Maurice Watkins (boxer)

Last updated

Maurice Watkins (born August 29, 1956) is a former boxer from Houston, Texas. Nicknamed Termite, he was born into a family that was in the insect killing business, and he is a professional fumigator.

Contents

Professional Boxing Career

Watkins turned professional as a boxer on May 21, 1974, beating Cesar Cortez by knockout in round one at Houston. Through his career, Watkins fought some of the best fighters in the Lightweight and Jr. Welterweight divisions. He beat Marion Thomas by a knockout in round seven, Rocky Ramon by a decision in twelve, Arturo Leon by decision in ten, Bruce Strauss by knockout in three, Bobby Rodriguez by knockout in one, and others. His fight with former United States Lightweight champion Norman Goins resulted in a three-round no contest. He also lost to Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr. and Alfredo Escalera. On October 2 of 1980, at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, he got his only world title shot, losing to Saoul Mamby by a fifteen-round decision for the WBC's world Jr. Welterweight title. He retired with 61 wins, 5 losses, 2 draws (tie), one no contest and 48 wins by knockout. [1]

Professional boxing record

61 Wins (42 knockouts, 19 decisions), 5 Losses (0 knockouts, 5 decisions), 2 Draws, 1 No Contest
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
Win1-1 Flag of Mexico.svg Yaqui HernandezPTS616/03/1990 Flag of Arizona.svg Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win12-10-1 Flag of the United States.svg Robert "The Line" DixonTKO217/02/1990 Flag of Texas.svg Conroe, Texas, United States
Win14-3-4 Flag of the United States.svg Joe "Attorney" GarciaPTS1011/12/1989 Flag of Texas.svg Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, Texas, United States
Win7-7-1 Flag of the United States.svg Moses "Governor" RobinsonKO205/10/1989 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, Texas, United States
Win4-4 Flag of the United States.svg "Candlelight" Virgil GreenKO310/08/1989 Flag of Montana.svg Billings, Montana, United States
Win-- Flag of Mexico.svg Raymundo LopezKO220/07/1989 Flag of Arizona.svg Tucson Convention Center, Tucson, Arizona, United States
Win1-0-1Carlos "Rocky" GonzalezKO101/06/1989 Flag of Arizona.svg Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win6-1-1 Flag of the United States.svg Anthony "Two Gun" WilliamsPTS630/04/1989 Flag of Texas.svg Galveston, Texas, United States57-57, 58-56, 57-57.
Loss48-12-3 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Alfredo Escalera UD1012/11/1982 Flag of Florida.svg Orange Bowl, Miami, United States
Win4-14 Flag of the United States.svg Paul GentryKO422/09/1982 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win0-1 Flag of Mexico.svg Jose "J-Rod" RodriguezKO1027/08/1982 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win60-34-3 Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Strauss KO317/08/1982 Flag of Louisiana.svg Blackham Coliseum, Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
Win2-0 Flag of the United States.svg Billy "The Kid" SmithKO321/07/1982 Flag of Louisiana.svg Shreveport, Louisiana, United States
Loss28-12-5 Flag of the United States.svg Saoul Mamby UD1502/10/1980 Flag of Nevada.svg Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, United States WBC World Light Welterweight Title. 140-146, 139-147, 141-147.
Win17-24 Flag of the United States.svg Larry "Legend" MooreKO322/05/1980 Flag of Michigan.svg Holland, Michigan, United States
Win23-25 Flag of the United States.svg Sammy RookardKO406/04/1980 Flag of Texas.svg Astro Arena, Houston, United States
Win3-2-1 Flag of the Bahamas.svg Nathan "Famous" DavisKO322/03/1980 Flag of Michigan.svg Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Win0-11 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy "Wakeboard" MartinezKO109/01/1980 Flag of Michigan.svg Holland, Michigan, United States
Loss11-0 Flag of the United States.svg Howard Davis, Jr. UD1014/09/1979 Flag of Texas.svg Houston Summit, Houston, Texas, United States
Win2-8 Flag of the United States.svg Roberto "Baby" PerezKO715/08/1979 Flag of Texas.svg Beaumont Civic Center, Beaumont, Texas, United States
Draw9-4-1 Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Teodoro OsunaPTS1009/03/1979 Flag of New York.svg Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States
Win1-3-1 Flag of the United States.svg Richie Lee RobertsKO316/01/1979 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win2-1-1 Flag of the Bahamas.svg Arthur "Space Odyssey" ClarkeKO709/12/1978 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win0-6 Flag of the United States.svg Gary "Black" SmithKO502/11/1978 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win16-11-1 Flag of the United States.svg Rick CraneyKO115/08/1978 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win21-19-1 Flag of the United States.svg Joe MedranoKO716/05/1978 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win1-8-2 Flag of the United States.svg John "Wolf" MorganKO420/04/1978 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win15-6 Flag of the United States.svg Hilbert StevensonPTS1011/04/1978 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win5-1 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Benny MarquezPTS1019/01/1978 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win10-1 Flag of the United States.svg Steve "Hammer" HomanPTS1001/12/1977 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win15-10 Flag of the United States.svg Freddie "Stepper" HarrisPTS1025/10/1977 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win--Cuyo MendozaTKO327/09/1977 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win6-4 Flag of Mexico.svg Paulino GarciaTKO522/09/1977 Flag of Florida.svg Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win12-11 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Ernesto OrtegaKO726/07/1977 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
No Contest17-5-1 Flag of the United States.svg "Stormin" Norman GoinsND1022/03/1977 Flag of Texas.svg Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win7-2 Flag of the United States.svg Jose "Speedy" GonzalezPTS1016/02/1977 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Loss4-10 Flag of Mexico.svg Augustin EstradaUD1017/11/1976 Flag of Texas.svg Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, United States90-98, 93-94, 97-98.
Win2-2 Flag of the United States.svg Otto BreedingKO326/10/1976 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win13-11-1 Flag of the United States.svg Arturo Leon UD1021/09/1976 Flag of Texas.svg Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win14-6 Flag of the United States.svg Rocky RamonPTS1231/08/1976 Flag of Texas.svg Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win4-7 Flag of Mexico.svg Agustin EstradaTKO709/08/1976 Flag of Louisiana.svg Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, United States
Win4-3 Flag of the United States.svg Richie PuentesKO624/07/1976 Flag of Mississippi.svg Biloxi, Mississippi, United States
Loss18-5-2 Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Adriano MarreroSD1016/03/1976 Flag of Florida.svg Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win2-5 Flag of Mexico.svg Valente RamosKO309/03/1976 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win4-4 Flag of the United States.svg Lamar BaskinKO224/02/1976 Flag of New Mexico.svg Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Win0-1Chamaco CuencaKO510/02/1976 Flag of Florida.svg Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win13-0 Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Juan "and Only" HidalgoUD1020/01/1976 Flag of Florida.svg Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win-- Flag of the United States.svg Bobby FloresTKO618/11/1975 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win9-2-1 Flag of the United States.svg Larry PetersonKO519/08/1975 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win0-1-2 Flag of the United States.svg Gene PradoUD1029/07/1975 Flag of California.svg Circle Star Theater, San Carlos, California, United States
Win31-10-1 Flag of the United States.svg Marion "Tiger" ThomasKO716/07/1975 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win6-3-4 Flag of the United States.svg Victor de la Cruz UD1017/06/1975 Flag of California.svg San Jose Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, United States
Win7-4 Flag of the United States.svg Leroy WalkerTKO821/05/1975 Flag of California.svg Circle Star Theater, San Carlos, California, United States
Win0-1 Flag of Mexico.svg Rudy GonzalezPTS1006/05/1975 Flag of California.svg San Jose, California, United States
Win4-4-1 Flag of the United States.svg Otis LocklearKO322/04/1975 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win2-5 Flag of the Bahamas.svg Mike WhymmsPTS815/04/1975 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win9-2 Flag of the United States.svg Gilbert "Machete" GalvanPTS1017/02/1975 Flag of Texas.svg Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win8-6 Flag of the United States.svg Dave KibbyUD829/01/1975 Flag of California.svg Cow Palace, San Francisco, United States
Win4-4-1 Flag of the United States.svg Vicente HernandezPTS1017/01/1975 Flag of California.svg San Jose Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, United States
Win0-2 Flag of the Bahamas.svg "Sugar" Ray SearsPTS617/12/1974 Flag of Florida.svg Orlando, Florida, United States
Win-- Flag of Mexico.svg Robert "Baby" PerezKO110/11/1974 Flag of Texas.svg Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win23-7-2 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Rodriguez KO113/10/1974 Flag of Texas.svg Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win0-3 Flag of the United States.svg Ricky RamosKO426/08/1974 Flag of Texas.svg Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win13-13 Flag of the United States.svg Nick AlfaroPTS818/08/1974 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win0-2 Flag of the United States.svg Arturo CirillosKO305/08/1974 Flag of Texas.svg Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Win5-9 Flag of the United States.svg Harvey "Candyman" WilsonKO616/07/1974 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win0-1 Flag of the United States.svg Arturo CirillosTKO402/07/1974 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win1-3 Flag of the United States.svg Lupe CantùKO304/06/1974 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States
Win0-1Cesar CortezKO121/05/1974 Flag of Texas.svg Houston, United States

After Boxing

After retiring, Watkins went back to Texas to work as a fumigator. In 2003, the American military, needing personnel to work rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure, contracted him as a fumigator to work on Iraqi homes that had been decaying and infected with insects during Saddam Hussein's presidency.

In 2008, writer Suzy Pepper, a former neighbor of Maurice Watkins, released "Termite", a biographical book about Watkins. [2] Also in 2008, a movie based on the book was announced. [3]

In Iraq

After the IOC announced that Iraq would be allowed to compete in seven sports at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, including boxing, the United States military set about to find a new boxing coach for the Iraqi national boxing team. With research, they found out about Watkins' background, and invited him to coach a team of young hopefuls in Baghdad. Realizing he needed to train the team in a setting different from Baghdad, he moved his team to a city close to Baghdad, but much quieter than the capital city. He trained nine Iraqi boxers who hoped to reach the Olympics, but only Najah Ali was able to qualify for the games.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Maurice Watkins". Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  2. ↑ "bookmasters.com". Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  3. ↑ "pathsapartproductions.com". Archived from the original on 2008-09-23. Retrieved 2008-08-01.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Ortiz (boxer)</span> Puerto Rican boxer (1936–2022)

Carlos Ortiz was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He held world titles in lightweight and light welterweight weight divisions. Along with Félix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, Wilfredo Gómez, Héctor Camacho, José Torres, Edwin Rosario and Wilfred Benítez, Ortiz is considered among the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time by sports journalists and analysts. As of January 2018, Ortiz holds the record for the most wins in unified lightweight title bouts in boxing history at 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Armstrong</span> American boxer (1912–1988)

Henry Jackson Jr. was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boxing in the 1980s</span> Overview of boxing in the 1980s

Boxing in the 1980s was filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. Boxing in the 1980s was shaped by many different situations, such as the continuous corporate battles between the different world sanctioning organizations, the void left by Muhammad Ali as the sport's ambassador and consequent search for a new boxing hero, the continuous presence of Don King as the sport's most famous promoter, the surge of rival promoters as Bob Arum, Butch Lewis and Murad Muhammad, and major rule changes. In 1986, Mike Tyson emerged as a fresh new face in the heavyweight division, which had seen a decline in champion quality level after Ali's retirement and, later on, after longtime WBC ruler Larry Holmes' prime. In addition, the IBF and WBO began operating.

During the 1960s, boxing, like mostly everything else around the world, went through changing times. Notable was the emergence of a young boxer named Cassius Clay, who would, in his own words shock the world, declare himself against war, and change his name to Muhammad Ali.

During the 1950s, a couple of relatively new developments changed the world: World War II had only been over for five years when the 1950s began, and television was beginning to make a major impact internationally. In boxing, changes connected to these developments could be seen too, as boxers who fought at the 1940s conflict returned to their homes and many of them were back in the ring. Television producers were in love with sports, which provided the viewer with an opportunity to observe sporting events live, and boxing was not the exception to the rule; many television networks began to feature fights live during the weekends, and the Gillette Friday Night Fights proved to be one of the most popular boxing television series in American history.

Pernell Whitaker Sr. was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and light middleweight; the undisputed lightweight title; and the lineal lightweight and welterweight titles. In 1989, Whitaker was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He currently holds the longest unified lightweight championship reign in boxing history at six title defenses. Whitaker is generally regarded as one of the greatest defensive boxers of all-time.

Bruce Curry, is an American former professional boxer. He was the WBC Super Lightweight Champion from 1983 to 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse James Leija</span> American boxer

James Leija, best known as Jesse James Leija, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2005. He held the WBC super featherweight title in 1994, and challenged twice each for world titles at lightweight and light welterweight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Davis Jr.</span> American boxer

Howard Edward Davis Jr. was an American professional boxer. Growing up on Long Island as the eldest of 10 children, Davis first learned boxing from his father. After being inspired by a movie about Muhammad Ali, Davis embarked on his amateur career. He won the 1976 Olympic gold medal one week after his mother died. He was also awarded the Val Barker Trophy at the Olympics, beating out such boxers as Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Spinks and Leon Spinks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Breland</span> American boxer

Mark Anthony Breland is an American former boxer. A Gold Medal winner at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Breland compiled a 110-1 record as an amateur and is regarded among the greatest amateur fighters ever. He competed as a professional from 1984 to 1997, and held the WBA welterweight title twice between 1987 and 1990. He later became an actor with a wide range of movie and television credits, having made his debut in The Lords of Discipline, and also appeared in the music video for The Pointer Sisters' 1985 hit single, "Dare Me."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kid Azteca</span> Mexican boxer

Luis Villanueva Páramo was a Mexican boxer best known as Kid Azteca. Villanueva boxed professionally from 1932 to 1961, making him one of a small number of fighters that fought during four decades. Archie Moore, George Foreman, Roberto Durán and Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. are five other fighters in that exclusive group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Manuel Márquez</span> Mexican world champion boxer (born 1973)

Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is the third Mexican boxer to become a world champion in four weight classes, having held nine world major titles from featherweight to light welterweight, including the lineal championship at lightweight.

Juan Díaz is an American professional boxer who held the WBA (Unified) and WBA (Undisputed), IBF and WBO lightweight championships from 2007 to 2008 and the IBO lightweight championship from 2008 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">János Kajdi</span> Hungarian boxer

János Kajdi was a boxer from Hungary. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics in the lightweight, light-welterweight and welterweight division, respectively, and won a silver medal in 1972. In the final he was defeated by Cuba's Emilio Correa on points (5:0).

Joe Louis Manley Jr. was an American former boxer who fought at light welterweight.

Alexander "Alex" de Jesús was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur, de Jesús represented the island of Puerto Rico in international events, including the 2003 Pan American Games, the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games and the 2004 Summer Olympics. Early in his career, he won seven regional titles: the World Boxing Organization Latino lightweight title, World Boxing Council Caribbean Boxing Federation lightweight title, World Boxing Association Fedecaribe Lightweight title, WBO Latino light welterweight title, WBA Fedecaribe Welterweight title, WBC Latino light welterweight title and the WBA Fedebol light welterweight title.

Aaron Pryor was an American professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 1990. He was a two-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 1980 to 1983, and the IBF title from 1984 to 1985. Additionally, he held the Ring magazine title from 1980 to 1983, and the lineal title from 1983 to 1986.

Omar Figueroa Jr. is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2022. who held the WBC lightweight title in 2014.

José Carlos Ramírez is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified champion at light welterweight, having held the World Boxing Council (WBC) title from 2018 to 2021 and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) title from 2019 to 2021. As an amateur he represented the United States at the 2012 Olympics. As of June 2020, he is ranked as the world's second best active light welterweight by The Ring and BoxRec, and third by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

Arturo Leon is a Mexican-American former boxer from Arizona, United States. He was a junior lightweight who once challenged Alexis Arguello for the Nicaraguan's World Boxing Council's world Junior Lightweight title, losing by 15 round unanimous decision.

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.