Julian Jackson
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| Julian Jackson | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Julian Jackson |
| Nickname | The Hawk |
| Weight | Middleweight |
| Nationality | American |
| Birth date | September 12, 1960 |
| Birth place | Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Style | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 61 |
| Wins | 55 |
| Wins by KO | 49 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 2 |
Julian Jackson (born September 12, 1960) is a former professional boxer out of the Virgin Islands, who usually won by knockout, and is considered to be one of the hardest punchers of all time. His nickname is "The Hawk".
He had many of his early fights in Puerto Rico, where he lived for a short period of time, with victories over the likes of Ron Warrior in 1984, and had a shot at the WBA junior middleweight title in August 1986 against champion Mike McCallum. Jackson hurt the defender on a couple occasions in the first round, but McCallum came storming back with a barrage that forced the referee to stop matters in the second round. Jackson then had his second crack at the title in November 1987 on the Chávez-Rosario undercard, and left the ring this time with a belt around his waist - the same WBA 154 lb (70 kg) title he had failed to win from McCallum the previous year.
Julian's rival in the late 80s was Korean Baek In-Chul, who was disposed in three rounds. (In-Chul, by the way, would eventually win the WBA super middleweight title a year or so later). Jackson then made three inside-the-limit defenses of his crown, against former IBF world champion Buster Drayton (TKO 2), Francisco DeJesus (KO 8), and future WBC champion Terry Norris (TKO 2). Jackson then vacated his crown, moved up to 160 lb (73 kg), and was pitted against Herol 'Bomber' Graham for the middleweight division's vacant WBC title in Spain.
Graham was putting on his typical savvy performance against Jackson: countering, slipping, and dancing out of the way. After being consistently beaten to the punch for three and a half rounds, the champ unleashed one of the immortal right hands of boxing. It was the kind of knockout that gets shown over and over again in the replays. Spark out before he hit the canvas, Graham was unconscious for five alarming minutes before he was revived.
Defenses against Dennis Milton (KO 1), Ismael Negron (KO 1), and Ron Collins (TKO 5) ended quickly, but Thomas Tate would make Jackson work longer and harder in their August 1992 encounter - Julian had to go to the scorecards for the first time in a title bout in winning a 12-round unanimous decision. At this point Jackson was in the middle of the pound-for-pound rankings.
That would lead to his showdown in May 1993 with Gerald McClellan. This time the challenger prevailed, flooring Jackson twice in the fifth round, the second knockdown which prompted the referee to stop the fight and award the belt to McClellan. Jackson had another shot at the title in May 1994 in a rematch with McClellan, but was knocked out in the first round. Jackson would then have a second but brief reign as WBC middleweight champion again, beating Agastine Cardamone by knockout in March 1995 to win the same belt vacated by McClellan, but then promptly losing the title in his first defense against Quincy Taylor in August of that year by a ninth-round knockout. Jackson's career would then go into a tailspin, finishing up with a negative streak whose most important bout perhaps was a ninth-round knockout loss to Verno Phillips in January 1998.
| Preceded by: Mike McCallum vacated title |
WBA Light Middleweight Champion 21 Nov 1987 – 24 Nov 1990 (vacates title) |
Succeeded by: Gilbert Dele |
| Preceded by: Roberto Duran vacated title |
WBC Middleweight Champion 24 Nov 1990 – 8 May 1993 |
Succeeded by: Gerald McClellan |
| Preceded by: Gerald McClellan vacated title |
WBC Middleweight Champion 17 Mar 1995 – 19 Aug 1995 |
Succeeded by: Quincy Taylor |
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