Michael Lee Moorer (born November 12, 1967) 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.
Michael Moorer was an undefeated his first 35 professional bouts, and the first southpaw to win a heavyweight title. He captured the WBO light heavyweight title in 1988 which he defended 9 times. In 1991, Moorer moved up to Heavyweight winning the vacant WBO heavyweight title from Bert Cooper via TKO in 1992. He went on to beat Evander Holyfield for the unified WBA, IBF and lineal heavyweight titles in 1994. He remains one of only two southpaws to win the lineal world championship at heavyweight, being joined by Oleksandr Usyk, and the only light heavyweight world champion to win a heavyweight world title on more than one occasion.
Moorer is only one of four boxers over the last century that has ever won a version of a world title at both light heavyweight and heavyweight along with Roy Jones Jr., Michael Spinks, and James Toney.
Since retiring from the sport, Moorer has worked as a boxing trainer and private investigator. In 2009, he worked alongside Freddie Roach at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles.
Moorer was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2024.
Amateur career Moorer was born in Brooklyn and raised in the small town of Monessen, Pennsylvania. From an early age, Moorer began playing football and was raised by a single mother, who noticed Moorer's unusual hyperactivity. At age 10, Moorer's grandfather, a former New York Golden Gloves Champion who sparred with greats such as Archie Moore, encouraged Moorer to begin training at age 11. Moorer is naturally right-handed, but fought the entirety of his career as a southpaw. Moorer graduated from Monessen High School in 1987, where he starred in football as a linebacker and tight end.
As his amateur career developed, Moorer moved to Detroit, Michigan to train with the legendary Emanuel Steward. In 1986, Moorer was a National Champion for the 156 lb (light middleweight) weight class. At Steward's Kronk Gym, Moorer was known for beating professionals while still an amateur. Moorer also won a bronze medal at the Goodwill Games, and finished his amateur career with a record of 48–16.
Professional career Light heavyweight Moorer had a fast rise through the professional boxing ranks. He debuted on March 4, 1988, knocking out Adrian Riggs in the first round. Before the year's end, he was undefeated in eleven bouts (winning all by way of early round knockouts) and fighting for the world title for the first time. He acquired the newly created WBO light heavyweight title with a five-round knockout of Ramzi Hassan.
In 1989, he retained the title six times, beating Freddie Delgado, Frankie Swindell, Mike Sedillo and former WBA champion Leslie Stewart, among others.
In 1990, he retained the title three times before the end of the year, beating Mario Melo and former Michael Spinks challenger Jim McDonald, among others.
Heavyweight 1991 saw Moorer move up to the heavyweight division. He rolled through the competition en route to securing an opportunity to fight for the vacant WBO heavyweight championship the following year against Bert Cooper. Moorer stopped Cooper in the fifth round after both fighters were down and hurt during the bout.
He did not defend the then-lesser regarded WBO heavyweight belt. Moorer and trainer Emanuel Steward parted ways after the Cooper fight. Moorer eventually joined Lou Duva's team, and was trained by Georgie Benton for three fights in 1993, including a 10-round decision win over former champion James "Bonecrusher" Smith.
Moorer then parted ways with the Duvas and Benton, and hired New York-based trainer Teddy Atlas in late 1993. Moorer closed the year with a ten-round decision over Mike Evans.
Unified heavyweight champion
On April 22, 1994, Moorer challenged Evander Holyfield for the lineal, IBF, and WBA title belts. In round 2 Holyfield sent Moorer down on the canvas, but Moorer overcame and went on to win a majority decision. As a result, he became the first-ever southpaw heavyweight champion.
In his first defense of those belts, on November 5, 1994, Moorer faced 45-year-old George Foreman, who lost his last fight for the vacant WBO heavyweight title to Tommy Morrison. For nine rounds, Moorer easily outboxed him, hitting and moving away, while Foreman moving forward, seemingly unable to "pull the trigger" on his punches. Moorer was ahead on all three judges' scorecards entering the 10th round, when Foreman hit him with a number of long-range jabs. Then, suddenly, a short right hand caught Moorer square on his chin, gashing open his bottom lip, and he collapsed to the canvas. Moorer was knocked out and lost the world championship. He also lost his undefeated record. Foreman, at age 45, became the oldest fighter ever to win the world heavyweight title.
The following year, Moorer re-grouped by winning against fringe contender Melvin Foster. Meanwhile, Foreman retained the title with a close and controversial decision against German fighter Axel Schulz.
Because of the controversial nature of the Foreman-Schulz bout, the IBF ordered Foreman to travel to Germany for a rematch, but Foreman refused, choosing to leave the IBF belt vacant instead. South African Francois Botha travelled to Germany instead and beat Schulz with another close decision to claim the title, but he was stripped of it when he tested positive for illegal substances shortly after.
Third heavyweight title reign
Moorer was then given the opportunity to fight Schulz for the vacant crown in Dortmund. On June 22, 1996, Moorer won the IBF heavyweight crown once again, beating Schulz by a 12-round split decision.
He became a three-time heavyweight champion; WBO (1992), WBA/IBF (1994) and IBF (1996–1997). When Moorer held the WBO heavyweight title, it wasn't considered an authentic heavyweight title. Ironically, Moorer has always been recognized as a former light heavyweight champion despite only ever holding the WBO title at that weight.
Moorer's first defense came against Botha on November 9, 1996. In a brutal one-sided bout, Moorer, leading on the cards going into the 12th, ended with a flourish, knocking Botha out 18 seconds into the final round.
In March 1997, Moorer retained his belt with a 12-round decision over previously undefeated Vaughn Bean before parting ways with trainer Teddy Atlas, with whom he'd been experiencing increasing tension since the beginning of their professional relationship. He replaced him with Freddie Roach.
Holyfield vs. Moorer II
On November 8, Moorer lost his IBF title in a unification match with WBA champion Evander Holyfield. Moorer was knocked down five times before ringside doctor Flip Homansky advised referee Mitch Halpern to stop the bout in round eight.
Comeback After this, he retired from boxing for three years before returning with a knockout of journeyman Lorenzo Boyd. Moorer had begun drinking heavily and weighed 270 pounds. During his comeback, he won three more fights, then seemingly retired again when he was knocked out only 30 seconds into round one by David Tua on August 17, 2002. However, he returned to the ring once again on March 29, 2003, beating Otis Tisdale on points over ten rounds. On August 23, 2003, he beat Brazil's Rodolfo Lobo by knockout in only 64 seconds.
After a layoff of almost a year, he returned on July 3, 2004, losing a ten-round unanimous decision to Eliseo Castillo in Miami, Florida. In December of that year, Moorer rallied from a severe deficit on the scorecards to hand former cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov his first knockout loss. He continued fighting, winning all of his bouts against limited opposition. His last fight was a KO win over Shelby Gross in 2008. Following the fight, Moorer retired from professional boxing.
Personal life Moorer was arrested in 1989 for taking part in a brawl in Charleroi, Pennsylvania.
In 1991, just days after his win over Alex Stewart, Moorer was arrested for assaulting a police officer. Moorer had reportedly been intoxicated at the time of his arrest. The officer he punched suffered a broken jaw. Moorer later was placed on probation and settled the case out of court.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes57Win Shelby GrossKO1 (10), Feb 8, 2008 56Win51–4–1 Roderick WillisSD10Oct 31, 2007 55Win50–4–1 Rich BoruffTKO1 (8), Aug 16, 2007 54Win49–4–1 Sedreck FieldsUD10Mar 16, 2007 53Win48–4–1 Cliff CouserKO1 (10), Dec 9, 2006 52Win47–4–1 Vassiliy JirovTKO9 (12), Dec 9, 2004 51Loss46–4–1 Eliseo CastilloUD10Jul 3, 2004 50Win46–3–1 Jose Arimatea da SilvaTKO7 (10)Jan 17, 2004 49Win45–3–1 Rogério LoboKO1 (10), Aug 23, 2003 48Win44–3–1 Otis TisdaleUD10Mar 29, 2003 47Loss43–3–1 David TuaKO1 (10), Aug 17, 2002 46Win43–2–1 Robert DavisUD10Feb 16, 2002 45Win42–2–1 Terry PorterTKO4 (10), Dec 9, 2001 44Draw41–2–1 Dale Crowe5 (10), Jul 27, 2001 43Win41–2 Terrence LewisTKO2 (10), Jan 12, 2001 42Win40–2 Lorenzo BoydTKO4 (9), Nov 17, 2000 41Loss39–2 Evander HolyfieldRTD8 (12), Nov 8, 1997 40Win39–1 Vaughn BeanMD12Mar 29, 1997 39Win38–1 Francois BothaTKO12 (12), Nov 9, 1996 38Win37–1 Axel Schulz12Jun 22, 1996 37Win36–1 Melvin FosterUD10May 13, 1995 36Loss35–1 George ForemanKO10 (12), Nov 5, 1994 35Win35–0 Evander Holyfield12Apr 22, 1994 34Win34–0 Mike EvansUD10Dec 4, 1993 33Win33–0 James PritchardTKO3 (10), Jun 22, 1993 32Win32–0 Frankie SwindellTKO3 (10), Apr 27, 1993 31Win31–0 James SmithUD10Feb 27, 1993 30Win30–0 Billy WrightTKO2 (10), Nov 13, 1992 29Win29–0 Bert CooperTKO5 (12), May 15, 1992 28Win28–0 Everett MartinUD10Mar 17, 1992 27Win27–0 Mike White10Feb 1, 1992 26Win26–0 Bobby CrabtreeRTD1 (10), Nov 23, 1991 25Win25–0 Alex StewartTKO4 (10), Jul 27, 1991 24Win24–0 Levi BillupsTKO3 (10), Jun 25, 1991 23Win23–0 Terry DavisTKO2 (10), Apr 19, 1991 22Win22–0 Danny StonewalkerTKO8 (12), Dec 15, 1990 21Win21–0 Jim MacDonaldTKO3 (10), Aug 21, 1990 20Win20–0 Mario Oscar MeloKO1 (12), Apr 28, 1990 19Win19–0 Marcellus AllenRTD9 (12), Feb 3, 1990 18Win18–0 Mike SedilloTKO6 (12), Dec 12, 1989 17Win17–0 Jeff ThompsonKO1 (12), Nov 16, 1989 16Win16–0 Leslie StewartTKO8 (12), Jun 25, 1989 15Win15–0 Freddie DelgadoTKO1 (12), Apr 22, 1989 14Win14–0 Frankie SwindellTKO6 (12), Feb 19, 1989 13Win13–0 Victor ClaudioTKO2 (12)Jan 14, 1989 12Win12–0 Ramzi HassanTKO5 (12), Dec 3, 1988 11Win11–0 Glenn KennedyKO1, Nov 4, 1988 10Win10–0 Carl WilliamsTKO1, Oct 17, 1988 9Win9–0 Jorge SueroTKO2Oct 7, 1988 8Win8–0 Jordan KeepersTKO2Aug 12, 1988 7Win7–0 Terrence Walker5 (10), Aug 6, 1988 6Win6–0 LaVelle StanleyTKO2Jun 25, 1988 5Win5–0 Keith McMurrayTKO2 (4)Jun 6, 1988 4Win4–0 Dennis FikesTKO2May 10, 1988 3Win3–0 Brett Zwierzynski1 (6)Apr 29, 1988 2Win2–0 Bill LeeTKO1Mar 25, 1988 1Win1–0 Adrian Riggs1 (4), Mar 4, 1988
Titles in boxing Major World titles
WBA heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) WBO heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) IBF heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) (2x) WBO light heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
Regional/International titles
NABA heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) WBC Continental Americas heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
See also List of WBA world champions List of IBF world champions List of WBO world champions List of light heavyweight boxing champions List of heavyweight boxing champions
References
External links
CBZ Profile ESPN.com Michael Moorer Interview Michael Moorer: Then and now at Pittsburgh Tribune-Review