Tyrell Biggs
Encyclopedia
Tyrell Biggs is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

 boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

. He won the gold medal
Olympic medalists in boxing
This is the complete list of Olympic medalists in boxing from 1904 to 2008.-Light flyweight:*1968 - : up to 48 kg.-Flyweight:*1904: up to 105 lb *1920-1936: up to 112 lb *1948-1964: up to 51 kg...

 at the 1984 Olympics
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 in Los Angeles, CA in boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 at the Superheavyweight division, after gaining bronze the previous year at the 1983 Pan American Games
Boxing at the 1983 Pan American Games
The Men's Boxing Tournament at the 1983 Pan American Games was held in Caracas, Venezuela, from August 14 to August 29. The super heavyweight division was included for the first time.- Medal winners :-Medal table:-External links:*...

.
He stands at 6'5" and weighed from 212 lbs to 247 lbs in his last fight.

Early life

Biggs was born in Philadelphia, PA. Then known by the nickname, "Styrofoam", he first made a sporting splash as a basketball player at West Philadelphia High, in Philadelphia. He was a starting forward for the Speedboys' Public League
Philadelphia Public League
The Philadelphia Public League traces its origin back to 1901, with the formation of the Philadelphia Interscholastic League, a conference encompassing all the city's high schools, public and private. Prior to this date, the public and private schools in the area had been competing among...

 and City champions in 1978, a team that extended a state-record winning streak to 68 before a regular season loss to Overbrook. In '77, one of Biggs' teammates was Gene Banks
Gene Banks
Eugene Lavon "Gene" Banks is a retired American professional basketball player. He is one of a handful of players to make high school All-America three times.-College & NBA Years:...

, who went on to excel at Duke and play in the NBA.

Amateur career

Biggs' first major success as an amateur boxer was winning the gold medal at the 1981 United States National Boxing Championships
National Amateur Super Heavyweight Champions
Below is a list of National Amateur Boxing Super Heavyweight Champions, also known as United States Amateur Champions, along with the state or region which they represented...

 in the super-heavyweight division. He repeated this feat the next year, and also in 1982 he won the World Championships
1982 World Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 1982 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Munich, West Germany from May 4 to 15. The third edition of this competition, held two years before the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, was organised by the world governing body for amateur boxing AIBA.- Medal winners...

 in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

, where in the final he defeated Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani is an Italian former boxer who won the silver medal at the 1982 World Championships and at the 1984 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he was the first WBO heavyweight champion.-Amateur:...

 from Italy on points, who beat the legendary Teofilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence or Teófilo Stevenson is a former Cuban amateur boxer. He is one of the only three boxers to win three Olympic gold medals, alongside Hungarian László Papp and fellow Cuban Félix Savón....

 earlier in the competition. In 1983 Biggs won a bronze medal on the Pan American Games
Boxing at the 1983 Pan American Games
The Men's Boxing Tournament at the 1983 Pan American Games was held in Caracas, Venezuela, from August 14 to August 29. The super heavyweight division was included for the first time.- Medal winners :-Medal table:-External links:*...

, losing to future professional challenger Jorge Luis Gonzalez
Jorge Luis Gonzalez
Jorge Luis González is a former heavyweight boxing contender and prospect born in Havana, Cuba. He won the gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games and the 1987 Pan American Games and the former WBO Latino Heavyweight Champion.-Amateur:González compiled an Amateur Record of 220-13...

 in the semi-final.

In 1984 Biggs won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place in the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The boxing schedule began on July 29 and ended on August 11. Twelve men's boxing events were contested.-Light Flyweight :...

 in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, defeating future professional world champion Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...

 in the quarter-finals. In the Olympics final Biggs beat Damiani on points again. The Cubans, including Stevenson, who defeated Biggs two times before the Olympics, did not participate on the games due to the Soviet boycott.

Biggs finished his amateur career with an outstanding record of 108-6-4.

Professional career

He turned professional soon after his Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 victory, scoring a 6 round unanimous decision over Mike Evans
Mike Ronay Evans
Mike Katherine Evans is an American heavyweight boxer. In his 50 bouts he won 38 , lost 11 and had a draw on 1....

 on November 15, 1984 at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in his first bout. Besides Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...

, Lewis and Damiani he went on to face such other boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 luminaries as James "Quick" Tillis, Ossie Ocasio
Ossie Ocasio
Osvaldo Ocasio, , better known as Ossie Ocasio and nicknamed Jaws, is a Puerto Rican who was a boxer and world Cruiserweight champion. He got his peculiar nickname after accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring session...

, Riddick Bowe
Riddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...

, Tony Tubbs
Tony Tubbs
Tony Tubbs is a retired professional heavyweight boxer who was the WBA Heavyweight Champion of the world from 1985 to 1986.-Amateur career:...

, Buster Mathis, Jr., and Larry Donald
Larry Donald
Larry Ali Donald is a professional heavyweight boxer, who competed for the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.-Professional career:...

 before ending his career with a second round knockout of Carlton Davis in 1998. He never won a title, but stalked the rankings of contendership for much of the mid to late 1980s.

Biggs' biggest pro fight was against Tyson, for the latter's undisputed heavyweight title. Biggs and Tyson disliked each other, and Biggs bad mouthed Tyson before the fight. Biggs attempted to outbox Tyson, using his jab and movement. But Tyson kept coming in and landing big punches, wearing him down until the fight was stopped in the 7th. Tyson admitted after the fight to carrying Biggs so he could inflict more damage, to avenge Biggs' pre-match comments.

Unfortunately the talented Biggs' life has been a constant fight against drug and alcohol addiction. He had to enter rehab only a few months after turning professional, and some declare that his career at the time of the Tyson fight was already effectively over. Biggs robe was sometimes emblazoned with, "Realise your potential", a drug rehabilitation mantra. An article published when he was 40 years old characterized him as "still fighting between stints in rehabilitation".

His professional ring record concluded with 30 wins (20 knockouts) and 10 losses in 40 contests.

Outside the Ring

Biggs competed in the American Gladiators
American Gladiators
American Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility.The concept was created by...

 Season 5 Gold Medal Challenge of Champions in 1993, losing to 1984 Gold Downhill Skiing medalist Bill Johnson
Bill Johnson (skier)
William Dean "Bill" Johnson is a former alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team. He was the first American male to win an Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing, winning the downhill at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Bill has 2 sons, named Tyler and Nick...

.
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