Bell in April 2006 for pulling out of a mandatory bout against Steve Cunningham because of a tooth problem. After nearly 11 months of inactivity, Bell was due to take part in the postponed Superfighter Tournament at heavyweight on December 1 of that year.
Bell lost the WBA, WBC and lineal cruiserweight titles to Jean-Marc Mormeck on March 17, 2007 in the Frenchman's backyard in Levallois, France via a close but unanimous decision.
On April 19, 2008, in Poland, Bell fought former WBC light heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek. Bell was dropped in the first round and quit after the end of round seven, complaining of feeling dizzy and sick.
After the Adamek fight, Bell announced his move to the heavyweight division, saying that making the cruiserweight limit sapped his strength for his last two fights. Bell's first heavyweight bout was scheduled to be against Willie Palms on January 14, 2009, but that fight never occurred.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
32Win27–4–1Rico CasonTKO1, 0:5817 Dec 2011Smith Gymnasium at Henderson Hall, Arlington, Virginia, US
31Loss26–4–1Richard HallTKO2, 1:584 Jun 2011Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, US
30Loss26–3–1Tomasz AdamekTKO8 19 Apr 2008Spodek, Katowice, Poland
29Loss26–2–1Jean-Marc MormeckUD1217 Mar 2007Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, FranceLost WBA, WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles
28Win26–1–1Jean-Marc MormeckKO10, 2:507 Jan 2006Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USRetained IBF cruiserweight title;
Won WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles
27Win25–1–1Sebastiaan RothmannKO11, 2:0926 Aug 2005Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, USRetained IBF cruiserweight title
26Win24–1–1Dale BrownUD1220 May 2005Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, USWon vacant IBF cruiserweight title
25Win23–1–1Ezra SellersKO2, 2:044 Sep 2004Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, US
24Win22–1–1Derrick HarmonTKO8, 1:4119 Dec 2003Ramada Inn, Rosemont, Illinois, USRetained NABF cruiserweight title
23Win21–1–1Kelvin DavisTKO11, 1:0323 May 2003Lucky Star Casino, Concho, Oklahoma, USRetained NABF and USBA cruiserweight titles
22Win20–1–1Arthur WilliamsTKO9, 2:068 Nov 2002Stratosphere, Las Vegas, Nevada, USRetained NABF cruiserweight title;
Won vacant USBA cruiserweight title
21Win19–1–1Eric DavisTKO3 28 Jun 2002Roxy Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, US
20Draw18–1–1Ernest Mateen3 26 Apr 2002Ramada O'Hare, Rosemont, Illinois, USTD after Mateen was cut from an accidental head clash
19Win18–1Ka-Dy KingTKO3 9 Apr 2002Ramada Inn, Rosemont, Illinois, US
18Win17–1Arthur WilliamsTKO11, 2:307 Sep 2001Dakota Magic Casino, Hankinson, North Dakota, USRetained NABF cruiserweight title
17Win16–1Jason Robinson103 Jul 2001Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, US
16Win15–1Jose Luis RiveraTKO11 10 May 2001Casino Queen, East St. Louis, Illinois, USRetained NABF cruiserweight title
15Win14–1James WaltonTKO10, 1:3818 Jan 2001Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, USWon vacant NABF cruiserweight title
14Win13–1Michael RushKO5 19 Oct 2000Columbus, Georgia, USWon NBA cruiserweight title
13Win12–1Eric DavisTKO2 13 Oct 2000Stone Mountain, Georgia, US
12Win11–1Jose Hiram TorresTKO32 Jun 2000Roxy Nightclub, Boston, Massachusetts, US
11Win10–1John MooreTKO322 Apr 2000Atlanta, Georgia, US
10Win9–1Wes TaylorTKO327 Jan 2000Atlanta, Georgia, US
9Win8–1George HolderTKO2, 2:473 Sep 1999Harrah's, Cherokee, North Carolina, US
8Win7–1Carl HandyTKO411 Aug 1999New Orleans, Louisiana, US
7Win6–1John BattleKO23 Mar 1999Atlanta, Georgia, US
6Win5–1Cliff NellonTKO4, 1:5722 Jan 1999Horseshoe Casino, Tunica, Mississippi, US
5Win4–1John CarterTKO1, 2:1013 Nov 1998Harrah's, Cherokee, North Carolina, US
4Win3–1Larry DonnellTKO230 Jul 1998Roxy Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, US
3Win2–1James SealeyKO126 Jun 1998Doraville, Georgia, US
2Loss1–1Mahamed Benguesmia4 11 Apr 1998Township Auditorium, Columbia, South Carolina, US
1Win1–0William Holyfield1 19 Feb 1998World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia, US

2007 disappearance

According to ESPN's Wednesday Night Fights on August 8, 2007, Bell, who was originally scheduled to appear, was unavailable to fight and could not be contacted in any way. He was scheduled to appear against Louis Azille on the fight card, but his promoter pulled him from the fight three weeks prior because he could not be located.

Death

Bell was shot and killed while being robbed in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 25, 2015.

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

''The Ring'' magazine titles

Minor world titles

Regional/International titles

Undisputed titles