Junior Anthony Wright Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 12, 1986 Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Other names | Hurricane |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Reach | 76.75 in (195 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record [1] | |
| Total fights | 28 |
| Wins | 21 |
| Wins by KO | 17 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | 1 |
Junior Anthony Wright Jr. (born August 12, 1986) 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. [2]
Wright was born in Evanston, Illinois, on the northern outskirts of Chicago, where he currently resides and trains. At age 16, he was introduced to boxing when he played the video game Knockout Kings , and joined a boxing gym in Chicago shortly thereafter. [2]
In 2008, at age 21, Wright made his amateur boxing debut. As an amateur, he trained out of the Loyola Boxing Club under Steve Hoffman where he won his first two Chicago Golden Gloves titles, and later with the Evanston Boxing Club where he won his third Chicago Golden Gloves title; winning twice at middleweight and once as a light heavyweight. [2] He also competed in the 2008 National Golden Gloves tournament, losing to Denis Douglin three rounds to two, who ultimately won the tournament. [3] [4]
On October 7, 2011, at age 25, Wright made his professional debut in Burbank, Illinois in a cruiserweight bout in which he defeated Darrion Fletcher by first-round knockout (KO). [5] He went on to win his next nine fights (seven at cruiserweight and two at heavyweight) to accumulate a professional record of 10–0 (9 KOs), earning him a chance at the vacant WBC International cruiserweight title against Stivens Bujaj on May 15, 2014. In the ten-round fight, held at the Millennium Theater in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, Wright fought to a split draw with the judges' scorecards reading 96–94, 95–95, and 94–96. [6] Following his fight against Bujaj, Wright signed with Dmitry Salita's Star of David Promotions. [2]
In 2014, Wright joined the training camp of world champion Adonis Stevenson to assist him in his preparation for his WBC light heavyweight title defense against Dmitry Sukhotsky, which Stevenson went on to win via fifth-round KO. [2] [7]
Wright won his next three fights (two at cruiserweight and one at heavyweight) to improve his professional record to 13–0–1. He dedicated one of these fights, his technical knockout (TKO) victory over Rayford Johnson, to a pair of NYPD officers who were shot and killed in the month leading up to the fight. [2] his 2015 fight for the vacant IBO cruiserweight title, in which he suffered his first professional defeat to Rakhim Chakhkiev. [8]
On May 21, 2016, after winning his next two cruiserweight fights, Wright fought Beibut Shumenov for the WBA cruiserweight title in Las Vegas. Shumenov defeated Wright via tenth-round TKO. [9] After the Shumenov fight, Wright moved up to the heavyweight division – fighting only more time as a cruiserweight in a unanimous decision (UD) loss to undefeated Ruslan Fayer in 2017. Since the Shumenov fight, Wright has won all three of his heavyweight fights by TKO or KO to improve to a professional record of 18–3–1. [10]
Rick Wilson and Steve Clemente have both trained Wright during his professional boxing career. [11]
| 28 fights | 21 wins | 6 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 17 | 5 |
| By decision | 4 | 1 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Win | 21–6–1 | Cassius Chaney | UD | 10 | Mar 22, 2025 | Royale Nightclub, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 27 | Loss | 20–6–1 | Andrew Tabiti | KO | 1 (10), 2:29 | Apr 27, 2024 | Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 26 | Loss | 20–5–1 | Arslanbek Makhmudov | TKO | 1 (10), 1:10 | Oct 28, 2023 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | For WBC–NABF and vacant WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight titles |
| 25 | Win | 20–4–1 | Brian Howard | KO | 1 (6), 2:17 | Apr 14, 2023 | Clarion Hotel, Tinicum, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 24 | Win | 19–4–1 | Colby Madison | KO | 3 (6), 0:27 | Oct 1, 2022 | 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 23 | Loss | 18–4–1 | Joe Jones | KO | 2 (6), 0:13 | Dec 2, 2021 | Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 22 | Win | 18–3–1 | Alfredo Trevino | TKO | 1 (6), 0:36 | Aug 28, 2021 | New England Sports Center, Derry, New Hampshire, U.S. | |
| 21 | Win | 17–3–1 | Antwaun Tubbs | TKO | 4 (4), 2:29 | Mar 22, 2019 | Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, Indiana, U.S. | |
| 20 | Loss | 16–3–1 | Ruslan Fayfer | UD | 12 | Aug 18, 2017 | Usadba Familiya, Plastunovskaya, Russia | |
| 19 | Win | 16–2–1 | Damon McCreary | KO | 2 (6), 2:04 | Jan 22, 2017 | Masonic Temple, Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | |
| 18 | Loss | 15–2–1 | Beibut Shumenov | TKO | 10 (12), 1:04 | May 21, 2016 | Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | For vacant WBA (Regular) cruiserweight title |
| 17 | Win | 15–1–1 | Jim Franklin | TKO | 1 (6), 1:50 | Feb 19, 2016 | WinnaVegas Casino Resort, Sloan, Iowa, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 14–1–1 | Harvey Jolly | UD | 6 | Aug 25, 2015 | MCU Park, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 15 | Loss | 13–1–1 | Rakhim Chakhkiev | KO | 8 (12), 2:39 | May 22, 2015 | Luzhniki Stadium Moscow, Russia | For vacant IBO cruiserweight title |
| 14 | Win | 13–0–1 | Rayford Johnson | TKO | 2 (8), 1:32 | Jan 22, 2015 | Webster Hall, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| 13 | Win | 12–0–1 | Lucas St. Clair | TKO | 3 (6), 0:44 | Nov 1, 2014 | Milwaukee Harley-Davidson, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 11–0–1 | Marlon Hayes | UD | 6 | Aug 15, 2014 | Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S. | |
| 11 | Draw | 10–0–1 | Stivens Bujaj | SD | 10 | May 15, 2014 | Millenium Theater, New York City, New York, U.S. | For vacant WBC International cruiserweight title |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Galen Brown | KO | 4 (6), 0:20 | Feb 7, 2014 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Harley Kilfian | TKO | 3 (4), 2:50 | Dec 6, 2013 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Nick Kisner | SD | 6 | Aug 16, 2013 | U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Chris Thomas | TKO | 3 (6), 2:30 | Apr 13, 2013 | Radisson Star Plaza, Merrillville, Indiana, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Tim Johnson | KO | 2 (4), 0:56 | Feb 1, 2013 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Nick Reeder | TKO | 2 (4), 1:30 | Dec 14, 2012 | Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Covon Graham | KO | 1 (4), 2:58 | Jul 13, 2012 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Rogelio Saldana | KO | 1 (4), 1:14 | Feb 24, 2012 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Brandon Bennett | TKO | 1 (4), 1:33 | Jan 13, 2012 | Horseshoe Casino, Elizabeth, Indiana, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Darrion Fletcher | KO | 1 (4), 0:58 | Oct 7, 2011 | The Club Chicago, Burbank, Illinois, U.S. |
Starting at age 11, Wright worked for his father's landscaping company. As an amateur boxer, Wright balanced his training with working approximately 65 hours per week at Home Depot while also helping with his father's business. [12] He continued to work at Home Depot through much of his professional boxing career. [2] He briefly enrolled in community college, but dropped out in order to earn money. [12]