Lamar Parks facts for kids

Lamar Eugene Parks (born March 17, 1970) is an American former professional boxer. He competed from 1988 to 1993. In 1992, he aimed for the WBA middleweight title. However, he had to stop boxing the next year due to a serious health condition.

Parks had a great start in his boxing career. He won many awards as an amateur boxer. He even reached the semifinals of the 1988 Olympic Trials. After becoming a professional in 1988, he won minor titles from the WBC and IBF. He had an amazing streak of 22 wins in a row! In 1992, he fought Reggie Johnson for the WBA middleweight title but lost. After that, Parks won five more fights in 1993. He was set to fight for another world title against Gerald McClellan. But, he was not allowed to compete because of a health issue.

Early Life and Amateur Boxing

Lamar Parks was born on March 17, 1970. When he was three, his family moved to Greenville, South Carolina. His father, David, was a former amateur boxer. At first, David didn't want Lamar to box because he worried about him getting hurt. But in 1983, he let Lamar train with Silas Epps. This was at the Phillis Wheatley Community Center. David even quit his job to help train his son.

Lamar started amateur boxing at age 13. He won his first fight by knockout in the second round. Within a year, he became the South Carolina state champion for his age group. In 1984, he reached the semifinals of a Junior Olympic tournament. He then won a gold medal at the Palmetto State Games. In 1985, he won first place at the same Junior Olympic tournament in Atlanta. This allowed him to go to the National Junior Olympics.

Parks won the Southern Golden Gloves title in 1986. He won the middleweight title at the 1987 Southern Golden Gloves. He was also named the best boxer of that tournament. He won this award again the next year. He also made it to the semifinals of the 1988 Olympic Trials. There, he lost to John Scully. Parks won 175 out of 188 amateur fights. He won five South Carolina Golden Gloves championships. He also won three Southeast regional titles.

Lamar Parks finished high school at Greenville High School. He also studied electronics engineering for a short time at Greenville Technical College.

Professional Boxing Career

Lamar Parks started his professional boxing career on October 4, 1988. He beat Lennell Stroman in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His father was both his manager and trainer. His childhood trainer, Silas Epps, also joined them. In his fourth professional fight, Parks beat Fabian Williams. Williams was a former National Golden Gloves champion. Parks was behind in the first four rounds. But he stopped Williams in the fifth round.

In his tenth fight, Parks won against Chris Sande. Sande was an Olympic bronze medalist from 1988. Parks won by technical knockout in the fifth round. This was Sande's first professional loss. After this win, Parks briefly stopped boxing. He felt there weren't enough opportunities for him. But he returned about six months later. He met promoter Bobby Goodman and signed a one-year deal.

Parks won his first 16 professional fights in a row. On July 6, 1991, he won the vacant WBC Continental Americas middleweight title. This was in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. He then stopped Donny Giron five months later. This win gave him the vacant WBC–NABF middleweight title. In his next fight, he knocked out Francisco de Jesus. This made his record 20 wins and 0 losses.

On April 16, 1992, Parks kept his NABF belt. He also won the vacant IBF–USBA middleweight title. He forced the referee to stop the fight in the tenth round against Percy Harris. At this time, he was ranked as one of the best middleweight boxers in the world.

On October 27, 1992, Parks fought Reggie Johnson. This was for the WBA middleweight title in Houston. Parks lost the fight. Johnson later said Parks was the best puncher and jabber he had ever faced.

On August 10, 1993, Parks won the vacant WBC Continental Americas middleweight title again. He beat Gilbert Baptist in Greenville. He then stopped Joaquín Velásquez in four rounds in November. This was his last fight. He finished his career with 27 wins and only 1 loss, with 21 knockouts.

Parks was ranked as the top challenger by three major boxing groups. He was set to fight Gerald McClellan for the WBC middleweight title. He was also a top challenger for Roy Jones Jr.'s IBF middleweight title. However, they were friends and sparring partners as kids, so they were hesitant to fight each other.

The fight between Parks and McClellan was planned for March 4, 1994, in Las Vegas. Parks was going to earn a lot of money. He started training in Florida in January. But he had to pull out of the fight due to medical reasons. He later said he had a shoulder injury. He even passed a physical exam in mid-February. But then he pulled out again, saying he re-injured his shoulder. His career ended shortly after this. He stopped going to the gym and didn't talk to the media. It was later confirmed that his boxing career was over due to a serious health condition.

Professional Boxing Record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
28	Win	27–1	Joaquín Velásquez	TKO	4 (10), 1:04	Nov 2, 1993	Merv Griffin's Resorts in Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
27	Win	26–1	Gilbert Baptist	TKO	11 (12), 0:55	Aug 10, 1993	Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.	Won vacant WBC Continental Americas middleweight title
26	Win	25–1	Danny García	UD	10	Jun 24, 1993	Paramount Theatre, New York City, New York, U.S.
25	Win	24–1	Willie Kemp	TKO	5 (10), 0:56	Mar 18, 1993	Paramount Theatre, New York City, New York, U.S.
24	Win	23–1	Ricky Thomas	UD	10	Jan 27, 1993	Paramount Theatre, New York City, New York, U.S.
23	Loss	22–1	Reggie Johnson	UD	12	Oct 27, 1992	The Summit, Houston, Texas, U.S.	For WBA middleweight title
22	Win	22–0	José Luis López	TKO	1 (10), 2:29	Jun 26, 1992	King Street Palace, Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
21	Win	21–0	Percy Harris	TKO	10 (12), 2:50	Apr 16, 1992	Paramount Theatre, New York City, New York, U.S.	Retained WBC–NABF middleweight title; Won vacant IBF–USBA middleweight title
20	Win	20–0	Francisco de Jesus	KO	3 (10), 0:48	Feb 18, 1992	Paramount Theatre, New York City, New York, U.S.
19	Win	19–0	Donny Giron	TKO	6 (12), 1:27	Dec 5, 1991	Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.	Won vacant WBC–NABF middleweight title
18	Win	18–0	Ken Hulsey	TKO	1 (10), 2:56	Nov 15, 1991	King Street Palace, Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
17	Win	17–0	Lenzie Morgan	UD	12	Jul 6, 1991	Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.	Won vacant WBC Continental Americas middleweight title
16	Win	16–0	Lester Yarbrough	UD	10	Jun 15, 1991	King Street Palace, Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
15	Win	15–0	Brinatty Maquilon	UD	10	May 10, 1991	Central Maine Civic Center, Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
14	Win	14–0	Eric Rhinehart	TKO	3 (10), 0:31	Mar 1, 1991	King Street Palace, Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
13	Win	13–0	Eric Cole	KO	2 (8), 1:25	Dec 21, 1990	Sands Hotel and Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
12	Win	12–0	Basante Blanco	TKO	2 (8), 2:44	Nov 9, 1990	Central Maine Civic Center, Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
11	Win	11–0	Lemorrah Bolding	TKO	3 (8), 1:16	Oct 23, 1990	The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
10	Win	10–0	Chris Sande	TKO	5 (6)	Apr 29, 1990	Caesars Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
9	Win	9–0	Tony Wellington	TKO	1 (?), 2:35	Feb 28, 1990	Interstate Fairgrounds, Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
8	Win	8–0	William Pinto	TKO	1 (?)	Nov 24, 1989	Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
7	Win	7–0	Carlton Brown	KO	4 (?)	Oct 28, 1989	South Carolina, U.S.
6	Win	6–0	Dwight Hunter	TKO	3 (?)	Oct 4, 1989	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Fabian Williams	TKO	5 (6), 2:00	Jun 24, 1989	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
4	Win	4–0	Ed Barnes	KO	4 (?)	Apr 22, 1989	Trump Castle, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Bobby Bell	TKO	3 (4), 2:43	Mar 3, 1989	Lake County Expo Center, Eustis, Florida, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Charles Agnew	TKO	2 (4)	Nov 28, 1988	Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Lennell Stroman	UD	4	Oct 4, 1988	Atlantis Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.