Joe Hipp facts for kids

Joe "The Boss" Hipp (born December 7, 1962) is a retired professional American heavyweight boxer. A member of the Blackfeet Tribe, he became the first Native American to challenge for a world heavyweight boxing championship on August 19, 1995 when he fought WBA champion Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In May 2009, he was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Hipp began his professional career with a 4-round decision over Steve Cortez at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Oregon on August 29, 1987. For his second fight 2 months later, Hipp travelled to Carson City, Nevada to face Utah native Veti Katoa. The fight was stopped by the ringside doctor after Hipp suffered a broken jaw in the third round.

Hipp rebounded successfully from the defeat by notching 3 consecutive first-round knockout victories before facing Katoa in a rematch at Gardnerville Park in Gardnerville, Nevada on July 2, 1988. Hipp dominated the action on the inside with his hard-hitting, banging style to take a 5-round unanimous decision.

Hipp then took a year-long hiatus from boxing before returning to face Andrew Matthews on the 4th of July of the following year. Outweighing his opponent by over 30 pounds, Hipp punched his way to a first-round stoppage. Exactly two weeks later, Hipp scored a unanimous four-round decision over up-and-coming contender Cleveland Woods in what Ring Magazine referred to as "...the upset of the night" on the card for that evening.

Hipp began another winning streak (including a brutal third-round knockout of Katoa in their third and final meeting) before facing Bert Cooper in Cooper's final bout prior to his fight with Evander Holyfield for the world title one month later. Cooper outslugged Hipp en route to a fifth-round stoppage by referee Joe Cortez.

Hipp again rebounded by winning 3 consecutive contests before facing Tommy Morrison on June 27, 1992 in Reno, Nevada. In a slugfest that saw Morrison break his jaw and one of his hands, Hipp lost by a 9th-round TKO, resulting in broken cheekbones for Hipp. After recovering from his injuries, Hipp fought once in 1993, earning a victory with a ten-round decision in a rematch with Kevin Ford.

Hipp began 1994 with a victory over Alex Garcia for the fringe NABF heavyweight title and finished the year with two more wins. He began the following year by continuing his winning ways with a third-round TKO of journeyman Phillip Brown. This win would lead to Hipp's most important bout, the fight that would land him in the history books as the first Native American to challenge for one of the four recognized heavyweight title belts.

WBA Heavyweight Title Bout

..... With Seldon well ahead on all scorecards, the fight was stopped in the tenth round by referee Richard Steele after Hipp experienced massive swelling and bleeding on his face.

Career Decline

Hipp's career was rather undistinguished afterwards. He fired off a series of victories over third-rate competition before being knocked out by hard-hitting journeyman Ross Puritty on June 15, 1997. Hipp had secured a comfortable lead on the scorecards before Puritty came out swinging for the tenth and final round of their bout. An exhausted Hipp was no match for Puritty in the last round and he suffered his first KO defeat. Hipp racked up three consecutive victories against nondescript competition after the Puritty fight, but then blew out his knee against Jeff Pegues in a fifth-round TKO loss on December 9, 1999.

He attempted a comeback four years later, but that came to an abrupt end in his second fight as he dropped a six-round decision to journeyman Billy Zumbrun on November 14, 2003.

Hipp, referred to as "The Boss" by his loyal fans, returned from another extended layoff to win a six-round decision over Ted Reiter on August 13, 2005, in what was his final fight.

Professional boxing record

43 Wins (29 knockouts, 14 decisions), 7 Losses (6 knockouts, 1 decision)
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	43-7	Ted Reiter	MD	6	13/08/2005	Lewiston, Idaho, U.S.
Loss	42-7	Billy Zumbrun	MD	6	14/11/2003	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Win	42-6	Chris Brown	KO	2	22/08/2003	Spokane, Washington, U.S.	Brown knocked out at 2:37 of the second round.
Loss	41-6	Jeff Pegues	TKO	5	09/12/1999	Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S.	Hipp suffered a severe knee injury during the fight causing a stoppage.
Win	41-5	Everett Martin	UD	12	25/06/1999	Saint Charles, Missouri, U.S.	WBF World heavyweight title.
Win	40-5	Jack Basting	UD	10	27/03/1998	Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Win	39-5	George McFall	TKO	2	11/02/1998	Yakima, Washington, U.S.
Loss	38-5	Ross Puritty	KO	10	15/06/1997	Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
Win	38-4	Marcus Rhode	TKO	1	29/03/1997	Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
Win	37-4	Lorenzo Boyd	KO	1	10/03/1997	Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.	Boyd knocked out at 2:45 of the first round.
Win	36-4	Will Hinton	TKO	1	13/12/1996	Tacoma, Washington, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 1:30 of the first round.
Win	35-4	Troy Roberts	KO	2	05/10/1996	Yakima, Washington, U.S.
Win	34-4	Fred Houpe	TKO	1	23/09/1996	Bellevue, Washington, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 1:55 of the first round.
Win	33-4	Bill Corrigan	KO	1	04/08/1996	Sequim, Washington, U.S.	Corrigan knocked out at 1:39 of the first round.
Win	32-4	Anthony Moore	TKO	5	17/07/1996	Worley, Idaho, U.S.	Western States heavyweight title.
Win	31-4	Martin Jacques	TKO	1	15/12/1995	Yakima, Washington, U.S.
Loss	30-4	Bruce Seldon	TKO	10	19/08/1995	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	WBA World heavyweight title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:47 of the tenth round.
Win	30-3	Philipp Brown	TKO	3	17/04/1995	Moline, Illinois, U.S.
Win	29-3	Rodolfo Marin	SD	10	01/11/1994	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	28-3	José Ribalta	KO	2	10/05/1994	Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S.	NABF heavyweight title. Ribalta knocked out at 1:53 of the second round.
Win	27-3	Alex Garcia	UD	12	01/03/1994	Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	NABF heavyweight title.
Win	26-3	Keith McMurray	KO	4	14/01/1994	Saint George, Utah, U.S.	McMurray knocked out at 2:52 of the fourth round.
Win	25-3	Kevin Ford	UD	10	03/04/1993	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss	24-3	Tommy Morrison	TKO	9	27/06/1992	Reno, Nevada, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 2:47 of the ninth round.
Win	24-2	Jesse Shelby	UD	10	28/02/1992	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	23-2	Kevin Ford	UD	8	01/02/1992	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	22-2	John Morton	KO	3	05/01/1992	Reno, Nevada, U.S.	Morton knocked out at 3:00 of the third round.
Loss	21-2	Bert Cooper	TKO	5	18/10/1991	Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 1:01 of the fifth round.
Win	21-1	Cleveland Woods	KO	1	15/07/1991	Irvine, California, U.S.	Woods knocked out at 0:27 of the first round.
Win	20-1	Bill Duncan	KO	1	02/07/1991	Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Win	19-1	David Bey	TKO	7	26/02/1991	Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 1:07 of the seventh round.
Win	18-1	Mike Cohen	KO	4	14/01/1991	Fife, Washington, U.S.	World Boxing Foundation (WBFo) Intercontinental heavyweight title. Cohen knocked out at 2:30 of the fourth round.
Win	17-1	Richard Cade	KO	2	16/11/1990	Fort Lewis, Washington, U.S.	Cade knocked out at 0:52 of the second round.
Win	16-1	Harry Terrell	KO	2	11/09/1990	Fife, Washington, U.S.	Terrell knocked out at 2:14 of the second round.
Win	15-1	Gerardo Valero	KO	1	26/07/1990	Yakima, Washington, U.S.	Valero knocked out at 3:04 of the first round.
Win	14-1	Tracy Thomas	UD	10	12/06/1990	Yakima, Washington, U.S.
Win	13-1	Danny Wofford	PTS	6	24/04/1990	Reseda, California, U.S.
Win	12-1	Veti Katoa	KO	3	16/03/1990	Butte, Montana, U.S.
Win	11-1	Dan Ross	KO	1	12/02/1990	Butte, Montana, U.S.	Ross knocked out at 2:09 of the first round.
Win	10-1	Marvin Camel	TKO	6	02/12/1989	Lacey, Washington, U.S.
Win	9-1	Sean McClain	TKO	4	26/09/1989	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	8-1	Shaun Ayers	UD	10	26/08/1989	Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
Win	7-1	Cleveland Woods	UD	4	18/07/1989	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	6-1	Andrew Matthews	TKO	1	04/07/1989	Gardnerville, Nevada, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 0:34 of the first round.
Win	5-1	Veti Kotoa	UD	5	02/07/1988	Gardnerville, Nevada, U.S.
Win	4-1	Steve Cortez	TKO	1	18/06/1988	Vancouver, Washington, U.S.
Win	3-1	Paul Bradshaw	TKO	1	04/06/1988	Albany, Oregon, U.S.
Win	2-1	John Elkins	TKO	1	02/06/1988	Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Loss	1-1	Veti Katoa	TKO	3	24/10/1987	Carson City, Nevada, U.S.
Win	1-0	Steve Cortez	UD	4	29/08/1987	Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

Outside the Ring

In 2004, Rocky Mountain College and the Billings Writer's Voice sponsored a poetry reading held by various Native American groups in tribute to Hipp.

In December 2005, Hipp was a FEMA worker for the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Responding to the call, he joined his fellow Blackfeet members who were called upon due to their experience in wildfires and search and rescue missions.

By 2007 Hipp was working for his former manager Ray Frye at a Seattle area sweeping company. He also co-owned a small construction company.