James Broad

For other people named James Broad, see James Broad (disambiguation).

James Broad
Statistics
Real name	James W. Broad
Nickname(s)	Broad Axe
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Nationality	American
Born	(1958-01-27)January 27, 1958
Died
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	33
Wins	23
Wins by KO	15
Losses	10
Draws	0

James Broad (January 27, 1958 – November 20, 2001) was an American heavyweight boxer who was an amateur star and, prior to the boycott, set to represent America in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. As a pro he won the NABF heavyweight title and was a regular sparring partner of a peak Mike Tyson.

Amateur

Broad took up boxing when he joined the army in 1976. He beat Chris McDonald in the 1980 Olympic Trials finals, where he qualified for the 1980 US Olympic Boxing team which ultimately did not compete due to political reasons. He also beat top amateur Chris McDonald and lost a decision to Tony Tubbs.

Professional

Nicknamed "Broad-Axe", Broad turned pro in 1981 and put together 12 wins, including a 4th round knockout of future Heavyweight Champ James "Bonecrusher" Smith. His weight was already a problem at this early stage of his career, but Broad worked down to 228 for his first big fight, against fellow undefeated prospect Marvis Frazier. Broad rocked Frazier with his signature uppercuts but was unable to replicate his knockout victory in the amateurs, and he was outworked over 10 rounds.

Broad bounced back to outpoint Larry Alexander over 12 rounds in 1983 then knockout contender Eddie Gregg in 8 rounds to win the NABF title in 1984. For his first title defense Broad scaled a whopping 260 lbs and was knocked out in 2 rounds by once and future world champion Tim Witherspoon in 1985.

Downward Spiral

Broad was unable to get back into serious shape for the remainder of his career, and his results suffered. He lost a 12 round decision to top contender and future world champion Tony Tucker for the USBA title in 1986, and in 1987 was twice outpointed over 10 rounds, by Francesco Damiani in Italy and then by ex-world champ Greg Page, in a fight where both men were down.

Broad outpointed future cruiserweight world title-challenger Patrick Lumumba but went to South Africa and was poleaxed in 4 rounds by Johnny DuPlooy. In his next fight he was stopped on his feet, in questionable circumstances, by rising contender Donovan "Razor" Ruddock. During all this time Broad was a sparring partner for a peak Mike Tyson and took many punches in the gym.

Death

In 1992 Boxing Illustrated reported that Broad intended to make a comeback and wanted to be world champion, despite the fact he was banned in Nevada and California both for failing a neurological exam and testing positive for Hepatitis. He somehow managed to get 4 more fights, losing 3 of them. By 2000 Broad was said to be homeless in Las Vegas and badly brain damaged, but when he died in 2001, aged only 43, he was back in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Professional boxing record

23 Wins (15 knockouts, 8 decisions), 10 Losses (3 knockouts, 7 decisions) [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	13-8	Calvin "Concrete" Jones	MD	10	20/08/1993	Melrose Park, Illinois, United States
Win	30-10-2	Philipp Brown	PTS	8	26/06/1993	Saint George, Utah, United States
Loss	3-0	Daniel Dăncuţă	UD	4	14/02/1993	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	11-1	Billy "Bronco" Wright	UD	6	06/10/1992	Miami Beach, Florida, United States	54-60, 55-59, 56-58.
Win	--	Maurice Smith	TKO	4	05/10/1991	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	Referee stopped the bout at 1:26 of the fourth round.
Loss	20-1-1	Donovan "Razor" Ruddock	TKO	1	06/12/1988	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the first round.
Loss	17-1	Johnny du Plooy	KO	4	27/02/1988	Johannesburg, South Africa
Win	6-1	Patrick Lumumba	PTS	10	01/08/1987	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	26-6	Greg Page	MD	10	30/05/1987	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	94-95, 93-96, 94-94.
Loss	16-0	Francesco Damiani	UD	10	11/04/1987	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy	95-99, 95-99, 95-99.
Loss	32-0	Tony "TNT" Tucker	UD	12	26/09/1986	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	USBA Heavyweight Title. 111-118, 109-117, 110-117.
Win	3-11-1	Wesley Smith	KO	2	28/06/1986	Troy, New York, United States
Win	23-8-1	Bobby Crabtree	KO	5	03/05/1986	Glens Falls, New York, United States	Crabtree knocked out at 1:27 of the fifth round.
Win	13-1	Rodney Frazier	TKO	1	25/01/1986	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:55 of the first round.
Loss	19-2	"Terrible" Tim Witherspoon	KO	2	29/04/1985	Buffalo, New York, United States	NABF Heavyweight Title. Broad knocked out at 2:35 of the second round.
Win	5-2-1	Sterling Benjamin	TKO	2	14/12/1984	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the second round.
Win	20-0-1	Eddie Gregg	TKO	8	23/08/1984	New York City, United States	NABF Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:48 of the eighth round.
Win	32-4	Tommy Franco Thomas	TKO	3	03/05/1984	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	22-9-2	Larry Alexander	SD	12	17/11/1983	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	12-7-4	Leroy Diggs	TKO	8	18/08/1983	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:43 of the eighth round.
Loss	8-0	Marvis Frazier	UD	10	10/04/1983	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	3-6, 4-5, 4-5.
Win	19-11-1	Tony Pulu	KO	3	10/03/1983	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	19-10	Walter Santemore	UD	12	06/01/1983	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	ESPN Heavyweight Title.
Win	12-0	Donnie "Master of Disaster" Long	MD	10	17/10/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	6-3, 5-4, 5-5.
Win	16-5-2	Randy Mack	TKO	8	16/09/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	5-9	Art Robinson	DQ	4	04/08/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	2-2	Lonnie Chapman	KO	2	18/07/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	5-3-1	Harold Rice	PTS	8	02/04/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	13-3-2	Lou Benson, Jr.	PTS	8	11/02/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	4-4-3	Robert Evans	TKO	6	17/12/1981	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	--	James "Bonecrusher" Smith	TKO	4	05/11/1981	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:07 of the fourth round.
Win	--	Greg Stephany	KO	3	16/09/1981	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:21 of the third round.
Win	0-4	Albert Collins	KO	1	11/08/1981	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Collins knocked out at 0:59 of the first round.

External links

• Professional boxing record for James Broad from BoxRec
• Olympic team 1980