Darnell Wilson

Last updated
Darnell Wilson
Born
Darnell Wilson

(1974-09-22) September 22, 1974 (age 49)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Other namesThe Ding-A-Ling Man
Statistics
Weight(s) Heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Reach75 in (191 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights49
Wins25
Wins by KO21
Losses21
Draws3
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Pan American Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1999 Winnipeg Light Middleweight
Goodwill Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1998 New York Light Middleweight

Darnell Wilson (born September 22, 1974) is an American boxer. He challenged once for the WBA World Cruiserweight title in 2008. He is perhaps best remembered for his brutal left-hook knockouts of Emmanuel Nwodo and David Rodriguez.

Contents

Background

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland, He graduated from Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Amateur career

Many people confused Darnell Wilson with the outstanding amateur Darnell Wilson who won the United States Amateur Light Middleweight Championship three years in a row (1997–99). [1]

Professional career

Known as "Ding-A-Ling Man", Wilson turned pro in 2000 as a light heavyweight. He showed a world-class punch and a good chin but couldn't outbox his opponents. His best results were draws with George Jones (record 19–2) and James Lubwama (record 18–1).

In 2005 he moved up to cruiserweight. There he was outpointed by prospects/fringe contenders Vadim Tokarev (17–0), Felix Cora Jr. (17–0–2), and veteran Andre Purlette (record 38–2) and also lost to heavyweight Owen Beck.

In late 2006 he at least managed to KO another former light heavyweight in southpaw Daniel Judah (21–1–3), but at age 32 seemed to be going nowhere. He says of this time: "I was diagnosed. My adrenal glands were being worn down. I would go flat after a few rounds of sparring because of a bad effect from energy drinks." [2]

His career direction changed dramatically in 2007 when he scored a sensational KO2 over Canadian contender Dale Brown in Edmonton. He quickly added another upset KO3 over Kelvin Davis who had put him on the deck before in the second round. At this point, Wilson was rated in the Top 10 by The Ring Magazine.

Wilson knocked out hard-punching Emmanuel Nwodo on June 29, 2007. ESPN announcer Teddy Atlas proclaimed it the most devastating knockout ever on ESPN's Friday Night Fights series. It was later named the ESPN.com Knockout of the Year. [3]

He finally got a shot at the WBA cruiserweight title on May 3, 2008, but lost a unanimous decision to Firat Arslan. [4]

Wilson lost his first fight of Season 4 of The Contender to Ehinomen Ehikhamenor.

Professional boxing record

25 Wins (21 knockouts, 4 decisions), 21 Losses (9 knockouts, 12 decision), 3 Draws
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
Loss25–21–3 Adrian Granat KO2October 24, 2015 Schulsporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
Loss25–20–3 Sergey Kuzmin TKO4August 27, 2015The Hangar, Costa Mesa, California, U.S.
Loss25–19–3 Mike Perez TKO2February 5, 2015The Hangar, Costa Mesa, California, U.S.
Loss25–18–3 Vyacheslav Glazkov TKO7 Nov 8, 2014 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win25–17–3 David Rodriguez KO6December 14, 2013Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Loss24–17–3 Andrey Fedosov  [ ru ]KO5April 20, 2013 Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
Loss24–16–3 Edmund Gerber UD8November 3, 2012 Halle, Germany
Loss24–15–3 Juan Carlos Gómez TKO4April 21, 2012 Schwerin, Germany
Loss24–14–3 Denis Boytsov KO4January 28, 2012Hamburg, GermanyWilson knocked out at 0:45 of the fourth round.
Loss24–13–3 Ondrej Pala UD12November 26, 2011 Trabzon, TurkeyFor WBO European Heavyweight Title.
Win24–12–3 Juan Carlos Gomez MD10September 24, 2011 Hamburg, Germany
Loss23–12–3Jason GavernTKO7April 2, 2011 Jupiter, Florida, U.S.For WBC CABOFE Heavyweight Title.
Loss23–11–3 Travis Walker UD8February 26, 2011 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Loss23–10–3 Alex Leapai UD8December 4, 2010 Broadbeach, Australia
Loss23–9–3 Grigory Drozd RTD10July 2, 2009 Moscow, RussiaFor WBO Asia Pacific & PABA Cruiserweight Titles.
Loss23–8–3 Ehinomen Ehikhamenor UD5January 7, 2009Singapore
Loss23–7–3 Firat Arslan UD12May 3, 2008 Stuttgart, GermanyFor WBA Cruiserweight Title.
Win23–6–3Robert MarshTKO6March 15, 2008 Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Loss22–6–3 BJ Flores UD12February 8, 2008 Dover, Delaware, U.S.For USBA Cruiserweight Title.
Win22–5–3 Emmanuel Nwodo KO11June 29, 2007New York City, New York, U.S.Won USBA Cruiserweight Title.
Win21–5–3 Kelvin Davis TKO3February 23, 2007 Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Win20–5–3 Dale Brown TKO2January 19, 2007 Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaWon vacant TAB Cruiserweight Title.
Win19–5–3 Daniel Judah TKO4September 28, 2006Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Loss18–5–3 Andre Purlette UD6June 30, 2006Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Loss18–4–3 Felix Cora, Jr. UD10March 24, 2006 Hollywood, Florida, U.S.For NABF Cruiserweight Title.
Loss18–3–3 Owen Beck UD8 7 Jan 2006 New York City, New York, U.S.
Loss18–2–3 Vadim Tokarev UD10August 18, 2005 Kazan, Russia
Win18–1–3 Rodney Moore UD8May 5, 2005Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Win17–1–3John Ivan BattleTKO4April 1, 2005 Warren, Michigan, U.S.
Draw16–1–3George Khalid JonesPTS10August 3, 2004Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Draw16–1–2James LubwamaPTS12May 20, 2004 Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, U.S.For vacant IBA Americas Cruiserweight Title.
Win16–1–1Forrest NealKO3March 27, 2004Washington, D.C., U.S.
Win15–1–1Anton RobinsonTKO3December 9, 2003 Pikesville, Maryland, U.S.
Win14–1–1Darren WhitleyUD8September 26, 2003 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Win13–1–1 Rodney Moore TKO3June 27, 2003 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win12–1–1Charles Rasheed LeeKO1May 8, 2003Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Win11–1–1Darren WhitleyUD6April 8, 2003Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Win10–1–1Dana RuckerTKO8November 14, 2002Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.Won vacant Maryland Light Heavyweight Title.
Win9–1–1Eric StarrKO1September 26, 2002Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Win8–1–1Dennis McKinneyTKO3June 20, 2002Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Win7–1–1Iman GreenTKO4May 9, 2002Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Win6–1–1Eric StarrTKO6March 21, 2002Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Win5–1–1Sam ReeseKO3February 28, 2002 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Win4–1–1Will LittleKO2January 17, 2002Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Win3–1–1William BaileyKO2November 15, 2001Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Win2–1–1Lonnie KornegayTKO2September 27, 2001Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Loss1–1–1Damien RiceUD4June 16, 2001 New York City, New York, U.S.
Draw1–0–1Willis LockettPTS4May 10, 2001Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
Win1–0Rodney DewsKO1November 16, 2000 Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.

Life outside the ring

Darnell Wilson owns and operates a digital infrastructure firm as a technology systems engineer. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ruiz</span> American boxer

John Ruiz is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2010, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2001 and 2005. Ruiz is of Puerto Rican descent, and is the first Latino boxer to win a world heavyweight title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evander Holyfield</span> American boxer (born 1962)

Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and was the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes in the "three belt era", a feat later surpassed by Terence Crawford, Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk, who became two-weight undisputed champions in the four-belt era. Nicknamed "the Real Deal", Holyfield is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992, the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994, the WBA title a third time from 1996 to 1999; the IBF title a third time from 1997 to 1999 and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Moorer</span> American boxer

Michael Lee Moorer is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2008. He won a world championship on four occasions in two weight classes, having held the WBO light heavyweight title from 1988 to 1991; compiling 22 straight KOs in 22 fights and the WBO heavyweight title from 1992 to 1993; the unified WBA, IBF and lineal heavyweight titles in 1994; and regained the IBF heavyweight title again from 1996 to 1997 becoming a three-time heavyweight world champion.

Dwight Muhammad Qawi is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. He was a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC and Ring magazine light heavyweight titles from 1981 to 1983, and the WBA cruiserweight title from 1985 to 1986. Qawi was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgil Hill</span> American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2007, and in 2015

Virgil Eugene Hill is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2007, and in 2015. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBA light heavyweight title twice, from 1987 to 1997; the IBF and lineal light heavyweight titles from 1996 to 1997; and the WBA cruiserweight title twice, from 2000 to 2002 and 2006 to 2007. As an amateur, Hill won a silver medal in the middleweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In 2013, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Tarver</span> American boxer

Antonio Deon Tarver is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF and Ring magazine titles, as well as the IBO light heavyweight and cruiserweight titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Smith (boxer)</span> American boxer

James "Bonecrusher" Smith is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1999 and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1986 to 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Marc Mormeck</span> French professional boxer from Guadeloupe

Jean-Marc Gilbert Mormeck is a French former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2014. He is a two-time unified world cruiserweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC and The Ring world titles twice between 2005 and 2007. He was the first boxer to hold unified cruiserweight title since Evander Holyfield in 1988, and the first fighter to hold The Ring cruiserweight title since Carlos De León in 1987. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's top 10 cruiserweight from 2001 to 2005 and in 2007, and was ranked No.1 in 2003 and 2004. Mormeck also challenged for the unified world heavyweight title in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomasz Adamek</span> Polish boxer

Tomasz "Tomek" Adamek is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2018. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light heavyweight title from 2005 to 2007, and the IBF and The Ring magazine cruiserweight titles from 2008 to 2009. He also held the IBO cruiserweight title in 2007, and challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2011. BoxRec ranks Adamek as the third greatest Polish boxer of all time, pound for pound. He is the first Polish boxer to win The Ring title.

Jeremy Williams is an American former professional boxer and mixed martial artist. He challenged once for the WBO heavyweight title in 1996.

Owen LeFranc Beck, nicknamed "What the Heck Beck," is a Jamaican former professional boxer who challenged for the WBA heavyweight title in 2006. He had an amateur record of 73 wins and 5 losses.

Adolpho Washington is a retired professional boxer. He held the IBF cruiserweight title from 1996 until 1997, and challenged twice for WBA world titles at cruiserweight and light heavyweight.

Travis Walker is an American professional boxer. As an amateur, he won the 2003 National Golden Gloves.

Firat Arslan is a German professional boxer of Turkish descent who held the WBA cruiserweight title from 2007 to 2008. He also challenged twice for the WBO cruiserweight title in 2012 and 2014 and once for the IBF cruiserweight title in 2014

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beibut Shumenov</span> Kazakhstani boxer (born 1983)

Beibut Amirhanovich Shumenov is a Kazakhstani former professional boxer. He is a multiple-time world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA (Regular) cruiserweight title twice between 2016 and 2021 and the WBA light-heavyweight title from 2010 to 2014.

Steve Hérélius is a French former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2013 and held the WBA interim cruiserweight title from 2010 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dmitry Bivol</span> Russian boxer (born 1990)

Dmitry Yuryevich Bivol is a Russian professional boxer who has held the World Boxing Association (WBA) light heavyweight title since 2017 and the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title since 2023. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2013 World Combat Games in the 81 kg weight category. As of June 2024, Bivol is ranked as the world's third best active boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec, fourth by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB), sixth by The Ring, seventh by the Boxing Writers Association of America and fourth by ESPN. He is also ranked as the second-ranked best light heavyweight by The Ring, ESPN, TBRB and BoxRec.

Darnell Lamont Boone is an American professional boxer. Despite having never challenged for a world title, Boone is notable for facing several future world champions throughout his career, from middleweight to light heavyweight. In 2004, he was the first to score a knockdown against undefeated Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward, who went on to win a unanimous decision over Boone. In 2010, Boone caused a major upset when he knocked out future world champion Adonis Stevenson, who later gained revenge by knocking out Boone in 2013. Boone also defeated Willie Monroe Jr. in 2011, who later challenged twice for a world title. Other world champions Boone has faced include Jean Pascal, Erislandy Lara, and Sergey Kovalev (twice).

Kevin Lerena is a South African professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Council (WBC) interim bridgerweight title since 2023. Previously, he held the IBO cruiserweight title from 2017 to 2021 and challenged for the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title in 2022. As of September 2021, he is ranked as the world's fifth best active cruiserweight by The Ring magazine, fourth by Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and eight by BoxRec.

Junior Anthony Wright Jr. is an American professional boxer who challenged for the WBA cruiserweight title in 2016. As an amateur, he was a three-time Chicago Golden Gloves champion and also fought in the National Golden Gloves tournament.

References

  1. ↑ BoxRec.com: Darnell Wilson
  2. 1 2 Tessitore, Joe (June 25, 2007). "Ding-A-Ling-Man ready to sound the alarm on another challenger". ESPN . Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  3. ↑ Rafael, Dan (December 30, 2007). "Wilson's chilling stoppage of Nwodo is KO of the Year". ESPN . Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Self-taught Arslan beats up on Wilson to defend cruiserweight title". ESPN . May 4, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2022.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.