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Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960 in Philadelphia, PA) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 heavyweight
Heavyweight

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

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds....
. He won the gold medal
Olympic medalists in boxing

This is the complete list of Olympic Games medalists in boxing from 1904 to 2008....
 at the 1984 Olympics
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
 in Los Angeles, CA in boxing
Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of 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 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....
.

s, then known by his nickname, "Burt," 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, but the league's history more strictly begins a decade later. Philadelphia sees the league's origins in the 1901 formation of the Philadelphia Interscholastic League, a conference encompassing all the city's high schools, public and private....
 and City champions in 1978, a team that extended a state-record winning streak to 68 before a regular season loss to Overbrook.






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Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960 in Philadelphia, PA) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 heavyweight
Heavyweight

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

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds....
. He won the gold medal
Olympic medalists in boxing

This is the complete list of Olympic Games medalists in boxing from 1904 to 2008....
 at the 1984 Olympics
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
 in Los Angeles, CA in boxing
Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of 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 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....
.

Early life

Biggs, then known by his nickname, "Burt," 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, but the league's history more strictly begins a decade later. Philadelphia sees the league's origins in the 1901 formation of the Philadelphia Interscholastic League, a conference encompassing all the city's high schools, public and private....
 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 United States professional basketball player. He is one of a handful of players to make high school All-America three times....
, 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 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Munich, West Germany from May 4 to May 15. The third edition of this competition, held two years before the Boxing at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, was organised by the world governing body for amateur boxing AIBA....
 in Munich
Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
, West Germany
West Germany

West Germany was the common English name for the Germany , from its formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when East Germany was dissolved and its States of Germany became part of the Federal Republic, ending the more than 40-year division of Germany....
, where in the final he defeated Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani

Francesco Damiani was an Italy boxing 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....
 from Italy on points, who beat the legendary Teofilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson

Te?filo Stevenson Lawrence or Te?filo Stevenson is a former Cuban boxing who made history in amateur boxing, but who refused to turn professional....
 earlier in the competition. Damiani later went on to win the WBO heavyweight belt as a professional, and took his revenge on Biggs in a non-title fight in 1988 via a fifth round stoppage on cuts. In 1983 Biggs won a bronze medal on the Pan American Games
Boxing at the 1983 Pan American Games

The 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....
, losing to future professional challenger Jorge Luis Gonzalez
Jorge Luis Gonzalez

Jorge Luis Gonzalez is a former heavyweight boxer born in Havana, Cuba, who won the gold medal at the Boxing at the 1983 Pan American Games and the Boxing at the 1987 Pan American Games....
 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....
 in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, defeating future professional world champion Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis

Lennox Claudius Lewis, Order of Canada, Order of the British Empire is a retired boxing who won gold for Canada at the Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics as an amateur boxing....
 in the quarter-finals. Lewis went on as an amateur to win the super-heavyweight gold himself at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics

Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place in the Chamshil Students' Gymnasium in Seoul. The boxing schedule began on September 17 and ended on October 2....
, and after turning professional he avenged his loss to Biggs in a non-title bout in 1991. 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. Besides Lewis and Damiani, he also defeated a third future professional heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson, also known as Malik Abdul, is a retired United States Boxing. He was the List of undisputed boxing champions#Heavyweight and remains the youngest man ever to win a world heavyweight title at just 20 years old....
 to whom he then also lost among the professionals in 1987 in a title fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

Professional career

He turned professional soon after his Olympic
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
 victory, scoring a 6 round unanimous decision over Mike Evans
Mike Ronay Evans

Mike Katherine Evans is an United States heavyweight Boxing. In his 50 bouts he won 38 , lost 11 and had a draw on 1.Tyrell Biggs scored a 6 round unanimous decision over Evans on November 15, 1984 at Madison Square Garden in New York City in his first bout....
 on November 15, 1984 at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City....
 in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 in his first bout. Besides Tyson, Lewis and Damiani he went on to face such other boxing
Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of 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 Rico who was a boxing 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 an United States Boxing and former undisputed heavyweight champion. He is best remembered for his trilogy of fights with Evander Holyfield and two brutal bouts with Andrew Golota....
, Tony Tubbs
Tony Tubbs

Tony Tubbs was the World Boxing Association List of heavyweight boxing champions from 1985 to 1986.In the late 1970s he was an outstanding amateur, who compiled a record of around 240-13....
, 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....
 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, tiring and hurting Biggs, and also cutting him near his eye and on his lip. By the seventh round the fight seemed to be coming to an end, as Tyson mercilessly punished Biggs' face, whose head became swollen and bloody. Tyson hit him with a mammoth left hook, knocking him down. Biggs got up, but was dropped by another savage left, and the fight was stopped. 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. An article published when he was 40 years old characterized him as "still fighting between stints in rehabilitation".

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

Outside the Ring

Biggs competed in the American Gladiators
American Gladiators

American Gladiators was an United States game show television program that matched a cast of amateur sportspersons against each other, as well as against the show's own "gladiators", in contests of strength and agility....
 Season 5 Gold Medal Challenge of Champions in 1993. Biggs lost to 1984 Gold Downhill Skiing medalist Bill Johnson
Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson may refer to:*Bill Johnson , American jazz musician*Bill Johnson , American skier*Bill "Tiger" Johnson , American football player and coach...
, failing to finish the final challenge.

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