Larry Donald
# Larry Donald

Larry Ali Donald (born January 6, 1967) is an American former professional boxer. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the super heavyweight division at the 1991 World Championships and won a gold medal at the 1992 World Championship Challenge and becoming amateur world Super heavyweight champion going into the 1992 Olympic Games represented the United States at the 1992 Olympics. During his professional career, he defeated the likes of Evander Holyfield, Jeremy Williams, Bert Cooper, Tim Witherspoon, and Ross Puritty.

## Amateur career

Donald was the American representative at Super Heavyweight at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. His results were:

* 1st round bye
* Defeated Nikolay Kulpin (Unified Team/Former Soviet Union) RSC 3 (0:02)
* Lost to Roberto Balado (Cuba) 4–10

In addition to his Olympic run, Donald had a successful amateur career, including:

* National Golden Gloves Super Heavyweight Champion (1989, 1990)
* United States National Amateur Champion at Super Heavyweight (1991)

He also won the World Championship Challenge in Tampa, Florida, March 13–14, 1992, right before going into the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Donald finished his with 72 fights, completing a record of 67 wins, 5 losses.

## Professional career

Larry "The Legend" Donald turned pro on January 3, 1993, earning a technical knockout against Craig Brinson. In 1994 he beat fellow undefeated prospect Jeremy Williams, and Bert Cooper, but suffered his first defeat when losing widely to ex-champ Riddick Bowe, who had infamously sucker punched Donald twice at the pre-fight press conference.

He resurfaced in late 1997 outpointing ex-champ Tim Witherspoon, but spent many years fighting low profile on Don King under cards, unpopular with fans and the press for his negative, ultra-defensive and extremely unentertaining style.

In July 2001 he had a high-profile world title eliminator with Kirk Johnson, 31–0–1, but lost a close decision.

In 2002 he traveled to Germany to face Vitali Klitschko. Even at the age of 35, Donald was considered one of the most durable fighters in the world, but the heavy hitting Klitschko surprisingly stopped the veteran, decking him three times in the 10th round.

Although things looked over, Donald seemingly reinvented himself in November 2004 with an upset win over the legendary Evander Holyfield, winning nearly every round against the Hall of Famer ex-champ for the NABC World Champion Title.

In 2005, Donald controversially lost a title eliminator bout to giant-sized Russian Nicolay Valuev which would have earned him the right to fight John Ruiz for the WBA belt.

On July 30, 2007, Donald returned to ring to face Alexander Povetkin, and lost a lopsided decision.

## Professional boxing record

| 50 fights | 42 wins | 5 losses |
| - | - | - |
| By knockout | 24 | 1 |
| By decision | 18 | 4 |
| Draws | 3 | 3 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 50 | Loss | 42–5–3 | Alexander Povetkin | UD | 10 | 30 Jun 2007 | Olympisky Sport Hall, Moscow | |
| 49 | Loss | 42–4–3 | Nikolay Valuev | MD | 12 | 1 Oct 2005 | EWE Arena, Oldenburg | For WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title |
| 48 | Draw | 42–3–3 | Ray Austin | MD | 12 | 30 Apr 2005 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York | For WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title |
| 47 | Win | 42–3–2 | Evander Holyfield | UD | 12 | 13 Nov 2004 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York | Won vacant NABC Heavyweight title |
| 46 | Win | 41–3–2 | Mario Cawley | TKO | 3 (10), 1:31 | 7 Aug 2004 | Pontchartrain Center, Kenner, Louisiana | |
| 45 | Win | 40–3–2 | Sedreck Fields | UD | 10 | 15 May 2004 | Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| 44 | Loss | 39–3–2 | Vitali Klitschko | TKO | 10 (12), 2:35 | 23 Nov 2002 | Arena Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen | For WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title |
| 43 | Win | 39–2–2 | James Stanton | UD | 10 | 1 Jun 2002 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 42 | Loss | 38–2–2 | Kirk Johnson | UD | 10 | 7 Jul 2001 | KeySpan Park, Brooklyn, New York | |
| 41 | Draw | 38–1–2 | Obed Sullivan | MD | 12 | 28 Nov 2000 | Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | Retained WBO NABO Heavyweight title |
| 40 | Win | 38–1–1 | Phil Jackson | KO | 5 (10), 2:28 | 25 May 2000 | Grand Casino, Tunica, Mississippi | |
| 39 | Win | 37–1–1 | Mark Bradley | TKO | 2 (12), | 29 Feb 2000 | Plaza Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | Won vacant WBO NABO Heavyweight title |
| 38 | Win | 36–1–1 | Jeff Lally | TKO | 2 (10), 1:02 | 11 Dec 1999 | Grand Casino, Tunica, Mississippi | |
| 37 | Win | 35–1–1 | Marion Wilson | TD | 5 (10) | 12 Jun 1999 | Shriner's Auditorium, Wilmington, Massachusetts | |
| 36 | Win | 34–1–1 | Artis Pendergrass | UD | 10 | 6 Mar 1999 | UM Sports Pavilion, Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| 35 | Win | 33–1–1 | Mike Sedillo | UD | 10 | 18 Dec 1998 | Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida | |
| 34 | Win | 32–1–1 | Ross Puritty | UD | 10 | 21 Apr 1998 | Players Island Casino, Lake Charles, Louisiana | |
| 33 | Win | 31–1–1 | Levi Billups | UD | 10 | 5 Feb 1998 | Coeur d'Alene Casino, Worley, Idaho | |
| 32 | Win | 30–1–1 | Tim Witherspoon | UD | 10 | 13 Dec 1997 | Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut | Retained WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight title |
| 31 | Win | 29–1–1 | Ricardo Kennedy | TKO | 5 (10), 2:32 | 6 Nov 1997 | Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi | |
| 30 | Win | 28–1–1 | Tyrell Biggs | KO | 2 (10), 1:00 | 11 Sep 1997 | Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut | |
| 29 | Win | 27–1–1 | Jeff Lally | KO | 3 (10) | 30 Aug 1997 | El Polideportivo, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires | |
| 28 | Win | 26–1–1 | Jose Ribalta | TKO | 6 (10) | 15 Jul 1997 | Riverside Convention Center, Rochester, New York | |
| 27 | Win | 25–1–1 | Anthony Willis | TKO | 9 (10) | 5 Jun 1997 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 26 | Win | 24–1–1 | Ahmed Abdin | UD | 12 | 8 Apr 1997 | Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi | Won WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight title |
| 25 | Win | 23–1–1 | Cleveland Woods | PTS | 8 | 24 Jan 1997 | Brøndby hallen, Copenhagen | |
| 24 | Win | 22–1–1 | James Gaines | UD | 10 | 17 Dec 1996 | National Guard Armory, Pikesville, Maryland | |
| 23 | Win | 21–1–1 | Richard Mason | UD | 10 | 8 Nov 1996 | Arizona Charlie's, Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 22 | Win | 20–1–1 | Derrick Roddy | TKO | 2 (10), 2:41 | 8 Aug 1996 | Lake Charles, Louisiana | |
| 21 | Win | 19–1–1 | Jorge Valdes | TKO | 6 (12), 2:32 | 2 Jun 1996 | Mystic Lake Casino, Shakopee, Minnesota | Won vacant WBO NABO Heavyweight title |
| 20 | Win | 18–1–1 | Will Hinton | SD | 10 | 3 May 1996 | MARK of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois | |
| 19 | Win | 17–1–1 | Brian Sargent | TKO | 2 (10), 2:32 | 16 Sep 1995 | Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| 18 | Draw | 16–1–1 | David Dixon | TD | 4 (10), 3:00 | 28 Mar 1995 | Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi | Bout stopped due to Donald being cut by an accidental headbutt |
| 17 | Loss | 16–1 | Riddick Bowe | UD | 12 | 3 Dec 1994 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada | Lost WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight title |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Dan Murphy | UD | 10 | 5 Jul 1994 | Washington Convention Center, District of Columbia | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Juan Antonio Diaz | KO | 6 (12), 1:27 | 4 Jun 1994 | Reno Hilton, Reno, Nevada | Won WBA Fedelatin Heavyweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Bert Cooper | TKO | 7 (12), 1:16 | 14 Apr 1994 | Casino Magic, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi | Retained WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight title |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Jeremy Williams | MD | 12 | 12 Mar 1994 | MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada | Won WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight title |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Michael Dixon | TKO | 6 (10), 3:00 | 13 Feb 1994 | Bally's Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Dwayne Hall | TKO | 3 (6) | 16 Dec 1993 | Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Eugene Adams | TKO | 2 (6) | 19 Nov 1993 | Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Kimmuel Odum | TKO | 1 (?) | 30 Oct 1993 | America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Mike Gans | KO | 3 (8) | 27 Aug 1993 | Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, California | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Al Shoffner | KO | 5 (6), 1:13 | 17 Jul 1993 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Daniel Dăncuță | MD | 6 | 6 Jun 1993 | The Aladdin, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Will Hinton | TKO | 4 (6), 2:16 | 8 May 1993 | Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Matthew Brooks | UD | 6 | 14 Mar 1993 | The Aladdin, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Louis Edward Jackson | KO | 4 (6), 1:59 | 6 Feb 1993 | Sports Arena, San Diego, California | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Bruce Johnson | TKO | 2 (6), 2:27 | 17 Jan 1993 | Union Plaza Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Craig Brinson | TKO | 2 (6), 1:47 | 3 Jan 1993 | Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood | |
