Virgil Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Virgil Hill |
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Hill in 2015
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| Real name | Virgil Eugene Hill | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Quicksilver | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rated at |
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| Height | 6 ft 0+1/2 in | |||||||||||||||||||
| Reach | 77 in | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 18, 1964 Clinton, Missouri, U.S. |
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| Stance | Orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 58 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 51 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Virgil Eugene Hill (born January 18, 1964) is a famous American former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1984 to 2007, and then again in 2015. Virgil Hill was a world champion in two different weight classes: light heavyweight and cruiserweight. He won the WBA light heavyweight title twice and the IBF light heavyweight title once. He also held the WBA cruiserweight title two times. Before becoming a professional, Virgil Hill was an amazing amateur boxer. He won a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In 2013, he was honored by being added to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Contents
Virgil Hill's Amateur Boxing Days
Virgil Hill started his boxing journey as an amateur. He was very good!
Olympic Success
At the age of 20, Virgil Hill represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He competed in the middleweight division. He fought really well and won a silver medal. This was a huge achievement for him.
Here are some of his wins at the Olympics:
- He beat Edward Neblett from Barbados.
- He won against Brian Schumacher from Great Britain.
- He defeated Damir Škaro from Yugoslavia.
- He also won against Mohamed Zaoui from Algeria.
- In the final match, he had a very close fight but lost to Shin Joon-Sup from South Korea.
Golden Gloves Champion
In 1984, Virgil Hill also became the National Golden Gloves champion in the middleweight division. This is a very important title for amateur boxers in the U.S. He finished his amateur career with an impressive record of 288 wins and only 11 losses.
Virgil Hill's Professional Boxing Career
After his successful amateur career, Virgil Hill became a professional boxer in 1984. He was known by his nickname, 'Quicksilver'.
Becoming a Light Heavyweight Champion
In September 1987, Virgil Hill had won 18 fights in a row without any losses. He then got a chance to fight for the World Boxing Association light heavyweight title. He fought Leslie Stewart in Atlantic City. Virgil Hill knocked down Leslie Stewart twice in the fourth round and won the title by Knockout.
He successfully defended his title ten times! Many of these fights happened in his home state of North Dakota. He chose to fight there to be close to his 'hometown fans'. Some of the boxers he beat during this time included Bobby Czyz and James Kinchen.
In June 1991, a famous boxer named Thomas Hearns defeated Virgil Hill in Las Vegas. This ended Hill's first time as champion.
Winning Back the Title
In September 1992, Virgil Hill fought his 1984 Olympic teammate, Frank Tate, for the same WBA light heavyweight title. It was a big fight between them, and Virgil Hill won the title back in Bismarck, North Dakota. He then defended this title ten more times! One of his close fights was against Lou Del Valle, who almost beat him.
Unifying the Titles
In November 1996, Virgil Hill fought Henry Maske, who was the undefeated IBF champion. Hill won this fight in Germany, which meant he now held both the WBA and IBF light heavyweight titles. This is called "unifying" the titles.
In June 1997, another champion named Dariusz Michalczewski beat Virgil Hill. This fight was to unify even more titles.
The next year, Virgil Hill fought Roy Jones Jr.. Roy Jones Jr. won the fight in the fourth round with a body shot.
Moving to Cruiserweight
As Virgil Hill got older, he moved up to a heavier weight class called cruiserweight. At 36 years old, he won the WBA cruiserweight title! He knocked down Fabrice Tiozzo three times in France to win.
He lost his title to Jean-Marc Mormeck in his first defense. Later, in July 2003, he won a fight against Donny Lalonde. He had a rematch with Mormeck in May 2004 but lost again.
On January 27, 2006, Virgil Hill won another WBA cruiserweight title. He beat Valery Brudov, who had never lost a fight before. Even though Hill was 42 years old and got a cut on his face, he fought harder and won his fifth world title!
His last few fights were in Germany. In March 2007, he had a rematch with Henry Maske, whom he had beaten in 1996. Maske won this time. After that, Virgil Hill lost his WBA cruiserweight title to Firat Arslan.
Virgil Hill officially retired from boxing with a record of 50 wins (23 by knockout) and 7 losses.
Hall of Fame Honor
On November 12, 2012, Virgil Hill was officially welcomed into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. This is a huge honor for boxers who have had amazing careers.
Images for kids
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Virgil Hill in 2015
See also
In Spanish: Virgil Hill para niños
- List of light heavyweight boxing champions
- List of WBA world champions
- List of IBF world champions
