Junior Anthony Wright facts for kids

Junior Anthony Wright Jr. (born August 12, 1986) is an American professional boxer known by his nickname "Hurricane." He once fought for a major boxing title, the WBA cruiserweight championship, in 2016. Before becoming a professional, he was a very successful amateur boxer, winning the Chicago Golden Gloves tournament three times. He also competed in the National Golden Gloves tournament.

Junior Wright's Journey in Boxing

Starting Out: Early Life and Boxing

Junior Wright was born in Evanston, Illinois, a town just outside Chicago. This is still where he lives and trains today. When he was 16, he discovered boxing through a video game called Knockout Kings. Soon after, he joined a boxing gym in Chicago to try the sport for real.

Amateur Boxing Success

At 21 years old, in 2008, Junior Wright had his first amateur boxing match. He trained at the Loyola Boxing Club and later at the Evanston Boxing Club. During his amateur career, he won the Chicago Golden Gloves title three times. He won twice as a middleweight and once as a light heavyweight. He also took part in the 2008 National Golden Gloves tournament, where he had a close fight but lost to Denis Douglin, who went on to win the tournament.

Becoming a Professional Boxer

On October 7, 2011, when he was 25, Junior Wright officially became a professional boxer. His first fight was in Burbank, Illinois, in the cruiserweight division. He won by knockout (KO) in the very first round against Darrion Fletcher.

Early Professional Wins

After his first win, Junior Wright kept winning! He won his next nine fights, making his record 10 wins and no losses (with 9 knockouts). Seven of these wins were in the cruiserweight division, and two were as a heavyweight.

Fighting for a Title

His impressive start earned him a chance to fight for the vacant WBC International cruiserweight title. This big fight happened on May 15, 2014, against Stivens Bujaj in New York. It was a tough ten-round match that ended in a split draw, meaning the judges couldn't agree on a clear winner. After this fight, Wright signed with a new promoter, Dmitry Salita's Star of David Promotions.

Training with Champions

In 2014, Junior Wright got a great opportunity. He joined the training camp of world champion Adonis Stevenson. Wright helped Stevenson get ready for his WBC light heavyweight title defense. Stevenson won that fight by knockout.

More Fights and Challenges

Wright continued to fight, winning his next three matches. This improved his professional record to 13 wins, no losses, and 1 draw. He even dedicated one of his wins, a technical knockout (TKO) victory over Rayford Johnson, to brave police officers.

His first professional loss came in 2015. He was fighting for the vacant IBO cruiserweight title against Rakhim Chakhkiev.

Chasing a World Title

After winning two more cruiserweight fights, Junior Wright got his biggest chance yet. On May 21, 2016, he fought Beibut Shumenov for the WBA cruiserweight title in Las Vegas. Shumenov won the fight by TKO in the tenth round.

After this title fight, Wright decided to move up to the heavyweight division. He had one more cruiserweight fight, which he lost by unanimous decision (UD) to Ruslan Fayer in 2017. Since then, Wright has won all three of his heavyweight fights by TKO or KO. His professional record now stands at 18 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw.

Throughout his professional career, Junior Wright has been trained by Rick Wilson and Steve Clemente.

Junior Wright's Life Outside the Ring

Balancing Work and Boxing

Junior Wright has always been a hard worker. From age 11, he worked for his father's landscaping company. Even as an amateur boxer, he balanced his training with working about 65 hours a week at Home Depot. He also continued to help with his father's business. He kept working at Home Depot for a big part of his professional boxing career. He even tried going to community college for a short time, but he decided to focus on earning money instead.