Marlon Starling facts for kids

Marlon Starling (born August 29, 1959) is an American former professional boxer. People often called him "Magic Man" because of his boxing skills. He was a professional boxer from 1979 to 1990. During his career, he won important titles. He was the WBA welterweight champion from 1987 to 1988. He also held the WBC welterweight title from 1989 to 1990.

Marlon's Boxing Journey

Marlon Starling was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1959. He started boxing with help from his coach, Johnny Duke. Johnny Duke helped him train for the national Junior Olympics championship. This was a big step for his early career.

Becoming a Professional Boxer

Marlon became a professional boxer in 1979. He had an amazing start, winning 25 fights in a row! His first loss came in 1982 against Donald Curry. It was a very close fight that lasted 12 rounds.

Marlon fought Donald Curry again in 1984. This time, he was trying to win the WBA and IBF welterweight titles. A welterweight is a boxer who weighs between 140 and 147 pounds. Marlon lost this fight after 15 rounds. Marlon was known for his "high guard" fighting style. This means he kept his hands up high to protect his face.

Winning World Titles

In 1987, Marlon got another chance to fight for a world title. He fought Mark Breland for the WBA welterweight title. Marlon won by knocking out Mark Breland in the 11th round. This made him a world champion!

He defended his title two times. But in his third title defense, something unusual happened. He was fighting Tomas Molinares. As the bell rang to end round six, Molinares hit Marlon with a punch. Marlon fell down, and the referee counted him out. Molinares was first declared the winner. However, it was later decided that the punch happened after the bell. So, the fight result was changed to a "no contest." This means it was like the fight never happened. Even so, Molinares kept the title.

More Championships and Retirement

In 1989, Marlon Starling won another big title. He knocked out Lloyd Honeyghan to become the WBC welterweight champion. The next year, Marlon tried to win a title in a heavier weight class, the middleweight division. He fought Michael Nunn for the IBF middleweight title but lost the fight.

In his very last fight, Marlon lost his welterweight title to Maurice Blocker in a close decision. After this fight, Marlon Starling retired from boxing. He finished his career with a great record of 45 wins, 6 losses, 1 draw, and 1 no contest. He had 27 knockout wins!

See also

• List of world welterweight boxing champions